Purana Quila

Purana Quila (Old Fort )

The Purana Qila (Old Fort) stands on the site where the ancient city of Indraprashtha is believed to have existed. Archeological evidences such as pottery dating back to 1000 BC, found within the fort premises support the premise. Pottery of similar nature has been recovered from other sites associated with Mahabharata. Also the fact that until early 20th century a village called ‘Indrapat’ existed in this area substantiates the theory.
The Old Fort was the citadel of the city of Dinapanah (Refuge of the Faithful) which Humayun started building in 1533 and completed five years later. When Sher Shah Suri – the Afghan King - defeated Humayun, he renamed the fort as Shergarh and added some more buildings within the complex. Out of the three entrances that Purana Qila had, only one remains open till date - the Bara Darwaza. Inside the fort you can see an imposing mosque - Qila Kuhna Masjid, which was built by Sher Shah in 1541. The central portion of the mosque is made up of white marble and bright red sandstone. Another building of interest inside the fort is the Sher Mandal - an octagonal building made up of red sandstone. The two-storied pavilion has steep steps leading up to the roof. After Humayun recaptured Delhi in 1555, he refurbished the Sher Mandal into his library. It was here that Humayun fell to his death a year later.
The most attractive tomb in Delhi - Humayun's Tomb also lies in this area but outside the walls of the Old Fort. Built by Humayun's widow Haji Begum in 1564, it is perhaps the most spectacular monument belonging to the Mughal period. It is believed the designs of Taj Mahal was inspired by this magnificent monument. The red sandstone and marble structure stands on a stone platform, surrounded by a garden divided into quadrants by water channels. High walls abound the monument on three sides while the river Yamuna flowed past the fourth side.

sruthi hasan

samanta

Taj Mahal

RBI hikes CRR by 75 bps to 5.75 pct

Mumbai: The Reserve Bank of India increased mandatory cash reserve of banks held by it by 75 basis points in a bid to suck excess liquidity to combat rising inflation.

However, short-term lending and borrowing rates between RBI and banks were kept unchanged, leading to speculation that banks' commercial lending rates may not change.
The apex bank also upped its economic growth projection to 7.5 per cent from its earlier estimate of 6 per cent for the current fiscal.
The 75-basis point increase in cash reserve ratio to 5.75 per cent is expected to suck out at least Rs 36,000 crore from the system. The move is to check food inflation spreading to other sectors.
According to RBI estimate, inflation is likely to touch 8.5 per cent by this fiscal-end from over 7 per cent in December. Earlier in October, the apex had projected the rate of price rise to be at 6.5 per cent by March-end.
Central Bank of India Executive Director Arun Kaul said CRR hike is more than market expectation, definitely liquidity would go down and may have some impact on interest rate.
Immediately after the announcement of credit policy, the benchmark Sensex on the Bombay Stock Exchange nosedived by 300 points but recovered from day's low level. The key index is trading down by over 190 points at intra-day.

Food prices to ease next fiscal: Pawar

New Delhi: Food prices are expected to decline in the next fiscal on the back of higher farm output and the only worry then for the government would be on storage, Food and Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar has said.


He, however, said that the country would remain import dependent when it came to pulses and edible oils for the next 10 years.

On the possibility of prices coming down in the next financial year beginning April one, Pawar told in an interview to a news channel: "100 per cent. In 2011-12 the problem which the government of India will have to worry about (is) what to do and where to store".

Food inflation touched 17.40 per cent for the week ended January 16 on account of high prices of vegetables and pulses. On controlling prices of pulses, the minister said:

"Pulses we have to import, edible oil we have to import even for another 10 years or so. Because day by day, demand is growing, purchasing power of the weaker section is also improving."


India imported a record 8.1 million tonnes of edible oils in 2008-09 season (November-October). The country imports 3-4 million tonnes of pulses every year to meet domestic demand. The prices of essential food items have risen sharply in last one year, partularly of sugar, pulses and vegetables. Sugar prices have more than doubled since January 2009 and is ruling at Rs 43 a kg in the national capital.

Pulses are ruling high, with arhar being sold at about Rs 85 a kg.India faced a severe drought this year affecting over 300 districts that resulted in loss of Kharif production. Rice output is estimated to decline by 13 million tonnes in Kharif.

The Centre has taken various steps to curb rising prices and give relief to consumers, including abolition of import duties on sugar, rice, pulses and crude edible oils.

IMF call for global support on financial reforms

 Herziliya (Israel): International Monetary Fund Managing Director Dominique Strauss-Kahn on Sunday urged the United States, Britain and other countries to cooperate on new policies and regulations in the wake of the financial crisis.



He told the annual Herziliya Conference that at the onset of the crisis, world leaders were ‘scared’ and agreed to work together to end the crisis. But now, countries are formulating policies on their own. “That doesn't work. The lesson of co-operation is still necessary”, Strauss-Kahn said, citing U.S. President Barack Obama's plans to curb activities at major banks, particularly betting in financial markets with their own money.


“It is absolutely impossible to get out of the crisis without global solutions,” he said. “I am not sure that's the route on which we are.” He also said Britain was also committed to pressing ahead with financial regulations. The global economic recovery is recovering faster than expected, leading the IMF to revise its growth estimates higher. But growth is being led by Asia and emerging markets, Strauss-Kahn said, noting that growth in West was being fueled largely by public spending,



“Until private demand is strong, it is difficult to talk about a real strong recovery”, he said. Still, Strauss-Kahn cautioned against countries unwinding stimulus measures aimed at combating the downturn. Exiting too late can lead to higher debt but exiting too early may increase the risk of a double-dip recession, he said. Such a case would pose large problems since policymakers have already used all their tools, he said.

Also, it wasn't yet clear who would replace the decline in U.S. consumer spending. Strauss-Kahn said that emerging market countries would not be able to compensate for lower U.S. spending as consumers have started to save more. Strauss-Kahn praised Israel's response to the crisis, saying the government and central bank reacted quickly with policies that limited the impact of the crisis.