FINMIN
MAY BORROW 60% FROM MARKET FOR H1, SWITCH BONDS UP TO RS 70K CR
The Finance Ministry may borrow around 60 per
cent of the Rs 7.1 lakh crore budgeted gross borrowings for fiscal 2019-20 in
its first half (H1) from the market to meet part-redemption, expenditures for
welfare schemes and keep the fiscal deficit in check. H1 borrowing could be
50-60 per cent of the gross borrowing. We are looking at a borrowing of about
Rs 4.3 lakh crore in H1, said a source. The government had borrowed just 47.5
per cent of its budgeted full-year target (gross) through bonds in the first
half of 2018-19 -- much lower than the 60-65 per cent in the corresponding
period over the previous five years -- and had dipped more into the National
Small Savings Fund (NSSF) to finance the fiscal deficit as it sought to ease
pressure on the bond market that has witnessed a spurt in yield that time. This
may not happen this fiscal as this is a poll year and expenditures related to
welfare schemes like the direct income for farmers will be executed in the
first half, so funds would be needed even though these are budgeted
expenditures. The ministry also may 'switch' up to Rs 70,000 crore of bonds to
manage the Rs 2.37 lakh crore redemption pressure in the next fiscal and also
will seek the Reserve Bank of India's (RBI) open market support in a
large-scale amount to contain the bond yields and maintain liquidity. The
government may also dip into the small savings schemes to fund its fiscal
deficit during the year to draw Rs 1.25 lakh crore. It had borrowed Rs 1,00,000
crore from the NSSF as against the budgeted amount of Rs 75,000 crore in the
current fiscal. In the current fiscal, the Centre had lowered the H2 borrowing
target by Rs 70,000 crore by opting for more 'switch' and cut in buybacks of
its bonds. The Finance Ministry and the RBI will meet towards the end of this
month to finalise the H1 (April-September) calendar borrowing of fiscal
2019-20, Subhas Chandra Garg told. But there were no further details from him
on the roadmap on the borrowing plan.
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RBI HAD
OBSERVED GOVT'S ARGUMENTS IN FAVOUR OF DEMONETISATION DID NOT HOLD: CONGRESS
The Congress on Monday claimed that the RBI,
at a high-level meeting hours before the announcement of demonetisation, had
observed that the Modi government's key arguments that the step would curb
black money and destroy counterfeit currency did not hold. Jairam Ramesh
released the minutes of the 561st meeting of the Central Board of Directors of
the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), held at 5.30 pm on November 8, 2016, hours
before PM announced that old Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 currency would cease to be
legal tenders from midnight. Ramesh said the minutes of the RBI meeting were
obtained through an Right to Information (RTI) application filed by an
activist, who got the reply 26 months after he had sought it. The Congress
leader alleged that the Cental Board of Directors of the RBI had rejected the
government's main arguments in favour of the move — curbing black money, ending
counterfeit currency and excessive currency in circulation — put forward by the
prime minister three hours later, when he announced demonetisation. Most of the
black money is not held in the form of cash, but in the form of real sector
assets such as gold or real estate and that this move would not have a material
impact on those assets, an observation by the RBI board of directors was quoted
by Ramesh. In another observation, the board had said the growth rate of
economy is the real rate while the growth in currency in circulation is normal.
Adjusted for inflation, the difference may not be so stark. Hence, the argument
does not support the recommendation, the Congress leader said. While any
incidence of counterfeiting is a concern, Rs 400 crore as a percentage of the
total quantum of currency in circulation in the country is not very
significant, the board had said, according to Ramesh. However, the minutes of
the meeting show that the RBI board of directors had also said demonetisation
was a commendable measure but would have a short-term negative effect on the
GDP for the current year. Arriving domestic long distance travellers, who may
only be carrying high denomination notes, will be taken by surprise at railway
stations/airports for payment to taxi drivers and porter charges and hence, put
to hardship. It would also have an adverse effect on tourists, Ramesh quoted
from another observation made by the RBI directors. The former union minister
alleged that despite the observations, the Central Board of Directors had
backed the move as the RBI was pressured by the government. He also alleged
that demonetisation, issued through a Tughlaqi farmaan (autocratic and
arbitrary decision), had destroyed the Indian economy
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PM MODI
WENT AHEAD WITH DEMONETISATION BEFORE RBI’S FORMAL APPROVAL: RTI
The demonetisation of Rs 500 and Rs 1,000
notes, which saw 86 per cent of high-value currency going out of circulation,
was announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on November 8, 2016, even before
formal approval by the RBI central board, an RTI query has revealed. While the
Urjit Patel-led RBI board had met just two-and-a-half hours before Modi’s
announcement the minutes of the meeting were signed by the RBI governor five
weeks later on December 15, 2016. The RBI board, which included the present
Governor Shaktikanta Das as a director, had also observed that demonetisation
would not have any material impact on tackling the black money menace or
counterfeit currency — the prime objectives cited by the PM while announcing
the move. It is a commendable measure but will have short-term negative effect
on GDP for the current year. Most of the black money is held not in the form of
cash but in the form of assets such as gold or real estate and that this move
would not have a material impact on those assets, as per the minutes posted by
RTI activist Venkatesh Nayak.
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PM-KISAN:
MODI GOVT HAS SO FAR TRANSFERRED RS 5,215 CR TO 26 MN FARMERS
The central government has so far transferred
Rs 5,215 crore to over 26 million small and marginal farmers under the PM-Kisan
scheme announced in the last month's interim budget. Under PM Kisan Samman
Nidhi: Benefit of over Rs 5,215 crore transferred directly into the bank
accounts of more than 26 million small and marginal farmers within 37 days of
announcement of the scheme!, the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) said in a tweet
on Sunday. Till March 7, as many as 74.71 lakh farmers in Uttar Pradesh
received the first installment, while 32.15 lakh farmers were benefitted in
Andhra Pradesh. Around 25.58 lakh farmers in Gujarat, 11.55 lakh farmers in
Maharasthra, 14.41 lakh farmers in Telangana and 14.01 lakh farmers in Tamil
Nadu got the first payment. Among other states, 8.34 lakh farmers in Haryana
had received the first installment, followed by 8.09 lakh farmers in Assam and
8.07 lakh farmers in Odisha, the ministry data had showed.
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PM KISAN
SCHEME: 5 LAKH TELANGANA FARMERS GET RS 2000 EACH
The Centre has released Rs 2000 each to about
five lakh farmers in Telangana so far under Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi
scheme, said Gajendra Singh Shekhawat. The Telangana government has provided
the data of about 13 lakh farmers (to the Centre). It is 12,91,000. We already
transferred Rs 2000 (towards) first installment to more than 5 lakh farmers
till now in Telangana, he told. Claiming that the Centre had successfully
managed to turnaround the slowing economy and put it on the fast track growth,
he said the journey of the last 5 years has been exhilarating as well as
encouraging for the country. Shekhawat also said the NDA government had
effectively reduced the corruption levels and eliminated the fear of terror and
insecurity which the people of the country faced till five years ago.
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EVMS
CAN'T BE HACKED OR MANIPULATED: EX-CEC
Navin Chawla has given a thumbs up to the EVMs
to be used in the upcoming general elections, arguing that the equipment cannot
be hacked or manipulated as they are not accessible through external machines
and are kept under the surveillance of senior government officials. I firmly
believe that EVMs (Electronic Voting Machines) are very good machines and
cannot be manipulated. The moment we let our NRIs to vote, it has to be a
computerised machine without firewalls and then EVMs can be breached. But at
the moment EVM is like a desktop calculator which is conditioned to perform
just two or three functions. So it cannot be hacked, Chawla said. I do not
think anyone can in anyway change the EVM chips after the votes are cast and
change them with other ones. No one can reach those chips using any other
external machines. Also in the coming elections every single machine will be
connected to the VVPAT, which makes the whole system more accountable, he said.
Chawla said the Supreme Court should give its verdict regarding the opposition
parties' demand to ensure that 50 per cent EVM results are matched and
cross-checked with voter verifiable paper audit trails (VVPATs) before the
declaration of the result.
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CENTRE
ALLOWS STATES TO PUT ENEMY PROPERTIES EXCLUSIVELY TO 'PUBLIC USE'
The Centre has allowed state governments to
put to public use some enemy properties that were left behind by people who
migrated to Pakistan since the Partition and to China after the 1962
Sino-Indian war, officials said Monday. The move comes amid the central
government's efforts to sell more than 9,400 enemy properties worth over Rs 1
trillion, and Rs 3,000 crore worth of enemy shares. The guidelines for disposal
of the Enemy Property Order, 2018, has been amended to facilitate usages of
enemy property by the state government exclusively for public use, according to
a notification issued by the Home Ministry. There are 9,280 such properties
left behind by Pakistani nationals and 126 by Chinese nationals, an official of
the ministry said. The central government last month had constituted a
high-level committee to recommend the quantum and price or price band for sale
of enemy shares, worth Rs 3,000 crore. A total 6,50,75,877 shares in 996
companies of 20,323 shareholders are under the custody of the Custodian of
Enemy Property for India, another official said. Of these companies, 588 are
functional or active companies, 139 of these are listed and the remaining are
unlisted.
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EPF
TRANSFER ON JOB CHANGE TO BECOME AUTOMATED FROM NEXT FISCAL
Subscribers of retirement fund body EPFO
would not require to file employee provident fund (EPF) transfer claims on
changing jobs from the next fiscal as the process would be made automated,
according to a labour ministry official. At present, the subscribers of the
Employees Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) are required to file transfer of
EPF claims on changing jobs despite having universal account number (UAN). The
EPFO gets about eight lakh EPF transfer claims every year. The EPFO is testing
the automation of EPF transfer on changing jobs on pilot basis. The facility
for all subscribers is expected to be launched any time next year, a senior
labour ministry official said. The official said, The EPFO had engaged the
C-DAC to study its operating systems to achieve the goal of becoming paperless
organisation. At present, 80 per cent of the work is being done online. The
automated transfer of EPF on changing jobs is one of the tools to be used to
achieve that objective. The official explained that the moment the new employer
would file the monthly EPF return including the UAN of the new employee, the
EPF contributions and interest earned on that would be automatically
transferred. This will enable the employee to get the credits of his EPF
contribution during his previous tenure with old employer into his or her UAN
automatically. At present after changing job, a subscriber provides his UAN to
the new employer, who uses it for depositing his or her EPF contributions. But
the UAN account does not reflect the EPF contributions made during the
subscriber's previous job and interest accrued on that. The subscriber has to
file an online claim through the activated UAN to get credits of EPF
contributions made during his or her previous job. The official said, After the
automation of the EPF transfer on changing jobs the subscribers would be
benefitted immensely as the UAN would be like a bank account. No matter a
subscriber changes place or employer, his or her social security benefits would
be accessed through the UAN. That would remain the same throughout his or her
life.
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GODFREY
PHILLIPS REJECTS FDI NORMS VIOLATION ALLEGATIONS; SAYS IN COMPLETE COMPLIANCE
WITH LAW
Cigarette maker Godfrey Phillips India Monday
said it is in complete compliance with the country's FDI norms and rejected
allegations of violations regarding its arrangements for manufacturing Marlboro
cigarettes. Godfrey Phillips has an exclusive procurement and supply agreement
with Philip Morris International to manufacture and distribute Marlboro in the
country. As per media reports, Philip Morris for years has paid manufacturing
costs to Godfrey Phillips to make its Marlboro cigarettes and circumventing the
FDI norms. The suggestion of alleged violation of FDI laws of India is
completely misconceived and misplaced, Godfrey Phillips India said in a
regulatory filing. The company said it had entered into a commercial
arrangement with IPM Wholesale Trading (an Indian entity and affiliate of
Philip Morris International Inc, USA) to manufacture Marlboro cigarettes in
India in May 2009, a year before May 2010 when the restrictions on FDI in
manufacture of cigarettes came into being. The commercial arrangement referred
to above is in complete compliance with the extant regulations governing the
FDI laws in India. All the business transactions entered and executed between
the parties since 2009 are governed by the above referred commercial
arrangement, the company said, adding that all the business transactions in
this regard are executed in Indian rupees. Currently, FDI is prohibited in
manufacturing of cigars, cigarettes and tobacco substitutes. However, it is
permitted in technology collaboration in any form, including licensing for
franchise, trademark, brand name and management contracts in the tobacco
sector.
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GOVT
DECIDES TO RETURN TO DRAWING BOARD ON PROPOSED INDUSTRIAL POLICY
The government has decided to return to the
drawing board on the proposed industrial policy, despite announcing about two
years back that the current policy framework could be overhauled. The primary
reason behind this remains the lack of a proper draft However, sources said,
the decision has little to do with the announcement of Lok Sabha elections and
the model code of conduct. Despite repeatedly insisting that the draft is
ready, it appears that the Commerce and Industry Ministry is yet to agree on
the broad contours of the policy, a senior government official said. In the
meantime, the government has continued to refer to an initial 14-page
discussion paper on the proposed policy — released in August 2017 — as the
draft. The ministry had then announced that this final draft will be put out by
January 2018. The new policy is expected to tie in existing government
initiatives and serve as a focal point for various industry-wise policies. It
will absorb the 2011 national manufacturing policy and focus on technological
issues of Industry 4.0, apart from furthering the government’s push of the
Digital India initiative, a senior official from the Department for Promotion
of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) said. This initial document focused on
the creation of jobs promotion of foreign technology transfer, the growth of
micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSME), and the establishment of a goal to
attract $100 billion foreign direct investment annually. However, subsequently,
the DPIIT later decided to cut down the plan to create fixed targets for job
growth in specific sectors and instead, was focusing on ‘wide growth’ for the
next two decades, a source in the Prime Minister’s Office said. A lack of
high-quality job creation data kept the government from mapping the potential
of various sectors, a government official said. The proposed policy has
borrowed heavily from the Make in India initiative, which aims to increase the
share of the manufacturing sector to gross domestic product (GDP) to 25 per
cent by 2022 from the current 16 per cent, he said. The $36-billion textile
export sector, the third-largest foreign exchange earner for India after
petroleum products and gems and jewellery, clocked only 0.75 per cent growth in
2017-18, after a contraction in the past two years. On the other hand, outbound
trade of leather articles rose 3.46 per cent to $2.42 billion, recovering from
the contraction witnessed in 2016-17. The policy is also expected to reaffirm
the government’s belief in export-led growth and as a result will have an extensive
impact on overall trade norms with ease in trade and diffusion of export hubs
among the government’s top priorities, a commerce department official pointed
out.
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GOVERNMENT
WEIGHS FRESH TRANCHE OF CPSE ETF
The government is considering a fresh tranche
of CPSE ETF to raise Rs 4,000-5,000 crore this month. The government's
disinvestment proceeds have touched Rs 56,473 crore so far in the current
fiscal as against the full year Budget target of Rs 80,000 crore.
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GOVT MAY
MISS DISBURSAL TARGET OF RS 3 LAKH CRORE MUDRA LOANS
The Centre could miss the FY19 Pradhan Mantri
Mudra Yojana (PMMY) target of disbursing Rs 3 lakh crore worth of loans even as
concerns mount in some banking circles that the lack of credit history for many
borrowers could cause an increase in bad debt. Public sector banks are saying
that as most of these loans are given to first-time borrowers, it might be
difficult to balance delinquency control and disbursements in kilter with
state-set targets. About 70 per cent of the loans disbursed to first-time
borrowers are sanctioned by public sector banks and many of these loans are
refinanced under the Mudra scheme. We have a target of disbursing Rs 33,000
crore worth of Mudra loans for the current quarter and we are working toward
achieving it. The NPAs in this segment have spiked because most of the
applicants are first-time borrowers without any credit history, said a banker
at the SBI, the lender with the biggest portfolio of such advances. While we
are trying to maintain the delinquency, we have a government-mandated target to
fulfil as well. The government reported NPA level in Mudra loan portfolio to be
5.39 per cent in March 2018. According to the latest data on Mudra’s official
site, a total of 4.1 crore loans, worth Rs 2.1 lakh crore, had been disbursed
until end-February this financial year, compared with 4.8 crore loans worth Rs
2.46 crore given last FY. Just in March, banks would have to disburse at least
Rs 35,000 crore worth of loans to improve on the FY18 tally and a minimum of Rs
80,000 crore worth of loans to meet its fiscal-year target. Banks disbursed
loans worth Rs 1.8 lakh crore in FY17 and Rs 1.37 lakh crore in FY16. There is
no denying that NPAs in these portfolios have spiked since the beginning of the
financial year, a publicsector banker said. These are small-ticket loans less
than Rs 10 lakh each, mostly unsecured and disbursed without any collateral,
making them risky for banks.
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‘ANONYMOUS’
ELECTORAL BONDS: SC TO HEAR PETITIONS ON MARCH 26
The Supreme Court has indicated that it would
hear on March 26 multiple petitions challenging changes in the law permitting
‘unlimited, anonymous’ corporate funding of elections by way of electoral
bonds. Changes introduced by a money bill last year had allowed even foreign
companies to buy electoral bonds. This was challenged by NGOs Association of
Democratic Rights and Centre for Public Interest Litigation. A three-judge
bench led by former CJI Dipak Misra had issued notices to the Centre seeking
its stand on the challenge to the law in October last year. It has been pending
ever since. CPM had first moved the court in February 2018 against electoral
bonds. The party had claimed that the non-disclosure clause would add to the
woes of Indian democracy. When the petitions came up for hearing again on
Monday a bench led by CJI Ranjan Gogoi said that it would finally hear the case
on March 26 in the middle of the poll season.
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THIS WEST
BENGAL MP SCORED 116% IN THE UTILISATION OF MPLADS FUNDS
As political parties gear up for Lok Sabha
polls in West Bengal, data released by the central government has shown that
CPI(M) lawmaker Mohammed Salim has secured the top spot in terms of utilisation
of MPLADS funds in the state, followed by TMC MPs. Besides Salim, the other
five MPs who have performed well in terms of the MPLADS fund utilisation were
all first-time MPs, involved in social service or the entertainment industry
before becoming parliamentarians in 2014. Members of Parliament Local Area
Development Scheme (MPLADS) enables MPs to recommend developmental work in
their constituencies with an emphasis on creating durable community assets
based on locally felt needs. West Bengal with 42 Lok Sabha seats had utilised
around 93.42 per of the released MPLADS funds. Around Rs 803.39 crore was used
in the last five years and Rs 124.47 crore still lies unused in the MPLADS from
the state. Projects worth over Rs 1000 crore were recommended by MPs cutting
across party lines and the amount sanctioned was Rs 902.44 crore. According to the
data, Salim, a CPI(M) MP from Raiganj Lok Sabha seat had ensured 115.14 per
cent utilisation of the released funds. The amount available with interest in
MPLADS was Rs 20.98 crore. In the 16th Lok Sabha from 2014-2019, Salim had
recommended around Rs 28.88 crore for developmental work of which Rs 21.51
crore was sanctioned by the Centre. Around Rs 20.05 crore was spent from the
sanctioned amount. Salim alleged that the district administration had been
lethargic in releasing the utilisation certificates thereby blocking the way
for the release of funds for the subsequent year. The amount available with
interest in MPLADS was around Rs 26.03 crore. Thakur had recommended around Rs
27.72 crore of which Rs 25.58 crore was sanctioned by the Centre. Of the sanctioned
sum, around Rs 25.34 crore was spent and the percentage of utilisation of funds
was 110.60 percent. Bengali actress and first time TMC MP Sandhya Roy from
Medinipur Lok Sabha constituency ranked third. The amount available with
interest in MPLADS was around Rs 26.92 crores and Roy had recommended around Rs
27.89 crore for developmental work of which the entire amount was sanctioned.
Around Rs 26.50 crore was spent and the percentage of utilization was 104.40
percent. Bengali actor and first time TMC MP Deepak Adhikari, commonly know as
Dev, from Ghatal Lok Sabha constituency ranked fourth. The amount available
with interest in MPLADS was around Rs 18.91 crore and Adhikari had recommended
around Rs 25.84 crore of which the entire amount was sanctioned. Around Rs
18.29 crore was spent and the percentage of utilisation is 102.51 percent. The
amount available with interest in MPLADS was around Rs 26.87 crore. The MP had
recommended projects around Rs 26.92 crore of which Rs 23.94 crores was
sanctioned. Around Rs 21.56 crore was spent for various projects. The two BJP
MPs from Bengal- Darjeeling MP S S Ahluwalia and Asansol MP Babul Supriyo - had
recorded utilisation of released MPLADS funds at around 56.30 per cent and
72.68 per cent respectively. Ahluwalia alleged that he had submitted around 312
recommendations to the district administration for various developmental
projects but 228 recommendations were yet to be processed. The amount available
with interest in the MPLADS of Ahluwalia was around Rs 10.29 crore. Ahluwalia
had recommended projects worth Rs 25.22 crores of which Rs 8.81 crore was
sanctioned. Around Rs 5.83 crore was spent and the percentage of utilization of
released funds was 56.30 per cent. I had recommended around 312 projects worth
Rs 25 crore but the district administration is yet to submit recommendations
for 228 projects. It has not submitted utilisation certificates which has also
blocked funds, he told PTI.
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RBL BANK
UNSEATS SBI AS NO.1 IN POINT OF SALES DEPLOYED
RBL Bank (Ratnakar Bank) has dwarfed
entrenched players including State Bank of India (SBI), Axis Bank, HDFC Bank
and ICICI Bank in terms of the number of Point of Sales (PoS) deployed Thanks
to over 100% growth in the last 12 months in the electronic devices used to
process card payments at retail locations, RBL Bank is No.1 today with over
6.52 lakh PoS deployed in the country. This is individually more than the 5.77
lakh of SBI, 5.07 lakh of Axis Bank, 4.46 lakh of HDFC Bank and 3.7 lakh of
ICICI Bank, RBI data shows. Through strategic support from Mastercard, RBI Bank
managed to gained huge muscle in the PoS area and added over 500,000 merchant
acceptance or Point-of-Sale (PoS) locations since demonetisation in November
2016, bank officials said. Each month across the banking industry, there are
about 15-16 crore credit card PoS transactions and about 37-38 crore debit card
PoS transactions a month, generating a total of over Rs 1 lakh crore in
transaction volume. As per RBI data, SBI at the end of December 2017 was the
number one in terms of PoS with 6.33 lakh machines deployed, but saw a 9%
decline over the next 12 months. In the same period, RBL Bank notched up 106%
growth as PoS deployed grew from 3.16 lakh to 6.52 lakh. Among the top banks,
Axis, HDFC and ICICI registered 6-10% growth in the same phase.
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SURESH
PRABHU ASKS DGCA TO IMMEDIATELY DO SAFETY ASSESSMENT OF BOEING 737 MAX OF
SPICEJET, JET
India will issue additional safety measures
for operating the Boeing 737 Max which two of its airlines - SpiceJet and Jet
Airways - have latest by Tuesday. Ethiopian Airlines and Chinese and Indonesian
aviation regulators on Monday ordered grounding of the B737 Max following two
crashes of this plane within five months in which 346 people have lost their
lives. Aviation minister Suresh Prabhu Tweeted: Directed officials of DGCA to undertake
safety assessment of Boeing 737-MAX (being flown by domestic carriers). Safety
of the passengers is our utmost concern. Directed secretary and DGCA to take
appropriate action immediately. DGCA is reviewing the matter regarding safety
issues post accident of Boeing Ethopian Airline B737-800MAX on Sunday. We shall
issue additional safety instructions by Monday night or Tuesday morning in this
regard for Indian operators, said a senior Directorate General of Civil
Aviation (DGCA) official on Monday. While the five B737 Max that Jet has are
all grounded due to non payment of lease, SpiceJet is currently operating 13 of
these planes. Its longest flight, Delhi-Hong Kong, is operated using the Max. Following
the Lion Air crash, the DGCA had issued a slew of directives for the B737 Max
to both SpiceJet and Jet (which was then flying the Max). It had asked these
two airlines to land their Boeing 737 Max at the nearest suitable airport in
case this new plane shows any problem with its onboard maneuvering
characteristics augmentation system (MCAS) — a software on the B737 Max to
prevent it from stalling.
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DGCA TO
ISSUE FRESH SAFETY MEASURES FOR FLYING BOEING 737 MAX SOON
India will issue additional safety measures
for operating the Boeing 737 Max, which two of its airlines -- SpiceJet and Jet
Airways -- have, latest by Tuesday morning. Ethiopian Airlines, Chinese and
Indonesian aviation regulators on Monday ordered grounding of the B737 Max
following two crashes of this plane within five months in which 346 people have
lost their lives. While the five B737 Max that Jet has are all grounded due to
non-payment of lease, SpiceJet is currently operating 13 of these planes.
SpiceJet's longest flight, Delhi-Hong Kong, is operated using the Max. B S
Bhullar had after the Ethiopian crash on Sunday said India has sought
information from Boeing on this aircraft and that further safety measures, if
required, shall follow that. The doomed Ethiopian and Lion Air B737 Max had
four Indian passengers and an Indian pilot, respectively, among those on board.
While SpiceJet has up to 205 B737 Max on order, Jet Airways — which is facing a
battle for survival — has 225 of them on order.
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NUMBER OF
VOTERS, POLLING STATIONS GO UP; 1.5 CRORE NEW VOTERS JOIN
The number of people eligible to vote in Lok
Sabha polls beginning next month has increased by 8.4 crore as compared to 2014
general election, and these include 1.5 crore young voters who are in the 18-19
age group and would exercise their franchise first time, according to the
Election Commission. The total electorate in the country this year has
increased to approximately 90 crore compared to 81.5 crore in 2014. This marks
an increase of more than 8.4 crore electors, the Commission said. Over 1.5
crore voters are in the age group of 18-19 years. These young voters constitute
1.66 per cent of the total electors. The poll panel had allowed enrolment of
transgender persons with gender mentioned as Others in the electoral rolls
since 2012. The number of voters enrolled in this category is 38,325. The panel
will set up nearly 10.35 lakh polling stations in the country, as compared to
nearly 9.28 lakh set up during 2014 polls. This marks an increase of 10.1 per
cent. The increase is largely due to rationalisation of polling stations which
the Commission undertook in the recent years, the EC said. Nearly 39.6 lakh
electronic voting machines and 17.4 lakh paper trail or voter verifiable paper
trail machines would be used in these polling stations. These include reserves.
One control unit and at least one ballot unit where buttons are placed
constitutes EVM. This time, the visually impaired and blind voters will be
provided with braille voter slips to cast their vote. As part of its strategy
framework for 'accessible elections', the Commission has told all chief
electoral officers to issue accessible photo voter slips with braille to voters
who are visually impaired or blind.
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WHY
INDIA’S ELECTION IS AMONG THE WORLD’S MOST EXPENSIVE
India’s six-week-long vote will span the
Himalayan range in the north, the Indian Ocean in the south, the Thar desert in
the west and the mangroves of the Sundarbans in the east. This time the polling
exercise, due to start on April 11 and be completed by May 19, will cost an
unprecedented Rs 50,000 crore ($7 billion), according to the New Delhi-based
Centre for Media Studies. About $6.5 billion was spent during the U.S.
presidential and congressional races in 2016, according to OpenSecrets.org,
which tracks money in American politics. The CMS projection marks a 40 percent
jump from the $5 billion estimated to have been spent during India’s 2014
parliamentary vote. And it amounts to roughly $8 spent per voter in a country
where about 60 percent of the population lives on around $3 a day. Most of the
jump in spending will come in use of social media, travel and advertising, said
N. Bhaskara Rao. Social media spending is likely to be dramatically higher,
surging to about Rs 5,000 crore from Rs 250 crore in 2014, Rao said. His
group—which bases its projections on field interviews, government data,
contracts given out, and other research—also expects a jump in the use of
helicopters, buses and other transportation by traveling candidates and party workers.
With more than 8,000 contestants fighting for around 545 seats, there’s tough
competition to win over voters. And a secret ballot ensures that a bribe can’t
necessarily guarantee a vote. Gifts can help indicate to India’s voters that
the contestant wields influence and resources, according to Chauchard. More
than 90 percent of federal-level Indian politicians said their peers feel
pressured to hand out gifts like cash, alcohol or other personal goods,
according to a survey by Jennifer Bussell, an assistant professor at the
University of California, Berkeley. Blenders, television sets and occasionally
even goats are handed out as gifts in some areas. The Election Commission
seized more than 1.3 billion rupees of unaccounted cash, gold, alcohol and drugs
last year during a tight election in the state of Karnataka. To attract a
crowd, some politicians may need to offer a box of food filled with biryani or
chicken curry that can be too expensive for average citizens. That’s not to
mention money needed for firecrackers, chairs, microphones, security and
vehicles to ferry the participants back and forth. In populous states like
Uttar Pradesh, where a name can identify the caste or clan of a particular
candidate, this trick can be especially helpful. Popular figures are also
targeted: In 2014, actress Hema Malini was up against two other Hema Malinis,
the Hindustan Times reported. But even fielding dummy candidates cost money.
The expense can go as high as 120 million rupees, according to an investigation
by India Today magazine in 2016. Parties also register multiple candidates to
get around legal caps on how much an individual can spend, with the most
popular member getting most of the resources. As much as 26 billion rupees will
be spent on advertising in the upcoming elections, according to Zenith India, a
firm that arranges for slots on TV and in newspapers. That’s more than double
the 12 billion that the Election Commission estimates the two main parties
spent in 2014. In February alone, more than 40 million rupees was spent on
political advertising on just one site—Facebook—the company’s report shows.
Then there are T-shirts with the slogan Namo Again (Narendra Modi Again)
peddled by his camp. India’s budget has allocated 2.62 billion rupees to the
Election Commission this fiscal year, a new high. Some of that may be used for
elephants to carry electronic voting machines to relatively inaccessible
regions, and boats to ferry men and materials across the mighty Brahmaputra
river in the northeast.
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DRAFT
CONGRESS MANIFESTO: FOCUS ON JOBS, FARM AND BANKING REFORMS
Minimum income guarantee for the poor, urban
employment guarantee, agrarian reforms aimed at landless cultivators and ending
farm indebtedness, setting up a ‘bad bank’ for banking reforms and a statutory
calamity fund for states are some big ideas the Congress party has received as
part of its over five-month long consultations with stakeholders to draft its
manifesto for the 2019 Lok Sabha (LS) polls. The manifesto is slated to be
released later this month. The manifesto consultation exercise, termed ‘Jan
Awaaz 2019’, or ‘Your Voice 2019’, began in October under the leadership of
manifesto drafting committee chief and senior party leader P Chidambaram. The
22 members of the committee held 174 consultations, including 121 public
consultations and 53 with experts since October. The process covered 57 cities
and 27 states and Union Territories. Congress President Rahul Gandhi attended
the party’s outreach to non-resident Indians by holding consultations with them
in Dubai in February. The party’s research department team, which Rajya Sabha
member M V Rajeev Gowda heads, has sifted through the suggestions received in
the last five months. For the Congress, it has been one of its largest
manifesto drafting exercises. Party leadership said the suggestions were being
studied, and only some of them would find place in the final draft of the
manifesto. Party leader Jairam Ramesh led consultations on environmental issues
where participants suggested the need for ‘green budgeting’ and preparing
‘green national accounts’ to underscore the importance of sustainable
development. Some of these ideas were part of the 2014 Lok Sabha manifesto of
the Congress party. On the micro, small & medium enterprises (MSME) sector,
the Congress received feedback that the sector suffered because of
demonetisation and hurried implementation of the goods and services tax.
Experts suggested that number of people an MSME employs, and not turnover,
should be the criteria to define MSME units.
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TREADING
THE RIGHT PATH: FOR CASH-STARVED BUSINESSES, TREDS CAN BE AN INVALUABLE
LIFELINE
Since the onset of commercial operations in
October 2017, M1xchange, an RBI approved Trade Receivables Discounting System
(TReDS) platform, has been witness to Rs 1800 crore worth of transactions on
its platform. On a similar trail, Invoicemart, a digital invoice discounting
TReDS platform for MSMEs, discounted an overwhelming 1.4 lakh invoices
amounting to Rs 2000 crore since its inception in July 2017. In less than two
years of operations, the electronic exchanges have been garnering a lot of
interest from all the concerned stakeholders as a means to ease the fund flow
for cash starved MSMEs. Billed as a platform that could help to address the
credit woes of the MSME sector, TReDS eventually came through in 2017 with
three players receiving RBI approved licenses for the platform. In a nutshell,
TReDS allows MSMEs to receive money upfront which helps them to resolve their
working capital problems, creating room for a more productive and financially
sound business environment.
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BANK OF
MAHARASHTRA TO AUCTION VIDEOCON-BACKED UNIT'S ASSETS IN TAMIL NADU
State-owned Bank of Maharashtra has put on
sale the assets of Unity Appliances Ltd, a unit backed by Videocon Industries,
at SIPCOT industrial estate in Shivaganga, Tamil Nadu, for defaulting on
payments. The outstanding dues of the unit are over Rs 153 crore, plus
interest, from January 5, 2018. Unity is involved in manufacturing of air
conditioners and refrigerators. Videocon and its promoter Venugopal Dhoot are
guarantors to Unity Appliances, according to an auction notice placed by Pune-based
Bank of Maharashtra. The electronic auction for land and machinery is slated
for March 30, 2019 with a reserve price of Rs 42.34 crore for land and Rs 72.82
crore for plant and machinery. The Videocon group is among 40 large defaulters
identified by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) first for insolvency proceedings.
The group's core businesses are consumer electronics and oil and gas
exploration. The lenders are auctioning the electronics business estimated to
be worth $2 billion. The subsidiaries of Videocon Industries are into
manufacturing, sale and distribution of consumer goods. Some of the units
referred to NCLT include Value Industries, Trend Electronics, KAIL, Millennium
Appliances India, Applicomp India, Sky Appliances, Techno Electronics, Century
Appliances, PE Electronics, Next Retail, Evans Fraser & Co and Videocon
International Electronics.
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RERA YET
TO RESOLVE MALPRACTICES IN REAL ESTATE SECTOR, SAY EXPERTS
Experts have said that the RERA, which was
envisaged to usher in more transparency in the real estate industry, is yet to
be an effective deterrent against malpractices. As the RERA is a small
quasi-judicial and administrative body (with three members and a few
adjudicating officers for the entire state), it does not have the bandwidth to
look into the details of over 19,000 registrations that were granted by the
body in the state, so far. The adjudicating officers themselves have powers to
look at only certain sections of the act, while the main powers are bestowed
only upon the members. Experts have advised that even though disputes can be
entertained later in courts, it is better for consumers to get conduct more due
diligence. This can be done by consulting a lawyer on their own or perusing the
documents for minute details and verifying the facts on the ground before
investing. Real estate lawyers said false and misleading information about
control of open spaces, use of floor space index and completion of services
creep into bilateral agreements due to the absence of checks and balances. It
is not uncommon for developers to easily eke out completion and occupancy
certificates from the municipal corporation, irrespective of the status of
work. People should themselves verify if all civic works have been completed,
said a Chinchwad-based property lawyer.
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DOT TO
ASK AIRTEL, TTSL TO PAY OVER RS 15,000 CRORE
The telecom department (DoT) will shortly ask
Bharti Airtel and Tata Teleservices (TTSL) to collectively pay around Rs 15,000
crore as dues relating to a mix of pending licence fees, spectrum usage charge
(SUC) and onetime spectrum charge (OTSC) as a pre-condition for clearing their
merger, two people aware of the matter said. Airtel and TTSL have to pay around
Rs 10,000 crore and Rs 2,800 crore, respectively, as SUC, said a DoT official,
who did not want to be named. Then there is another Rs 2,000 crore of OTSC that
transferee firm Airtel will have to pay in the form of bank guarantees to the government,
the official added. Sunil Mittal-led Airtel, India’s no. 2 carrier, and
loss-making Tata Teleservices have received the nod from National Company Law
Tribunal for a deal under which Bharti Airtel would buy the Tata Sons-promoted
carrier’s consumer mobility business under a debt-free, cash-free deal. The two
companies have now applied to the DoT for a final approval. Another DoT
official said that the licence fees are getting calculated and that will also
be a big amount which the merging telcos will have to pay. Demand letters will
be sent shortly, the official added.
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AIRTEL TO
SELL 32% STAKE IN BHARTI INFRATEL, MAY POCKET OVER RS 18K CR
Bharti Infratel said on Monday that Airtel
will shed its stake in the tower company from 50.33 per cent to 18.33 per cent.
Nettle Infrastructure Investments Ltd, a wholly owned subsidiary of Airtel,
will buy a 32 per cent stake in the telecom tower company. At the current stock
price, Airtel will receive around Rs 18,851 crore from the sale of 591,874,639
equity shares. The transaction will be done at the stock price of the company
on the day of the buy, a company filing said. However, in accrdance with Sebi
regulations, it can't be more than Rs 362.45, which is 25 per cent more than
the average price of the stock in 60 days prior to the transaction. As such,
Airtel will sell 591,874,639 equity shares to Nettle for not more than Rs
21,452 crore. Bharti Airtel transferred its 25 per cent stake in DTH arm Bharti
Telemedia to Nettle Infrastructure Investments, as per a regulatory filing.
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SOCIAL
MEDIA PLATFORMS TO DEPLOY FACT CHECKERS TO CURB FAKE NEWS: CEC
Social media platforms will deploy
appropriate fact checkers to scan fake news and use of abusive language ahead
of Lok Sabha polls, the Election Commission said Sunday. Sunil Arora said each
of the social media platforms has created a mechanism to accept only
pre-certified political advertisements during the election process and will
share the expenditure incurred in this regard with election authorities. He
said all election management-related news on all major national and regional
news channels would be monitored vigorously during the election. If any
untoward incident or violation of any law is noticed, action would be taken
immediately, Arora said. All platforms have agreed to establish priority
channels for EC for a quick response. They have also appointed grievance
officers for the election, scheduled from April 11 to May 19.
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MODI
GOVERNMENT ADVERTISING BLITZ DRIES UP AS INDIAN POLL RULES KICK IN
An advertising blitz by Prime Minister
Narendra Modi's administration, which saw more than 150 newspaper ads exulting
over its performance in 10 days, stopped on Monday. The election will be held
over seven stages from April 11 in what will be the world's biggest democratic
exercise, the Election Commission said on Sunday, when a code of conduct over
election campaigning came into force. Citing the code, the commission said no
advertisements shall be issued in electronic and print media highlighting the
achievements of the govt. at the cost of public exchequer. The New Delhi
editions of the same three newspapers had 162 government ads between March 1
and March 10, according to Reuters calculations. Of those, 93 were full page.
Most included a picture of Modi and highlighted government initiatives from
rural development and solar power to airport infrastructure and social security
benefits, among others. One of the full-page ads took a broad view to highlight
12 achievements in different sectors, saying it was putting farmers first and
national security is top priority. It ran with a slogan: impossible is now
possible. Some people took to Twitter to express their frustration with what
they regarded as the excessive advertising. It wasn't immediately clear how
much money the government had spent on the ads.
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DELHI
GOVT FLOATS GLOBAL TENDERS FOR 375 E-BUSES
The Delhi government has issued global
tenders for engagement of 375 of the 1,000 electric buses it has decided to
procure to combat high levels of air pollution and boost public transport in
the national capital. Delhi Transport Minister Kailash Gahlot said the 375
e-buses will form the first phase of the procurement of the 1,000 buses. AAP
govt releases global Tenders for engagement of 375 Electric Buses in Delhi.
This is the 1st phase of procurement of a total of 1000 E-Buses (sic), he
tweeted.
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WEST
BENGAL TO MAKE SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT FOR FARMERS TO SELL SURPLUS POTATOES
West Bengal government is making special
arrangements to enable farmers to sell surplus potato harvested this year to
the government and cold storage owners to store it. Government officials and
officials of the State Level Bankers’ Committee (SLBC) recently held a meeting
in this regard. The government would help cold storage owners to open accounts
in cooperative banks through which the latter would be able to take loans at
easy rates to finance the cost of storing the potato. Those farmers wanting to
sell their produce to the government would have to get themselves enlisted at
the local BDO office, from where the details would be sent to the cold
storages. Earlier, it had been announced that starting March 1, the state
government would be buying the surplus production from farmers at the rate of
Rs 5.5 per kilogram. The process would continue till March 17 in the districts
of south Bengal and till March 24 in north Bengal.
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HC
DIRECTS CENTRE TO RELEASE TATA SKY STBS SEIZED FOR NOT DISPLAYING MRP
The Delhi High Court directed the Centre on
Monday to release all the Tata Sky set-top boxes (STBs), barring five pieces,
which were seized by the government for not displaying the maximum retail price
(MRP). A bench of Chief Justice Rajendra Menon and Justice A J Bhambani, in an
interim order, directed the Ministry of Consumer Affairs to release the over
six lakh STBs it had seized in January, but allowed it to keep five of those
for continuing with its probe. Issuing the direction, the bench said the
government's decision was prima facie arbitrary and resulted not only in a
financial loss to the direct broadcast satellite television provider, but also
affected consumers who could not shift to the new STBs. Here, the arbitrariness
is writ large on the face of it, the bench added. It said the proceedings
initiated by the government might go on in accordance with law and the company
would participate in it. With the directions, the bench listed the matter for
further hearing on July 27. The interim order came on Tata Sky's plea
challenging the seizure of its STBs for not displaying the MRP.
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HIRING
ACTIVITY SEES 16% GROWTH IN FEBRUARY
Hiring activities registered 16 percent this
February mainly led by the IT and software industry that clocked a 38 percent
growth, says a report. The Naukri JobSpeak Index for February 2019 stood at
2,415 from 2,087 in February 2018. The JobSpeak index continues to sustain the
momentum gained and has shown a 16 percent YOY growth in Feb precedes by a 15
percent growth in January. In the latest hiring outlook survey with over 3,300
recruiters across the country had anticipated increased hiring, wherein 84
percent recruiters said new jobs would be created, Infoedge India CMO Sumeet
Singh said. The Naukri JobSpeak is a monthly Index, which calculates and
records hiring activity based on the job listings on Naukri.com website month
on month. The report revealed that the IT and software industry has been on a
hiring spree in February 2019, registering a growth of 38 percent, making it
one of the fastest growing industries. Also, the report said construction and engineering
industry saw an increase in hiring with a growth rate of 16 percent. Hiring in
HR functional area witnessed 20 percent growth. Further, it said, an increase
in demand of 18 percent was observed for mid-level candidates with experience
between of 4-7 years. Hiring activities in the metropolitan cities saw positive
growth with Chennai and Mumbai clocking in a rise of 30 percent and 26 percent,
respectively. Recruitment activities in Chennai was led by industries including
auto/auto ancillary (26 percent), BPO (13 percent) while FMCG saw a dip of (14
percent). Demand for skills such as IT-Software (38 percent) and ITES (8
percent) were maximum among recruiters. A 25 percent rise in hiring activity
was seen for the experience band of 4 to 7 years, it added.
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60%
ONLINE USERS FEAR UNAUTHORISED DATA COLLECTION, ONLY 11% USERS READ PRIVACY
POLICIES: SURVEY
Despite the ever-increasing usage of digital
technology, around 60% users fear unauthorised data collection and only 11
percent users read privacy policies, reveals a survey by CUTS International.
The pan India survey while making a note of the fact that more females, young,
and rural users are coming within the fold of digital technology than ever
before, found that despite being uncomfortable, users reported sharing their
information and around 16-18% reported discomfort in sharing their contact and
address details and around 14% for email and personal photos. As per its
findings, almost 70 % users feel the need to build capacity and awareness among
users. Top three expectations of 59 percent of users from service providers
were found to be purpose limitation, ensuring privacy and ensuring anonymity.
Despite the proliferation of digital technology around us, only 11 percent
users read privacy policies and only a small percentage of that claim to
understand them and top 3 impediments were 3L’s- Length, language and legalese,
stated the survey. Interestingly, the survey reveals that while around 60 per
cent users fear unauthorised data collection, they rely on the reputation of
the service provider to boost their confidence while sharing data and most
users don’t seem to have experienced data privacy violation, and among half of
those who have experienced, didn’t report it ever. With a sample size of 2160
users across six states of India, the survey sought to unravel the users'
perspectives on privacy and data protection. Among its notable findings are the
observations that among new users (those using internet for 3 years or less),
compared to males (18.3%), more female users are new users (25.7%), and more
female users (53%) use digital technologies for shopping than males (46%). According
to it, most users do not think service providers use data for legitimate
purposes and young users are most optimistic about positive use of data
collected. Also, when compared with their male, experienced and urban
counterparts, fewer number of female users, inexperienced and non-urban users
think service providers share data with third parties.
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‘62%
WOMEN DON’T HAVE PREFERRED JOB’
Almost 62% of young women find that there is
a disconnect between the job they hold and the one they imagined, says an ICICI
Lombard survey on the physical and mental health of working women through their
career span. The survey aims to understand and accelerate issues faced by
working women at the workplace. Gender equality at the workplace has become a
byword in the corporate sector. However, findings say otherwise. Respondents to
the survey have brought forth the fact that 53% of the working women believe
their workplaces are still male dominated Of this, 46% belong to the age group
of 22-33 years, followed by 35% group from the age group of 34-44 years. Women
in the telecom and manufacturing sector experienced more instances of gender
discrimination than any other sector. Engagement levels, job assignments,
promotions and job profiles are the four areas where women mainly suffer. The
survey statistics shows that as women grow old (45-55 years), the kind of job
assigned to them are more inclined towards male preference, whereas the younger
categories — 22-33 years, and 33-44 years — think promotions get impacted in a
male-dominated workplace. Another interesting facet was that 62% of the
respondents believed that recognition at par with male counterparts
notwithstanding, there is a gap when it comes to remuneration.
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RELIGIOUS
PROPAGANDA ON SABARIMALA ISSUE VIOLATION OF MODEL CODE OF CONDUCT, EC WARNS
With the model code of conduct kicking in
soon after the announcement of dates to the Lok Sabha elections 2019, Kerala’s
STate Election Commission has wanred political parties against any use of
religious propaganda on the Sabarimala Temple issue in their poll campaign. Just
as the doors of Sabrimala Temple reopened for the 11-day monthly pooja, Kerala
Chief Electoral Officer T R Meena made it clear that using the Sabrimala Temple
for religious propaganda will be seen as a breach of model code of conduct. Citing
or invoking or doing some sort of religious propaganda based on Sabarimala
issue or judgement will be a clear violation of the model code of conduct and
we will be taking action, Meena told.
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CHOICE IN
LOK SABHA POLLS TO BE EITHER 'MODI OR CHAOS', SAYS ARUN JAITLEY
Arun Jaitley said Monday the 'Mahagathbandhan'
is a self-destructive ‘coalition of rivals' and choice before voters in the
general elections would be either Modi or chaos. Prime Minister Narendra
Modi-led NDA government will be seeking second term as 900 million people are
expected to vote in the Lok Sabha elections beginning April 11. Counting of
votes will be taken up on May 23. In his blog, he wrote that the leadership
issue in the opposition camp is an absolute puzzle. Congress president Rahul
Gandhi is an inadequate leader, Jaitley said. He is tried, tested and failed.
His lack of understanding of issues is frightening. He aspires to be the leader
of this chaotic pack. The senior BJP leader further said the Opposition
alliance is unclear and is absolutely fragile. None of the political parties is
capable of any significant number of seats. The alliance will not have a stable
nucleus. It has a set of highly ambitious, self-centred and maverick leaders. On
the other, Jaitley said that within the NDA there are no leadership issues.
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BJP
ACCUSES KUMARASWAMY OF USING OFFICIAL POSITION TO PROMOTE FAMILY
The Karnataka BJP on Monday accused Chief
Minister H D Kumaraswamy of using his official position to cater to the needs
of his family business amid his moves to induct his son into politics. The
Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP) criticism against the chief minister comes at a
time when Kumaraswamy is making all efforts to ensure his actor son Nikhil
Kumaraswamy's victory from the party stronghold of Mandya Lok Sabha
constituency. The JD(S) had recently indicated that Nikhil would be the party
candidate from Mandya. Nikhil is likely to be pitted against Sumalatha
Ambareesh, wife of late actor-turned-politician Ambareesh, in Mandya. Sumalatha
has made it clear that she would contest the polls from Mandya, which was
earlier represented by Ambareesh, in spite of the Congress stating that the
seat would go to its coalition partner, the Janata Dal (Secular). It is still
not clear whether she will be contesting the polls independently or will take
the support of the BJP as the saffron party too is looking to increase its
prospects in the Vokkaliga bastion, where it is a weak player. The JD(S) and
the Deve Gowda family have also come under criticism in the social media for
their plans to field Nikhil from Mandya and another grandson, Prajwal Revanna,
from Hassan.
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STATE
GOVTS REACH OUT TO PUNE-BASED NCL SEEKING SCIENTIFIC SOLUTIONS TO DETECT
SPURIOUS LIQUOR
STATE GOVERNMENTS of Assam, Uttar Pradesh and
Uttarakhand have reached out to city-based CSIR-National Chemical Laboratory
(NCL) to look for scientific solutions to detect spurious liquor to help curb
incidents related to consumption of illicit liquor. This was prompted by three
major tragedies involving consumption of illicit liquor that killed hundreds in
these states in February. A team of scientists from NCL visited Assam last week
and interacted with members of the excise department. Our scientists were in
Assam for some other official duty last week. But, during an interaction with
the excise department, the team was asked if the NCL could help develop any
solution that could easily detect spurious chemicals in country liquor.
However, the NCL is yet to accept the proposal as we are taking stock whether
the laboratory can actually develop such a solution. Also, the NCL has not
developed anything like this before, so we are yet to finalise, an official
spokesperson from the NCL told. Over 150 tea estate workers hailing from
Golaghat and Jorhat districts of Assam had died after consuming illicit liquor,
last month. Not only this, over 70 people died in a similar hooch tragedy in UP
and Uttarakhand in February.
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IN FRESH
BLOW TO MONSANTO, MODI GOVT CUTS GM COTTON SEED ROYALTY
India has cut the royalties that local seed
companies pay to German drugmaker Bayer AG’s Monsanto unit for the third time
in four years. Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government has decided to reduce
royalties paid by Indian seed firms to Monsanto for its genetically modified
(GM) cotton by 49 per cent to Rs 20 for a packet of 450 grams, according to a
farm ministry order. Before it was Rs 39. The decision could prompt Monsanto
and other foreign seed firms to further scale back investment in the sector,
said Ram Kaundinya. The decision comes at a time when the country’s cotton
output is falling and needs a breakthrough to help maintain its leading
position in the global cotton market, said Kaundinya. India’s cotton output is
likely to fall to 32.8 million bales of 170 kg each in the year to September
2019 - the lowest in nine years, triggering higher imports of the fibre,
according to industry group Cotton Association of India. The order is most
disappointing, said Shivendra Bajaj, executive director of the alliance for
Agri Innovation, an advocacy group. Other than cutting Monsanto’s royalties,
the government raised the prices of GM cotton seeds by 1.43 per cent to Rs 710
($10.16) a packet.
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SOCIAL
MEDIA MAY SWING 4-5% VOTES IN LOK SABHA POLL: TV MOHANDAS PAI
Social media may swing four to five per cent
votes in the coming Lok Sabha elections, making it a key factor in
constituencies with thin victory margin, IT industry veteran, T V Mohandas Pai,
said Tuesday. Youngsters, particulary first time voters, are very heavy on
social media, which is the primary channel of information for most of them, the
former Chief Financial Officer of software major, Infosys Ltd, said. Social
media may swing 4-5 per cent of the votes that's my view, Pai told PTI. Forty
to 50 per cent of young voters could be swayed by social media because for most
of them it's the primary channel of information, he claimed. Young people don't
watch TV, they watch videos, they go to YouTube, they go to social media, they
don't read newspapers, they are influenced by what they see on social media,
not on print, not on TV, Pai said. Messages should be based on their interest.
Messages should be targetted as a group. The messages have to be positive, about
bright future and optimistic, Pai added.
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MCX WOOS
IMPORTERS WITH QUALITY COTTON
The cotton futures contract on commodity
exchange MCX is buzzing with activity on the back of volatile prices and rising
export demand. The exchange’s move to open three new warehousing centres at
Vidarbha, the major cotton belt in Maharashtra, is also paying rich dividends.
The MCX cotton contract had recorded an all-time high average open interest of
3.46 lakh bales this year. The previous high of 3.12 lakh bales was recorded in
2013. Cotton deposited in the exchange-accredited warehouses soared to new high
of 1.81 lakh bales and surged by 56 per cent last Tuesday compared to 1.16 lakh
bales logged in the same period last year. Deepak Mehta, said the exchange
expects total cotton deposits at the accredited warehouses to touch 2.25 lakh
bales by end of this season given the growing interest. The warehouses
accredited at Arvi, Hinganghat and Wardha in Vidarbha are witnessing robust
delivery of about 30,000 bales of cotton by the local community and ginners, he
added. By insisting on delivery of cotton from MCX-accredited warehouses,
importers can ensure that there is no mixing of inferior quality or foreign
material as the exchange approved assayers test 5 per cent of the cotton
delivered against the industry standard of 2 per cent, said Mehta. Though
importers have to pay a little premium for buying cotton from the exchange
platform, they can be rest assured of quality and quantity, he 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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