Obama-Prime Minister call scheduled today, Singh says time restraint earlier

To dispel all speculation over “no phone call” from Barack Obama to India after becoming the US President-elect, the government is firming up arrangements to schedule a call tomorrow between him and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

Official sources said there was nothing beyond scheduling issues that had prevented the call from taking place so far. In fact, India was in the first list of countries that Obama wanted to reach out but the proposed time slot was too close to the PM’s departure time for Oman and Qatar on November 8.

Singh too mentioned this to reporters on board the special Air India aircraft last night while flying home from the Gulf. “This is not true (that he chose to ignore India). He wanted to talk to me the day before yesterday (Saturday).

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Why falling crude oil is hope rising

It may be gloom, doom and bust on Dalal Street this Diwali as the economy braces itself for a “cloudy” growth outlook and the Finance Ministry admits that fiscal deficit targets for this year won’t be met. But if there is one silver lining and for India, Asia’s third largest economy, a bold one at that it is the dramatic fall in global crude oil prices from nearly $150 a barrel this June to $56 now.

This slide in crude oil presents Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and his lieutenants a significant fiscal headroom to pump-prime the economy and risk some adventure in big-ticket infrastructure spending, both social and physical. Besides, it also helps the rupee hold on to its own because of lesser demand for dollars by oil refiners. Last, but not the least, it douses inflationary expectations, giving the government and the Reserve Bank of India more leeway in lowering lending rates and infusing more liquidity into the system to spur growth.

India imports almost 70 per cent of its fuel needs, and oil is the biggest item. In 2007-08, it imported 121.672 million tones of crude oil and the bill was a staggering $68 billion.

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Modi refuses to speak at National Integration Council, hands speech text slamming UPA on terror

Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi today stunned the meeting of the National Integration Council, chaired by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, when he “declined” to speak and submitted for the records the text of his written speech.

Belying expectations, Modi sat quietly, listening to the verbal duel between Home Minister Shivraj Patil and Orissa Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik over deployment of paramilitary forces in the state which is battling a wave of anti-Christian attacks.

Asked about Modi, P K Gera, Gujarat’s Resident Commissioner in Delhi, confirmed that the CM declined to speak.“Yes,he did not speak. Perhaps he didn’t find any reason to speak with so many airing their views.”

Modi’s “reluctance” to speak surprised the large gathering because he was expected to raise a storm over the issue of terror. “We were expecting he would create an uproar. We were taken a back when he refused to speak,” said a Union Minister.

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