India - WikiLeaks



INDIA COUNTRY BRIEF

101103

Basic Political Developments

• Punjab Police Wednesday arrested radical Sikh leaders as a preventive measure after many groups called a state wide shutdown.

• A Delhi court today asked the city police to file a report on a complaint seeking prosecution of Hurriyat leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani and writer Arundhati Roy.

• The Indian Navy today said it has submitted its report on the Adarsh Housing Society scam to the Defence Ministry.

• As many as 139 candidates figuring in the fifth phase of Bihar Assembly elections have criminal charges pending against them.

National Economic Trends

Business, Energy or Environmental regulations or discussions

• Coal India (CIL), which garnered Rs 15,200 crore through its initial public offer (IPO), is likely to make a powerful debut in the range of Rs 280-300 on the bourses.

• Realty firm Ansal Properties & Infrastructure plans to raise up to Rs 400 crore from private equity players this fiscal to partly repay its high cost debt and fund construction activities of various projects.

• Rate actions taken so far by the Reserve Bank of India are consistent with achieving non-negative real interest rates by March.

• Parsvnath Developers today said it will invest Rs 225 crore in partnership with private equity firm Red Fort Capital to develop a high-end official complex in the heart of the national capital.

• Maharashtra-based Jain Irrigation Systems today said it has entered into an agreement to acquire an 80 per cent stake in UK-based Sleaford Quality Foods Ltd (SQFL), an industrial food ingredients supplier.

• Samsung Electronics will invest Rs 350 crore for expanding its manufacturing facility at Sriperumbudur near Chennai.

• Videocon today announced its plans of entering into financial services business through a general insurance company in partnership with US-based property and casualty insurer Liberty Mutual Group (LMG).

• Hyderabad-based GVK PIL is in talks with Middle East-based MEC Coal to buy its coal mine in Indonesia.

Activity in the Oil and Gas sector (including regulatory)

• British energy firm BG Group Plc plans to invest $500 million over next five years in its oil and gas business in India.

• Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) has beaten Chinese rival CNOOC to become Asia's top oil and gas exploration and production company.

• Oil and Natural Gas Corp (ONGC) is in talks to acquire a 25% stake in Australia’s Advent Energy for around $1 billion.

• GAIL India and Petronet LNG Ltd are eyeing stake in liquefied natural gas (LNG) projects being built in Nigeria to secure supplies for burgeoning domestic energy needs.

• UK-based Cairn Energy Plc has written back a letter last week to ONGC responding to all the concerns raised by the Indian oil producer regarding Anil Agarwal owned Vedanta’s acquisition of majority shares in Cairn.

Militant Activity/Terrorism (Particularly in Bangalore, Mumbai, Noida, Chennai, Coimbatore)

• The handler of American-born Lashker-e-Taiba terrorist David Headley carried out a reconnaissance in New Delhi when he came to the Capital in 2005 on the pretext of watching an Indo-Pak cricket match.

Labor/Social Unrest

• Security has been tightened in Azamgarh district of Uttar Pradesh following a clash between members of the Ulema Council and supporters of a Samajwadi Party (SP) leader.

• Normal life was disrupted in Srinagar and other major towns of Kashmir Valley today due to a strike called by the hardline faction of Hurriyat Conference.

Full Text

Basic Political Developments

Punjab bandh call: Radical Sikh leaders arrested



Wed, Nov 3 01:49 PM

Chandigarh, Nov 3 (IANS) Punjab Police Wednesday arrested radical Sikh leaders as a preventive measure after many groups called a state wide shutdown to highlight the delay in justice to victims of the 1984 anti-Sikh riots.

'Keeping in mind the law and order situation in the state, we have made some preventive arrests. Only those people were arrested who were trying to damage public property and to halt rail traffic. We did not use force against anybody,' a police officer said here Wednesday.

The Khalsa Action Committee (KAC), the Dal Khalsa and some other Sikh groups had Oct 28 given the call for state wide bandh (shutdown).

Around 200 agitators, including KAC chairman Bhai Mokham Singh and Dal Khalsa spokesperson Kanwarpal Singh, were arrested from Amritsar railway station Wednesday morning, according to police.

'We were peacefully protesting and sitting on the railway tracks. Punjab Police used force and dragged us from there. They arrested around 200 Sikh protestors from there and have kept them in detention in different police station,' Kanwarpal Singh told IANS.

'We had given this call on humanitarian grounds to pay homage to those who had lost their lives in 1984 riots. We were not disturbing the peace or law and order situation. This is a clear case of justice denial and violation of human rights,' Kanwarpal Singh said.

Singh added that Punjab Police have arrested around 100 Sikh leaders from various parts of the state to foil their bandh call.

Shopkeepers who on their own wanted to join the bandh were forced by the police to open their shops, he claimed.

In their bandh call, Sikh leaders said they would not stop private vehicles, and hospitals and chemist shops would be allowed to function normally.

However, Wednesday's bandh largely turned out to be a lukewarm affair, with police disallowing the protestors to gather in large numbers anywhere.

Punjab is ruled by the pre-poll alliance of the Shiromani Akali Dal and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

Court seeks report on speeches of Geelani, Arundhati



New Delhi, Nov 3 (PTI) A Delhi court today asked the city police to file a report on a complaint seeking prosecution of hardline Hurriyat leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani and writer Arundhati Roy on the charges of sedition for their alleged anti-India statements.

"The Station House Officer of the concerned police station is directed to file a status report on November 16," Metropolitan Magistrate Navita Kumari Bagha said.

Earlier, Vikas Padora, counsel for complainant, Sushil Pandit, submitted that the prima facie case of sedition was made out against the accused as they had openly challenged the integrity and the authority of Government of India .

"Being a citizen of this country, the complainant is duly empowered by the Constitution to seek registration of an FIR against the accused persons for various offences against the nation," Padora argued.

Navy submits report on Adarsh scam to Defence Ministry



After ordering a probe into the issue, the Defence Ministry had sought reports on the controversy and its past background from the Army, Navy and the Defence Estates.

The Indian Navy today said it has submitted its report on the Adarsh Housing Society scam to the Defence Ministry.

The report along with the recommendations of the Navy for the future course of action has been sent to the Defence Ministry, Navy sources said here.

After ordering a probe into the issue, the Defence Ministry had sought reports on the controversy and its past background from the Army, Navy and the Defence Estates.

A controversy has erupted over how the Adarsh Society in upscale Colaba, originally meant to be a six-storey structure for housing Kargil war heroes and widows, was converted into a 31-storey building.

The high-rise is built on 6,450 sq metres within the Colaba naval area and was cleared on the condition of housing war veterans but now has 104 members, including former service chiefs, senior serving Army officials, a former Environment Minister, legislators and state bureaucrats.

139 candidates with criminal records in fifth phase



Patna, Nov 3 (PTI) As many as 139 candidates figuring in the fifth phase of Bihar Assembly elections have criminal charges pending against them.

35 Assembly constituencies will go to poll in the fifth phase on November nine.

This was found after examining 441 affidavits of the candidates, Kumar Anjesh, state coordinator of NGO 'National Watch,' told reporters here.

Of 139 contestants, 75 were facing serious criminal charges like murder and attempt to murder, he said.

Claiming that all major parties have given tickets to candidates with pending criminal cases, Anjesh said the RJD topped the list with 65 per cent followed by JD(U) (59 per cent), BJP (54 per cent), Congress (40 per cent), BSP (40 per cent) and LJP (33 per cent).

Three to four women too figured in the list of the candidates with criminal antecedents contesting the elections in the fifth phase, he added.

National Economic Trends

Business, Energy or Environmental regulations or discussions

Coal India to debut at Rs 280-300 tomorrow



New Delhi, Nov 3 (PTI) State-run Coal India (CIL), which garnered Rs 15,200 crore through its initial public offer (IPO), is likely to make a powerful debut in the range of Rs 280-300 on the bourses, thereby giving a boost to the broader market, say analysts.

"Coal India would witness a remarkable debut on Dalal Street, which would uplift the broader market sentiment.

Investors are likely to earn smart gains from the listing, which should be in the range of Rs 280-300," Geojit BNP Paribas Financial Services AVP Gaurang Shah said.

The issue price of the country's largest IPO has been fixed at Rs 245 a share -- the higher end of the price band of Rs 225-245.

The Bombay Stock Exchange's Sensex, which is hovering in and around 20,500-mark, has its eyes all set on CIL's listing, which is likely to drive the market to some cheerful note.

Ansal API plans to raise up to 400 cr from PE deals



New Delhi, Nov 3 (PTI) Realty firm Ansal Properties & Infrastructure plans to raise up to Rs 400 crore from private equity players this fiscal to partly repay its high cost debt and fund construction activities of various projects.

According to sources, Ansal API is in talks with private equity firms to raise Rs 300-400 crore by diluting stakes in some of its townships, being developed in North India.

Last month, the company had raised Rs 231 crore through private placement of shares to institutional investors for reducing its debt and execute ongoing projects.

"Ansal API is in advanced stages of negotiations to close a deal for Sushant Golf City in Lucknow. It is tying up with a PE fund for a special purpose vehicle, comprising some of the projects within the township," a source said.

In Lucknow, the company is developing a 3,530-acre hi-tech township.

Reserve Bank of India actions to ensure non-negative real interest rates



MUMBAI: Rate actions taken so far by the Reserve Bank of India are consistent with achieving non-negative real interest rates by March, deputy governor Subir Gokarn told told analysts in a conference call on Wednesday.

On Tuesday, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) raised its key policy rates for the sixth time since March and said it was unlikely to adjust rates again in the near future but would remain vigilant about inflation that remains above its comfort level.

Parsvnath, Red Fort Cap launch Rs 225 cr office bldg in Delhi



NEW DELHI: Realty firm Parsvnath Developers today said it will invest Rs 225 crore in partnership with private equity firm Red Fort Capital to develop a high-end official complex in the heart of the national capital.

The company today started the construction of the project 'Red Fort Parsvnath Tower', having a built up area of three lakh sq ft, located on Bhai Veer Singh Marg near Gole Market.

Last month, Parsvnath had sold 24.5 per cent stake in the project, which it bagged from Delhi Metro Rail Corporation, on a BOT (build-operate-transfer) basis, to Red Fort Capital for Rs 120 crore.

"The project cost of this official complex will be Rs 225 crore and it would be completed in the next 18 months. The construction would be done by L&T and the project will be high-end, catering to the needs of the future generation," Parsvnath Chairman Pradeep Jain told PTI.

The company expects Rs 100-120 crore per annum as rental from this project starting from 2012-13 fiscal. "We expect rental at over Rs 300 per sq ft per month," Jain said.

The total project cost includes Rs 99.5 crore upfront payment made to DMRC.

Parsvnath has a land bank of 194 million sq ft, of which it is undertaking construction of 80 million sq ft on fast track basis.

To cut debt running into Rs 1,100 crore and meet construction cost, the company has been raising funds through private placement of shares to institutional investors and private equity at project level.

Also last month, Parsvnath Developers had announced that it has raised Rs 270 crore through private placement of shares with institutional investors to fund ongoing projects.

In 2009, the company had raised Rs 168 crore through the QIP route and Rs 190 crore through stake sale at project level.

Jain Irrigation to acquire 80% in Sleaford Quality Foods



MUMBAI: Maharashtra-based Jain Irrigation Systems today said it has entered into an agreement to acquire an 80 per cent stake in UK-based Sleaford Quality Foods Ltd (SQFL), an industrial food ingredients supplier.

It, however, did not mention the price of the acquisition.

The acquisition will help Jain Irrigation's food division to have a direct access to a large market with value-added products, a press release issued here stated.

Sleaford Quality Foods, a supplier of food ingredients to the food industry, has been in the business for more than 40 years and its product range covers a large spectrum of food ingredients including dehydrated vegetables, spices, herbs, dehydrated fruits, soup mixes, pulses and canned vegetables, among others.

Sleaford Quality Foods has a nation-wide distribution and strong sales force and sells its products to multinationals and other food companies under its own brand name or private labels.

The acquisition brings the domestic major one step closer to market, with an opportunity to enter into the large ethnic food market in the UK and possibility of addition of new products in Jain's food division product range, the release said.

"We are very pleased to be involved with Sleaford Quality Foods," Jain Irrigation's Managing Director, Anil Jain , said.

Jain has a call option for acquiring the balance 20 per cent stake based on earn-out model over a period of four-years, the release said.

Samsung to invest Rs 350 cr to expand Chennai facility



CHENNAI: Consumer durables major Samsung Electronics will invest Rs 350 crore for expanding its manufacturing facility at Sriperumbudur near here.

The company today signed a memorandum of understanding to this effect with the Tamil Nadu Government in the presence of Deputy Chief Minister M K Stalin , an official release said.

With the additional investment, Samsung would also manufacture consumer durables, electronic equipment, including mobile phone components.

Samsung had expressed willingness to make additional investment in the state when Stalin recently visited Korea and China.

In November 2006, it invested about Rs 450 crore in the Sriperumbudur facility to manufacture TVs, refrigerators, computer parts and accessories. It employs around 1,500 people at the facility.

"They already made investments of Rs 450 crore.. Now they will make additional investments of Rs 350 crore.. Through this there will be a direct employment of 1,000 people and indirect employment of 2,000 people...", Industries department Principal Secretary Rajeev Ranjan told reporters after the MoU was signed.

Videocon forays into gen insurance; to ink JV pact with LMG



MUMBAI: Consumer electronics major Videocon today announced its plans of entering into financial services business through a general insurance company in partnership with US-based property and casualty insurer Liberty Mutual Group (LMG).

The foreign partner will hold a maximum permissible 26 per cent stake in the JV with Videocon owning the majority. An agreement is expected to be signed between the partners soon.

The partners will be infusing USD 67 million as the initial capital for the company which will go up till USD 100 million after five years, by which time they expect to break even by collecting a premium of USD 300-million.

The JV will primarily focus on personal non-life products like motor, health, homes and small commercial business solutions, LMG's President David H Long told reporters here.

The company will be applying for necessary licenses from the regulator by December and hopes to go operational after September 2011, Long said.

This is LMG's second shot to enter the lucrative Indian insurance sector, Long said, adding the firm's two-year-old tie-up with FMCG major Dabur for general insurance did not progress due to myriad reasons like the global slowdown.

"We have not yet dissolved the agreement, however, it could not work out due to slowdown and time was not right. So we agreed to part ways," Long said, adding de-tariffing is a big booster for entering Indian market now.

GVK in talks with MEC Coal to buy coal mine in Indonesia



Hyderabad-based GVK PIL is in talks with Middle East-based MEC Coal to buy its coal mine in Indonesia. Both the companies are in advance talks and are working out the valuations for the coal mine, said a source privy to the developments.

The mine’s coal reserve is estimated to be at 1.5 billion tonne. The source added that though the valuations are still been discussed but it could be in the range of $700 million to $1 billion.

If the deal finalizes, GVK plans to lease out the mine to a coal operator. GVK has been on a coal mine hunting spree. It is also in the race to pick up a controlling stake in Australia-based Griffin Coal Mining .

Power is the main business segment for GVK PIL with 80% revenues coming from this segment. GVK group operates three gas-based power plants with 901 megawatts of capacity in the southern state of Andhra Pradesh. It is also building a 540 MW plant in the northern town of Tarn Taran and a 540 MW coal-based thermal Power plant at Goindwal Sahib, Punjab.

MEC Coal is a joint venture between MEC (Mineral. Energy. Commodities) and government of Ras Al Khaimah.

Activity in the Oil and Gas sector (including regulatory)

BG plans to pump $500 mn in Indian operations



NEW DELHI: British energy firm BG Group Plc plans to invest $500 million over next five years in its oil and gas business in India, company’s India head Walter Simpson said on Tuesday.

“We are looking at both upstream and downstream opportunities for expansion in India,” he said on the sidelines of the Petrotech-2010 oil and gas conference here.

BG Group has 30% stake in Panna/Mukta and Tapti oil and gas fields off the west coast. Besides, it has 25-24% stake in three exploration blocks with state-owned Oil and Natural Gas Corp (ONGC).

It has a 65.12% controlling stake in Gujarat Gas Co Ltd, which sells gas in Gujarat, and 49.75% stake in Mahangar Gas Ltd which retails CNG and piped gas in Mumbai. Mr Simpson said BG and its partners ONGC and Reliance Industries are planning further investment in raising output from the Panna/Mukta and Tapti fields.

The fields currently produce about 35,000 barrels of crude oil per day and close to 13 million standard cubic meters per day of natural gas.

He, however, refused to give details of plans for Panna/Mukta field.

ONGC beats China's CNOOC to become Asia's No.1 E&P firm



SINGAPORE: India's Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) has beaten Chinese rival CNOOC to become Asia's top oil and gas exploration and production company.

Under the stewardship of R S Sharma , ONGC climbed three places to take the top slot in the 2010 rankings released by Platts, one of the most respected global provider of energy and metals information, yesterday evening.

China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC) this year slipped to No.2 slot.

In the overall Platts Top 250 Global Energy Company Rankings, that rated world's leading oil and gas, power and coal firms, ONGC claimed to 18th slot from 26th position in 2009 rankings.

With revenues of $22 billion, ONGC reported a profit of $4.24 billion in 2009-10 fiscal, which forms the basis for the Platts rankings. It had assets worth $33.37 billion.

Under Sharma, ONGC has been able to arrest decline in output from its ageing fields through innovative use of technology and has set the floor for reversing the declining trend of the past by fast-track development of new and marginal fields.

Sharma will retire as Chairman and Managing Director of ONGC on January 31, 2011, but the initiatives taken under him will see the company's oil production rise to 28 million tons in 2013-14 from current currently over 25 million tons. Natural gas production is slated to rise to over 100 million standard cubic meters per day by 2014-15 from current 58.86 mmscmd.

Platts also ranked ONGC as the fastest growth company in Asia in the E&P sector.

The global list headed by ExxonMobil Corp of the US, had billionaire Mukesh Ambani-run Reliance Industries at the 13th position, Platts said.

Reliance had assets of $55.94 billion and revenues of $43.63 billion. It had a profit of $5.24 billion.

Embattled British energy giant BP Plc was placed second ahead of Gazprom OAO of Russia, Petrobras Brasileiro of Brazil, Total SA of France E.On AG of Germany, Petrochina Co, China Petroleum, Chevron Corp of US and Royal Dutch Shell.

Platts ranked Reliance Industries as the top oil refining and marketing company in Asia while state-owned GAIL India was ranked No.1 company among gas utilities. State-owned NTPC was ranked No 2 power utility in Asia behind Constellation Energy Group.

Indian Oil Corp (IOC) was placed third as Asia's refining and marketing company ranking, Bharat Petroleum on fifth and Hindustan Petroleum at 19th position.

Tata Power, with a compounded growth rate of 39.7 per cent over three years, was ranked fourth fastest growing Asian company. Reliance Infrastructure, with 28.4 per cent growth rate, was sixth on the list headed by China Resources Power Holdings that had clocked 50.5 per cent growth in the three-year period.

PowerGrid was eighth on the list while Reliance Industries was at 11th position, GAIL at 17th and IOC at 19th.

ONGC in talks for Australia’s Advent Energy



NEW DELHI: A consortium of India’s top state-run energy firms, led by exploration giant Oil and Natural Gas Corp (ONGC), is in talks to acquire a 25% stake in Australia’s Advent Energy for around $1 billion, two officials with direct knowledge of the negotiations said.

The development signals an increasingly aggressive approach of Indian state firms in targeting oil and gas assets abroad, in step with the oil ministry’s strategy that Indian firms should make at least one significant overseas acquisition every year.

ONGC , along with smaller exploration and production (E&P) firm Oil India (OIL) and gas transmission company Gail India , hopes to grab a share in the massive natural gas reserves of the Perth, western Australia-based unlisted Advent to help secure energy supplies for the country’s rapidly expanding economy.

Advent Energy has large gas reserves, including one block in the Sydney Basin that has an estimated 13.2 trillion cubic feet of recoverable natural gas, which is more than what Reliance Industries has discovered in its two main D-1 and D-3 gas fields in the Krishna-Godavari basin off the Andhra coast.

“We are looking at acquiring a minority stake in E&P company Advent Energy,” a director at one of the consortium members told ET, requesting anonymity as he was not authorised to speak to the media about the talks.

A senior official at another company in the consortium said the deal could be worth more than $1 billion.

ONGC, OIL and Gail did not respond to queries emailed by ET. Advent Energy and its controlling shareholder, MEC Resources , also did not respond to queries.

Australia has emerged as a new source of energy for India, which has traditionally relied on the Middle-East for its LNG sourcing. Petronet LNG has contracted 1.5 million tonnes of LNG a year from ExxonMobil’s Gorgon project in Australia for 20 years.

Australia had proven natural gas resources of 30 tcf and 1.5 billion barrels of proven oil reserves as of January last year, according to US-based Energy Information Administration. The country is fast emerging as major gas source for Japan, China, Korea, Taiwan and India. It exported 744 billion cubic feet of LNG in 2008, according to the EIA.

India, which imports about three-quarters of the oil it consumes, is encouraging state-run energy firms to buy petroleum assets abroad.

GAIL, Petronet eye stake in Nigerian LNG projects



NEW DELHI: State gas utility GAIL India and Petronet LNG Ltd are eyeing stake in liquefied natural gas (LNG) projects being built in Nigeria to secure supplies for burgeoning domestic energy needs.

Oil Minister Murli Deora discussed the possibility of GAIL and Petronet picking up stake in the USD 8 billion LNG project at Brass in Bayelsa state in the west African country's oil-rich Niger River delta, with Emmanuel O Egbogah, Special Adviser to Nigerian President here today.

Deora also discussed, as an alternative, the possibility of their participating in BG Group's Olokola LNG expansion on the south-western coast of Nigeria.

"We expressed interest in sourcing LNG (on long term contract) from Nigeria and discussed possibility of GAIL and Petronet joining in a LNG project," Oil Secretary S Sundareshan said on the sidelines of the Petrotech-2010 oil and gas conference here.

The state-owned Nigeria National Petroleum Corp has a 49 per cent stake in Brass LNG. Total SA of France, Eni SpA of Italy and ConocoPhillips Co each hold 17 per cent.

Nigeria, which had proven natural gas reserves of 185 trillion cubic feet, said it will consider India's request.

Sundareshan said India also sought additional crude oil supplies from Nigeria, which plans to raise its output from 2.7 million barrels per day to 4 million bpd by 2012.

"We can easily take 3-4 million tons more Nigerian crude on top of about 13 million tons that we currently source from them," he said.

The Nigerian official was "very positive" and asked Indian government to send a letter for formalisation of a government-to-government agreement.

State-owned Oil and Natural Gas Corp's (ONGC) progress on two deep-sea oil blocks in Nigeria was also reviewed at the meeting.

ONGC Videsh, which through a joint venture with steel baron Lakshmi N Mittal, is exploring for oil and gas in OPL 279 and OPL 285, stated that its minimum work commitment on the block would be completed by mid-January 2011.

ONGC Mittal Energy, the joint venture company of OVL and Mittal Investment Sarl, had promised to invest USD 6 billion in building either a 180,000 barrel per day refinery, a 2,000 MW power plant or a railway line connecting eastern and western Nigeria in return for two deepsea exploration blocks.

OMEL had in 2005 won rights to explore in OPL-279 and OPL-285 after agreeing to pay signature bonus of USD 75 million and USD 50 million for the blocks respectively.

Egbogah said Nigeria's crude oil output would rise to 4 million bpd by 2012 from 2.7 million now.

Sundareshan said Nigeria had also invited Indian firms to participate in its next exploration licensing round, expected in the first half of 2011.

Cairn writes back to ONGC on Cairn-Vedanta deal



MUMBAI: UK-based Cairn Energy Plc has written back a letter last week to ONGC responding to all the concerns raised by the Indian oil producer regarding Anil Agarwal owned Vedanta’s acquisition of majority shares in Cairn.

Cairn has said in the letter that ONGC does not have the right of first refusal (RoFR) on the $9.6 billion Cairn-Vedanta deal because this deal is a share transaction between two companies and ONGC does not have a stake in Cairn but jointly owns the Rajasthan block. Cairn further said that Vedanta has enough experience in running global companies and since Cairn India team will continue function post the deal the technical expertise will stay with Vedanta. When contacted both Cairn and ONGC declined to comment.

But Cairn Energy CEO Bill Gammell in a joint press conference with Agarwal last month had also said that “The deal between Cairn and Vedanta was a corporate transaction and not a transfer of assets. ONGC does not have pre-emptive rights.”

A few days after the press conference, ONGC in its letter dated 21 October 2010 to Cairn Energy had said that “the consent of ONGC would need to be sought for the proposed transaction and would also have the option of exercising its pre-emptive rights.” ONGC had also asked for “details of proposed buyers (Vedanta) financial strength, technical capability and past experience in the oil and gas field”.

Clearly, Cairn’s reply to ONGC now has created a deadlock where both companies are holding their ground on pre-emptive rights on Cairn-Vedanta deal. ONGC has also expressed concerns regarding who will pay royalty on oil production from Rajasthan block post the deal because until ONGC has been paying 100 per cent royalty. When asked if Vedanta would share the royalty burden Agarwal had told media last month that “There is no question of us paying any royalty. The agreement is very clearly written and the government is acting in accordance”

Some minority shareholders of Cairn India had also raised objections on Vedanta Resources paying Rs 50 non-compete fee to Cairn Energy over and above the offer price of Rs 405 per share to buy 40 to 51 per cent stake from it in Cairn India.

In light of these developments, Cairn management wants the issue to be resolved amicably for speedy completion of the deal considering it is still awaiting approvals from market regulator SEBI and the government of India. The companies have until 15 April 2011 to complete the buyout, post which Vedanta will get nearly 66.9 million pounds or Rs 500 crore as break fee by Cairn Energy as per the terms of the deal.

Militant Activity/Terrorism (Particularly in Bangalore, Mumbai, Noida, Chennai, Coimbatore)

LeT men used Indo-Pak match as cover for a recce



New Delhi, Nov 3 (PTI) The handler of American-born Lashker-e-Taiba terrorist David Headley carried out a reconnaissance here when he came to the Capital in 2005 on the pretext of watching an Indo-Pak cricket match, according to an investigation report.

Headley while giving this information during questioning by the National Investigation Agency(NIA) reportedly said his handler Sajid Majid along with another LeT terrorist Abdur Rehman Hashim alias Pasha had visited India using the one-day match in 2005 as a cover.

The match, which was played on April 17, 2005, was historic since the then Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf was among the VVIP spectators along with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. India had lost the match by 159 runs.

"Sajid, of course did not reveal anything about this visit to me.

Labor/Social Unrest

Supporters of SP, Ulema Council clash in Uttar Pradesh



Wed, Nov 3 12:19 PM

Lucknow, Nov 3 (IANS) Security has been tightened in Azamgarh district of Uttar Pradesh following a clash between members of the Ulema Council and supporters of a Samajwadi Party (SP) leader, police said Wednesday.

The clash erupted late Tuesday in Jhaun village, where people from both sides indulged in heavy brickbatting and damaged many vehicles.

According to police, it all started when some members of the Ulema Council started raising slogans against local Samajwadi Party leader Adil Sheikh. The Azamgarh-based Ulema Council was constituted in 2008 to take up issues related to Muslims.

Several supporters of the SP leader later tried to block the way of the council's convener Maulana Amir Rashadi Madni, who at that time was going in a car in the village.

'When other members of Ulema Council came to know about the incident, they also rushed to the spot in a large number. A heated exchange of words led to a clash between the two sides,' police inspector Pankaj Kumar told reporters Wednesday in Azamgarh, some 300 km from Lucknow.

'The situation was brought under control only after security personnel from other police stations arrived at the spot. Additional security has been deployed in the wake of the late-night clash in Gambhirpur town. The situation is now completely under control,' he said.

Strike disrupts normal life in major towns of Kashmir



Srinagar, Nov 3 (PTI) Normal life was disrupted in Srinagar and other major towns of Kashmir Valley today due to a strike called by the hardline faction of Hurriyat Conference.

The main markets in the towns wore a deserted look with shops, business establishments and private offices closed and most of the public transport off the roads. However, private and commercial vehicles were seen plying in large numbers on almost all routes.

The strike had little impact in smaller towns, including Chrar-e-Sharief in central Kashmir's Budgam district, Tangmarg, Uri, Karnah and Tanghdar in north Kashmir's Baramulla and Kupwara districts and Kokernag in south Kashmir's Anantnag district, where most of the shops opened and transport services were operating normally.

Security forces were patrolling different areas of Srinagar and other major towns to maintain law and order and scuttle protests.

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