GENERAL UPDATES 18.04.2019

P2P FIRMS SEEK RBI RELAXATION ON LENDING LIMIT

A little more than a year after the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) came out with guidelines for peer-to-peer (P2P) lending companies to convert into non-banking finance companies (NBFCs), micro and small enterprises (SME) lending has turned out to be the focus area for these companies. However, the current regulation does not allow a single lender to lend more than Rs 10 lakh across P2P platforms at a time. This is hampering growth prospects, say P2P players. The association of P2P lenders has sought relaxation in the norm, and requested the RBI to raise the limit to Rs one crore, according to sources in the industry. At present, borrowing from the P2P platform by a single entity is also limited to Rs 10 lakh. Most micro and small enterprises have loan requirement between Rs 5-25 lakh. SME lending is an area which we are looking to grow. However, the limit of Rs 10 lakh is a dampener. The present regulations are suitable for the initial phases of growth in the sector. However, if the industry wants to grow, the limit needs to be relooked, according to Abhishek Gandhi. In order to meet business loan requirements of single borrower, often a clutch of lenders come together to provide the lending.

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ADVOCATE LOSES RIGHT TO PRACTICE WHEN HE ENTERS INTO FULL TIME SALARIED EMPLOYMENT: ALLAHABAD HC

The Allahabad High Court has observed that a person enrolled as an advocate ceases to be one as soon as he/she takes a full time salaried employment even if he/she continues to occasionally appear in Court for his/her employer. The Division bench comprising of Justice Pankaj Mithal and Justice Saumitra Dayal Singh observed that occasional appearance of Full Time Salaried employees in Courts/ Tribunals on behalf of their employer can not be taken to mean that they are continuing to be in practice as advocates. Two candidates for the Uttar Pradesh Higher Judicial Service Examination-2018 had approached the High Court challenging rejection of their candidature on the ground that they are in full time employment as Law Officers in Banks. The relevant rules for selection provided that a candidate is eligible for the post of District Judge only if he has been for not less than seven years an advocate or a pleader. Their contention was that the guidelines/circulars of the Reserve Bank of India permit the Law Officers of the Bank to participate in legal proceedings before the courts, and thus they never ceased to practice law before the courts despite full time employment with the Bank.

FULL TIME EMPLOYEE CAN'T BE AN ADVOCATE

While considering their plea, the court noted Rule 49 of the Bar Council of India Rules and observed that it completely prohibits an advocate from taking any full time employment during his continuance of practice and provides that if he so takes up employment, he shall inform the Bar Council whereupon he shall cease to be in practice as an advocate so long his employment continues. Therefore, as soon as an advocate enrolled with the Bar Council takes up full time salaried employment he ceases to practice as an advocate, it said. The court added: Rule 49 of the Bar Council of India Rules clearly stipulates that an advocate who accepts a full time salaried employment ceases to practice as an advocate so long as he continues in such employment. In other words, as soon as an advocate enters into full time salaried employment, he loses the right to practice even though he may represent the employer before the law courts. Rule 49 of the Bar Council of India Rules creates a legal fiction to the effect that a person duly enrolled as an advocate ceases to be one as soon as he takes a full time employment on salary even if continues to occasionally appear in law Court. In this case, the court said that the period of full time employment as Law Officer with the Bank despite his appearance before the court as part of the service condition would not make him a practicing advocate for the purpose of selection/appointment as District Judge. The bench also distinguished the petitioner's case with the Supreme Court judgment in Deepak Aggarwal Vs. Keshav Kaushik and said: Mere occasional appearance of such employees in Courts/ tribunals while in full time employment in few cases that too solely on behalf of their employer cannot be taken to mean that they are continuing to be in practice as advocates. It is but natural that in such employment their main job is not that of pleading and arguing cases before the law courts on behalf of a variety of persons as is expected of an advocate. The nature of their duties is mostly of advising, conveyance etc., which may not allow them enough time for regular appearance before the law courts thus depriving them of experience of a lawyer. Any effort to treat persons in such employment as practicing advocates would be de hors of Rule 49 of the Bar Council of India Rules. An advocate is a person who assists, defends, pleads, or prosecute for another. At times he may represent the State or the public at large in matters of public concern such as in criminal cases and for this limited purpose is a public advocate. The public prosecutor or the district attorney as such by the nature of his work is a public advocate. He as such despite his full time engagement with the State does not cease to be advocate. This is an exception to Rule 49 of the Bar Council of India Rules. Advocate As Important As A Judge While dismissing the writ petition the bench emphasized the need to have sufficient experience as Advocate to become a judge. It said: An advocate is a responsible officer of the Court. He is as important as a Judge in the matter of dispensation of justice. He is virtually a minister of justice equally in line with a Judge. He acquires the skills of advocacy by experience and it is often said that at times experience is much more important than knowledge. It is more true in the profession of law wherein devotion to higher cause, the cause of truth and justice is more vital. One gains knowledge through experience by regular practice which can not be acquired otherwise while in employment or by appearance in some stray cases. It is therefore elementary for holding the post of DJ/UPHJS to have atleast 7 years of actual standing as an advocate and not the theoretic knowledge of law as in full time employment.

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ICAI GOES DIGITAL, WON’T ACCEPT CHEQUES/ DDS BEYOND 6TH MAY

As part of converting to the digital platform and to go user-friendly the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India will not accept payment in cash or any other physical form beyond 4th May 2019. The ICAI has been continuously evolving ways to automate and re-engineer processes in order to make transactions easier and user-friendly. One such step has been the creation of SSP (Self Service Portal), an initiative from ICAI to make applications (Forms) and transactions (Services) – faster and easier. The full-scale Student and Member / Firm Services by ICAI will be put to implementation starting the third week of May 2019, the ICAI said in a statement. ICAI has scheduled a one-time migration activity from the old system to a new system from 6th May 2019. The entire IT Systems (including e-services) with respect to Members and Student Services will not be available between 6th May to 22nd May 2019 and the Regional Offices will not be able to process any form or any other transaction. However, the membership renewal link will be available and Members will be able to make fee payments through online mode. However New Students of Foundation Course and Direct Entry will also be able to register, it said. Very Important: As entire ICAI is moving towards new Digital platform, PHYSICAL DAK including CHEQUES / DD’s will not be accepted by Regional Offices and Branches beyond 6th May 2019, it emphasized. it said that with effective from 22nd May 2019 (Wednesday), ICAI will accept only Online Application forms only through e-services at the link https://www.icai.org/new_post.html?post_id=5509 on the website www.icai.org.

Important: Members are requested to update and validate their e-mail address and mobile number (one-time activity) before 6th May 2019 to ensure access to the new system, as all transactions henceforth in the new system will be OTP based transactions, the announcement said. Currently, the ICAI is receiving cheques and DDs from students and members for various services such as renewal of membership and exam applications. From now, onwards, the payments would be accepted only through the digital platform.

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JUSTDIAL DATA LEAK EXPOSED PERSONAL DETAILS OF 100 MILLION USERS: IT EXPERT

Justdial, a company that provides local search for different services in India over voice calls and internet, suffered a data breach last week that compromised the personal details of 100 million users according to independent cyber-security researcher Rajshekhar Rajaharia. Rajaharia saying that the company has not been able to fix the breach. He told that the breach did not affect a newer, revamped version of the website. In a Facebook post, the cybersecurity expert claimed that the attack put at risk data of users who called JustDial's customer care number '88888 88888'.

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PROTECTIONISM DOESN’T REALLY HELP PRESERVE JOBS: RAJAN

Protectionism does not really help preserve jobs and offers little defence against the job-destroying effects of automation and Artificial Intelligence, former Reserve Bank of India Governor Raghuram Rajan has said, asserting that industrial and developing nations cannot afford to ignore the democratic reaction from those left behind by globalisation and technological change. Rajan said the open liberal democratic market system that brought the world enormous prosperity in the six decades or so after the second World War is now under attack. Interestingly the critics are not the usual radical academics or leftist leaders, instead they come from some of the most prosperous nations in the world. These are nations that have benefited tremendously from the open world order, he said. Rajan, said, We know that protectionism does not really help preserve jobs In this competitive world, jobs gained by a country in the protected sector are often lost in other sectors that are now rendered uncompetitive because they pay higher prices for inputs. He added that protectionism offers little defence against the job destroying effects of automation and Artificial Intelligence, which often are the larger source of job losses. The only guarantee against redundancy is to help the workforce stay ahead through constant retraining. As populations age in industrial countries, more of them will become reliant on foreign demand from younger countries outside, especially developing countries and emerging markets to boost growth, he said. Is it wise to block imports today from the very countries you will have to export to in the future? Probably not, he said. Rajan said that while nations recognise the cost of protectionism, it is true that we cannot afford to ignore the democratic reaction from those left behind by globalisation and technological change. This should be true both of industrial countries and developing countries. We have to pay more attention to those left behind. He added that if concerns of these people are to be addressed while preserving an open world, we should start by recognising that the globalisation of trade and investment flows has disempowered people and their communities. Rajan told the audience at the forum that there is a need to preserve a world open to trade and investment but we need to keep democratic support in order to do it. I would argue that we must follow the principle of subsidiarity much more strictly going forward. Decisions should be taken at the lowest level consistent with effective governance. These decisions must be taken with an idea of cooperation, they must be taken responsibly given the spillovers both to the country as well as to the rest of the world, he said. Given the very different impact of globalisation across countries and within countries, Rajan said we must create more room for countries to choose their unique way of coping and countries themselves will have to further decentralise power so that differentially affected communities can chalk out their own paths. This is as much a developed country problem as a developing country problem. To conclude, globalisation of markets may paradoxically require far more localisation of governance. Rajan stressed that emerging markets and developing countries will have to take much more responsibility in the fight to keep the world open To have a chance of succeeding though, the disparate effects of globalisation and technological change both within and across countries would have to be managed much better, he said. He further said there may be even need to contain some aspects of globalisation in order to preserve an open world. For many decades, we in the developing world were told that we should join the global trading system and be open to foreign direct investment. While we recognise this would affect some of our people adversely, we were pressed to see this as an inevitable cost of development. Perhaps, because democracy was still nascent in our countries, we implemented this advice overriding domestic opposition wherever it emerged, he said. While global trade and investment and global competition more generally has enhanced prosperity in many countries, the rising tide has not lifted everyone. Studies show that in trade-affected districts in India, incidents of poverty were relatively higher as was violent crime and property crimes. Rajan stressed that the reality is that trade while typically beneficial overall, has a distributional impact creating winners and losers. This implies we have to work harder whether in developing countries or industrial countries, to help the affected adjust. It is not, however, a license for protectionism. Unfortunately, that is indeed what we see arising in parts of the industrial world, he said.

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ASCI UPHOLDS COMPLAINTS AGAINST 145 ADVERTISEMENTS OUT OF 180

In the month of February, 2019, Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI) investigated complaints against 243 advertisements of which the advertisers ensured corrective action for 63 advertisements once they received complaints from ASCI. The Consumer Complaints Council (CCC) of ASCI upheld complaints against 145 advertisements out of 180 advertisements evaluated by them. Of these 145 advertisements, 83 belonged to the healthcare sector, 33 to the education sector, ten to the food & beverages sector, one to personal care and 18 were from the ‘others’ category. Majority of the flagged ads were upheld for ‘exaggeration of product efficacy and exploiting consumers’ lack of knowledge’. This was followed by violation of the Drugs and Magic Remedies Act (DMR Act). A large number of these advertisements were digital i.e. advertisers’ own websites carrying the objectionable claims and visuals. A couple of brands were making improper use of the FSSAI logo implying that the product has been tested / approved / endorsed by FSSAI. This was also in violation of the FSSAI advisory against such use which is not in the prescribed format.

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RBI INFLATION GOALS NEED TO BE REVIEWED: PM'S ADVISER

India’s new government should review the central bank’s inflation goals, including whether consumer prices or the underlying core measure is the appropriate target to use to determine interest rates, an economic adviser to the current prime minister said. Rathin Roy said the Reserve Bank of India’s inflation target should be relooked at after the elections, given that the current mandate expires at the end of March 2021. The RBI’s goal is to keep inflation at 4 percent over the medium term. We need to decide what sort of macroeconomic framework we want going forward, said Roy, who is director of the National Institute of Public Finance and Policy in New Delhi. Those discussions and decisions will take time and a new administration should therefore start immediately to get the process going, he said. The RBI has in the past faced criticism for largely overstating inflation, forecasts that were then used to underpin the monetary policy committee’s hawkish policy stance and two interest-rate hikes in 2018. Authorities will need to decide whether the inflation target band of 2 percent to 6 percent is too wide, Roy said. The current targeting regime -- a rather uniquely broad range of 400 basis points within which the RBI has sanction to operate -- should become a little more disciplined, he said. A decision should also be made on what interest rate is required to keep inflation in the middle of the band.

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JET AIRWAYS LANDS WITH A THUD AS LENDERS DECLINE INTERIM FUNDING

Twenty-five years after its first flight took off, Jet Airways on Wednesday said it has temporarily cancelled all domestic and international flights with immediate effect due to lack of funds to keep it afloat. The airline had issued a plea to the banks to release ₹400 crore in interim funds but the lenders declined. Jet Airways was informed by State Bank of India, on behalf of the consortium of Indian lenders, that they are unable to consider its request for critical interim funding. Since no emergency funding is forthcoming, the airline will not be able to pay for fuel or other critical services to keep the operations going, said a statement from Jet Airways. Consequently, with immediate effect, Jet Airways is compelled to cancel all its international and domestic flights The last flight will operate today (Wednesday), it added. Jet was operating just five planes on Wednesday. The development leaves thousands of Jet employees stranded, as they have not been paid salaries for the past few months.

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JET AIRWAYS CRISIS: BANKS STARE AT RS 1,000-CRORE URGENT PROVISIONING

With Jet Airways suspending operations, lenders are looking at an immediate provisioning of about Rs 1,000 crore as the account is likely to be categorised as a non-performing asset (NPA). This comes despite the State Bank of India-led consortium of lenders continuing efforts to find a new buyer for the private airline. However, all the lenders are not on the same page but some of them believe that extending any finance to the beleaguered airline is akin to throwing good money for a bad investment, and opening prospects for a probe in future over the credit decision. We can’t be wasting our money in a case which has already gone bad, said a senior executive of large public sector bank (PSB). The fact of the matter is that the daily cash burn in running the airline was not sustainable looking at the current environment where all the connected parties — customers, lessors and oil marketing companies — were losing faith in the airline, a top public sector bank executive, aware of the process, said, adding, Rather than incurring further losses by infusing temporary cash, it was thought to put the airline to a halt and await response from prospective bidders.

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REGULATOR AGAINST DIVERSION OF FLIGHTS TO FILL JET AIRWAYS' TRUNK SLOTS

Air travellers are unlikely to get any relief on fares as the regulator has rejected proposals by carriers to take up trunk routes that Jet Airways — which has just six planes in the air — was forced to abandon. Regulatory officials said this was because carriers were pulling planes out of less lucrative sectors to use up the Jet Airways slots. The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has informed the airlines that they cannot launch flights unless they augment their fleets The airlines, however, argue that this is beyond the scope of the regulator’s authority, according to people with knowledge of the matter. It also appears to contradict the government’s move to get other carriers to fill up cancelled slots and keep fares in check, they said. The carriers were seeking to launch flights on trunk routes such as Delhi-Mumbai and Mumbai-Bengaluru. To be sure, new plane deliveries will help bolster fleets and possibly fill up slots to some extent. The order means that some airlines that had announced and launched flights from Mumbai, Bengaluru, Kolkata and other destinations will have to cancel them unless the regulator reconsiders its decision. That will mean ticket prices, already high because of the cancellations, are unlikely to moderate with the peak summer travel season coming up. Jet Airways is estimated to have close to 400 unused departure slots across the country, including about 80 at Delhi and Mumbai, the two busiest airports in the country. The cancellation of flights by Jet Airways led to drop of over 1 million seats between January and February causing turmoil and leading to a spike in fares.

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DGCA NOTICE TO INDIGO COO OVER P&W ENGINE, CONDUCTS SAFETY AUDIT

Aviation regulator DGCA has issued a show-cause notice to budget carrier IndiGo's chief operating officer and engineering head over the Pratt & Whitney engines issues, sources close to the development said. The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) is also conducting a special safety audit of the airline's operations and engineering, they said. Indian carriers IndiGo and GoAir, which have Pratt & Whitney-powered Airbus A320 neo planes, have been facing problems with these engines, manufactured by the US firm, since their induction in the fleet three years ago. B S Bhullar said the DGCA carries out detailed audit of all airlines at least once a year. He did comment on the show-cause notice.

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DGCA ASKS AIRLINES TO REIN IN FARES AS JET CRISIS TAKES A TOLL

With Jet Airways staring at shutdown due to financial problems air fares in the country are rising due to reduced capacity in the aviation sector. P S Kharola said: DGCA is monitoring fares on 40 sectors. Ten sectors have witnessed 10-30% hike in fares. The regulator has asked airlines to stabilise fares on a priority. He added that at least 10 more aircraft will be inducted by other airlines in a month. Many airlines are in talks with lessors of Jet’s repossessed planes. Almost 90% of Jet slots are unused at the moment and they are being allotted to others temporarily, top aviation bureaucrat said. A senior official said airlines were advised to keep fares low as far as possible. Airlines have told us they have removed the few higher (fare levels) from sale and offering tickets to passengers in lower fare buckets. SpiceJet and IndiGo are adding aircraft and introducing new flights.

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KARNATAKA EDUCATION DEPARTMENT PUTS AADHAAR DETAILS OF 5,000 SCHOLARS ONLINE

In a major data leak, the state education department put out on its website the Aadhaar numbers of 5,375 meritorious students who bagged the National Means-cum-Merit Scholarship (NMMS) in March 2019. The Department of State Education Research and Training (DSERT), a wing of the education department, also put out the mobile numbers and caste details of all students from the state chosen for the central government scholarship. It provides Rs 12,000 annually for five years to class 8 students from aided and government schools who qualify for the NMMS entrance exam. Sources in the education department told that Aadhaar details of the students are linked to the Student Achievement Tracking System and hence the data showed up on one PDF page. A scholarship fund of Rs 1,000 goes every month to the bank account of deserving students. We had no clue that these crucial data would be out in public, rued teachers, who prepared students for the exam. Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) officials in the regional office in Bengaluru, the authorities first said a communication would be sent to the education department to remove the data.

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MODI’S MINISTER SAYS NEED TO DO MORE ON JOBS, BUT THE REAL CRISIS IS DATA

Amid raging debate on unemployment and India’s economic growth figures, Hardeep Singh Puri, sought to draw attention to the absence of credible data on the same, while admitting that more needs to be done to create jobs Hardeep Singh Puri said that while there may be an employment crisis, there is definitely a data crisis We may have an employment crisis. I am the first to say that we need to do more. But one thing we definitely have is a data crisis. The ability, the instrument to measure growth that is taking place is not there, Hardeep Singh Puri said. The leaked NSSO report was based on zero urbanisation, Puri said. With thousands of people coming to cities every day, creating informal settlements and slums, the notion of ‘zero urbanisation’ is questionable, he added. He instead pointed out towards a study by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) according to which 13-15 million jobs have been created in the Indian economy over the last five years. If that is correct, and I have no reason (to believe) that it is wrong, then that other report is a false narrative. In any case, my submission is that we need to improve the data that we have, because any manipulation in terms of narrative is ultimately based on data or the lack of it, Puri said. India is going to be home to the world’s largest workforce by 2017, Puri said. Therefore, there is a need for providing proper education and skill to them or else there would arise enormous problems in the country. I am very worried about the way, the direction the education system is taking, because I think there are some things holding us back. And what is holding us back is the reluctance to reform, which is coming not from the students. I think it’s a reluctance coming from those who are in charge of drafting the curriculae and setting courses, he added.

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BSNL STARTS WORK ON 5G

Even as the State-owned telco BSNL is awaiting approval to get 4G spectrum from the government, it has begun work on making itself 5G-ready Anupam Shrivastava said this fiscal, the focus would be on deploying new technologies with an aim to tap the nearly 50% of the population that is still untouched by mobile phones. The PSU, which has a debt of about ₹16,000 crore, is likely to get 4G spectrum this year as part of a revival package being worked out by the Department of Telecommunications. He said that BSNL would be able to roll out 4G within 10 days of getting the spectrum. All equipment is ready, most BTS’ are 4G-complaint. We only need a software update to get going. The company is currently offering 4G on 3G spectrum in most telecom circles.

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SAFETY, PUNCTUALITY, INFRA UPGRADE FOR INDIAN RAILWAYS! PIYUSH GOYAL DISCUSSES TARGETS FOR FY 2019-20

Piyush Goyal held a video conference recently with officials from all zones across the Indian Railways network. The video conference was conducted to discuss the targets for the financial year 2019-20. Also, during the conference, suggestions and innovative ideas were taken by the ministry for bringing a quantum jump in improvement in safety and mobility as well as the overall performance of Indian Railways. According to details shared by the national transporter, the Centre for Railway Information Systems (CRIS) is developing a portal in order to manage monthly achievements, targets, KPIs as well as data analytics. With the help of this portal, the GMs and DRMs will be able to get reports online about monthly and cumulative achievements. Moreover, the Railway Ministry also proposed to hold such video conferences, around 15th of every month in order to discuss the monthly achievements of all railway zones/divisions. In the meeting, several parameters were discussed including safety, punctuality, freight loading and passengers, earnings and expenditure, infrastructure and capacity augmentation, production of locomotives and coaches, periodic overhauling of coaches, wagons, locos, EMU/MEMU/DEMU, maintenance of railway tracks, PSR removal, asset reliability.

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RTI REPLY: STRESS TAKES A HEAVY TOLL ON CHANDIGARH COPS

AS MANY as 204 police personnel of the Chandigarh Police died during service between January 2010 and April 2019. Seventy-five per cent of these men (153 in number) died of heart disease and various stress-related ailments. Depression was also a major killer as 11 of these policemen took their own lives. This information is part of the reply submitted to an RTI query. The stress-related ailments, which claimed these precious lives, included hypertension, asthma, diabetes and depression. Eighteen of these 204 policemen died of heart attack, while 135 died due to stress-related afflictions, states the RTI reply. No information is available about the cause of deaths of 40 police personnel, states the report. A total of 164 police personnel, who lost their lives in service during the last nine years, were constables and head constables, while 40 were assistant sub-inspectors (ASI), sub-inspectors (SI) and inspectors. It states that 381 police personnel were found obese in the last six months. One hundred and twenty policemen were found suffering from hypertension, while 47 were found diabetic and four had heart-related problems during their annual medical examination in the last six months.

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MADRAS HC BAN: AFTER GOOGLE, TIKTOK VANISHES FROM APPLE APP STORES TOO

The Chinese video app TikTok is no longer available in Google and Apple app stores in India after a state court prohibited its downloads a setback for developer Bytedance Technology's efforts to tap users in a key market.;The government sent a letter requesting Apple and Google to abide by the state court's order, according to an IT ministry official. The state court has requested written submissions from Bytedance in the case and has scheduled its next hearing for April 24.

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IPL HITS NEW HIGH ON STAR INDIA'S HOTSTAR WITH RECORD 267 MILLION VIEWERS

Star India’s video streaming platform Hotstar, which has also been home to the Vivo Indian Premier League (IPL) on digital since 2015, registered a viewership of 267 million viewers in the first three weeks of this year’s IPL. As a result, the platform has already surpassed digital viewership of 202 million viewers (for the entire season). Hotstar also set a global live streaming record with a concurrency of 12.7 million viewers during the Royal Challengers Bangalore v/s Mumbai Indians match on March 28. With this, the platform broke its own previous record of 11.2 million concurrent viewers who watched an India v/s New Zealand T20 match. The engagement on cricket on the platform also led Hotstar to reach 300 million active monthly users recently. The IPL’s viewership on TV grew 21 per cent over 2018 in the first two weeks of the current season, while the reach of the tournament for the same period was 345 million.

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APPLE RULED THE PREMIUM SMARTPHONE SEGMENT WITH 51% SHARE IN 2018: REPORT

Apple led the premium smartphone segment globally by capturing more than half of the market (51 per cent) in 2018, a Counterpoint Research report said on Tuesday. The Counterpoint Research report said OnePlus entered the top five brands (with 2 per cent share) in the premium smartphone segment for the first time ever last year. In India, however, Samsung led the segment while OnePlus, Apple, Huawei, Vivo followed the South Korean giant in the said order. OnePlus's performance came on the back of the OnePlus 6T. India, China and Western Europe drove four-fifths of its global shipments. The Chinese smartphone maker recorded its highest ever shipments in a single quarter (the fourth quarter of 2018) in India to lead the premium smartphone segment for three successive quarters and captured 36 per cent market share. According to Counterpoint Research's Market Monitor 2018 report, the segment grew 14 per cent year-on-year (YoY) in terms of sell-in and 18 per cent YoY in terms of sell-through. Of these, the top five players account for almost 90 per cent of shipments Premium segment contributed to one-fourth (22 per cent) of the global smartphone shipments in 2018, the market research firm said in a statement.

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ERICSSON BEATS Q1 RESULT FORECASTS ON 5G DEMAND, GROWTH IN NORTH AMERICA

Ericsson beat first-quarter result forecasts on Wednesday due mainly to strong growth in North America as the company raised its full-year outlook for the global networks market. The Swedish company has shown steady improvement in profitability after slashing costs and seeing increasing demand for 5G equipment as it rebounds from falling spending on networks by telecoms operators in the middle of the decade. The mobile telecom equipment maker said it now expects the Radio Access Network (RAN) equipment market to grow by 3 per cent this year, up from a previous forecast for 2 per cent growth. Excluding restructuring charges and one-off items, operating margin was 7.2 per cent. The company, which counts China's Huawei and Finland's Nokia as its main rivals, has pledged to deliver an operating margin, excluding restructuring costs, of more than 10 per cent in 2020. Quarterly operating profit swung to 4.9 billion crowns from a 312 million loss a year ago, well above a mean forecast for a 2.8 billion profit in a Reuters poll. Sales rose to 48.9 billion crowns from a-year-ago 43.4 billion, edging forecasts of 48.2 billion. The firm has staked its recovery on rising demand for 5G equipment and some analysts think it could benefit from current turmoil surrounding market leader Huawei.

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WIPRO INVESTIGATES CYBER ATTACK

According to a report filed by cyber security portal KrebsOnSecurity, India’s third-largest software exporter is dealing with a multi-month intrusion from an assumed State-sponsored attacker. Wipro spokesperson agreed, and said: We have detected a potentially abnormal activity in a few employee accounts on our network due to an advanced phishing campaign Upon learning of the incident, we promptly began an investigation, identified the affected users and took remedial steps to contain and mitigate any potential impact. We are leveraging our industry-leading cyber security practices and collaborating with our partner ecosystem to collect and monitor advanced threat intelligence for enhancing security posture. We have also retained a well-respected, independent forensic firm to assist us in the investigation. We continue to monitor our enterprise and infrastructure at a heightened level of alertness. The report further said that Wipro’s customers had traced malicious and suspicious network reconnaissance activity back to partner systems that were communicating directly with Wipro’s network. The extent of damages have not yet been ascertained.

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SHARE OF POPULATION OVER AGE OF 60 IN INDIA PROJECTED TO INCREASE TO 20% IN 2050, SAYS PAULOMI TRIPATHI

The share of older persons, those aged 60 years or above in India’s population is projected to increase to nearly 20 per cent in 2050 and the country said equipping people in earlier age cohorts will help them remain in good health and involved in the community throughout the ageing process. The percentage of the senior citizens in India’s population has been growing at an increasing rate in recent years and the trend is likely to continue, First Secretary in India’s Permanent Mission to the UN Paulomi Tripathi said Monday during an open-ended Working Group on Ageing here We live in a world where people live longer than ever before. The share of population over the age of 60 is projected to increase from 8 per cent to nearly 20 per cent in 2050. Fulfilling needs for services and social protection for senior citizens, protection of their rights and enabling them to contribute in the development process are priorities for India, she said Emphasising that ageing is irreversible and inevitable, Tripathi said we must better equip people in earlier age cohorts, so that they remain in good physical and mental health and continue their involvement in family and community throughout the ageing process. The 2030 Agenda also recognises the importance of realizing their full potential and their contribution for inclusive development The Madrid International Plan of Action adopted at the Second World Assembly on Ageing in 2002 offered a bold new agenda for handling the issue of ageing in the 21st-century It focused on three priority areas: older persons and development; advancing health and well-being into old age; and ensuring enabling and supportive environments The UN said that as fertility rates decline, the proportion of persons aged 60 and over is expected to double between 2007 and 2050, and their actual number will more than triple, reaching two billion by 2050. In most countries, the number of those over 80 is likely to quadruple to nearly 400 million We need timely action based on the existing global framework and ensure that action should not fall behind this demographic trend. Increased investments, political will and addressing gaps in data and statistics are key to concerted response, she said According to the State of World Population 2019 report by the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), released last week, India’s population in 2019 stood at 1.36 billion, growing from 942.2 million in 1994 and six per cent of India’s population was of the age 65 and above India also recorded an improvement in life expectancy at birth, which was 47 years in 1969, growing to 60 years in 1994 and 69 years in 2019 Highlighting the measures in place in India to improve quality of life of older persons and protect their rights, Tripathi said that India recently launched the world’s largest healthcare programme National Health Protection Scheme The National Policy on Senior Citizens envisages state support for financial and food security, health care, shelter and protection against exploitation.

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TAXES ON TELECOM SIMILAR TO NON-ESSENTIAL ITEMS LIKE LIQUOR, CIGARETTE: VODAFONE IDEA CEO

The telecom sector is being taxed like non-essential items such as liquor and cigarette, instead of being treated as a critical infrastructure, according to Vodafone Idea. We have got customs duty at 23 per cent, GST at 18 per cent This is pretty similar to the way you treat non-essential items like for liquor or cigarette or something. We paid lot of money for the spectrum, that is the reason for so much of debt that we are carrying. On top of that, you pay SUC (spectrum usage charge), USOF charges and other charges. It is overly taxed environment, Vodafone Idea ceo Balesh Sharma told. Vodafone Idea has debt of around Rs 1.2 lakh crore. Spectrum related payments account for 80 per cent of the current net debt of the company. There is enough lever with the government. If government believes in Digital India, they will have to believe in this (telecom sector) being a critical infrastructure and play on bringing health of the sector back, Sharma said. He also said competition in the market is expected to rationalise as the sector has reached the optimum level of competition. When we talk about Digital India, it will depend on having great infrastructure, that is telecom infra. NDCP published last year very clearly calls this out industry should no longer be treated as revenue generating machine for the government but as critical infrastructure which is not the case today, Sharma said. The National Digital Communications Policy (NDCP) promises number of measures to rationalise levies in the sector but it is yet to show results. Sharma also said low tariff has been hurting the national exchequer as well. If the prices don't go up, it is affecting government's Digital India (initiative) because industry health is in a bad shape. Government earns a heavy amount of revenue share from the industry which is nosediving. Exchequer is getting hurt, Sharma said. Asked about the company's interest in buying additional spectrum for 5G services, Sharma said it has the highest spectrum holding in the country and does not need any further spectrum as per current business strategy. 5G - the future technology - whatever benefits 5G can bring in current ecosystem are already being put forward by the company. In technology, later you buy the better you buy, he said. Sharma said the company is building 5G ready telecom network. We have 5G like quality. However 5G ecosystem will take long time to evolve, Sharma added.

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FMCG GROWTH SLOWER IN Q1 ON INFLATION, LOWER RURAL PURCHASE

The fast moving consumer goods industry grew at a slower pace in the first quarter of 2019 compared to the previous quarter, market research firm Nielsen said, as a higher rate of inflation and slowing rural purchases pulled down growth. The sector grew 13.6% in value terms, lower by 2.3 percentage points from the previous quarter, Nielsen said, with the overall drop in rural growth mainly driven by a slowdown in packaged foods. Essential items such as packaged atta, refined oil, spices and impulse purchases including biscuits, chocolates and confectionery fell, with the magnitude of the slowdown greater for smaller players in rural areas, it added. Volume growth, at 9.4% in the January-March quarter, contributed 69% to overall value growth, Nielsen said. The market research firm said growth would be the same as forecast in 2019 — in the range of 11-12%, which is 2 percentage points lower than that in 2018 — and will be determined by macro-economic factors including inflation, GDP growth and rural consumption. Rural purchases will depend on rainfall, non-farm income, and disbursement under the employment guarantee scheme, it said.

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BSNL MAY LEASE OUT RS 50,000 CRORE WORTH OF FIBRE ASSETS TO TURN A CORNER

State-controlled Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) is considering to lease out its vast fibre base in the absence of any monetary support from the Narendra Modi-led government, to further fund the voluntary retirement scheme (VRS), future spectrum buyouts as well as regularise capital expenses. Anupam Shrivastava, however, confirmed the move and without divulging further added that the entire exercise would take two to three months, and then the matter would be taken up for consideration by its Board members. Of the four incumbents, BSNL has a largest and most lucrative fibre-based telecom network with nearly 7.5 lakh route kilometres of optic fibre cable (OFC) which according to industry estimation could fetch as much as Rs 50,000 crore. Billionaire Mukesh Ambani-owned Reliance Jio has 3.25 lakh route kilometres OFC including 178,000 kilometres it acquired from Anil Ambani-driven Reliance Communications, Bharti Airtel has 2.50 lakh route kilometres and Vodafone Idea has only 1.60 lakh kilometres of fibre spread across the country. Based on government advisory, the state-run company is currently doing internal assessment and audit to monetise fibre assets, according to a person privy to the matter. The initiative aims to lease out dark or unused fibre to private players and use it only on a need basis so that it could itself fund Rs 6,500 crore towards proposed VRS, buy or renew airwaves due to the lack of administrative allocation, become a zero-debt company, and eventually turn out to be a profitable public-sector enterprise. The cash-strapped service provider is partially handicapped due to nearly 70% of its revenue outgo towards meeting salary expenses of 1.76 lakh direct workforce. BSNL has an industry-lowest debt of Rs 15,000 crore while Sunil Mittal-driven Bharti Airtel has the highest Rs 1.10 lakh crore worth of liabilities. Operators are not making money so they are unable to spend on telecom infrastructure, Sandeep Aggarwal, co-chairman, Telecom Equipment and Services Export Promotion Council (TEPC) told. By using BSNL’s robust fibre-based network, private companies can easily go into rural areas for 4G expansion, Aggarwal said.

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ELECTION COMMISSION SUSPENDS POLL OFFICER FOR CHECKING PM NARENDRA MODI'S HELICOPTER

An election officer in Odisha was suspended by the Election Commission for violating protocol by allegedly trying to inspect Prime Minister Narendra Modi's chopper in Sambalpur. Taking action against Mohammed Mohsin, a 1996-batch Karnataka cadre IAS officer, the poll panel said the officer didn't follow the protocol for checking Special Protection Group (SPG) protectees. According to EC guidelines SPG protectees are exempted from such checking. The commission has considered the material available before it and, prima facie, has found dereliction of duty. It found Mohsin’s action was contrary to its instruction concerning SPG protectees, the poll panel said in its order. According to reports, the prime minister's arrival was delayed for around 15 minutes because of the sudden checking. When Modi reached Sambalpur to address a rally, a team of poll officials, including Mohsin, allegedly inspected his chopper. A team of poll officials led by Mohsin inspected some papers in the chopper carrying PM Modi. The inspection delayed the PM’s arrival at the meeting place by around 20 minutes. This was reported to the Election Commission, a senior police officer, who was at the Sambalpur airstrip, told. EC had asked for a report from the district collector and the deputy inspector general of police after the incident.

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RAKESH JHUNJHUNWALA STILL SEES AN NDA GOVERNMENT, BUT ADVISES CAUTION

Rakesh Jhunjhunwala, advised caution ahead of Lok Sabha elections even as he said that the ruling government is likely to come back to power He was part of a panel discussion marking the launch of the latest entrant in the mutual fund industry -- the Sun Pharmaceutical Industries copromoter Sudhir Valia-backed ITI Mutual Fund. Both the benchmark indices closed at all-time highs on Tuesday -- the S&P BSE Sensex closed at 39,275.64 while the National Stock Exchange's Nifty 50 ended at 11,787.15. Jhunjhunwala, suggesting that the market has been driven higher by a few stocks, rather than seeing a broad-based rally. However, he remained bullish on expectations of a pickup in the capex cycle and said that the phase of the bad loan crisis has passed. Jhunjunwala said he expects the ruling National Democratic Alliance (NDA) to come back to power at the Centre. He added that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) may not win a single-party majority in the Lok Sabha. However, he expects the ruling party to be a dominant partner in the new government. Ramesh Damani advised investors against positioning themselves on the certainty of a particular party coming to power. He said markets have had a bad track-record in predicting election outcomes, and investors should be careful of being overly assured about a given outcome. I think the market is pricing another comfortable majority for the NDA, which may not happen, he said. Jhunjhunwala also sounded another note of caution on the nature of the latest bull-run. He said it has failed to benefit the majority of people, which could result in the imposition of taxes for redistribution.

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SC NOTICE TO GOVT, 3 STATES ON EXTENSION OF LEASES OF 358 MINES

The Supreme Court on Tuesday sought response from the Centre as to why it should not cancel over 350 mining leases granted to various companies in 2014-15. It also issued notice to three states — Odisha, Jharkhand, Karnataka — and CBI on a PIL seeking probe into the alleged corruption in grant of mining leases. A Bench led by Justice SA Bobde while seeking response from the Centre and the states also appointed senior counsel PS Narasimha as amicus curiae to assist the court. The petition filed by one lawyer ML Sharma alleged that the grant of iron ore mining leases had accounted for a total loss of 4 lakh crore and sought quashing of allotment, extension or continuation of leases of over 358 mines on the ground that such allotment was done without any fresh evaluation or auction. It said that under the garb of the 2015 amendment to the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led government compelled the state governments to extend lease of 288 mineral blocks of iron ore in 2014-15 in exchange of large donations and this created a serious financial loss to the tune of 4 lakh crore to public exchequer. While Goa extended lease of 160 mines, Karnataka and Odisha granted further extension of its 45 and 31 mining leases, respectively. Most of these mines were under control of the Vedanta group and the Tata group of the companies, which are the major donors to the ruling party. The investigation should be carried out to quash allotment/extension/continuation of more than 358 iron ore mines because the leases have either been granted or extended to these firms without any fresh evaluation or adoption of an auction process, it said while demanding the CBI probe into the issue.

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SAREGAMA INDIA GETS ₹32.18 CRORE IN FIRE INSURANCE CLAIM SETTLEMENT

RP-Sanjiv Goenka Group entity Saregama India Ltd. (SIL) has received ₹32.18 crore from National Insurance Company towards settlement of claim for a fire that damaged company’s godown in Bhiwandi, Maharashtra, last year. In a regulatory filing, the company said that the settlement was towards loss of stocks of radio music player (Carvaan, Carvaan Mini) and music cards of the company. Formerly known as the Gramophone Company of India, Saregama owns the largest repertoire of songs in India and has in its archives nearly 3 lakh songs in 36 languages. This came at a time when the company was wondering how to monetise its assets. SIL closed the third quarter of 2018-19 with ₹12.3 crore profit against ₹1.3 crore a year ago.

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150 INDIAN PEACEKEEPERS IN SOUTH SUDAN AWARDED MEDAL OF HONOUR FOR DEDICATED SERVICE

A total of 150 Indian peacekeepers serving with the UN Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) have received medals of honour for their dedicated service and sacrifice. A glimpse beyond the dedicated Service and Sacrifice of the @UN blue beret – Indian peacekeepers receive medals of honour in Malakal -@India Be Proud, the UN mission tweeted Monday, along with pictures of the Indian peacekeepers participating in a parade and receiving the medals for their exemplary service. The medals were given to the 150 Indian peacekeepers serving in UNMISS in Malakal during a ceremony filled with parades and performances by a piped band. Colonel Amit Gupta, deployed with UNMISS in Malakal, was among the recipients of the medal of honour. A news article said Gupta commands a battalion of 850 soldiers in the Upper Nile region of South Sudan. Under his command, his men have conducted highly sought-after veterinary camps and run a veterinary hospital in Malakal, with a second expected to be completed in Kodok – a major town along the west bank of the Nile – in a few weeks’ time.

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HC DISMISSES PLEA SEEKING DISQUALIFICATION OF KANIMOZHI, KATHIR

The Madras High Court Tuesday dismissed a plea to prevent DMK's candidates Kanimozhi and Kathir Anand from fighting the Lok Sabha polls for allegedly violating the model code conduct A bench of justices S Manikumar and Subramonium Prasad dismissed the plea after the Election Commission told the court that the two have been booked for allegedly resorting to electoral malpractices As the plea came up for hearing before the bench, the poll panel counsel Niranjan Rajagopalan told the judges that FIRs have been filed against both the candidates on complaints of violation of the model code. The bench accordingly dismissed the petition after recording the poll panel.

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FIR AGAINST NAVJOT SINGH SIDHU OVER COMMUNAL REMARKS

District authorities in Katihar have lodged an FIR against Congress leader Navjot Singh Sidhu for his remarks in which he allegedly warned the Muslim community that efforts were on to divide their votes in Bihar, state chief electoral officer said Tuesday. An FIR has been lodged against Sidhu under a section Indian Penal Code and section 123 (3) of the Representation of the People Act, Bihar CEO H R Srinivasa told. Section 123 (3) bars promotion of, or attempt to promote, feelings of enmity or hatred between different classes of the citizens of India on grounds of religion, race, caste, community, or language, by a candidate or his agent or any other person.

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PM MODI EXPLOITING VALOUR OF JAWANS, SAYS RAHUL GANDHI

Rahul Gandhi Tuesday hit out at Prime Minister Narendra Modi and said he was exploiting the valour of the jawans and their sacrifices for political gains. Criss-crossing through four districts of Kollam, Pathnamthitta, the ground zero of Sabarimala protests, Alappuzha and Thiruvananthapuram, Gandhi targeted Modi on a host of issues and hit out at the Sangh Parivar but refrained from attacking the CPI-M-led LDF government in the state. If the Army and Air force carries out an action, the credit is fully theirs, Gandhi said. It is shameful that PM does not give them credit. Because they are the people who gave their blood. It is their families who suffer and they deserve the credit, Gandhi said. On the Pulwama terror attack, the Congress chief said his immediate reaction was not to politicise the matter. This was not a political issue to be exploited. I refuse to exploit our martyrs and jawans. But this is not what our PM thinks. Our PM exploits the valour of our jawans for his political gains, he said. Targeting Modi on alleged corruption in the Rafale jet deal, demonetisation and rising unemployment, Gandhi attacked the saffron forces for imposing one ideology. The congress chief said his party does not want to impose a single ideology.

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ADANI URGES GOVT TO GIVE 'FAIR GO' FOR AUSTRALIAN COAL MINE PROJECT

Indian energy giant Adani has urged the Australian government to give its controversial coal mine project a fair go and indicated that the opposition party would not derail the proposed billion dollar project if it comes to power. Gautam Adani-led Adani Group entered Australia in 2010 with the purchase of the greenfield Carmichael coal mine in the Galilee Basin in central Queensland, and the Abbot Point port near Bowen in the north. The massive coal mine in Queensland state has been a controversial topic, with the project expected to produce 2.3 billion tonnes of low-quality coal. All we're every asking for a fair go and to be treated like everyone else. I think at certain points, that has not been the case. We're certainly not whinging about it. We just want to get on with it now. We want a fair go, Lucas Dow, told. He said the sort of scrutiny that the project was facing on the management plans was unprecedented. The Adani project which still require to clear few more approvals from the Queensland Government, including groundwater modelling, recently received the clearance from federal government for development. Commenting if the mine project could run any risk if the Labor Party comes to power, Dow said I think (Federal Labor) has been crystal clear that if they are to form government they won't be in the habit of creating sovereign risk by ripping up the existing approvals. He said that he was satisfied by recent assurances given by Opposition Leader Bill Shorten and his Treasury spokesman Chris Bowen. Meanwhile, environment groups have continued their campaign against the mine. We don't really know why these approvals were granted in such a rush, Christian Slattery of Australian Conservation Foundation said, adding We have big concerns about the integrity of that process given that there was substantial pressure on the minister from other members of the Government.

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RAHUL GANDHI ATTACKS PM MODI, SAYS HE 'DIVIDED' COUNTRY

Rahul Gandhi Wednesday alleged that Narendra Modi has divided the country and made it fight within itself Gandhi held Modi responsible for the rising unemployment among the youth, farmers' suicides and allegedly giving Anil Ambani Rs 30,000 crore as part of the Rafale deal. The most anti-national thing to be done in this country today is creating a situation by which 27,000 youngsters are losing their job every 24 hours. Taking Rs 30,000 crore and giving it to Anil Ambani is anti-national behaviour. Narendra Modi should answer why he allowed all these things to happen, he said.

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RAHUL MALIGNING ENTIRE COMMUNITY BY CALLING ME THIEF: PM MODI

Putting a new spin on Rahul Gandhi’s why are all Mr. Modis thieves remark, Mr. Modi on Wednesday said the Congress president, by making the jibe, had maligned the backward community he hails from. Modi also slammed the dynastic politics of Sharad Pawar and claimed the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief had fled the poll arena from Madha Lok Sabha constituency as he sensed defeat. The Congress and its allies say that all Modis in the society are thieves. The Congress and its allies have not kept any shortcomings in abusing of my backward caste. This time they have crossed the limits and abused the entire backward society, Mr. Modi said. Slamming Mr. Gandhi, Mr. Modi said, The ‘naamdar’ [dynast] first tried ‘chowkidar chor hai’ [slogan]. Now they are trying to defame a backward community [Modi community]. Being from a backward community, I am used to the suffering. The Congress has been defaming me for several years over my backward community background, Mr. Modi said. I am used to such bashing. Now, they are blaming the entire community while defaming me. If you dare to defame a community, I will not tolerate it, he said. Why label entire backward community thieves by calling me one, he added.

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CENTRE NOT FACING ANTI-INCUMBENCY FOR THE FIRST TIME : PM MODI

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday claimed that for the first time the Centre is not facing any anti-incumbency this election and hit out at Congress saying it has lost credibility among the people as it has no mission and its leader (Rahul Gandhi) lacks vision. He also claimed that for the first time the party (BJP) in power at the Centre is contesting Lok Sabha polls with confidence, while opposition parties are frustrated and disheartened. People know that the BJP-led government at the Centre is working honestly for the development of the country and there is no anti-incumbency factor this time, he told. People are not angry with Modi or the BJP-led government. They are angry with the Congress and its 'Mahamilawati' (highly adulterated) friends for their behaviour. They have been spreading lies and making false allegations, the prime minister said. Now everybody knows that Congress has no mission, while its leader has no vision. They are devoid of principles and intentions, Modi said without naming anyone.

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OFFICE SPACE SUPPLY UP 46 PERCENT IN JAN-MAR AT 13.4 MN SQ FT IN 9 TOP CITIES: CBRE

Office space supply rose by 46 per cent during January-March period in the nine major cities to 13.4 million sq ft as real estate developers look to cater rising demand of commercial areas from corporates and co-working operators, according to CBRE data. The supply stood at 9.2 million sq ft in the January-March period of 2018 in the nine cities -- Delhi-NCR, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Pune, Ahmedabad and Kochi. Hyderabad witnessed a sharp jump in supply to 5.2 million sq ft from 0.7 million sq ft during the period under review. The increase in supply was because of rising demand of office space in Hyderabad, which for the first time overtook Bengaluru, at 3.5 million sq ft in the January-March period of 2019. As per the data, in the Delhi-NCR, the office space supply rose to 1.5 million sq ft in the first quarter of 2019 calendar year, from 1.2 million sq ft in the year-ago period. Office space supply went up in Chennai to 0.5 million sq ft from 0.2 million sq ft. Mumbai saw supply declining to 1.3 million sq ft from 1.8 million sq ft, while supply dipped in Bengaluru to 2.6 million sq ft from 3.9 million sq ft. Pune, too, saw fall in supply to 0.2 million sq ft from 1.2 million sq ft. The office space supply in Kolkata remained flat at 0.2 million sq ft, while Ahmedabad city had supply of 1.8 million sq ft from nil, in the year-ago period. SEZs continued to account for a third of the quarter's supply, rising by almost 40 per cent as compared to Q1 2018. Almost the entire SEZ supply in Hyderabad in particular was pre-committed as developers refrain from investing in speculative development in this segment, CBRE said in its India Office, Q1 2019 report.

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TERRORISM CONTAINED TO TWO AND HALF DISTRICTS IN JAMMU AND KASHMIR: PM MODI

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday said his government managed to contain terrorism to only two and a half districts in Jammu and Kashmir and that no bomb blast took place elsewhere in the country in last five years. Modi also said that what he learnt in Gujarat helped him during the long Doklam standoff with China in 2017. Referring to various incidents of bomb blasts in the country previously, he said, In the last five years no bomb blast took place in any other part of the country. We managed to contain terrorism to just two and a half districts in Jammu and Kashmir, he said. On Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan's statement of trying to approach India after the Balakot air strike, Modi said the leader had to make a public plea to us to pick up the phone. Hitting out at the previous Congress-led governments in the country, he said had the Sardar Sarovar project been completed 40 years ago, Gujarat would have been much better. In 2014, the Congress came to its lowest tally after Independence and in 2019, it is fighting on the lowest number of Lok Sabha seats but still dreaming of becoming the ruling party, he said. Modi also said that the tallest statue of Sardar Patel built in Gujarat was not intended to disrespect late prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru. This is not an election rally for me, but a rally to say thanks to people of Gujarat for the grooming I received here, he said.

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MUKESH AMBANI AMONG TIME'S 100 MOST INFLUENTIAL PEOPLE

Reliance Industries (RIL) Chairman Mukesh Ambani has featured in the TIME magazine's list of 100 most influential people Arundhati Katju and Menaka Guruswamy, who led the legal battle for LGBTQ rights in India, also featured in the list that was released on Wednesday. The Time 100 Most Influential People 2019 named the world's most influential pioneers, leaders, titans, artists and icons of the year, and Ambani was named among the Most Influential Titans. The list includes US President Donald Trump, Pope Francis, Chinese President Xi Jinping, Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan, Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg and Indian-American comedian Hasan Minhaj. In the TIME 100 profile for Ambani, Mahindra Group Chairman Anand Mahindra wrote that Ambani's vision is more ambitious than that of the father whose blessings he unfailingly invokes at the launch of each initiative.

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Thanks & Regards,
CS Meetesh Shiroya