PINK CHADDI YELLOW BUDDY and anti Woman Orthodoxy, KERALA Acrobatics, Bengal BORROW and Pay, India INCs Profit and KILLER Growth machine

PINK CHADDI YELLOW BUDDY and anti Woman Orthodoxy, KERALA Acrobatics, Bengal BORROW and Pay, India INCs Profit and KILLER Growth machine

Indian Holocaust My Father`s Life and time - Thirty Nine

Palash Biswas

The Fatwa and the Shulamite Taslima Nasrin. I was told that the location [of our meeting] was not to be ... which was lauded by Hindus but resulted in her first fatwah from the Muslims. ..... ISLAMABAD - Thousands of veiled women who support a Pakistani orthodox Islamic ... Unholy alliance West's new allies include vitriolic anti-Americans, ...
www.dhushara.com/book/zulu/zulu.htm -

WLUML: Publications -Taslima Nasrin, an anaesthetist who started to write letters to editors at an ... spur of a moment to depict the plight of the Hindu minorities in Bangladesh, ... that orthodox religious leaders had played a retrogressive role for women. ... an anti-imperialist role and have voiced protest over colonial oppression, ...
www.wluml.org/english/pubsfulltxt.shtml?cmd%5B87%5D=i-87-36656 - 28k -

Sales pitch by global biggies, 'desi' companies mark Aero India
Hindu - 2 hours ago
Bangalore (PTI): The five-day Aero India 2009, during which Global aviation majors and national firms displayed flying prowess of their machines, concluded at the Yelahanka Airbase here on Sunday.

India will press the US to sustain pressure on Pakistan to do more to bring the Mumbai terrorists to justice, when US envoy Richard Holbrooke meets Indian officials on Monday!

Savoring his first big victory in Congress, President Barack Obama on Saturday celebrated the newly passed $787 billion economic stimulus bill as a "major milestone on our road to recovery!


The War against Terrorism continues to engage the latest WAR ZONE , the Indian Ocean! Global RECESSION helps the DESI ILLUMINATI in making to escalate the KILLING Fields day by day and the WASHINGTON planted Anti National Anti People Impostors have adopted an Agenda of Mass destruction and ETHNIC CLEANSING. Non Issues have been focused as the main issues and ISSUES involving the life and death of the Indigenous aboriginal Minority Communities and even the privileged class like those working in PSUS have been DILUTED with an unprecedented EXERCISE of Mind Control and Brain Washing as DEPICTED very well in the VALENTINE DAY updates!



’Feminism in a neo-liberal age’

‘Women around the world are organizing in a common effort to end poverty and violence against women. What could be more important?’ Judy Rebick, Canada.

Hindus & Jews Press Orthodox Patriarch Bartholomew to Advocate! However, Hindus have a few women priests, ... and non-orthodox Judaism has allowed women to be rabbis, chair assemblies of rabbis and so on. ...!

Hindus and Jews have jointly asked Orthodox Patriarch Bartholomew to wholeheartedly and urgently come out in support of the long suffering Roma populace of Europe, who reportedly live under apartheid.

Acclaimed Hindu statesman Rajan Zed and prominent Rabbi Jonathan B. Freirich, in a joint statement in Nevada (USA) on january 19, 2009, said that since Patriarch Bartholomew enjoyed considerable influence in many parts of Europe where Roma lived, his support for the Roma cause would prove very effective in their upliftment, inclusion and integration, and bringing them at par with rest of European population.Zed and Rabbi Freirich argued that there was reportedly brazen structural discrimination of Roma in education, housing access, property rights, etc., in Europe. Anti-Roma attitude even showed sometimes in official speeches. According to an estimate, less than one percent of Roma children attended postsecondary education.As one of the leading religious figures of the world, it was Patriarch Bartholomew's moral obligation to work to stop human rights violations regularly suffered by this distinct ethnic and cultural group of Roma whose maltreatment was outside even the European Union norms, Zed and Rabbi Freirich pointed out.

Rajan Zed, who is the president of Universal Society of Hinduism, said that religions could not stay apathetic to societal truths. He stressed that it was not moral to remain unconcerned when fellow human beings were facing blatant injustice and discrimination right under our nose in Europe, and urged Patriarch Bartholomew and other world religions and religious leaders to show strong will, courage, and commitment in support of Roma cause.

His All Holiness, Bartholomew, Archbishop of Constantinople, New Rome and Ecumenical Patriarch is the 270th successor to the Apostle Andrew and spiritual leader of about 300 million Orthodox Christians worldwide. Hinduism, the oldest and third largest religion of the world, has about one billion followers and moksha (liberation) is its ultimate goal. Judaism is a monotheistic religion of world's about 14 million Jews whose most sacred text is Torah.


The CHADDI media in India has prescribed a DIFFERENT Liberation in COMMODITY and RETAIL Identity supported by the Marxists, I am afraid to opine! the interrelation of Indian religions and Woman may be defined as the women of India are an epitome of oppression and exploitation in the name of ... status -- a status methodically imposed by the Hindu orthodox and social ... on the status and role of Indian women were in fact quite anti-progressive ...!

Thirty-five percent of orthodox Hindu women believed that sati was a scriptur- ally sanctioned act for the salvation of a woman's soul.And see, how they happen to be crazy for the VALENTINE Day celebration which was never a part of Indian Culture or History. This is LOVE and SEX iconised to BOOST Business and strengthen the Desi ILLUMINATI in making. We know well that despite ideological Hypocrisy the Marxist Kayastha Brahims do stand behind India Incs and MNCs rock solid. The Disinvestment Policy and strategy episode exposes the so called Marxists more than enough! involvement of House Wives apart from the youth and teenagers in Valentine day celebrations, media Coverage of the Public Nuisense as SACRED RITUAL highlight the RETAIL CULTURE which makes the most of the Flase recession and Clash of civilisation. Interestingly, the Zionist and Hindutva stance on Woman Lib remains the same! Neither Hindutva nor the Zionism allow Woman Free. EVEN the Religion professed as EQUALITY and Justice and FRATERNITY, the most modern on scripted mostly on Social contract basis, ISLAM denies the Woman her Human and civil rights in this DIVIDED Bleeding Geopolitics. The Miserable WOMAN`s PLIGHT and sufferings all over the Third World and even in Black brotherhood remains identical. What a same. But the amusement of the Ruling Class is that the WOMEN LIB movement turns to end in BUSINESS Mobilisation at their will as well as a potential DIVERSION from the basic issues and necessities of day to day life!


Pink Chaddi yellow BUDDY is the slogan! The GENERATION NEXT is AXED or engaged to be FAIR with fairness meter. Anti Woman Orthodoxy is being practised by the Fascist RSS HINDUTVA forces which help Media as well as the Open Market to make the CRAZE of FREESEX iconised as CELEBRITE Fucking culture. The Marxists mobilise its Cadres as well as top guns to gear up in support of Capitalist market and retail chain in a FALSE RECESSION Environment . while Kerala witnesses an UNPRECEDENTED Marxist ideological Acrobatics and the second Marxist ruled state West Bengal lives on BORROW and pay culture. While the INDIA INCs balance sheet lodge profit to get more waivers and sops unconstitutional. The GROWTH MACHINE works full time round the clock with KILLING INSTINCT and Indian killing Fields cry for respite in Death and food Insecurity. Displacement, De industrialisation, Disinvestment, DEPRIVE and DEATH have been destined for everyone out of the Affluent Shining FREEsensex India under Post Modern Manusmriti Apartheid Zionist Rule!

Discovering Orthodoxy was like discovering the pearl of great price! the PEARL is status which the Indian and south Asian Woman folk are most Habitual of , it ensures the celestial Enslavement as the Women are SHUDRA and in accordance with our friend Taslima Nasrin, there won`t be any Human right, any CIVIL right, any liberty or so called democracy ensuring dalit Liberation or Woman Lib, until the RELIGION exists. the Progressive Marxists do everything to sustain religion and Brahaminical hegemony but speak aloud on Dalit liberation and Woman lib not to mention the RSS HINDUTVA stance!

In Hyderabad [A.P] Taslima was attacked three Muslim MLAs of MIM party an extremest political party. Taslima has written several books on prose and poetry. One of her famous book is Shame. She was there to unveil Hindi version of her book. When she was addressing in Press Club she was attacked by these persons. It is shameful act. India recognises freedom of speech . This is democratic nation and every one has a right and freedom to speak. She did not commit breach of the same.These MLAs had no write to assault.The police did not intervene in the matter and a formal arrest was made.

She is living in India since fleeing her mother land in 1994 after radical Muslims described her writings as blasphemous and demanding execution. She is exiled Bangladesh writer and should be protected so long as she is in India. Since she oppose the fundamentalist Muslims and Congress does not want to lose minority votes therefore she is not being given Indian Citizenship. If all things remain the same she should be given citizenship.

P.S. To day on 14 th August 2007 Siv Sena activists attacked 'Outlook' magazine office in protest of some thing writtened against Suprimo Bal Thackery. Is it proper for Siv Sena? Are we Indian have no liberty to express our views? Who are they to dictect others what to write and what not? Very bad and I condemn in the above reference.



Kerala Acrobatics!

Remember the FATE of DALIT CPIM ICONN Gauri Amma who was never allowed to be the CM of kerala and at last ousted from the party to ensure the BRAHAMINICAL Hold on the party SUSTAIN! It would help to understand Kerala Acrobatics!Brushing aside Chief Minister V S Achutanandan's reservations on the issue, the CPM on Saturday strongly backed its Kerala leader Pinarayi Vijayan, who faces corruptions in a CBI case on the Lavalin scam, saying it was ‘politically motivated’. "Since the case is political motivated, it is unfortunate that the CBI is not not immune from political pressure in the hands of the ruling party at the Centre," the party Politburo said in a statement at the end of the meeting. The statement issued by CPM general secretary Prakash Karat after the meeting, which was attended by Achutanandan and his rival Vijayan, said the party has always been of the view that any person holding public office should step down if prosecution is launched by the CBI.

"This does not not apply to Comrade Vijayan as he is not not a minister or holding any public office. We will fight the case politically and legally if it comes up in court," it said. While the party feels it is a politically motivated case against Vijayan, the Chief Minister has refused to toe the line saying as a person in constitutional office he cannot take such a view.


The country's top 10 firms added over Rs 31,000 crore to their combined market valuation in the past week, which witnessed an uptrend in the stock market, even as Infosys and ITC suffered losses. At the end of Friday's trade, the total market value of the 10 most valued firms, comprising six public sector and four private sector entities, stood at Rs 10,75,484 crore, up from Rs 10,44,468.72 crore a week-ago. Ironically,Projecting that the Indian economy is likely to slow down further and grow by below seven per cent in the second half of this fiscal, industry chamber CII has asked the Government to announce further stimuli to prop up growth. In a report on State of the Economy, the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) also asked the RBI to signal more cut in interest rates, given subdued prices which may fall further during 2009-10. While the premium club gained Rs 31,014 crore in their valuation last week, Infosys and ITC together lost Rs 3,162.39 crore. Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Industries gained the most and added Rs 7,468 crore, taking its market capitalization (M-Cap) to Rs 2,18,907 crore. Meanwhile,Giving some hope to crisis-ridden Satyam, the World Bank has said it could review the eight-year ban imposed on the company provided the software exporter takes ‘corrective action’. A World Bank official said Satyam has to show it has again become a responsible vendor to do business with, when asked whether the multilateral lending agency would relax the ban on the software exporter.

On the other hand, US firms are getting 'very restless' over procedural delays in implementing a civilian nuclear deal with India when the United States is gripped by a severe economic crisis, the American ambassador to India said on Friday. Last year's multi-billion dollar deal has got bogged down by issues such as accident liability protection for US companies which have lobbied hard for a slice of India's lucrative nuclear market.

How the world is run by Zionism, latest updates from Middle east would clear that where an ultra-Orthodox Jewish party run by an octogenarian rabbi who has said Hurricane Katrina was divine punishment emerged Thursday as the kingmaker in forming the next Israeli government.
Having won a fight to be leader of the ruling Kadima Party, Tzipi Livni now will likely need Shas as a partner to become prime minister. But Shas opposes any compromise on occupied Jerusalem, and including it in a coalition could tie her hands in peace talks with the Palestinians. Livni's narrow victory in a party primary Wednesday to replace corruption-tainted Prime Minister Ehud Olmert as Kadima's chairman means she can become prime minister if she can put together a coalition government of her own. Livni, now the foreign minister, has said she would like to keep the current four-party coalition intact.

Two of Kadima's partners, Labor and the Pensioners, aren't expected to balk. But Shas and its spiritual leader, Rabbi Ovadia Yossef, are wild cards. The party holds 12 of parliament's 120 seats, enough to make or break the current majority bloc of 67 lawmakers.

Livni had barely declared victory Thursday morning when Shas laid down its demands.

"If it's clear Jerusalem is on the negotiating table and social-economic needs are not taken into consideration, then we won't be part of the coalition," Shas spokesman Roi Lachmanovitch said.

Formal coalition negotiations won't begin until Olmert officially resigns and President Shimon Peres assigns Livni the task of forming a new government, which could happen next week.

But Livni said she would begin informal coalition negotiations immediately. In one of her first acts as Kadima leader, she scheduled a meeting with Shas leaders late Thursday. Shas leader Eli Yishai said they discussed setting up a coalition.

If Livni can't keep the coalition intact, elections would likely be called for early next year — some 18 months ahead of schedule. In either case, Olmert will remain as a caretaker leader until a new Cabinet is approved.

With opposition leader Benjamin Netanyahu and his hard-line Likud Party polling well, Livni is under heavy pressure to keep the 67-seat coalition intact and avoid elections.

Shaul Mofaz, the ex-defense minister and military chief who lost to Livni in the Kadima primary, called a news conference to announce plans to leave politics.

He did not say whether he planned to resign now or just not to seek another term in parliament.

Israeli politicians traditionally have been willing to meet Shas' spending demands.

But declaring a moratorium on Jerusalem negotiations would be tough for Livni. As Israel's lead peace negotiator, she is committed to discussing all issues with the Palestinians. The future of occupied Jerusalem, taken by Israel in its 1967 war against its Arab neighbours, is at the heart of the conflict.

Menachem Friedman, an expert on Jewish religious society in Israel, said Shas ultimately wants to stay in the government. He said Shas realizes any agreement with the Palestinians is a long way off.

"Jerusalem is a matter of wording," Friedman said. He thinks Shas will be more intransigent about its budget demands because the ultra-Orthodox Jewish sector, where most men shun work for religious study, is in desperate need of resources.

With Yossef at the helm, Shas burst onto Israel's political scene in the 1990s, appealing to the resentment of Sephardim — Israelis of Middle Eastern and North African descent — who were long snubbed by Israel's European-born ruling elite.

Yossef a former chief rabbi of Israel, who was born in Iraq, enjoys a papal-like authority among his followers, who revere him for his religious scholarship and his devotion to empowering the disenfranchised Sephardim.

But in wider Israeli society, Yossef — known as much for his sunglasses, turban and gold-embroidered robes as his sometimes outrageous pronouncements — is highly controversial.

He he did not support the 1990s peace agreements with the Palestinians and denounced Israel's withdrawal from the Gaza Strip in 2005.

In one speech, Yossef said the Old City of Jerusalem, home to shrines sacred to Judaism, Islam and Christianity, was "swarming" with Palestinians "like ants", even though the Palestinians were the original inhabitants of the land.

"They should go to hell — and the Messiah shall speed them on their way," he said.

On another occasion, Yossef castigated then-Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's Gaza pullout, then implored: "May God strike him down."

Yossef also stirred controversy by describing the Holocaust as God's retribution against the reincarnated souls of Jewish sinners. He said Katrina was punishment for godlessness in New Orleans and US support for the Gaza pullout. And he once said that "walking between two women is like walking between two donkeys or between two camels."


Former US President George Bush signed the agreement with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in the face of domestic critics who said it violated the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT).

The deal, which will give India access to high-end technology and nuclear fuel for its reactors, brought India out of 30 years of nuclear isolation. But the Indian government has so far only allocated sites for the construction of nuclear installations to France and Russia.

Both those governments shield their companies from liability for an industrial accident, unlike the United States, and American companies want New Delhi to help lift the burden.


"Two other countries have already been given sites and the American industry is getting very restless about the delay because they're anxious to get going," Ambassador David Mulford said at a conference in New Delhi.


Mulford made the case for a speedy implementation of the deal saying it would not only help India meet its growing energy needs but help the United States economy create jobs at a time when it was "suffering very, very severely".

The overwhelming services sector, which remained buoyant despite global crisis, may be hit by decline in overall business prospects. "However, as business opportunities dry up in sectors such as banking and finance, real estate, trade, hotels and transportation, there is a potential for further slowdown in the services sector," the chamber said.

It further said that only social and personal services are likely to remain buoyant, as it would be driven by the Government spending.

On growth in investment, CII said recession is likely to result into further deceleration, while the government and private consumption would remain less affected.


During the week, shares of RIL gained 1.42 per cent to Rs 1,390.95. The jump in the scrip pulled up its valuation from Rs 2,11,440 crore in the week-ago period.

IT bellwether Infosys witnessed an erosion of Rs 1,861 crore in its valuation in the previous week and dropped to seventh position from last week's fifth. At the end of Friday's trade, its M-Cap stood at Rs 71,849 crore.

Also diversified conglomerate ITC saw its valuation declining to Rs 67,536 crore, a drop of Rs 1,301 crore. It also slipped one place in the top 10 club to ninth position.

Ambani among Forbes' Powerful Billionaires!

Indian-born steel tycoon Lakshmi Mittal and Reliance Industries' Chairman Mukesh Ambani are among the 20 most powerful billionaires in the world, as they possess not only the riches but also economic dominance as well as political clout, says Forbes.
The Indian steel baron and the head of India's largest private sector company were included in the list of "The World's Most Powerful Billionaires" and according to Forbes "(they) have tremendous sway over the world's markets, workers -- and, in some cases, armies."

Lakshmi Mittal, who controls the world's largest steel firm, ArcelorMittal, has been ranked third on the list "despite his fortune falling USD 24.5 billion between March and November 2008".

Elaborating his power quotient, Forbes says, Mittal's political clout often incites controversy. "In 2002, then British Prime Minister Tony Blair reportedly wrote a letter to the Romanian prime minister hinting a sale of the country's steel company to Mittal would facilitate its entrance into the European Union," the US business magazine said.

Ambani, head of Reliance Industries, India's largest company by market cap, was ranked seventh on the coveted list.

"(The company) produces oil, gas, petrochemicals and textiles.

Personally funding construction of a 27-story home in Mumbai that could cost USD two billion," Forbes says.


US stimulus bill to hit Indians, H1-B visa holders

The US Congress has barred firms receiving government bailout from hiring Indians and other foreign workers through the skilled worker visa (H1-B) programme, if they are replacing American workers.
The bar comes even as IT firms in the US and India are demanding an increase in the H1-B visa, which is capped at 65,000 a year now.

Indians account for a majority of those with H1-B visa, issued to non-immigrant skilled workers for up to six years.

Restricting hiring of H1-B visa holders forms part of American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, widely known as the stimulus bill, that was passed by the Congress on Friday.

With thousands of jobs being cut by US companies almost daily over the past few months, there have been widespread apprehensions that these positions could go to low-cost foreign workers or might be outsourced to places like India.

The government data for 2008 shows that about 5.7 lakh Indians were issued H1-B and other non-immigrant visas.

Experts believe the Congress' move would certainly impact hiring of H1-B visa holders, thus affecting in a big way the engagement of Indian techies in the US, but might not affect outsourcing of jobs to places like India.

About two years ago, the US had cut down the H1-B visa limit to 65,000, from 1,95,000 a year previously.

IT firms, both Indian and American, have been asking to raise the cap to allow the companies in the US greater access to the growing talent pool across the world.

Senator Bernie Sanders, who along with another Senator Charles Grassley had moved the proposal for such restrictions, said that about a dozen banks which are getting over USD 150 billion as the bailout money have sought visas for over 21,800 foreign workers in past six years to replace sacked Americans.

These banks have announced at least one lakh job cuts in the recent months, Sanders noted.

Earlier this month, India-born international economist Jagdish Bhagwati also argued that the provision to restrict hiring of H1-B visaholders would deprive the US of the best global talent which comes in the form of highly trained and talented people.

"In terms of broader considerations like the people who are coming in on H1-B visas -- they're frequently highly trained and talented people and a lot of our progress and prosperity depend on having such people," Bhagwati, Professor of Economics at the Columbia University had said.

The American Immigration Lawyers Association, which also has been opposing the measure, described the Congress approval as ‘disappointing’ and argued that this would prove to be counterproductive as it prevents the US companies to hire the best available global talent.

The amended stimulus bill would require the banks receiving the bailout money to hire only Americans for two years unless they could prove they were not replacing laid-off Americans with guest workers, Sanders had said.

"With thousands of financial services workers unemployed, it is absurd for banks to claim they can't find qualified American workers," Sanders said.

"While we are suffering through the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression, the very least we can do is to make sure that banks receiving a taxpayer bailout are not allowed to import cheaper labour from overseas while they are throwing American workers out on the street," he said.

In addition to banks, the Sanders-Grassley provision also restricts hiring of guest workers at any other firm that receives funds under the Troubled Asset Relief Programme or from emergency loans made by the Federal Reserve.

Indian ADRs lose $2.5 bn in a week

Indian stocks trading on American bourses witnessed a value erosion of 2.5 billion dollars, with IT bellwether Infosys shedding as much as 1.35 billion dollars in one week.
The 16 Indian entities listed as American Depository Receipts (ADRs) saw their collective market capitalization tumble 2.5 billion dollars for the week ending February 13.

Infosys emerged as the biggest loser for the week, as its valuation plunged by 1.35 billion dollars, while another software exporter Wipro's market-cap dropped by 743 million dollars.

Besides, leading private sector lenders HDFC Bank and ICICI Bank together lost 340 million dollars. The valuations of HDFC Bank and ICICI Bank fell by 227 million dollars and 117 million dollars, respectively.

However, bucking the trend, telecom entity Tata Communications managed to additions to its market-cap. The entity gained 107 million dollars during the week, which saw highly volatile trading sessions in the American bourses.

Crisis-ridden Satyam Computer Services saw its market value increase marginally by 24 million dollars. Hit by a massive accounting fraud, the new board of the software exporter is looking at various options, including possible sale to revive the company's battered fortune.

On the other hand, for the week ending February 6, the ADRs had added 4.4 billion dollars to their total valuation.

Among the 16 Indian ADRs trading on the New York Stock Exchange and Nasdaq, auto maker Tata Motors, pharma major Dr Reddy's Laboratories and outsourcing firm Genpact too recorded declines in their valuations.

While Tata Motors' market-cap decreased by 73 million dollars, that of Dr Reddy's slid by 69 million dollars.

Further, Genpact shed 62 million dollars.

During the week, telecom company Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Ltd and copper producer Sterlite Industries witnessed their valuations rise by 41 million dollars and 35 million dollars respectively. BPO entity WNS too ended with a gain of 3.4 million dollars in its market-cap.

Software exporter Patni Computer Systems, BPO company EXLService, internet firms Rediff.com and Sify Technologies saw a market value erosion in the range of 2-25 million dollars.

Last week, the much-awaited stimulus package worth nearly 800 billion dollars was passed by the US Congress. The new plan proposed by the Obama administration is aimed at reviving the American economy and is expected to create about four million jobs in the coming months.



Bengal in borrow & pay
JAYANTA ROY CHOWDHURY
New Delhi, Feb. 14: Is Bengal borrowing from Paul to pay Partho?

Maybe yes, say insiders in the Planning Commission, which the state government consulted before finalising its finances for the coming year.

The Bengal government plans to borrow Rs 19,677 crore during 2009-10 which, it believes, will help partly fund the Rs 22,513 crore it needs to pay interest on loans besides pensions and salaries.

The outgo, officials said, was around Rs 8,350 crore more than the annual plan of Rs 14,150 crore finalised by chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee and his finance minister Asim Dasgupta in discussions with Planning Commission deputy chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia.

Bengal wants to use the plan amount for development work to fight the economic slowdown through a “New Deal” package of direct jobs for the poor in road, irrigation and other infrastructure projects. The Centre will fund 23 per cent of this amount.

Plan panel advisers say the “fight” could have been more “impressive” had the state government not been in a situation where it is borrowing far more than what it spends on development work. “And that, too, much of it to pay interest on debts,” said one official.

Of the Rs 19,677 crore, the government plans to borrow Rs 450 crore from the state provident fund, Rs 3,000 crore from small savings, Rs 14,000 crore from the market and take Rs 1,600 crore in negotiated loans from financial institutions like Nabard and IDBI.

Sources said the problem for Bengal — where 14 lakh employees and pensioners were already reaching for calculators after the state pay commission on Thursday recommended a 30-36 per cent pay hike with effect from April 2008 — was its mounting debt.

The debt now tops Rs 1,40,000 crore or around 40 per cent of the state’s GDP. Around Rs 13,123 crore will have to be paid out as interest.

According to statistics published by the RBI, Bengal is the country’s third-most indebted state after Uttar Pradesh and Maharashtra. Moreover, Bengal’s balance from current revenues — the difference between revenue income and revenue expenditure — is a negative Rs 6,023 crore. Which is why it has to borrow to just pay salaries, pensions and interest.

“This is a case of near bankruptcy,” said former plan panel member S.P. Gupta. “The Centre has also borrowed heavily, around Rs 1,50,000 crore from the market this fiscal. But the Centre’s revenues are far higher and it can hope to manage this.... I don’t know how the state will.”

Bengal, possibly, realises it, too. While discussing the state plan, Bhattacharjee asked Ahluwalia to consider an extra Rs 20,000 crore as grant to states to help them cope with the slowdown.

The states may get it too, but central sources said the grants would be linked to actual expenditure on infrastructure projects, not for writing off past debt. “If states are willing to work on infrastructure projects, perhaps the Centre would look into this,” said Suresh Tendulkar, chairman of the Economic Advisory Council.



http://www.telegraphindia.com/1090215/jsp/nation/story_10537918.jsp