In the past three years, Walmart has spent nearly Rs 69 crore in India in the name of lobbying. It will be interesting to see the list of the beneficiaries.

The Congress has got a fresh survey done in Uttarakhand and its results are shocking. The results have revealed that there may be a hung Assembly in the state this time. This survey has given the Congress 28-30 seats from the present 20 seats. The BJP at present has 35 Assembly members. The survey predicts the BSP getting lesser seats and says that the number may be limited to 4. Uttarakhand Kranti Dal, which presently has three seats may not get any. The newly-formed party of former armed forces people, Morcha Uttarakhand Raksha, may win 2-3 seats. Pawar’s NCP is giving a lot of tickets to those dissatisfied with the Congress. The survey says the party may open its account in Uttarakhand and get two seats.

There’s no one better than the Congress when it comes to political games. Openly, the party is challenging the BJP “Bring the no-confidence motion in the Parliament if you dare to”. It is the main Opposition party’s prerogative to ask for a no-confidence motion, but the BJP is unable to muster the courage to do so, because it knows that if it moves the no-confidence motion, it will not have the support and vote of SP, BSP and the Left parties. And because the Assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh are round the corner, so they don’t want the Congress should have an excuse to tell the voters in the state that the Left parties, SP and the BSP are in cahoots with each other.

The editor and the owner of a sharp English daily recently bought an apartment on Park Lane, one of the most expensive parts of London. It is believed that Mr editor, who is a pro at unearthing other people’s secrets, bought this expensive apartment in London as a birthday gift to his son. IT is also heard that the payment for the apartment has been done by a leading corporate house of India.

Maulik Nanavati, the son of Justice Nanavati, who is investigating the Gujarat riots is reaping big benefits. He gets Rs 2 lakh per day for appearing in the Supreme Court on behalf of the Gujarat government. And the hearings take place at least twice to thrice a week. So he easily manages to earn Rs 15-20 lakh a month. And this has been going on for several months. Which means a junior lawyer earns nearly Rs 175 lakh from the Gujarat government every year. But then when was it a question?

The new one is about Geneva’s HSBC Bank. The stolen list with the names of account holders had names of 50,000 names. The list got stolen and first reached Israel, where they took down the names of the Jews and then refused to buy the list. The person with the list was also bullied that if he made too much noise, he may even be imprisoned. The person ran to France from there, where he struck a deal with the French government. The list doesn’t have the name of the person, nor does it contain the contact information about the account holders, it merely has the passport numbers of the people. When the French government sifted through the list, it brought out the names of 792 Indians through their passport numbers. The French government handed over the list to India, which was the biggest revelation so far or black money hoarded on foreign shores.

Pranab da seems to be worried about the troubles ailing the Indian corporate sector. He has recently suggested to a delegation of the corporate world that they must not only bring the ruling parties but also the Opposition under confidence. Pranab da’s plan is to invite members of FICCI and CII for a meeting along with political leaders from the government as well as Opposition parties. Only when both sides of the political world listen to the problems of the corporate world will the government be able to announce a rehabilitation package for corporations in trouble.

The Parliamentary Account Committee (PAC ) might question Mukesh Ambani regarding the KG Basin and summon him. If the PAC passes a ruling, the matter might be sent to the Parliament for debate. None of the political parties are ready to forgive them. Yes, the finance ministry is on their side, but the other members of the committee are in no mood to relent.

Ajit Singh has finally agreed on 40 seats. He had a crucial meeting with Digvijay Singh on Thursday. It is believed that Diggy Raja has offered him a place in the Central ministry. Ajit has initially been offered the ministry of water resources but Ajit had turned it down. Now the offer is hovering around two-three ministries – aviation, commerce and industry may become two entities, and agriculture may be separated from food and consumer affairs. The decision lies with Ajit now.

Several big telecom companies are feeling the strain of the 2G scam. If you look at Videocon alone, the company is in a debt of Rs 700 crore because of that. The company also doesn’t know what will happen to the license it has got. Will it stay or be taken away. The towers are in place and the rent is to be paid, but their operations are still not sure.