PRESS TRUST OF INDIA
New Delhi, 2 July
The base price for government’s 4.01 per cent stake sale in Hindustan Copper tomorrow has been fixed at Rs 70 apiece which will garner a minimum of Rs 260 crore to the exchequer.
The base price is at a discount of 3.65 per cent to the current market price of Rs 72.65 a share. HCL shares today slumped 6.62 per cent to settle at Rs 72.65 on the Bombay Stock Exchange over yesterday’s close.
“The floor price for the stake sale in terms of the offer for sale (OFS) guidelines shall be Rs 70 per share of Hindustan Copper Ltd,” the company said in a filing to the BSE. Earlier in the day, the empowered group of ministers (EGoM) on disinvestment, headed by finance minister P Chidambaram, cleared the stake sale in Hindustan Copper.
“The EGoM has cleared 4.01 per cent stake sale in HCL. The issue will hit markets tomorrow,” disinvestment secretary Ravi Mathur told reporters after the the EGoM meeting.
The government holds 94.01 per cent stake in Hindustan Copper. The stake sale would make the company compliant to the minimum 10 per cent public holding norm of market regulator the Securities and Exchange Board of India.
The sale of 4.01 per cent stake or over 3.71 crore shares through offer for sale (OFS) route at Rs 70 per share will fetch around Rs 260 crore to the exchequer.
The government had in November last year sold 5.58 per cent stake in HCL through OFS route at an average price of Rs 156.56 apiece. The stake sale fetched Rs 808 crore to the exchequer.
In September 2012, the Cabinet had approved 9.5 per cent stake sale of HCL. The government had then decided to go ahead with only one tranche of the issue.

PRESS TRUST OF INDIA
New Delhi, 2 July
India’s leather exports are expected to touch the $14 billion level by 2017 and may double jobs in the sector to five million, Council for Leather Exports (CLE) today said.
At present, the sector employs 2.5 million people mainly in leather hubs, including Agra, Kanpur, Kolkata, Chennai, Mumbai, Bangalore and Puducherry.
“We expect leather exports to touch $14 billion by the end of the 12th Five-Year Plan (2017). In the last fiscal, leather exports grew by three per cent to $5 billion,” CLE executive director, Mr R Ramesh Kumar said.
There has been a sluggish demand in the US and European markets, Mr Kumar  added.
He was talking to reporters on the sidelines of a function organised by Italy-based Riva del Garda which organises leather items fair named ‘Expo Riva Schuh India’.
The USA and Europe together account for over 65 per cent of the country’s total leather exports.
“We expect that jobs would be doubled to five million in the sector by 2017,” he added.

New Delhi, 2 July: India, current Chair of the Indian Ocean Rim Association for Regional Cooperation (IOR-ARC) and Mauritius will be co-hosting a trade ministerial level Economic and Business Conference (EBC) on ‘Deepening Economic Linkages for Balanced, Inclusive and Sustainable Growth’ in Mauritius on 4 and 5 July.  
The conference is supported by the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (Ficci). 
The Indian delegation will be led by Mr Anand Sharma, minister for commerce and industry, who will be accompanied by a high-powered business delegation comprising Ficci president, Ms Naina Lal Kidwai, and vice president, Ms Jyotsna Suri.     SNS

STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE
Mumbai, 2 July
Jet Airways stock crashed more that nine per cent in early trade today on both the Bombay and the National Stock Exchanges on reports that the Prime Minister’s Office has asked the Cabinet secretary to examine whether the joint venture deal between Mr Naresh Goyal-controlled Jet and Abu Dhabi’s Etihad Airways may jeopardise national security as is being perceived in certain quarters.
The sensitive deal, first of its kind under the relaxed FDI or foreign direct investment regime, involving 24 per cent stake purchase by Etihad for $380 million, market sources claim may face turbulence irrespective of staunch defence put up by the civil aviation minister Ajit Singh. 
Jet Airways share plunged more than nine per cent to Rs 438 on the BSE and Rs 435.15 on the NSE. It recovered following the aviation minister’s assurance that the deal is in the interest of domestic aviation sector. 
The stock closed at Rs 455.55, down 2.12 per cent on the BSE and at Rs 454.90, down 2.08 per cent on the NSE. 
Doubts, however, linger about the survival of Jet-Etihad agreement in the markets as well as in the aviation sector.
Market sources tend to link Jet Airways’ future with the success of the FDI deal as its losses have been mounting with every passing quarter. For the fourth quarter ended 31 March 2013, its loss stood at Rs 495.53 crore.
Mr Goyal, who holds 79.99 per cent controlling shares in Jet Airways via Cayman Island-registered Tailwinds Limited, was earlier asked by market regulator the Securities and Exchange Board of India to establish that Jet is wholly domestic airline before clearing the sale of 24 per cent stake to Etihad Airways using FDI route.
Aviation experts say the deal ran into problem after the Opposition politicians Mr Subramaniam Swamy of Janata Party and Mr Jaswant Singh, a BJP MP, wrote to the Prime Minister Manmohan Singh raising concern over “massive” allocation of weekly seats to Etihad Airways on its flights from Abu Dhabi to various domestic destinations. 
Mr Swamy, in a letter to the PM on 29 May, requested Mr Singh to investigate potential threat to the national security as he also alleged quid pro quo facilitated the signing of a deal between India and Abu Dhabi in April 2013 under which the Etihad Airways was offered 36,670 seats on its weekly flights to India. The Abu Dhabi’s airline agreed to buy 24 per cent shares in Jet Airways immediately after the seat allocation agreement in April.

Voltas AC price: Tata group  firm Voltas today said that it has increased the price of its air conditioners by up to five per cent to offset rising input cost due to rupee depreciation against US dollar.     pti
ONGC’s loss: India’s ONGC has lost the giant Kashagan oilfield to the Chinese after Kazakhstan blocked its $5-billion deal to buy US energy major ConocoPhillips’ stake in the Caspian Sea oilfield.     pti
Audi launch: German luxury car maker Audi, which launched RS 5 Coupe today, said it will soon increase prices of its models by up to three per cent to protect its margins in view of steep fall in the rupee.     pti
Gitanjali stake: Macquarie Finance (India) has acquired 5.43 per cent stake of Gitanjali Gems through invocation of 50 lakh pledged shares, worth Rs 106 crore at current market price, Gitanjali said to the BSE.     pti
Bajaj sales: Bajaj Auto today reported a 14 per cent decline in vehicles sale for the month of June  this year at 29,5749 units compared with 34,5162 units sold  during the corresponding  month of the previous year.     sns
Banking awards: Indian Overseas Bank has been awarded three awards in IPE BSFI Awards 2013 in three categories. Those are ~ Best Bank in PSU Sector, Best Bank in Rural Outreach and Best CSR Practices.     sns

Press Trust of India

NEW DELHI, 2 JULY: AirAsia top brass and Mr Ratan Tata, their advisor, today met several ministers here in an effort to speed up clearances for their proposed low-cost airline venture, saying they aimed to launch it by October.
Besides Mr Tata, who is the Advisor to AirAsia India, AirAsia Group chief Tony Fernandes and AirAsia India’s newly appointed CEO Mittu Chandilya held separate meetings with Finance Minister P Chidambaram, Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde, Civil Aviation Minister Ajit Singh and Commerce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma through the day.
The series of meetings came over three months after AirAsia got the FIPB nod to establish the joint venture for the proposed airline. The company is a 49:30:21 joint venture partnership between Malaysian carrier AirAsia, the Tata Group and Arun Bhatia of Telestra TradePlace.
As per procedures, the joint venture has applied for a No-Objection Certificate (NOC) from Civil Aviation Ministry and submitted documents, including names of the new airline’s Board, its CEO and other top officers, which were now being scrutinised for security clearance by the home ministry.
“They came here for security clearance for Air Asia. We will examine (their application) and take a call as soon as possible,” Mr Shinde told reporters after his meeting.
Mr Fernandes briefed all the ministers about the new appointments and other developments in the proposed airline, with the civil aviation minister saying that his ministry would give NOC as soon as the home mnistry clears the names. “They are working on that. When they get security clearance, they will apply to the DGCA (for flying permit). I don’t expect that it will take too long,” Mr Ajit Singh said.
Exuding confidence that Civil Aviation Ministry’s NOC “isn’t far away”, the AirAsia chief said: “Once we get that, the Scheduled Operator’s Permit (flying licence) application moves fairly forward and we have to just submit it. I keep repeating that in October I hope that would be the time we would like to start.”

Press Trust of India
WASHINGTON, 2 JULY: American whistle-blower Edward Snowden, currently sheltered in the transit zone of Moscow airport, has sought asylum in 20 countries, including India.
These asylum requests have been filed by Sarah Harrison, legal advisor of Wikileaks in the matter of Mr Snowden, the whistle-blower website said today, adding that the first two requests were made to Ecuador, followed by Iceland.
“On 30 June 2013 WikiLeaks’ legal advisor in the Edward Snowden matter, Sarah Harrison, submitted by hand a number of requests for asylum and asylum assistance on behalf of Edward J Snowden,” Wikileaks said in a statement.
“The requests were delivered to an official at the Russian consulate at Sheremetyevo Airport in Moscow late in the evening,” it said, adding the documents outline the risks of persecution Mr Snowden faces in the USA and have started to be delivered by the Russian consulate to the relevant embassies in Moscow.
The requests were made to a number of countries including Austria, Bolivia, Brazil, China, Cuba, Finland, France, Germany, India, Italian, Ireland, Netherlands, Nicaragua, Norway, Poland, Spain, Swiss Confederation, Venezuela.
The Obama Administration has warned countries not to give asylum to Snowden arguing that he is wanted in the USA on charges of espionage and leaking classified information.
The USA yesterday said Mr Snowden, whose passport has been revoked, would be given a fair trial and enjoys all the rights of an American citizen.
“We’re prepared to issue one-entry travel documents. He’s still a US citizen. He still enjoys the rights of his US citizenship, which include the right to a free and fair trial for the crimes he’s been accused of,” state department spokesperson Patrick Ventrell told reporters.
“He (Snowden) enjoys the rights and responsibilities of any US citizen, including the right to a free and fair trial under our Constitution,” he said, adding that “He has a country to return to, which is the USA.”
Mr Snowden worked for the NSA before he fled to Hong Kong last month with laptops full of confidential information. He is believed to be currently holed up in the Moscow airport’s transit zone since his arrival from Hong Kong on 23 June.
He is wanted in the USA on the charges of espionage and leaking classified documents. Documents leaked by him last month exposed a systematic and large-scale surveillance of phone and internet communications by the NSA around the world.
According to his leaks, the Indian Embassy in the USA is among the list of 38 diplomatic missions which were being spied upon by American intelligence agencies.
 

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Press Trust of India
NEW DELHI, 2 JULY: The Supreme Court today expressed concern over the sale of adulterated milk in the country, saying it is a serious issue and action needs to be taken by the state governments to curb it.
“It is a very serious issue. There is no doubt that it is happening all over the country. What action is being taken by the government?” a Bench of Mr Justice K S Radhakrishnan and Mr Justice Pinaki Chandra Ghose asked.
The Bench directed the governments of Haryana, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Delhi to file their response stating what action they are taking to put an end to the menace of milk adulteration, after the Centre submitted that it is for the state governments to take action on the issue.
The court said that it would later on expand the ambit of the PIL to include all the states in the country on the issue.
The Bench posted the matter for hearing on 31 July and made it clear that no further time will be given to the states to file their submissions.
The court also observed that the adulteration is because of gaps in demand and supply of milk.
It was hearing a PIL filed by a group of citizens, led by Swami Achyutanand Tirth of Uttarakhand, who have alleged that synthetic and adulterated milk and milk products are prepared using urea, detergent, refined oil, caustic soda and white paint, which, according to studies, are “very hazardous” to human life and can cause diseases like cancer.
Apart from a check on the sale of synthetic and adulterated milk and various dairy products, the PIL has also sought framing of a “comprehensive” policy on the production, supply and sale of healthy, hygienic and natural milk.
On 21 October, last year, the Centre had informed the apex court that over 68 per cent of milk in the country does not conform to the standards set by the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI). 
The Centre, in its submission, had referred to a survey conducted by FSSAI, which had found that over 68 per cent of the “non-conforming” milk was found in urban areas, 66 per cent of which was loose milk.
According to the FSSAI’s 2011 survey, the most common way of adulteration was found to be the addition of water, and the main reason for deviation from the standards was addition of glucose and skimmed milk powder. It had also found that some samples contained detergent.
The Centre’s affidavit had also stated that over 83 per cent of the non-conforming milk in rural areas was found to be loose milk.
The affidavit was filed in response to the notice issued by the apex court on 9 May, 2012.

Press Trust of India
NEW DELHI, 2 JULY: Mrs Sujata Singh, currently envoy to Germany, will be India’s next foreign secretary following an approval of her appointment by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, ending months of speculation on who will head the foreign services.
59-year-old Mrs Singh, a 1976 batch IFS officer, was a close contender for the top job along with India’s Ambassador to China S Jaishankar, who is a batch junior to her. His name was doing the rounds because of his excellent service record particularly as envoy to China.
Due to retire in July next year, Mrs Singh will now have a two year extension and will succeed Ranjan Mathai who is set to retire on 31 July.
Mrs Singh, who will be the third woman to head the services after Chokila Iyer and Nirupama Rao, is the daughter of T V Rajeshwar, the former Intelligence Bureau Chief known to be close to the top brass of the Congress.
Mrs Singh is the wife of former secretary (East) Sanjay Singh, who retired in April this year.
There were reports that she along with other diplomats who are senior to Mr Jaishankar were contemplating resignation in case of his elevation. Finally, the Prime Minister plumped for seniority.
Her name was cleared after the Prime Minister returned from his Kashmir visit last week. Though Mrs Sujata Singh has not done any diplomatic stint in India’s neighbourhood, she was undersecretary looking after Nepal from 1982-1985 before her postings in Europe including Italy and France.
 

We’ll rebuild Uttarakhand: Chidambaram
A Rehabilitation and Reconstruction Authority will be constituted
Authority will look into planning and development 
Blanket ban on construction along river-banks
Electricity and water bills to be waived in flood ravaged areas
Employment in the state under NREGA hiked to 150 days
Norms for relief and rehabilitation to be revised
press trust of india
New Delhi, 1 July
Government will seek financial aid from multilateral bodies like World Bank and Asian Development Bank for reconstruction and rehabilitation in flood-ravaged Uttarakhand, Finance Minister P Chidambaram said today.
He said funds will not be a constraint for rebuilding the mountainous state which had witnessed the worst ever floods last month that killed several hundreds and destroyed properties worth crores.
“We are trying to develop a (financial) package for rehabilitation and reconstruction for which we will go to multilateral bodies, like we did in Tsunami case,” Chidambaram told PTI.
“Prime Minister has already announced Rs 1,000 crore. Different ministries are using their own funds. Tourism has announced Rs 100 crore. Funds will not be a constraint. I have said it on the first day,” the minister said.
Besides seeking aid from these multilateral agencies, the government will soon send a joint team of Finance Ministry and Home Ministry to discuss with Uttarakhand state officials the redevelopment plan for the calamity-hit state.
“What I have approved is that a team from the Finance Ministry and Home Ministry will go to Uttarakhand to sit (and discuss) with Uttarakhand Government officers,” Chidambaram said.
In view of the gravity of the situation, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had last month announced financial support of Rs 1,000 crore to Uttarakhand for disaster relief, of which Rs 145 crore was released immediately.
Singh had also announced ex-gratia assistance of Rs 2 lakh each to families of those who had lost their lives and Rs 50,000 each to the injured, from the Prime Ministers National Relief Fund (PMNRF).
The government had also decided to provide from the PMNRF, an ex-gratia assistance of Rs 1 lakh each to those whose houses have been completely destroyed and Rs 50,000 each to those whose houses have been damaged.
Meanwhile, a total of 1,350 people have been evacuated from Badrinath while over 3,500 remain untraced in the flood-hit state even as a UN agency estimated that the number of missing could be over 11,000.
“There are some locals too like shopkeepers and ashram dwellers who also are being evacuated,” NDMA Vice Chairman M Shashidhar Reddy told reporters here today. The number of dead stands at 580 while the NDRF has rescued 8,634 people from Kedarnath taking the overall evacuation to 1,08,253 people, he said.
He said maximum deaths have occurred in the Kedarnath and Rambada areas while the number of injured registered so far has risen to is 3,119 compared to the figures of 436 on Saturday.
He said the total number of affected villages has risen from 2,000 to above 4,000.

statesman news service
Koraput, 1July
Union minister for human resources development (HRD), Dr MM Palam Raju expressed concern over quality of education in the country, while stressing on urgent steps to ensure improvement.
“Though there were many degree awarding institutions in the country, a number of meritorious students prefer foreign institutions for their higher studies due to lack of good quality of education here. Further, there was no Indian university amongst the top 200 universities in the world,” he said.
While addressing the third convocation of Central University of Odisha (CUO) here today, Dr Raju noted that increase in accessibility to higher education will improve the enrollment rate and also enhance of quality of graduates produced by the system.
“Necessary steps are being taken to revive the lost glory of India&’s higher education system and take at least a few of the universities into global top league,” he said.
The Union minister laid stress on students having knowledge on human values, self-awareness, creative thinking, problem solving, effective communication and inter-personal relationship.
“These skills were important for a healthy development of an individual and should find due place in the academic curriculum,” he added. 
Stressing on greater access to higher education, especially in remote areas, he listed out the initiates launched by the government which included scholarships, student loans and self-help schemes etc.
“Expansion of higher education has been made extensive with a projection to increase the enrollment of students to more than 3.6 crore by the end of Twelfth Plan period,” he informed.
In his Presidential address, Prof Dr K Srinath Reddy, chancellor, CUO described the nature of modern education as “problem solving education” and opined that education should pass through stages of knowledge and information and enable transformation. In this context he mentioned stalwarts like Goethe & Alfred Knaughthead.
Dr Raju conferred Doctor of Letters (Honoris Causa) on well-known social activist Ms Tulasi Munda. He also honoured eight meritorious students with gold medals for their achievement in the university. Post graduate degrees were conferred upon 143 passed out students across eight departments.
Among others, vice chancellor of CUO Prof Dr Surabhi Banerjee addressed the occasion.

press trust of india
NUAPADA, 1 JULY
Wildlife lovers can now savour many unexplored zones of Sunabeda wildlife sanctuary with the introduction of bus service to the picturesque forest reserve in Odisha’s Nuapada district.
The bus service has been introduced in the area to facilitate easy mobility of the forest dwellers including some primitive tribes, official sources said.
The sanctuary had been out of bounds for the tourists since 2004 following repeated Maoist attacks in the area including kills, they said.
On the inaugural journey flagged off yesterday by local MLA Rajendra Dholkiya, the bus went from the district headquarter Khariar Road to Barkot on the foothills of Sunabeda forest range, said Pravas Dubiya, Special Officer of the Chakotiya Bhunjia Development Agency (CBDA).
The bus would ply from Khariar Road upto Cherichuan gate in the sanctuary, a distance of 106 km, located on a plateau of 3000 feet above the sea level, he said.
At least two tribes – Chakotiya Bhunjia and Paharaiya – besides other forest dwellers inhabit the forest range.
People belonging to at least two gram panchayats of Soshenga and Michhapali near the sanctuary had been facing hardships due to absence of any commuting facility in the area and used to walk or trek long distances. “Introduction of the bus service will certainly a boon for them,” said an official.
The Western Odisha Development Council (WDC) had provided Rs 15 lakh for the purpose, he said.
The state government had banned entry of tourists into the wildlife sanctuary, which is also a tiger project, since 2004 to ward off any threat by the Maoists.
Tiger census in the sanctuary had also remained suspended since then, official sources said.

Indo-asian news service
Bhubaneswar, 1 July
India has a huge population of youngsters and elderly, and the housing sector needs to develop products to cater to their needs, Reserve Bank of India deputy governor H.R. Khan said here Monday.
"There is a need to have fixed-tenure long-term products for the younger generation. Also, there is a need to have products for the older generation," Khan told a gathering of bankers in the Odisha capital.
"There is a huge ageing population in India and who are retiring in good condition of health. But they are not able to leverage their good financial position due to lack of products," he said.
"One such product is reverse mortgage loan, which is unique. We need more products like this."
"Similarly, we need more products for people who do not have regular flow of income. For them, institutions like micro-finance institutions (MFIs), which are closely connected to the people, need to cater to them," he said.

press trust of india
Bhubaneswar, 1 July
With the rescue of three more persons from flood-ravaged Uttarakhand, the number of people from Odisha who have so far returned safe from the Himalayan state increased to 372 even as 38 others are still missing, official sources said today.
The state government had opened a control room at Resident Commissioner’s office in New Delhi and facilitated safe return of the pilgrims.
The state government extended financial assistance of Rs 5 crore to Uttarakhand in view of the devastation there, the sources added.

Koraput, 1 July: A district court today rejected the bail petition of Seashore Group Chief Managing Director Mr Prashant Dash in the chitfund scam for the second time.
The bail petition was rejected by the Sub-Divisional Judicial Magistrate, Koraput Ajit Patnaik.
“The court denied bail to Dash citing that investigation is under progress and a large number of investors are involved in the case,” said T N Murty, counsel of Mr Dash.
Mr Dash, who was accused of duping lakhs of gullible investors of about Rs 1,000 crore across the state, was arrested from Mumbai on June 19 in a case against him at Semiliguda police station in the district on June 6.
Mr Dash was produced before the Sub-Divisional Judicial Magistrate of Korpaut on June 23 and the court had rejected his bail plea on June 25.     pti

statesman news service
Balasore, 1 July
Since the mid-nineties, the media sector is witnessing  a vast change with the policy of globalisation  and privatisation.
As a result of this change, which has affected all sections of the country&’s population, scribes have also been facing a challenge in their profession, according to senior journalists.
This was the view of many who had assembled  to deliberate on the topic at a meeting here last evening.
The meeting ~ a lecture ~ was organised in the memory of late Chandra Kumar Mohanty on his third death anniversary which was presided by noted poet Mr Brajanath Rath.
Dr Subash Patra, professor of English and Mr Goutambudha Das, a scribe, also spoke on the occasion while Mr Prasanta Pattnaik and Mr Sampad Mohapatra were the guests of the evening.
Both of them shared their professional experiences, observing that they have found changes over a period of time due to various factors both in the print as well as electronic media.
They observed that journalists are facing a multi-pronged attack both from outside and inside. On one hand they are dealing with the pressure from politicians and bureaucrats, and on the other hand with the owner of the company or editor.
Despite working hard, most of the companies in the media sector are not looking after the basic requirements of their reporters. The successive state governments are mute to their problems  .
The journalists are also facing financial problems.
In the era of cut throat competition, media companies only weigh profits and losses.
At times, even truth is suppressed due to various factors.
Yet social media and web page media have emerged as a very powerful form of media, they observed.
 Mr Biraja Nayak, Ms Annapurna Nayak, Mr Ubachak Mohanty and Mr Utpal Mohanty  managed the programme.
A fruitful interactive
session was held after the meeting.

Statesman News Service
Bhubaneshwar, 1 July
Student unrest in Vani Vihar campus here led to unruly scenes in front of the Vice Chancellor&’s office today. A few glass panes and flower pots were damaged as students demanding withdrawal of the hostel fee hike turned violent.
The students threatened to boycott classes and launch an indefinite stir if the proposed hike was not withdrawn.
Senior officials of the varsity discussed with the students and announced that the fee hike has been put on hold.
The officials , however, maintained that the hike for different categories was in the range of Rs 5000 per month. It had been decided after due discussions in the PG Council meeting, claimed the officials. In view of the student protests we have decided to put the hike on hold , added officials of Vani Vihar.