Karnataka bandh; estimated losses at Rs2,000-cr
Bangalore: The 12-hour Karnataka bandh on Wednesday called by pro-Kannada organisations to protest the Centre's inaction on the border dispute with Maharashtra remained peaceful. However, industrial establishments in Bangalore which remained closed due to the near total bandh decided to compensate for the losses by working over the weekend. Almost all IT and BPO companies declared a holiday in Bangalore partly due to non-availability of public transport and disruption of traffic by activists supporting the bandh. Among the IT companies that remained closed were Intel, IBM, HP, Infosys, Wipro, Satyam, HCL and TCS.

The bandh called by `Karnataka Border Agitation Committee' — an umbrella organisation of pro-Kannada outfits — to put pressure on the Centre to implement the Mahajan Commission report on the boundary issue evoked "good response" in most parts of Karnataka, official sources said.
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IIP Aug growth drops to 5.5 per cent y-o-y
New Delhi: The Index of Industrial Production (IIP) logged a growth of 5.5 per cent in August 2006 as compared with 5.8 per cent in August 2005, according to data released by the government today.
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Govt to consult states on reservation issue
New Delhi: The government has decided to consult the states on the legislation to extend reservations in unaided, deemed-to-be universities.

Decision on the bill introducing the new reservation regime in unaided deemed-to-be universities was deferred by the Cabinet in August. As part of its wider consultation, ministers for defence, human resource development, and finance will be meeting with state chief ministers. No formal Group of Ministers has been appointed to undertake these consultations.

These three ministers had as a formally-constituted Group of Ministers examined the issue of extending reservation to OBCs in Central educational institutions.

The meeting will be held in batches for better and more meaningful consultation. A set of states including Kerala will be meeting with this group next Tuesday.
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Infrastructure growth rate at 6.7 per cent
New Delhi: The growth rate of infrastructure sector has risen to 6.7 per cent for the April-August quarter of '06-07, compared with a growth rate of 6.1 per cent in the corresponding period of previous fiscal.

The six core infrastructure industries namely crude petroleum, petroleum refinery products, coal, electricity, cement and steel have, however, registered a growth rate of 5.5 per cent in August, less than the 5.8 percent rate for the same month last year.
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India performs worst on transparency
New Delhi: India has been ranked as the worst performer by Transparency International on its global Bribe Payers Index, based on the propensity of companies from the world's 30 leading exporting countries in bribing abroad. The international corruption watchdog said overseas bribery is still common among the world's export giants despite the existence of international anti-bribery laws, while companies from emerging export powers — India, China and Russia are the worst performers.

India has been ranked at the 30th position in the Transparency International 2006 Bribe Payers Index (BPI), with a score of 4.62. A score of 10 indicates a perception of no corruption, while zero means corruption is seen as rampant.

Switzerland is at the top slot with a score of 7.81, followed by Sweden, Australia, Austria and Canada, US and UK.

According to the report, businesses from India, China and Russia have the most propensity to pay bribes. Companies from the wealthiest countries have been ranked in the top half, but they still routinely pay bribes, particularly in developing economies, it added.
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