Home Minister Shivraj Patil has submitted his resignation over the attacks in Mumbai

New Delhi: Home Minister Shivraj Patil, under tremendous criticism over a spate of terrorist attacks in the country since last year, resigned today in the wake of the Mumbai terror strikes.

Patil, who had offered to step down at the Congress Working Committee (CWC) meeting last night, sent his resignation to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh this morning, sources said.

The 74-year-old Patil was inducted into the Union Cabinet despite his defeat from Latur in Maharashtra in the 2004 Lok Sabha polls and has been a target of the opposition as also the detractors within the party over his handling of the internal security situation in the country.

Patil had told the CWC meeting that as the Home minister he “takes the responsibility and whatever the CWC decides, I am ready to do”, the sources said.
Patil’s remarks came in the wake of criticism by several leaders, including Union Ministers P Chidambaram, Kamal Nath, Kapil Sibal and H R Bhardwaj, they said.
The refrain of these leaders at the meeting was that a strong action is needed in the wake of the Mumbai terror strikes and accountability has to be ensured at the higher as well as lower levels.

Patil, who has been in public life for over four decades, was brought into the Manmohan Singh Cabinet as he was considered a complete Gandhi loyalist and Sonia Gandhi had turned down repeated demands for his ouster from the government.
Patil was also one of the serious candidates of the Congress for the post of the President last year after the tenure of A P J Abdul Kalam got over. But, the Left parties, which were supporting the government from outside, had put their foot down on such a proposal.

Source: LiveMint.com

Terror attacks in Mumbai; six foreigners among 101 dead

NEW DELHI/MUMBAI: At least 101 people have been killed in attacks by gunmen in Mumbai, police said on Thursday.
"At least six foreigners have been killed and the death figure has gone up to 101 now," Ramesh Tayde, a senior police officer told from Mumbai's control room. In one of the most violent terror attacks on Indian soil, Mumbai came under an unprecedented night attack as terrorists used heavy machine guns, including AK-47s, and grenades to strike at the city's most high-profile targets -- the hyper-busy CST (formerly VT) rail terminus; the landmark Taj Hotel at the Gateway and the luxury Oberoi Trident at Nariman Point; the domestic airport at Santa Cruz; the Cama and GT hospitals near CST; the Metro Adlabs multiplex and Mazgaon Dockyard -- killing at least 101 and sending hundreds of injured to hospital, according to latest reports.
top police brass: The high-profile chief of the anti-terror squad Hemant Karkare was killed; Mumbai's additional commissioner of police (east) Ashok Kamte was gunned down outside the Metro; and celebrated encounter specialist Vijay Salaskar was also killed.
The attacks appeared to be aimed at getting international attention as the terrorists took upto 40 British nationals and other foreigners hostage. The chairman of Hindustan Unilever Harish Manwani and CEO of the company Nitin Paranjpe were among the guests trapped at the Oberoi. All the internal board members of the multinational giant were reported to be holed up in the Oberoi hotel. Two terrorists were reported holed up inside the Oberoi Hotel.
Fresh firing has been reported at Oberoi and Army has entered the hotel to flush out the terrorists.
An unknown outfit, Deccan Mujahideen, has sent an email to news organizations claiming that it carried out the Mumbai attacks.
The Army and Navy in Mumbai were put on alert. 65 Army commandos and 200 NSG commandos were being rushed to Mumbai, Home Minister Shivraj Patil said.
The Navy commandos too have been asked to assist the police. Special secretary M L Kumawat is in constant touch with the state police.
Some media reports attributed the attack to Lashkar-e-Taiba. There were also unconfirmed reports that some of the terrorists came in by sea. A boat laden with explosives was recovered later at night off the Gateway of India.
Well after midnight, sources said two of the terrorists were shot and wounded at Girgaum in south Mumbai. The two were driving in a commandeered silver-coloured Skoda car. Earlier, these men had sprayed bullets from a police Bolero, outside the Metro Adlabs multiplex.
The attacks occurred at the busiest places. Besides hotels and hospitals, terrorists struck at railway stations, Crawford Market, Wadi Bunder and on the Western Express Highway near the airport. Several of these places are within a one-km radius of the commissioner of police's office.
"This is definitely a terrorist strike. Seven places have been attacked with automatic weapons and grenades. Terrorists are still holed up in three locations Taj and Oberoi hotels and GT Hospital. Encounters are on at all three places," said Maharashtra DGP A N Roy.
St George's Hospital and G T Hospital were said to have received 75 bodies and more than 250 injured people, additional municipal commissioner R A Rajeev said. Bombay Hospital got two bodies and 30 injured people were admitted there; Cooper Hospital, Vile Parle, got three dismembered bodies.
Three of the deaths occurred inside the Taj and one G T Hospital attendant died in a shootout inside the hospital. There were reports of people cowering under tables and chairs at both the Taj as well as G T Hospital.
Metro Junction resident Manoj Goel said: "My brother, Manish, died in the firing at Colaba's Hamaal Galli." Cops fired back at the men -- probably from one of the Lashkar groups, dressed in black and with backpacks and SRPF, Crime Branch, ATS and teams of military commandos were summoned to the spot. Train services at CST were suspended and all roads leading to and from south Mumbai were blockaded.
Maharashtra Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh cut short his Kerala visit and was returning to Mumbai. He described the situation in Mumbai as "very serious".
Deshmukh promised "stringent action" against the assailants but the mood across Mumbai was not so optimistic.
There were reports of firing around several landmark buildings in the Colaba-Nariman Point area, including the Taj hotel, Oberoi and other tourist attractions and pubs like Leopold's. The top floor of Oberoi was said to be on fire amid reports of blasts in the area and blood-smeared bodies were being brought out of the Taj lobby.
Terrorists were said to be holed up at the Taj as well as G T Hospital and cops scampered to cordon off these places. A white flag was seen fluttering from an Oberoi Hotel window around 11.20 pm, where a blast was said to have occurred.
The blast on the Western Express Highway -- near Centaur Hotel outside the airport -- occurred in a taxi, deputy commissioner of police Nissar Tamboli said.
The firing and bombing started close to the Gateway of India. The gunbattle then moved on towards CST and raged on for over an hour from 10 pm, sending commuters running out of the station.
The assailants also fired into the crowd at CST and people on the trains and then ran out of the station themselves and into neighbouring buildings, including Cama Hospital, after being challenged by cops.
SRPF personnel then entered the iconic BMC building -- just opposite CST -- to take aim at the assailants, BMC commissioner Jairaj Phatak said. "We fear some of the assailants are still inside the station and we want to catch them if they come out,'' a police official said.
Vikhroli police station senior inspector Habib Ansari was on his way to work from his Colaba home when he saw two armed men, with sophisticated weaponry, trying to run into bylanes near the Gateway of India."I rushed back to Colaba and all policemen, including GRP and RPF personnel, were called up," he added.
Source: The Times of India

DGFT Says No to Exporters Demand for Dual Currency Rates

The Federation of Indian Export Organisation (FIEO) organized an Open House Meet at FIEO’s Niryat Bhawan, New Delhi on January 15, 2008, with a DGFT team led by its chief Mr. R. S. Gujral to seek feedback from the exporters for the next Annual Supplement to the Foreign Trade Policy which is usually announced towards the end of the financial year.

The Director General of Foreign Trade Mr. R.S Gujral, during his address at the Open House on Foreign Trade Policy organized by FIEO said that the Department of Commerce was seriously concerned over exports being affected by rupee appreciation against the dollar and said that the DGFT was seeking sector-wise export data to ascertain the impact. He was of the view that the products which enjoy monopoly or higher profit margins were not affected much.

Explaining the position of the Department of Commerce on various suggestions made by the exporting community to mitigate the impact of stronger rupee, Mr. Gujral said there were certain constraints in raising the DEPB or Drawback rate which had come down with the reduction in customs duties.

On dual exchange rate, he said the government was not willing to introduce this and the exporters should resort to alternative techniques like hedging, factoring, invoicing in other currencies like Euro, Sterling, Yen, etc. This depends on the bargaining power of the exporter to negotiate with the buyers.

On exporters’ request for streamlining the guidelines for refund of drawback in cases where export payment has not been realized within 180 days as different banks follow different procedures, Mr. Gujral assured that the matter would be taken up with the Department of Revenue and also with the RBI.

Earlier, while welcoming the DGFT and his team, Dr. R.K. Dhawan, Northern Region Chairman of FIEO, appealed to the Government to reduce the Export Obligation undertaken by the exporters in case of Advance Licenses and EPCG Licences saying that most of the exports were invoiced in dollar and hence exporters were facing difficulties in fulfilling their Export Obligation.

Dr. Dhawan added that Export Obligation under the EPCG Scheme is linked with the customs duty saved but past average is linked with fob value of export which is quite unfair. He suggested that the exporters who have fulfilled their EO against the import of capital goods under the EPCG Scheme should be given one time amnesty with respect to average export by giving them some rebate.

Dr. Dhawan demanded that Customs duty of 5% under EPCG Scheme should be converted into zero duty. He stressed the need for making the EPCG scheme more attractive to accelerate export growth. According to him, providing rebate in export obligation in cases where invoicing is done in currencies other than dollar would provide some relief to the exporters.

Further, in the meeting following issues related to Foreign Trade Policy were taken into considered:

· Focus Product Scheme.
· Online application for Focus Market and Focus Product Scheme.
· Insertion of ICD Bhadohi and Dadri Ports in Focus Product Scheme.
· Option to endorse new Supporting Manufacturer/Job Manufacturer in Target Plus Scheme Certificate.
· Relief in import of Coconut Oil under Advance License.
· Advance License for Intermediate Supplies.
· Policy Circular No.20 (RE-2007) 2004-2009 dated December, 2007.
· One time amnesty/relaxation for grant of DEPB in delayed cases.
· Mentioning of Date of Shipment Bills in DGFT Website.
· Permission to use Duty Credits Scrips issued under DFCE & Target Plus Scheme for clearance of Import of Capital Goods under EPCG Scheme.
· Foreign Exchange counted towards fulfillment of Export Obligation not eligible for benefits under Served from India Scheme.
· Subsuming of EPCG License
· Option of Installation Certificate under EPCG Scheme.
· One time amnesty in the fulfillment of Average Level of Export Performance under EPCG.
· Sourcing of Capital Goods from STPs.
· Application of Public Notice No.94 dt. 1.1.2008 to all EPCG Licences.
· Introduction of Zero Duty EPCG Scheme.
· Maintenance of Annual Average under EPCG.
· No option to pay CVD in cash for EPCG and Advance Authorization.
· Dual work in cancellation of BG/Bonds with Customs After redemption with DGFT.
· Deemed Export Benefit against Supply of Cement and Steel required for setting up of Mega Power Projects.
· Insistence on Certification/claim of Deemed Export Benefit.
· Deemed Export Benefits for goods importable at Zero Duty.
· Benefits for supplies made to SEZ Units.
· Fixation of time period for verification of documents.
· RCMC for availing Foreign Trade Policy benefits.
· Ban on Export on a specific item.
· Removal of Registration for Import of Brass Scrap.
· Customs Verification of Duty Free Certificate under Focus Marketing Scheme.
· Delay in uploading of Data on ICEGATE.
· Simultaneous availment of full Duty Drawback and refund of Service Tax on Exports of Goods.
· Applicability of Drawback under DEPB Scheme.
· Credit of Duty Drawback arrears to the exporters account.
· Exemption of Safety Footwear from the purview of Central Excise and VAT.
· Exemption of Textile Cess on all Textile and Textile Machinery.

The DGFT team included Mr. Ajai Sahai, Director General, FIEO, Mr. Amitabh Jain, Zonal Jt. DGFT, Mr. S.R. Reddy, Jt. DGFT, Mr. Tapan Majumdar, Jt. DGFT, Mr. Bal Gangadharan, Addl. DGFT and Mr. A.K Singh, Jt. DGFT.