13 FEBRUARY 2014

Ø  Reliance Industries chairman Mukesh Ambani, Petroleum Minister M. Veerappa Moily, former Minister Murli Deora and former Director-General of Hydrocarbons V.K. Sibal have been named in an FIR registered by the Anti-Corruption Branch of the Delhi government over alleged collusion in fixing natural gas prices and hoarding in the KG-D6 basin.

Ø  The burden of interest on the UPA government’s borrowings is estimated to grow at the rate of 17 per cent this fiscal. The Finance Ministry estimates that the Centre’s expenditure on interest payments on its debt will grow 17 per cent to Rs. 3,64,244 crore in 2013-14, according to the economic and functional classification (EFC) of the Union Budget released here on Wednesday. This is even greater than the UPA government’s subsidy bill for the year, estimated at Rs. 2,42,255 crore by the Finance Ministry in the EFC. Interest payments are growing at a rate that is 5 percentage points faster than the rate of growth of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP). The Central Statistical Office’s estimate for the rate of growth of GDP for the year at current prices is 12.3 percent.

Ø  Railway minister Malikarjun Kharge presents interim railway budget. For general passengers, he announced 38 express trains, 10 passenger trains, four MEMUs and three DEMUs, while three trains have been extended and the frequency of three others increased.  He also limited his announcements to 73 new trains, 24 surveys for new lines and doubling, and bringing two States in the northeast into the rail network. Mr. Kharge’s only thrust toward raising resources rests on 17 new premium trains, named Jai Hind, on as many busy routes, and the hope that the dynamic (demand-based) ticket pricing would yield a higher rate of return. A trial between Delhi and Mumbai yielded 48-per-cent higher revenue per train. Among the other passenger-friendly initiatives announced by Railway Minister Mallikarjun Kharge in his interim Railway Budget, 61 escalators will be installed and an air-conditioned EMU service will be launched in Mumbai in July. The Mumbai-Ahmedabad corridor is likely to roll out after the completion of the joint feasibility study for a high-speed corridor. Semi-high speed trains on select routes are also on the anvil. Arunachal Pradesh and Meghalaya will be put on the rail map with the completion of the Harmati-Naharlagun and Dudhnoi-Mehendipathar new lines by March. The northeast will also benefit from the conversion of the 510-km Rangiya-Murkongselek section to broad gauge.

Ø  Italy has petitioned the U.N. over the trial of two of its marines in India under the SUA Act

Ø  The government tabled the Human Immunodeficiency Virus Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (Prevention and Control) Bill, 2014, in the Rajya Sabha. It seeks to prevent the spread of HIV/AIDS and protect the human rights of people living with it. At present, India is estimated to have 2.39 million people living with HIV/AIDS. The Bill seeks to prohibit any kind of discrimination against the infected person — for instance, denial or termination of employment or occupation, unfair treatment, denial of access to any sector and forcible HIV testing. India on Wednesday launched third-line drug therapy for people living with HIV/AIDS and extended free anti-retroviral therapy (ART) to more of them by revising the eligibility norm.