GOVERNMENT DEPARTMENT DISCUSS DRAFT BILL TO BAN
CRYPTOCURRENCIES
The government has kicked
off inter-ministerial consultations on a draft bill to ban cryptocurrencies and
regulate official digital currencies. The Banning of Cryptocurrencies and
Regulation of Official Digital Currencies Bill 2019 draft has been circulated
to relevant government departments, a government officials aware of details
told. The government had formed a panel under finance secretary Subhash Chandra
Garg to draft regulations for cryptocurrencies last year. A number of
government departments including the Department of Economic Affairs (DEA),
Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT), Central Board of Indirect Taxes and
Customs (CBIC) and the Investor Education and Protection Fund Authority (IEPFA)
have endorsed the idea of a complete ban on the sale, purchase and issuance of
all types of cryptocurrency according to a government officials who did not
wish to be named. Based on the feedback, a final law will be proposed to the
next government that takes charge after elections at the end of May. There is an
urgent need to ban sale purchase and issuance of cryptocurrency. The committee
also observed that since cryptocurrency could be used for money laundering, a
ban could also be achieved under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).
The ministry of corporate affairs has in its feedback to the department of
economic affairs pointed out the sale purchase and issuance of cryptocurrencies
such as Bitcoin, Etherium & Cashcoin etc. are being done by individuals and
companies on false inducements of massive returns. Such schemes are neither
transparent, nor do they fall within any regulated legal framework. Many of
them are run as ponzi schemes, it said adding that these schemes were being
used to defraud gullible investors. The ministry also recommended that as the
bill may take time to be implemented, therefore, individuals using
cryptocurrencies to defraud investors and launder money be prosecuted under the
Prevention of Money laundering Act till a detailed bill is brought.
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INVESTOR PROTECTION FORUM BATS FOR BAN ON CRYPTOCURRENCIES
The Investor Education and
Protection Fund (IEPF) Authority has recommended a ban on cryptocurrencies in
India IEPF, under the Ministry of Corporate Affairs, has written to the
Department of Financial Services in the Ministry of Finance, for enforcing this
ban. Sources in the know said that the ban has been recommended under the aegis
of being a move to protect investors from parking their money in dubious
schemes. Officials in the know also said that IEPF can recommend a ban on
cryptocurrencies since its role has been defined to educate and protect
investors. We have written to the DEA (Department of Economic Affairs)
recommending a blanket ban on cryptocurrencies in India. This has been reiterated
at a recent inter-departmental meeting too where everyone was on the same page,
the official aware of the move told. This move is significant in light of the
RBI recently excluding crypto-related start-ups/entities from using a proposed
regulatory sandbox. This has been highlighted in a draft proposal published by
the RBI last week. The Centre had set up a panel in December 2017 headed by the
Secretary, DEA, to examine a framework for regulating cryptocurrencies in the
country. Other members of the panel include representatives from the Securities
and Exchange Board of India and the RBI. In April 2018, the RBI issued a diktat
asking banks and financial institutions in the country to stop all banking
activities and financial transactions with cryptocurrency exchanges. The RBI
order had adversely impacted the businesses of over a dozen crypto exchanges,
including Zebpay, Koinex, Coindelta, Unocoin, and Belfrics. China’s National
Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) had proposed that cryptocurrency
mining, including that of bitcoin should be phased out as they did not adhere
to relevant laws and regulations, were unsafe, wasted resources or polluted the
environment. Cryptocurrency mining has been added to a list of more than 450
activities that the NDRC seeks to curtail. While the draft has not been
finalised, China’s move is being viewed as a stand against cryptocurrencies
that the nation would be taking soon. Western nations are now looking at India
to take a stand against the cryptocurrencies, the IEPF official said.
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CUSTOMER COMPLAINTS AGAINST BANKS SURGE 25% TO 1.63 L IN FY18
Customer complaints to the
banking ombudsman (BO) increased by a fourth to 1.63 lakh in the year to June
2018, with a majority of them related to unfair practices, the Reserve Bank
said Wednesday. The country's largest lender SBI led the complaint list with close
to 47,000 plaints while HDFC Bank led among the private sector lenders with
over 12,000 complaints, and American lender Citibank had 1,450 complaints. In
the annual report of the BO scheme, the RBI said a rise in the number of
complaints from digital transactions, an ombudsman scheme for digital
transactions is proposed to be formulated and implemented during 2018-19. In
the year gone by, the 21 BO offices received 1,63,590 complaints marking an
increase of 24.9 percent over previous year, and 96 percent of them were
disposed. The major grounds of complaints received during the year was
non-observance of fair practices code at 22.1 percent, ATM and debit card
issues at 15.1 percent and credit card issues at 7.7 percent, and mobile and
electronic banking at 5.2 percent. Problems relating to pension, levy of
charges without notice, loans, remittances, agents involved in direct sales and
recovery and mis-selling accounted for 5 percent or less of the total
complaints received each, it said. The percentage of maintainable complaints
which were resolved by agreement i.e. through mediation increased to 65.8
percent from 42.4 percent, RBI said. The BOs issued 148 awards during the year,
of which 111 were implemented, it said, adding this is a huge surge in awards
when compared with the 31 issued last year. In FY18, the BO scheme was revised
to enhance the powers of BOs by doubling the amount of compensation for loss
that can be granted in an award to Rs 20 lakh, deputy governor MK Jain said in
his foreword to the report.
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66% OF COMPLAINTS MUTUALLY SETTLED: BANKING OMBUDSMAN REPORT
The Reserve Bank of India
has released the annual report of the banking ombudsman for 2017-18 (running
from July 1st, 2017 to June 30th, 2018). The report shows a marked rise in
mutual settlement of ‘maintainable’ complaints compared to the previous two
years and a corresponding decline in complaint rejections. Out of the total
number of maintainable complaints, 65.82% of banking complaints were disposed
off by mutual settlement up from 42.43% in 2016-17 and 35.93% in 2015-16. The
rejection rate of ‘maintainable’ complaints fell correspondingly over the same
period from 63.65% in 2015-16 to 33.82% in 2017-18. However continuing the
trend of the previous year, the Ombudsman rejected nearly half the complaints
it received as non maintainable. The Ombudsman passed awards in a mere 0.159%
of cases. The Ombudsman therefore advised the bank to refund the premium paid
by the complainant along with interest as applicable for deposits of more than
one year from the date of selling insurance policy till the date of refund and ₹10,000/-
as compensation towards loss of time, harassment and expenditures incurred.
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DPIIT PROPOSES STARTUP INDIA VISION 2024; PROPOSES TAX SOPS
FOR NEW VENTURES
The Commerce and Industry
Ministry has proposed a host of measures such as tax incentives to promote
budding entrepreneurs as part of the 'Startup India Vision 2024', an official
said. The vision document aims at facilitating setting up of 50,000 new start-ups
in the country by 2024, and creating 20 lakh direct and indirect employment
opportunities. The Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade
(DPIIT) under the ministry, which has prepared the document, has also suggested
setting up of 500 new incubators and accelerators by 2024; 100 innovation zones
in urban local bodies; deployment of entire corpus of Rs 10,000 crore Fund of
Funds; and expanding CSR funding to incubators. The other measures include
setting up of Rs 1,000 crore 'India startup fund' to support high technology
start-ups; providing Rs 1,000 crore of seed funding; and operationalisation of
seven research parks by 2024. The DPIIT wants to strengthen the complete
ecosystem for startups and these measures would help in doing that. It will be
presented to the new government for their consideration, the official said. As
part of regulatory easing, the vision document proposes to reduce compliance
burden, setting up of regulatory sandbox for testing of financial products; tax
incentives for investments in startups; reduction of Goods and Services Tax
(GST) rates; tax exemption for ESOPs; and exemption of angel tax on all
investments by Alternate Investment Funds. Further it suggested that banks
should set up a single window system to give loans to startups So far, as many
as 17,984 startups have been recognised by the department.
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RBI PLANS TO ATTRACT MORE FOREIGN CAPITAL FOR NATION-BUILDING
Reserve Bank of India may
revisit its policies to attract more foreign capital and restrict drainage of
it to overseas markets, a move which will act as supplying oxygen to a
capital-starved country. The world today is flush with long-term savings in the
nature of pension funds and corpus of insurance companies, our policy regime
need to be nimble and accommodative enough to direct these to productive
ventures in India. We are working towards this, BP Kanungo said. On the issue
of overseas investment by local entities, he said that several start-ups including
individual entrepreneurs invest in India through a holding company overseas
primarily because of the ease of raising capital in a foreign jurisdiction,
whereas the economic activity is located in India, generating employment,
revenue and economic value.
We, along with the
government, shall take a relook at any misgivings about regulatory regime in
this regard and take necessary corrective action, Kanungo said. Why should a
capital deficit country export capital? Shouldn’t overseas investment be
considered on the basis of the returns it generates, he said. Capital outflows
from the country has mostly been for direct investment for acquiring economic
assets such as coalfields or oilfields. India is among the world’s fastest
growing countries and is the world’s third largest economy today in PPP terms.
It is among the global investors’ preferred destination. Talking of the need of
infrastructure sectors, we cannot help notice the emergence of a new class of
investors: venture capital and private equity funds, Kanungo said. Investment
by these funds constitute about 35-40% of the FDI inflows in the past few
years. But RBI has no differentiated policy for equity and debt outflows. The
current regime permits wide latitude of freedom to VC investors in select
sectors perceived to be economically important but risky for normal FDI.
Perhaps there is a need to consider private equity investment in its totality
and see if a modulation of policy regime is warranted, including wider and
innovative debt funding, hybrid instruments, etc particularly in so far as they
relate to priority areas such as infrastructure, non-conventional energy,
health, education and other social impact areas. This is engaging our
attention, the RBI executive said.
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RBI REPLY ON HOME LOAN NORM BREACH BY BANK SOUGHT BY DELHI HC
The Delhi High Court on
Wednesday asked the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to file reply on a plea
complaining that Central Bank of India, the public sector lender, has disbursed
the housing loan without linking it to the stages of construction for a
under-construction greenfield housing project. A Bench of Chief Justice
Rajendra Menon and Justice Anup Jairam Bhambhani also asked the public sector
bank to file response to a petition by financial economist Abhijit Mishra. The
petitioner told the court the Central Bank of India disbursed housing loan
without closely linking it to the stages of construction of the housing project
for incomplete housing projects to the builder, Amrapali Leisure Valley Private
Limited for their greenfield housing project Amrapali Leisure Valley Verona
Height. Such disbursement of housing loan by the Central Bank of India is in
complete disregard of the master circular of the RBI, the petitioner said. As
per the RBI master circular, banks are advised that disbursal of housing loans
sanctioned to individuals should be closely linked to the stages of
construction of the housing project and houses and upfront disbursal should not
be made in cases of incomplete and under-construction greenfield housing
projects. The petitioner also sought the court's direction to the RBI to audit
and investigate the Central Bank of India for default in compliance with the
RBI master circular. He also sought direction to the Central Bank of India to
absolve the home loan customers from the liability towards loan made by the
bank in contravention of the RBI master circular. It has requested the court to
compensate the home loan customers and reverse the adverse credit information
about the housing loan customer to the Credit Information Companies. Mishra
said he filed public interest litigation to protect the interest and of
innocent home loan customers who have become victim of corporate malice, greed
and connivance of the Central Bank of India.
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RBI DEPUTY GOVERNOR B P KANUNGO BATS FOR CAPITAL ACCOUNT
LIBERALISATION
Reserve Bank of India
(RBI) Deputy Governor B P Kanungo has argued in favour of revisiting India’s
capital control regime and letting companies invest overseas more freely to
secure the country’s energy and economic needs. While the rupee can freely be
converted on the current account, the central bank imposes limits in the case
of the capital account. This means one cannot take out the rupee beyond a
particular limit to use it overseas. The creation of overseas assets by
resident Indians goes as a credit entry in the international investment
position. Therefore, rather than looking at dividend earning, there is a need
to look at value enhancement, Kanungo said at the annual conference of the
Foreign Exchange Dealers’ Association of India (FEDAI), in Beijing last week.
The speech's copy was uploaded on the RBI’s website on Thursday. The
acquisition of strategic and economic assets, such as coalfields, oilfields,
etc, is a long-term priority, he said, adding, overseas investment can perhaps
be seen as export, not of capital but of entrepreneurship. The deputy governor
said start-ups were using the holding company structure to invest in India
because of the ease of raising capital in a foreign jurisdiction. We, along
with the government of India, shall take a relook at any misgivings about regulatory
regime in this regard and take necessary corrective action. The three
preconditions needed for capital account liberalisation would be price
stability, fiscal stability, and the stability of financial institutions and
markets. As we speak today, achievements in respect of the stated parameters
vary. The fiscal deficit at the general government level needs consolidation.
It is desirable that growth along with low inflation and fiscal prudence become
well entrenched before we take quantum steps towards a more open capital
account. Besides, there are signs of global headwinds, though in the distant
horizons, said Kanungo. There are nuances of capital account liberalisation,
but the hierarchy for the central bank would be to encourage flows in the real
sector over flows into the financial sector. Second, equity-related capital
inflows will have preference over debt inflows. Within the equity flows, direct
investment flows will be preferred to portfolio flows and in so far as debt
flows are concerned, preference for long-term debt and rupee-denominated debt –
whether bilaterally contracted or through marketable securities – shall
continue. The regulatory framework will continue to strive to make the on-shore
derivative markets accessible to all non-residents with a rupee exposure, he
said.
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SC REFUSES TO INTERFERE WITH EC ORDER BANNING MODI BIOPIC TILL
MAY 19
The Supreme Court Friday
refused to interfere with the Election Commission's order banning release of
the biopic on PM Narendra Modi until May 19. A bench headed by Chief Justice
Ranjan Gogoi said it was not inclined to entertain the application filed by
producers of biopic challenging the EC's order. What survives in this now? the
bench, also comprising Justices Deepak Gupta and Sanjiv Khanna, said. The
counsel, appearing for producers, told the bench that the EC's order is
contrary to the clearance given to the movie by the Central Board of Film
Certification (CBFC). The issue is whether the movie can be exhibited at this
time. The Election Commission has taken a decision. We are not inclined to
entertain this, the bench said. The EC had on April 22 submitted its detailed
report to the top court on the biopic, saying the film was a hagiography, which
treated the subject with undue reverence, and its public screening during poll
campaign would tilt the electoral balance. The poll panel had said in its
20-page report that the biopic produces a political environment where an
individual acquired cult status and its public screening during the period when
model code of conduct is in operation would favour a particular political
party. The EC said there are several scenes depicting a major opposition party
as corrupt and showing them in poor light. Their leaders have been depicted in
such a manner that their identification is clear and obvious to viewers. It
said that the biopic was more than a biography and was a hagiography (which
treats the subject as saints and gives undue reverence) and the construct of
the movie was unabashedly uni-dimensional, which puts an individual on a higher
pedestal through use of specific symbols, slogans and scenes. The report was
submitted after the apex court had on April 15 directed the EC to re-examine
its earlier order and take an informed decision on banning pan-India the
release of the biopic after watching the full movie. The court had asked the
poll panel to provide its report to the producer of the movie.
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GOVT REVIEW SERVICE RECORDS OF OVER 1,100 IAS OFFICERS TO
CHECK 'DEADWOOD'
The service records of
over 1,100 officers of the Indian Administrative Service (IAS) have been
reviewed by the Centre in about past four years to check deadwood from the
government, officials said Friday. The review was done by the central
government following a strict criteria with respect to officers who had
completed 25 years of service or attained 50 years of age, they said. The
review of service records of a total of 1,143 IAS officers was carried out
under Rule 16 (3) of All India Services (Death-cum-Retirement Benefits ) Rules,
1958 during 2015 and 2018 to check non-performers, the officials said. The
rules says that the central government in consultation with the state
government concerned may ask an IAS officer to retire in public interest by
giving at least three months previous notice in writing or three months' pay
and allowances in lieu of such notice. Of the total of 1,143 officers, four --
two from Chhattisgarh cadre, one each from Arunachal Pradesh, Goa, Mizoram and
Union Territories (or AGMUT cadre) and Bihar cadre-- were recommended for
premature retirement from the service in public interest, they said, without
disclosing the names of the officers concerned. As many as 5,104 officers of
the IAS, considered the 'steel frame' of India, are working across the country,
according to a Personnel Ministry data. The officials said there are many
states who had not carried out the review despite the Centre's reminder. The
states of Andhra Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Karnataka, Kerala, Telangana,
Tripura and Uttarakhand have not carried out intensive review of record of
officers in respect of 25 years of service, a senior official said citing an
official data. He said timely review of service record was necessay to check
corruption and deadwood from the governance. The central government has been
following a policy of zero tolerance towards corruption. At the same time it is
necessary to conduct a thorough review of officers so that they do not lack in
performing their duty towards people. Those found non-performing need to bid
good bye from the government service and the ones performing need to be
rewarded to ensure god governance, the official added.
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TRAI PULLS UP DISH TV; SEEKS COMPLIANCE WITH NEW REGULATORY
FRAMEWORK
Telecom regulator TRAI has
directed Dish TV India to comply with the provisions of the new framework for
broadcasting and cable TV services, acting on consumer complaints pertaining to
the operators' specific offering and grievance redressal helpline. TRAI, which
has promised strict action against those cable TV and direct-to-home (DTH)
players who are found violating its new tariff order and regulatory regime, had
earlier this week also pulled up Bharti Telemedia on similar grounds. As per
complaints, the DTH operator is forcefully offering a bouquet of free-to-air
channels with no choice to subscribers and without their consent, the Telecom
Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI), which is also the broadcast regulator,
said in a directive on its website. This is in addition to the channels opted
by the subscribers and the following message is being displayed: This is a free
to air bouquet at no extra charge. If you have selected any pay channel, then
this bouquet will not impact your NCF (network capacity fee), TRAI said. It
added that most of the times, the consumers are not able to contact the
toll-free number of Dish TV India to express their grievance. Now, therefore,
the authority, in exercise of its power, directs Dish TV India to resolve the
issues and report compliance within five days from the date of issue of this
direction, TRAI said in its directive issued Wednesday.
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MERGE JET AIRWAYS WITH AIR INDIA: SUBRAMANIAN SWAMY
In a letter addressed to
Suresh Prabhu, Subramanian Swamy, member of parliament recommended merging Jet
Airways with Air India. The Ministry of Civil Aviation should strongly
recommend to the cabinet that Jet Airways should be merged with Air India not
only to ensure air services are not restricted but also to enable Air India to
recover its former premier position, said Swamy. Any other solution is likely
to raise speculation about corruption at high places and will certainly invite
litigation in court. Recommend to stop this plunder of national assets
investment, and the infrastructure of Air India, the member of parliament
added. Jet Airway’s several slots have been temporarily for a period of three
months given to other airlines including Indigo, Spicejet and Vistara. There is
a serious effort going on by private airlines such as Spicejet and Vistara to
benefit from this dismemberment of Jet Airways. This is being supported by some
of your colleagues and officers whom I can name in a private meeting with you,
Swamy alleged. According to Swamy, the closure of Jet Airways is adverse
effects for passengers and domestic along with international air traffic with
foreign airlines getting a higher share of the growing traffic which is not
getting absorbed by the Indian carriers. I had opposed the Jet-Etihad FDI
arrangement on the ground of the disproportionate share of airspace given to
Etihad which is against the interest of domestic passenger traffic, and also
against national interest. In 2012, the government had announced that foreign
airlines could have a stake of 49 per cent.
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JET AIRWAYS SAYS WILL VALIDATE REFUND CLAIMS IN 45 DAYS
Jet Airways (India) Ltd
has informed travel agents that it will validate claims for flight ticket
refunds within 45 days a move that is expected to bring relief to customers who
have been seeking refunds after the carrier halted operations last week. Jet
Airways said a web interface has been provided to travel agencies to submit
refund applications, adding that claims can be submitted till 20 May. IATA
(International Air Transport Association) will settle the monies post closure
of Jet’s (Jet Airways) refund claim review period against the deposit held by
IATA, it said. IATA can also raise a demand from Jet Airways in case of a
shortfall in refund claims and deposits held by IATA. Refunds for tickets
bought through credit cards will be validated by Jet Airways and credit card
companies each Monday, it said. Jet Airways was an IATA member and used its
billing and settlement process gateway (BSP), for tickets booked through
agents, both online and offline. Agents make a single payment to the BSP,
covering sales on all IATA airlines. BSP, in turn, makes consolidated payments
to each airline. A Mumbai-based travel agent said all Jet Airways refund
applications submitted before 18 April have been cleared by IATA and the
payouts have been initiated. We have been informed by IATA that the refund
applications submitted after 18 April will take some more time to be cleared as
per IATA guidelines. We don’t know how long yet, said the travel agent,
requesting anonymity. IATA typically has a weekly settlement system in place
with travel agents.
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RTI: THANE MUNICIPAL CORPORATION SPENT ONLY 20% OF RS 203
CRORES UNDER SMART CITY PLAN
An RTI application has
revealed that the TMC has spent only 20 per cent of the Rs 203 crores received
from the central government under the smart city scheme. The applicant further
claims that the civic body showed civic expenses incurred for two projects
under the smart city expenditure. On April 18, Thane Maharashtra Navnirman Sena
(MNS) student wing president Sandeep Pachange obtained information under the
Right to Information (RTI) Act about the funds received by the Thane municipal
corporation (TMC) under the smart city project. The reply stated that from
2014-2019 the civic body received Rs 203 crore as funding from the Centre. Out
of this they had spent only Rs 41 crores which is roughly 20 % of the amount
under the smart city scheme, said Pachange.
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SC SETS UP PANEL TO LOOK INTO ALLEGATIONS OF CONSPIRACY
FRAMING CJI
The Supreme Court Thursday
constituted a one-man panel of former apex court judge Justice A K Patnaik to hold
inquiry into the allegations of larger conspiracy to frame Chief Justice of
India Ranjan Gogoi and fixing of benches in the top court. The apex court asked
the Directors of CBI and IB as also the Delhi Police Commissioner to cooperate
with Justice (Retd) Patnaik as and when sought by him during the inquiry. The
top court said however that the inquiry by will not deal with the allegations
of sexual harassment against the CJI. It said the outcome of the inquiry will
not affect the in-house committee which is dealing with the complaint against
the CJI. The apex court said that on the completion of inquiry, Justice (Retd)
Patnaik will file a report in a sealed cover before the court after which the
matter will be heard again. It left it to the panel to take assistance of the
people required for the inquiry. In the order, a special bench headed by
Justice Arun Mishra said: Considering the factual gamut and the affidavits
filed by advocate Utsav Singh Bains, we are appointing Justice A K Patnaik,
retired judge of this court, to hold inquiry into the allegations levelled in
the affidavit filed by Bains. The bench, also comprising Justices R F Nariman
and Deepak Gupta, clarified that he would not deal with the allegations of
mis-behaviour by the CJI. It also said that the outcome of the inquiry and its
findings would not affect the in-house inquiry which has been ordered. The
bench further said: Directors of CBI and IB and Delhi Police Commissioner would
render cooperation to Justice (Retd) Patnaik as and when required during his
inquiry. The bench ordered that the affidavit filed by advocate Bains be
transferred to Justice (Retd) Patnaik in a sealed cover. While dictating the
order, the bench at the outset said, We have decided that no privilege can be
claimed on certain communications the advocate is claiming and he has to
disclose the information as and when required. The Supreme Court earlier on
Thursday expressed anguish over the systematic attack on the judiciary and said
time has come to tell the rich and powerful of this country that they are
playing with fire. The apex court made this observation while hearing claims
made by an advocate that there was a larger conspiracy to frame the CJI on
allegations of sexual harassment.
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HIGHER TARIFF IN 2ND AUCTION FOR MID-TERM PPA AUCTION POSITIVE
FOR POWER PRODUCERS, SAYS ICRA
The power ministry's
second auction for procuring 2.5 GW of thermal power in medium term at a higher
tariff of Rs 4.41 per unit compared to Rs 4.24 per unit in the first round is
positive for power producers, but signing of sale agreements with discoms
remains crucial, ICRA said on Thursday. The completion of the second round of
medium-term power purchase agreement (PPA) auctions along with the slightly
higher tariffs discovered is positive for the independent power producers
(IPPs), the rating agency said in a statement. The government had brought this
scheme last year in April to give relief to those coal-fired power plants which
were operational but starving for coal in a the absence of any PPA with
discoms. The PPA is a prerequisite for getting fuel linkage or supply under the
existing legal framework. However, the second scheme is more favourable for the
developers with presence of fixed charges and indexation for variable charges.
The full 2.5 GW was subscribed under the second medium term PPA scheme, albeit
at a slightly higher tariff, it said. As per the terms of the second auction,
the tariff quoted by the bidders will have fixed and variable components,
wherein the fixed tariff will remain constant for the PPA period. The
aggregator (appointed by the government) will sign PPAs with the winning
bidders and back to back power sale agreement (PSA) with state distribution
utilities (discoms).
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19 TELANGANA STUDENTS COMMIT SUICIDE IN ONE WEEK
Nineteen students have
committed suicide in Telangana during last one week over the failure in the
Intermediate examinations according to media reports. This is said to be the
highest number of suicides by Intermediate students in recent years with the
opposition parties blaming the goof-ups by the Telangana Board of Intermediate
Education (TBIE) for the spate of suicides. Three students in the age group of
18-19 years committed suicide while one student went missing on Wednesday.
Depressed over failing in Economics and Civics in Intermediate second year, he
hanged himself at his house. He was said to have scored the third rank in his
college in the first year but scored low marks in the second year. The
government has already formed a three-member committee to probe the bungling in
declaring the results. The panel is looking into the system developed and
implemented by an IT company whose services were hired by the TBIE. A total of
9.74 lakh of students appeared in the Intermediate examinations held in
February-March and out of these, 3.28 lakh failed.
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INDIAN RETAIL MALL SPACE TO RISE TO 95 MILLION SQ FT IN 7
CITIES BY 2021
India’s retail mall space
is set to rise to 95 million square feet (msf) by 2021 from 75 msf now in the
top 7 cities of the country with NCR, Hyderabad and Bengaluru leading the
supply, according to a report. The report said that India was poised to become
the third largest consumer market, with consumer spending growing to $ 6
trillion (Rs 421 trillion roughly) by 2030 from $ 1.5 trillion (approximately
Rs 105 trillion) at present. This consumption would be shaped by 90 million new
millennial led households and nearly 370 million Gen-Z consumers With Real
Estate Investment Trust (REIT) in the offing, the focus on developing
investment grade projects is likely to redefine the retail segment in the
tier-II cities, the report said. Ashutosh Limaye, said that on a pan-India
basis, India’s retail space was set to rise to 120 msf over the next 3 years
from 100 million square feet now in Grade A mall space. According to Limaye,
within three years, 20 million sq ft of Grade A mall space will get built in
India, even as over 50 malls have either shut down or downgraded into mix use
centres in recent times. The growth is likely to come on the back of organised
retail which is set to double from nine per cent to 18 per cent and online
retail from three per cent to seven per cent in the next four years. Among
these, Chandigarh has led private equity (PE) investments for malls in India,
attracting roughly Rs 1101 crore from 2015 till year-to-date (YTD), as per
Venture Intelligence. This is followed by Mumbai, Hyderabad and Bangalore which
have seen PE investments in malls worth Rs 1052 crore, Rs 1017 crore and Rs 772
crore for the said period, respectively. Venture Intelligence data shows that
the country saw total PE deals in malls worth roughly Rs 1467 crore in 2016,
which went up to Rs 2299 crore approximately in 2017.
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64% OF FLIGHT DIVERSIONS FROM FOUR METRO AIRPORTS DUE TO BAD
WEATHER IN 2018
Around 64 per cent of the
flights that were diverted from four metro cities - Mumbai, Delhi, Bengaluru
and Chennai last year were due to bad weather conditions, an official document
stated. According to estimates of the Ministry of Civil Aviation, in 2018, the worst
affected airport due to bad weather conditions was Delhi airport as 213 flights
were diverted because of it. The document shows that total 796 flights were
diverted from the airports of aforementioned four metro cities due to various
reasons last year. Out of 796, the number of flights that were diverted due to
bad weather stood at 510. Domestic air passenger volume grew 14.25 per cent to
171.25 million in fiscal 2019 over the previous year, according to data
released by Indian aviation regular Directorate General of Civil Aviation.
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ENGINE OF AIR INDIA'S BOEING AIRCRAFT SHUTS DOWN AT DELHI
AIRPORT, 'BLACK FUMES' OBSERVED
An engine of an empty
Boeing 777 aircraft of Air India shut down at the Delhi airport on Wednesday
night during a technical inspection, the airline said. Airport fire personnel
then observed that black fumes were coming out of the engine's exhaust,
following which they sprayed foam on it, Air India said in a statement on
Thursday. When an engineer was doing a routine technical examination of the
empty aircraft (777) at the Delhi airport on Wednesday night, auto shutdown of
the auxiliary power unit (APU) took place, the airline said. The APU is the
smallest engine on an aircraft and situated at the tail of it. It provides the
necessary power to start the main engines. Airport personnel observed black
fumes from the APU exhaust and, believing it to be a fire hazard, sprayed APU
and part of the fuselage with foam spray, the national carrier said. The APU
was examined by opening its cowlings (cover). After opening the cover, there
was no traces of any burn or external damage noticed except for the minor oil
leaks traces, which was normal, it said. Detailed inspection is going on, it
added.
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AVIATION REGULATOR DGCA STARTS PROBE INTO RAHUL GANDHI PLANE
INCIDENT
Aviation regulator DGCA
has initiated a probe into the incident of the plane carrying Congress
President Rahul Gandhi suffering engine trouble, a senior official said. The
plane on way to Patna was forced to return to Delhi on Friday after
experiencing engine trouble. The senior Directorate General of Civil Aviation
(DGCA) official said the Hawker 850 XP aircraft VT-KNB returned back to Delhi
after take-off due to a technical snag. DGCA has initiated investigation as per
the laid down procedure, he told PTI. The aircraft landed safely in Delhi at
1020 hours. There were ten person on board including two crew members, the
official said. On Twitter, Gandhi posted a video of the flight which shows him,
the pilot and the co-pilot in the plane. Engine trouble on our flight to Patna
today! We've been forced to return to Delhi, he tweeted.
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US BLACK LIST FOR IP THEFT: CHINA LEADS, INDIA TAKES SECOND
SPOT
China continues to head
the black list prepared by the US government on intellectual property theft and
patent violations worldwide, a list including 11 countries and which also
includes Argentina, Chile and Venezuela. In its Special 301 annual report for
2018, the Office of the US Trade Representative Office (USTR) identifies
trading partners that do not adequately or effectively protect and enforce intellectual
property (IP) rights or otherwise deny market access to US innovators and
creators that rely on protection of their IP rights. The black list includes 11
countries: Algeria, Argentina, Chile, China, India, Indonesia, Kuwait, Russia,
Saudi Arabia, Ukraine and Venezuela, the Efe news reported. The report
identifies foreign trading partners where IP protection and enforcement has
deteriorated or remained at inadequate levels and where US persons who rely on
IP protection have difficulty with fair and equitable market access. The USTR
document says that although Beijing did make some modest reforms to its
judicial system over the past few years, it has not yet changed certain laws
that enable Chinese firms to violate the intellectual property rights of foreign
firms, including online piracy, counterfeiting and registering trademarks in
bad faith, among other things. Specifically, the question of intellectual
property is one of the main points of friction in the current trade
negotiations between China and the US designed to put an end to the tariff and
trade war launched by US President Donald Trump and to which Beijing has
responded with similar measures. In second place on the list is India, with the
USTR emphasising longstanding deficiencies in its IP framework and a lack of
adequate measurable improvements concerning patents, copyrights, trade secrets
and enforcement, along with new issues that are negatively affecting US right
holders. Chile and Venezuela had been on the list last year, while Argentina was
added this year because of longstanding and well-known challenges to
IP-intensive industries, including from the US. A key deficiency in the legal
framework for patents is the unduly broad limitations on patent eligible
subject matter, the report states. The report acknowledges progress by Chilean
authorities but emphasises that there continues to be significant digital
piracy in that country, while regarding Venezuela the USTR warns that
significant uncertainty and deterred investments in innovation and IP in recent
years have placed it considerably below international standards.
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YOU’VE NO RIGHT TO BE IN OFFICE: SC TO ASSAM CHIEF SECRETARY
The Supreme Court on
Thursday gave a dressing-down to the Assam chief secretary for his submission
that the state government is not bound by any decision of foreigners tribunals
declaring a person an illegal migrant, saying he has no right to continue in
office. Assam chief secretary Alok Kumar, who was present in the court, had to
face the ire of the bench, comprising Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi and Justices
Deepak Gupta and Sanjiv Khanna, for contending that the decision of foreigners
tribunals might not be final and might not be accepted by the authority. This
man does not know what he is saying. Does he deserve to be chief secretary. We
are going to issue notice to him for making slanderous statements against the
law and misleading the court. You have no right to continue in office, the
bench said. The opinion of foreigners tribunal may or may not be accepted by
the referral authority. Fresh reference may be initiated against such proceeded
person and fresh notices may be issued by the tribunal, the state government
said in its affidavit which was strongly objected to by the bench. The chief
secretary apologised and told the court that a fresh affidavit will be filed.
The court also slammed the Assam government for its failure to detect illegal
Bangladeshi migrants in the state and expressed concern over their
participation in the electoral process after obtaining voter cards. It also
pulled up the state government for seeking release of those foreigners who had
spent over five years in detention centres on execution of bond. The bench got
livid after hearing chief secretary Alok Kumar’s contention and said, You are
the government but you are not following the Constitution and law and you
expect court to pass illegal order to allow such people to live in the country
who are otherwise not entitled. As per the Assam government, there are more
than one lakh Bangladeshi migrants in the state and only 900, traced so far,
have been living in different detention centres. Solicitor General Tushar
Mehta, appearing for the state, informed the court that after holding
consultation with the Centre, the government had decided to release
‘foreigners’ who had spent more than five years in detention centres on
condition that they would report to police every week. First those people
should not live in detention centres at all and they should be deported. You
have detected only 900 out of more than one lakh people who were declared
foreigners. They have now mingled with the local population and most of them
are on the electoral list. They are taking part in the political process of the
country and casting their votes in elections. This is how your government is
functioning, the bench observed. At the end of the proceedings, the bench,
however, mellowed down towards the chief secretary and asked lawyers to offer
him a seat. The state government had earlier claimed it had identified 46,000
foreigners in the last four years compared to 65,000 identified in the last 30
years.
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DELHI CEO OFFICE GETS OVER 1,500 COMPLAINTS ON 'CVIGIL' APP;
70% GENUINE
Over 1,500 complaints have
been received till date through the 'cVigil' app by the office of the Chief
Electoral Officer here and nearly 70 per cent of those were found to be
genuine, according to the Delhi CEO office. The Election Commission last year
had launched an Android-based app - 'cVigil', using which a person can send to
it geo-tagged videos and photos of illegal money being distributed or a hate
speech being made during polls. As many as 1,584 complaints have been received
till April 25 from citizens on poll code violation through the app, according
to data shared by the Delhi CEO office. Of the total complaints, 1108 have been
found to be correct and have been disposed of while the rest are being looked
into, officials said. Maximum complaints on 'cVigil' were received from the New
Delhi district 518, followed by 210 from South district and 166 from South West
district. Till date Delhi has 1.43 crore registered voters which include 78.7
lakh male voters and 64.4 lakh female voters and 669 from the third gender. Seeking
to encourage people to vote on May 12 when Delhi goes to polls in the Lok Sabha
elections, Delhi CEO Ranbir Singh on Thursday took a ride in Delhi Metro and
interacted with commuters urging them to exercise their franchise. The North
West Delhi constituency has over 23 lakh electors, the maximum among all seven
Lok Sabha constituencies in the national capital, according to data shared by
the Delhi CEO Office on Thursday. While North West Delhi has maximum number of
total electorate and male voters among all constituencies in Delhi, West Delhi
has the highest number of female voters (10,90,797), according to the data. The
office of the Delhi CEO has said that over 3.31 lakh posters, banners and
hoardings have been removed since March 10, when the poll code came into force.
The CEO office has received 393 applications on pre-certification of political
advertisements by various parties with the BJP filing a maximum of 268
applications, followed by 102 from Congress, according to the data.
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BEWARE OF BOTS: AUTOMATION COULD WIPE OUT ALMOST HALF OF ALL
JOBS IN 20 YRS
Automation, robots and
globalisation are rapidly changing the workplace and governments must act fast
and decisively to counter the effects or face a worsening of social and
economic tensions, the OECD warned. Almost half of all jobs could be wiped out
or radically altered in the next two decades due to automation, the Paris-based
group said in a report on Tuesday. According to OECD Labor Director Stefano Scarpetta,
the pace of change will be startling. Safety nets and training systems built up
over decades to protect workers are struggling to keep up with the megatrends
changing the nature of work, the OECD said. While some workers will benefit as
technology opens new markets and increases productivity, young, low-skilled,
part-time and gig-economy workers are vulnerable. Deep and rapid structural
changes are on the horizon, bringing with them major new opportunities but also
greater uncertainty among those who are not well equipped to grasp them,
Scarpetta said. The employment report is the latest OECD warning about risks to
governments in advanced economies, which have already manifested themselves in
a surge of support for populist political leaders. The organization has
highlighted a squeeze on the middle classes, future jobs losses from technology
and a widespread dissatisfaction in rich countries. Changes in employment will
hit some workers more than others -- particularly young people with lower
levels of education and women who are more likely to be under-employed and
working in low paid jobs, the OECD said. It recommends more training and urges
governments to extend protections to workers in the grey zone, where a blurring
of employment and self-employment often means a lack of rights. The report also
warns of negative ramifications for social cohesion.
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FREE MEDIA ESSENTIAL FOR DEMOCRACY: UN CHIEF ON WORLD PRESS
FREEDOM DAY
UN Secretary General
Antonio Guterres has underscored the need for free press disseminating reliable
information to maintain peace and justice, especially during elections as
facts, not falsehoods should guide the people while choosing their
representatives. Noting that civic space has been shrinking worldwide at an
alarming rate, Guterres said that he is deeply troubled by the growing number
of attacks against journalists and the culture of impunity. A free press is
essential for peace, justice, sustainable development and human rights. No democracy
is complete without access to transparent and reliable information. It is the
cornerstone for building fair and impartial institutions, holding leaders
accountable and speaking truth to power, Guterres said in his message for the
World Press Freedom Day, observed on May 3. The main celebration of World Press
Freedom Day this year will take place in Addis Ababa, from May 1-3. The overall
theme of the event will be the role of media in elections and democracy. Some
100 national events around the world are expected to complement the main
celebration. The day was proclaimed by the UN General Assembly in 1993
following a Recommendation adopted at the twenty-sixth session of UNESCO's
General Conference in 1991. Facts, not falsehoods, should guide people as they
choose their representatives. Yet, while technology has transformed the ways in
which we receive and share information, sometimes it is used to mislead public
opinion or to fuel violence and hatred, he said, apparently referring to the
alarming increase in spread of false and vitriolic information through social
media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter and Whatsapp. And with anti-media
rhetoric on the rise, so too are violence and harassment against journalists,
including women, he said, According to the United Nations Educational
Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), almost 100 journalists were
killed in 2018. Hundreds are imprisoned. When media workers are targeted,
societies as a whole pay a price, he said, calling on all to defend the rights
of journalists, whose efforts help us to build a better world for all. The UN
chief's statement comes at a time when India is in the middle of general
elections. Concerns have been raised over the use of social media platforms
such as Whatsapp and Facebook to spread false information and spark hatred and
incidents of violence. Ahead of the Lok Sabha polls, social media platforms and
the Internet And Mobile Association of India (IAMAI) had presented a Voluntary
Code of Ethics for the General Election 2019' to Chief Election Commissioner
Sunil Arora. The Election Commission of India had said in a statement that the
Code of Ethics' has been developed to ensure free, fair and ethical usage of
social media platforms to maintain the integrity of the electoral process for
the polls.
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SC STAYS INQUIRY COMMISSION PROCEEDINGS INTO JAYALALITHAA'S
DEATH AT APOLLO
The Supreme Court Friday
stayed the proceedings of an inquiry commission set up to probe the death of
then Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa at Apollo Hospitals in Chennai in
2016. A bench headed by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi was hearing the appeal of
Apollo Hospitals against the April 4 order of the Madras High Court rejecting
its objection against the ongoing inquiry into the death of the AIADMK leader
at the hospital. Stay of further proceedings of the inquiry commission, the
bench, which also comprised Justices Deepak Gupta and Sanjiv Khanna, said.
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‘JET’S LENDERS GAVE PALTRY SUMS IN INSTALMENTS’
Days before announcing
‘temporary’ suspension of flight operations on April 17, 2019, the Jet Airways
management literally begged for funds before banks to sustain the airline’s
operations and pay salaries, but money was only trickling, it has now emerged.
The lenders only advanced a paltry amount in instalments of a few crores when
the airline actually needed ₹1,500 crore at one go, leading to the complete grounding of
the fleet, said a senior Jet Airways official who was part of the negotiating
team with the lenders. With promoter Naresh Goyal having resigned and all
sources drying up, the management had no other option but to rush to the banks
to augment funding to keep the operations going. Despite promising to advance ₹1,500
crore as interim funding, the lenders gave only a handful amount of money in
instalments when we needed money badly. Sometimes we got ₹7
crore and sometimes ₹12 crore. This much money was insufficient to run the airline,
said the official, asking not to be named. The whole house was under fire. The
lenders only gave us a bucket full of water, time to time, to douse the fire,
when we actually needed a tanker. Then we could have sailed through on our own
and this situation would not have arrived, the official said. We were sure that
the promised money could have sustained us till June by the time a new owner
could come on board, said another official. The lenders may have had some valid
reason to stay away, but at that time the airline had no other option, the
official added.
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DND CASE GETS LISTED CONTRARY TO ITS ORDER, SC SEEKS REPORT
The Supreme Court on Thursday
sought report from its registry as to how the Delhi-Noida Direct (DND) toll
flyway matter which involves hundreds of crores of rupees gets listed for
hearing contrary to the court's order. The top court said its registry should
state as to how the matter was listed despite its earlier order to be listed in
last week. We see this case involving hundred of crores of rupees has been
listed today contrary to the orders of the court. Registry should tell us. It
seems there is more to it. We know what registry is doing, said a bench of
Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi and Justices Deepak Gupta and Sanjiv Khann. The
bench also refused to hear any arguments in the case saying, We will not
entertain any of the arguments. In its order, it said: Office to report as to
why the present case has been listed for final disposal contrary to the order
of this Court. The top court's remark came at a time when another bench, which
was hearing a lawyer's claim of larger conspiracy to frame Chief Justice Ranjan
Gogoi in sexual harassment allegations, said that fixers are at play in the
apex court who try to fix benches in connivance with registry officials. During
the last hearing of the case on April 12, the top court had stayed the arbitral
proceedings in the matter. We deem it appropriate to stay the proceedings in
the arbitration and fix the matter for final disposal. List the matter for
final disposal in the last week of April, 2019, the court had said in its
order. It had stayed arbitral proceedings between the Noida authority and
private firm NTBCL over issues related to toll collection on Delhi-Noida Direct
Flyway. The proceedings were stayed after hearing an interim application filed
by the Noida authority which has challenged the arbitral proceedings. The
interim application was filed by the authority in a pending appeal filed by
Noida Toll Bridge Company Ltd (NTBCL), which was running the flyway, in the
apex court against the Allahabad High Court's order.
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STUDENT WRITES TO KARNATAKA GOVT. TO BE ALLOWED TO WEAR
HEADSCARF IN COLLEGE
A II PU student in
Mangaluru has appealed to the State government to direct her college to allow
her to wear a headscarf in the classroom. In a memorandum submitted to Dakshina
Kannada Additional Deputy Commissioner R. Venkatachalpathy on Wednesday, the
student of St. Agnes Pre-University College, said the institution had allowed
her to wear headscarf during the first year. She alleged that the college said
she would not be allowed to attend class in the second year if she wore the
headscarf. The college should respect religious sentiments and allow students
to wear headscarf, she has written in the memorandum. Mr. Venkatachalpathy said
he has sought a report from Elvira Philomena, in-charge Deputy Director of
Pre-University Department, Dakshina Kannada, on the issue.
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CHINA'S XI JINPING DEFENDS BELT AND ROAD, VOWS `ZERO
TOLERANCE' OF GRAFT
China's Belt and Road
initiative must be green and sustainable, President Xi Jinping said at the
opening of a summit on his grand plan on Friday, adding that the massive
infrastructure and trade plan should result in high-quality growth for
everyone. Xi's plan to rebuild the old Silk Road to connect China with Asia,
Europe and beyond has become mired in controversy as some partner nations have
bemoaned the high cost of infrastructure projects. China has not said exactly
how much money will be needed in total, but some independent estimates suggest
it will run into several trillion dollars. Beijing has repeatedly said it is
not seeking to trap anyone with debt and only has good intentions, and has been
looking to use this week's summit in Beijing to recalibrate the policy and
address those concerns. Xi said in a keynote speech that environmental
protection must underpin the scheme to protect the common home we live in. We
must adhere to the concept of openness, greenness, and cleanliness, he said.
Operate in the sun and fight corruption together with zero tolerance, Xi added.
Building high-quality, sustainable, risk-resistant, reasonably priced, and
inclusive infrastructure will help countries to fully utilise their resource
endowments. Unlike the first summit in 2017, where Xi said Chinese banks will
lend 380 billion yuan ($56.43 billion) to support Belt and Road cooperation, he
did not give a figure for new financing support. However, Xi will give another
speech on Saturday. Western governments have tended to view it as a means to
spread Chinese influence abroad, saddling poor countries with unsustainable
debt.
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RAM MADHAV TO GET SECURITY COVER IN 3 MORE STATES
Citing threat from jihadi
groups in Jammu and Kashmir and Maoist insurgents in Andhra Pradesh and
Telangana, the home ministry has expanded the security cover for BJP national
general secretary Ram Madhav for these three states. The senior BJP leader,
until now, had security cover only for the northeast states and was accorded
commandoes every time he travelled to the Northeast, a top government official
confirmed. Madhav, who was made the incharge of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana
last year, has been handling party affairs in Jammu and Kashmir as well. He was
instrumental in forging a coalition with the Mehbooba Mufti-led PDP. Madhav security
cover by CRPF has been upgraded for three more states besides the northeast. He
has been accorded Y plus category. The security was given based on the
assessment by central agencies which have cited the threat. He was accorded Y
plus security in February last year for the northeast. The cover is not only
for elections and will continue till the next assessment by the agencies and
MHA. Sources also said Madhav’s security has been expanded in wake of the
upcoming elections in Jammu and Kashmir. The BJP leader has been touring the
State frequently and holding meetings in the run up to polls, the dates for
which is yet to be announced. Madhav is also frequent to Andhra Pradesh and
Telangana which are among the 10 Maoist affected States. It may be recalled that
Naxals blew up BJP MLA Bheema Mandavi’s convoy in an IED attack early this
month. A Y-plus security involves an escort vehicle, personal security officer
and a security detail of one guard commander and four guards for security at
residence. The guards will have an officer of sub-inspector level and three
policemen with automatic weapons for any contingency. According to home
ministry, 300 VIPs have been provided security by the Centre out of which the
maximum number of 146 is among of Y+ category followed by X cover, which has
two armed security personnel.
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76K TRANSGENDERS HELD FOR EXTORTION ON TRAINS IN 4 YEARS
At least 76,500
transgenders have been arrested for extorting money from passengers since 2015
till March this year, a senior railway ministry official said on Thursday.
According to official data, during the current calendar year up to March, 4,118
transgenders have been arrested across all railway zones. The number of such
accused arrested was maximum at 20,566 during during 2018 followed by 19,800 in
2016. Both the Railway Police Force and the Government Railway Police have
acted against such offenders to ensure the passengers are not harassed by such
elements, said another ministry official. It’s a regular affair on many trains
as some transgenders board between specific sectors and misbehave with
passengers if they refuse to pay cash.
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2ND BRI SUMMIT UNDER WAY IN BEIJING: CHINA GETS MAP RIGHT ON
JAMMU & KASHMIR, ARUNACHAL PRADESH
As the second edition of
Belt and Road Initiative Summit got under way in Beijing on Thursday, China has
displayed a map with BRI routes that curiously shows entire Jammu & Kashmir
and Arunachal Pradesh as part of India. The map also surprisingly portrays
India as part of BRI even when India boycotted the summit for the second time.
The map has been displayed by China’s ministry of commerce on the occasion of the
three-day BRI Summit. Inclusion of J&K and Arunachal as part of India is
not only a surprise but also self-contradictory, given the fact that China
recently destroyed thousands of maps which showed Arunachal as part of India.
China regularly protests visits by top Indian leadership to Arunachal Pradesh,
described as Southern Tibet in Chinese government parlance. Previous maps of
J&K issued by China showed part of the state under Pakistan, what is
Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir (PoK). Sources indicated that such faux pas, if at
all, is a rare occurrence in China’s official publications and websites.
Experts on Sino-Indian affairs are trying to ascertain if it is a deliberate
tactical move by China to placate India. Last November, China’s state-run media
(CGTN television) excluded PoK from the map of Pakistan while reporting a
terror attack on the Chinese consulate in Karachi. Excluding PoK from the
Pakistan map can also have implications for China-Pakistan-Economic-Corridor
(CPEC). India has strong reservations on CPEC as it is passing through PoK that
violates India’s sovereignty. CPEC is the most important connectivity link
under China's Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). China has invested heavily in
infrastructure projects in PoK even before BRI was launched, much to India's
discomfiture. India had served several protest letters, both in Beijing as well
as Islamabad, about Chinese funded projects in PoK. China had reportedly posted
troops in PoK, a move that was sharply criticised by India. Sino-Indian ties
were adversely impacted when China offered stapled visas to J&K residents a
few years back and hosted Hurriyat leaders. However, Beijing has been
emphasising of late that India and Pakistan should address the Kashmir issue
bilaterally.
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DEVELOPMENT THROUGH BRI CAN BE A MAJOR BLOW TO EXTREMIST
TERROR IN PAKISTAN, AFGHANISTAN: IRAN FM ZARIF
Iran's Foreign Minister
Mohammad Javad Zarif said projects under China's Belt and Road Initiative can
help bring economic development to areas in its region and also deal a major
blow to extremist terror in Pakistan and Afghanistan. The minister said that
much of the terrorism in this particular region, including from Chabahar in
Iran to the Pakistani port of Gwadar, which also connects to Afghanistan, is
due to lack of economic development. So if we can develop, through the Belt and
Road Initiative, those areas, we have dealt a major blow to extremist terror in
Pakistan, foreign-sponsored (terrorism) in parts of Iran, and in Afghanistan,
he said during a talk at Asia Society here Wednesday. Terming the BRI
initiative as a strategic initiative for China, he said that President Xi
(Jinping) has put it on top of his priorities, and we consider that to be
positive. (They are) investing a great deal in the region, they have a number
of projects in Iran including industrial and transit projects. We connect the
Sea of Oman through the Chabahar Port, which has up till now been exempted from
US sanctions, to Europe - both St Petersburg as well as the Black Sea. This is
a strategic transit corridor, he said. Zarif further explained that there are
other transit corridors connecting the East and West. We have just agreed with
the Iraqis to connect our railroad to the Iraqi railroad which means connecting
our railroad to the entire regional railroad, he said. These are important
development projects which will not only bring economic development but fight
terrorism, Zarif said. India has been severely critical of the BRI as one of
its corridors, the USD 50 billion China Pakistan Economic Corridor, passes
through Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK). New Delhi says it cannot accept a
project that ignores its core concern on sovereignty and territorial integrity.
India is boycotting the second Belt and Road Forum currently underway in
Beijing. It had boycotted the first Belt and Road Forum in 2017. China had
unveiled the BRI in 2013 with an aim to link Southeast Asia, Central Asia, the
Gulf region, Africa and Europe with a network of land and sea routes. President
Xi has already announced that China would invest around USD 126 billion for the
project On the issue of multilateralism, Zarif said, everybody is fed up with
unilateralism. The rest of the world is not very happy with unilateralist
policies of the United States. We are part of the regional scenario. We are
part of the global scenario. He said that in Iran's region, they have suggested
a regional dialogue forum, adding that if Iran's neighbours are ready for a
non-aggression pact with it, we are ready for a non-aggression pact with them,
including Saudi Arabia, UAE. He stressed that Iran is satisfied with its size,
geography and natural resources. We don't have any reason to have any
territorial ambition with anybody else. We have very good relations with Turkey.
We have extremely good relations with Pakistan, he said, adding that Iran
enjoys good relations with Azerbaijan, Russia, Iraq.
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CHILDREN UNDER 5 SHOULD SPEND LESS TIME WATCHING SCREENS: WHO
Children under five must
spend less time sitting, watching screens, or restrained in prams and seats,
get better sleep and have more time for active play if they are to grow up
healthy, according to new guidelines issued by the World Health Organization
(WHO) on Wednesday. Achieving health for all means doing what is best for
health right from the beginning of people’s lives, said Tedros Adhanom
Ghebreyesus. Early childhood is a period of rapid development and a time when
family lifestyle patterns can be adapted to boost health gains, he said. The
new guidelines on physical activity, sedentary behavior, and sleep pattern for
children under 5 years of age were developed by a WHO panel of experts. They
assessed the effects on young children with inadequate sleep, and time spent
sitting watching screens or restrained in chairs and prams. They also reviewed
evidence around the benefits of increased physical activity levels. Improving
physical activity, reducing sedentary time and ensuring quality sleep in young
children will improve their physical, mental health and wellbeing, and help
prevent childhood obesity and associated diseases later in life, said Fiona
Bull, programme manager for surveillance and population-based prevention of
noncommunicable diseases. Failure to meet current physical activity
recommendations is responsible for more than 5 million deaths globally each
year across all age groups. Currently, over 23% of adults and 80% of
adolescents are not sufficiently physically active, the apex health agency
said. If healthy physical and sedentary activity, and sleeping pattern are
established early in life, it helps shape habits through childhood, adolescence
and into adulthood, it said. What we really need to do is bring back play for
children, said Juana Willumsen. This is about making the shift from sedentary
time to playtime, while protecting sleep, said Willumsen. With the coming of
the 21st century, we have seen the dawning of the electronic age, where
children specially have been most affected, with more children becoming
sedentary, less play time, more time spent on mobiles, TV, play stations, added
to this older children spending more time on social media, tuitions, chatting ,
it’s almost as if their world has shrunk to just sitting, though social media
has opened the universe to them, but their own health has taken a turn for the
worse with poor nutrition, obesity, insulin resistance and learning
disabilities, and later on heart disease, diabetes, hypertension, and liver
disease. If children less than 2 watch TV for more than 1 hour they increase
their risk of these diseases, said Babita Jain. Infants and children who watch
less TV, mobiles, play more, have better cognitive development, short term
memory, academic achievement and language skills (It is) Important that no
child should sit for more than 1 hour at a time, each child to run around and
play, have physical activity for at least 180 mins a day, spread throughout the
day. Another important aspect is adequate sleep for each child, from the infant
to the adolescent. These little changes incorporated in the child’s daily life
will not only decrease the morbidity but also the mortality, and make the
children have better motor and cognitive development and lifelong improvement
in health, she said.
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IRAQ ON TRACK TO BE THIRD OIL SUPPLIER IN 2030: IEA
Iraq is on track to
produce nearly six million barrels of crude daily by 2030, the International
Energy Agency said on Thursday, which would make it the world’s third biggest
oil supplier. The IEA’s wide-ranging report found that Iraq’s production in the
next decade could increase by an impressive 1.3 million barrels per day to a
total of 5.9 million bpd. Iraq is and will remain one of the key pillars of the
oil market in the years to come, Fatih Birol told. The optimism stemmed from
Iraq’s 50 per cent increase in oil production since 2012, Birol said, despite
several years of low prices and the devastating rampage of the Islamic State
group across a third of the country. It shows the resilience of the Iraqi oil
industry, said the IEA’s executive director. Iraq has the capacity to produce
4.6 million bpd, but last month exported just under 3.4 million bpd after
agreeing to trim its oil production alongside others so prices would go up. Prices
have indeed enjoyed a strong recovery, jumping even further Thursday to a
nearly six-month high of USD 75.60.
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SUBRAMANIAN SWAMY BEATS NARENDRA MODI TO BECOME MOST
INTERACTIVE POLITICIAN ON TWITTER: STUDY
Subramanian Swamy is the most
interactive politician on Twitter according to a study conducted by Dentsu
owned digital agency Webchutney. With an average of six original tweets a day,
Swamy makes effective use of language to incite Twitter users to engage with
him making him rank highest on the response rate. The study, conducted in the
month of February, ranks 50 leaders on the basis of their expertise in using
Twitter as a medium to engage voters. The ranking is done on the basis of
political index calculated on five factors including followership, engagement
rate, response rate, original activity, and amplification. According to the findings,
leaders who scored big on the rankings have replied to citizens, used local
language to converse, liked responses that resonated with their line of
thinking, clarified comments on dubious reports and followed citizens back. Narendra
Modi, the most followed politician in India, emerged as the second most
interactive leader on Twitter who makes the broadest use of languages covering
English, Hindi, and international languages. Use of Hindi, in particular,
spiked towards the last week of February, as campaigning ramped up. Close to
78% of all his tweets contain media — photos, videos, links, at a rate higher
than 95% leaders on the Political Index. Narendra Modi’s lower than expected
position is because of the paradox of scale. He has used Twitter to further
amplify his celebrity position and the influence of his Twitter account, this
comes at the cost of directly relating to the audience, especially as election
campaigning has started. Opposition leader Rahul Gandhi whose overall
engagement rate is 65% higher than Modi’s occupies the third spot as he tweets
in different languages and talks about a range of issues concerning common
public and women. The fourth spot is occupied by minister of textiles Smriti
Irani – the most followed women leaders on Twitter in India - with 9 million
followers. The report stated that as a television celebrity, Irani brings in a
massive wave of her personal clout to the political agenda in many ways.
Averaging 25 tweets a day, close to 80% are retweets of other members of the
BJP, Irani serves as a valuable amplifier of information for the agenda set by
the BJP. Her media includes stories of winning women in the textile sector,
propelled by government initiatives. Devendra Fadnavis – the lone chief
minister in the top ranks, despite having low followership on Twitter has
managed to grab the fifth position owing to highest Twitter activity averaging
27 tweets a day. He plays a crucial role in establishing Maharashtra as an
important battleground for national politics with over half his tweets over the
period representing retweets. Around 90% of all his tweets contain some media,
dominated by photos and videos, followed by links. Video content is 46% of all
media posted. Fadnavis liberally tags BJP leaders to ensure attention oscillates
between regional and national politics. Threaded tweets are used to chain clips
from his rallies and press conferences. Among key leaders featured in the list
include Arvind Kejriwal (13), Yogi Adityanath (14) and Akhilesh Yadav (15),
Mamata Banerjee (34) and Raj Thackeray (45) among others. Regional leaders
ended up forming close to 40% of all users on the Political Index with leaders
such as Andhra Pradesh chief minister N. Chandrababu Naidu – ranked at 24th
spot – whose 40% tweets are in local languages. All of 29 years old, Tejashwi
Yadav (28) leads the pack with an indexed score exceeding Nitish Kumar (43),
his opposition in Bihar when it comes to young leaders on the ranking.
Following him, is K. T. Rama Rao (35), Sachin Pilot (36) and Anurag Thakur (37)
and Aaditya Thackeray (41), each serving a different audience on Twitter. The
index is a hard look at the myriad strategies being used to build personal
brands for our politicians. There are standout examples of ministers who have
gone to great lengths to ensure they are well represented on the platform.
They’ve reaped the benefits of a cohesive social media approach, and also
sought advantages in the field amongst voters in the ongoing elections. We want
this index to be seen as a forward-looking indicator of how future politics
will be fought, and where the most potent competition stands right now, said
Sidharth Rao.
#For Source of Information copy and paste the heading in google.
Thanks & Regards,
CS Meetesh Shiroya
Thanks & Regards,
CS Meetesh Shiroya
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