Prime Minister's address to the Korean CEOs

Seoul:  It is a great pleasure for me to meet with you this morning. I would like to thank the leading Korean chambers of commerce and industry for organizing this interaction during my official visit to this beautiful country.

We in India admire the Korean people for the great economic and social progress they have registered. Despite the downturn in the global economy, Korea has sustained one of the highest growth rates among the OECD countries. These achievements are due to the determination, solid hard work and spirit of enterprise of the Korean people.

India too is one of the fastest growing major economies of the world. Despite the adverse international environment, we have managed to maintain a growth rate of 7% per annum in the last few years. I am confident that the strong fundamentals of our economy will help us return to a sustained growth path of about 8-10% per annum in the coming years.

Firstly, our domestic savings rate is about 33 - 35% of our GDP and growing.

Secondly, India has a very young population and over half of the working population is in its twenties.

Thirdly, over the past few years we have invested heavily in education, health and agriculture to give a new deal to rural India. Our rural markets are now booming and the middle class is growing rapidly.

Fourthly, we have been undertaking a huge expansion in our higher education and skill development infrastructure of ports, airports, railways, energy and roads. India is poised to continue to be a frontline player in the global knowledge economy.

Fifthly, we have very ambitious plans for the development of our physical infrastructure. We are planning to secure investment of almost US Dollar one trillion in the next 5 years in new projects in highways, power plants, mass transport systems, ports and airports. This will be achieved through both public and private investment and Public-Private Partnerships.

Sixthly, we are determined to pursue a strategy of green growth. We are committed to increasing energy efficiency and the share of renewables, including solar and nuclear power, in our energy mix. There will be large business opportunities and I am aware of Korean capabilities in environmentally friendly technologies.

Korean companies have always recognized these strengths and competitive advantages of the Indian economy. They were among the early investors to look at India as a strategic investment destination. Korean giants like LG and Samsung are household names in India. Hyundai has a 25% market share in India's domestic passenger car industry.

I recognize that sometimes our processes can be slow but there are effective mechanisms for resolution of problems and differences and a strong rule of law. The government is keen to move forward with the POSCO project and there is some progress in this regard. I believe that India is a stable and profitable long term investment opportunity.

Investment from Korea is a priority for India. We will take pro-active steps to address investor grievances and improve the business climate in the country. Many States of our Union have been actively encouraging foreign investment and we will support these efforts. I urge Korean industry to have faith in India.
After the implementation of our bilateral Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) on 1 January 2010, our bilateral trade has surged by roughly 65% in two years and reached a turnover of 20.6 billion US Dollars in 2011. However, it is still below its huge untapped potential. Therefore, President Lee and I decided yesterday to revise the bilateral trade target to 40 billion US Dollars by 2015. This is a challenge as well as an opportunity that we must both seize together. I look forward to hearing your views.

Thank you

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J&K minister's son, allegedly drunk, thrashes shopkeeper

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Lokpal Bill: Prime Minister's all-party meet fails to evolve consensus

New Delhi:  Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's all-party meet has failed to evolve a consensus on the Lokpal Bill.

Leaders of parties in Rajya Sabha including BJP's Arun Jaitley, BSP's S C Mishra, RJD's Ram Kripal Yadav, SP's Ram Gopal Yadav, NCP'S Tariq Anwar and CPI's A B Bardhan met at the Prime Minister's residence to discuss the controversial bill, to which 97 amendments have been moved by Opposition members in the Upper House. Union Ministers Pranab Mukherjee, P Chidambaram, A K Antony and Salman Khurshid were among those present at the meeting.

In his opening remarks at the meeting, the Prime Minister said that he wants to build a consensus on the Bill. The remarks come against the backdrop of the Winter Session washout over the Lokpal Bill. So, the all-party meeting was an attempt by the government for image correction.

During the meeting, a large number of Opposition and key allies like the Trinamool Congress and the DMK were unified on the issue of Lokayuktas in states. But all of them want states should be free to decide on the Lokayukta's constitution and if the Centre wants to talk about the issue, it should largely be an enabling legislation. Ramvilas Paswan-led Lok Janshakti Party rejected the Lokpal Bill in its entirety.

After the meeting today, the BJP slammed the government for not being sincere on the Lokpal Bill.

"The UPA partners were not in favour of the government draft. I think they should present an amended bill in Parliament; they have got the message loud and clear," BJP leader Arun Jaitley told NDTV.

The Left and some other parties want the CBI to be monitored by the Lokpal, especially in corruption investigations. There have also been demands for an independent investigation agency under the Lokpal to look at corruption cases.

"We suggested that foreign funded NGOs and corporates which have dealing with the government, and any such allegations of corruption in the access of these contracts should also come under the purview of the Lokpal. Many of us have given our suggestions in this regard but the general consensus that is appearing in the intervening period of three weeks, use this time to arrive at an understanding over these issues," CPM leader Sitaram Yechury told reporters after the meeting.

The bill cannot come up in the Rajya Sabha this week as we have to pass the Budget, he added.

"Whether it's CBI or any other investigation agency, the power to investigate and supervise the whole process should be granted to the Lokpal. If the CBI is investigating a corruption case, then that investigation should come under the Lokpal. There was no consensus on this issue but this is what our stand is," Mr Yechury said.

However, the Samajwadi Party, which has been supporting the UPA in Parliament, is not interested in Lokpal in its present form. The SP said it is a "flawed bill" and that it should be sent to a select committee of Parliament for review.

Social activist Anna Hazare and his team, meanwhile, have renewed their pressure on the government.

Mr Hazare told reporters in Delhi today," We've learnt that the PM's meeting has failed to evolve consensus. On March 25, we'll protest at Jantar Mantar. We will tell the people that the government is not serious about the Lokpal Bill, about fighting corruption. The bill in its present form will not be an effective tool against corruption."

The crisis is that in this meeting also, the government did not give any assurances. So, as of now, all the stated positions which were there in Parliament in the December Winter Session, have actually moved to the Budget Session. Now the government will come back again for discussion with what its views are.

The government's version of the Lokpal Bill has already seen over 90 amendments by different parties during the discussion in the Winter Session of Parliament. So, this time when the government comes on the floor of the House once again, it will be very difficult for the government to get it passed in the Rajya Sabha. Sources tell NDTV that the CBI issue - bringing the investigation agency under the purview of the Lokpal - is non-negotiable with the government. It is not in favour of any dilution of the CBI's powers or its supervision by any agency.

However, after demands by its key allies the DMK and the Trinamool on the Lokayukta issue, the government can  tweak the bill so that it creates an enabling model-law, allowing states to  decide on their own norms for the Lokayukta.

After today's  all-party meeting, it seems that the debate on Lokpal Bill might not resume in a hurry. And the bill's passage in the Rajya Sabha seems to be a very difficult, unless the Opposition and the government find a meeting ground.

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Karnataka porn scandal: Action against only one of three former ministers, says committee

Bangalore:  Of the trio of former ministers accused of watching porn in the Karnataka Assembly, two have reason to exhale. A committee, set up by the Assembly, has found there is evidence to merit action against only one of them - Lakshman S Savadi.

On February 7, three ministers were seen watching porn on a cellphone. The incident was captured by the camera crew of a private TV channel that was covering the proceedings in the Assembly that day.

The trio - Lakshman S Savadi, CC Patil and J Krishna Palemar - were forced to resign. All three said they were innocent and were watching a news report on an incident of rape. The phone, it would later turn out, belonged to Mr Palemar.

A committee comprising seven MLAs was set up to investigate the incident. The opposition MLAs refused to participate in the inquiry, because they said that the former ministers should be expelled as MLAs. So the former ministers were questioned only by four members of their own party.

During the probe, it also emerged that over a dozen other MLAs may have also been viewing porn inside the Assembly. But ten of them were not in the terms of reference for the panel that submitted its report today.

The committee's report has been handed over to the speaker, KG Bopaiah.

The fact that two of the three men allegedly involved will be excused comes as huge relief to the BJP which is currently dealing with a revolt in its Karnataka branch. Former chief minister BS Yeddyurapa wants to return to office. He has 67 MLAs - more than half of the party's elected representatives - on his side.

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Mamata Banerjee to attend swearing-in ceremonies of Punjab and UP chief ministers

Kolkata:  In what might be seen as a snub to the Congress, West Bengal Chief Minister and the UPA's most troublesome ally at the Centre, Mamata Banerjee, will attend the swearing-in ceremonies of the chief ministers of Punjab and Uttar Pradesh. Reports earlier on Saturday suggested that Mamata would decline the invitation from Akali Dal to attend Parkash Singh Badal's swearing in on March 14.
"Just learnt that Mamatadi will be going to both Lucknow & Chandigarh for the CM swearing in ceremonies (sic)," tweeted Trinamool Congress (TMC) spokesperson Derek O'Brien on Saturday night.
In Punjab, the Akalis have been voted back to power with their partner, the BJP.  The Congress had counted on winning the state. Ms Banerjee's presence at the ceremony next week will be seen as an indication of her increasingly warm relations with Congress rivals like Naveen Patnaik of Odisha. Ms Banerjee has been a loud voice in a campaign by Chief Ministers who say the Centre is a serial offender of the principles of federalism.
Before Mamata's u-turn on her decision to skip the Akali Dal's invitation, earlier on Saturday, in no small measure of relief for the Congress, she said "she is not a traitor" and has no plans to create the need for mid-term elections. Ms Banerjee's recent decisions have led to unhappy confrontations with the UPA, of which she is an indispensable member.
Meanwhile, Mr Badal's son, Sukhbir Singh Badal, has explained that his invite to Ms Banerjee has "nothing to do with wooing." "We have invited Chief Ministers from several states because of personal relations Mr Parkash Singh Badal shares with them," he added.
While Congress leader Rashid Alvi declined to comment on the invite extended to Ms Banerjee, Congress General Secretary Shakeel Ahmed, who met Ms Banerjee on Saturday, sought to play down the matter, "Invitation extended to Mamata Banerjee for the swearing-in ceremony should not be seen as a political gesture," he said.
The BJP's Sushma Swaraj said after the recent state elections in Punjab and UP that mid-term polls are likely. Dinesh Trivedi, cabinet minister from Ms Banerjee's party, said this week that he believes his party may prefer mid-term polls to capitalize on the voter preference that gave Ms Banerjee a stunning verdict two years ago. He later said that was his personal view and Ms Banerjee has said in Kolkata that all MPs from her party have been alerted not to share private opinions.
The elections in Punjab and UP have demonstrated the political might of regional parties who their states identify with. Both national parties- the BJP and the Congress-were marginalised. In Punjab, the BJP won fewer seats than it had in the last state elections. It was saved by the strong numbers if its collaborator, the Akalis, with who it now returns to power.
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