India likely to raise foreign investment limit in government debt soon - sources

An employee poses with the bundles of Indian rupee notes inside a bank in Agartala, August 22, 2013.

MUMBAI/NEW DELHI Mon Jun 9, 2014

(Reuters) - India will likely raise the foreign investment limit in government debt soon, as almost all the allocation has already been taken up as overseas buyers pile into the country's financial markets, said four officials with direct knowledge of the government's thinking.

The current cap is 995.46 billion rupees ($16.86 billion).

As of Friday, foreign investors owned 886 billion rupees worth of government debt, or 89 percent of the full available allocation, following a surge in inflows due to improving government finances and optimism about Narendra Modi's recent election as prime minister.

Once the limit reaches 90 percent, foreign investors are only allowed to buy debt under a more cumbersome auction bidding system.

"We will certainly look to raise the limit once it is closer to exhaustion," said one of the officials involved in the process, adding the government could allow foreign investors to invest another $5 billion in the local debt.

The finance ministry will decide on the matter after consultations with the Reserve Bank of India and capital markets regulator Securities And Exchange Board of India, the sources said, without providing a specific timeline.

The sources declined to be identified as they were not authorised to talk to the media about the plans.

NO PLAN TO RAISE LIMITS FOR NOW

Finance Secretary Arvind Mayaram told domestic news agency Cogencis that the government had no plan to raise investment limits for now.

"Why would we hike the limit just because they have reached the limit...The limits are set because of due considerations. At the moment there is no thought in changing the limits," Mayaram was quoted as saying to Cogencis.

Mayaram did not reply to requests for comments from Reuters.

India's 10-year benchmark bond yield IN088323G=CC fell 3 basis points to 8.49 percent after the Reuters news, but the yield then rose to 8.57 percent on the Mayaram comments to Cogencis. It closed at 8.51 percent on Friday.

Foreign investors bought a net $425.43 million worth of debt on Friday, their biggest daily purchase since May 23 and bringing their total this year to $8.6 billion.

Under current rules, India allows all types of foreign investors to buy up to $20 billion of government debt, although the dollar amount depends on the exchange rate.

The total foreign investment limit is $30 billion, with the remaining $10 billion for investors such as foreign central banks, sovereign wealth funds, insurance funds and pension funds.

Investors have been expecting the government would raise the allocation for foreign investors once the 90 percent mark was reached.

Last year, New Delhi had said it would increase the foreign investment cap in government bonds, depending on demand and economic requirements. However, it said the annual enhancement would be within 5 percent of the gross annual borrowing of the federal government, excluding buybacks.

But the government is still reluctant to fully free up limits for its debt markets, an objection that has slowed down the process of inclusion into global benchmark indices such as those run by J.P. Morgan.

The current limit means foreign investors own only about 5 percent of the total Indian government bond market.

The country last raised the amount of government debt that foreign investors can buy by $5 billion in June last year.

The renewed interest comes on the back of hopes that Modi will unveil big reforms, such as accelerating investments and clearing infrastructure projects, to boost an economy that posted two consecutive years of below 5 percent growth - the worst slowdown in more than a quarter century. $1 = 59.0600 Indian rupees)

Himachal: Power plant releases water without warning, 26 B.Tech students from Hyderabad washed away

The toll could rise as rescue operations were hampered by non-availability of searchlights and divers. ( Source: Reuters)

 by Ashwani Sharma | Shimla/mandi | June 9, 2014

Over two dozen B.Tech students from Hyderabad on a trip to Kullu-Manali were feared to have been washed away in a flash flood in the river Beas on Sunday after authorities of Larji hydelpower project opened the floodgates of the project’s dam, reportedly without warning.

Students of Vigyan Jyothi Institute of Engineering and Technology, Bachuapalli, located around 20 km from Hyderabad, the 26 had started from Shimla Sunday morning for Kullu-Manali.

The toll could rise as rescue operations were hampered by non-availability of searchlights and divers. Till late in the night, none of the students had been found.

The power project’s floodgates were opened around 6.30 pm and, minutes later, the students were washed away.

The government admitted that the authorities did not follow the right protocol on use of hooters and other warning signals on the release of the water from the hydel project.

Reports reaching Shimla said the students were in a large group of 50, including staff, and travelling in two tourist buses. They had gone down to the river to bathe and take photographs near Thalout on the Kullu-Mandi national highway.

A few students realised the sudden rise in the water level and managed to run to safety. “We saw a wall of water hit those who were on the banks. They fell flat and disappeared under the waves. The police reached very late and carried nothing to start a rescue operation,” said one of the survivors, Sumiran.

There was also chaos at the spot as people blocked the National Highway and held demonstrations. They were persuaded to clear the road for movement of rescue teams and material and ambulances.

Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh promised action against officials of the Larji project who opened the flood gates “without proper warning”.

Mandi Deputy Commissioner Divesh Kumar said that due to darkness, the rescue teams found it difficult to start search operations. “We have information about 24 students including six girls missing.”

Telangana Chief Secretary Dr Rajiv Sharma said 40 students had gone on a study tour to Himachal and had halted near the Beas while returning.

Chief Minister K Chandrasekhara Rao has sent officials to Manali to coordinate rescue and relief efforts.

Indian government vows zero tolerance over violence against women

Narendra Modi's regime pledges to revamp criminal laws surrounding rape and to build indoor toilets for every household

India's President Pranab Mukherjee (l) greets the new prime minister, Narendra Modi, after the PM took the oath of office, in Delhi. Photograph: Prakash Singh/AFP/Getty Images

Jason Burke-Monday 9 June 2014

India's new government has promised "zero tolerance" for violence against women, amid widespread public anger following the recent gang-rape and lynching of two teenage girls.

President Pranab Mukherjee made the pledge in a speech to parliament that laid out the rightwing government's agenda following a landslide election victory for the Bharatiya Janata party, led by Narendra Modi, last month.

Mukherjee also announced a range of other measures to tackle the recent surge of sexual violence against women in India including reforms of the country's slow, corrupt and inefficient criminal justice system.

"The government will have a policy of zero tolerance for violence against women, and will strengthen the criminal justice system for its effective implementation," the president told a joint sitting of parliament.

The attack last month on the two low-caste girls, aged 12 and 14, in a village in a poor region of northern Uttar Pradesh, was the latest in a series of such incidents that have shocked many Indians and badly damaged the image of the country overseas.

In December 2012, a 23-year-old physiotherapist was gang-raped on a bus on busy roads in Delhi, and later died of her injuries. Tens of thousands took to the streets demanding change after that attack, which prompted widespread calls for judicial and policing reform as well as an unprecedented debate on the causes of the surge in such crimes.

Ranjana Kumari, a well-known campaigner and analyst, said politicians themselves needed to set an example. In the last week, two senior officials from the BJP have prompted outrage with ill-considered comments on sexual violence. One, home minister in the central Chhattisgarh state, said that "no one commits rape deliberately", while his counterpart in neighbouring Madhya Pradesh state said rape was "sometimes right, sometimes wrong".

"You need to communicate the zero-tolerance message to every Indian to have real change and that starts at the top," said Kumari.

In Monday's speech, Modi's government also promised to provide toilets in every home – a measure experts say would significantly improve women's safety. Almost half of India's 1.25 billion people currently defecate in the open. For reasons of modesty, women do not use the fields for toilets until it is dark, making them vulnerable to assault.

The victims of the UP attack were assaulted when they went into the fields in the evening to relieve themselves, because their homes, like most in the district, do not have toilets. The two girls were found hanged from the branches of a tree in their village some six to eight hours after they had disappeared. Five men have been arrested, including three neighbours and two local policemen.

Indian government statistics show 244,270 offences against women reported to the police in 2012. But campaigners say that this, a 6% rise on 2011, is only a small fraction of the total of such crimes. "We will watch and wait. There have been so many such statements with good intent, but how do we achieve these things," said Kumari.

The president said the government was also committed to reserving 33% of seats in parliament and state assemblies for women, reaffirming a pledge made by previous national governments.

He also promised that the government would clean the heavily polluted Ganges river and build infrastructure in India's overcrowded cities. Most estimates put the cost of constructing functioning sewage, transport and similar facilities in all of India's urban centres at hundreds of billions of dollars.

"When India will celebrate 75 years of Independence [in 2022], every family will have pucca [brick-walled] house, water facilities," Mukherjee said. "Soon 50% of India's population will reside in urban areas. My government will treat that as an opportunity, not a challenge."

Computer posing as teenage boy passes 'Turing test'

MONDAY 09 JUNE 2014

He is 13-years-old, likes hamburgers and sweets, and has just passed the world famous 'Turing test' for the first time - meet the computer program Eugene Goostman.

Computer Posing as Teenage Boy Passes 'Turing Test' by nelvely

No change on Lanka but what about the economy?

How much can Modi change policy? 

Mahinda with Modi-June 7, 2014

Kumar David

In several essay in the last three weeks about the outcome of the Indian elections I argued five points. In the voluminous outpouring in the global, Indian and even local media about expectations for Modi’s term of office, there have been no sharp differences in respect of three of the five. In respect of the fourth many have adopted a different emphasis from that which I intend to press in this piece. The fifth item pertaining to Lanka is no longer open ended; Modi has committed himself to continuity and to 13A. I will comment on this, but my main topic today is Modi-BJP’s economic options.

No Change on Lanka but What About the Economy How Much Can Modi Change Policy by Thavam Ratna

The Major Picture In Understanding Our Ethnic Conflict

By Laksiri Fernando -June 8, 2014 

Dr. Laksiri Fernando

One reason for our inability to understand, or understand fully, the ‘ethnic conflict’ in Sri Lanka may be our emotional involvement with the conflict one way or the other. This does not mean that the emotional dis-involvement could necessarily bring a proper understanding of the conflict. The reason is that apart from the emotional dis-involvement, it might require a certain amount of knowledge to understand the intricacies of the ethnic conflict. Ethnic conflicts undoubtedly are one of the most intricate problems in human society.

Emotional involvement is something that we acquire from our childhood or develop during our life experiences. It is circumstantial, nevertheless difficult to disentangle. By emotional involvement I do not however mean one’s appreciation or commitment to one’s own culture, language, religion, history or even the ‘group.’ What I particularly mean is the adversarial attitudes towards others’ culture, language, religion, history or group and condoning of the denial of others’ rights.

It is difficult to delineate what could bring ‘emotional dis-involvement’ in a precise manner. But it can be suggested that if one enlarges his or her knowledge on the subject that might even disentangle the emotional biases. Therefore, the second element is emphasized even to address the first element.

There are various ways of going about it. Dr. Rajasingham Narendran has discussed “Citizens, Nations and State” in a conceptual manner in his recent article. One might agree or not. That is not the point. It enhances our knowledge on the subject. More importantly, he has put forward his views and analyses in a non-polemical manner. That helps people to understand, engage and discuss in a non-emotional manner. That is however not completely the case judging by some of the responses to his article.                                          Read More         

Challenging Modi In Colombo

| by Tisaranee Gunasekara

“I know what to give and what not to give.”

Mahinda Rajapaksa (The Hindu – 5.7.2009)

( June 8, 2014, Colombo, Sri Lanka Guardian ) During an extensive interview with ‘The Hindu’, President Mahinda Rajapaksa was asked about his oft-repeated ‘13th Amendment plus’ promise.

“Even tomorrow I can give that…” he replied promptly.

That was July 2009.

Challenging Modi in Colombo by Thavam Ratna

Sexual Violence in Conflict: Sri Lanka - An Unhealed Wound

Next week, the Global Summit to End Sexual Violence in Conflict is due to take place in London, co-hosted by the UK's Foreign Secretary, William Hague and the Special Envoy for the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, Angelina Jolie. 
In the run up to the ESVC summit, we have been revisiting the mounting evidence which documents the widespread, systematic and on-going use of sexual violence by Sri Lanka's military against Tamils, that occurs with absolute impunity.

See our previous features: 

Sexual Violence in Conflict Sri Lanka - An Unhealed Wound by Thavam Ratna

Government failed again to contain dengue

Sunday, 08 June 2014 

It is a shame that the government has failed again to contain adequately the spread of dengue in Colombo area said by the Dr. Wickramabahu Karunarathna in a press statement. Full text of press stataement as follows.

Last few years, every May- June period, dengue raised it head creating big fuss. We are told by experts that dengue can spread, only if fresh water collections spread unnoticed. Secondly, those who fell sick should be allowed the maximum rest, including a ban on heavy diets. In monsoon periods, Ratmalana with heavy showers becomes a dengue positive area. What has to be done is well known and failure of the government shows callus disregard of the regime for the poor.

One deputy minister has been noticed for driving fast in the southern high way. He has lost his temper and abused the traffic cop. Later some crowd of thugs have come near the police officers house and burned his car after assaulting him. Obvious conclusion is that minister has organised this attack but he denies. Pro government elements now accuse that the police officer has engineered the whole thing aimed for asking asylum in a European country! This is an incredible story. This government accuses any body who has complained about violation of human rights or breach of law and order, to be a paid agent of a foreign country. My experience with traffic police is just the opposite. Whenever vehicle I was traveling was stopped same thing happened again and again. Once they recognize me, the police officer will smile and after advising the driver to be careful let us go without activating the law to the word. I am sure, if the minister kindly introduced himself, he could have got away with only a warning to the driver to be careful. This happens only when the breach of law is pardonable. Of course if we come to a demonstration prepared for a street battle, police will take the law and order seriously and smash our heads. Then those bourgeoisie courtesies will vanish. I have been locked up in 11 police stations and remanded four times after being assaulted brutally. That is different; but in this civil law breaking, police tends to take a soft hand with politicians.

The new lord of India, Modi sent a letter demanding Mahinda to respect the promises made and to implement the 13th amendment completely. Also the letter added that for a solution it is necessary to go beyond the 13th amendment, as agreed. However Mahinda, terrorized by the chauvinists in the government -Weerawansa and Champika, also by the announcements of the JVP on presidential elections, slammed Modi by refusing to implement the 13th amendment. He is prepared to give the powers to PCs, only the form but not the content. This is a blow to the left opportunists Vasu Dew Tissa trio too. It is clear that Mahinda is preparing the ground to contest presidential elections with a Sinhala chauvinist political platform. Ranil also was told by the minister Peiris that 13th amendment will not be implemented.

Ranil has come out as a new Vijay Kumaranatunge, not only defending devolution but also with a frontal attack on the IMF. He condemns the IMF delegate Todd Snider for defending the government. It is a mockery for the IMF to defend Mahinda regime by telling untruth. We are not speaking of the general national expenditure on education. Of course families both rich and poor spent on education; some send money abroad to foreign universities. Tuition, fee charging training institutes role in money. We know all that. But we are asking about the money spend on free education; the open path for the ordinary child to go up the ladder. IMF wanted to reduce the budget deficit. One aspect of that process is to reduce the government expenditure for social services. Education was chopped for this purpose. This glaring truth was concealed by the rouges of the IMF. Can Ranil play the role of a Kultur Vijaya in the coming period? We doubt.

TNA and other leaders of minority nationalities should turn towards the democratic and left leaders in the south fore a struggle for liberation. Indian Hinduthva intervention will strengthen the chauvinist forces here and it could lead to a sordid blood bath. In this scenario left has a serious rolr to play and should present the way out.

Are we facing a ‘Nahinda chinthanaya’?

Sunday, June 08, 2014

Even the most stubborn among us would concede that the complete subordination of Sri Lanka’s police establishment to political command is now uncontestable. A Law and Order Ministry and a wearingly unctuous Secretary who can only wax eloquent on public service by the police are just cosmetic trappings.

Catastrophic consequences of misrule
Presidential promises of advisory committees looking into reform of the Police Ordinance also do not serve any purpose. What we face is the practical reality is of a politically undermined police establishment. Sri Lanka is therefore in the eye of a particularly dangerous storm. Minorities, opposition activists and dissenters are more at risk as a result. But equally, no citizen is immune even if one minds one’s own business and keeps out of trouble as is sometimes mistakenly believed.
Certainly the politicization of the police service has many shameful godfathers. Similar to the undermining of the judiciary, no political party can piously wash its hands of responsibility. Those who served at the helm of the police and judicial establishments and the so-called intellectual community must also take a great deal of blame for the present ruinous state in which we find ourselves.

Notwithstanding, critical differences exist between then and now. In their current avatars, neither institution can boast of a semblance of democratic functionality even though courthouses and police stations exist in theory. Their collective roles in serving as a buffer between government power and abused individuals have been severely undermined. Sri Lanka’s previous political leaders toyed with the police and the judiciary as if they were playthings but managed to keep a minimal balance from an acute sense of political survival. Post-war, such niceties have been cast to the four winds by a regime bloated with the immense power that we gave them in abject and shortsighted gratefulness for having ‘won the war.’

Law enforcers, the law breakers
So now police excess is no longer an aberration to be excused as occurring in extraordinary circumstances. Daily reports of police inaction or police complicity in gross abuses predominate. Extra-judicial killings of suspects in police custody are publicly accepted. This week, students of the Ruhuna University were assaulted by a mob with the alleged incitement of a former cricketer turned government parliamentarian along with Southern provincial councilors. The police were deaf, dumb and blind, just as they were when called upon to stop a (toy) pistol wielding so-called mayoral worship of Hambantota who attacked visiting opposition parliamentarians.

But the incidents at the Ruhuna University have even more ominous undertones. University lecturers who had, in Senate meetings, spoken against the holding of the government’s mega show Deyata Kirula in the university premises, were obscenely insulted by mobsters while their vehicles were attacked. These academics deserve credit for boldly hosting a press conference to describe their travails.

At the extreme other end of this small but eternally troubled country, lecturers of the University of Jaffna who face daily intimidation for a multiplicity of reasons must be ruminating on the ironic vicissitudes of life as they witness these torrid scenes in the deep South.

A question for the President
Small wonder it was that an outraged public servant from the Kandyan Provinces now in retirement and otherwise known for his gentle temperament within the family, questioned from me in a rare burst of anger over the phone this Saturday as to whether ‘the Mahinda Chinthanaya has become the Nahinda (killing) Chinthanaya?’ This is indeed a worthy question that President Mahinda Rajapaksa should contemplate, taking a step back from the deeply disturbing political ethos of his administration from the North to the South.

Where the police establishment is concerned, the loss of authority of those in the police high command is a particular aspect of this breakdown. The political victimization of hapless police officers who try to enforce the law without favour is therefore inevitable. Typically, these are junior officers even as we can see far more courageous decisions emanating from the lower courts than from the higher levels of the judicial institution. The merciless assault by political goons of a police constable who had issued a fine to a Deputy Minister acting in blatant violations of traffic laws again is a good example. Outrageously, an official inquiry has reportedly been instituted against this brave police officer rather than against the thug politician.

And just this weekend, the Vice Chairman of a Polonnaruwa pradeshiya sabha had assaulted a policeman when he was interrupted in the process of illegally transporting sand. Such incidents come as no surprise. Indeed, these are the natural consequences of the breakdown of the police line of command. It is precisely these consequences which had been frequently warned against in preceding years by some of us who were called prophets of doom in consequence. Now it is scarcely a laughing matter anymore.

Social mobilization programmes needed
The establishment of an independent National Police Commission under the 17th Amendment was one small step but was soon discarded. The Opposition was monumentally foolish in failing to stand by this constitutional amendment at a time when the Rajapaksa government may have been reined back. Neither was strong public resistance evidenced. A collective cry of mea culpa may be appropriate.

At this point of time, raising public awareness regarding the erosion of the Rule of Law is well and good. However, the poor (unlike the privileged classes) are intimately familiar with these multiple crises anyway. What should be prioritized are concrete social mobilization programmes to build critical mass around these issues with distance being scrupulously kept from the Government and the Opposition alike.

Absent this strategic approach, countering the Rajapaksa political juggernaut will be unfortunately reflective only of the frenzied rat running futilely around in the circles of its own wheel.

Sinhala mob stops training event for Tamil journalists in North-East

 08 June 2014

A workshop aimed at training Tamil journalists from the North-East was shut down yesterday after mobs of protestors gathered outside the hotel that it was being held at , resulting in journalists and trainers having to evacuate the premises on grounds of a risk to safety, reports Sundaytimes.lk.

Photo: @dushiyanthini

The workshop was organised by Transparency International (TI) to help develop skills of Tamil speaking journalists.

The mob of protestors carried placards claiming that they were protectors of the ‘motherland’ and demanded that the workshop, which was taking place in Colombo, be stopped.

A Tamil journalist, Dushi Yanthini, tweeting from the event said that, local police entered the hotel that they were training in and said ‘We cannot give you protection, as the protesters are threatening from outside.’

The event organisers were then asked to cancel the journalism event and leave immediately, said Yanthini. 

Speaking to the SundayTimes, the organiser of the workshop, Shan Wijetunga, said, 

"They were a well organised mob. The placards carried my photograph and those of other trainers. They called themselves as members of the 'Movement for national unity' but I'm not sure if such an organisation exists."

The latest cancellation is the 4^th time training for Tamil journalists has been stopped due to protests this year. A session organised for the same group of Tamil journalists last month was cancelled after similar protests erupted around the training facilities.

Media Minister hides people behind web censorship

Saturday, 07 June 2014 

The Minister of Mass Media and Information Keheliya Rambukwella at the parliament yesterday (June 06) was careful not to reveal the identities of those who imposed an access control over 8 news websites.

He did not reveal information related to the particular matter when it was taken up in the parliament  following a  suggestion made by the General Secretary of United National Party (UNP),Tissa Attanayake, when the parliament was adjourned on May 26.

The particular suggestion cited that through imposing an access control over the news websites the rights enshrined in the constitution of Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka including the right to equality, freedom of speech and expression including publication, the freedom to engage by himself or in association with others in any lawful occupation, profession, trade, business or enterprise have been violated.

If the rights have been thus violated the Minister requested the victims to seek legal redress regarding it.

Joining the debate MP A. H. M. Azwer , who spoke on behalf of the ruling party, made a completely unrelated response and continued to  praise the President and his family members.

Sri Lanka Mirror faced gravest injustice

Tabling the suggestion Attanayake stated that currently the government is indirectly manipulating the newspapers and electronic media and those which are not under their control such as Tamil Net, Lanka E News, Lanka News Web, Lanka Guardian, Sri Lanka Mirror, Colombo Telegraph, Jaffna Muslims and The Independent are censored.

He stated that Sri Lanka Mirror has followed the cabinet proposal and has registered the website in the Mass Media and Information Ministry. The website has been censored despite the measures taken by it to follow all legal instructions issued by the government,he said.

Therefore, 'Sri Lanka Mirror' has faced a grave injustice, he added.

He further stated that there is no prevailing law to censor websites and it is being done according to the needs of government bigwigs under an imaginary law.

In addition, access control has been imposed on, The Independent, a website owned by the Western provincial council candidate of his party Diana Gamage, there by the promotion of a political opinion has been disrupted, he said.

Sri Lanka’s Governance Scorecard: The declining indicators should ring warning bells for everyone

Real growth should improve quality of life-Sunday 08th June 2014
All countries aspire to attain high economic growth in the belief that high growth will improve the welfare of the people. For instance, Sri Lanka’s avowed economic goal has been to double the per capita income or PCI from $ 2,000 six years ago to $ 4,000 by 2015 and increase the size of its economy from $ 67 billion in 2013 to $ 100 billion by 2016.

Sri Lanka’s Governance Scorecard the Declining Indicators Should Ring Warning Bells for Everyone by Thavam Ratna

JVP Leader Anura Kumara Dissanayake 

returns home after a successful UK visit

Sunday, 08 June 2014 

The leader of the JVP Mr Anura Kumara Dissanayaka left London to return home after completing a successful tour of the United Kingdom, where he participated in a recorded number of well attended lectures, seminars and pocket meetings which are organised by the JVP committee in UK, with a cumulative audience of about a thousand mainly Sri Lankan expats. 

The inaugural seminar was held in London on the day of his arrival in the country in a packed auditorium in Wembley. This was followed by a series of seminars at various locations including the Liverpool Hope University, Birmingham and others in South Eastern England. He also participated in discussions with various Sri Lankan media organizations operating in the UK including the BBC’s Sinhala Sandheshaya program.

Mr Dissanayaka’s message was that the actions of the rulers of Sri Lanka since independence has culminated in a 30 year war which took Sri Lanka back years with a catastrophic loss of lives and resources. He said that even five years after the end of the war, there still is a huge democratic deficit in the country as well as a multi pronged crisis in the economy, a break down in the social fabric and the rule of law and order. He said even after years of living together, we as a society, were still only talking about national unity. He spoke of a number of issues affecting the country such as external debt, the breakdown of the moral fabric of the society and the high levels of corruption. He appealed to his audience to place their trust in the JVP to deliver Sri Lanka from her current predicament.

The seminar participants consisted of a cross section of the Sri Lankan community belonging to all ethnicities and political persuasions resident in UK. Mr Dissanayaka who recently became the leader of the JVP was congratulated by the expatriate community living here on his new appointment. His 10 day tour ended on the 3rd of June.

Cat is out of the bag : JVP decides in favour of MaRa -yet another egregious blunder by JVP
(Lanka-e-News- 08.June.2014, 7.30PM) Based on the announcement made by JVP general secretary Tilvin Silva to the Lakbima newspapers last Friday, it has come to light that despite making a big din about fielding a common opposition candidate at the forthcoming Presidential elections aimed at abolishing the executive Presidency, the JVP is finally making reactionary moves to support the dictatorial President Mahinda Rajapakse who was installed in power with its support, instead of joining with the opposition to field a common candidate .

Cat is Out of the Bag JVP Decides in Favour of MaRa -Yet Another Egregious Blunder by JVP by Thavam Ratna

‘It was like opening a mortuary and

finding dead bodies’ – company official

Errant drug companies could be fined only a maximum Rs. 100,000 

by Suresh Perera-June 7, 2014

The recent raids on two pharmaceutical companies allegedly selling expired drugs under fresh labeling triggered a media blitz, but notwithstanding all the resources mustered for the crackdowns, the maximum penalty that could be imposed under consumer protection laws on those found guilty is Rs. 100,000, health officials said.

The company at Grandpass, Colombo 14, which figured in the first raid by the Consumer Affairs Authority (CAA) some weeks ago, was fined Rs. 8,000 on pleading guilty, they said.

What was produced were some ‘catch covers’ given to medical practitioners as samples. The samples are sent by foreign suppliers in bulk with a ‘Not for Sale’ imprint on each of the products, they noted.

Though the charges could have been challenged, it was considered hassle-free and cost-effective to "plead guilty" and save millions of rupees as legal fees and related expenses in case of a trial, the officials pointed out.

The CAA would have spent more than Rs. 8,000 in terms of overall costs to carry out this raid as it involved many officers, vehicles and other resources. The regulatory body’s Chairman, Rumy Marzook was also personally present during the swoop-down to share the media spotlight.

CAA officers were present at the company’s premises around-the-clock for three days trying to dig up evidence of wrong-doing, they asserted. "The adverse publicity was bad for business, but as patients need drugs, suppliers bounce back".

"The end result of this headline-grabbing raid was the payment of a nominal fine", they pointed out. "And, as the dust settles, it is back to business".

"That’s right, a fine beyond Rs. 100,000 cannot be imposed on errant drug companies that plead guilty", an Internal Trade Ministry official conceded. "We do our best, but the rest is beyond us as there is a legal procedure involved".

At the end of the day, it boils down to a mere "media circus" because even if the maximum fine was to be imposed, it is just peanuts for those who had been minting money at the expense of suffering patients, the health officials said.

It is an open secret that hefty inducements are offered by unscrupulous drug companies to secure registration of poor quality, substandard products detrimental to the health of the nation, they claimed. "The industry knows that a tablet they, more often than not, buy at fifty cents is sold at fifty rupees in Sri Lanka".

In the second raid on the complex of a pharmaceutical importer at Attidiya, Ratmalana, the CAA seized drugs which had expired four years ago. They were to be re-packaged with new expiry dates and introduced to the market, the Ministry official said.

"A repackaging machine was also found inside the ‘Expiry Section’ to be used for this purpose’, he claimed.

"This is absolutely bunkum. There was a shrink wrapping machine downstairs and it is still there", a senior company executive interjected.

For three days, they searched the complex and when they couldn’t unearth anything incriminating, officers forced open the ‘Expiry Section’ and found stocks to be destroyed after Cosmetics Drugs and Devices Regulatory Authority (CDDRA) approval, he said.

What the CAA did was akin to opening a mortuary and finding dead bodies, he noted. If not drugs beyond their shelf life, what did they expect to discover in the ‘Expiry Section’?"

He said that the drugs had already been segregated for destroying by the CDDRA, which is done through Holcim Lanka at Puttalam every two years. "Six tones have to be collected and the last destruction process was in April 2013".

There were expired stocks worth only Rs. 3.8 million, though the CAA claimed a value of Rs. 500 million, he said. "This is ridiculous – we don’t even have a Rs. 500 turnover every three months, and moreover how can they pin an exact value on expired stocks?"

"We will be filing legal action against this company", the Ministry official warned. "They won’t get away".

"We are prepared to challenge it and there is no question of pleading guilty as we have done no wrong", the company executive said. "If found guilty, we are willing to surrender our license to the CDDRA".

"They claim that we are repackaging and feeding the market, but have they found anything after the series of raids conducted on pharmacies?", he asked. "We would like to see what they found".

The stores of this company was raided some years ago as well", the official said.

"They raided our pharmacy at the time and after snooping around found two boxes of expired drugs awaiting disposal", the executive countered. "All this is eye wash".

The raids will continue, the official warned. "We will rope them in".

"They are at liberty to conduct raids as long as they are not on selective targets", the company executive said.