India, Pak begin talks on IPI pipeline
New Delhi: India and Pakistan will begin the final round of discussions to resolve differences on the 7.4-billion dollar Iran-Pakistan-India gas pipeline before the three nations sign a deal next month.

The proposed pipeline will initially carry 60 million cubic meters of gas, split equally between Pakistan and India. The delivery point would be at the Iran-Pakistan border but India is yet to finalize the contract for the transportation costs and the transit fee with Pakistan.

Pakistan is seeking a transportation tariff of 0.70-0.75 dollars per million British thermal unit (mBtu) while New Delhi is willing to pay no more than 0.55 per mBtu ($220 million annually).

On transit fee, Islamabad is seeking $0.493 per mBtu while New Delhi has offered $0.20 per mBtu.

The trilateral talks on Thursday would focus on changes sought by Iran in the gas pricing. Tehran wants the price formula for the gas revised every three years instead of the previously agreed periodicity of seven years, sources said.

New Delhi and Islamabad have agreed to Iranian formula of selling natural gas at $4.93 per mBtu.
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Govt considering sugar sops
New Delhi: Finance Minister P Chidambaram said the government is considering additional sops to the sugar industry in the wake of record output and fall in prices.

The government has increased buffer stocks from 20 lakh to 50 lakh tonne and a committee will report in a next couple of days about rescheduling of debt and we can look at some other options.

Chidambaram speaking to a television channel said the government is in discussions with the sugar industry on further relief measures.

While the Cabinet had recently raised the buffer stock of sugar to 50 lakh tonne after a record production this year, it had deferred a decision on extending the moratorium on debt taken by sugar mills for a period up to March 2010.

Chidambaram said had the government known output in the current season would be 275 lakh tonne, it would have taken a decision to lift ban on exports of the sweetener a lot earlier.
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Salary of President of India to double
New Delhi: The Union Cabinet is likely to consider a proposal to double the salary of the first citizen to Rs 1 lakh per month and enhance post-retirement benefits.

The cabinet will also consider increasing emoluments of other constitutional functionaries like vice-president and governors, informed sources said.

The salary of the president, which was fixed at Rs10,000 in the Constitution, was gradually raised to Rs50,000 a month in 1998 with effect from January 1, 1996.

Similarly, the salary of vice-president, who is also the ex-officio chairman of Rajya Sabha, is proposed to be increased to Rs85,000 per month from Rs40,000 currently.
The governors, if the proposal is approved by the Cabinet, will take home Rs75,000 per month as against Rs36,000 currently. The Constitution had originally prescribed a monthly salary of Rs5,500 per month for governors in the Second Schedule of the Constitution.

The increase in emoluments of president, vice-president and governors would also entail a similar increase in emoluments of other constitutional functionaries like chief justices of Supreme Court and High Courts and other judges.

Doubling the salary of high constitutional functionaries will also have implications for government employees, whose emoluments are being revised by the Sixth Pay Commission. The pay panel is scheduled to submit its report to the government in April next year.
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