ANDHRA CM YSR REDDY DIES IN CHOPPER CRASH

Hyderabad: Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y S Rajasekhara Reddy and four others were killed when their helicopter crashed on a hillock, about 49 nautical miles east of Kurnool, more than an hour it took off from here yesterday.

The charred bodies and the wreckage of the twin-engined Bell 430 helicopter were located at 8.30 AM on Thursday on a hillock, eight kms from Kurnool, 23 hours after it went missing while flying to Chittoor in south Andhra Pradesh.

"With very deep sense of regret we have to announce the death of YS Rajashekhar Reddy. He was a tall leader and it is a big loss to the country," Union Home Minister P Chidambaram told reporters in Delhi.

The helicopter appeared to have hit a tree, crashed and perhaps exploded. The bodies were charred and were in a state of getting decomposed because of incessant rain in the area yesterday, Andhra Pradesh Chief Secretary Ramakanth Reddy said here.

> The Congress Core Group met at the residence of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in Delhi and indications were that senior minister K Rosaiah will be the Acting Chief Minister before a decision on successor to Reddy is taken.

Reddy's funeral is expected to take place in his hometown in Pulivendala in Kadappa district in southern Andhra Pradesh tomorrow.

Others who died in the crash were Special Secretary P Subramanyam, Chief Secretary A S C Wesley, pilot Group Captain S K Bhatia and co-pilot M S Reddy.

The wreckage of the helicopter was strewn in bits and pieces all over the area in the hillock, Ramakanth Reddy said adding the tail piece is in tact.

The bodies were still lying at the crash spot and efforts were being made by the IAF to bring them either to Kurnool or Hyderabad. He said it will take some time for the operation to end before the bodies are brought out of the hills.

While three bodies were quickly recovered from near the wreckage, one was found a little away and it took some time to trace the fifth, Reddy said.

While the reasons for the crash were not known immediately, Chidambaram said the helicopter, which was going south towards Chittoor, had changed direction eastwards after crossing Kurnool towards Atmakur.

It crashed on a hillock between two villages, one of which is Velugodu.

Great Barrier Reef to be dead by '50?

AFP image

Australia's Great Barrier Reef has very "poor" chances of survival even from moderate climate change and there may be "complete death" of the reef by 2050, a new report has said. The rate of climate change and the optimum levels of carbon-dioxide in the atmosphere supported by the government would result in "severe mass coral bleaching" and threaten the habitats of key species on the reef, The Age said on Thursday, quoting the Reef Outlook Report. In a series of dire predictions for the World Heritage-listed natural wonder, the report by the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority finds that carbon dioxide in the atmosphere will have to be kept under 400 parts per million (ppm) if important animal species and coral are to have a "low to medium vulnerability to climate change". The current level of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is 387 ppm. Prime Minister Kevin Rudd has publicly supported a 450 ppm target, a figure also backed recently by the Major Economies Forum that also includes the US and China. Eminent marine researcher and former chief scientist of the Australian Institute of Marine Science, Charlie Veron, who helped prepare the report, told the daily that the Rudd Government-backed 450 ppm target would result in the "complete death of the reef by 2050". The report found if the level of carbon dioxide reaches 450 ppm, as predicted for 2035, it would result in "severe mass bleaching" and destroy the reef's ability to grow new coral. "Rudd would not be supporting the 450 target if he knew the facts," Veron said, adding "This isn't a theory -- all the science is incredibly concrete now and it is backed by everybody in the coral research field." Meanwhile, World Wildlife Fund spokesperson Nick Heath said the report that showed climate change has already affected levels of calcification -- a process that helps grow and strengthen coral -- which have collapsed dramatically since 1980 as the ocean around the reef has become more warm and acidic.

India's GDP Grew 6.1% in Latest Quarter

NEW DELHI -- India's economy expanded 6.1% in the April-June quarter compared with a year earlier, as it gathered momentum on public spending and interest-rate cuts.

Bloomberg News

A man looks at new LCD televisions at a showroom in Bangalore, India, on Saturday, Aug. 29, 2009.

A widening drought, however, could weigh on the country's nascent rebound.

The increase in economic output in the quarter ended June 30 -- the first in India's fiscal year -- was driven by trade, hotel and transportation services, as well as by mining and manufacturing.

It followed a year-to-year rise of 5.8% in the January- March period, the Central Statistical Organization said Monday.

The figures for the latest quarter were in line with expectations and show how Asia's third-largest economy is emerging from the global slump in better shape than many of its regional peers.

India has maintained relatively fast growth in 2009 despite steep downturns elsewhere, because exports play a relatively small role in the rural-based economy. The government also has ramped up spending -- increasing its debt burden -- to spur activity.

Indian government officials said economic growth, which sagged in the global financial crisis, would pick up in coming quarters, buoyed by increased output in manufacturing and services sectors.

Finance Secretary Ashok Chawla predicted growth will exceed 6.5% this fiscal year, which ends March 31, 2010, although he said it is difficult now to assess the impact of delayed rainfall on India's agriculture-dependent economy.

The Reserve Bank of India expects the economy to expand 6% with an "upward bias," while the federal government has forecast growth between 6.25% and 7.75%.

But analysts say the poor start to the June-to-September monsoon season has clouded India's near-term economic outlook. More than one-third of India's 625 administered districts have declared drought, and analysts warn that weak rains will likely crimp output of summer-sown crops and squeeze rural incomes. This will likely depress demand for everything from motorcycles to mobile phones.

"India will find it difficult to sustain on-year GDP growth of over 6% in the remaining three quarters of the current fiscal year in view of the monsoon setback," said Rupa Rege Nitsure, chief economist at Bank of Baroda.

Morgan Stanley economist Chetan Ahya estimates farm-sector output might contract between 2% and 4% this fiscal year, which would make full-year economic growth range between 5.2% and 5.8%.

The government is trying to support the agriculture sector by increasing the minimum selling price of rice and sugar. It also has offered to subsidize diesel for farmers to bring down irrigation costs, and provided additional electricity to key farming provinces, such as Punjab and Haryana.

Analysts said the latest GDP numbers are unlikely to prompt any shift in the central bank's neutral policy stance, with signs of improvement in the economy offset by the need to keep rates low -- to help the bond market absorb a glut of public debt and on concerns over damage from the monsoon.

Growth in the latest fiscal year slowed to 6.7% from 9% for the year ended March 2008, missing a government forecast for a 7.1% expansion.

ANALYSIS - As monsoon winds down, risk shifts to winter wheat

NEW DELHI (Reuters) - Just as India's sugar, soybean and rice farmers begin to breathe easier as the worst monsoon in nearly four decades winds down on a less sombre note, those planning to grow winter wheat are bracing for a serious knock-on impact.

The world's second-biggest wheat producer faces a grim winter: soil moisture is extremely low after summer rains delivered one-quarter less water than normal; hydro-reservoirs are deeply depleted, threatening power shortages and limiting irrigation; and many farmers may shift to planting more profitable rapeseed, which can better withstand dry conditions.

While the government ponders a broader policy response to the ravaged summer rice harvest and a sugar supply shortfall that will force the top consumer into a second year of substantial imports, analysts and traders warned that the worst fallout from the near-failure of the monsoon may not be past.

"The government needs to be better prepared for (these winter) crops. It was caught unaware by scanty rains this summer," said S. Raghuraman, head of research at Agriwatch, a commodity research firm.

At the moment, the outlook still hinges heavily on September rains, essential for ensuring soil moisture is sufficient to support the wheat and rapseed crops, and that reservoirs rise to provide enough water to irrigate the crops, particularly in north and northwest India, where rain deficiency was 37 percent last week.

But the precedent is not good.

Although the summer-sown crops are much more heavily dependent on the June-September monsoon than the winter crops -- three-quarters of India's annual rainfall comes from the monsoon -- the latter have consistently declined almost as severely each year that the monsoon fails to deliver.

For a graphic on Indian crops and rainfall trends, click: Continued...

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Exports will bounce in 2010

(D. H. Pai Panandiker is President of RPG Foundation. The views expressed in this column are his own)

By D. H. Pai Panandiker

External trade has been the worst victim of world recession. Countries that depended more on trade were hit harder. The turn round in most countries therefore depends on how fast the world economy recovers.

World exports had increased in 2008 by a hefty 15 per cent to cross $15.7 trillion. In volume, however, exports were up a mere 2 per cent. The largest exporter was Germany closely followed by China.

They each had a share of about 9 per cent in world exports. India’s share was a mere 1.2 per cent. Even so, exports do matter to Indian industry because nearly 15 per cent of industrial production is exported. The fall in exports was the main reason why industry got a jolt in October.

The US which was the first to get into recession and would possibly be the last to get out of it, is the largest importer. In 2008 its total imports exceeded $2 trillion, more than 13.7 per cent of world imports.

When US imports declined many countries found their exports and consequently growth, shrink. US share in our exports in only 12 per cent and our exports to US declined a mere 1.5 per cent.

WTO has estimated that world exports will contract about 10 per cent this year. One reason is that the US may not recover before the end of the year though Germany, France and Japan have been able to cross into positive territory. Continued...

India extends sugar imports deadline - report

NEW DELHI, Sept 3 (Reuters) - India has extended the deadline for duty-free raw sugar imports by nine months to December 2010, the Times of India newspaper reported on Thursday.

Earlier this year, India had allowed sugar mills to import raws until March 31, 2010 to meet domestic production shortfall.

A ministerial panel has accepted a proposal for deadline extension for raw sugar import to boost supplies, the paper said quoting a source in the government.

London-based International Sugar Organisation, in its latest quarterly report, raised its global deficit forecast to 8.4 million tonnes in 2009/10, sharply up from a previous prediction of a deficit of 4.5 to 5.0 million. [ID:nL2138534]

Imports by India, the world's top consumer, have paused in recent days but are expected to resure as local demand remains strong. [ID:nDEL193458] (Reporting by Ratnajyoti Dutta) (ratnajyoti.dutta@thomsonreuters.com; Tel: +91-11-4178-1013 Reuters Messaging: ratnajyoti.dutta.reuters.com@reuters.net))

Shilpa learning Mama's recipes

It looks like a sabbatical from acting for Shilpa as she gets busy in her new role as an international cuisine queen. And the best thing about her new role is, Shilpa doesn’t want to go the Tarla Dalal or Madhur Jaffrey way. No instant cookbooks for the latest recipe Rani. Shilpa wants to go the whole hog. On the lookout for the rarest and most exotic and undiscovered dishes Shilpa will now cruise to the remotest parts of India in search of new recipes. In coming months and years Shilpa hopes to spread the aroma of Indian spices and curries to every part of the world. In her new avatar as the part-owner of a reputed chain of restaurants and Indian cuisine in Britain, Shilpa Shetty is adamant to prove she is not just a glamorous name for the franchise as she was accused of being in cricket. Shilpa intends to lend not just her name and glamorous persona to her new food-brand Shilpa’s Gourmet Creations she’s also determined to be a hands-on mistress of spices. The lady currently more an entrepreneur than an actress is learning as many recipes from Britain’s celebrity chef Andy Varma as she can. Once she returns to India Shilpa will enter her mom’s kitchen and get to part with all her famous secret recipes. Says Shilpa excitedly from London. “Everyone presumed I was as big a novice at cuisine. Not true. I’ve always enjoyed cooking. And I love cooking for my friends and family. Now with Raj (Kundra) and me becoming part of Andy Varma’s chain my interest in cooking has turned into a passion.” Shilpa has now gone from skimming through trade magazines to scrutinizing recipe books. The dishy actress is learning new dishes everyday from master chef Andy Varma. Determined not to let the cynics snigger about her new role as cuisine queen Shilpa says, “You’d be surprised to know how popular Indian food is in England. Do you know the country’s favourite dish is chicken tikka masala? I want them to discover our food beyond the obvious currys and biryanis. And all our Indian snacks and meals will contain under 10 percent fat.” To discover the food of India Shilpa is now a complete foodie. “Not eating, but preparing. Nowadays I’m a sucker for recipes.” Poppadom in Memorium. That could well be the signature chant for Shilpa Shetty’s new avatar as a cuisine queen. From being called a ‘poppadom’ by Jade Goody to providing bonus papads with her new lineup of cuisine in Britian, Shilpa has come a long way. And she doesn’t deny it. “It’s true. Jade, God bless her soul, used to call me ‘Poppadam’ on Big Brother. It used to hurt. Today we’ve papad as bonus for all the snacks and meals that I’m associated with. It’s really ironic.” However, she stresses that her food offer is in no way a homage to Jade Goody, as reported in the British press. Check out Shilpa Shetty’s Homepage
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