Mumbai, May 24 : Prime Minister Manmohan Singh Friday asked the capital market regulator SEBI to root out the "pernicious disease" of insider trading, saying the future effectiveness of the institution would depend on this.

Addressing the silver jubilee celebration of the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) here, the prime minister said: "A key indicator of SEBI's future effectiveness will be its ability to root out the hard-to-define but extremely pernicious disease of insider trading."

Mumbai, May 24 : Undeveloped corporate debt market is a weakness in India's financial system and high fiscal deficit is further complicating the problem, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said Friday.

"A weakness in our financial system relates to the market for corporate debt. While the market for government debt is very large, the market for corporate debt has yet to develop as it should. It is not large enough and not liquid enough," the prime minister said.

He said fiscal deficit must be brought down, as it was a pre-condition to make corporate debt market vibrant.

New Delhi, May 20 : India and China Monday stressed on maintaining peace and tranquility along their border and on boosting trade ties, including inviting Chinese firms to invest in India in infrastructure development and increasing banking and financial cooperation.

In a joint statement issued after talks between Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and visiting Chinese Premier Li Keqiang, both sides reaffirmed that they view each other as "partners for mutual benefit and not as rivals or competitors".

New Delhi, May 20 : Text of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's statement to the media Monday on Chinese Premier Li Keqiang's visit to India:

It is an honour for me to welcome Premier Li on his first official visit to India. It has been an immense pleasure to get to know him personally. I sincerely appreciate his reaching out to me on his first day in office and his choosing India as his first foreign destination as Premier.

New Delhi, May 20 : Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said Monday that India and China's relationship is essential for stability and prosperity in Asia and the world, while stressing the need "for an early resolution of the boundary dispute.

"There are many areas of convergence between us. We agreed that the relationship is of growing significance and essential for peaceful development and stability and prosperity in the region and the world," Manmohan Singh said after the two countries signed many economic agreements here on the first international visit of Chinese premier Li Keqiang.

New Delhi, May 18 : The recent incursion by Chinese troops cast a "pretty dark shadow" on India-China relations, but the issue was handled "maturely" by both and probably Chinese Premier Li Keqiang will "get a chance to explain why, what happened" during his talks with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, sources said Saturday.

Mumbai, May 18 : Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will attend the silver jubilee celebrations of market regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) here Friday, an official said here.

Singapore Deputy Prime Minister T. Shanmugaratnam, who also holds the finance portfolio, will be the guest of honour. He is scheduled to deliver the keynote address on 'Asian Capital Markets - Future Engine of the Global Economy' on the occasion.

New Delhi, May 18 : All issues would be on the table, including the India-China boundary question, when Chinese Premier Li Keqiang meets Prime Minister Manmohan Singh here Sunday evening.

Li, who arrives in India Sunday afternoon on a three-day state visit, and Manmohan Singh are also likely to discuss the proposed border defence cooperation agreement during their talks, sources said Saturday.

Chennai, May 17 : Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J. Jayalalithaa Friday urged the prime minister to order the implementation of the final award of Cauvery Water Disputes Tribunal.

In a letter to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh Friday, Jayalalithaa said: "I exhort you to order the Ministry of Water Resources to constitute the Cauvery Management Board and the Cauvery Water Regulation Committee without any further delay."

New Delhi, May 17 : Prime Minister Manmohan Singh Friday said his government was willing to engage constructively with trade unions to address issues like curbing inflation, generating employment and strictly implementing labour laws.

New Delhi, May 13 : Disaster management is an area of vital national importance to India and the disaster risk reduction strategies must actively involve local communities, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said Monday.

Addressing the first session of National Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction here, the prime minister called for giving greater attention to arrangements for providing funds to people to cope with the losses suffered due to natural disasters.

New Delhi, May 11 :  Prime Minister Manmohan Singh should also go following the resignation of two cabinet ministers, BJP president Rajnath Singh said Saturday.

He told the media here that the country needed a new government. "There is no alternative other that a new government," he said.

The Bharatiya Janata Party leader said if the prime minister introspects, he will have no option but to resign.

"Two ministers resigned yesterday. The question is not of one or two ministers, whatever has been going on has put a question mark on the whole administrative process.

New Delhi, May 10 : CPI-M leader Brinda Karat Friday wrote to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, seeking his intervention in the appointment of the chairperson of the Rehabilitation Council of India (RCI), which she said plays a big role in advancing the interests of the disabled.

Karat said the post has not been filled despite the selection committee making its recommendations almost a year back and directions from the court.

New Delhi, May 9 : Prime Minister Manmohan Singh called on President Pranab Mukherjee Thursday amid speculation on the fate of Law Minister Ashwani Kumar following the apex court observations about the government's role in the CBI affidavit on the coal block allocation issue.

Official sources said the prime minister's meeting with the president lasted about half an hour. However, no details of the meeting were immediately available.

There has been speculation that the Congress leadership might decide to replace Ashwani Kumar following the apex court observations.

New Delhi, May 8 : The Congress victory in Karnataka is a rejection of the Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP) ideology, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said Wednesday.

"It is a clear result against the ideology of the BJP which has been ruling Karnataka. The people of the country know what's what and they will reject the BJP ideology as the result in Karnataka shows," Manmohan Singh told reporters here.

Lauding the efforts of Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi, Manmohan Singh said: "He took a leading role in the campaigning and worked hard. I congratulate the Congress workers of Karnataka."

Hubli (Karnataka), April 29 : Prime Minister Manmohan Singh Monday said that corruption in the BJP government in Karnataka had hit the state's development and urged people to vote for the Congress in the May 5 assembly polls.

Besides affecting development, the Bharatiya Janata Party rule in the state also led to "insecurity among minorities," the prime minister told an election rally in this north Karnataka town, about 400 km from Bangalore.

Manmohan Singh said the state had seen three chief ministers under the BJP rule and several of its leaders were also fighting corruption charges.

New Delhi, April 27 : Expressing concern over the misuse of central funds in Odisha, a delegation led by state Congress president Niranjan Patnaik met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to seek a need-based financial package for the state, party leaders said here Saturday.

"The prime minister has said that there is no discrimination whatsoever with Odisha as is being claimed by the state government, and under the revised guidelines of backwardness, the state would get its due share," Patnaik said.

New Delhi, April 27 : Prime Minister Manmohan Singh Saturday termed the incursion by Chinese troops in Ladakh as a "localized problem" and said India does not want to accentuate the situation.

Answering media queries on the sidelines of an event here, the prime minister said the government has a plan to defuse the stand-off over the Chinese troop incursion.

"We do have a plan. We do not want to accentuate the situation. We do believe that it is possible to resolve this problem. It is a localised problem. Talks are going on (with China)."

New Delhi, April 27 : Prime Minister Manmohan Singh Saturday said the murderous attack on Indian death row prisoner in Pakistan Sarabjit Singh was "very sad".

"Yes, it is very sad, some inmates attacked him in jail. I think that is a very sad development," Manmohan Singh told reporters on the sidelines of a function at Rashtrapati Bhawan here.

New Delhi, April 27 : Prime Minister Manmohan Singh Saturday ruled out the resignation of Law Minister Ashwani Kumar.

The prime minister's assertion comes a day after the opposition demanded the law minister's removal for vetting a draft of the CBI probe report on the coal scam, meant only for the Supreme Court.

"There is no question of the law minister resigning... the matter is sub judice," the prime minister told reporters Saturday on the sidelines of a defence investiture ceremony at Rashtrapati Bhavan here.