RBI GOVERNOR SHAKTIKANTA DAS RULES OUT ASSET QUALITY REVIEW OF
NBFCS
Reserve Bank of India
(RBI) Governor Shaktikanta Das shrugged off liquidity concerns pertaining to
non-banking financial companies (NBFCs) and ruled out an asset quality review
in the immediate future, saying such a move might not be well-received by the
market. Das told a group of 60-70 foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) during a
meeting in Hong Kong on Tuesday that the RBI was prepared to step in to ensure
that the liquidity needs of NBFCs were duly met, said sources in the know. He
said the quantum of non-performing assets (NPAs) had dipped significantly in
the past one year and that the worst seemed to be over for the banking sector.
FPIs in the meeting included asset managers such as Templeton, Fidelity and
Blackrock, as well as a few hedge funds and distressed asset investors. The
governor justified the recent policy rate cut, citing low inflation, among
other things, and said the central bank would not shy away from more cuts
provided data supported such action Annual retail inflation in January rose
2.05 per cent, its slowest pace since June 2017, showed the data put out by the
government on Tuesday. Similarly, wholesale price inflation cooled to 2.76 per
cent in January from 3.8 per cent in the previous month. Das also apprised the
investors about the country’s key economic parameters such as gross domestic
product (GDP) growth, inflation, fiscal deficit, and current account deficit,
while expressing confidence that India had the potential to get back on the 8
per cent growth trajectory. The governor is expected to meet the heads of banks
and NBFCs again in the coming weeks, said sources. Das also discussed the
current regulations and requirements for investment in fixed income for FPIs.
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RBI FINES 3 BANKS
The Reserve Bank of India
has imposed a monetary penalty of ₹1.50 crore on Oriental
Bank of Commerce and ₹1 crore each on Bank of India and Punjab National Bank. The
penalty has been imposed on the banks for non-compliance with various directions
issued on monitoring of end use of funds, exchange of information with other
banks, classification and reporting of frauds, and on restructuring of
accounts. In the case of all these three banks, the RBI, in a statement, said:
These penalties have been imposed in exercise of powers vested in RBI under the
provisions of the Banking Regulation Act, 1949, taking into account failure of
the above banks to adhere to the aforesaid directions issued by RBI. This
action is based on deficiencies in regulatory compliance, and is not intended
to pronounce upon the validity of any transaction or agreement entered into by
the banks with their customers.
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SMES NEED GREATER INSTITUTIONAL FRAMEWORK TO BOOST ACCESS TO
CREDIT
For about 48 million small
and medium enterprises (SMEs) operating in India, continuous investment for
enhancing their technology is a pre-requisite for supporting their
sustainability and scaling up plans. To do so SMEs need access to risk capital
to deploy state-of-the-art technology through means of technology acquisitions.
This does not require any tax benefits or subsidies. Instead, the need of the
hour is liberalization of policies relating to off-balance sheet funds to be
established by existing institutions to enable SMEs to access financing for
technology acquisitions. In the European Union (EU), there are around 23
million SMEs, and these are the true backbone of its economy. The crux of their
success is that most European SMEs continuously invest in new technologies,
innovate themselves, rapidly adapt themselves to changing business environment,
and thus they form the backbone of all large manufacturing businesses. The
technology platforms and R&D centres of European institutions offer technical
and scientific support at negligible costs. This vital infrastructural support
is woefully inadequate in India. Foreign businesses are rapidly setting up
manufacturing facilities in India, to address the growing needs of the Indian
market and also to meet their offshoring manufacturing requirements. Proof of
the pudding lies in the fact of a rapid rise in FDI, which rose from $24
billion (FY2014) to a projected of $55 billion in FY2019. Most of the large
foreign companies that have set up or are setting up manufacturing facilities
in India are seeking their home country supply chain businesses to join them in
the manufacturing process in India. The foreign supply chain companies, which
are SMEs, do not have the bandwidth to go solo to establish an SME manufacturing
unit in India. They need to establish joint ventures with Indian counterparts.
This is the core of the opportunity space for the Indian SMEs in the near
future. The Indian SMEs are rising to this opportunity space, but the challenge
they are facing is largely about financing the risk capital required for
collaborations with a European or any other foreign company. Alternate funding
routes of venture capital (VC) or PE funding is not easily obtainable for these
fledgling businesses operating on wafer-thin margins and limited capability of
the entrepreneurs to bring in equity capital. Creating an institutional
framework for SMEs to raise equity or mezzanine financing, perhaps under bodies
like Invest India or SIDBI, can help them solve the challenge of meeting their
needs of technology funding. Mezzanine capital works best for such young
companies that are 3-5 years from the startup stage but their earnings books
are not resilient enough yet to support their growth or technology upgradation
projects.
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IS CASH REALLY BACK AFTER DEMONETISATION? NO
The debate on merits of
demonetisation continues with recent data showing an increase in the total cash
in circulation (CIC) in the economy, compared to pre-demonetisation levels,
raising questions on the resurgence of informal sector. However, currency
circulation at Rs 20.4 lakh crore is still short of trend by at least Rs 1.5
lakh crore, SBI said in its Ecowrap research report. Thus, any argument of cash
coming back aggressively into the system and financing informal activities is
not entirely correct, Soumya Kanti Ghosh said in the report. The study rather
points out towards a state of paradox, where even though currency circulation
has expanded, income velocity of money has shown a sharp plunge. This decline,
in the rate of exchange of money from one transaction to another, indicates the
inadequate supply of money in the system. Lower income velocity of money in
larger and developed states indicates economic activity is indeed slowing down,
the report said. The report has further highlighted the distress in rural
economy, which is also apparent from the latest data on Consumer Price Index
(CPI) inflation and Wholesale Price Index (WPI) inflation, and falling bank
credit. Thus any meaningful pick up in food and even manufacturing inflation is
still at a distance, the report said. A probable reason for this paradox could
be the dramatic change in demand for cash more than two years after
re-monetisation. In FY17 when re-monetization was achieved, there was no 200
rupee denomination. However in FY18 the pace of circulating 200 denomination
has increased manifold, as has been the case with notes of smaller
denomination. This may have altered the demand for smaller denomination notes
in a larger way to possibly substitute for the currency of larger denominations
(Rs 2000 rupee notes are not getting printed as per RBI), said the report. Hence,
using currency in circulation as a leading indicator of heightened economic
activity, specifically the narrative of large cash usage in informal economy is
erroneous, according to the SBI report.
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GROWTH LIKELY TO REACH 7.5 PER CENT NEXT FISCAL: CHIEF
ECONOMIC ADVISER
The economic growth is
likely to accelerate to 7.5 per cent in 2019-20, from 7.2 per cent projected
for the current fiscal, K V Subramanian has said. We have done the projections.
All the external agencies and internally our estimates are also 7.5 per cent
(2019-20). The nominal rate we are expecting is 11.5 per cent and inflation of
about 4 per cent, he told. The Reserve Bank of India, in its latest monetary
policy review released last week, too projected an economic growth rate of 7.4
per cent for the next fiscal. Talking about average growth in the last four
years, he said the GDP growth rate has been 7.3 per cent, highest across all
government since liberalisation. This growth rate has been achieved amidst very
low inflation. Prior to 2014, the average inflation was in excess of 10 per
cent he said, adding the significant reduction in inflation can be attributed
to setting up of Monetary Policy framework that mandates the RBI to keep it
within a particular band. Monetary Policy Committee, the interest rate setting
body headed by the RBI Governor, has been given objective of achieving the
medium-term target for consumer price index (CPI) inflation of 4 per cent
within a band of +/- 2 per cent, while supporting growth. We are the fastest
growing major economy in the world with an annual average GDP growth during
last five years higher than the growth achieved by any government since
economic reforms began in 1991, he had said. On fiscal deficit, Subramanian
said, it has been secularly coming down and India is on the glide path to
achieving the target set under the FRBM (Fiscal Responsibility and Budget
Management) Act. This fiscal prudence has been achieved despite greater
devolution to states. So as part to 14th Finance Commission, 42 per cent is
devolved to states from earlier 32 per cent, he said.
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DATA LOCALIZATION MAY BE KEY FOCUS AREA OF INDIA'S DRAFT
E-COMMERCE POLICY
Data localization will be one
of the major focus areas of the new draft e-commerce policy that is expected to
be put out by the department for promotion of industry and internal trade
(DPIIT) as early as next week, said two people familiar with the matter,
requesting anonymity. The draft of the policy is ready, just has to go through
the final approval, said the first person cited above. This draft, which is
expected to stress on data localization, will be open to public consultation.
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ARUN JAITLEY TO RESUME CHARGE AS FINANCE MINISTER, PRESIDENT
CONFIRMS APPOINTMENT
President Ram Nath Kovind,
as advised by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has directed that the Finance and
Corporate Affairs portfolios be assigned to Union minister Arun Jaitley, a
Rashtrapati Bhavan spokesperson said on Friday. He attended a meeting of the
Cabinet Committee on Security to discuss the Pulwama attack in which at least
37 CRPF personnel were killed.
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GOVERNMENT HIKES MINIMUM SELLING PRICE OF SUGAR BY RS 2/KG
Concerned over mounting
cane arrears ahead of Lok Sabha polls, the government Thursday hiked the
minimum selling price of sugar by Rs 2 per kg to Rs 31 to help millers clear
farmers' dues. The minimum selling price (MSP) is the rate below which the
mills cannot sell sugar in the open market to wholesalers and bulk consumers
like beverage and biscuit makers. We have increased the minimum selling price
of sugar from Rs 29 per kg to Rs 31 per kg. This will help millers to make the
payment to sugarcane growers, Ram Vilas Paswan told. Industry body ISMA had
recently said cane arrears stood at around Rs 20,000 crore at the end of
January.
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GOVT'S PUBLICITY BILL: RS 2,374 CR ON ELECTRONIC MEDIA, RS 670
CR ON OUTDOOR PUBLICITY
The Central government has
spent Rs 2,374 crore on its publicity in electronic media and Rs 670 crore on
outdoor publicity in the last five years, according to an RTI reply by the Bureau
of Outreach and Communication under the Ministry of Information and
Broadcasting. Giving a break up of expenditure on electronic media, including
social media platforms, television and radio, it said Rs 470.39 crore was spent
in 2014-15, Rs 541.99 crore in 2015-16 and Rs 613.78 crore during 2016-17. The
sum was Rs 474.76 crore for 2017-18,and Rs 273.54 crore from April 2018 to
December 2018. It added up to Rs 2,374.46 crore being spent on electronic media
between April 2014 and December 2018, the Bureau said in reply to a Right to
Information query by bureaucrat Sanjiv Chaturvedi. The expenditure was done on
All India Radio, DD National, internet, production, radio, SMS, theatre, TV and
on miscellaneous heads among others, the RTI reply said. A sum of nearly Rs 670
crore was spent on outdoor publicity during 2014 and November 26, 2018, the
Bureau said without specifying details of what constituted outdoor publicity.
Of this, Rs 81.27 crore was spent in 2014-15, Rs 118.51 crore during 2015-16,
Rs 186.37 crore in 2016-17 and Rs 208.54 crore during 2017-18, the RTI reply
said. A total of Rs 75.08 crore has been spent on outdoor publicity during
April 2018 and November 26, 2018, it said. In case of outdoor publicity, the
Bureau of Outreach and Communication also gave details of expenditure since
2009-10. It said about Rs 19.85 crore was spent during 2009-10, Rs 31.06 crore
during 2010-11 and Rs 45.47 crore in 2011-12. As much as Rs 51.42 crore was
spent on outdoor publicity in 2012-13 and nearly Rs 74.35 crore during 2013-14,
the RTI reply said.
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DOT FLOATS CABINET NOTE ON VODA IDEA'S FDI PROPOSAL AHEAD OF
RS 25,000 CR RIGHTS ISSUE
The telecom department has
floated a cabinet note on proposed foreign fund infusion plans by India's
largest telecom operator Vodafone Idea Ltd, which is planning up to Rs 25,000
crore rights issue according to a source. A telecom department official privy
to the development said that the proposal is likely to be taken up by the Cabinet
soon The official noted that a cabinet note has already been circulated on the
FDI proposal linked to the proposed rights issue of the company.
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STATE AGENCIES SHOULD BE HELD RESPONSIBLE FOR DELAYS IN REALTY
PROJECT APPROVALS: VENKAIAH NAIDU
Urban local bodies and
state development authorities should be made responsible for any delay in
giving approvals to real estate projects just as developers are held
accountable for not completing houses on time under the new realty law RERA, M
Venkaiah Naidu said on Thursday. He asked developers to evolve an internal
self-regulation mechanism and improve their image that has taken a hit due to
wrongdoings of certain players. Delivery of project on time is important. Approval
by government and municipal agency is equally important. They also have
responsibility. When you want to make real estate companies accountable for
delay, you also make local bodies responsible for the delays, Naidu said. Stressing
on the need for ease of doing business he said the central and state
authorities should facilitate steady growth of the real estate sector Naidu
also favoured online approvals for realty projects and asked builders to go for
digital transactions. Real estate sector is an important sector of our economy
that contributes 7.9 per cent to the GDP of the country. Being the second
largest job provider in the economy after agriculture, the entire country has
stake in the real estate sector. Around 50 million people are employed in
construction sector, which is likely to reach 67 million by 2022, the Vice
President said, adding that developers should focus on skilling their
workforce. He also termed as very disturbing a recent CAG report which said
that 95 per cent of developers do not have mandatory PAN. Asking developers to
take corrective action, he said industry bodies like CREDAI should
institutionalise internal self regulations. Unless you take internal
correctives, unless you evolve a code of conduct and unless you do your
business on ethics, the sector and country cannot prosper. The country cannot
suffer because of wrongdoings of some people. Few black sheep are spoiling the
atmosphere, Naidu said.
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GOVERNMENT PANEL TO REVIEW FARMERS LEFT OUT OF PM KISAN SCHEME
The government has set up
an inter-ministerial committee headed by the finance minister to decide on
exceptions and further inclusions of left-out farmers who fail to meet the
existing eligibility criteria of the PM KISAN scheme. The committee may review
such cases on request of state governments if the left-out beneficiaries are
large in number. There are land ownership-related problems in states where land
records are still not updated. There, record shows the ownership still in the
name of grandfather while grandson is cultivating it after his death. Such
cases may be referred to the committee for resolution, said a senior official.
He said the guidelines of PM KISAN may be modified as and when need arises
following suggestions from the states. The scheme is dynamic. Since these
guidelines were drafted without inviting much consultations, these may be
modified to suit the best interest of farmers, he said. There is another
inter-ministerial committee to look into the issues of north eastern states
where the land ownership rights are community based and it is not possible to
assess the quantum of land holder farmers. In such states, alternate
implementation mechanism would be developed to ascertain the eligibility of farmers.
An inter-ministerial committee represented by ministers of development of
northeast region (DoNER), land resources, agriculture and concerned chief
ministers of the states will decide the road map, he said.
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RAHUL GANDHI’S INCOME GUARANTEE MAY DO MORE HARM THAN GOOD,
SAYS EX-SONIA GANDHI ADVISOR
With the Congress
President Rahul Gandhi announcing to introduce a minimum income guarantee
scheme in 2019, if voted to power, talks about the effectiveness of such direct
income transfer scheme has again gained momentum. Rahul Gandhi’s proposed
scheme will do more harm than good if it comes at the cost of existing
subsidies for the poor, says Harsh Mander. This income transfer will target the
poor with a minimum income of Rs 1,000 to Rs 1,800 a month, Harsh Mander. The
proposed scheme is based on the acknowledgement that massive market-led
economic growth, by itself, cannot raise millions out of poverty, but needs a
sensitively-designed direct state support to the downtrodden, he wrote. He
however, raised some basic questions such as how these households will be
identified, how the required resources will be raised, and what other elements
of social protection, if any, would together with income-transfers would be used
to eradicate poverty. Warning about the huge exclusion error these scheme are
prone to, he said that there are no objective ways of evaluating incomes of
households in the informal sector. Moreover, these targeted scheme give far too
much discretion to the bureaucracy, leading to enormous rent-seeking. He
recommended to design income transfer schemes to farmers like that of Telangana
and Odisha government, and expanding the Mahatma Gandhi National Employment
Guarantee Scheme to a massive housing, water and sanitation programme for the
urban poor.
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PROCESS TO APPOINT CHIEF INFORMATION COMMISSIONER SHOULD BE
SAME AS CEC: SC
The Supreme Court on
Friday passed a slew of directions on filling up vacancies in the Central
Information Commission (CIC) and state information commissions (SICs) and said
the process of appointments must start one to two months before a post falls
vacant. A bench comprising Justices A K Sikri and S A Nazeer said the post of a
chief information commissioner is on a higher pedestal and the appointment
process for a CIC should be on the same terms as in the process of a chief
election commissioner. The apex court also took note of the existing vacancies
in CIC and SICs and directed authorities to fill them up within six months.
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COMMERCIAL COAL MINING AUCTIONS UNLIKELY DUE TO ELECTIONS:
OFFICIAL
Auctions for commercial
coal mining may not take place soon as the country is entering the election
mode said a senior government official. The statement comes amid resistance
from the trade unions operating in the coal sector against commercial coal
mining. With the nation almost entering the election mode, I think it will be
difficult to hear anything soon. Maybe, after a couple of months, we will be
able to make bigger progress in this area (commercial coal mining auction),
said Ashish Upadhyaya. When the policy (on commercialisation) came labours and
workforce, who are important stakeholders in this industry, had apprehensions;
fear that the conditions of pre-nationalisation will come back. So, it was
necessary for the government to allay those fears. Had a constant interaction,
dialogue and convinced them that ultimately, privatisation will be in favour of
everyone, he said.
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EXPERT COMMITTEE SUBMITS ITS REPORT ON DETERMINING METHODOLOGY
FOR FIXING NATIONAL MINIMUM WAGE
The Ministry of Labour and
Employment had constituted an expert committee on 17th January 2017, under the
Chairmanship Dr. Anoop Satpathy, Fellow, V. V. Giri National Labour Institute
(VVGNLI) to review and recommend methodology for fixation of National Minimum
Wage (NMW). The Expert Committee has submitted its report on Determining the
Methodology for Fixation of the National Minimum Wage to the Government of
India through the Secretary, Ministry of Labour and Employment on 14-02-2019. There
have been several developments since the norms for the fixation of the minimum
wages were recommended by the 15th ILC in 1957 and subsequently strengthened by
the judgement of the Supreme Court in the judgement of Workmen v Reptakos Brett
& Co. case in 1992. The report using scientific approach has updated the
methodological framework of fixation of minimum wages based on the overall
guidelines of the ILC 1957 and the Supreme Court Judgment of Workmen v Reptakos
Brett & Co. in 1992. The report has undertaken a rigorous and meticulous
analysis and has generated a large amount of evidence relating to changes in
the demographic structure, consumption pattern and nutritional intakes, the
composition of food baskets and the relative importance of non-food consumption
items to address the realities in the Indian context by using official data
made available by the National Sample Survey Office (NSSO). Using the
nutritional requirement norms as recommended by the Indian Council of Medical
Research (ICMR) for Indian population, the report has recommended a balanced
diet approach which is culturally palatable for fixation of national minimum
wage. Accordingly, it has proposed that food items amounting to the level of ±
10 per cent of 2,400 calories, along with proteins ≥ 50 gm and fats ≥ 30 gm per
day per person to constitute a national level balanced food basket. Further,
this report proposes minimum wage should include reasonable expenditure on
‘essential non-food items’, such as clothing, fuel and light, house rent,
education, medical expenses, footwear and transport, which must be equal to the
median class and expenditure on any ‘other non-food items’ be equivalent to the
sixth fractile (25-30 per cent) of the household expenditure distribution as
per the NSSO-CES 2011/12 survey data. On the basis of the aforesaid approach,
the report has recommended to fix the need based national minimum wage for
India at INR 375 per day (or INR 9,750 per month) as of July 2018, irrespective
of sectors, skills, occupations and rural-urban locations for a family
comprising of 3.6 consumption unit. It has also recommended to introduce an
additional house rent allowance (city compensatory allowance), averaging up to
INR 55 per day i.e., INR 1,430 per month for urban workers over and above the
NMW.
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ARUN JAITLEY TO RESUME DUTY AS FINANCE MINISTER BY 18 FEB; MAY
ADDRESS RBI BOARD MEET
Arun Jaitley, who has
recently returned home from the US after treatment of an illness, is likely to resume
charge as the Finance Minister by 18 February 2019, an official in the Ministry
of Finance told. Arun Jaitley is expected to address the upcoming meeting of
RBI Central Board of Directors on 18 February. However, the invite was soon
revised, now saying that Finance Minister will address the meeting, while
omitting the name. There is no official note on Arun Jaitley resuming charge as
the Finance Minister, but it is likely that he would resume the charge in time
for the RBI board meet, the official told.
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CBDT CHAIRMAN SUSHIL CHANDRA APPOINTED AS THE NEW ELECTION
COMMISSIONER
Sushil Chandra,
chairperson of the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT), has been appointed as
the new Election Commissioner of India Chandra, an IIT graduate, is a 1980
batch officer of the Indian Revenue Service (Income Tax cadre). Chandra’s role
was crucial in the Union budget as direct taxes remained the biggest element of
the annual Finance Bill. Currently, he is serving as the chairman of the CBDT
till May 2019. This is his second extension after taking over as the chief of
the CBDT, the apex policy-making body of the Income Tax Department, on November
1, 2016. Satya Pinisetty, Joint Commissioner of Income Tax, tweeted the
appointment of Sushil Chandra.
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CABINET APPROVES ASHWANI LOHANI'S APPOINTMENT AS OF AIR INDIA
The Cabinet on Wednesday approved
the appointment of Ashwani Lohani as the new Chief Managing Director of Air
India. Lohani was retired from his previous role as Railway Board Chairman on
January 1. Lohani was appointed chairman of the Railway Board after AK Mital
resigned in August last year following the derailment of the Kaifiyat Express
near Auriya in Uttar Pradesh. He also set a Guinness World Record in 1998 for
operating the oldest working steam locomotive in the world.
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WELFARE MEASURES TO CONTINUE IN INDIA POST GENERAL ELECTION
Some of the new welfare
measures in India will continue to take shape regardless of the outcome of the
general election, a top Singapore bank said on Thursday. Despite a change in
the government in 2014, impetus for Goods and Services Tax (GST), financial
inclusion, and fuel subsidy reduction did not waver, said Indian-origin
economist with DBS Research Group Radhika Rao. General elections are likely to
take place in April and May in India. We expect some of the new welfare
measures to take shape independent of the election outcome, she said. India’s
political economy is attaining modern welfare dimensions with direct cash
transfer, universal basic income and jobs provisions, Rao said. With a mixed
result in the recent parliamentary by-polls and state legislature elections,
risks of a hung Parliament cannot be discounted, she said. Four recent opinion
polls point to an average of 220-230 seats for the Bharatiya Janata Party-led
coalition, falling short of a majority, Rao said.
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INDIA COULD EXTEND DEADLINE ON STEEL IMPORT RULES FOR
AUTOMAKERS: SOURCES
India is considering extending
by four months a compliance deadline on tougher import rules for steel that are
aimed at forcing automakers to use locally made alloy said two sources familiar
with the matter. Compliance to the new rules had been set for Feb. 17, which
was an extension of two months, but strict adherence to the regulations would
have stalled production for India's auto industry, a federal minister has
warned. Carmakers continue to rely on imports because they say local steel
companies do not manufacture the grades they need, said Sugato Sen. Auto
companies want an extension until the end of 2019. There are some grades that
are not manufactured in India and we may allow those to be kept out of quality
control for some more time, a senior steel ministry official told Reuters on
condition of anonymity, as the discussions are not public.
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LENDERS IN PILOT'S SEAT AT JET AIRWAYS; GOYAL'S STAKE MAY
REDUCE TO 22%
Lenders led by State Bank
of India (SBI) will become the largest shareholders in Jet Airways in a move to
bail out the country’s second-largest domestic airline. The Naresh Goyal-led
company made the disclosure to the stock exchanges on Thursday after its board
approved a draft resolution plan comprising conversion of lenders' debt into 114
million equity shares at an aggregate consideration of Rs 1, issue of fresh
interim loan to the airline and changes in governance structure and board
composition. Even as the stock exchange disclosure did not give out the
specifics of the proposed deal, including the amount of fund infusion to be
made by the shareholders, loan amount to be converted into equity or who would
hold how much in the new entity, sources indicated that Goyal’s stake would be
diluted to around 22 per cent from the current 51 per cent. Foreign partner
Etihad will possibly retain its shareholding at the current level of 24 per
cent. While the lenders’ consortium will hold 51 per cent, the National
Infrastructure Investment Fund (NIIF) may be amongst the new investors in the
airline, one of the sources said. The draft plan estimates a funding gap of Rs
8,500 crore (including aircraft loan repayment of Rs 1,700 crore) which would
be met through equity infusion, debt restructuring, sale and lease back of
planes, among others. The numbers are close to final unless the stakeholders
concerned bring in more or less to the table, a person in the know pointed out,
referring to the shareholding pattern in the new entity. However, governance
related matters are yet to be frozen, he said, when asked whether Goyal would
remain on the Jet board or step down. In the past few months, the buzz was that
Goyal would exit the board and his son Nivaan would be inducted. It is believed
that Goyal is still negotiating with the lenders on retaining his board seat.
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BANKS COME UP WITH RESCUE PACKAGE FOR JET
After months of
negotiations, lenders led by State Bank of India are set to take control of
debt-laden Jet Airways, with the company board on Thursday approving a bank-led
provisional resolution plan Under this plan, the SBI-led lenders will convert
the debt into 11.4 crore shares for just ₹1. With that, the lenders
will become the largest shareholders in the company, with a stake of about 50
per cent. Though Jet did not disclose the details of the restructuring plan, it
said in a statement the plan proposes a restructuring under the provisions of
the RBI in order to meet a funding gap of nearly ₹8,500 crore, which is to
be met by a mix of equity infusion, debt restructuring, and sale and lease back
of aircraft, among other things. The plan will now be presented to the
consortium of lenders, the Overseeing Committee of the Indian Bankers’
Association, the Etihad Airways board, and Jet promoter Naresh Goyal for
approval. Shareholders’ approval for the conversion of lenders’ debt into
equity will be taken on February 21. The plan also envisages the sanction of
interim credit facilities by domestic lenders to manage operational exigencies.
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COAL SHORTAGE, STATE DUES, HIGHER SALARIES BEHIND LOSSES AT
DISCOMS
Shortage of coal at power
plants, inadequate tariff hikes and rising operational costs after the 7th Pay
Commission have been putting additional pressure on already hard-pressed
electricity distribution companies (discoms). In a review meeting recently held
here to map the progress of various schemes under the Union power ministry,
discom officials also blamed the late subsidy disbursal of state governments
for their increasing woes. At the end of the first half of FY19, all India
aggregate technical and commercial (AT&C) losses — an indicator of losses
due to pilferage and billing inefficiencies — stood at 22%, rising from 18.6%
at FY18-end and making it nearly impossible to achieve the target of reducing
them to under 15% by March under the Ujwal Discom Assurance Yojana (UDAY).
These losses, one of the primary reasons for the discoms being perennially in
the red, were the highest in Bihar (38.9%), followed by Jharkhand (36.9%) and
Uttar Pradesh (33.1%). AT&C loss of one percentage point translates to
financial under-recovery of about 4,000 crore on a pan-India basis. Power
purchase cost in UP has risen 14% y-o-y to Rs 4.48/unit due to coal shortage,
rise in coal and railway transportation cost and higher transmission charges.
Rise in rural electrification has also hampered the discoms’ ability to collect
payments, officials said. The state has also sought the central government’s
intervention to recover outstanding dues from the state irrigation department.
Power minister RK Singh has proposed in the new tariff policy that AT&C
losses above 15% won’t be compensated for through tariffs after FY19, which
means that discoms would not be compensated for their inefficiencies through
higher consumer bills.
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EESL GARNERS ₹3,000 CR FROM LED BULB PROGRAMME
Energy Efficiency Services
Ltd (EESL) has raised nearly ₹3,000-crore revenue through the Unnat Jyoti by Affordable LEDs
for All (UJALA) programme. UJALA is the LED-based Domestic Efficient Lighting
Programme (DELP) launched in January 2015 with a target of replacing 77- crore
incandescent lamps with LED bulbs. The programme was implemented by EESL, a
joint venture of public sector enterprises under the administrative control of
the Ministry of Power. EESL has earned nearly ₹3,000-crore revenue from
the UJALA programme in the past four years. This has been accrued from the sale
of LED bulbs to consumers. These 32.5-crore bulbs have been sold between ₹70
to ₹180 per bulb to the consumers, Saurabh Kumar, Managing
Director at Energy Efficiency Services Ltd, told BusinessLine. Kumar said,
Nearly 95 per cent of the consumers have gone for an upfront payment while the
remaining 5 per cent went for the instalment scheme. Recovery from these
consumers has been as per schedule.
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EMPLOYMENT OF INDIAN SEAFARERS GROWS BY AN UNPRECEDENTED 35
PERCENT THIS YEAR
The shipping sector has witnessed
an unprecedented growth of 35 per cent in the number of Indian seafarers
employed on Indian or foreign flag vessels this year. The figure rose from
154349 in 2017 to 208799 in 2018. Along with this, the number of students
placed for on-board training also increased from 14307 last year to 19545 this
year, showing a jump of nearly 37 per cent. The number of seafarers employed on
Indian flag vessels increased from 22,103 last year to 27,364 this year, while
the employment figures on foreign vessels went up from 60,194 to 72,327during
the same period. The total number of Officers employed increased from 60194 in
2017 to 72327 in 2018 while the number of Ratings during the period also
increased from 72,052 to 109,108. The number of Indian seafarers had earlier gone
up from 103835 in 2013 to 126945 in 2015. This phenomenal growth in the number
of Indian seafarers has been possible due to a series of measures taken by the
Government in the last four years to improve the standards of maritime
training, increase on-board training opportunities, improve the examination and
certification system and facilitate ease of doing business. While India has
created a large capacity in imparting class room training for Merchant Navy,
there has been a major constraint in providing on-board ship training for the
students enrolled for class room training.
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DTH, CABLE TV OPERATORS TO PAY NEW TARIFFS TO BROADCASTERS
FROM FEBRUARY
Distribution platform
operators (DPOs) will have to pay broadcasters based on the new pricing
starting this month, the Indian Broadcasting Foundation (IBF) has said. Telecom
Regulatory Authority of India’s (TRAI) earlier noted that only 65 percent of
cable services subscribers and 35 percent of DTH subscribers have migrated to
the new MRP regime, prompting it to extend the deadline to March-end for those
who haven’t migrated. Effective from February 2019 onwards our member
broadcasters will be raising invoices on DPOs in accordance with the provisions
stipulated by TRAI under the new MRP regime, IBF said in a statement. The IBF
issued the statement regarding the pricing after DPOs sought clarification
following TRAI decision to extend the deadline to March 31, 2019 to those
subscribers who have not yet migrated to new tariff regime. The foundation also
said its member broadcasters have executed the Reference Interconnect Offer
(RIOs) under the new MRP regime with the DPOs and have implemented the new MRP
regime effective February 1, 2019 as mandated by TRAI. Thus all DPOs are
statutorily bound to adhere to the provisions of the new MRP regime.
Accordingly, DPOs are hereby requested to provide their monthly subscriber
reports as mandated under the new MRP regime in respect of each of their
subscribers on the duly notified dates — 7th, 14th, 21st and 28th of every
month, IBF said. As per the new tariff regime, which came into effect from
February 1, viewers can pick and choose the channels they wish to watch and pay
for only those selected, rather than the earlier system of paying for a bundle
of channels that were being pushed to viewers at a fixed rate. The order was
created to bring in transparency and empowering the audience, who were earlier
offered packs by DTH and cable TV operators without much choice of selection.
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TELECOM DEPARTMENT REFUTES BSNL SHUTDOWN REPORT, SAYS MULLING
REVIVAL
The department of telecom
(DoT) is seriously considering the revival of public sector telecom service
provider Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL), it said in a statement Thursday.
Country's fourth-largest telecom service provider's statement has come
following an unconfirmed report saying the government was looking at options
including shutting down the telco. Department of Telecom (DoT) is in the
process of finalising a proposal for revival of BSNL to be considered by the
Digital Communications Commission (DCC) very soon, Delhi-headquartered telco
said. BSNL strongly denied such reports, and said there was no proposal under
consideration with the government for the closure of BSNL, and added that on
the contrary, the government recognises and values the inherent strengths of
BSNL as a telecom services provider with huge infrastructure and reach,
especially in rural areas.
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TELCOS ASK DOT TO DEFER DEADLINE TO TEST GEAR IMPORTS
India’s top mobile service
providers have asked the department of telecommunications (DoT) to defer the
April 1 deadline for mandatory testing and certification of imported network
equipment due to a paucity of labs to undertake such in-country screening. They
are likely to urge DoT and its technical wing, the telecom engineering centre
(TEC), to instruct customs authorities not to insist on the required
certification to preempt imported 3G and 4G equip-ment worth billions of
dollars from getting stuck and delaying network rollouts and expansion after
April 1. Mobile operators import an estimated $6-7 billion of network gear
annually, primarily for 4G networks, from vendors such as Ericsson, Nokia,
Huawei, Samsung and ZTE. We’ve requested the authorities that the requirements
of mandatory testing and certification of telecom equipment should not be
implemented until sufficient test labs are established in India and all related
technical and procedural challenges have been addressed by the government,
Rajan Mathews, director general of the Cellular Operators Association of India,
which represents Vodafone Idea, Bharti Airtel and Reliance Jio, told.
Implementation of the testing and certification norms, he said, has a very high
dependency on availability of a robust test labs ecosystem. Their current
unavailability can prevent timely testing, which could hold up imports and
deployment of network elements, delaying expansion of networks and adversely
impacting business interests of all stakeholders. A senior TEC official
conceded there are only 33 such labs now and that India would need at least a
100-odd to meet the national requirement of mandatory testing and certification
of telecom equipment at current import volumes. However, he expects the
screening ecosystem to evolve rapidly as at least 30-40-odd new test labs are
in the pipeline. In the absence of a testing ecosystem, the companies urged DoT
and TEC to pave the way for early mutual recognition agreements (MRA) between
India and other countries for testing and certification of telecom gear. The
TEC official said the processing of MRA pacts is undertaken by the commerce
ministry. The DoT issued the testing rules in September 2017 and implementation
was scheduled in October 2018. The deadline was deferred twice, initially to
January 1, 2019, and subsequently to April 1, in the absence of adequate test
labs. A third extension seems imminent with little changed at the ground level.
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INDIGO CONTINUES TO FACE SHORTAGE OF PILOTS, CANCELS AROUND
130 FLIGHTS FOR FRIDAY
Acute shortage of pilots
along with NOTAMs at some airports forced IndiGo to cancel around 130 flights
for Friday, a source said. The cancelled flights account for almost 10 per cent
of the airlines operations, the source said. An Indigo spokesperson, however,
said the airline has not cancelled any additional flights other than the
schedule cancellations. The Gurugram-based budget carrier operates over 1,300
flights per day with a fleet of 210 planes. IndiGo has cancelled around 130
flights for Friday as it continues to face shortage of pilots, the source said.
The airline has not pulled out anu additional flights other than the schedule
cancellations but refused to issue a statement.
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PAYTM PLEDGES ALL ITS ASSETS TO BORROW ₹1,400 CRORE FROM ICICI
BANK
Vijay Shekhar Sharma's
One97 Communications Ltd, the parent of fintech startup Paytm, has pledged all
its current assets and mutual fund investments to be able to borrow ₹1,400
crore for working capital needs from ICICI Bank Ltd. On 18 January, Paytm and
ICICI Bank Ltd entered into an agreement under which One97 Communications’ entire
current assets worth ₹7,085.1 crore as on 31 March 2018 was hypothecated by the bank
to boost the startup’s borrowing capacity. Until now, Paytm could borrow up to ₹400
crore from the bank for working capital. The higher borrowing limit helps Paytm
secure capital for everyday operations amid tight liquidity conditions in the
market and banks’ unwillingness to lend to startups and financial services
companies. It may also help Paytm fuel its growth plans that primarily include
online-to-offline (O2O) retail businesses and enter new overseas markets in the
digital payments space—moves that are aimed at narrowing losses. The agreement
was formally registered with the ministry of corporate affairs on Wednesday.
Paytm’s online retail business Paytm Mall, under Paytm E-Commerce Pvt. Ltd, saw
its financials deteriorating with a loss of ₹1,787.55 crore on a total
revenue of ₹774.86 crore during FY18, according to filings with the
registrar of companies.
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ONLY 17% OF FIRMS REPORT CYBER ATTACKS: EY
Only 17 per cent of 235
Indian organisations surveyed in the EY Global Information Security Survey
2018-19 report what breaches have taken place in their network systems. This
was disclosed in the India edition of the EY survey, released here on Thursday,
The EY report also reveals that while banking and telecom are the most attacked
sectors, manufacturing, healthcare, and retail have also faced a significant
number of cyber attacks. Burgess Cooper, told that cyber attacks could be for
money as well as impact. When a power plant is attacked, the impact is huge. It
could shut cities down. Hence, manufacturing industries are a target for cyber
attacks too Cooper said. Releasing the report, Gulshan Rai, Cyber Security
Chief, Prime Minister’s Office, said there are provisions under the IT Act
(such as section 43A) under which incident reporting is mandatory. Further, he
said that the Justice Srikrishna committee (of which he was also a member) has
recommended making it mandatory to disclose a breach not only to the authority
but also to the person whose data has been affected. That will follow as a law
in due course of time. But, there is a thinking in that direction. and it will
get strengthened over a period of time, Rai said. Malware (22 per cent),
phishing (15 per cent) and disruptive cyber attacks (15 per cent) are the top
three threats to organisations, the survey said.
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HACKERS STEAL OVER 600 MN ACCOUNT DETAILS FROM 16 WEBSITES
Hackers have made
available on the dark web details of some 617 million accounts stolen from 16
websites including ShareThis, Dubsmash and MyFitnessPal among others, The
Register reported. It has been claimed that databases, which are aimed at
making life easier for hackers, can be purchased from the Dream Market
cyber-souk, located in the Tor network, for less than $20,000 in bitcoin. The
stolen information mainly includes account holders names, email addresses and
passwords, according to the report that appeared this week. The price appears
to be relatively cheap because the information is targeted at spammers and
credential stuffers who could use the information to also get access to other
sites for which the users use the same usernames and passwords. The hacked
websites are Dubsmash (162 million), MyFitnessPal (151 million), MyHeritage (92
million), ShareThis (41 million), HauteLook (28 million), Animoto (25 million),
EyeEm (22 million), 8fit (20 million), Whitepages (18 million), Fotolog (16
million), 500px (15 million), Armor Games (11 million), BookMate (8 million),
CoffeeMeetsBagel (6 million), Artsy (1 million), and DataCamp (700,000),
according to the report in The Register.
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DIAL '112' FOR HELP IN ANY EMERGENCY; TO KICK OFF IN 14
STATES, UTS ON FEB 19
Fourteen states and Union
Territories will next week join a pan-India network of single emergency
helpline number '112' where any immediate assistance can be sought by people in
need, officials said on Thursday. The Emergency Response Support System (ERSS)
is an integration of police (100), fire (101), health (108) and women (1090)
helpline numbers to provide emergency services through the single number '112'.
To access the emergency services, a person can dial 112 from phone or press
power button on smart phone 3 time quickly to activate panic call to Emergency
Response Centre (ERC). In case of normal phone, long press of '5 or '9' key on
the phone will activate the panic call, a home ministry official said. People
can also log onto ERSS website for the state and lodge emergency Email or send
SOS alert to state ERC. They can use '112' India mobile app, which is available
free on Google Playstore and Apple store. The states where the single emergency
number '112' will be operationalised on February 19 include Uttar Pradesh,
Uttarakhand, Punjab, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Andhra
Pradesh and Telangana. The single number for various emergency services, which
is similar to the '911' all-in-one emergency service in the US, will be
gradually rolled out across the country, the official said. Under the Union
Home Ministry sponsored project, the states will have to set up a dedicated ERC
The ERC will have a team of trained call-takers and dispatchers to handle
emergency requests relating to assistance from police, fire and rescue, health
and other emergency services. Police can view all events after an emergency
call is made at the ERC. The ERCs are connected to district command centres
(DCC) and the emergency response vehicles and assistance/response to victims
are facilitated through them, another official said. The ERSS is designed to be
a common protocol managed by each state and UT. The ERSS provides a 112 India
mobile app. For women and children, 112 India app provides a special 'SHOUT'
feature which alerts registered volunteers in the vicinity of victim for
immediate assistance. The Centre for Development of Advanced Computing (C-DAC)
has been designated as the total service provider by the home ministry for the
project. The C-DAC has developed complete ERSS solutions for state and UTs and
is also supporting states and UTs in setting up the ERSS. The central
government is providing Rs 321.69 crore to the states and UTs for the ERSS as
part of the Nirbhaya scheme. The service has already been launched in Himachal
Pradesh and Nagaland.
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INDIA’S FIRST SEMI HIGH SPEED TRAIN, VANDE BHARAT EXPRESS TO BE
FLAGGED OFF BY PM
The ‘Make in India’ effort
of Indian Railways has culminated into India's first Semi High Speed Train,
Vande Bharat Express. Prime Minister Narendra Modi will flag off the maiden run
of the train on New Delhi-Kanpur-Allahabad-Varanasi route train morning from
the New Delhi Railway Station. He will inspect the facilities in the train and
address a gathering on this occasion. Vande Bharat Express can run up to a
maximum speed of 160 kmph and has travel classes like Shatabdi Train but with
better facilities. It aims to provide a totally new travel experience to
passengers. All coaches are equipped with automatic doors, GPS based
audio-visual passenger information system, on-board hotspot Wi-Fi for
entertainment purposes, and very comfortable seating. All toilets are
bio-vacuum type. The lighting is dual mode, viz. diffused for general
illumination and personal for every seat. Every coach has a pantry with
facility to serve hot meals, hot and cold beverages. The insulation is meant to
keep heat and noise to very low levels for additional passenger comfort. Vande
Bharat Express has 16 air-conditioned coaches of which 2 are executive class
coaches. The total seating capacity is 1,128 passengers. It is much more than
the conventional Shatabdi rake of equal number of coaches, thanks to shifting
of all electric equipment below the coaches and seats in the driving coach
also.
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MOBILE APP TO ALLOW BENEFICIARIES TO CAPTURE & UPLOAD
PHOTOGRAPHS OF COMPLETED HOUSES
Shri Hardeep S
Puri,Minister of State (I/C) for Housing and Urban Affairs has stated that the PMAY
(U) Mobile App will allow beneficiaries to capture and upload high resolution
photographs of completed houses along with their families. The App will also
allow uploading of selfies of beneficiaries with their house and a 30 - 60
seconds video clip where beneficiaries share their stories of owning a house
under PMAY (U). These stories would be an emotional recount of experiences such
as increased self-esteem, sense of pride and dignity, improved social status, safety
and security for the family, protected environment for the girl child,
children’s education among others. A one-minute film showcasing the impact of
PMAY(U) in the lives of beneficiaries was also released on the occasion. Shri
Hardeep S.Puri emphasized that the mission intends to create a closer interface
with its beneficiaries Hence a mobile application has been developed to bring
beneficiaries directly in contact with the mission. The application would allow
beneficiaries of PMAY (U) to capture and upload photosand videos of completed
houses along with testimonies. These photos and videos ofbeneficiary
testimonies will be scrutinized at State as well as at Central level. The
selected beneficiaries from States/UTswould be awarded and invited as special
guestfor anniversary celebration of PMAY (U). The PMAY (U) mission was launched
on 25th June 2015 with the aim to provide houses to every eligible urban
household in India by the year 2022. The scheme has achieved a significant
milestone of approving more than 73 lakh houses against a validated demand for
about one crore houses in urban areas. Around 40 Lakh houses are at various
stages of construction and more than 15 lakh houses have already been
completed. Further around 12 lakh houses are being constructed using new and
emerging technologies.
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AS MINISTRY DRAGS FEET ON POLICY, KIDS WITH RARE DISEASES PAY
THE PRICE
The ongoing tussle between
the Union Health Ministry and the All India Institute of Medical Sciences
(AIIMS) over providing treatment to children with rare diseases is fast turning
into a humanitarian crisis And caught in the crossfire are siblings Arshi (17)
and Ubed (15), who first came to limelight as the first set of kids in New
Delhi to get the costly Enzyme Replacement Therapy (ERT) for treating their
rare genetic condition — Mucopolysaccharidosis I (MPS I). While both my
children require the drugs every week, we have not received treatment for more
than seven weeks in a year, Ayesha Begum, told. Last year, after the Health
Ministry did a U-turn and said that the National Policy for Rare Diseases 2017
is being put on hold and after the ₹100-crore corpus announced
for treatment of rare diseases was withdrawn for lack of allocation, Ubed and
Arshi's treatment also came to a halt at AIIMS. On February 8, the Delhi High
Court called this move of the Ministry, a somersault, and directed AIIMS to
restart the treatment. While the Health Ministry is still formulating its new
policy which, according to Preeti Sudan will take close to nine months, doctors
from AIIMS said that in pursuance of the court’s previous orders, they had
purchased Enzyme Replacement Therapy vials, worth close to ₹67
lakh. The Health Ministry has neither paid for it nor has given any sanction
for administering it, AIIMS submitted to the HC. Meanwhile, with lack of
treatment, the health of the children has deteriorated. While Arshi has now
been relegated to a wheel-chair and has stopped going to school, Ubed has
started losing balance while walking, Ayesha said.
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KERALA'S TOURISM FOOTFALL IN 2018 AT HALF ITS POPULATION:
MINISTER
Kerala collected Rs
36,528.01 crore as revenues from tourism last year: an increase of Rs 2,874.33
crore over last year. Over 16.7 million tourists, both domestic and foreign,
visited Kerala in 2018, compared to 15.76 million the previous year, recording
an increase of 5.93 per cent. Of the total footfalls, 1.09 million were foreign
tourists The share of revenue from foreign visitors touched Rs 8,764.46 crore.
There was also a spurt in arrival of domestic tourists to the southern state.
United Kingdom (UK) accounted for the largest number of foreign visitors, at
200,000, followed by the United States, France, Germany and Saudi Arabia. The
number of visitors from other European countries such as Sweden and Italy also
rose during the period. In the first quarter of calender year 2018, tourist
arrivals to the state recorded a 12.3 per cent growth of foreign visitors and a
20 per cent rise of domestic tourists.
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YOUR ELECTRIC VEHICLE DREAM MAY GET A RS 50,000 JUMP-START
The government is planning
to incentivise the purchase of electric vehicles (EVs) with rebates of up to Rs
50,000, bringing them under the umbrella of priority sector lending and
lowering interest rates on loans, said an official with knowledge of the
matter. The move is part of the government’s bid to promote the manufacture and
sale of EVs in India so that they eventually comprise 15% of total sales from
the current negligible share in the next five years. A cabinet note is being
prepared and a decision is expected soon, the senior government official told
on condition of anonymity. The idea is to give enough incentives so that the
prices of electric vehicles match the current conventional internal combustion
engines so that prospective buyers start giving preferences to electric
vehicles over conventional vehicles, the person said. The plan could be rolled
out in select cities for a fixed tenure in the first phase, said the person
cited above. The sops may be linked to battery size and vehicle type. India is
banking on cleaner energy sources to help clean up its polluted cities.
Extensive infrastructure development will be needed to provide adequate
charging facilities to ensure this isn’t a constraint for adoption, the
official said. Stakeholder ministries have already issued notifications to
facilitate the domestic manufacture of EVs and creation of infrastructure,
following intervention by the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO). The single biggest
factor for slow penetration of electric vehicles is their high price, which is
around 2 to 2.5 times more than a comparable conventional vehicle, according to
the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM). Another concern is the
range per charge. That’s despite electric vehicles having a significant
advantage in terms of operating cost, which could be as low as one-fourth that
of a conventional vehicle. Total electric vehicle sales in India in FY18
amounted to 56,000 units, up from 25,000 in FY17. Of this, electric
two-wheelers dominated with 54,800 units, up from 23,000 in the previous
fiscal. However, electric four-wheelers witnessed a drop in FY18 to 1,200 units
from 2,000. SIAM data show total passenger vehicles sold in India in FY18 stood
at 3.3 million units while total two-wheeler sales amounted to 2.02 million
units.
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SPORTS MINISTRY SETS UP SIX-MEMBER COMMITTEE TO REVIEW SPORTS
AND CASH AWARDS
In a bid to create a more
transparent atmosphere for awarding sports and cash awards to deserving
athletes, the sports ministry on Thursday constituted a six-member committee to
review the different award schemes The committee can change the schemes if
required and can also increase and decrease the amount of the cash awards. It
can also decide the number of awards being given out per year. The committee
will also review the eligibility and marks criteria of the sports awards. It
can also recommend the inclusion of new international sports events which can
be considered for the cash award scheme. The committee has been asked to submit
its report within 10 days.
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CII STRESSES DIGITAL SKILLS FOR THE FUTURE
Indian companies are now
in a rush to recruit people with digital skills because the supply is far less
than demand, said CK Ranganathan. We have made some of our employees take
digital courses and found that their market value (compensation) has increased
from ₹4 lakh a year ago to ₹10-12 lakh now,
Ranganathan added. Given the dearth of digitally skilled manpower in India,
over the next five years, companies will compete to recruit such talent, he
added. He also said that technological disruptions like artificial intelligence
(AI), internet of things (IoT) and blockchain technology will affect our daily
lives in more ways in the future.
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BENGALURU, DELHI LIKELY TO BE 3RD & 4TH FASTEST-GROWING IN
OFFICE RENTALS GLOBALLY
Bengaluru and New Delhi
are likely to be the third and fourth fastest-growing office markets globally
in terms of prime rentals on the back of upbeat demand and inadequate
availability of quality properties. Office rental values in Bengaluru are
expected to increase 6.6% over 2018, while in New Delhi they may rise 6.5%,
this year, according to a report by Knight Frank India. Rentals are getting a
boost as demand remains buoyant from IT/ITeS companies and startups amid lack
of quality space in key markets. Bengaluru saw prime rental values of Rs 125
per square foot per month in 2018, mainly on account of low Grade A supply,
according to the report titled, ‘Global Outlook 2019,’ which evaluates 33
global cities. New Delhi’s prime rental values of Rs 326 per sq ft per month
came mainly on the back of constricted fresh supply. Mumbai’s prime office
rentals are expected to remain stable with growth estimated at only 0.3% in
2019. The recorded rental for prime markets in the city is about Rs 300 per sq
ft per month, largely because demand has shifted to secondary and peripheral
locations due to high rental values in other places. The vacancy rate is
expected to improve to 15% in New Delhi in 2021 from 16.5% in 2018 and to 14%
in Mumbai from 19.8%, indicating an increase in employment generation.
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FINANCE COMMISSION MEETS DEPARTMENT OF SCHOOL EDUCATION AND
LITERACY
The Fifteenth Finance
Commission had a meeting with the Department of School Education and Literacy,
Ministry of Human Resource Development in New Delhi. The meeting discussed key
issues of the sector requiring the Commission’s intervention including
investment in School Infrastructure, Teacher’s salaries & training, Career
Counselling, school students, Pre-schooling of children akin to the Sikkim
model to give a boost to early learning, and other issues. The meeting also
discussed steps to attract greater to private capital and private Partnership
into the school education sector as well as integrate B.Ed courses into two
year integrated BA.B.ED courses, B.Com. B.ED courses in the future to
streamline the availability of trained teachers. The Commission expressed
concern over parents’ preference to send children to Private English schools
over the Government schools and stressed on the requirement for evaluation of
schools and dissemination of the results to help parents in making informed
choices. The HRD has asked for the support from 15th Finance Commission on the
following issues:
·
Incentive based grants to
States based on Performance Grading Index (PGI).
·
Requirement of Central
funds amounting to a minimum of Rs. 4,37,994.74 crore (to meet RTE Norms and
other essential requirements) and Rs. 5,66,087.74 crore to meet the SDG Goals
by 2030.
·
Ring fencing (of about
20%) of resources devolved to the States for School Education OR clear award
for States and UTs for implementation of RTE Act, 2009 and other essential
requirements (on the lines of 13th Finance Commission).
The Commission is
scheduled to hold its second meeting with MHRD on 22nd February to deliberate
on the issues of Higher Education.
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ ___
INDIA SIGNS LEGAL AGREEMENTS WITH THE WORLD BANK FOR FIRST
PROGRAMMATIC WATER SUPPLY
The Government of India,
Government of Himachal Pradesh (GoHP) and the World Bank signed a $40 Million
Loan Agreement to help bring clean and reliable drinking water to the citizens
of the Greater Shimla area, who have been facing severe water shortages and
water-borne epidemics over the last few years. The Shimla Water Supply and
Sewerage Service Delivery Reform Programmatic Development Policy Loan 1 is
expected to improve water supply and sanitation (WSS) services in and around
the iconic hill city of Shimla.
#For Source of Information copy and paste the heading in google.
Thanks & Regards,
CS Meetesh Shiroya
Thanks & Regards,
CS Meetesh Shiroya
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