Mumbai/Delhi, Oct. 6: The Securities and Exchange Board of India and the RBI acted in tandem on Monday to infuse money into the system. Sebi lifted the ban on participatory notes and the 40 per cent cap on P-notes in both cash as well as derivative contracts. P-notes are issued by foreign institutional investors registered in India to un-registered overseas inves-tors. Sebi had restricted P-notes in October 2007 when huge foreign funds flowed into India, pushing up the rupee value and overheating the markets.

The situation is different now, with FIIs pulling out money. Easing the restrictions is expected to attract foreign money back into the market. The RBI cut the Cash Reserve Ratio — the amount that banks have to park with the RBI — to 8.5 per cent. This first cut in CRR in five years will infuse Rs 20,000 crore into the banking system. Mr Deepak Parekh, HD-FC chairman, told a channel that if the CRR cut had come on Friday, Monday’s carnage could have been avoided. Mr Alok Agarwal, head research, K.R. Choksey Securities and Stocks Ltd, said easing the CRR when inflation was so high “doesn’t make sense but it is an emergency.” The theory is that more money in the market fuels inflation.

Mumbai, Oct. 6: A cocktail of catastrophic global events saw carnage in Indian markets and the rest of the world. The Sensex was among the hardest hit as traders took advantage of FIIs and domestic institutions selling stocks. The Sensex dived 760.87 points intra-day, hitting a two-year low, and recovered to close 724.62 points down, at 1,801.70.

Heavy selling by the FIIs saw the rupee hit a five-and-a-half year low of Rs 47.81 in intra-day trading. “Stocks became a four-letter word as no one wanted to buy and no one was putting in fresh money,” Mr Ambareesh Baliga, vice-president, Karvy Stock Broking, said. Mr Vijay Kedia, managing director, Kedia Secur-ities, said: “The world is falling, and the Indian market is following. The $700 billion bailout plan has not encouraged people. From where will the money come in? It will come from the people’s pockets.” The fall in rupee value triggered fears of an accelerated outflow of foreign funds. The rupee has lost 17.6 per cent this year. Foreign funds have pulled out $9.4 billion from Indian stocks in 2008 after buying a record $17.4 billion last year.

Mumbai/Hyderabad, Oct. 6: The Mumbai police on Monday arrested 20 suspected members of the Indian Mujahideen from different parts of the country who it said were planning to set off bombs in Mumbai during Navratri or Diwali on October 26. Among those were arrested were two persons who allegedly placed bombs in Hyderabad on August 25 last year.

Police said that the Indian Mujahideen chief Riyaz Bhatkal, alias Roshan Khan, had personally planted the bomb at Gokul Chat.  “We have not succeeded in apprehending Bhatkal,” said Mr Hasan Gafoor, the Mumbai police commissioner. Anique Shafique Sayed, 27, who planted bomb at Lumbini Park, and Akbar Ismail Chadhary who placed the bomb that did not explode in Dilsukhnagar on the same day were among those arrested on Monday.

Mr Gafoor said, “We have averted a major terror attack in Mumbai. As per the intelligence reports, there is a reasonable presumption to suspect that the bomb blasts in Mumbai were to be done during Navratri festival.” The Anti-Terrorism Squad chief, Mr Hemant Karkare, added that Diwali, if not Navaratri, would have been the terror day. “The accused arrested by Delhi police have disclosed during their interrogation that Mohammed Atif, who was killed in a police encounter in Delhi, had even declared October 26 as a date for bomb blasts in Mumbai.” Of the 20 arrested accused, 10 were involved in planting bombs at Surat.

They made bombs, carried out recce and transported explosives from Mangalore to Surat via Pune.  Mr Gafoor also gave credit to citizens, from whom investigating agencies received vital information.  “We cannot disclose their names for security reasons,” he said. The home minister of Andhra Pradesh, Mr K. Jana Reddy, said in Miryalguda in the Nalgonda district that the arrests were possible with the sharing of intelligence among various state police forces.

Officials of the Intelligence department believe that Bhatkal is taking shelter in Pakistan and is suspected to have links with the Mumbai underworld gangs. Police in Hyderabad said Riaz and his associates came to the city after the Macca Masjid explosion.  Bhatkal is believed to have triggered the August 25 blasts to avenge the blast at Macca Masjid.

Hyderabad, Oct. 6: Tata Motors is ready to relocate its Nano project to Andhra Pradesh if the government pays for the loss that the company incurred in shifting out of Singur. Tata Motors officials put the figure at Rs 700 crore. The Chief Minister, Dr Y.S. Rajasekhar Reddy, offered to compensate the loss “to some extent”, about Rs 300 crore.
“The issue of relocation cost got highlighted during the talks,” said a official in the industries department.

“Though they had indicated this issue before their visit to the state, we did not anticipate that they were so serious about it.” The government offered cent per cent VAT exemption for the plant, which would work out to more than Rs 100 crore a year and even give land to ancillary units.  With the Tata delegation insisting on total compensation, a visibly disturbed Chief Minister asked his officers not to bother to stretch out for the project.

By Monday evening, Tata Motors officials went “out of contact” with officials of the Chief Minister Office. “The message is clear, they don’t want to talk at this juncture,” said a CMO official.  Earlier on Monday morning, the Tata Motors delegation visited the Vargal mandal in Medak district, about 50 km from the city, to inspect an alternative site. The government offered 600 acres immediately and another 650 acres after acquisition.

Hyderabad, Oct. 6: Press a buzzer and the police, supported by a range of hi-tech gizmos, will rush to help you in an emergency. This is not a scene from a Hollywood flick but a service that the Hyderabad police will be offering soon — for a fee. The service, called Omnipolis, will be a first in the country. “We are going to introduce a voice interactive system for the control room services,” said the joint commissioner (administration), Mr Harish Kumar Gupta. “People who want to utilise specialised services of Omnipolis will have to pay.”

The control room will have digital maps the city with location indicators. People who subscribe to Omnipolis will be provided a gadget which they can activate in an emergency and alert the control room. Police with the help of a global position response system system would alert the nearest Rakshak van — which would also be equipped with digital maps and GPS — would reach the location.

“We are in the process of digitising maps and Rakshak vans are being fitted with the maps,” said Mr Rohit Jain, promoter of Dee Cee Security Systems which is implementing Omnipolis. “The service will be available on subscription basis.” Though the company has not fixed the subscription cost, Mr Jain indicated it would be about Rs 350 a month for individuals. Other essential services like medical and fire services are also made available.