Eight-year ban on Satyam can be reviewed, says World Bank

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.

"The vendor would have to demonstrate (that) corrective action had been taken to address the original causes of the ... ineligibility," a World Bank official from Washington said in an emailed statement.

The official further said action should substantiate that Satyam is "again a responsible vendor with whom the Bank can do business".
The World Bank banned Satyam Computer Services for eight years in 2008 for providing "improper benefits" to Bank staff and for failing to maintain records relating to fees charged for sub-contractors.

Satyam has a strong case for a review of the ban since its old board and management have been changed after its disgraced founder Chairman B Ramalinga Raju admitted to fudging accounts to the tune of Rs 7,800 crore.

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Recession-hit BPO employees 'on the bench'

BPO employees
were once thriving with so many job opportunities, but are now feeling the heat of the economic slowdown, as call centres have begun cutting back on jobs.

In the NCR region - Noida and Gurgaon - worried about actually laying off people, some companies are resorting to putting them on the bench.

For three months, Anshul Kumar has not reported to the call centre where he has worked for two years. Officially, he hasn't been sacked. He's been told he's "on the bench" and his id card has been taken back. He can't show up at work and he doesn't get paid.

"The process we moved to after spending more than two years in the programme faced a lot of issues due to recession. It was downsizing at that time so they decided to put us on bench. Like any other employee, I wanted to grow with the company and get recognition but it didn't go that way. It really feels bad," said Anshul Kumar.

Putting young workers on the bench is one way of controlling costs. Here's another.

A Noida-based BPO no longer offers transport to employees who live further than 45 km away. So employees in Gurgaon and Faridabad, or parts of Delhi like Rithala, need to assemble at a pick-up point even at 3 am.

"Cost cutting is essential today. It's important to be more productive and reduce all the wastages we are living with. When four cabs are going to the same location, you can get a bus to do the same job," said Deepak Ohlyan, president, Business Process.

With the deepening financial crisis in the US, that accounts for 70 per cent of the BPO business, cost reduction and productivity improvement are the two most commonly heard words in call centres in the past few months.

In simple English, that means longer and tougher hours.

Those who answer phones have to spend nine hours instead of eight taking calls, which means longer shifts for answering calls. Administrative and support staff also have to take calls now and vacation time has been shortened.

"Stopping free meals or deducting money for transport, that is still ok. We are still earning, but if we loose our jobs after that due to recession, it really hurts because you don't know what's going to happen to you after that," said Anshul.

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India eye series win, SL look to hit back

Bolstered by two consecutive victories, a confident India will aim to wrap up the five-match series when they take on Sri Lanka in the third one-dayer on Tuesday.

Mahendra Singh Dhoni's men have been on target in the first two matches but the Indian captain would be taking no chance under floodlights after India just about managed a close 15-run win in a nail-biting day-night affair at the Premadasa Stadium on Saturday.

Dhoni, who has led the team to seven successive ODI wins, ha swarned his teammates against dropping their guards before the series was claimed.

A few chinks were seen in the Indian armour in the second match when bowlers looked confused in the powerplay overs and Dhoni wants a more disciplined show by his bowlers.

The batting has also not fired but to be fair, the Indians have been hit hard by a few dubious umpiring decisions. But the top order batsmen have to get into the act quickly if they hope to clinch the series on Tuesday itself.

Sachin Tendulkar has been a victim of poor umpiring decisions in both the matches and the maestro will be hoping that he gets the chance to make amends on Tuesday.

In bowling dapertment, pace spearhead Zaheer Khan and Ishant Sharma have a big role to play since India do not have any experienced spinners in their ranks.

Dhoni, who is known for his calm composure in anxious moments, lost his cool when he saw bowlers clueless in the powerplay overs.

"It was tough and we did not have such a game for a long time," Dhoni said.

Although Indian batsmen did not fall prey to Sri Lankan spin wizards Muttiah Muralitharan and Ajantha Mendis, they struggled to hit boundaries against the duo.

"We have to be careful as such wins often make us relaxed a bit. We should remember that the series is yet to be won. We want to win the series and for that each of us have to give 100 per cent," Dhoni said.

For a jaded looking Sri Lanka, it is a must win situation and they would be desparate to keep the series alive by clinching a win on Tuesday.

The hosts are struggling to find a steady opening pair even as an unimpressive middle order and blunted striking weapons leave them in a desparate position.

Muralitharan and Mendis are not as dangerous as their captain Mahela Jayawardene would want them to be. The home team's fielding is also looking dispirited.

"I would be lying if I say that we are not tired," Jayawardene said.

"During India innings we gave away too many runs when we were in control. We have to minimise mistakes and raise our game in the remaining matches," he added.

He got back among the runs with his first 50 in 14 games and that goes back a long way to the tour of Zimbabwe in November.

Murali has failed to capture in two games the two wickets required to become the greatest ODI bowler in the game's history.

It is pretty much back to basics for Sri Lanka. Consistency at the top order, restore the killer instinct to make use of the batting skills to optimum, tight fielding and bowlers doing the job.

India: Mahendra Singh Dhoni (capt & wk), Gautam Gambhir, Ravindra Jadeja, Zaheer Khan, Praveen Kumar, Pragyan Ojha, Munaf Patel, Irfan Pathan, Yusuf Pathan, Suresh Raina, Virender Sehwag, Ishant Sharma, Rohit Sharma, Sachin Tendulkar, Yuvraj Singh.

Sri Lanka: Mahela Jaywardene (capt), Kumar Sangakkara (wk), Sanath Jayasuriya, Upul Tharanga, Chamara Kapugedera, Jehan Mubarak, Tillakaratne Dilshan, Thilina Kandamby, Muttiah Muralitharan, Ajantha Mendis, Farveez Maharoof, Dilhara Fernando, Nuwan Kulasekera, Thilina Thushara and Angelo Mathews.

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SEBI seeks SC nod to gain access to Raju brothers

With Ramalinga Raju continuing to elude SEBI even after spending weeks behind bars, the market regulator on Monday moved the Supreme Court seeking permission to interrogate the tainted Satyam-founder on the Rs 7,800 crore fraud in the IT major.

In its request, SEBI said that it was constrained to approach the apex court for urgent relief related to the most serious financial scam that had large-scale national and international ramifications.

A bench headed by Chief Justice KG Balakrishnan allowed SEBI to mention the matter tomorrow after Solicitor General GE Vahanvati and counsel Pratap Venugopal submitted the market regulator’s request.

Meanwhile, in another significant development that may help Satyam Computers' potential suitor to get control of the IT company at an affordable price, SEBI today said that it would amend regulations governing open offer to ensure transparent pricing.

The SEBI move followed a request from Satyam Board in this regard to relax the norm of 26-week average price to make an open offer.

"It was decided to appropriately amend the regulations to enable a transparent process for arriving at the price for such acquisition," SEBI Chairman CB Bhave told reporters in Mumbai after the Board meeting.

SEBI at SC

The market regulator moved SC today seeking permission to interrogate Ramalinga Raju on the Satyam fraud after the Andhra Pradesh High Court last week deferred to February 9, hearing on its request to quiz the tainted ex-chairman and his brother Rama Raju.

SEBI had moved the High Court challenging a lower court order, which denied it permission to interrogate the Raju brothers, who were arrested by the state police on January 9 -- the day a SEBI probe team had summoned them to appear before it in Hyderabad.

The Raju brothers, along with Satyam's former CFO Vadlamani Srinivas, are now in judicial custody.

The 6th Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate, Hyderabad, had refused permission on the ground that SEBI was not an investigating agency and there was no provision in law under which it could interrogate the Raju brothers.

A probe team from SEBI had landed in Hyderabad on January 8, a day after Ramalinga Raju disclosed the massive accounting fraud in the IT company.

Challenging the High Court order, SEBI said that it had appointed an investigator after Raju confessed to accounting irregularities in a letter to Satyam's Board of Directors.

According to the market regulator, the High Court should have seen that the Raju brothers cannot use judicial custody as a shield to avoid probe by expert agencies.

SEBI further said that just as police apply for custody, any other agency can also apply for access or custody and the same can be granted and the refusal to permit SEBI even to record the statements of the accused while in the custody was "arbitrary, unreasonable and perverse".

According to SEBI, merely because investigations by different agencies like CID, Enforcement Directorate, Serious Frauds Investigation Office, Registrar of Companies etc may overlap, it cannot be said that they cannot investigate simultaneously pursuant to the power conferred on them under their respective statutes.

Stating that the scam in the NYSE-listed Satyam Computers was the worst in the country's history, the advocates said that the company's market capitalisation has fallen from Rs 15,000 crores to Rs 2,000 crores.

SEBI to amend open offer rules

Even as SEBI announced the move to amend regulations governing open offer, its chairman Bhave said that the amendments will be made not only for the Satyam case, but for all similar situations that may arise in the future.

The Board recognises that the issue needs to be dealt with in a general context and not as a specific case, Bhave said, referring to the Satyam request.

Though Bhave declined to give any timeframe for the amendments in pricing rule, he said: "We are aware about the urgency of the situation."

Engineering major Larsen & Toubro has increased its stake in Satyam to over 12 percent. If it crosses 15 percent, the company would have to make an open offer to purchase another 20 percent from the market.

Among the other decisions taken today, SEBI made it mandatory for listed companies to declare dividend on per share basis instead of percentage basis followed at present.

Besides, the regulator has reduced the timeline for the completion of bonus issue to 15 days if the shareholder approval is not required and to 60 days where the approval is required. At present, the timeline for this procedure is six months.

SEBI also decided to shorten the timeframe to announce the price band for IPO in today's Board meeting. With this, the price band should be declared two days prior to the opening of IPO.

The regulator has also upped the up-front margin to be paid by allottees of warrants to 25 percent as against 10 percent at present.

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Obama should not link Kashmir with Pak problems: NSA

Coming out strongly against any attempt to link Kashmir issue with turmoil in Pakistan's tribal areas, National Security Adviser M K Narayanan has said that US President Barack Obama would be "barking up the wrong tree" if he holds such views.
Narayanan said India had made it known to the Obama team at the outset that it would not like Indo-Pak relations to be on the agenda of Richard Holbrooke, special envoy of the US for Pakistan and Afghanistan.

"References made by President Obama did seem to suggest that there is some kind of a link between the settlement on Pakistan's western border and the Kashmir issue. Certainly that had caused concern," he told audience in a programme.

He was responding to reported suggestions by Obama during his campaign that Pakistan's fight against Taliban on the western front is linked to resolution of Kashmir issue.

The NSA pointed out that Obama made such references when he was in the campaign mode or when he was president-elect.

"We tend to sort of say lets wait and see what he does when he come into office," Narayanan said, adding "I don't think we had any major exchanges with members of the Obama administration later on" though the US President had made courtesy call and discussed bilateral ties.

"I do think that we could make President Obama understand, if he does have any such views then he is barking up the wrong tree," he said.

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No choice but to wait for Pak response: Pranab

India has "hardly" any choice except to patiently wait for Pakistan to respond to the dossier given on mumbai attacks, External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee said on Monday. "We won't get anything by simply losing our patience, so hardly we have a choice," Mukherjee said here at a function of a private news channel.
He was responding when asked how long India will wait for Pakistan's response to India's demands after the Mumbai terror strikes for which Pakistan-based elements have been blamed.

India gave the dossier of evidence on January 5 and has since been waiting for Pakistan to respond officially.

Pakistan has said it is investigating the matter and would get back to India as soon as it is over.

Queried on his status now since he is discharging duties of the Prime Minister, he said, "Simply I am discharging duties, neither I am officiating nor acting, neither de-jure nor de-facto".

He said under the Constitution of the country, there can be only one Prime Minister. But "the Prime Minister can delegate some responsibility to his colleagues and I am doing exactly that".

Replying to a query on whether he had any apprehension about the Nuclear Suppliers Group giving its waiver last year, the External Affairs Minister suggested that he was not sure till it happened.

"Unless it (deal) was done, to be very frank, I was not convinced that we will be able to succeed. It was done only after the NSG waiver came on September 6," said Mukherjee who had remained awake virtually through the night as the 45-nation grouping deliberated on the issue in Vienna till early morning of September 6.

To a question on which of the many GoMs headed by him (Mukherjee) will have any lasting impact on the country, the external affairs minister said he does not take anything to his credit.

"Because in our system, we do everything in consultation and collectively. So success and failure have to be shared collectively," he said.

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Now, Ramadoss targets 'pub culture'

Closing ranks with leaders opposing pub culture in the aftermath of the Mangalore incident, Union Health Minister Anbumani Ramadoss on Friday said it was against Indian ethos and asserted that the proposed National Alcohol Policy would help curb it.
"We definitely condemn the incident where women were attacked, but the pub culture must stop. It is because of this that youth in the country have taken to drinking in a big way," Ramadoss said at a press conference in new delhi.
Linking youngsters visiting pubs to increased rates of accidents due to drunken driving, he said: "In India, 40 per cent of road accidents are alcohol-related."
These young people not only jeopardise their lives but are also a danger to others on the roads.
"It is not our culture. If it goes this way I don't think India will progress," Ramadoss said adding, most of the people losing their lives due to such road accidents and alcoholism were in their early twenties, which are the most productive years.
Unfortunately over the recent years, there has been a huge percentage of people taking to alcohol.
There is also a study which says that in the last five to six years there is an increase of 60 per cent among the youth who have taken to drinking, he said.

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26/11 probe report ready; will share findings: Pakistan

Responding to India’s External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee’s comments that Pakistan is unresponsive over 26/11 mumbai terror strike investigation, Pakistan’s External Affairs Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi has said that the investigation report is ready.
"The Federal Investigation Agency of the Interior Ministry of Pakistan has completed the preliminary investigation and sent (its report) to the Law Department," Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi told reporters here after addressing a conference at the International Islamic University.
He went on to add that the report will be sent to India and other countries soon.

After a review by the Law Department, the report on the preliminary investigation will be received by the Foreign Ministry and then it will be shared with India and the international community, he said.
"Pakistan has assured India and the world community that it is seriously making progress in the process of investigating the Mumbai attacks and wants to bring the culprits to justice," Qureshi said, adding Pakistan wants peace in the region and good relations with its neighbours.
He said Pakistan's High Commissioner to India Shahid Malik met Home Minister P Chidambaram today and updated him on the latest developments regarding the investigation into the Mumbai attacks.
Foreign Secretary Shivshankar Menon had on January five handed over to High Commissioner Malik in new delhi the dossier containing evidence, which included confession of Ajmal Amir Kasab, the lone Pakistani terrorist held during the Mumbai attacks.
Qureshi said Pakistan has always condemned terrorism and extremism in all its forms anywhere in the world and it had been promoting the message of peace and brotherhood.
Pakistan does not want confrontation with anyone in the region as it wants to concentrate on its economic development and strengthening its democratic process, he said.
The country wants to promote the message of peace, love and tolerance and concentrate on trade, he said.
Referring to reports of threat to High Commissioner Malik, Qureshi said the issue was taken up with the Indian government and he had now been provided additional security.

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Seven suitors line up for Satyam Computers

New Delhi, Jan 29: Scam-hit Satyam Computer has been approached by as many as seven possible suitors, including private equity players, even as the company's investment bankers are trying to find the best match.
"So far we are aware of four (companies that have approached Satyam Computer). But we have heard that another two or three firms are also interested," Satyam Computer board member Tarun Das, who is also the chief mentor of industry body CII told reporters here.

Investment bankers are talking to everybody and finding out which firm is interested, what is the level of seriousness and are evaluating the proposal before getting back to the board. The process is likely to take six weeks, Das added.

Earlier this week, the board of Satyam Computer Services appointed Goldman Sachs and Avendus Capital as investment bankers and mandated Boston Consulting Group (BCG) to act as its management adviser.

Asked whether Satyam's founder Ramalinga Raju had inflated employee numbers as claimed by the Andhra Pradesh police, Das said: "We have done a head count using external agencies and we believe in the basis of investigation that we are well over 50,000 people in Satyam. So I do not think that there is any inflated numbers."

Earlier, Andhra Pradesh CID had claimed in a court that there were 13,000 ghost employees on the rolls of the IT firm, following which the human resources department of Satyam Computer Services conducted a verification of the head count.

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Pak must ensure 26/11-like attacks don't recur: McCain

Washington, Jan 29: Pakistan should take steps that reduce the threat of a reccurence of Mumbai-like terrorist attacks, US Republican Presidential candidate for the 2008 election, John McCain, has said.
"This is what would satisfy the United States," McCain told at the conclusion of a Senate Committee hearing on the Mumbai terrorist attack at the Capitol Hill here.

"To satisfy the US ... Well actions that clearly indicate they have reduced the threat of their reoccurrence (of Mumbai terrorist attacks)," McCain said, when asked what actions of Pakistan would be satisfactory to the United States.

"I think that there are variety of reasons that argue for the arrest of the people who are responsible (for the attack) and the terrorist's organisations," he said.

Referring to the testimony by experts at Senate Committee hearing on Mumbai attack, McCain said it should be a very high priority to prevent heightening of tension between the two South Asian neighbours.

"I agree with the witness that it is very high priority to prevent heightening of tension between the two countries and the United States should do everything we can to prevent escalation of tensions," McCain said.

Earlier during the hearing McCain said the Mumbai terror attack was "well orchestrated, well trained and well planned" and had outdone security forces until commandos showed up.

"They were not necessarily suicide individuals, they were able with just handful of people to hit 10 targets... I think there are a whole lot of lessons... that may be we have not paid much attention to," he said.

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After Gehlaut, Karnataka CM won’t allow pub culture

A day after Rajasthan CM Ashok Gehlaut announced he will eliminate pub-culture, Karnataka CM BS Yeddyurappa seemed toeing the Ram Sena line when he said he will not allow pub culture to grow in the state.
“It is a most unfortunate that this incident (assault of women in a Mangalore pub last week) happened but we will not allow pub culture to grow in Karnataka,” he said.
"Anyhow, we are not going to allow such incidents to happen again in the state. Nobody should take law into their hands and it is very unfortunate. That is why I have taken immediate action and the situation is under control," he added.
He also dithered on the issue of banning right-wing group Sri Rama Sene whose activists have been arrested for last Saturday's pub incident in Mangalore in which girls and boys were thrashed. "We will discuss it with the police officers and I will discuss it with the cabinet."
Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot, who has accused the erswtwhile Vasundhara Raje BJP government of bringing in "liquor culture", said in Jaipur the move to end pub culture in the State had nothing to do with the Mangalore incident.
However, Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit saw nothing wrong in boys and girls going out together to malls when asked to comment on Gehlot voicing reservations in this regard.

Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chauhan said he is against all "uncivilised behaviour."

Gehlot said, "my feelings have nothing to do with the Mangalore episode. My feelings are my own and in the interest of Rajasthan and its culture".

He had drawn flak for his comments that he wanted to end the culture of boys and girls roaming around in malls holding hands.

Assuring strong action against the culprits, BJP’s first Chief Minister in the south said that his party has no connection with the Sena.

"Sri Rama Sena has no connection with BJP or any other political party. It is an individual organisation," the Chief Minister said.

Disclosing that the state has so far arrested 33 people including Ram Sena chief Pramod Muthalik, Yeddyurappa said, "From the government's side, we have taken action and we will continue to take strong action against affiliations.

The culprits, he said, are currently booked under the charges of criminal conspiracy, rioting, and also added that the police is also mulling to slap Goonda Act on the Ram Sena chief Pramod Muthalik and his party members who were arrested in connection with the Mangalore pub attack earlier this week.

He further accused the opposition Congress party for fuelling the matter further as it could not “digest” the growing popularity of BJP govt in the state.

Stressing that the BJP has a track record in the welfare of women, he said that the police has been given full liberty to pursue action against the culprits.

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PM likely to be discharged on Jan 30

New Delhi, Jan 28: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, who underwent a successful coronary by-pass surgery, is likely to be discharged on January 30, according to the doctors attending on him.

"He will be discharged in another day or two, depending on his condition," one of the doctors attending on him, requesting anonymity, told media.

Doctors are discussing the future course of Singh's treatment on daily basis in their internal meetings. He has shown better than expected recovery, the doctor said.

All the Intensive Care Unit equipment, used for monitoring the Prime Minister's various health parameters, was today removed and he has been shifted to an adjacent room.

The decision to shift him out of the ICU was taken by a team of doctors which included his personal physician Dr K S Reddy and repeat by-pass surgeon Dr Ramakant Panda from Mumbai's Asian Heart Institute (AHI).

Dr Vijay D'Silva, an ICU specialist also from AHI and attending on the Prime Minister, said, "His is making speedy recovery in the expected time frame". The Prime Minister has been moved to an adjacent room and only his family is allowed to meet him.

"We are not allowing any guests as the Prime Minister has himself expressed desire to meet them only after he reaches home," the doctor said.

Meanwhile, President Pratibha Patil and Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah met the Prime Minister's wife and daughters and wished him speedy recovery.

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Lanka assures India of safe passage to Tamil civilians

Sri Lanka has assured India that the safe zone for Tamil civilians caught in the crossfire between the Sri Lankan armed forces and the LTTE would be expanded.
Foreign Minister Pranab Mukherjee, after returning from Colombo, told reporters here on Wednesday, that the assurance was given during his talks with the Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapakse.

“We made it quite clear that our concerns are for the civilian population. Around 150,000 plus civilians are affected by the crossfire. In course of discussion, the President has agreed to expand the safe zone and also assured that there will be no shelling or firing in the safe zone,” Mukherjee said.

“We requested that international agencies like UN High Commission for Refugees, International Red Cross Society, and other international organisations, who are engaged in the relief measures, should be allowed to visit Sri Lanka,and see the situation with their own eyes,” he added.

Mukherjee said beside the recent upsurge in the military offensive against Tamil rebels, issues like implementation of the 13th Amendment was also discussed with Rajapakse, who assured that his government would pay attention to the issue.

“The President (of Sri Lanka) assured me that it will be the area of his urgent attention and he will try to explore the possibilities, and also try to improve the conditions further,” Mukherjee concluded.

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Raju created 300 firms to divert funds: Govt

The government said today that Satyam Computers' disgraced founder Ramalinga Raju created a network of about 300 companies and diverted funds from one company to another in a complex but carefully planned process.
"There has been an issue of siphoning (off of) funds. This is what we have understood from the information we have received from (the) RoC, SFIO and various other agencies (probing the Satyam case)," Union Minister of Corporate Affairs Prem Chand Gupta said in a TV interview.
Gupta said, "Our information is that there was a network of almost 300 compnaies and funds were diverted from one company to (another) and then to (a) third."
"So like this, it was a very complex process he had adopted," Gupta said, but added that "unless the investigation is complete we can't say what exactly happened".
Asked if it meant a carefully planned process to avoid detection, Gupta said, "...Well, to some extent I would agree with you that it was a carefully planned operation, but ... still what we personally feel it was a complex process."
Asked if other people might also be involved in the scam, Gupta said, "I feel there are other people involved."
"But if you go into the systematic inspection and investigation of the structure of the company, you come to the conclusion that the whole thing (revolves) around the Raju family only."

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Five get life term for raping German girl

A local court on Wednesday sentenced five youths to life imprisonment for raping a 20-year-old German girl after abducting her from outside a five-star hotel last September.

All the five were convicted on Tuesday by Additional District and Sessions Judge Raj Shekhar Attri in a speedy trial that lasted just a week.

The judge announced the sentence after hearing arguments in camera from both the prosecution and the defence for three hours.

The five are Pankaj Punia, Manvir Singh Jolly, Harpreet Singh Dalli, Sukhwinder Singh Sukhi and Sompal.

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Pak incapable of action against terror: Pranab

As it awaits a concrete response from Pakistan on steps taken against perpetrators of Mumbai terror attacks, India has raised questions on whether the government in Islamabad was deliberately not taking action against terrorists or incapable of doing so.

"Yes, one way you can make a differentiation that they are deliberately not doing or are incapable of doing. But as far as India is concerned, the net impact is the same ... the perpetrators are launching terror attacks from the territory of Pakistan," External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee said.

"The infrastructural facilities there (are) used by them (for) committing crimes in India, not necessarily in this case but in a large number of cases in the past," he said in an interview with Al Jazeera news channel.

Mukherjee said India expects the Pakistan government to act against the perpetrators of terror acts operating from Pakistani soil.

"We expect Pakistan to act. Whatever is to be done from our side we are doing so ... but Pakistan has to act because the handlers and planners (of Mumbai attacks) were from Pakistan," he said.

Mukherjee said India expects three things from Pakistan -- dismantle terror infrastructural facilities, take strong action against perpetrators of terror attacks and look for fugitives of Indian law who have committed crime in India and taken shelter in Pakistan.

Pakistan cannot shrug its responsibilities to the international community, Mukherjee said when pointed out that several areas in the neighbouring country were out of control of the government there.

"Every country is responsible to protect its territory, to protect its citizens and also to ensure that its territory is not misused by miscreants to cause trouble in neighbouring countries," he said.

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Ram Sena chief arrested for Mangalore pub violence

The Mangalore police on Wednesday arrested Sri Ram Sena chief Pramod Muthalik in the Mangalore pub-assault case, hours after he got bail in another case in Davanagere.
Muthalik was taken into custody on Jan 27 for an inflammatory speech in Davangere. He got bail in the case but was re-arrested by the Mangalore police for pub-violence on January 24.
Police had requested the Davangere court to hand over Muthalik for interrogation, IGP (Western Range) A M Prasad told agencies here today.
He told a TV channel that the Davanagere police wil hand over Muthalik to Mangalore police which will interrogate him in connection with the pub-attack case. He said cases have been registered against the 27 others under criminal interrogation, trespass, molestation, criminal conspiracy. Charges will be fixed against Muthalik once he is questioned, Prasad added.
Earlier, all the 27 Sri Ram Sena workers in a local court, who have been arrested in connection with the attack on girls in a Mangalore pub.
The investigators believe that Muthalik’s custody will help police in obtaining more information about other prominent members of the organisation who are still at large.
All schools and colleges across Mangalore remained closed today and the students' community has started a signature campaign demanding stringent action against the culprits while expressing sympathy towards the victims.
Prior to Muthalik’s arrest, police also picked up the Sri Ram Sena vice president Prasad Attavar and 10 others in connection with the case.
However, Sri Ram Sena chief Pramod Muthalik later apologised for the attack on weekend revellers at a Mangalore pub, saying the way the right-wing group acted "was wrong" but insisted it was done to "save our mothers and daughters".
Muthalik also denied his affiliation with the BJP and said he was only working for Hindutva.
The BJP government in the state has earned sharp criticism for its insufficient and slow response to the shameful act.
In view of the increasing public pressure, BJP president also condemned the incident as an "unacceptable act of hooliganism".
Complicating things for the BJP government, the National Commission for Women (NCW) on Tuesday constituted a three member panel to probe the incident.

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Pakistan's report on 26/11 terror attacks in 10 days

Acknowledging that the dossier on Mumbai attacks given by India contained "leads and good clues", Pakistan on Saturday promised fair investigation even if its citizens are suspected and said its results will be shared with New Delhi first.

Pakistan said it wanted to have an approach of "cooperative engagement" with India as war is no solution to the problem of terrorism which is a global phenomenon.

"Quite a lot of material" was provided by India and the Pakistani investigators will work to convert this into "evidence that can stand up to judicial scrutiny", Interior Ministry chief Rahman Malik told a press conference in Islamabad.

No case regarding the Mumbai attacks has been registered so far in Pakistan. "If prima facie evidence is available on record, we will then convert it into a criminal case," Malik said, adding the time needed for any prosecution would depend on the judiciary.

He said the three-member counter-terror team, probing the Mumbai attack and examining the Indian dossier, has been directed to submit its preliminary findings within 10 days. Meanwhile, Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi said the interior ministry is examining India's dossier on the Mumbai attacks that was handed over to Pakistan on January 5.

"We have said that after examining the dossier, completing our investigation and examining information from other sources, we will share our findings with India first," Qureshi said.

Pakistan will pursue an approach of "cooperative engagement" to deal with any further questions that may arise with regard to the Mumbai incident, he said.

Qureshi said if "any individual or entity linked to Pakistan" is found involved in the Mumbai attacks, the government will take action against them according to the country's law.

Replying to a question in his hometown of Multan, he said the Mumbai incident was not a matter confined to India and Pakistan as nationals of several countries, including the US and Britain, were killed in the attacks.

"We have been successful in conveying our stand that war is not the solution and that terrorism is a global and regional phenomenon. We need a regional approach," he said. "We don't want to create war hysteria.

The political and military leadership has made measured comments and we will stick to this. We will remain vigilant and it is our endeavour to de-escalate and defuse the situation," Qureshi added.

He, however, alleged that there was "no consistency" in India's stance in dealing with the aftermath of the Mumbai attacks.

"There is no consistency in India's stance," Qureshi said, referring to what he described as flip-flops by New Delhi on matters like the involvement of the Pakistani state and its institutions in the Mumbai attacks and the prosecution of suspects.

He accused that Indian leaders had changed their position after initially stating that the Pakistan government and its institutions were not involved in the incident. He also said they had made a shift after stating that any Pakistani individuals linked to the attacks could be tried within the country.

"You can see the changes. Pakistan's stand is strong and consistent we honestly want to get to the bottom of the matter and the elements involved should be unmasked. The perpetrators should be brought to justice," Qureshi said. MORE PTI RHL ZH 01172142 DELHI NNNN

PRI GEN INT Meanwhile, Malik said that Pakistan was not acting under pressure from India and will not accept "dictation" from anyone regarding the probe.

Asked about British Foreign Secretary David Miliband's comments yesterday that Pakistan needs to go "farther and faster" in prosecuting those involved in the Mumbai attacks, Malik said: "We will not accept anyone's instructions to do things faster."

Malik outlined the terms of reference and guidelines for the investigating team, which was directed to conduct "a transparent and legally tenable inquiry". The team will "establish legally verifiable credentials of suspects allegedly involved in the terrorist attack".

It would "inquire into the available information supplied by India with the view to transforming (it) into evidence for further legal action". It will also collect "all other related evidence for legal action according to the law of Pakistan".

Malik said all further action would be taken according to Pakistani laws, virtually ruling out the handing over of any suspects linked to the Mumbai attacks to India.

He reiterated Pakistan's demand for a joint probe into the incident, saying: "Our investigators must interact. If you want good and quick results, please allow your investigators to interact with us."

He said the "best course of action" would be for investigators from both sides to interact and share information because terrorists are the "common enemies" of India and Pakistan.

Malik also assured the world community and Indian authorities that Pakistan is "very serious in its commitments" to bring the perpetrators of the attacks to justice. "We are with India and...we are doing everything possible to bring the suspects, militants and terrorists to justice," he said.

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Sensex up 299 pts, closes at 9,370

The markets finally shrugged off the Satyam shock on Wednesday with benchmark Sensex recording a gain of nearly 300 points on buying support, led by market leader Reliance Industries and blue-chips Reliance Communication Infosys Technologies.

The BSE barometer, which had lost nearly 17 percent in a string of losses since January 7 when Satyam fraud came to light, today jumped 299.13 points to close at 9,370.49.

Similarly, the wide-based National Stock Exchange index Nifty also shot up by 90.35 points at 2813.45.

Reliance Communications soared 10.38 percent to come out as the biggest gainer among the Sensex stocks today. Reliance Industries, the most valued private sector company, surged nine percent as the stock looked more attractive following reports that promoters have increased their stake in the company to over 49 percent as of December quarter.

IT bellwether Infosys which yesterday posted over 33 percent growth for the December quarter rose for the second day in succession. With today's gain of 6.07 percent, the software company has jumped over 12 percent in two days. Mahindra & Mahindra, which launched the multipurpose vehicle Xylo was the another prominent gainer at 5.39 percent.

RIL and Infosys together carry nearly 23 percent weightage on the Sensex.

Expectations of further fall in inflation, the weekly data for which will be announced tomorrow, and firm global trend weres other boosting factors for the equity markets.

Among sectoral indices, Oil & Gas index was the best performer today at 5.85 percent, followed by IT index at 5.02 percent. Tech, reatly and metal indices also closed higher in the range of over 4 percent.

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Employees face fallout of Satyam fiasco

Satyam's tag line is "Business Transformation. Together". In the last one week, its 50000 employees have seen their lives transformed in a way they never anticipated. If the Satyam I-card was once a coveted passport, now it seems banks and car dealers have become extremely wary of the Satyam brandname.

On Saturday, a day after Ramalinga Raju was arrested, CEO of Satnav Technologies Amit Prasad got two SMSes and a call from his three credit card agencies. All of them informing him that his credit card limit had been slashed by 80 to 90 per cent. Prasad suspects this is because the agencies perhaps still have his name as a Satyam employee even though he quit the company five years back.

"It is too much of a coincidence that three people call or SMS me on the same day and say your credit limit is slashed by 80 per cent. It is a case of people going overboard. Other examples are a pearl dealer saying discounts are no longer available on a certain identity card. If I am walking in with cash, why should that be there. If I am ready to pay cash for a car loan, why should I be denied a discount?'' he says.

The fallout of the Satyam fiasco is being felt by other IT professionals as well. In the last one week, many of them were reportedly asked to furnish their December salary certificate to banks that have extended home loans to them.

Vikram Kumar, director (India), MAQ Software, says: "A number of my friends told me that their project and HR managers are being contacted to ask whether they are viable and worth giving the credit cards and home loans.''

For Satyam employees, clearly the period of uncertainty is made worse by what seems to be the larger impact of working for what was one of India's most respected software companies.

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