E-COMMERCE REVOLUTIONISED RETAIL SECTOR IN INDIA: KANT
E-commerce has
revolutionised the retail sector in India and will play a major role in the
country's growth story going forward, Amitabh Kant said Tuesday. He further
noted that driven by the growth in India's retail market, the country's GDP
will also witness an increase and result in more job opportunities. E-commerce
market has brought a revolution in India's retail sector and nobody can stop it
now, he said. According to Kant, India is currently growing at over 7 per cent
and if the country has to grow at 9 per cent, then e-commerce market will have
to play a major role. Recently, the Central Statistics Office (CSO), revised
downwards country's growth estimate for the full fiscal (2018-19) to 7 per cent
from 7.2 per cent. According to a report by Deloitte India and Retail
Association of India, India's e-commerce market will touch USD 84 billion in
2021 from USD 24 billion in 2017 on account of a healthy growth in organised
retail sector. Kant noted that traditional retail market and modern retail
market (e-commerce) will co-exist in India even as the consumer behaviour is
changing. Praveen Khandelwal said the current e-commerce is greatly vitiated by
online companies by indulging into predatory pricing, deep discounting and lose
funding. The government should constitute the regulatory authority for
e-commerce and cash on delivery service for e-commerce should be banned,
Khandelwal said.
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NEW INDUSTRY POLICY NOT BEFORE ELECTIONS
The Narendra Modi
government, which has been working on a new industrial policy since 2017 to
make India a manufacturing hub by aggressively promoting Make In India, has
decided not to make the policy public in its current tenure, fearing electoral
repercussions. The industrial policy was sent for cabinet approval in December.
However, it seems to have been held up for political reasons. Now, the next
government is likely to take it up, a commerce and industry ministry official
said, on the condition of anonymity. The commerce and industry ministry held
consultations with various stakeholders, including industry bodies, academia,
think-tanks, state governments and concerned ministries and departments of the
central government. In view of the rapidly changing landscape of manufacturing
and services, as well as in the light of the new technologies and business
models which are prevalent now, the need for a new industrial policy to address
the existing challenges and take advantage of the future opportunities has been
felt. Therefore, the government has decided to formulate a new industrial
policy, which would be a road map for all business enterprises in the country,
trade minister Suresh Prabhu informed Lok Sabha on 17 December. The new
industrial policy will subsume the National Manufacturing Policy. Its
objectives will, however, be far wider and handle issues such as promoting
emerging technologies; building an innovation-driven economy; promoting high
quality industrial infrastructure; providing enhanced access to affordable
capital, especially for micro, small and medium enterprises; strengthening
linkages between trade and manufacturing; enhancing skill development; and
making doing business easier. The policy will also suitably incorporate the use
of modern smart technologies, such as Internet of Things, artificial
intelligence (AI) and robotics, for advanced manufacturing. The commerce and
industry ministry had set up a task force on AI for India’s economic
transformation to provide inputs for the new industrial policy, which has
submitted its report. The task force included members from the academia,
industry and government, and is chaired by V. Kamakoti of the Indian Institute
of Technology, Madras.
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INDIA'S FEBRUARY JOBLESS RATE CLIMBED TO 7.2%: CMIE
The unemployment rate in
India rose to 7.2% in February 2019, the highest since September 2016, and up
from 5.9% in February 2018, according to data compiled by the Centre for
Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE) that was released on Tuesday. The unemployment
rate has climbed despite a fall in the number of job seekers, Mahesh Vyas,
told, citing an estimated fall in the labour force participation rate. The
number of employed persons in India was estimated at 400 million in February
compared with 406 million a year ago, he said. A CMIE report released in
January said nearly 11 million people lost jobs in 2018 after the
demonetisation of high value notes in late 2016 and the chaotic launch of a new
goods and services tax in 2017, hit millions of small businesses.
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AYODHYA CASE NOT JUST A LAND DISPUTE, IT'S A MATTER OF FAITH,
SAYS SC
The Supreme Court
Wednesday said it was conscious of the gravity of the Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri
Masjid land dispute and the outcome of mediation on the body politic of the
country. A five-judge constitution bench headed by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi
said the case was not only about property but also about sentiment and faith It
is not only about property. It is about mind, heart and healing, if possible,
the bench also comprising Justices S A Bobde, D Y Chandrachud, Ashok Bhushan
and S A Nazeer said. We are not concerned about what Mughal ruler Babur had
done and what happened after. We can go into what exists in the present moment,
the bench said. The apex court is considering whether the dispute can be
settled through mediation The top court had asked the contesting parties to
explore the possibility of amicably settling the decades-old dispute through
mediation saying it may help in healing relations. Fourteen appeals have been
filed in the apex court against the 2010 Allahabad High Court judgment,
delivered in four civil suits, that the 2.77-acre land in Ayodhya be partitioned
equally among the three parties -- the Sunni Waqf Board, the Nirmohi Akhara and
Ram Lalla.
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REALTY LOANS WORTH $15 BILLION UNDER STRESS: REPORT
Loans worth $10-15
billion, or 15-20% of the total advances of about $70 billion, made to the real
estate sector by banks and non banking financial companies (NBFC) under stress
due to high debt and weak sales says a report from brokerage firm CLSA.
Builders have been under pressure over the last few years as sluggish sales
have impacted their cash flow, leading to an overhang of inventory and
subsequent inability to service loans. This, coupled with the regulatory
demands of RERA, has led to many developers, especially in the unorganised
segment, filing for bankruptcy. Banks and housing finance companies (HFCs) each
account for 40% of the total loans, and NBFCs the remaining 20%. But the latter
faces a greater risk in the lending ecosystem as they have lent aggressively in
the last few years, even as banks have taken a back seat. NBFCs have even
financed land and promoter equity, something that banks and HFCs are not
allowed to do. While banks have increased their exposure to the sector by a 5%
compounded annual growth rate (CAGR), NBFCs have galloped at 30-35% CAGR. Among
NBFCs, Piramal and Edelweiss have high exposures to the sector. NBFCs have a
total exposure of close to $32 billion to developers, up from just $5 billion
five years ago. Most of it has gone into construction finance as banks have
been cautious in lending to developers who are already saddled with large debt.
Banks, on the other hand, have seen their loan book grow to $25 billion from
$21 billion in the same period.
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BANKS RISK ADDING $25 BILLION BAD DEBT ON SUPREME COURT
DECISION
A year after India’s
central bank tightened the screws on companies delaying debt payments the
nation’s Supreme Court is poised to begin hearing arguments on whether the
regulator’s diktat applies across industries Hanging in the balance is the fate
of more than $25 billion of loans to power producers. They are among parties
contesting the central bank directive that forced lenders recognize loans as
soured if dues are delayed even by a day and to approach bankruptcy courts if a
restructuring isn’t agreed to within 180 days. The top court in September
halted proceedings against power, sugar and shipping companies after they
challenged the Reserve Bank of India’s rules. The central bank circular last
year, which scrapped previous methods for recasting bad loans, rattled
companies and lenders alike. The power sector was among the hardest hit with the
government identifying as stressed 34 plants with outstanding debt of about 1.8
trillion rupees. If the RBI directive is upheld, many of these would
immediately be pushed into insolvency court with lenders forced to dial-up
provisions. The top court has said the case will be on top of its agenda for
Wednesday and a judgment is expected once arguments conclude over the next few
weeks. The top court’s September halt on further action had offered lenders
some breathing space to look for buyers for these businesses. Those scouting
for acquirers for power assets though had little luck as the sector is plagued
by fuel shortages and difficulties negotiating long-term supply contracts with
the country’s debt-laden electricity distributors. Of the 34 plants identified
as stressed, only a few units -- including JP Power’s Prayagraj unit -- are
anywhere close to resolution, people familiar with the matter said. Banks could
face a 75 percent loss ratio on their lending to these stressed companies which
are on brink of bankruptcy, according to a Bank of America Merrill Lynch
estimate.
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DOUBLING TAX-FREE GRATUITY LIMIT TO RS 20 LAKH TO BENEFIT PSU,
PVT SECTOR EMPLOYEES: FINANCE MINISTER
Finance Minister Arun
Jaitley said Tuesday the decision to double tax-free gratuity limit to Rs 20
lakh will benefit public and private sector employees. The government in Budget
2019-20 also announced hiking of tax free gratuity to Rs 20 lakh for employees
having service of more than five years. Income Tax Exemption for Gratuity under
Section 10(10)(iii) of the Income Tax Act has been enhanced to Rs 20 lakh.
Would benefit all PSU employees and other employees not covered by Payment of
Gratuity Act, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said in a tweet.
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GOVERNMENT TO SOON UNVEIL DRAFT NATIONAL LOGISTICS POLICY
The government will
finalise its ambitious draft national logistics policy within a month, an
official said. The Centre had extended the deadline of February 28 for
submission of comments from stakeholders till March 8 to incorporate
suggestions from them to create a holistic policy. We have incorporated most of
the comments and suggestions made by the stakeholders. But we extended the
deadline to ensure that all the aspects are covered in the policy. We are
hopeful that the final policy will be out in a month's time N Sivasailam said.
The objective of the draft policy 2018 is to create a national logistics
e-marketplace as a one-stop marketplace for exporters and importers, set up a
separate fund for start-ups in the logistics sector and to double employment in
the sector. The draft policy also seeks to create a single point of reference
for all logistics and trade facilitation matters in the country which will also
function as a knowledge and information sharing platform.
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RAJASTHAN GOVT EASES NORMS FOR MSMES FOR STARTING BUSINESS
The Rajasthan Government
has notified the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) Facilitation of
Establishment and Operation Ordinance, 2019 allowing entrepreneurs to start
their businesses by filling self-declaration form The ordinance proposes
exemption from approval and inspection from various departments for three
years, besides various legal and administrative difficulties. With this move,
enterprises will be exempted from approvals and inspections for three years but
they will have to work as per the laws, said Ashok Gehlot in a statement. The
entrepreneurs will be able to present declaration of intent electronically or
physically to the nodal agency and later the nodal agency will issue
acknowledgement certificate, he added. The Bureau of Investment Promotion and
District Industrial Centres will be the nodal agency for implementation of the
ordinance at the state and district level, respectively. Later, after the
completion of 3 years periods, all the necessary approvals from the concerned
department would have to be maintained and secured by the enterprises within 6
months. This ordinance will not only save time of the entrepreneurs but also
allow them to focus on industrial expansion and production, Gehlot stated. Besides,
it will also create a conducive environment for industrial investment in the
state.
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PERMANENT COMMISSION TO WOMEN
Ministry of Defence has
taken steps to ensure implementation of announcement by the Prime Minister on
15th August, 2018 regarding grant of Permanent Commission to Women officers in
the Armed Forces. In so far the Indian Air Force is concerned, all Branches,
including Fighter Pilots are now open for women officers. In Indian Navy all
non sea going Branches/Cadre/Specialisation have been opened for induction of
women officers through Short Service Commission. The proposal for induction of
three new training ships for the Indian Navy is underway. This will provide the
requisite infrastructure for training of both men and women officers. Indian
Navy will start inducting women in all branches, once the training ships are in
place. Women officers will be granted Permanent Commission in the Indian Army
in all the ten branches where women are inducted for Short Service Commission.
SSC women officers will give their option for PC before completion of four
years of Commissioned Service and they will exercise option for grant of PC and
their choice of specialisation.
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'AYUSHMAN MITRA' CAN BE BROUGHT UNDER NATIONAL HEALTH AGENCY
PAYROLL
Volunteers appointed to
assist patients under the Ayushman Bharat scheme could be brought under its
payroll to fix a direct accountability according to recommendations of a think
tank associated with the BJP. The Public Policy Research Centre conducted an
assessment of first phase of implementation of the Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya
Yojana and suggested that instead of reporting to individual hospitals,
Ayushman Mitra can be brought under the purview of the national health agency
to fix their responsibility The other recommendations given by the report
included to consider making an Ayushman council, which would be on the lines of
GST council to improve coordination between the beneficiaries and the government.
The recommendations have been submitted to NITI Aayog. The report claimed that
beneficiary interviews revealed people are now tending to health care problems
on priority, they are departing from a common practice of overlooking or
putting off doctor visits due to financial concerns leading to worsening of
illnesses. Several case studies pointed out the trend that people are now
visiting doctors for their health care issues, lingering for decades, the
report said.
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PMSYM PENSION SCHEME SUBSCRIPTION TO CROSS ONE CRORE MARK
SOON: PRASAD
The numbers of subscribers
for Pradhan Mantri Shram Yogi Maan-Dhan (PM-SYM), which provides assured
monthly pension of Rs 3,000 to informal workers would soon cross one crore mark
Ravi Shankar Prasad said Tuesday. According to the labour ministry portal, as
many as 10.95 lakh workers have already subscribed to the pension scheme. As
many as 2.36 lakh common service centres are facilitating subscription of the
scheme across 36 states in the country. The scheme was announced in the interim
Budget by Finance Minister Piyush Goyal, providing Rs 527 crore for the scheme.
It was made available for subscription to informal sector workers on February
15, 2019. Prasad expressed hope that the country wide launch of the scheme will
help in encouraging more unorganised sector workers to subscribe the plan.
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DEBT WAIVERS BY STATES SLOW DOWN FARM LOAN DELIVERY
Pundits had warned of a
slowdown in farm credit delivery following debt waivers by state governments
and the latest Reserve Bank of India data validated their fear. The states,
which announced debt waivers as a mechanism to address farmer distress, saw
impacts on farm loan delivery in various degrees, according to the RBI data
released on March 3. Maharashtra, which waived farm loans in 2017, saw 5.4% dip
in credit delivery in FY2018, while bank credit lost momentum in Uttar Pradesh,
the second largest recipient of farm loans. Even as the credit culture took a
hit from debt waivers, bank loan offtake in all states together rose 11.2% to
Rs 12 lakh crore in FY18 as banks chased targets set by the government, the RBI
data showed. Farm distress and lower food inflation led to lower revenue
generation for the farmers and the slow bank loan delivery only added to their
woes. Loan waivers do create a moral hazard and banks lower their credit as
there will be wilful defaults. This is a challenge for farmers as they may have
to go to unorganised channels, said Madan Sabnavis. Uttar Pradesh waived farm
loan in 2017, shrinking bank credit growth to agriculture to a mere 1.5% in
FY18, compared with 13.5% in the preceding year. Tamil Nadu, the largest
recipient of farm loans from banks, had announced waiver in 2016. The state
farm loan growth was slower at 6.3% in FY17, compared with a 16.3% jump in the
previous year.
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AIR INDIA NEEDS RS 12,000 CRORE TO PAY DEBT IN NEXT FISCAL
Next fiscal will be a
crucial one for Air India as Rs 8,000 crore of aircraft purchase loan have to
be paid off then. While almost half of AI’s total loan of over Rs 55,000 crore
is being transferred to a special purpose vehicle to reduce its annual debt
servicing of Rs 4,500 crore, the airline will in all need to pay Rs 12,000
crore towards paying off loans — Rs 4,000 crore of working capital and rest
aircraft purchase loan — in FY 2019-20. Next year AI will need support from the
government to pay off this huge debt burden. From the fiscal 2020-21, AI’s
annual debt servicing will be in the manageable range of Rs 1,500-2,000 crore.
We can be in operating profit from FY 2021, said a source. The airline is
currently also trying to somehow raise funds as 23 of its aircraft, a mix of
narrow and wide body, are not flying for want of engines. The government may
issue bonds to make some funds available to AI and help its meet its urgent
requirement like putting engines on lanes to make them fly! Once the grounded
aircraft are back in service, AI has drawn up plans for where they will be
utilised.
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PATANJALI MOVES COURT AGAINST COMPANIES FOR ‘ILLEGAL’ EXPORTS
OF ITS PRODUCTS
Patanjali has filed cases
against 13 exporters in the Delhi HC, accusing them of buying items the company
sells only in India and repackaging the products for shipments to places like
Australia, Canada, and the Middle East. Patanjali has approached the court to
stop those companies from what it says amounts to illegally exporting its
products According to a person familiar with the case, Patanjali has argued
that its products, with rupee price stickers on the packaging, can only be sold
in India. However, the exporters have been repackaging them such to give the
impression that those products have clearance from the FDA in the respective
foreign markets. Their modus operandi is they would repack products as if they
have FDA approvals from that country, said the person familiar with Patanjali’s
arguments. It’s not only illegal, but also unethical. The company has also made
the Customs department a party to the case, seeking its intervention. Patanjali
wants to ensure that the Customs do not allow exports of such items, said
another person familiar with the case. HC would hear the matter on Wednesday.
Even though Patanjali had been selling its herbal products for years, it
vaulted into the centre-stage over past few years through its entry into a
range of consumer products — toothpastes, cooking oils, and a whole range of
kitchen items. It generates over Rs 10,000 crore in annual revenues.
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SC TO DECIDE VALIDITY OF PROVISIONS GOVERNING RESTITUTION OF
CONJUGAL RIGHTS
A three-judge bench of the
Supreme Court will hear a petition challenging the legality of a provision that
allows courts to direct restitution of conjugal rights in a bid to force a
warring couple to get along and work on their marriage. A two-judge bench led
by Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi referred the issue to a larger bench
while hearing a public interest litigation (PIL) that said the provision was
anti-women as it forces a woman to go back to her husband against her wishes
and in violation of her rights. Arguing the PIL filed said though on the face
of it the law seems gender neutral, it is actually deeply patriarchal and is
based on feudal English law, which regards a woman as ‘chattel’ or personal
possession of the husband. It is steeped in a patriarchal gender stereotype and
is violative of Article 15(1) of the constitution, he argued. Hegde said the
legal framework is violative of the right to privacy, individual autonomy and
dignity of individuals (both men and women) guaranteed under Article 21. It
places a disproportionate burden on women and is therefore violative of
Articles 14 and 15(1) of the constitution. The remedy of restitution of
conjugal rights was not recognised by any of the personal law systems of India,
the PIL said, adding that its origin is in feudal English law, and that the UK
itself has abolished restitution of conjugal rights in 1970.
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INDORE GETS 'CLEANEST CITY' TAG FOR THIRD STRAIGHT YEAR
Indore was Wednesday
adjudged India's cleanest city for the third straight year in the central
government's cleanliness survey. While the New Delhi Municipal Council area was
given the 'Cleanest Small City' award, Uttarakhand's Gauchar was adjudged the
'Best Ganga Town' in the central government survey. The cleanliness awards are
given by the Union Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs.
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GOVT TO SPEND RS 616 CRORE TO TRANSFORM IMS BHU INTO
AIIMS-LIKE INSTITUTE: OFFICIAL
The Institute of Medical
Sciences BHU will soon become an AIIMS -like institution with the government
going ahead with a proposal to upgrade the IMS facilities at an estimated cost
of Rs 616 crore by 2019-20, said a senior Niti Aayog official. The official
further said that the Centre wants to improve governance of IMS and give it
more functional and financial autonomy. The Centre wants to transform IMS BHU
to apex institute like AIIMS and it will invest a total of Rs 616 crore in 2018
-19 and 2019-20 for creating more super speciality health facilities and
increasing number of beds in the institute, the official told. An MoU was
exchanged on August 4, 2018 between the ministries of HRD, Health and Family
Welfare and the UP government for upgrading the IMS-BHU to the level of AIIMS
here. Unlike AIIMS, which are autonomous bodies, IMS will be the first super
specialty hospital that will be governed by the BHU Act and not AIIMS Act to
provide top class medicare to patients in and around Varanasi, which is also
parliamentary constituency of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
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DELHI GOVT TO FACE RS 6,000 CRORE LOSS ON ELECTRIC BUSES IN 10
YEARS: BJP
Bharatiya Janata Party
(BJP) on Monday alleged that the AAP government was making false promises to
run 1,000 electric buses in Delhi within this year as they claimed that
readying depots and charging infrastructure will take at least 24 months. The
BJP leaders also alleged that the government will bear a loss of Rs 6,000 crore
in 10 years without having the actual ownership of 1,000 electric public transport
vehicles. Manoj Tiwari alleged that the tender process was initiated in the
last year of AAP’s tenure for financial gains. Vijender Gupta, alleged that the
Kejriwal government has started the process to purchase the electric buses
without proper planning. The government, neither has bus depots to station
these vehicles nor the infrastructure to charge them. Of the six bus depots
where these buses will be parked, five don’t even exist on ground. The proposed
depots in East Vinod Nagar and Burari are still a part of the protected forest
and no permission has been taken so far from the forest department to construct
the depots, Gupta alleged.
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JOHNSON & JOHNSON GETS SHOW-CAUSE NOTICE FOR USING
GOVERNMENT REPORT FOR AD
Johnson & Johnson,
which widely advertised its talcum powder as ‘asbestos-free’ after it got a
clean chit from the regulator recently, has landed again in a controversy. The
Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) issued a show cause notice to the
company on Tuesday for violating the drug law by using government’s test report
to advertise and promote its talcum powder, official sources said. Publication
of any advertisement on the basis of test report of government analyst is not
permissible under Section 29 of the of Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940, the
notice said, asking the company to show cause why appropriate action as
provided under the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940 be not initiated against it
for violation of the law. Publication of such advertisement has the potential
to mislead the general public which is against the public interest, the notice
added. The company has been given a week’s time to respond to the show cause notice,
failing which it will attract action by the regulator. Section -29 of the Drugs
& Cosmetics Act, 1940 prohibits use of any report of a test or analysis
made by the Central Drugs Laboratory or by a government analyst, or any extract
from such report, for the purpose of advertising any drug [or cosmetic]. Any
violation of this clause is punishable along with a penalty, an official said.
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HC TO HEAR PETITION ALLEGING ODISHA GOVERNMENT'S MOVE TO
FAVOUR TATA STEEL
A petition in the High
Court of Orissa requires the state government to explain why it seeks to grant
Tata Steel further iron ore mines when the steelmaker already has captive mines
well above the prescribed cap. The HC is hearing a petition challenging the
Odisha government’s recommendation to increase the prescribed area cap allowed
to an individual player, from 10 sq km to 75 sq km. The matter will be heard
again on 25 March 2019. The move will allow Tata Steel to participate in
auctions. The PIL argument is that this would grant Tata Steel, already the
beneficiary of a disproportionate allocation of natural resources in the state,
an unfair advantage over other steelmakers in the state. Tata Steel already
hold rights to area nearing 50 sq km, which is 89 per cent of the total mining
lease (area) ever allocated to steel companies, claims the petition. The Mines
and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act 1957, amended in 2015, sets 10 sq
km as the limit for mining rights granted to an individual in a state. This may
be relaxed for an individual, as has been done for Tata Steel and state-owned
Odisha Mining Corporation and as long as the state justifies the grant. This
time however, Naveen Patnaik’s government chose to ask the Centre for a
sevenfold increase in the area limit itself. The current PIL in the High Court
of Orissa has been filed by journalist Bijaya Kumar Misra but this isn’t the
first time that Tata Steel’s efforts to secure future raw material in the state
has been challenged. Rival steelmaker JSW had moved the High Court of Delhi
last year against Tata Steel’s participation in two tendered iron ore blocks
that have since been withdrawn. According to state officials, the Mineral
Auction Rules 2015 is silent on the subject of total area, covered under
Section 6 of the MMDR Act.
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PRADHAN MANTRI SHRAM YOGI MAANDHAN YOJANA
Previous governments at
the centre have ignored interests of unorganized workers while NDA government
is committed to their welfare, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said in Ahmedabad
during the national launch of Pradhan Mantri Shram Yogi Maandhan Yojana
(PM-SYM) on Tuesday. The scheme will ensure monthly pension to unorganized
workers after they attain age of 60 years. India has close to 42 crore
unorganized workers. The scheme has been simultaneously launched at about two
lakh locations across the country. Lashing out at political parties now in
opposition, the prime minister said that previous governments only took
political benefits from the poor without actually ensuring their welfare. The
raised slogans like Garibi Hatao. They played politics around it. The
Communists never brought a scheme for unorganized workers. What parties did not
do in 55 years, my government did in 55 months, said Modi. He also said that
leaders of opposition parties consider poverty as a state of mind because they
never had to go to bed hungry. Poverty is an outcome of their faulty mentality.
For us, poverty is a challenge, he said. The prime minister also said that the
common aim of opposition parties is to remove him from power but he aims to
remove poverty and dishonesty.
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ASHOKA BUILDCON EMERGES AS LOWEST BIDDER FOR ₹443 CRORE RAILWAY PROJECT
Infrastructure firm Ashoka
Buildcon Tuesday said its joint venture firm has emerged as the lowest bidder
for a ₹443.23 crore worth railway project in Punjab. Ashoka Buildcon
has submitted the bid to Rail Vikas Nigam Ltd in joint venture with Stroytech
Services LLC, wherein the company is a lead member, for the project in the
Punjab, Ashoka Buildcon said in a regulatory filing. The company has emerged as
the lowest bidder (L-1) for package 2, the quoted value of which is ₹443.23
crore, with a completion period of 36 months for package, the company added.
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DELHI ASSEMBLY TO GO PAPERLESS
In view of delay in
implementation of the Centre’s project for paperless legislative assemblies in
the country, Delhi Vidhan Sabha has decided to implement it on its own with
financial help from the city government. The general purposes committee (GPC)
of Delhi Assembly in its report has opined that the project, NeVA (National
e-Vidhan Application), for all the Legislatures has been badly delayed and
hence the Assembly should implement it from the funds provided by the AAP
government. The Assembly Secretariat has sought Rs 20 crore in the budget
estimates of 2019-20. The project will be modified to best suit the need of the
Delhi Assembly and its members, said the report. As per the report, the green
governance tool ‘e-Vidhan’ for paperless Assembly was implemented in Himachal
Pradesh with help of NIC and Union Ministry of Information Technology. Under
the project, Government of India was to provide financial assistance to the
Legislatures for implementing the Himachal model. A draft project report
estimating a cost of Rs 17.79 crore was submitted to the Ministry of
Information and Technology in October 2015. But, later the project was
transferred to the Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs, it said. In its turn, the
Parliamentary Affairs ministry decided to universally implement NeVA (National e-Vidhan
Application) for all the Legislatures. The ministry was of the view that once
all the Legislatures have adopted ‘NeVA’, funds for physical infrastructure
would be released in phases, said the GPC report.
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SINGLE CARD FOR SEAMLESS TRAVEL THROUGH DIFFERENT METROS &
OTHER TRANSPORT SYSTEMS
One Nation, One Card for
transport mobility was launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The Indigenous
Automatic Fare Collection System based on One Nation One Card Model i.e.
National Common Mobility Card (NCMC) is the first of its kind in India. India’s
First Indigenously Developed Payment system for transport consisting of NCMC
Card, SWEEKAR (Swachalit Kiraya: Automatic Fare Collection System) and SWAGAT
(Swachalit Gate) is based on NCMC Standards. These are bank issued
Debit/Credit/Prepaid cards and the customer may use this single card for
payments across all segments including metro, bus, suburban railways, toll,
parking, smart city and retail. The stored value on card supports offline
transaction across all travel needs with minimal financial risk to involved
stakeholders. The service area feature of this card supports operator specific
applications e.g. monthly passes, season tickets etc. The customers need not
carry multiple cards for different usage. Further, the super quick contactless
transactions will improve the seamless experience. This will also help in
higher digital payments penetration, savings on closed loop card lifecycle
management cost and reduced operating cost. The rich data insights may be used
by operators for business intelligence leading to efficient operation.
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ITC HIKES PRICES OF BRISTOL, FLAKE EXCEL AND CAPSTAN
Leading cigarette maker
ITC has increased the price of three brands - Bristol, Flake Excel and Capstan.
The Kolkata-headquarted company has increased the prices by about 7 per cent to
14 per cent. When contacted, an ITC spokesperson said: Prices of a few select
brands have been marginally revised. Price of Flake excel is hiked by 11 per
cent, Bristol by 6.7 per cent and Capstan by 14.5 per cent by the company.
These three brands together contribute around 10 per cent to 13 per cent of
total cigarette sales of ITC.
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RELIANCE INFRASTRUCTURE LIMITED WINS BID FOR GREENFIELD
AIRPORT IN RAJKOT FOR ₹ 648 CRORE
Anil Ambani-led Reliance
Infrastructure Limited has received the Letter of Award (LOA) from the Airports
Authority of India (AAI) of a contract worth ₹. 648 crores for the
construction of new greenfield Airport at Hirasar in Rajkot district of
Gujarat. The company had participated in the tender for engineering,
procurement and construction (EPC) contract independently as a main contractor.
Arun Gupta said, Our strong credentials in infrastructure projects execution
are borne out by the successful execution of large-scale transportation and
power projects. The Hirasar airport project will further strengthen Reliance
Infrastructure Limited's bona fide to be a leader in infrastructure projects.
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RAILWAY MINISTRY APPROVED AROUND 500 EXTRA STOPPAGES IN THIS
FISCAL ON MPS REQUEST
The railway ministry has
approved around 500 extra train stoppages till February end in this fiscal on
the request of Parliamentarians and the process is ongoing, sources said
Tuesday. Senior officials said that it was a routine exercise and the halts
were given after scientific analysis and not handed out indiscriminately.
During 2013-14 under UPA government regime, the railway ministry had approved
900 stoppages while over the five years of UPA-II, 2,472 stoppages were added.
In comparison, since 2014, the NDA has so far allowed around half of that. Senior
officials say that MPs are still writing to the railway minister to approve
stoppages in their constituencies, as they become a rallying point during
election campaigns. With the model code of conduct likely to be announced
within the next few days, MPs are lining up in the ministry to get their halts
approved.
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LEAD-SHEATHED UNDERGROUND CABLES HERE TO STAY, SAYS POWER
MINISTRY
The Centre has declined to
ban Indian power and transmission utilities from using high-voltage power
cables containing toxic chemical — lead — while laying the underground
transmission lines. The CII had, in December last year, called for the Power
Ministry's intervention as the practice led to environmental degradation and
caused health problems. In its response to the CII representation, the Ministry
has, however, noted that lead-sheathed power cables in underground application
is traditionally a widely used product which is well proved and time-tested.
While switching to greener alternatives is an obvious choice to protect the
environment and address the health concerns, power cable manufacturers need to
be encouraged to innovate more and prove that the alternatives are as rugged and
reliable as lead-sheathed cables, the letter suggested. The lead-sheathed
cables are more expensive; hence, some of the manufacturers could be benefiting
from the continued domination of lead as it would allow them to maintain their
topline, said an expert.
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GOVT FIXES SUGAR SALE QUOTA AT 24.5 LAKH TONNE FOR MARCH
Sugar mills can sell 24.5
lakh tonne of the sweetener in the open market in the current month, the
government said on Tuesday. The central government has allocated sugar quota
for sale to each of the 524 mills in the country. This increase (in quota for
March) is attributable to various factors. There is a pattern of high sales/dispatches
around this time of the year, the food ministry said in a statement. Mills are
allowed to sell sugar at a minimum selling price of Rs 31 per kg. The rate was
increased recently from Rs 29 per kg to help mills realise maximum revenue and
clear cane price arrears of farmers, it said. Sugarcane arrears to farmers have
crossed Rs 20,000 crore in the current marketing year 2018-19
(October-September).
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OFFICIAL WEBSITE OF BJP HACKED, TAKEN OFFLINE
The official website of
the Bharatiya Janata Party, http://www.bjp.org, was taken offline on Tuesday
after hackers defaced the site. No group has claimed responsibility for the
attacks. An official response from the party is awaited. Screenshots of the
site's home page, which went viral on social media, show expletive filled
messages and even a meme of Prime Minister Narendra Modi with German Chancellor
Angela Merkel. Some of the posts were from about 11 am in the morning. Access
to the site remains restricted.
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INDIA NOMINATES NITI AAYOG'S RAMESH CHAND TO HEAD FOOD AND
AGRICULTURE ORGANISATION
India has nominated NITI
Aayog member Ramesh Chand for the post of the new Food and Agriculture
Organisation's (FAO) Director-General and he will be facing candidates from
China and three other countries. The FAO announced on Monday the slate of candidates
nominated by their governments for the election that is scheduled in June to
pick the successor to Brazilian economist Jose Graziano da Silva, who has
served two terms since 2011. The next head of the Rome-headquarted FAO, a
specialised agency of the UN, will be elected by a simple majority of its 194
members An economist, Chand is a member of the NITI Aayog with the status of a
Minister of State. Chand is expected to face stiff competition from Qu because
of the influence China wields in developing countries through its aid and loan
programmes that could even split the African votes away from Moungui. The FAO
reported last year that almost 800 million people are always hungry and 2
billion suffer from deficiencies in micronutrients in their diet that lead to
health problems. The report said that the world would have to feed a global
population that is expected to reach about 10 billion by 2050.
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TEXTILES MINISTER INAUGURATES REFURBISHED HANDLOOM HAAT
Smriti Zubin Irani, also
launched three projects of NIFT - VisionNXT – Trend Forecasting Initiative,
Indian Textiles and Craft Repository and Design Innovation and Incubation. The
Haat at Janpath in New Delhi has been set up by Ministry of Textiles to provide
marketing opportunities to authentic handloom products from various States,
PSUs and cooperative societies. Its main objective is to provide infrastructure
support to handloom agencies to augment their sales of handloom products and to
showcase the exquisite variety of handloom products produced all over the
country. The Textiles Minister further said that the virtual museum will not
only help industry and research scholars but also carry forward the knowledge
to the next generation.
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INDIA SIGNS LOAN AGREEMENT WITH THE WORLD BANK FOR USD 96
MILLION
The World Bank, Government
of India and Government of Uttarakhand (GoUK) signed a $96 Million Loan
Agreement to provide additional funds to the State of Uttarakhand in its
post-disaster recovery plans, ongoing since the floods of 2013, as well as
strengthen its capacity for Disaster Risk Management. The World Bank, through
the Uttarakhand Disaster Recovery Project, has been supporting the State
Government since 2014 to restore housing and rural connectivity, and to build
resilience of communities. So far, the Project has completed more than 2,000
permanent houses and 23 public buildings and restored over 1,300 kilometers of
roads and 16 bridges. The additional financing of $96 million will further help
in the reconstruction of bridges, road and river bank protection works, and in
the construction of a training facility for the State Disaster Response Force
(SDRF). The Project will also help to increase the technical capacity of the
State Entities to respond promptly and more effectively to such crises in the
future. The $96 Million Loan from the International Bank for Reconstruction and
Development (IBRD), has a 5-year grace period, and a final maturity of 15
years.
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INDIA SIGNS LOAN AGREEMENT WITH THE WORLD BANK FOR USD 25.2
MILLION FOR CHHATTISGARH
The Government of India,
the State Government of Chhattisgarh and the World Bank signed in New Delhi a
$25.2 Million Loan Agreement to support the State’s Reforms in Expenditure Management.
This support will cover Expenditure Planning, Investment Management, Budget
Execution, Public Procurement and Accountability. The Chhattisgarh Public
Financial Management and Accountability Program, which is the First
Bank-Financed State-Level Project in Chhattisgarh in nearly a decade, will also
help the State strengthen its Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) and Tax
Administration Systems. With 92 % households in the State belonging to
Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and Other Backward Classes, the Direct
Benefit Transfers (DBTs) are increasingly being used by the Central and State
Governments to channel resources to households and individuals. The Program
will support development of systems that will facilitate inter-departmental
data interaction under secured protocols and automate most of the processing
and payment of DBTs in the State. Almost 11,000 Village Panchayats and 168
Urban Municipalities in Chhattisgarh are likely to benefit from the program’s
emphasis on transparency and accountability. It will also support the State
Government’s initiative to put in place systems to automate most of the
processing and payment of DBTs to beneficiaries; improve property tax
collection through the digitization of property tax rolls; and extending the property
surveys to 47 municipalities. Enhanced outreach and improved tax return filing
performance are also likely to help the State’s objective of increasing the
number of GST Taxpayer Registrations. The $25.2 Million Loan from the
International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD), has a 5-year
grace period, and a final maturity of 10.5 years.
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DIGVIJAYA SINGH DARES PM TO FILE CASE AGAINST HIM
Senior Congress leader
Digvijaya Singh on Wednesday challenged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to file a
case against him over allegations from BJP leaders that he was an anti-national
and a Pakistan supporter. Singh, who stirred a controversy on Tuesday by
referring to the Pulwama terror attack as an accident, questioned why calling
the attacks a durghatana prompted Modi and three Union ministers to term him
anti-national. The tweet over which you and your ministers called me a Pakistan
supporter and an anti-national was posted from Delhi where police are under the
Union government. If you are brave, file a case against me, he tweeted. Singh
said that Modi and his ministers levelled several allegations against him and
even expressed their intentions of filing a sedition case. Singh also
re-tweeted a video that shows Uttar Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad
Maurya describing the terrorist attack as a big accident.
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CONGRESS IS DEMORALISING THE ARMED FORCES PURELY FOR POLITICS:
RAVI SHANKAR PRASAD
BJP appeared to downplay
party chief Amit Shah’s claim that more than 250 terrorists were killed in the
IAF’s Balakot operation even as it accused Congress leaders of demoralising
armed forces by raising doubts over damage inflicted on Jaish terror camps.
Ravi Shankar Prasad on Tuesday said there was a growing competition among
Congress leaders to lower the morale of the armed forces by raising questions
about their operations. No country has sought any evidence to justify the air
strike, Prasad said. Congress is demoralising the armed forces purely for
politics. The issue is not about how many were killed. There were so many phone
intercepts from the area and four buildings were destroyed. I would appeal to
Congress for the sake of India it should not lower the morale, courage and
prestige of the forces for petty political gains. He alleged that remarks by
Digvijaya Singh, Kapil Sibal and P Chidambaram raising doubts over the attack
on Jaish camp have come after a nod from the Congress first family. Pakistan
has not denied the attack. Is Congress speaking in the language of Pakistan (by
questioning the claims on number of terrorists killed)?
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WEBSITE HACK: CONGRESS RUBS SALT ON BJP'S WOUND, SAYS HAPPY TO
HELP
The Congress today could
not stop itself from making more fun of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), whose
website got hacked yesterday and is still under construction Morning
@BJP4India, we realise you’ve been down for a long time now. If you need help
getting back up, we’re happy to help ??, tweeted the Congress Party with an emoji
of hugging face.
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7TH MARCH 2019 TO BE CELEBRATED AS ‘JANAUSHADHI DIWAS’ ACROSS
INDIA
Narendra Modi in the
direction of making quality healthcare affordable for all the Government has
taken important steps to make affordable and quality generic medicines popular
among the people through Pradhan Mantri Bhartiya Janaushadhi Pariyojana
(PMBJP), said Shri Mansukh Mandaviya. The Minister informed that for providing
further impetus & creating awareness about use of generic medicines, it has
been decided to celebrate 7th March 2019 as ‘Janaushadhi Diwas’ across India.
Citing Prime Minister’s vision that no poor person should die due to non-availability
of good quality affordable medicines in the country, Shri Mandaviya said that
with developments like more and more doctors prescribing generic medicines and
opening of over 5050 Janaushadhi stores across 652 districts awareness and
availability of high quality affordable generic medicines has increased in the
country. About 10-15 lakh people benefit from Janaushadhi medicines per day and
the market share of generic medicines has grown over three fold from 2% to 7%in
last 3 years, the Minister added. The PMBJP scheme has led to total savings of
approximately Rs.1000 crores for common citizens, as these medicines are
cheaper by 50% to 90% of average market price.
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NABL LAUNCHES QUALITY ASSURANCE SCHEME FOR BASIC COMPOSITE
MEDICAL LABORATORIES
For sensitizing small
laboratories to basic doable quality practices, NABL has launched another
voluntary scheme called Quality Assurance Scheme (QAS) for Basic Composite (BC)
Medical Laboratories (Entry Level) in February, 2019. The laboratories
performing only basic routine tests like blood glucose, blood counts, rapid
tests for common infections, liver & kidney function tests and routine
tests of urine will be eligible to apply under this scheme. To encourage small
pathology laboratories, the base criterion of the scheme is based on the
requirements enlisted in Gazette notification dated 18th May, 2018 by Ministry
of Health and Family Welfare (MOHFW) to amend Clinical Establishments (Central
Government) Rules, 2012. The scheme requires minimal documentation and a
nominal fee has been prescribed for availing the scheme. Components of
competence assessment have been added for assuring quality and validity of test
results. The scheme will help to bring quality at the grass root level of
India’s health system where laboratories follow the imperatives of quality in
all their processes. This will inculcate the habit of quality and facilitate
the laboratories to achieve benchmark accreditation of ISO 15189 over a period
of time. The laboratories may upgrade to accreditation as per ISO 15189 at any
point of time. Successful laboratories will be issued a certificate of
compliance to QAS BC scheme by NABL and they will be allowed to use a distinct
symbol on the test reports as a mark of endorsement to the basic standard for a
defined time frame before which they will have to transition to full
accreditation as per ISO 15189. To familiarize and encourage more and more small
labs, even in the remotest part of the country, to avail the scheme, NABL will
organize awareness programs in various cities of India. The scheme is expected
to bring transformational change in more than 5000 laboratories over the next 5
years and to transform them into labs providing quality service. This scheme
will also give a much needed support to Ayushmaan Bharat Yojana of Government
of India. Under this Yojana, Government plans to set up 1,50,000 wellness
centers which will cover over 10 crore poor and vulnerable families. This entry
level scheme of NABL will, enhance the intent of Ayushmaan Bharat Yojana of
universal access to quality healthcare for majority of citizens especially
those residing in villages and small towns by providing them access to quality
diagnostics.
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PM MODI DONATED RS 21 LAKH TO KUMBH MELA SANITATION WORKERS:
PMO
Prime Minister Narendra
Modi donated Rs 21 lakh from his personal savings to the corpus fund for the
welfare of sanitation workers of Kumbh Mela, his office said Wednesday. The PM
had felicitated sanitation workers who ensured cleanliness during the Kumbh
recently by washing their feet.
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AUSTRALIA'S ECONOMY SLOWS AHEAD OF ELECTION
Australia's economic
growth ground to a near halt in the second half of last year, official data
showed Wednesday, thrusting the issue front and centre of an already
contentious general election campaign. The economy grew at 2.3 percent last
year, Australia's statistics agency said, but slowed considerably in the second
half of the year as consumer spending weakened and storm clouds gathered in the
long-booming housing market. Growth for October to December stood at 0.2
percent, after a 0.3 percent reading in the previous three months. The data are
a setback for conservative Prime Minister Scott Morrison, who has based his
re-election campaign on his stewardship of the economy. On the hustings, he has
repeatedly warned Australians that electing the centre-left Labor party in an
expected May election would spell an end to 28 years of continuous growth. It
was the increase in public spending of 1.8 percent in the fourth quarter -- as
Morrison opened his chequebook for a slew of pre-election community programmes
-- that helped the economy avoid tipping into negative territory.
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ARNAULT OVERTAKES BUFFETT TO BECOME WORLD'S THIRD-RICHEST
Luxury-goods titan Bernard
Arnault has eclipsed Berkshire Hathaway Chairman Warren Buffett to become the
world’s third-richest person on the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. The
Frenchman, who added $14.5 billion to his fortune so far this year and is now
worth $83.1 billion, edged past Buffett by about $100 million on Tuesday to
join the top three for the first time since Bloomberg’s wealth ranking debuted
in 2012. Arnault, the chairman of Louis Vuitton parent LVMH, is also the only
European other than Zara owner Amancio Ortega of Spain to reach third on the
list. Most of Arnault’s wealth is tied to his holdings of Christian Dior and
LVMH, with shares of both jumping 20 percent this year on record sales, defying
a slowdown in China. Arnault’s 2018 gains rival those of Amazon.com founder
Jeff Bezos, the world’s richest person, who has added $15.2 billion to his
fortune, which now stands at $140.1 billion on the Bloomberg index. Only Mark
Zuckerberg has had a better start to the year, with the Facebook co-founder’s
fortune climbing by $15.3 billion.
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APPLE EASES REPAIR POLICY FOR IPHONES WITH THIRD-PARTY
BATTERIES: REPORT
A leaked internal Apple
document suggests that the company has allowed Genius Bar -- a tech support
station located in its retail stores -- and Apple Authorised Service Providers
(AASPs) to repair iPhones with a third-party battery fitted in them, the media
reported. The Genius Bar and AASPs are now permitted to replace the third-party
battery with an official Apple battery for the standard fee. Before starting
the repair, the Genius Bar must drain the third-party battery to less than 60
per cent of a charge, MacRumours reported. The document also notes that if the
repair is not concerned with the battery but related to display, logic board,
microphones and so forth, the Genius Bar and AASPs have been instructed to
proceed with the usual servicing. If the iPhone's battery tabs are broken or
missing, or there is excessive adhesive, the Genius Bar and AASPs are permitted
to replace the entire iPhone for only the cost of a battery replacement at
their discretion, the report further added. The silently updated guidelines
should apply to all international markets.
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PAKISTAN TO FOCUS ON PROMOTION OF ECONOMIC GROWTH: IMRAN KHAN
Pakistan Prime Minister
Imran Khan said on Tuesday that trade and investment is one of the main focuses
of his government's foreign policy and he wants to further promote it to attract
foreign investment. Khan said that after coming to power last year, his
government had overcome the challenge of stabilizing the economy and the next
focus was to promote economic growth in the country. There was positive vibe
regarding improvement of Pakistani economy in the international community, and
the positive sentiment was needed to be capitalized for bringing more foreign
investment in the country, Khan said. The Prime Minister also said that the
government was working on a comprehensive plan to encourage non-tax payers and
informal sectors to join the documented economy and sought recommendations from
the business community to bring more people under the tax net.
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PANEL TO REVIEW IF SUN PHARMA, MERIL LIFE MERIT PRICE CAP
RELIEF
A plea by drug maker Sun
Pharmaceuticals Industries Ltd and medical devices maker Meril Life Sciences
Pvt. Ltd to seek a rare exemption from government-set price caps for two
products has failed to find favour with India’s drug pricing regulator. Mumbai-based
Sun Pharmaceuticals is seeking an exemption for its anti-cancer gemcitabine
hydrochloride injection while Gujarat-based Meril Life Sciences wants a similar
exemption for its first locally made biodegradable cardiac scaffold, a
naturally dissolving stent that clears blockages in arteries. The National
Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA), in a meeting on 21 February, has
referred the matter to an overarching expert committee headed by the
director-general of Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) to see if both
the products have any therapeutic advantage to merit a price exemption. The
exemption, if granted, will be valid for five years Both the companies have
been trying to seek an exemption under para 32 of the Drug Price Control Orders
(DPCO) that says the price cap won’t apply if a new drug developed through a
unique and indigenous process is patented under the Indian Patents Act and is
not produced elsewhere.
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ZYDUS CADILA GETS USFDA NOD TO MARKET ITS TRANSDERMAL PRODUCT
Drug firm Zydus Cadila
Tuesday said it has received nod from the US health regulator to market its
Rivastigmine transdermal system, used for treatment of dementia associated with
Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease. The company has received approval from the
United States Food and Drug Administration (USFDA) to market its Rivastigmine
transdermal system 4.6 mg/24 hrs, 9.5 mg/24 hrs and 13.3 mg/24 hrs, Zydus
Cadila said in a statement. This is the first approval for company's
transdermal product in the US, it added. The group has also received the final
approval for its Rosuvastatin tablets in the strengths of 5 mg, 10 mg, 20 mg,
and 40 mg, it added.
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ECB, BOE ACTIVATE SWAP LINE AHEAD OF BREXIT
The European Central Bank
and the Bank of England activated a standing currency swap line the two said
separately on Tuesday, stepping up their preparations for Britain's possible
departure from the EU later this month. Under the swap agreement, the Bank of
England will offer to lend euro to UK banks on a weekly basis and the ECB will
receive pound sterling from the Bank of England in exchange for euro. The
activation marks a prudent and precautionary step by the Bank of England to
provide additional flexibility in its provision of liquidity insurance,
supporting the functioning of markets that serve households and businesses, the
ECB said in a statement. As part of the same agreement, the Eurosystem would
stand ready to lend pound sterling to euro area banks, if the need arises, the
ECB added.
#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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