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The Hindu
5 days ago
- Politics
- The Hindu
Letters to The Editor — June 3, 2025
War and truce Ukraine seems to rise like a phoenix, with or without the support of the Americans. The drone attack is retaliation by Ukraine that has taken Russia by surprise ('World' page, June 2). The age-old adage has been proved right again. In a war there are no winners. Is it not time for the warring nations to call a truce? P.R. Ravinder, Hyderabad There are two wars that need to end — Russia- Ukraine and the Israel-Gaza war. As the United States President seems to want to don the role of global peacemaker, he should step up efforts to get all sides to agree to talk durable peace. Sreelekha P.S., Secunderabad Forecast and on the ground The indigenously developed new weather system, Bharat forecast system, will definitely improve the accuracy of forecasts. But the more crucial aspect of handling inclement weather is the preparedness of the local administration. Flood proofing and improving related-infrastructure should be given priority. There only seems to be fire-fighting every monsoon. Thomas Palocaren, Vellore, Tamil Nadu
The Hindu
29-05-2025
- Business
- The Hindu
Disburse pending paddy procurement dues to farmers
The Coordination Committee of All Farmers Associations of Tamil Nadu President P.R. Pandian on Thursday said that the procurement of paddy should be through the direct procurement centres and private agencies should not be involved in procurement. Speaking at a press meet held in Madurai, Mr. Pandian said that necessary steps should be taken to pay pending paddy procurement dues to farmers. The State government should also address the issues related to crop insurance, he said. He said that the State should withdraw the Tamil Nadu Land Consolidation (for Special Purposes) Act, 2023. Corporates in the name of development could grab the fertile agricultural lands and the waterbodies. The farmers should be protected and their grievance redressed, he said.
Business Recorder
19-05-2025
- Business
- Business Recorder
India threatens two offshore funds holding Adani shares with penalties, document shows
MUMBAI: India's markets regulator has threatened two Mauritus-based funds with investments in the Adani Group that they could face penalties and cancellation of licences for not sharing shareholding details despite repeated requests over two years, according to a document reviewed by Reuters. The Adani Group and its 13 offshore investors have been facing an investigation by the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) since Hindenburg Research in 2023 alleged improper use of tax havens by the group, triggering a stock sell-off. The group has repeatedly denied wrongdoing, and its shares have since recovered. Indian regulations require that at least 25% of the shares of listed companies be held by public shareholders, but Hindenburg alleged the Adani Group breached those rules since some offshore funds with Adani company holdings were related to the conglomerate. The two Mauritius-based Elara funds - Elara India Opportunities Fund and Vespera Fund - had been asked since 2023 to provide 'granular disclosures' of all their shareholders since they had 'concentrated positions' in the Adani Group, according to a SEBI document dated March 28, which was reviewed by Reuters. India's Adani Total Gas posts drop in quarterly profit on higher procurement charges 'To date, this has not been provided by these FPIs (foreign portfolio investors) to SEBI … They have also not provided any reasons,' the document said, adding that such delays had 'impeded the investigation into the Adani Group's compliance with minimum public shareholding norms.' India's Elara Capital and SEBI did not respond to Reuters queries. The Adani Group also did not respond. The SEBI document noted that Elara funds did not make disclosures about their acquisitions of certain Adani stocks exceeding 5% - as was required by Indian regulations. It did not specify the exact shareholding in question. Even though the funds are Mauritius based, they are registered with SEBI as FPIs, bringing them under compliance norms and scrutiny of the Indian regulator. The two funds have applied to SEBI to settle the matter without admitting guilt and by paying a monetary fine, said two sources with direct knowledge of the matter, who declined to be named as the investigation is confidential. It was not clear what penalties could they face eventually. In November, U.S. authorities indicted group chairman Gautam Adani and some other executives, alleging they paid bribes to secure Indian power supply contracts and misled U.S. investors during fund raising. Adani denies wrongdoing, and says the allegations are baseless. At least two other offshore investors in Adani stocks - Mauritius-based Lotus Investment and LTS Investment - also did not supply information on Adani holdings when asked by SEBI, the two sources added. P.R. Ramesh, a lawyer who represent Lotus and LTS in India, did not respond to repeated requests for comment.
The Hindu
23-04-2025
- Politics
- The Hindu
Caste census: Dominant castes' real fear is over political power dynamics at the grassroots
The release of the population data of castes/sub-castes in Karnataka, as part of the Socio-Economic and Educational Survey (popularly called caste census), has generated much political heat. Though the dominant Vokkaliga and Veerashaiva-Lingayat communities have termed the survey 'unscientific' and have called for a new survey, the real underlying fact is the fear among the communities over a possible change in the political landscape and power dynamics between castes at the local level. Political dominance in most places depends on the sway that certain castes hold locally. The numbers that have now been published are likely to allow the other backward classes (OBCs) to challenge the dominance of a community, which the land-owning Vokkaliga or Veerashaiva-Lingayats normally hold. In ticket distribution 'Feudal structure at the grassroots can get shaken. If other castes come together, these traditional structures will also come under pressure. Political parties may also start looking at the numbers carefully and distribute the ticket,' said P.R. Ramesh, former Congress MLC. 'A big political implication from the published data can be that the parties could try social engineering and justice in the distribution of ticket.' The 2015 survey by the Karnataka State Commission for Backward Classes puts the percentage of the Vokkaliga and Veerashaiva-Lingayat communities, which have so far dominated the State's politics, of the total population in the State to be 10.29 and 11, respectively, far below their claimed figure of about 13% to 15% and 17% to 22%, respectively. In the current classification of the backward classes, barring about 24 castes among the about 197 castes/550 sub-castes classified as backward class in the State, the rest have had no political representation so far in the Assembly or Parliament through elections, commission sources said. Though many castes get represented in local bodies, there are still castes that have not had any representation at any level. No money, no numbers 'It has been observed that many of the castes do not have adequate population or money power. Parties do not distribute the ticket to leaders from such castes, which results in a lack of representation. Leadership has also not evolved in such communities,' said K.N. Lingappa, a member of H. Kantharaj commission, which conducted the survey. Acknowledging the fear of power structure altering on the ground, Akhila Bharatha Veerashaiva Mahasabha secretary H.M. Renuka Prasanna said, 'We also fear that the same population data could be used for reservation in local bodies. Already, with 50% reservation in local bodies, efforts are made to reserve the Veerashaiva-Lingayat community-dominated wards to other communities and keep the wards where the caste population is not dominant in the general category. This will reduce the chances of candidates from the community winning elections. Our political representation will come down drastically.' Delimitation exercise He also blamed the delimitation exercise, after which the State went to the polls in 2008, for reducing the number of Veerashaiva-Lingayat legislators in the Assembly. 'As many as 24 constituencies that Lingayat legislators would win were reserved, including five each in Raichur and Ballari districts. Today, in Ballari, which produced several Lingayat leaders, Lingayats cannot win even one seat,' he claimed. The fear of both Vokkaligas and Lingayats remains common, and a Vokkaliga leader in the Janata Dal (Secular) said that once the number of winnable constituencies gets reduced, it automatically influences the power structure. 'In local bodies, the position of president and vice-president is also reserved. If the number of winnable wards is reduced, the total number of elected representatives from the community also gets reduced. The claim on the president or vice-president posts becomes difficult.' The political manoeuvres become difficult at the local level if the number of other castes are also big, he said.
