GENERAL UPDATES 27.03.2019

RESERVE BANK OF INDIA DIRECTS BANKS DEALING WITH GOVERNMENT BUSINESS TO REMAIN OPEN ON MARCH 31

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Tuesday directed banks to keep their branches open on Sunday (March 31), the last day of the financial year, in order to deal with government business transactions. The RBI is yet to issue instructions on the carrying out of electronic transactions, including RTGS and NEFT on March 30 and March 31, 2019. According to an RBI circular, The Government of India has advised that all Pay and Account Offices will remain open on March 31, 2019 (Sunday) to facilitate government receipt and payment transactions. Accordingly, all Agency Banks are advised to keep all their branches dealing with government business open on March 31, 2019 (Sunday). In yet another notification, the RBI mentioned that the Government of India has desired that all government transactions done by agency banks for the financial year 2018-19 must be accounted for within the same financial year. Moreover, the government also made a request that certain special arrangements be made for this purpose as in previous years. Accordingly, all agency banks should keep the counters of their designated branches conducting government banking open for government transactions up to 8 pm on March 30, 2019, and up to 6 pm on March 31, 2019, added the notification.

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GOVERNMENT REFUSES TO DISCLOSE DETAILS ON RBI GOVERNOR SHAKTIKANTA DAS APPOINTMENT

The Centre has refused to share details related to the appointment of RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das citing a clause in the transparency law which bars disclosure of information, including records of deliberations of the council of ministers, secretaries and other officers. Replying to an RTI query, it declined to share the details, including names of short-listed candidates and file notings related to the appointment. Das was on December 11, 2018 named as the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor by the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi for three years. The RTI application was filed by this correspondent with the Department of Financial Services (DFS) seeking details like copy of any advertisement or vacancy circular issued by the government on appointment of RBI Governor, names of all applicants who had applied for the post and those short-listed for the top post. The DFS was also asked to provide details on composition of search committee to short-list candidates and copy of minutes of meetings held on deciding the RBI Governor. In its reply, the DFS said the selection of Governor, RBI is done by the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet on the basis of recommendation made by the Financial Sector Regulatory Appointments Search Committee (FSRASC). The committee is headed by cabinet secretary as its chairperson and has additional principal secretary to Prime Minister and secretary of the department concerned besides three outside experts as its members, the DFS said, without giving the names of the experts. It had then forwarded the application to the cabinet secretariat. In this regard, it is informed that the requisite information about appointment of Shaktikanta Das as Governor, Reserve Bank of India, being Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) related file notings/documents/records, is exempted from disclosure under Section 8 (1) (i) of the Right to Information Act 205, the cabinet secretariat said in its reply to the RTI application. The section bars disclosure of cabinet papers, including records of deliberations of the council of ministers, secretaries and other officers. The section, however, says that the decisions of council of ministers, the reasons thereof, and the material on the basis of which the decisions were taken shall be made public after the decision has been taken, and the matter is complete, or over.

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SC WARNS RBI FOR FAILING TO DISCLOSE INFORMATION UNDER THE RTI ACT

The Supreme Court on Tuesday warned Reserve Bank of India (RBI) of initiating contempt proceedings against it for failing to disclose information regarding the annual inspection report of banks sought under the Right to Information (RTI) Act. The top court gave RBI one week’s time to comply with the directions or be ready to face consequences The matter will be next heard on April 2. In January this year, the apex court had issued notice to RBI on a contempt petition which alleged that the central bank had not provided information about the inspection conducted on some banks which were allegedly involved in the irregularities inside the Sahara Group. The petitioner alleged that RBI had denied information regarding inspection reports for ICICI Bank, Axis Bank, HDFC Bank and the State Bank of India (SBI) despite clear orders of the top court. The RBI, however, had denied disclosing the information claiming that the said inspection reports fell under the definition of 'fiduciary information' and hence could not be put out in public domain. The information sought is from Annual Financial Inspection (AFI) Reports which RBI prepares as supervisor of banks. In January 2015, the Supreme Court had in a judgement held that the RBI could not withhold information under the pretext of 'fiduciary relations' with banks. A two judge bench of the then Justices M.Y. Eqbal and C. Nagappan had then held that the banking sector regulator was supposed to uphold public interest and not the interest of banks. The RBI, the two-judge Bench had said, was thus clearly not in any fiduciary relationship with any bank. RBI has no legal duty to maximize the benefit of any public sector or private sector bank, and thus there is no relationship of ‘trust’ between them, the top court had then said. It had then also observed that this behaviour of the banking sector regulator of denying information under RTI would only attract more suspicion and disbelief in them. Later in February 2016, the top court had asked RBI to give a list of companies which were in default of loans worth Rs 500 crore or more and whose loans had been restructured under the corporate debts restructuring scheme by the banks or financial institutions. RBI’s Annual Financial Inspection (AFI) focusses on statutorily mandated areas of solvency, liquidity and operational health of the bank. It covers areas like capital adequacy, asset quality, management, earning, liquidity and system and control. With drive to clean-up bank balance sheets, RBI’s reports have identified some corporate stressed accounts and asked banks to treat them as Non-Performing Assets. Banks have had to make immediate provisions for them. AFI is part of banking regulator’s supervisory mandate with on-site inspection of banks on an annual basis. Besides the head office and controlling offices, certain specified branches are covered under inspection so as to ensure a minimum coverage of advances. The compliance to the inspection findings is followed up in the usual course. The top management of the RBI engages with bank managements highlighting concerns that need immediate rectification, and draw up an action plan, that can be monitored.

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RBI SLAPS ₹2 CRORE PENALTY ON PNB FOR VIOLATING SWIFT NORMS

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has slapped a penalty of ₹2 crore on Punjab National Bank (PNB) for non-compliance of regulatory directions with regard to SWIFT operations, the state-run lender said Tuesday. SWIFT is a global messaging software used for transactions by financial entities. The massive ₹14,000-crore fraud perpetrated by billionaire jeweller Nirav Modi and his uncle Mehul Choksi at the PNB was a case of misuse of this messsaging software. In a regulatory filing, the PNB said the Reserve Bank in a letter dated March 25 has informed the bank about the penalty. In the matter of violations of regulatory directions by Punjab National Bank observed during assessment of implementation of SWIFT- related operational controls, the Reserve Bank of India, (imposes) an aggregate penalty of ₹20 million on Punjab National Bank, it said.

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RBI ACCEPTS $5 BN AT FOREX SWAP AUCTION TO FIX LIQUIDITY, SECURES 240 BIDS

India’s central bank accepted the $5 billion it targeted from banks at its currency swap auction to ease liquidity ahead of the financial year-end this month. The authority said it received 240 bids worth $16.31 billion The cutoff was set at a premium of 776 paise according to a statement. The amount received has been very decent and that shows it has been a successful move, said Paresh Nayar. This also leads to belief that the RBI might be prompted to come out with more of such liquidity injections in future. The premium is not too far from market levels and the cutoff isn’t disruptive, said Nayar. It gives a signal that forward premium will not shoot up in the inter-bank market.

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IDBI BANK OFFICERS’ ASSOCIATION TO GO ON HUNGER STRIKE ON MARCH 30

IDBI Bank on Tuesday said its all-India Officers’ Association will observe a one-day nationwide hunger strike on March 30, over various demands. The Bank is in receipt of notice of one-day nationwide hunger strike on March 30, 2019 from All India IDBI Officers’ Association (AIIDBIOA) addressed to MD & CEO, IDBI Bank in support of their various demands, IDBI Bank said in a stock exchange filing. The Officers’ Association has been protesting over RBI categorising IDBI Bank as a private sector lender with effect from January 21, 2019, pursuant to LIC acquiring 51 per cent controlling stake in the bank.

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FARM LOAN WAIVERS KILL CREDIT CULTURE, SAYS RAGHURAM RAJAN

India needs to focus on resolution of farm distress rather than loan waivers which kill the credit culture, former RBI governor Raghuram Rajan said Tuesday. First we need to worry about why people are so distressed and angry. There is a lot of agriculture distress. I personally believe that farm loan waivers are not the answers. But there are other answers, he said when asked about what should be the focus for the upcoming elections. The other focus area should be creation of jobs which the people want, he said. I would say that one is start creating those jobs people want. Take care of the distress, but whatever measures you put, put them as a pathway for people to get those jobs rather than standing in the way of getting those jobs. We can talk about the economic reforms that are needed, but jobs are task one, Rajan emphasised. Several state governments have announced loan waivers for farmers. He said loan waivers cover only those farmers who have taken loans from the formal system. I do worry about waiving loans because it only targeted to those farmers who have taken loans from the system, not the poorer farmers who have loans from the money lenders or an agricultural worker who never got a loan in the first place. So I would rather have a better targeted system, he said. That is why I have always said that farm loan waivers are problematic and various bankers have also opined that it kills the credit culture. It's very difficult to lend to those people once again. So they also suffer in credit down the line even though they may get some short-run benefit. So those are my objections, he added. He further said targeted transfers to the very poor have become a staple of capitalism and that is a part of the safety net. When asked whether he would like to return to India in public service or even a political role, he said, I am very happy where I am. But if there is an opportunity to be of use I will always be there. Rajan further said: We have built a country based on tolerance and respect. And at this time we would be crazy to sacrifice that for a narrow sectarianism that will stand in our way of growth. If you are a true nationalist today you have to say that we have to be a country that respects all.

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RAGHURAM RAJAN RAISES DOUBTS ABOUT INDIA GROWING AT 7%, SAYS CLOUD OVER GDP DATA NEEDS TO BE CLEARED

Former RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan Tuesday expressed doubts over Indian economy growing at 7 per cent when not enough jobs were being created and said the current cloud over the GDP numbers must be cleared by appointing an impartial body to look at the data. Rajan, said he had no idea what statistics are pointing at currently and a revamp was needed to really figure out what India's true growth rate is. I know one minister (in the Narendra Modi government) has said (that) how can we be growing at 7 per cent and not have jobs. Well, one possibility is that we are not growing at 7 per cent, he told. Finance Minister Arun Jaitley has been stoutly defending the growth data saying an economy cannot be growing at 7-8 per cent without creating jobs. He has also stated that no major social agitation indicates it hasn't been jobless growth Rajan, said a stronger broad-based growth is needed that creates more jobs. On doubts being raised by some over economic data after revision in growth rate, he said a clean up act is needed and an impartial body appointed to look at the numbers. I just think that we need now to essentially clean up, find out what in fact is the source of confusion with the new GDP numbers, with the revisions etc. I would say setting up an impartial body to look at it is an important step to resorting confidence, he said. The impartial body may throwback the same numbers but we absolutely need better confidence in our GDP numbers now given the back and forth we have had. In fact, any statistics that cast an iota of doubt on the achievement of the government seem to get revised or suppressed on the basis of some questionable methodology, the group had said in a statement. We need stronger broad-based growth, which primarily for most people means good jobs. What we need to do is focus on how do we create good jobs for the vast number of people who are leaving schools, who are leaving agriculture, who are leaving universities, in such a way that they can expand India's growth, he said. Lot of people have said the population dividend should not become a population curse. This is the time when we need to make sure that in fact doesn't happen, he added. He suggested that the government should introspect on some of its decisions like the controversial note ban. Enough time has now passed by for us to look back at demonetisation and ask what the learning has been from it? Did it work or not? And what were the positives and negatives. Self-examination is something that every government must do for better governance and efficiency, the renowned economist was quoted. On the question of lack of jobs, indicated by the data of the NSSO (National Sample Survey Office) recently, he said there was a need for credible data. Given that kind of anxiety, it is important, just to convey to the world, that we are not manipulating anything. this is our data, to actually have an independent group look into it and certify that our data indeed is fine or suggest the changes needed, he said. Rajan said India has had a good record with credible data. We need to take a fairly clean independent look at our statistics process. What I would think might be useful is to get a panel of independent experts to go through that and think very carefully about the processes we follow, he said.

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TRAI TO HOLD CONSULTATION WITH BSNL, MTNL ON ALLOCATION 4G SPECTRUM: RS SHARMA

Telecom regulator Trai will hold consultation on spectrum allocation with state-owned firms BSNL and MTNL soon, a top official said Tuesday. We have received reference from the DoT couple of days back on allocation of spectrum for 4G services to BSNL and MTNL. We will issue a consultation paper and hold open house discussion on it, Trai Chairman R S Sharma told. Both the telecom firms have asked the government to allot them spectrum for 4G services in lieu of equity. BSNL, which has the lowest debt of Rs 14,000 crore among all telecom operators, has sought 4G spectrum across India through equity infusion of Rs 7,000 crore to help it compete in the market. The Digital Communication Commission, apex decision making body at the Department of Telecom, has sought view of Trai on demand of spectrum from both the PSUs.

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CASH-STRAPPED JET AIRWAYS TO OPERATE 40 MORE PLANES BY APRIL-END

Jet Airways is putting together a plan to restore its flight schedule following an emergency funding from lenders and by April-end it will have an additional 40 planes in operation. Kharola said the aviation ministry was keeping a close watch on the developments at Jet Airways. The airline has assured us that it will operate 75 planes by April-end. It has said there will be no more grounding now, he said. The airline has been asked to submit a report by next Tuesday. A few of the grounded planes are already being readied for operations as lessors have lifted notices, it is learnt.

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JET AIRWAYS' NEW INVESTOR NEEDS TO BRING RS 4,500-CR CAPITAL: SBI OFFICIAL

A new investor in the cash-strapped Jet Airways will have to bring in about Rs 4,500 crore capital for running the airline, according to a senior SBI official. State Bank of India (SBI), which is the leader of the group of 26 lenders, will next month invite Expression of Interest from buyers willing to takeover the airline and will finalise the investor by May end. According to the official, there has been a lot of interest in the airline and the buyer has to bring in equity of about Rs 4,500 crore to keep it running. It is a good airline, and we have seen a lot of interest from investors in Jet Airways, the official said. Lenders have decided to invite expression of interest by April 9 and binding bids by April 30.

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CLEAR OUR SALARY DUES AT THE EARLIEST, JET AIRWAYS PILOTS REQUEST SBI CHIEF

Rajnish Kumar, seen as the airline’s new guardian angel, to ensure that their salaries are not delayed any further The airline’s pilots, along with aircraft maintenance engineers (AMEs) and senior management have salary dues of almost four months now. The National Aviators Guild (NAG), union of pilots, had threatened the old management that it would stop flying from April 1. But now with a new interim system in place they see hope that Jet will avoid a Kingfisher-like fate. Your soothing words on a TV channel praising the pilots for their loyalty and dedication and assuring them that our efforts will not go waste are deeply appreciated by the entire community. Your kind words show that the hardships we, and our fellow AMEs, have undergone have not gone in vain. Despite the severe financial difficulties and uncertainty over our future that a lot of our colleagues have been facing over the past few months, the pilots have not wavered, NAG general secretary captain Tej Sood said. It is our humble request to you to alleviate some of the hardships that we and the AMEs have been facing by ensuring that the Jet Airways management does not further delay the release of our pending salaries and clears our dues at the earliest. We would also be grateful if you could spare us some time to give us an idea of the roadmap to recovery. This will help us in rebuilding confidence amongst our pilots and reassuring them that the uncertainty is behind us. We assure you, and all other stakeholders, of our continued support. The pilots remain committed to the airline and would leave no stone unturned to ensure that our airline returns to its former glory, Sood says.

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GOVERNMENT SEEKS EC APPROVAL TO REVISE WAGE RATES PAID UNDER MNREGA

The Ministry of Rural Development has sought the poll panel's approval to revise the wages paid under the MGNREGA from April 1, a move that could benefit more than several crore beneficiaries across the country, sources said Tuesday. The wages paid under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) are linked with the Consumer Price Index for agricultural labourers (CPI-AL) and new wage rates are notified on April 1, the beginning of the new financial year, sources in the ministry said. The officials said it is a routine exercise and the ministry has approached the Election Commission before notifying the new rates since the election code of conduct is in place. Different states have different wage rates so the increase in wages will also be different. The wages may remain flat in some states, while the increase could be up to 5 per cent over and above the current wage in others, they added.

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LOKPAL MEMBERS TO TAKE OATH OF OFFICE ON WEDNESDAY

All eight newly appointed members of anti-corruption ombudsman Lokpal will take oath of office on Wednesday, officials said Tuesday. Former Chief Justices of different high courts -- Justices Dilip B Bhosale, Pradip Kumar Mohanty, Abhilasha Kumari -- besides sitting Chief Justice of Chhattisgarh High Court Ajay Kumar Tripathi were appointed as judicial members in the Lokpal. Former first woman chief of Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB) Archana Ramasundaram, ex-Maharashtra chief secretary Dinesh Kumar Jain, former IRS officer Mahender Singh and Gujarat cadre ex-IAS officer Indrajeet Prasad Gautam are the Lokpal's non-judicial members. According to the rules, there is provision for a chairperson and a maximum of eight members in the Lokpal panel. Of these, four need to be judicial members.

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UP, MAHARASHTRA, GUJARAT LEAD IN PM-KISAN ROLLOUT

Among themselves, Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra and Gujarat have uploaded data of an additional 1.19 farmers for the PM-Kisan income support after the Election Commission (EC) allowed the government to extend the benefit to all the farmers details about whom were on the designated website as on March 10. The governments in these three states are therefore in a position to provide the first and second tranches of Rs 2,000 each to these farmers too, apart from some 1.44 crore in these states who have already received the first tranche and can get the second instalment. The Centre had transferred the PM-Kisan sums to about 2.75 crore farmers as of March 10, the day the Model Code of Conduct became effective. According to the EC’s code of conduct, the works on projects could continue by the government agencies without reference to it if specific beneficiaries have been identified, by name, before coming of Model Code into force.

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CONGRESS HAS CONSULTED 'ENOUGH' ECONOMISTS ON INCOME SCHEME: CHIDAMBARAM

P Chidambaram said that the party has consulted enough economists on the minimum income support scheme before announcing it. We have consulted enough experts in the subject and all of them have broadly agreed that India has the capacity to implement a scheme of this kind, Chidambaram said in a press conference today. However, he said that for a country like India, such a scheme can only be rolled out in phases. Dubbed as 'Nyay' scheme, Gandhi said the Congress will provide Rs 72,000 per annum to 20 per cent poorest families in the country. The scheme will benefit 5 crore families and 25 crore individuals directly, he said. The size of our GDP and the scale of governments expenditure allow us to implement the scheme, he said. When fully rolled out, it will cost us about 1.8 per cent of GDP, Chidambaram claimed. It won't exceed 2 per cent of GDP, he added. On the issue of finding out the poorest of the poor, Chidambaram said that there is enough data and talent in the country to identify the bottom five per cent of the country. He said that this is the direct frontal assualt on poverty and is not a new concept in the world. Chidambaram said there are many subsidies that are implemented to achieve a specific social and economic objective and such ones will not be withdrawn. Chidambaram also quipped that the Modi govt is too wise to implement Congress’ scheme. He also took potshot at Modi on farmers’ income and for not giving the promised Rs 15 lakh to each Indian.

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TAX ON SUPER RICH CAN FUND RAHUL GANDHI'S NYAY, SAYS WORLD INEQUALITY LAB

With debate raging on the implementability of the proposed minimum income scheme by Rahul Gandhi, a Paris based organisation has proposed a simple solution to fund the scheme Guaranteeing a minimum income of Rs 72,000 to Indian households would cost Rs. 2.9tn, ie. about 1.3% of GDP in 2020, the World Inequality Lap said in its report. There are several options to finance an increase in social transfers. The best way to do so in order to tackle rising inequality at the top of the distribution is to implement progressive taxes on income and wealth . Under simple assumptions, we find that a 2% tax on total wealth on households owning more than Rs 2.5 crore of wealth (that is the top 0.1% of households), would yield Rs. 2.3 trillion or 1.1% of GDP, it said. This tax, the organisation said, would not concern 99 per cent households in India.

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INDIA CONGRESS PARTY'S INCOME PLAN SHORT ON FUNDING DETAILS

A $52 billion basic income plan promised by India’s main opposition Congress party if it’s voted to power sounds like tonic to the economy, but is short on details on what it means for the nation’s fiscal consolidation path. The plan, which promises income support of as much as 72,000 rupees ($1,046) a year to 50 million families and announced Monday, left economists looking for answers on how this would be rolled out without breaching the budget deficit goal of 3.4 percent of gross domestic product for the fiscal year starting April. Existing subsidy handouts are already putting pressure on the deficit targets. Income support is a hot topic as India prepares for elections starting April, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government already announcing more than $10 billion of cash handouts to about 120 million farmers. In the process, the government widened its fiscal deficit targets for the current financial year and the next. The Congress hasn’t said how it would deal with Modi’s handout to farmers or whether it will trim 9 percent of the budget the government already spends on food, fertilizer, fuel and other subsidies to the poor. The federal government alone runs about 950 central sector and centrally sponsored sub-programs that cost about 5 percent of GDP. The Congress will more likely merge certain subsidies and hand out cash to the people in phases, letting them decide how they want to spend it, said Madan Sabnavis. Everyone is trying to reach out to the electorate, Sabnavis said, adding that the handout will help, given the demand side problem in economy today. Weak domestic demand and a global slowdown is weighing on economic growth, which slowed to 6.6 percent in the quarter to December. A minimum income set at 72,000 rupees annually would cost about 1.3 percent of GDP and benefit the bottom 33 percent of Indian households, representing a substantial improvement in living standards for the poorest segments of society, according to a report by Nitin Bharti and Lucas Chancel of Paris-based World Inequality Lab.

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PLEA IN SC FOR RESTRAINING CANDIDATES FOR CONTESTING POLLS FROM MORE THAN ONE SEAT

The Supreme Court on Wednesday posted after two weeks the hearing a plea seeking its direction to put a restraint on candidates from contesting on more than one seat The direction was given by a three-judge bench headed by Justice SA Bobde and also comprising Justices M Shantanagoudar and S Abdul Nazeer. Lawyer Ashwini Upadhyay in his plea has sought doing away with the provision on the ground that it leads to wastage of public money in getting an election conducted once again for the constituency which is left vacant by the winning candidate.

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EC SEEKS COMMENTS FROM MAKERS OF PM MODI'S BIOPIC

The Election Commission has sought comments from the makers of a biopic on Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the Opposition's demand to postpone its release till the Lok Sabha elections get over. The film is slated for release on April 5. The Delhi chief electoral officer had already issued a notice to the producers in this regard. Since parties had approached the EC, it will also issue a notice, a functionary said. The poll-body would seek their comments on delaying the release.

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LOK SABHA ELECTIONS: BANKERS COLD TO MODI'S 'MAIN BHI CHOWKIDAR' CAMPAIGN

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in a recent tweet, had urged doctors, lawyers, engineers, teachers, IT professionals and bankers to join the Main Bhi Chowkidar campaign. Not everyone has lapped up the idea. The All India Bank Officers’ Confederation (AIBOC), the largest union of public sector bank (PSB) officers, in a letter to the Prime Minister, has said the government should not expect the banking fraternity to join the political campaign of #MainBhiChowkidar unless issues related to merger of banks, salary revision and staff recruitment, among others, are addressed. Without addressing the genuine issues of one million bank officers and employees, along with the entire banking fraternity, for which they are aggrieved against the policies of your government, you cannot expect the participation of the banking fraternity to join your political campaign of #MainBhiChowkidar, the letter said.

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RAHUL GANDHI SAT IN SOMNATH TEMPLE LIKE HE'S OFFERING NAMAZ, CLAIMS YOGI ADITYANATH

Yogi Adityanath claimed that Congress president Rahul Gandhi, during his recent visit to Somnath temple, sat like he was offering namaz (one of the five pillars of Islam). It's the people of Gujarat who exposed Rahul Gandhi. He went to Somnath temple and sat there as if offering namaz. Temple priest had to scold him that this is a temple, sit cross-legged, Adityanath said at a public rally here on Tuesday. Nakal mein bhi akal chahiye, he then quipped (presence of mind is required even to copy). He further claimed that the Congress' new generation visits temples only during elections, in an apparent reference to Rahul and his sister Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, ahead of the latter's visit to Ayodhya. They (Rahul and Priyanka) go to temples only during elections. They do not have time to visit holy sites if elections are not around, the Uttar Pradesh chief minister said.

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EC PULLS UP RAILWAY, AVIATION MINISTRIES OVER USAGE OF PM MODI'S PHOTO ON TICKETS

The Election Commission on Wednesday questioned the Centre why railway tickets and boarding passes carrying photographs of Prime Minister Narendra Modi were not withdrawn. The notice of withdrawal of these tickets and boarding passes comes in the wake of the Model Code of Conduct being in force ahead of the Lok Sabha elections. The Ministry of Railways led by Piyush Goyal and Ministry of Civil Aviation headed by Suresh Prabhu have been asked to submit a reply within a span of three days On March 15, Congress had approached the EC with a complaint against the BJP, saying it has put up hoardings of Prime Minister Modi at petrol pumps, railways stations and, airports even though the Model Code of Conduct is in force. The Model Code of Conduct is a set of instructions and guidelines to be followed by political quarter and candidates contesting polls for the conduct free and fair elections. It came into force on March 10 after the announcement of election schedule by the EC.

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TATA, GIC, SSG TO PICK UP RS 80-BILLION STAKES IN GMR'S AIRPORT UNIT

A consortium including India’s Tata Group, a unit of Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund GIC and SSG Capital Management will invest Rs 80 billion ($1.2 billion) to buy a stake in GMR Airports Ltd. The deal will pump Rs 10 billion into GMR Airports, a unit of GMR Infrastructure Ltd. and purchase Rs 70 billion of the airport unit’s equity shares from the parent, according to a statement. GMR operates Delhi International Airport Ltd., the country’s biggest airport. The deal values GMR Airports at Rs 180 billion, the company said in a filing. After the purchase, Tata will hold 20 per cent in the airport unit, while GIC will get 15 per cent and SSG will own 10 per cent.

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ROLLOUT OF ONE LAKH DIGITAL VILLAGES TO START IN JUNE

CSC e-Governance Services Ltd, under the Ministry of Electronics and IT, is in the process of preparing a detailed project report (DPR) for setting up 1,00,000 digital villages across the country. The project rollout is expected to start from June onwards. The ambitious programme of setting up these digital villages was announced in this year's Interim Budget and the government is likely to spend Rs 10,000 crore in setting up one lakh digital villages across the country in the next five years. The DPR will be completed by April-end and allocation through various ministries will happen only after the Lok Sabha elections as multiple agencies and government bodies will be involved in this project, a senior official from the ministry told. The plan is to set up 25,000 digital villages through Common Service Centers (owned by CSC e-Governance Services) every year and funds will be allocated accordingly on an annual basis, the official said. The first three months (April to June) will be planning phase, wherein anyways CSC doesn't need funds, CSC e-Governance Services CEO Dinesh Tyagi said, adding that CSCs have already set up 700 digital villages or digi gaons as they are called. An investment of about Rs 10 lakh is required for turning one village into a digital one, according to estimates. Every CSC center at the digital village will have 5-10 computers for providing online services to citizens, apart from various digital course offerings. Apart from this, small units for LED assembly, manufacturing of sanitary pads and photography lab will be set up, which will generate employment as well. A village-level entrepreneur (VLE) operates and manages the CSC unit and is paid based on a transaction model. VLE needs to invest in setting up the infrastructure. Out of 3.5 lakh CSCs operating in across India, about 2.20 lakh are in the rural areas. CSCs are also readying 15 lakh enumerators for the 7th Economic Census to be conducted this year. The Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI) has roped in CSC e-Governance Services India for conducting the economic census, which is conducted across households to match the population census.

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CCI APPROVES TIRUMALA MILK PRODUCTS' ACQUISITION OF SUNFRESH AGRO INDUSTRIES, PRABHAT'S DAIRY BIZ

The Competition Commission of India (CCI) Tuesday said it has given nod to Tirumala Milk Products to acquire Prabhat Dairy's subsidiary Sunfresh Agro Industries as well as the company's dairy business. In a tweet, the fair trade regulator said CCI approves acquisition by Tirumala Milk Products Pvt. Ltd of (a) Prabhat Dairy Limited's subsidiary Sunfresh Agro Industries Private Limited; and (b) dairy business of Prabhat Dairy. In a separate tweet, the CCI also said it approves acquisition by Varun Beverages of 9 manufacturing plants and franchise rights for 7 states and 5 unions territories as a going concern on a slump-sale basis from PepsiCo.

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CHOICE OF TV CHANNELS TO COST YOU 13-23% MORE: ICRA

The framework for pricing of TV channels that aims to give subscribers the right to choose what they watch and pay for, is turning out to be a liability that could force most subscribers to cough up 13-23 per cent more than what they've been paying for their favourite channels, a new study by ICRA said. According to Ms. Sakshi Suneja, Any subscriber who wishes to view two or more of popular general entertainment channels (GEC) and sports channels is likely to either witness an increase in the monthly bill by 13-23% or a substantial reduction in the number of pay channels to be viewed. While earlier, a monthly budget of Rs. 230-240 could give the subscriber access to 250-300 channels, the same budget will now fetch only three GECs and one sports channel, in addition to FTA channels. Subscribers, can however, lower their monthly bills by up to 15%, if they opt for only sports, news and movie channels, a choice which was not available in the previous tariff regime. This would eventually lead to better selection of channels and focus on content quality. After more than 18 months of regulatory tussle, in October 2018, the Hon’ble Supreme Court cleared the way for the implementation of the Telecommunication (Broadcasting and Cable) Services (Eight) (Addressable Systems) Tariff Order, 2017 - a new framework for the pricing of television (TV) channels. The Tariff Order aims at giving the subscribers their right to choose, by mandating the broadcasters to declare the nature of channels as free-to-air (FTA) or pay channel as well as declare a-la-carte pricing of all channels. ICRA expects channel bouquets to dominate the subscription patterns given their continued attractiveness and discounted pricing (by 40-50%) vis-a-vis a-la-carte channel prices. Multi-TV connections are likely to go down as monthly bills for these connections have gone up. The increase in cable/direct-to-home (DTH) bills for some subscribers is expected to result in an increase in consumption of over-the-top (OTT) services, especially in Tier-I and II cities. Notwithstanding this, television (TV) is expected to remain the primary screen for majority of the subscribers, with OTT platforms becoming increasingly supplemental to TV viewing. Given the channel pricing of popular channels, large broadcasters, who enjoy high ratings for their channels are expected to benefit and shall continue to push their non-popular channels to the subscribers by way of discounted channel bouquets. Nonetheless, as the structure of broadcasting industry has now changed to business-to consumer (B2C) from business-to-business (B2B) earlier, non-popular channels of lesser-known broadcasters are expected to be at a disadvantage in the current regime. This could result in many channels shutting down, thereby leading to consolidation in the industry. In such a scenario, the quality of service becomes paramount from the point of view of the subscriber and hence a key differentiator among the DPOs. ICRA also expects the DPOs to provide bundled services, including broadband and DTH/cable (as is the case in the West) over the medium term, with a view to offer greater value for money to the subscribers and improve average revenue per user (ARPU), especially in the backdrop of increasing consumer preferences towards OTT platforms.

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BARC TO OFFER INTEGRATED HOME AND OOH TV TRACKING PRODUCT

Television rating agency Broadcast Audience Research Council India on Monday said it will be launching an integrated TV and Out of Home (OOH) TV service. It will be integrating TV and OOH TV viewership in its BARC India Media Workstation software. The service will allow broadcasters and advertisers uncover more value and insights into the TV viewing behaviours both inside and outside the home. The data will be available in the planning module for agencies to plan effectively and account for this audience, it said. BARC India CEO Partho Dasgupta said that the new OOH offering will unlock great value for the entire broadcast ecosystem with big ticket events such as Cricket World Cup and IPL.

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FSSAI TO CLAMP DOWN ON ARTIFICIAL RIPENING OF FRUITS USING BANNED SUBSTANCES

The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has directed food safety commissioners in all States and UTs to undertake effective surveillance and enforcement activities to prevent the use of banned substances - calcium carbide or acetylene gas -- for artificial ripening of fruits. The regulator said that artificial ripening of fruits using prohibited substances poses a serious threat to the health of consumers. Keeping in mind the rampant use of banned calcium carbide and non-availability of alternative ripening agent, FSSAI had instead permitted the use of ethylene gas for ripening of fruits in 2016. Despite prohibition on sale of artificially ripened fruits by using calcium carbide, the prevalence of such ripened fruits in the market is a serious cause for concern and needs to be tackled effectively, the food safety regulator said in an order. They are also advised to do similar exercise for vegetables to check the level of pesticides, it added. It has also asked commissioners to conduct awareness programmes at Mandi level targeted at vendors and food business operators. It also recommended use of electronic and print media to educate consumers and food businesses regarding this issue.

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WITH UJJWALA, MORE LPG ACCESS BUT LIMITED USAGE

In 2016, the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation estimated that nearly 800,000 Indians lost their lives prematurely because of hazardous fuels such as wood and coal used in cooking. For more than 40 years, the Indian government’s main response has been to encourage the use of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), a healthier but more expensive fuel, through a significant subsidy. To this subsidy, in 2016, the Bharatiya Janata Party-led NDA added a new initiative—the Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana (PMUY), which provides a free LPG connection to poor households. In terms of scale, PMUY is only a small proportion of the overall LPG subsidy. Last year’s budget (2017-18) set aside ₹2,252 crore for PMUY—around 14% of the overall LPG subsidy. But PMUY’s innovation lies in its scope and ambition. The scheme, often hailed as the flagship policy of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government, targets women who bear the brunt of the damage from hazardous fuels, and promises universal LPG coverage by 2020. The NDA has complemented these efforts with the Pahal scheme, a revamped version of the previous United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government’s direct benefit transfer of LPG (DBTL) to reduce subsidy leakage, and a ‘GiveItUp’ campaign urging the well-off to give up their LPG subsidies. Specifically, PMUY seeks to deliver 80 million new connections and bring clean cooking fuels to India’s homes, especially those in rural areas. At the time of PMUY’s launch, only 44% of Indian households and just 24% of rural households used clean fuels (LPG, electricity or biogas) in their cooking, according to the National Family Health Survey-4. There were also significant disparities in access across the country with households in poorer states more exposed to hazardous cooking fuels. For instance, less than 20% of households in Bihar and Jharkhand used clean fuels, compared to more than 65% of households in Tamil Nadu and Punjab. There are several reasons why these households resort to hazardous fuels but the most important is price. LPG cylinders, even after subsidies, can be prohibitively costly for the poor. In addition, many households may simply be unaware about LPG’s benefits; others may not know where to get a cylinder. PMUY tries to address all these barriers. Poor households, defined using the Socio-Economic Caste Census 2011, are provided free LPG connections (one cylinder per household) to overcome the initial cost barrier. In parallel, the government has expanded the distribution network of LPG dealers and rolled out awareness campaigns exhorting the benefits of LPG usage. In terms of access to LPG, official data suggests that these initiatives have worked. The oil ministry’s Petroleum Planning and Analysis Cell (PPAC) estimates that LPG coverage in India (the proportion of households with an LPG connection) has increased from 56% in 2015 to 90% in 2019. And of the 79 million poor customers with LPG connections, 76% are PMUY beneficiaries. According to these estimates, several states such as Maharashtra and Rajasthan, are already nearing 100% LPG coverage. The distribution network has also expanded significantly with nearly 9,000 new distributors added over the last five years, according to PPAC data. However, these figures can be misleading. In a 2018 Economic and Political Weekly paper, Ashwini Dabadge and others point to the PPAC’s use of population projections to estimate the current number of households as problematic and suggest that 100% coverage could simply mean that LPG is being diverted for other purposes. They also highlight issues in identifying poor households eligible for the scheme and suggest that oil marketing companies have diluted the beneficiary identification process to meet aggressive targets. But even with these caveats, external data reveals PMUY removing barriers and improving poor households’ access to LPG. For instance, in the ACCESS survey of over 9,000 households in rural Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal, Abhishek Jain and others of the Council of Energy, Electricity and Water find 43% of all the new LPG connections in the six states (between 2015 and 2018) came through PMUY. Equity of access has also improved. In the six states, more scheduled caste households (45% in 2018 from 12% in 2015) and more scheduled tribe households (32% from 8%) had access to LPG (charts 3a and 3b). More LPG connections though are only the first step to healthier cooking. To reap LPG’s health benefits, households still need to use LPG as their primary cooking fuel - and that remains an enduring challenge in rural India and for PMUY. The ACCESS survey shows that of the households who use LPG as a primary fuel, only 24% are PMUY beneficiaries. Similarly, an earlier survey from MicroSave, a consultancy, revealed that in Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh, 81% of surveyed PMUY beneficiaries still use solid fuel for cooking a meal a day and only 16% had shifted to LPG completely. The biggest reason for the lack of sustained LPG use is the cost of refills. In the ACCESS survey, almost all (92%) the rural households who do not use LPG as the primary fuel were constrained by the cost of recurring refills. Rural households also have the alternative option of readily available, free biomass which makes LPG less attractive—especially when distributors are distant and there is limited home delivery of cylinders in rural areas.

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ECI CONDUCTS BRIEFING SESSIONS FOR 2ND BATCH OF GENERAL, POLICE AND EXPENDITURE OBSERVERS FOR THE FORTHCOMING ELECTIONS

In continuation of the briefing held for the first batch of General, Police and Expenditure Observers held on 14th March, the Commission conducted day long sessions for over a thousand more officers drawn from IAS, IPS, Indian Revenue Service and few other Central Services. These officers are being deployed as Observers in the forthcoming Elections to the Lok Sabha and Legislative Assemblies of four States. Arora said that while all Observers are essentially the eyes and ears of the Commission, Senior Expenditure Observers are assuming an enormous role given the quantum of money power vitiating the election process. He added that the Commission has already appointed two Special Expenditure Observers for the States of Tamil Nadu, Gujarat, Maharashtra and Karnataka. To further identify the role of illegitimate resources in the elections, the Commission is considering appointing few more Special Expenditure Observers in more Expenditure Sensitive States. Shri Arora reminded the Observers of their enormous responsibility to ensure fair, ethical and transparent election process in the field. He asked them to be vigilant, impartial and accessible to all stakeholders to reinforce the faith in the minds of the citizen towards the electoral process. While elucidating the myriad responsibilities of Observers, the CEC mentioned that Electoral Rolls are the bed rock of election process and Observers need to ensure the integrity of the Electoral Rolls. Reminding the Observers of their crucial role , Shri Arora said that The Commission reposes complete trust in the senior officers being deputed to the field and would like the Observers & CEOs to be the first and last point of contact. However, he also cautioned them that even a trace of proven malafide or partisanship, would lead to ruthless action from the Commission. He further added that, keeping pace with the changing times, the Commission has been proactive in making the electoral process participative by involving & empowering citizens particularly through cVigil App. He said that the cVigil App initiative which started as a pilot project in the Karnataka State elections and then implemented in the five State elections held last year, has now been extended pan India for the ongoing General Elections. Ashok Lavasa, Election Commissioner in his address stated that the Observers have been a critical part of the election process and machinery. He advised Observers to be alert, accessible and responsive and effective in the field to ensure fairness and transparency of the election process. He urged the Observers to be familiar with all the instructions & guidelines to ensure clarity in execution in the field. He said the senior Observers need to play dual roles of monitoring and mentoring. Lavasa stressed that only the seizure figures may not be taken as a measure of the efficacy of enforcement machinery, but the money trail and actual perpetrators behind the consignment should be investigated. Sushil Chandra noted that Observers play an important role for the Election Commission for robust monitoring of the complete process in the field. He asked the Observers to ensure better co-ordination amongst all the Stakeholders in the field. Elaborating the diverse challenges for the Observers in the current scenario, he urged them to be vigilant and accessible. He mentioned that developing real time intelligence and monitoring of accounts of the candidates would be crucial to downplay the role of illegitimate resources adversely influencing the election process. Comprehensive Expenditure Monitoring Handbook, Observers Manual and National Election Planner were provided to the Observers to facilitate their work.

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UP ENERGY WATCHDOG RESERVES ORDER ON POWER PLANT SALE TO TATA POWER ENTITY

The Uttar Pradesh energy watchdog - UP Energy Regulatory Commission (UPERC), has reserved the order on the sale of a stressed thermal power plant in Prayagraj (Allahabad) owned by the Jaypee Group to a Tata Power-controlled entity. Prayagraj Power Generation Company Limited (PPGCL), a unit of Jaiprakash Associates, operates the stressed 1,980 megawatt (Mw) power plant. It had signed a 25 year power purchase agreement (PPA) with UP power distribution companies (discoms) in 2008 and executed a fuel supply agreement in August 2013 with Northern Coalfields for supplying about 7 million tonnes per annum (MTPA) of coal. The project was commissioned about three years behind schedule due to several delays pertaining to land acquisition, slow equity infusion, foreign exchange fluctuations, rate of interest, cost of equipment etc leading to time and cost overruns. In November 2018, Tata Power had announced that Renascent Power Ventures, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Resurgent Power Ventures, had signed a share purchase agreement with a consortium of lenders led by State Bank of India (SBI) to acquire more than 75 per cent stake in the PPGCL. Resurgent Power Ventures is backed by Tata Power and ICICI Bank. The share purchase agreement was the result of the stressed asset resolution initiated by lenders through competitive bidding. UPERC concluded the final hearing with regards to the transfer of project ownership in the presence of representatives of all stakeholders.

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HIGH COURT ALLOWS VEDANTA TO TAKE PART IN NALCO'S ALUMINA SALE TENDER

In a major relief to the raw material starved aluminium unit of Vedanta at Jharsuguda, the Odisha High Court has allowed it to participate in the tender floated by public sector National Aluminium Company (Nalco) for sale of surplus alumina. The verdict has raised the hopes of Vedanta to procure a sizeable part of its alumina requirement for its 1.25 million tonne aluminium plant having SEZ status from within Odisha, thereby improving the plant’s capacity utilisation and also bringing down the cost of production. Procurement of alumina from Nalco is expected to result in a saving of 20 dollars per tonne towards the logistics cost. Vedanta had gone to the court after being repeatedly denied the scope to participate in the tender for sale of alumina by Nalco, the biggest producer of the commodity in the country, on the ground that the sale is restricted to only overseas companies as per a policy of 2005. Following the hearing on the matter, the High Court bench observed, We declare that the petitioner No.1 (Vedanta) should be considered eligible to participate with all prevailing conditions of tender

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FMCG CRACKS THE PATANJALI CODE, NATURALLY

Patanjali Ayurved disrupted the Indian fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) sector with nature-based products in various categories to challenge the dominance of companies such as Hindustan Unilever (HUL) in the past three-four years. That has forced rivals, especially the multinationals, to retool their portfolios to introduce matching products at similar price points to try and regain their market ranking, analysts said. This seems to be paying off, they said. The homegrown upstart has been most successful in staples such as ghee, flour, ayurvedic health supplements, toothpaste, edible oil and condiments but less so in noodles, biscuits, personal care, chocolates and juices. Its rapid growth posed a threat to mainstream FMCG companies by renewing the natural/herbal/ayurvedic theme and compelling FMCG companies to tweak their range. For instance, HUL’s personal care products faced headwinds, prompting the company to relaunch its Ayush brand and acquire ayurvedic hair oil brand Indulekha. Having sustained similar damage in the oral care segment, Colgate-Palmolive launched its own herbal toothpaste. The Patanjali effect on Colgate-Palmolive is waning, possibly due to distribution and supply chain issues apart from the fading novelty of its products, according to JPMorgan’s report this month on the FMCG sector by Latika Chopra and Sushruta Mishra. While hurting FMCG companies in the short term, Patanjali predominantly gained market share in commoditised categories made up of unorganised players. Competitive intensity has faded in the organised end since Patanjali’s products no longer have the unique selling proposition (USP) of being natural with other brands having entered the market at similar or lower price points, experts said. The threat has receded but it is more of a case of Patanjali having lost the plot, said Milind Sarwate. They tried too many things. They have not looked at their growing in scale at the back end. They succeeded in demand creation but not in demand fulfilment. They fell short of the institutional strength to sustain the rising volume. Their threat is definitely lower because they had internal issues — supply not being on time, trade not happy with them.

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INDIANS LOOK READY TO SHELL OUT MORE FOR SMARTPHONES

The average sale price (ASP) of smartphones in India — crucial to revenue and profitability of mobile phone makers — is expected to rise by over 18% by this year-end to reach $190-$210 (Rs 13,000- Rs 15,000) range, amid increasing affordability and higher demand for mid-segment devices which increasingly have premium features, analysts said. Tarun Pathak, said there’s likely to be higher demand for the mid- to premium-segment smartphones — priced above $400 (Rs 28,000) — in 2019, which will push up ASP to about $190, up 18% on year. The market will also see rising demand from users who are now buying their second or third smartphones. Additionally, the cashback and trade-in offers for above $200 (Rs 14,000) segment smartphones will drive users to upgrade, said Pathak. Even as big handset players like Samsung are trying to intensify competition in the Rs 9,000 to Rs 15,000 segment; majority of other players will attempt their maximum launches in the price-range of Rs 25,000 and above, said Faisal Kawoosa, founder and chief analyst at TechArc. He expects ASPs to touch Rs 15,000 by end of this year. According to TechArc, the overall market growth in mid (Rs 10,000- Rs 25000), premium and luxe (above Rs 50,000) categories is expected to be at 11.6%, 4.6% and 2.2%, respectively, this year. The three segments together constitute 80% of the smartphone sales in India, and are expected to take the ASP higher. As per previous reports from International Data Corporation (IDC) India and Counterpoint Research, 2016 recorded the firstever ASP increase after years of decline, where it rose a mild 2-3% to about $122 and $135, respectively. In 2017, ASPs rose between 16% and 19%, to $144 and $157, respectively, compared with 2016. ASP in the past two years has increased owing to more consumer demand in the $100-$200 segment and $300-$500 segment, said Upasana Joshi. A factor which could weigh on overall ASPs is India’s smartphone market leader — Xiaomi — deepening its presence in the sub-$100 category with Redmi Go (available at Rs 4,499), said JP Morgan in a report, when Xiaomi was speculated to be launching the device in the country. 

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CS Meetesh Shiroya