Survey puts 23 crore people still below poverty line
New Delhi: The number of people living below the poverty line (BPL) in India is about 22-23 crore even while in terms of net percentage of population the figure has reduced substantially since economic reforms were initiated in the early '90s.

According to the latest findings of the National Sample Survey (NSS) while the percentage of BPL population has come down between 1993-94 and 2004-05, in terms of net number of people the situation remains serious. The percentage of people living below the poverty line has reduced from 36 per cent in 1993-94 to 26 per cent in 1999-2000 and to 22 per cent in 2004-05.

Mahesh Vyash, managing director and CEO of the Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy, said: "You are looking at a particular percentage of the population of 1993-94 and the population since then has grown in the range of 1.5-1.7 per cent annually. So if the percentage of population goes up along with reduction in BPL population, it has to be taken into account. In terms of net numbers more details would be required."

The new estimates show that between 1993-94 and 2004-05, the BPL population has come down by 0.74 per cent every year, which in net terms would be around eight crore people.

Experts say they would wait till the detailed data are made available when the figures would be released next month.
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Petro product sales rise 8.8 per cent in May
New Delhi: The oil product sales rose by 8.8 per cent in May to 9.97 million tonnes (mt) from 9.17 mt in the same month last year according to data compiled by the Petroleum Ministry.

Diesel sales in May rose by 15.1 per cent year-on-year , while petrol sales were up 13.1 per cent.

A Ministry source said that the consumption during May rose due to increased buying by the dealers in anticipation of a rise in fuel prices. Besides, fuel sales in May were higher due to good agriculture demand in States such as Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, and Bihar, power shortages, as well as impact of elections in a few States.

Kerosene sales during the month under review were up 2 per cent compared to the previous year period.

Aviation turbine fuel sales were up 28.1 per cent. The boom in the aviation sector coupled with holiday season resulted in very high growth in aviation fuel, the official said. Sales of cooking gas (liquefied petroleum gas) were up 5.5 per cent.
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France plans aircraft manufacturing unit in India
New Delhi: France plans to set up an aircraft manufacturing and training facilities unit in India in order to gain a bigger foothold in the country's growing aviation market and also expand bilateral trade.

Dominique Girard, French ambassador to India, said "We foresee greater co-operation between both countries especially in the aeronautical sector. We are planning to set up aircraft manufacturing and training facilities here."

His comments, during a function here on Sunday, come months after officials of France-based Airbus Industrie said the aircraft manufacturer plans to outsource as much as 60 per cent of its production and intends to allocate more work to India and China.
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Left parties hand UPA government dismal report card
Left parties at an internal meeting have handed the Congress-led UPA government a dismal report card and have accusing it of having deviated from the CMP on economic and foreign policy.

The meeting was jointly attended by the CPI (M), CPI, RSP and Forward Bloc in New Delhi.

The parties dealt at length about the government's 'failure' to combat communalism as promised in the CMP.

On the economic front, the Left parties have questioned moves to disinvest profit-making public sector units and privatise airports.
The parties also questioned the government's intentions to move towards full capital account convertibility saying it would be detrimental to the interests of Indian economy.

The report is likely to come up for discussion at the UPA-Left Coordination Committee meet on Thursday. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi will also attend the meeting.
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Mumbai airport upgrade to cost Rs5,800 crore in capital investment
Mumbai: Mumbai International Airport Pvt. Ltd a 74:26 per cent joint venture company between the GVK-SA Consortium and the Airports Authority of India (AAI), awarded the modernisation of the Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport (CSIA) in Mumbai, has drawn up a seven-year capital investment plan of about Rs.5,800 crore.

The GVK-SA consortium comprises GVK, Airports Company South Africa (ACSA) and Bidvest Group Ltd. The Operations Management and Development Agreement (OMDA) was signed with AAI and the airport operations were handed over to MIAL on May 3. MIAL has made an upfront payment of Rs150 crore to AAI.

The joint venture has started the development of a 20-year master plan for CSIA, which will be ready by the end of September and has appointed Netherlands Airports Consultants BV (NACO) to lead the process. Changi Airport of Singapore will review the Master Plan and help in improving the operations and management of CSIA. The Master Plan envisages an investment in excess of Rs7,000 crore.

The company has already tied up the financing requirements. For the debt and internal accruals component, all the commitments are in place and for equity, the consortium has given the first seven years underwritten bank guarantee to the government. MIAL has a 37.8 per cent revenue share agreement with AAI.
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