Reliance net up 25 % at Rs.20,286 crore

Reliance Industries has reported a net profit of Rs. 20,286 crore for the year ended March 31, 2011, against Rs. 16,236 crore in the previous year, a rise of 25 per cent.

For the fourth quarter ended March 31, 2011, the company reported a 14 per cent rise in net profit at Rs. 5,376 crore against Rs. 4,710 crore in the year-ago period.

The board of directors has recommended a dividend of Rs. 8 per share of Rs. 10 each, aggregating Rs. 2,772 crore, including dividend distribution tax.

The turnover for the year ended March 31, 2011, was Rs. 258,651 crore, an increase of 29 per cent over the previous year. Exports were higher by 33 per cent at Rs. 146,667 crore against Rs. 110,176 crore in the previous year.

Consumption of raw materials increased by 31 per cent to Rs. 193,234 crore mainly on account of higher crude oil prices as well as higher volume of crude oil processed in the SEZ refinery.

Staff costs were Rs. 2,624 crore for the year against Rs. 2,350 crore, reflecting increased benefits to personnel. Other expenditure increased by 27 per cent from Rs. 12,563 crore to Rs. 15,965 crore due to lower capitalisation of pre-operative expenditure, higher selling expenses on additional volumes primarily from the SEZ refinery, royalty on higher oil and gas production and higher shutdown expenses in refining and petrochemicals.

The operating profit, before other income and depreciation, increased by 25 per cent from Rs. 30,581 crore to Rs. 38,126 crore. Other income was higher by 24 per cent at Rs. 3,052 crore against Rs. 2,460 crore primarily due to higher average cash balances. Depreciation (including depletion and amortisation) was higher by 30 per cent at Rs. 13,608 crore against Rs. 10,497 crore mainly on account of higher depletion charge in the oil and gas business and incremental depreciation due to the SEZ refinery.

Interest cost was higher at Rs. 2,328 crore against Rs. 1,997 crore due to lower capitalisation of interest charges.

Basic earnings per share (EPS) for the year stood at Rs. 62 against Rs. 49.70. Outstanding debt as on March 31, 2011 was Rs.67,397 crore against Rs.62,495 crore as on March 31, 2010.“Reliance had a record year with strong financial and operating performance. Global economic growth, emerging markets demand and tightness in the markets led to recovery in refining margins and record petrochemical earnings. Reliance also entered into a strategic partnership with BP to exploit the full potential of its domestic upstream portfolio. Joint ventures in shale gas diversified our portfolio and are creating new competencies. Our committed investments in core business and new initiatives are expected to result in sustained earnings growth,” said Mukesh D. Ambani, Chairman and Managing Director of the company.

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India And China Are Rising: Obama

Washington : US President Barack Obama today said that America needs to adapt to a changing world wherein countries like India and China are rising and areas like the Middle East are becoming less stable.

“We were seeing changes around the world—countries like China and India rising; areas like the Middle East becoming less stable; the world shrinking because of technology, much of it invented right here in this region,” Obama said in his remarks at a fund raising event in San Francisco.

“So I think we understood that we were going to have to adapt in some fundamental way in order to make sure that our kids and our grandkids ended up inheriting the kind of America that we inherited,” he said.

Noting that there are moments in history that are inflection points, Obama said he understood this in 2008 that the US was entering into one of those periods.

“Domestically, we had gone through a decade in which the economy was growing but it was growing on top of a bubble.  And people at the very top were doing very well, but the wages and incomes of ordinary families had flatlined, and we were starting as a government to live beyond our means with tax cuts and two wars that weren’t paid for,” he said.

“So I think people understood even before the recession hit that somehow the way our economy was operating was not conducive to long-term sustained economic growth or making sure that everybody had a chance at the American Dream,” Obama said.

Soon thereafter his speech was interrupted by a group of people attending the fundraising. Through a song they protested against the alleged mistreatment of WikiLeaks suspect Bradley Manning.

Earlier this week, Obama created controversy by targeting “cheap health care” in countries like India and Mexico arguing that Americans should avail of “high quality” treatment available here.

“My preference would be that you don’t have to travel to Mexico or India to get cheap health care. I’d like you to be able to get it right here in the United States of America that is high quality,” Obama said at a community college in Virginia.

Earleir, Obama’s remarks on American companies outsourcing jobs to Indian firms had stirred a controversy in India. PTI

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US To Give Pak 85 Mini-Drones

Islamabad   The United States will provide Pakistan with 85 small ‘Raven’ drone aircraft, a U.S. military official said on Thursday.

This is supposed to be a key step to meeting Islamabad's calls for access to U.S. drone technology.

The official, speaking on condition of anonymity, declined to disclose the cost or model of the non-lethal, short-range aircraft, which are manufactured by the U.S.-based AeroVironment Inc.

Meanwhile, in another fresh Drone attack on early Friday morning, a US Drone killed at least seven people after it fired five missiles at a compound housing Taliban militants in Spinwam, 40 km northeast of Miranshah in North Waziristan.

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Obama Approves Use Of Armed Drones In Libya

Washington:  President Barack Obama has approved the use of armed drones in Libya, authorizing U.S. airstrikes on ground forces for the first time since America turned over control of the operation to NATO on April 4.It also is the first time that drones will be used for airstrikes since the conflict began on March 19, although they have routinely been flying surveillance missions, Defense Secretary Robert Gates told reporters at a Pentagon briefing Thursday.

He said the U.S. will provide up to two 24-hour combat air patrols each day by the unmanned Predators.Marine Gen. James Cartwright, vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said the drones can help counteract the pro-Gaddafi forces' tactic of traveling in civilian vehicles that make it difficult to distinguish them from rebel forces.

"What they will bring that is unique to the conflict is their ability to get down lower, therefore to be able to get better visibility on targets that have started to dig themselves into defensive positions," Cartwright said. "They are uniquely suited for urban areas."He added, "It's very difficult to pick friend from foe. So a vehicle like the Predator that can get down lower and can get IDs better helps us."

Gates rejected the notion that the approval of drone strikes means that the U.S. will slowly get pulled back into a more active combat role, despite Obama's promise to merely provide support for NATO.

U.S. forces played a lead role in the early days of the conflict, launching an onslaught of cruise missiles and bombs on Gaddafi's surface-to-air missiles sites and advancing regime troops.

But with American forces stretched by the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, as well as the humanitarian operations in Japan, the Pentagon turned the mission over to NATO, saying it would only do limited airstrikes to take out air defenses. The U.S., said Obama, would no longer do airstrikes to protect the civilian population.Gates said that bringing in the Predators will give NATO a critical capability that the U.S. can uniquely contribute.

"I think this is a very limited additional role on our part, but it does provide some additional capabilities to NATO," said Gates. "And if we can make a modest contribution with these armed Predators, we'll do it. ... I don't think any of us sees that as mission creep."He said Obama has been clear that there will be no U.S. boots on the ground and that the main strike role would belong to the allies.

The first Predator mission since Obama's go-ahead was flown Thursday but the aircraft -- armed with Hellfire missiles -- turned back due to poor weather conditions without firing any of its munitions, Cartwright said.

Gates, who publicly expressed skepticism about getting involved militarily in Libya before Obama endorsed the limited intervention, said "the real work" of overthrowing Moammar Gaddafi will have to be done by the Libyans themselves.

While he acknowledged the conflict "is likely to take a while," Gates also said the ongoing sanctions, arms embargo and NATO-led offensive have weakened Gaddafi's military and eaten away at his supplies and cash. Over the long term, Gates said, that will hurt the regime's ability to strike back at oppositions forces, if they rise up again in other cities.

At the same time, however, Gates said the administration's decision to provide $25 million in nonlethal military assistance to the rebels did not signal a deeper U.S. commitment to anti-Gaddafi forces whose makeup, objectives and motives are still not fully understood in Washington.

The aid, he said, is not high-end military equipment but rather a hodge-podge of things like uniforms and canteens."I'm not worried about our canteen technology falling into the wrong hands," he joked.Asked how long he believes it will take the NATO-led air campaign to succeed, Gates replied, "The honest answer to that is, nobody knows."

In other comments, Gates did not rule out major military program cuts to meet Obama's goal to slash another $400 billion from the country's national security spending over the next 12 years. But he laid out some programs he believes are vital, including the new Air Force refueling tanker and the replacement of some Navy ships.

"The worst of all possible worlds, in my view, is to give the entire Department of Defense a haircut -- basically (saying) everybody is going to cut X percent," Gates said, adding that he's had one meeting with staff on the issue.

Instead, he said the Pentagon must lay out options and the risks involved if particular cuts are made and how they would affect military missions.He added that he does not know how much of the cut the Pentagon will be expected to take.AP

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Draft Lokpal Bill Expected To Be Ready By June 30: Moily

Bangalore  : The government intends to complete the draft of the Lokpal Bill by June 30 and table it in the monsoon session of parliament, Union Law Minister M Veerappa Moily said today.

With allegations levelled against some civil society members of the joint committee on the Lokpal bill, Moily said “we should not give more credence to such allegations.  Arguments and counter-arguments should not dilute such an important step”.

“What is important is the dedication, willingness and determination to table the important bill. When the government is determined to table the bill, all others should cooperate”, Moily said.

To another question, Moily said the draft bill would be formulated by all the members of the joint committee. “All their views will be taken into account and the bill will be formulated through a consensus”.

He said even though social activist Anna Hazare did not indicate the deadline for drafting the Lokpal Bill, “suo moto we want to complete it (drafting) by June 30 and we aim to introduce the bill in the monsoon session of parliament”.

“Emotions aside, all of us need to work together to bring out a strong Lokpal Bill”, he said responding to a query on the threat by Karnataka Lokayukta Justice Santosh Hegde, a committee member, that he was contemplating to quit the panel as he was fed up with the allegations  against its members.

Refusing to comment on the sense of hurt expressed by Hegde over Congress leader Digvijay Singh’s statements, Moily said “people are entitled to their emotions. I would not like to comment on this. However, what is important is the implementation of a strong Lokpal Bill”. PTI

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Polling Begins For Second Phase In West Bengal

Kolkata : Polling began this morning in 50 constituencies for the second of the six-phase Assembly elections in West Bengal in which an electorate of 93.33 lakh will decide the fate of 293 candidates.  Tight security arrangements are in place for peaceful polling in 22 constituencies in Murshidabad, 17 in Nadia and 11 in Birbhum, having a total of 11,531 polling stations.

Some of the prominent candidates whose fortunes will be decided are Abhijit Mukhkerjee, son of Union Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee from Nalhati seat, Panchayat minister and CPI(M) leader Anisur Rahaman, former High Court Judge Nure Alam Chowdhury, a Trinamool Congress candidate contesting from Murarai and Rukbanur Rahman, brother of late computer graphics teacher Rizwanur Rahman from the Chapra constituency.

BJP has fielded candidates in all seats, followed by CPI(M) in 31, Trinamool Congress in 29, BSP in 27 and Congress in 21 seats.Police said 480 companies of central para-military forces have been deployed in the three districts.The six-phase election is scheduled to end on May 10.PTI

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Rajesh Talwar 'Misled' The Judiciary, CBI Tells Apex Court

New Delhi : In another twist to the Aarushi -Hemraj double murder case, the CBI has accused dentist Rajesh Talwar of forging documents, concealing facts and misleading the Supreme Court to get relief from prosecution in the trial court.

In an affidavit filed before the apex court, CBI’s superintendent Neelabh Kishore alleged that Rajesh, in his appeal against the trial court, had deliberately taken a false plea that he was released on bail in July 2008 which was totally contrary to facts.

A bench of justices B Sudershan Reddy and S S Nijjar which took on record the affidavit after it was mentioned by the CBI counsel said it would take up the issue on Monday when the matter would come up for hearing.  The CBI clarified that Rajesh was released after the agency did not seek extension of his judicial custody as at that time the investigators did not find sufficient material against him.

Seeking dismissal of the plea by Rajesh and his dentist wife Nupur challenging the criminal proceedings initiated against them for the murders, the CBI alleged the bail application annexed along with the appeal was forged as no such document existed.

Contrary to the dentist’s claim that he had moved a bail application under Section 437 of the Criminal Procedure Code, the CBI said that the trial court had ordered Rajesh’s release after the agency filed an application under Section 169 of CrPc.

The agency had then told the special court that it did not have sufficient evidence against him at that stage.  The CBI further pointed out that Rajesh’s bail claim was not mentioned in Nupur’s separate appeal, challenging the same criminal proceedings against the Talwars.  The CBI while referring to the “discrepancy” said Nupur had stated clearly that her husband was set free after CBI did not seek his further remand.

According to the agency the trial court on March 3 issued bailable warrants that were executed against the couple on March 10, but the Talwars did not disclose this fact before the SC.

“It is a settled law that at the stage of taking cognisance, sufficiency of evidence for conviction is not to be considered at that stage. It is further submitted that it is settled law that even at the stage of framing of charge, which is subsequent to the summoning of accused, truth, veracity and effect of the material is not to be judged”, the CBI said seeking dismissal of the appeal.  The agency said Rajesh was accorded an opportunity to present his case by filing a protest petition, though it wasn’t required under the law.

On March, 19 the Supreme Court despite it being a public holiday held an urgent hearing at 7 pm and stayed the Allahabad High Court order that had refused to set aside a special Ghaziabad CBI court direction, summoning the dentist couple in the murder case.

The HC had dismissed their plea, seeking quashing of the proceedings initiated by the lower court which not only refused to accept the closure report of the CBI but also summoned the couple as accused in the case.

14-year-old Aarushi was found dead with her throat slit at her Noida residence on the outskirts of Delhi on May 16, 2008 and the body of their domestic help, Hemraj, was found on the terrace the next day. PTI

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