New Delhi, Apr 2 (PTI) Communist Part of India (CPI) today slammed the Narendra Modi-led government for its “anti-poor” and “anti-worker” policies, saying people have become “disillusioned” with the government and that it would hold a nationwide protest against the Land Bill on May 14.

Highlighting the recent attack on religious places, rape of a nun in West Bengal and moves to saffronise education, the party said it would like to forge alliances with like-minded parties as “minorities are feeling insecure in the country”.

“The country is passing through a critical stage and people are increasingly getting disillusioned,” senior party leader Gurudas Dasgupta told reporters here.

“The economy is in bad shape and industrial production has gone down. There is increased protest from industrial workers who are planning hartals and protests. We will continue to support their cause,” he said.

He said a nationwide protest and ‘jail bharo aandolan’ would be launched on May 14 against the Land Bill as it is “anti-rural” and against the interest of farmers and will compromise with the food security of the nation.

“The Bill has been brought by the BJP government to allow foreign and domestic corporates, land mafia and builder lobby to snatch away multi-crop irrigated land of farmers. This will be a great threat to our food security,” he said.

Dasgupta, who was elected as the deputy general secretary at the party’s recently held Congress in Puducherry, said they would support telecom workers’ strike on April 21 and 22 and the transport strike on April 30, expressing discontent with the government’s policies.

Mumbai, Apr 2 (PTI) Concerned over rising incidents of farmer suicide, Prime Minister Narendra Modi today nudged banks to be considerate in giving and recovering loans from poor saying banks would not shut by helping them.

“As RBI celebrates 80 years, can we think within ourselves that we will expand our banking sector so much that farmers would not have to commit suicide because of huge debt burden.

Can we not dream of this?… I do not believe that by helping poor a bank will become insolvent,” he said.

Farmers’ plight should “shake the conscience” of the banking sector, he said addressing the 80th anniversary celebrations of the RBI where Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan were also present.

“Our farmers commit suicide. The pain of this should not only be restricted to newspapers and TV screens. When farmer dies, does it shake the heart of banking sector? Because of taking loan from money lender, he has to face death,” Modi said.

He also asked the Reserve Bank to prepare a 20-year road map for financial inclusion and suggested that the Indian currency should be printed using indigenous paper and ink.

Lauding the efforts of Reserve Bank in improving macroeconomic conditions in the last eight decades, Jaitley said that the central bank’s professionalism has served the country well.

Speaking on the occasion, Rajan cautioned the banks against excessive lending to infrastructure sector projects as it may impact their financial stability.

Mike Holpin the 56-year-old recovering alcoholic from Ebbw Vale, says he loves sex and doesn’t believe in contraception.
Although he doesn’t support all his children half of them carry his name where as the rest have taken to their mother’s name.

For having some many children he comments he is responsible but equally blames the women that he was involved.”We should both be responsible,” he said. “It’s not just down to me.”

Mike has now been sober for five years but admitted that alcohol was at the root of his problems and the main reason he has so many children.

He admits being a dirty alcoholic which is to blame for the irresponsible act but says he loves his children.
Due to so many children he says would not be able recognize all of them if they happen to bump into him on the street.

I’m as fertile as sin,” explains Mike, who says his first sexual experience was when he was nine.

“I don’t believe in contraception and I love sex.”

With many of his relationships failing and the majority of the children being taken into care because of his alcoholism, he talks about his biggest regret.

“Due to my drinking and my womanising, most of my kids have gone through the care system,” he explains.

“It makes me feel like s*** because they’ve suffered. They took them from me because I’m an alcoholic

Dubai: The Burj Khalifa’s record as the world’s tallest building is well known. Not so well known is its connection with India. Indians own the most number of apartments in the building, which has more than 160 stories and a height of over 828 metres. BR Shetty, an Indian industrialist based in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), paid United Arab Emirates dirham (AED) 45 million in 2005 to buy the entire 100th floor. BK Modi, a Singaporebased businessman, Rizwan Sajan, chairman of real estate company Danube Group, and Bollywood actor Shilpa Shetty, to name but three, are other Indians or people of Indian origin who own apartments in Burj Khalifa.

Last year, building materials supplier, Danube Group launched a project to develop 175 townhouses at Al Furjan — a residential hub in Dubai — by 2016. The three- and four-bedroom houses, with a built-up area of 2,500-3,000 square feet, have prices starting at AED 2.5 million (1 AED = Rs 17.01). The entire project was sold out on the very first day. The largest number of buyers was again that of Indians. Indians have long been flocking to the UAE for jobs. They form the largest number of expatriates in the Gulf (in Dubai alone, 30% of the population are Indians). But in recent years, they have also — as the cases of Burj Khalifa and Danube illustrate — been buying property by the hordes in Dubai, one of the seven federates of UAE.

Destination Dubai

Indians now are the largest non-Arab investors in Dubai real estate in terms of value and volumes, according to Dubai Government Land Department (see India Shining). They have invested AED 44 billion in Dubai’s real estate market in the last three years, including AED 18.1 billion in 2014, according to Dubai Land Department data. “Many Indians consider Dubai as their second home. Property prices in Dubai are cheaper than the corresponding places in India or other international cities,” said Rizwan Sajan, chairman of Danube Group. The average price of an apartment in prime locations in Mumbai is Rs 6 crore whereas the corresponding price for a posh apartment or villa in Dubai is AED 2 million to AED 3 million, or Rs 3.4 crore to Rs 5.1 crore.

Even in an upscale location like Dubai Marina, whose expansive waterfront is packed with idling yachts, property prices are cheaper than in many Indian cities. Or, for that matter, London. Properties in London cost three to four times more than in Dubai. It is no wonder then that a number of developers in India such as Sobha Group and Danube are developing prime property in Downtown Dubai and Dubai Studio City.

Most of the buyers are typically Indians. “70% of the investors in our first two projects are working Asian expatriates, especially from India and Pakistan, because they saw a good investment opportunity,” said Sajan. Indians in Dubai, particularly from the middle class, buy property for pretty much the same reason as most people working in places far from home do: it makes sense to own a property than pay rent for one. The rents in Dubai pinch: ranging from AED 80,000 to AED 1,00,000 a year for a one-bedroom apartment in some of the premium properties, rising by up to 8% a year. Buying makes sense: a decent, spacious property in an upscale locality typically costs about AED 1 million.

A recent survey by Bayut.com, an online property portal, showed that the majority of Indians living in Dubai planned to buy an apartment rather than a villa or a townhouse. About 60.8% of Indians surveyed in the study said they have been looking to buy a house for the past three months. Of this lot, 82.86% said they are interested in buying apartments. Only 13.71% of Indians showed an interest in buying villas. The search for townhouses was limited to just 1.71% Indians.

At Burj Khalifa, the buyers are not just the affluent. In fact, the number of investors buying apartments through home loans in the tower had doubled in the first nine months of 2014 compared to the same period in 2013, according to authorities. Even so, the most sought-after localities happen to be the toniest in Dubai — Dubai Marina, Downtown Dubai and Jumeirah Lake Towers. According to Luxhabitat, a Dubai-based real estate brokerage firm, the maximum number of properties above AED 5 million were sold in Downtown Dubai followed by Dubai Marina and Palm Jumeirah.
An Indian businessman in the UAE who owns 27 residences in Burj Khalifa said Indians are investing in the UAE because it is very difficult to invest or do business in India, especially in Kerala. “There are trade union problems, shortage of labour and even restrictions on using land. So instead of attracting trouble by investing in India, we find peace of mind and reasonable return of investments in the UAE,” he said, requesting anonymity

The Duchess of Cambridge, née Kate Middleton, is set to name her second royal baby Alice, if bets made by the public are anything to go by. According to William Hill, the bookmakers have seen a fresh wave of punters believing that Prince William and Kate’s second baby will be called Alice.

The name is a traditional one in the British royal family and has been thrown around in recent weeks as a popular choice.

Bookmakers noted that a group of royal fans in Tunbridge, Kent have placed a large amount of bets on the name Alice, causing them to slash the odds to 4/1. Competing company Ladbrokes have also cut the odds to 3/1.

We have seen a significant number of bets, particularly from the Tunbridge area – you have to think there is a good reason for the gamble,” a statement from William Hill revealed.

One person wagered approximately £300 on the name, meaning it would cost bookies over £4,500 if the royal baby did turn out to be called Alice.

The pretty name would give a nod to Queen Victoria’s second daughter, Alice Maud Mary. The late royal was famous for her compassionate nature and relentless advocacy of women’s rights – two qualities that would be encouraged in a modern monarch.

William and Kate themselves do not know the gender of their second child, but with Kate’s April due date fast approaching, the majority of punters are betting that the Duchess will have a daughter. Over 70 per cent of William Hill customers are backing a baby girl.

Elizabeth is proving to be the second most popular name with odds at 9/2, followed by Charlotte at 11/2 and Victoria at 12/1. The front-runner for a boy’s name is Arthur at 20/1.

Kate recently revealed that she was due in “mid-to-late April” and if she does give birth near the Queen’s birthday on 21 April, Elizabeth would make for a fitting choice.

Whatever they choose to name their little Prince or Princess, William and Kate will take joy in the fact that their second child will be born just days within their fourth-wedding anniversary, which falls on 29 April.

In a remark that could land him in trouble, Goa Chief Minister Laxmikant Parsekar on Tuesday allegedly advised the agitating nurses that they should not stage hunger strike in the sun because it will make them ‘dark’ and ‘ruin their marital prospects’.

“When we met the Chief Minister over our demands at Ponda today, he said the girls should not sit on hunger strike in hot sun as their complexion will become dark and they will not find a good bridegroom,” said Anusha Sawant, one of the nurses.

“The comment was unwarranted. We expect the CM to meet our demands if he is really worried about us,” she said.

Parsekar was not available for reaction.

Ethelbari(WB), Apr 1 (PTI) West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee today stressed on development of tourism in north Bengal and said the government would take steps in the direction.

Banerjee, who inaugurated a total 45 projects for the region at a programme at Ethelbari in Alipurduar district, said the government would sanction Rs 400 crore for the development of Dooars.

She mentioned scenic spots like Suntalikhola and Mouchuki, where stress would be given for tourism.

“Development is most important so that all of you live in peace. Let there be no riots, no clashes, no violence,” she said.

Inaugurating a slew of projects, Banerjee said the government was contemplating distributing 20 lakh cycles for students – both girls and boys across the state. The cycles would be distributed among poor students irrespective of whether they belonged to tribal or SC/ST sections.

She announced distribution of 900 cycles among girl students and an enhanced stipend of Rs 750 yearly for the 14,000 girls under Kanyashri project in Alipurduar district.

Banerjee also announced 35 kg of rice for workers in tea gardens at Rs 2 per kg and monthly allowance of Rs 1,500 if the garden is closed for over three months.

She also laid the foundation of the Rs 50 crore integrated Alipurduar collectorate building, inaugurated krishak bazars in various areas, a drinking water project at Falakata and a police station at Shamuktala among others.

New Delhi, Apr 1 (PTI) Budget carrier SpiceJet has made a part payment of its dues to the state-run Airports Authority of India (AAI) and also signed an agreement with aircraft leasing firm BBAM to settle out of court the dispute over Boeing rentals.

“SpiceJet has paid a part payment of Rs 25 crore to the Airports Authority of India towards the dues it had accumulated due to the cash crunch last year,” sources told PTI here today.

The AAI received the part payment of around Rs 300 crore dues yesterday, they said.

Meanwhile, the airline said that aircraft leasing firm BBAM has agreed in-principle to settle out of court the dispute over aircraft rentals.

“SpiceJet has entered into an in-principle understanding with its five lessors managed by BBAM Aircraft Leasing and Finance with regard to five aircraft operated by the company,” SpiceJet said in a regulatory filing today.

Under the understanding, the lessors have agreed to suspend court proceedings, including winding these up, and the de-registration process of aircraft, subject to SpiceJet satisfying the terms of settlement and parties executing definitive agreements, the airline said.

SpiceJet was dragged to court by several aircraft leasing firms including BBAM after it had failed to pay rentals for some of its Boeing 737 aircraft due to financial crunch last year.

A single judge bench of the high court had on March 19 directed the DGCA to de-register six Boeing 737 aircraft given to the carrier.

But on March 23, another of its lessors Wilmington Trust SP Services (Dublin) Ltd decided to withdraw the court proceedings and de-registration process of aircraft after the parties reached an agreement on the issue.

Currently, the budget carrier has a fleet of 32 aircraft, of which 27 are Boeing 737 and the rest Bombardier Q400s. The airline plans to add seven more such planes between this month and May.
PTI