SEOUL, Feb 5: South Korean President Lee Myung-Bak believes North Korea could detonate multiple devices when it goes ahead with a nuclear test expected in the coming weeks or even days.
In an interview published today in the Chosun Ilbo daily, the outgoing president also acknowledged the huge challenge the international community faces in seeking to wean Pyongyang off its nuclear weapons programme.
The North has signalled that it will carry out a “higher level” nuclear test very soon, in a defiant response to UN sanctions imposed after its successful long-range rocket launch in December.
Lee said “higher-level” suggested Pyongyang might attempt to detonate several devices.
“North Korea is likely to carry out multiple nuclear tests at two places or more simultaneously” in order to maximise scientific gains from an event that will be globally condemned, Lee said.
Experts around the world are gearing up to analyse any test for what it might reveal about the current status of the North’s weaponisation programme.
Of particular interest will be any sign that its scientists have succeeded in developing a warhead that can be fitted onto a missile.
“If the North produces miniaturised weapons that can be used as warheads on missiles, it would really pose a threat,” Lee said. “That’s why the whole world is watching it so intensively.”
Lee has only a few weeks left in office at the end of a five-year term marked by an almost total freeze of contacts between North and South Korea.
In his interview, he suggested that diplomatic efforts would make little headway in bringing about a significant policy shift in Pyongyang.
“I think it is difficult to persuade the North regime to give up the nuclear path,” he said.
Some predict the test will come before the Lunar New Year on February 10, while others suggest it will be timed to coincide with the birthday of Kim Jong-Un’s father and late leader Kim Jong-Il on February 16. (AGENCIES)
S Korea leader says North may stage multiple nuclear tests
Shifting of Bus Stand
Sir,
The shifting of Bus Stand (B C Road) to its new stand is demand of the hour. B C Road is quite busy due to a large fleet of buses present there. The city is experiencing peripheral expansion with smaller villages becoming part of the area under Jammu Municipality. As a consequences of it, more and more vehicles make their presence in the city limits.
The growing number is the cause of frequent traffic jams in the city. In case the intra Bus Stand is operated from its proposed State and Khanpur (Nagrota) Bus Stand also starts functioning, it certainly will decongest the city.
It has to be shifted today or tomorrow in view of the problems faced by people living in the city. Better today, than tomorrow. The Government has wherewithal with it, but it needs only political will to do so.
Yours etc….
Raju Gupta
Jammu
Decongesting Jammu
Sir,
Because of population increase, Jammu has largely enlarged in size and shape. The population in Jammu has risen to 11 millions. New colonies have come up in and around the city of Jammu while keeping in view the housing need of the people so good and so forth. The colonies raised by private agencies lack proper planning and structure.
It is also a fact that most interior parts of Jammu city are congested. The old infrastructure of roads and by lanes has remained the same to a large extent as it was in the past. Narrow roads have not seen widened. The movement of vehicles on these roads has become a nuisance. No foot paths are visible for the pedstrains on several roads which causes threat to their lives. Traffic jams have now become a regular phenomena in the city of temples.
The heritage busedings in and around Jammu have their old grandour and are very attractive even today. Jammu has also remained an entry gate not only to the Kashmir valley but also Rajouri, Poonch and Doda districts. The city has witnessed urban migration from rural areas, trouble parts of Jammu division as well as Kashmir valley. The city also witnesses influx of a floating population during the annual darbar move in winters.
The Govt. has to build infrastructure in the form of new roads by passes, flyovers, overbridges and new Colonies. Satellite towns close to the vicinity of the city is the need of the hour. Every Satellite town should be conceived with a vision to accommodate the ever increasing sing future population.
These habitations should have modern amenities in the form of local shopping Malls, schools, hospitals and other Govt. Offices. This will reduce the use of vehicles from comming to the main city for the daily needs. These satellite towns should be connected with main city by the services like Metro Rail. Another way by shifting the main Govt. Offices to the sub urban areas the city need to be decongested.
Yours etc….
S. N. Raina
Jammu
Scindia, state ministers discuss challenges in power sector
NEW DELHI, Feb 5: The government has begun talks with representatives of various states to streamline and remove hurdles in the power sector for higher generation.
Power Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia is holding a day-long meeting with the energy ministers and senior officials of various states to discuss the issues confronting the sector and measures to resolve them.
“We are here to deliberate upon the challenges in the power sector,” Scindia said while addressing a gathering of various stakeholders in the sector.
The central ministry along with the states will, among other things, discuss the issue of tariff revision, financial health of the electricity distribution companies and challenges in power transmission.
“Intra-state transmission, last year’s grid failure, financial restructuring package of discoms, among other issues, will be discussed today,” Power Secretary P Uma Shankar said.
The other diginatories attending the meeting include heads of the PSUs and state energy secretaries.
The ailing health of the state electricity boards is a cause of worry for the sector and will be a prominent area of discussion in today’s meet.
In September, last year, the Cabinet approved Rs 1.9 lakh crore debt restructuring package for the power discoms.
Under the scheme approved by the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs, 50 percent of the short-term outstanding liabilities would be taken over by state governments.
The balance 50 percent loans would be restructured by providing moratorium on principle and best possible terms for repayments.
As part of mandatory conditions, 50 percent of the outstanding liabilities up to March 31, 2012 is to be taken over by the state governments.
The liabilities shall be first converted into bonds to be issued by discoms to participating lenders, duly backed by the state government’s guarantee.
The deadline for the scheme has now been extended to March 31, 2013, from the earlier date of December 31, 2012. It is effective from the date of notification.
The support under the scheme will be available for all participating state-owned discoms on fulfilling short-term mandatory conditions.
Today’s meeting will also discuss last year’s grid failure which affected half of the country’s total population of 1.2 billion.
“The grid failure in July, last year, made headlines both in India and overseas. We will discuss how to avert these situations in the future,” Shankar said.
Northern, Eastern and North-eastern Grids tripped on July 31, leading to power failure in over 20 states of the country.
The then Power Minister M Veerappa Moily constituted a three-member panel headed by Central Electricity Authority (CEA) Chairperson A S Bakshi, to find out the reasons for the failure.
An initial investigation report said the failure occured due to overdrawals in parts of the grids. (PTI)
Sebi clears Diageo’s open offer for United Spirits
NEW DELHI, Feb 5: Moving closer to complete its Rs 11,167 crore takeover of majority stake in United Spirits, global liquor giant Diageo Plc has got market regulator Sebi’s clearance for an open offer to acquire 26 per cent stake from public shareholders of the UB group firm.
As part of the deal for purchase of 53.4 per cent stake in Vijay Mallya-led UB group’s United Spirits Ltd, Diageo has made a Rs 5,441 crore open offer for purchase of 26 per cent stake in the company from non-promoter shareholders.
The open offer, which was made about three months ago soon after the deal announcement on November 9, has been now cleared by Sebi (Securities and Exchange Board of India) after numerous clarifications sought by the regulator and the subsequent representations made to it in this regard.
The deal is, however, still awaiting a green signal from fair trade regulator CCI (Competition Commission of India), although the concerned parties (Diageo and UB group firms) have submitted certain clarifications sought from them.
Sebi issued its final observations on the open offer, which are necessary for the offer and the deal as a whole to go through, on January 31, 2013 and the same have been communicated to Diageo, United Spirits and the merchant banker JM Financial, a senior official said.
The regulator was earlier not comfortable with certain provisions of the proposed offer, including those related to preferential allotment of shares, as it feared that the minority shareholders might be at disadvantageous position under the existing terms of the deal.
However, some changes have been made to the satisfaction on the regulator as well as the companies to clear the deal.
As part of the deal, Diageo would acquire 27.4 per cent stake for Rs 5,725.4 crore through a combination of share purchase from existing promoters and preferential allotment of shares. In addition, it had offered to acquire an additional 26 per cent stake for Rs 5,441.07 crore through an open offer for public shareholders.
Any acquisition of 25 per cent or more stake in a listed company triggers a mandatory open offer for purchase of additional 26 per cent stake from the public shareholders and the same needs to be cleared by the market regulator.
The proposed open offer for an additional 26 per cent stake in USL entails purchase of about 3.8 crore shares at a price of Rs 1,440 per share, totalling to Rs 5,441 crore, by Relay BV, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Diageo.
The open offer was earlier scheduled to start on January 7, but it was postponed in absence of necessary approvals. An acquirer can go ahead with the open offer only after Sebi issues its “observations” on the same.
USL, the country’s largest spirits company, is part of Vijay Mallya-led UB Group, whose aviation venture Kingfisher Airlines has been going through turbulent times for many months now and its licence is currently suspended. (PTI)
JGBs rise as rekindled eurozone fears sap risk appetite
TOKYO, Feb 5: Japanese government bonds rose on Tuesday, with the benchmark yield backing off a three-week high hit in the previous session amid fears about the impact of political woes in Italy and Spain.
Disappointing U.S. Factory orders data, a downward revision to a report on U.S. Business investment plans and a smooth sale of 10-year JGBs also bolstered the market.
The Ministry of Finance’s offering of 2.4 trillion yen ($26 billion) of 10-year notes garnered a lowest accepted price of 100.04. The sale reopened the current issue with a coupon of 0.8 percent.
The auction’s tail – the gap between the lowest and average prices – was 0.02, matching that of the previous sale, although the sale drew bids of only 2.75 times the amount offered, down from the previous sale’s bid-to-cover ratio of 3.52 times.
‘The sale was decent, though not spectacular, and there was some follow-through buying in the cash market in the afternoon,’ said a fixed-income fund manager at a Japanese trust bank.
The 10-year JGB yield slipped 1 basis point to 0.795 percent. The 10-year JGB futures contract ended up 0.22 point at 143.90, though it still remained shy of its 20-day moving average, now at 144.09.
Most market participants had expected that the 10-year sale would go smoothly, after the benchmark yield moved away from a six-week low of 0.720 percent hit on Jan. 25 to 0.805 percent on Monday, its highest level since Jan. 15.
But some investors were concerned about the slightly larger offering size. The ministry increased the monthly offering amount by 100 billion yen this month, and will do the same next month, to fund its supplementary budget.
‘We started recommending receiving the 10-year tenor in swaps,’ said Maki Shimizu, senior strategist at Citigroup Global Markets Japan.
Spanish and Italian bond yields rose after a corruption scandal prompted calls for Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy to resign and on news of a probe of alleged misconduct involving an Italian bank three weeks before national elections.
That hit risk appetite, helping to lift U.S. Treasuries and sending the Nikkei stock average skidding 1.9 percent off Monday’s 33-month closing high.
The 20-year bond yield shed half a basis point to 1.790 percent, while the 30-year bond yield lost 1 basis point to 1.995 percent.
The chairman of Japan’s Government Pension Investment Fund told Reuters in an interview on Monday that the fund would review its portfolio allocation model around April, as yields on 10-year JGBs were languishing at around 0.8 percent.
The GPIF is the world’s biggest public pension fund, with its assets of $1.2 trillion mostly held in JGBs. ($1 = 92.6950 Japanese yen)
(AGENCIES)
BHEL wins Rs 2,854 cr contract from Bihar
NEW DELHI, Feb 5: State-run BHEL today said it has bagged a Rs 2,854 crore contract for setting up a 1,980 MW thermal power project in Bihar.
“BHEL has bagged a contract for supply of the Steam Generator Package for three coal-fired thermal units of 660 MW each. Valued at Rs 2,854 Crore, the order has been placed on BHEL by Nabinagar Power Generation Company Ltd,” the company said in a statement.
Nabinagar Power Generation Company Ltd is a joint venture of NTPC Ltd and Bihar State Electricity Board for this project.
The other major contracts involving supply of supercritical sets (which are energy efficient and environment friendly), presently under execution by BHEL include Barh Project of NTPC, Bara Project of Prayagraj Power Generating Company Ltd, a part of Jaypee Group, Singrauli project of Dainik Bhaskar Power Ltd etc.
BHEL has established the capability to deliver power plant equipment of 20,000 MW per annum. (PTI)
Sun Pharma receives USFDA nod for anti-cancer injection
NEW DELHI, Feb 5: Sun Pharmaceutical Industries today said it has received US health regulator’s approval to market generic version of Doxil injection, used in treating ovarian cancer in the American market.
The Mumbai-headquartered firm, in a statement, said its subsidiary has received approval from US food and Drug Administration (USFDA) for its Doxorubicin HCl Liposome Injection.
“This generic Doxorubicin HCl Liposome injection USP, 2 mg/ml is therapeutically equivalent to Doxil Liposome Injection, 2 mg/ml of Janssen Research and Development, LLC,” the company said.
Doxorubicin HCl liposome injection is used to treat patients with ovarian cancer that has progressed or recurred after platinum-based chemotherapy.
Reacting to the development, shares of Sun Pharma were trading at Rs 745.70 on the BSE in afternoon trade, up 3.84 per cent from their previous close. (PTI)
Potato futures up 1.31 pc on strong spot demand
NEW DELHI, Feb 5: Potato prices moved up by Rs 11.40 to Rs 881 per quintal in futures trade today, on increased spot demand against restricted arrivals due to bad weather.
Trading sentiment improved further as the traders enlarged their holdings on account of a surge in the demand for the commodity in the market.
At the Multi Commodity Exchange, potato for delivery in April rose by Rs 11.40, or 1.31 per cent, to Rs 881 per quintal, with a trading volume of 45 lots.
Potato for delivery in March also moved up by Rs 10.10, or 1.16 per cent, to Rs 875.10 per quintal with a trade volume of 99 lots.
Analysts said increased demand in the spot market against tight supplies from producing regions mainly pushed up potato prices at futures trade. (PTI)
Bayer opens breeding unit to develop mustard seeds in Haryana
NEW DELHI, Feb 5: Agro-chemical firm Bayer CropScience today said it has opened a new breeding station in Haryana to develop new seed varieties in Indian mustard.
India has approximately 6.5 million hectares under mustard cultivation. The new station has been set up in the backdrop of a rise in domestic demand for high yielding commercial mustard seeds and higher rate of improved seed replacement, it said in a statement.
The new research station, spread in 10 acres at Palwal in Haryana, will focus on breeding and development of core germplasm for high performing mustard hybrids for both Indian and global markets, the company said.
Bayer CropScience has 25 per cent market share in canola hybrid seeds in the global market. Consequently, this makes Indian mustard a strategic crop for the company, it added.
Canola or mustard seed is a source of high-quality vegetable oil for human consumption and for industrial use. Besides India, the company’s key breeding stations are located in Canada, Europe and Australia.
Bayer CropScience, a subsidiary of German chemical firm Bayer AG, is one of the world’s leading innovative crop science companies in crop protection, non-agricultural pest control, seeds and traits.
The shares of the company were trading lower by 0.69 per cent at Rs 1,177 at the BSE in the afternoon trade. (PTI)