CRYPTO CURRENCY IS 'PONZI SCHEME', SHOULD BE BANNED IN INDIA:
GOVT OFFICIAL
Crypto currency is a ponzi
scheme and should be banned to protect the interest of investors, a government
official said Friday. Amid continuing debates about crypto currencies such as
Bitcoins, the Investor Education and Protection Fund (IEPF) Authority, which
comes under the corporate affairs ministry, is in favour of banning trade in
such currencies. Crypto currencies are based on blockchain technology and there
are concerns about its viability in the long-term and risk to investors, especially
considering steep fluctuations in the prices. These are digital units in which
encryption techniques are used for trading and these currencies operate
independently of a central bank. When it comes to investor protection, the
IEPFA has to take a stand against certain things. Against ponzi schemes, we are
taking a stand. We think that crypto currency is a ponzi scheme and it should
be banned, Anurag Agarwal said. Agarwal, also a Joint Secretary in the
corporate affairs ministry, said the government would also take a stand on the
issue. While the government is yet to take a final call on whether crypto
currencies should be banned or not, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) last year
tightened the rules to discourage use of such currencies. Agarwal said the authority
plans to start gathering primary data from persons who have put in their money
in chit funds and deposit-taking schemes. A mobile application, as well as an
online platform for such investors, would be introduced in 10 days, he added. Such
a system would help in having an understanding about entities taking deposits
as well as curb illicit money raising activities.
__ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
RBI EXTENDS OMBUDSMAN SCHEME TO NON-DEPOSIT TAKING NBFCS
Provides a cost-free and
expeditious complaint redressal mechanism relating to deficiency in the
services by NBFCs covered under the Scheme. As announced in the Monetary Policy
Statement dated 4 April 2019, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has extended the
coverage of Ombudsman Scheme for Non-Banking Financial Companies (NBFCs), 2018
(the Scheme) to eligible Non Deposit Taking Non Banking Financial Companies
(NBFC-NDs) having asset size of Rs 100 crore or above with customer interface
vide Notification dated 26 April 2019. The Non Banking Financial
Company-Infrastructure Finance Company (NBFC-IFC), Core Investment Company
(CIC), Infrastructure Debt Fund-Non-banking Financial Company (IDF-NBFC) and an
NBFC under liquidation, are excluded from the ambit of the Scheme. The Scheme
was launched on 23 February 2018 for redressal of complaints against NBFCs
registered with RBI under Section 45-IA of the RBI Act, 1934 and covered all
deposit accepting NBFCs to begin with. It provides a cost-free and expeditious
complaint redressal mechanism relating to deficiency in the services by NBFCs
covered under the Scheme. The offices of the NBFC Ombudsmen are functioning at
four metro centres viz. Chennai, Kolkata, Mumbai and New Delhi and handle
complaints of customers in the respective zones.
__ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
120 STARTUPS GET PATENTS UNDER EXPEDITED EXAMINATION PROCESS:
DPIIT SECY
As many as 120 start-ups
have been granted patents under the expedited examination process for
applications since 2016 when the facility was introduced, a top official said
Friday. A total of 450 start-ups have filed applications under this facility. Ramesh
Abhishek said that the government is taking several steps such as hiring more
manpower to reduce the time for examination of IPR (intellectual property rights)
applications. Under the expedited examination facility, a total of 1,021
applications were received and 351 patents were granted by the Indian IP
Office. The facility can be availed by start-ups that meet stated criteria on
payment of stipulated fees. We have taken several steps but we need to do more
on strengthening the start-up ecosystem in the country, Abhishek said. He also
said that the time for the first examination of trademarks applications has
been reduced to about one month from 13 months earlier. We are using technology
and artificial intelligence for the examination of IP applications, Abhishek
added. The department has floated a draft rule to amend the Patents Rules, 2003
under which a patent application filed by a female innovator will be examined
expeditiously with a view to promoting women entrepreneurship in the country. According
to the draft rules, if the applicant or at least one of the applicants in a
group seeking patent is a female, that application would get an expedited
examination by the Indian Patent Office.
__ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
ATM-CUM-DEBIT CARD COMPLAINTS INCREASE 50% IN FY18: RBI DATA
About 15.1 per cent of
consumers have filed the complaints with the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) in
connection with the issues related to the usage of ATM-cum-debit card and
around 7.7 per cent complaints were filed with regard problems arising with the
usage of credit cards during the financial year 2017-18, according to the RBI
data released on Wednesday. Complaints relating to ATM/debit cards increased by
50 per cent from the last fiscal year. Of the total number of ATM/debit cards
complaints, a major sub-category was ‘Account debited but cash not dispensed by
ATMs’ which accounted for almost 60 per cent of the ATM-related complaints, RBI
said. The complaints relating to digital transactions (mobile, internet, ATM
and credit cards) accounted for 28 per cent of total complaints in FY18, up by
9 per cent from the previous year. Other major consumer complaints that were
received in the said duration include 22.1 per cent for ‘non-observance of fair
practices code’, 6.8 per cent for ‘failure to meet commitments’, 5.2 per cent
for mobile and electronic banking, 5 per cent for ‘levy of charges without
prior notice’, 4.8 per cent for ‘pension payments’, 4.1 per cent for ‘deposit
accounts’ and 3.8 per cent for ‘loans and advances’, etc.
__ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
RBI ALLOWS FPIS INVESTMENT IN MUNICIPAL BONDS
FPI investment in
municipal bonds shall be reckoned within the limits set for FPI investment in
State Development Loans. As a measure to broaden access of non-resident
investors to debt instruments in India, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has
permitted Foreign Portfolio Investors (FPI) to invest in municipal bonds. FPI
investment in municipal bonds shall be reckoned within the limits set for FPI
investment in State Development Loans (SDLs). All other existing conditions for
investment by FPIs in the debt market remain unchanged. Necessary amendments to
Foreign Exchange Management (Transfer or Issue of Security by a Person Resident
outside India) Regulations, 2017 have been notified by the Government on 18
April 2019.
__ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
FINANCE MINISTRY RATIFIES 8.65% INTEREST RATE ON EPF FOR
2018-19
The Finance Ministry has
approved 8.65% rate of interest on Employees' Provident Fund (EPF) for 2018-19
as decided by retirement fund body EPFO, benefitting more than 6 crore formal
sector workers. The Department of Financial Services (DFS), a wing of Finance
Ministry, has given its concurrence to Employees Provident Fund Organisation's
(EPFO) decision to provide 8.65% rate of interest for 2018-19 to its
subscribers, a source privy to the development told PTI. The DFS has approved
the proposal subject to fulfilment of certain conditions related to efficient
management of the retirement fund, the source said further. After the Finance
Ministry concurrence, the Income Tax Department and the Labour Ministry would
notify the rate of interest for 2018-19. Thereafter the EPFO would give
directions to its over 120 field offices to credit the rate of interest into
subscribers' account and settle their claims accordingly. According to the EPFO
estimates, there would be a surplus of ₹151.67 crore after
providing 8.65 per cent rate of interest for 2018-19 on EPF. There would have
been a deficit of ₹158 crore on providing 8.7 per cent rate of interest in EPF
for last fiscal. That is why the body decided to provide 8.65 per cent rate of
interest for 2018-19.
__ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
TRAI EXTENDS COMMENTS DEADLINES FOR OSP REGISTRATION PAPER
The telecom regulator has
extended the deadline for stakeholder comments and counter-comments on its discussion
paper seeking to upgrade the regulatory structure around registration of other
service providers (OSPs), offering services such as tele-banking,
tele-medicine, tele-education, e-commerce, call centre, and other IT-enabled
services. The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) in a statement
Friday, said it has sought comments by May 20 instead of April 29, and
counter-comments by June 3 instead of May 13, following requests from
stakeholders. In a consultation paper, floated on March 29, Trai had sought
industry views on aspects such as validity of such registration to the charges,
connectivity, interconnectivity aspects and even security conditions. Trai had
also invited stakeholder views on whether the definition of application service
in context of OSPs needs to be changed and whether the application services
which are purely based on data/ internet should be covered under application
service for the purpose of defining OSP. The Trai paper had said that as per
current definition, an OSP is a company providing application services such as
telebanking, telemedicine, tele-education, tele-trading, ecommerce, call
centre, network operation centre and other IT enabled services by using telecom
resources or infrastructure provided by licensed telecom operators. Trai had
also sought to know if any other regulatory framework – rather than the current
registration process for a fee - be adopted for OSPs so that the purpose of
registration specified by government is met. The consultation paper had come in
the backdrop of the telecom department’s (DoT) reference last September seeking
a recommendation from the regulator on the matter. In a letter to the regulator
last year, DoT had underlined that the time had come to devise a
technology-neutral framework so as to promote innovations for setting up the
OSP service delivery platform in a most cost-efficient manner, for faster
promotion of these service providers. Trai is also in the midst of a separate
consultation paper on whether to regulate apps that provide communication
services, such as WhatsApp and Skype.
__ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
TRAI WITHDRAWS 2012 ORDER ON ‘WANGIRI’ CALLS
The Telecom Regulatory
Authority of India (TRAI) has withdrawn its earlier order on Wangiri calls,
following an appeal by some of the service providers. The issues start with
scammers hiring a premium-rate number from a telecom provider and giving missed
calls to unsuspecting people. As the latter calls back, they pay a higher
charge, and a part of the money goes to the scammer. Such calls are termed as
Wangiri, a Japanese word literally meaning one (ring) and cut. In its September
18, 2012, order, TRAI had directed telecom operators not to activate
international long distance calling on pre-paid cards without taking the user’s
explicit consent. The regulator had also told operators to take pre-paid users’
permission for ISD services within 60 days. Industry body COAI had approached
the telecom tribunal seeking quashing of the TRAI order, citing revenue loss
from genuine long-distance callers. In its latest direction, dated April 22,
the regulator has decided withdraw its earlier order. The COAI has proposed a
technical solution aimed to tackling the menace of such calls. In India, where
nearly 97 per cent of users are on pre-paid connections, international long
distance facility provided as default. While ministry sources confirmed the
development, they also said the issue is currently before the TDSAT, and the
tribunal has to take a final call. TRAI had been getting complaints from users
about calls and SMS from international numbers informing them about winning
prizes or lotteries. The scamsters encourage consumers to call a premium tariff
number, at times attracting charges as high as ₹200 a minute, to claim the
prize.
__ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
NO CLARITY FROM BANKS ON PAYING SALARY DUES: JET CEO
Hinting that Jet Airways
employees are unlikely to receive their salary dues till the stake sale process
is completed, Vinay Dube, told airline employees that the lenders have so far
provided no clarity on releasing emergency funds required to meet salary dues.
In a letter to the employees, Dube also wrote that the consortium of lenders to
the now-grounded Jet Airways has put the blame for the airline's collapse on
shareholders, suggesting that the latter could have agreed to a resolution plan
a long time ago. While we will continue to support the lender-led bid process
in our effort to leave no stone unturned it pains us to communicate that no
clarity or commitment on salaries has been provided by any of our stakeholders,
Dube said. He also described the company's efforts to take up the issue with
the government at the highest levels, seeking its intervention and assistance,
which, however, had not yielded positive results so far. While on the one hand,
we are being told to preserve the value of Jet Airways during the bid process,
our colleagues, who are the very factor and value of the airline, have no
choice to find employment elsewhere, the CEO said. Dube told the employees that
it has tried to convince the state-run State Bank of India (SBI)-led consortium
to release some funds for the over 20,000 employees who have not received their
dues for months, while the bank-led resolution process for the airline is on.
We have old them repeatedly that our employees are facing grave hardships owing
to non-payment of their salaries and that if this were to continue any longer,
our employees will have no option but to find employment elsewhere, he said. Unfortunately,
the banks have said that they are unable to make any salary commitments. We
face this reality despite our best efforts to portray the very real suffering
that is being endured by each one of you. The Jet CEO also highlighted that fact
in numerous board meetings of the airline payment of salary arrears was
deliberated with no favourable outcome.
__ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
JET AIRWAYS HAS LIABILITIES AROUND RS 25K CRORE, SPICEJET TOO
SMALL TO TURN AROUND AIRLINES, SAYS AJAY SINGH
Ajay Singh, chairman and
managing director of SpiceJet, has said that the low-cost airline was too small
to take over and turnaround Jet Airways, which needs a deep-pocketed strategic
investor. Singh also said that SpiceJet has leased 28 aircraft, including
Boning 737-800 NG and Bombardier Q400s, from Jet Airways’ grounded fleet so far
and plans to add 15 more in the coming weeks. He said that SpiceJet has hired
1,000 employees, including pilots and cabin crew, from Jet which temporarily
suspended all operations from April 17. We have signed LoI (letters of intent)
for 28 Jet aircraft and we are starting to induct those aircraft tomorrow. We
are in discussion to add 15 more Jet aircraft so it should be around 40
aircraft in all. These planes are going to need people to fly them and who
better to fly them than people who are already trained to do it. We have
recruited about 1,000 of Jet’s staff and as and when we require more people we
will do it, Singh told. When asked by the channel if SpiceJet would be
interested in bidding for Jet, Singh said, SpiceJet is too small to turnaround
operations like Jet Airways. Jet Airways needs someone with deep pockets to
turn around Would not want SpiceJet to have any financial engagement in Jet
Airways bidding process. Singh said SpiceJet had evaluated Jet during the
preliminary round of bidding but it did not move forward due to huge
liabilities of the full-service carrier. He pegged Jet’s total liabilities at
more than Rs 25,000 crore, which includes Rs 14,000 crore of dues to vendors.
Jet’s gross debt at the end of December 2018 quarter stood Rs 7,654 crore. We
were among the first to be approached to participate in the bidding process for
Jet. The big deterrents are really the big liabilities that Jet has accrued
over this time frame. In our opinion, those liabilities are close to Rs 25,000
crore or even higher. This is our estimate we have seen the number quite
carefully. There were vendor liabilities close to Rs 14,000 crore and advance
from sale of seats which will have to be paid back to customers as well, Singh
pointed out. Jet’s lenders headed by State Bank of India are currently holding
a bidding process to sell stake in the grounded carrier and have shortlisted
four suitors — Jet’s equity partner Etihad Airways, India’s sovereign wealth
fun NIIF, US-based TPG Capital and Indigo Partners. Singh said the airline will
be offering business class seats to passengers on the newly-leased Boning
737-800 NG aircraft from May 7. The carrier will be inducting 22 such planes to
be deployed on the domestic routes. Singh also refuted rivals’ claim of unfair
distribution of Jet’s slots to SpiceJet, saying the government is trying to
protect connectivity to less popular sectors by allowing only new capacity to
be deployed in prime slots vacated by Jet. It makes very little sense for
people to start pulling out aircraft, let’s say from the North-East or other
such areas and use those aircraft on Delhi and Mumbai slots. What the
government is saying that operate your network as you were doing and to take
the space of Jet Airways network please get new capacity. I think that is only
fair because doing anything else would mean you would deprive someone else
(region) of flights, he added. IndiGo has written a letter to the civil aviation
ministry on April 24 alleging inequitable distribution of landing and take-off
slots to a particular carrier.
__ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
NO HIKE IN POWER TARIFF FOR THIS YEAR, SAYS GUJARAT
ELECTRICITY REGULATORY COMMISSION
The state's power
regulator Gujarat Electricity Regulatory Commission (GERC) said on Thursday
that there would not be any hike in power tariff for this year. This is the
third straight year when tariff has not been hiked, but officials clarified
that as in the past, power bills would go up in case of fuel surcharge going
up. GERC issued the power tariff order on petitions filed by Torrent Power and
four state owned power distribution companies on Wednesday, a day after voting
for Lok Sabha elections. There is no change in power tariff for this year,
Anand Kumar, said. He said that for residential consumers, number of slabs have
been reduced to four by merging the slabs of 100-200 units and 200-250 units
into one slab of 100-250 units. The new tariff order would come into force from
May 1, he said further. In a release, GERC said that for the four government
discoms, it had approved power purchase cost of Rs 4.32 per unit (Rs 4.22 last
year), and base fuel and power purchase price adjustment charge (fuel
surcharge) of Rs 1.61 per unit (Rs 1.49 last year). For Torrent Power, power
purchase cost of Rs 4.80 per unit (Rs 4.66 last year), and base fuel surcharge
of Rs 1.38 (Rs 1.23 last year) was approved. Since there is no change in the
methodology for calculating fuel surcharge, there will not be any increase in
electricity bill due to change in base FPPPA charge, said a senior GERC
official. However, the bill would increase in case of higher fuel prices rise,
as it would necessitate upward revision in fuel surcharge, he added.
__ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
PEPSICO OFFERS OUT-OF-COURT SETTLEMENT TO SUED GUJARAT POTATO
FARMERS
The legal tussle between
four potato farmers in Gujarat and global food and beverages giant PepsiCo
India Holdings Pvt Ltd (PIH) MAY be headed for an out-of-court settlement. Alleging
Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) infringement, PepsiCo India had sued the
farmers from Sabarkantha district for buying seeds and selling potato of the FL
2027 variety, also known as FC-5, which the former has registered under the
Protection of Plant Varieties and Farmers’ Rights (PPV&FR) Act, 2001. The
variety is used for PepsiCo's chips product Lay's. However, on Friday, during a
hearing at the commercial court in Ahmedabad, the legal counsel representing
PepsiCo suggested a possibility of out-of-court settlement. The counsel told
judge M C Tyagi that PepsiCo could withdraw the case if the farmers were
willing to sign an agreement for buying the registered variety of FC-5 potato
seeds and selling the produce to the company only. It has been suggested that
the farmers could give an undertaking that they would never buy and sow the
said registered variety of FC-5 potato seeds in future. PepsiCo is learnt to
have engaged 1,200 farmers in Gujarat for sowing and producing the FC-5 variety
of potato for its snacks division. The out-of-court settlement would eventually
depend on the willingness of the four farmers to accept the same or not. In the
meantime, the legal counsel representing the farmer sought time till June 12
for filing written submissions based on the allegations made by PepsiCo.
PepsiCo's legal counsel too sought time till June 12 for filing rejoinders to
the farmers' submissions. In the interim, the court's previous order of a stay
on the farmers from growing and selling the potatoes continues till the next
hearing on June 12.
__ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
CENTRE SANCTIONS RS 4,000 CR FOR WOMEN SAFETY PROJECTS UNDER
NIRBHAYA FUND
The Centre has sanctioned
nearly Rs 4,000 crore for various women safety projects under the Nirbhaya Fund
that include financial assistance to rape and acid attack victims and setting
up of special police units for women and children. According to a Home Ministry
document, the highest Rs 2,919.55 crore has been sanctioned under the ‘Safe
City Project’ being implemented in eight cities — Delhi, Kolkata, Mumbai,
Chennai, Hyderabad, Bengaluru, Ahmedabad and Lucknow — to provide safety to
women in public places. A total of Rs 200 crore has been released for the
Central Victim Compensation Fund. The key objectives of the project is to
support the victims of rape, acid attacks, crime against children, human
trafficking etc, it said. All these projects are being implemented under the
central government’s ‘Nirbhaya Fund’, which was named after the 2012 Delhi
gang-rape victim, a Home Ministry official said. The ministry has sanctioned Rs
321.69 crore under the Emergency Response Support System (ERSS) to provide a
pan-India single emergency response number — 112. The project has already been
operationalised in 20 States and Union Territories, according to the document.
A total of Rs 23.53 crore has been sanctioned for setting up of the Special
Unit for Women And Children (SPUWAC) and the Special Unit for North East Region
(SPUNER) at Nanakpura in Delhi. Both the SPUWAC and the SPUWAC have already
become operational, it said. A state-of-the-art DNA laboratory is being set up
at the Central Forensic Science Laboratory in Chandigarh at a cost of Rs 99.76,
while projects have been sanctioned for setting up or strengthening of the DNA
facilities in Forensic Science Laboratories in 12 states at a cost of Rs 131.09
crore, as per the document. The Home Ministry has also sanctioned Rs 7.09 crore
for training of investigation, prosecution and medical officers and Rs 5.07
crore for providing facility of social workers and counsellors at the district
and sub-divisional police station level in Delhi, it said.
__ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
FSSAI PARTNERS WITH A US FIRM TO IMPROVE FOOD TESTING
A new food testing
facility coming up in Ghaziabad can make the process of finding adulterants and
contaminants in food easier and more accurate. The Food Safety and Standards
Association of India (FSSAI) has partnered with Thermo Fischer Scientific, a US
based biotechnology firm, to address food safety and food quality concerns in
India. The objective of the partnership is to facilitate and build world class
food testing capabilities in India. Thermo Fisher Scientific will offer skilled
analysts to conduct high quality food testing and to also train food
scientists. The CSC is equipped with latest innovations in liquid, gas and ion
chromatography, mass spectrometry, and trace element analysis. The upcoming
Customer Solution Center (CSC) at Ghaziabad is equipped with advanced
analytical solutions that will overcome a wide range of challenges presently
faced by food safety scientists. For example, detecting organic pollutants like
brominated flame retardants and chlorinated paraffin in food. The CSC will be
equipped to find these pollutants within a routine food safety analysis
laboratory environment, says Amit Chopra. Similarly, finding and accurately
measuring trace pesticides on apple skins and micro concentrations of lead and
nickel in foods will also be possible at this new food testing facility.
__ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
MUMBAI UNIVERSITY PASSES A RS 695 CR BUDGET
Mumbai University passed a
budget of Rs 695 crore on Thursday at a senate meeting held at its Fort campus.
The budget covers a cell for international collaboration, women's welfare
schemes, incubation centre and others to bring Mumbai University among 100 best
universities. The Budget which which Vice Chancellor Suhas Pednekar approved
under his chairmanship has shown a deficit of 68.81 crores indicating the sad
state of varsity's finances currently. The Budget's priority is clearly aimed
at investing funds in initiatives that will help the university in bettering
it's ranking. The initiatives include promoting research culture, to lauch a
new prize for groundbreaking research, scholarship to M.Phil students,
introduce vice chancellor fellows, incubation centers, welfare schemes for
women, organising national and international study tours for management
council, academic council and senate members of Mumbai University. The student
centric budget was approved unanimously in the assembly today by emphasizing
university reforms with special budget provisions based on such innovative
initiatives like the Bal Apte Chapter Centers. In addition, special priority
has been given to the planned constructions in 2019-2020, in which museum
complex building, 100 guest hostels and hostel for 500 girls is included. The
varsity is also banking on the fact that this year it has improved it's
National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF) to 81 rank among University
category.
__ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
2.9 MILLION CHILDREN IN INDIA MISS FIRST DOSE OF MEASLES
VACCINE: UNICEF
India has 2.9 million
children who have missed out on the first dose of measles vaccine between 2010
and 2017 despite over 80 per cent of immunisation coverage, the UNICEF said on
Thursday. India, with its large annual birth cohort of 25 million, is followed
by Pakistan and Indonesia - 1.2 million each, and Ethiopia 1.1 million, it
said, adding that the situation is critical in low and middle-income countries.
In 2017, for example, Nigeria had the highest number of children under one year
of age who missed out on the first dose of vaccine, at nearly 4 million, the
United Nations child health body said. The United States topped the list of
high-income countries with most children not receiving the first dose of the
measles vaccine between 2010 and 2017 at more than 2.5 million. It is followed
by France and the United Kingdom, with over 600,000 and 500,000 unvaccinated
infants, respectively, during the same period. An estimated 169 million
children missed out on the first dose of the measles vaccine between 2010 and
2017, or 21.1 million children a year on an average, the UNICEF said. Widening
pockets of unvaccinated children have created a pathway to the measles outbreak
around the world. The ground for the global measles outbreaks we are witnessing
today was laid years ago, UNICEF Executive Director Henrietta Fore said. The
measles virus will always find unvaccinated children. If we are serious about
averting the spread of this dangerous but preventable disease, we need to
vaccinate every child, in rich and poor countries alike, Fore said. In the
first three months of this year, more than 1,10,000 measles cases were reported
worldwide - up nearly 300 per cent from the same period last year. An estimated
1,10,000 people, most of them children, died from measles in 2017, a 22 per
cent increase from the year before, the body said in a statement. Two doses of
measles vaccine are essential to protect children from the disease. However,
due to lack of access, poor health systems, complacency, and in some cases fear
or skepticism about vaccines, the global coverage of the first dose of the
measles vaccine was reported at 85 per cent in 2017, a figure that has remained
relatively constant over the last decade despite population growth. Global
coverage for the second dose is much lower at 67 per cent. The World Health
Organization (WHO) recommends a threshold of 95 per cent immunisation coverage
to achieve so-called 'herd immunity'. Worldwide coverage levels of the second
dose of the measles vaccines are even more alarming. Of the top 20 countries,
with the largest number of unvaccinated children in 2017, nine have not
introduced the second dose, it said in the statement. Twenty countries in
sub-Saharan Africa have not introduced the necessary second dose in the
national vaccination schedule, putting over 17 million infants a year at higher
risk of measles during their childhood. Measles is far too contagious, said
Fore, adding that it is critical not only to increase coverage, but also to
sustain vaccination rates at the right doses to create an umbrella of immunity
for everyone.
__ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
INDIA NEEDS TO CREATE MILLIONS OF JOBS ANNUALLY
India’s working age
population or those above the age of 15 is seen to be expanding by 1.3 million
a month and therefore, the country needs to create millions of jobs a year but
the number depends on the estimates of the employment rate, says a new book.
Jobonomics: India’s Employment Crisis and What the Future Holds by Goutam Das
goes beyond the data or the lack of it to analyse the story of India’s job and
income scenario through real life stories. It shifts the discussion from the
Centre’s role in job creation to the states’ responsibilities and provides
insight on how they need to go about it. According to the author, job creation
remains Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s biggest challenge. For that matter, it
is the biggest challenge for any government in 2019 and beyond, he says. Das is
of the view that it is difficult to come across reliable data about jobs and
job creation. Most of the government surveys either have design flaws or are
released once in many years. One audacious private effort by the CMIE at
tabulating unemployment – a household survey to measure unemployment that it
started in 2016 – isn’t quite liked by many in the government, he writes in the
book, published by Hachette. The numbers aren’t encouraging. The employment
needle, according to the CMIE, hasn’t moved in the past year. The number of
people employed in 2017-18 was 406.2 million, 0.1 per cent lower than the year
before. The employment rate, or the proportion of working age population that
is employed, slid in 2017-18 to 41.45 per cent compared to 42.59 per cent the
year before, he goes on to add. He terms the government’s unemployment
estimates as more conservative, but feels its surveys are not really comparable
to those of the CMIE, whose computations are based on the status of the
respondents as on the day of the survey or as on the preceding day. He says an
unemployment rate of 5 per cent or slightly lower appears manageable right now.
It does not indicate a job crisis. But consider this: more than a million young
people enter the working age population in India every month. The World Bank’s
South Asia Economic Focus Spring 2018 report states that between 2015 and 2025,
India’s working age population, or those above the age of 15, is seen to be
expanding by 1.3 million a month. India, therefore, needs to create millions of
jobs a year – exactly how many millions depends on the estimates of the
employment rate, he suggests. Manufacturing, according to the book, is getting
more technology intensive and so is the services industry. The ability of these
two sectors to absorb people migrating from the unproductive and less
remunerative farm sector is on the decline. Robots and bots are also decimating
the higher-paying white-collar jobs. Technological disruptions imply that jobs
of the future would need people with higher technical skills, it says. The book
also seeks to connect the dots on what’s coming and why the economy’s ability
to absorb so many into the workforce every year is a slippery slope. The first
section of the book is about why the demand for jobs could shrink in the
future, and how it could accelerate the pay crisis. The second section narrates
the problems with the supply side of India’s human capital and the
conversations around poor primary and vocational education, health and
attitudes. It also explores the implications that the shrinking demand for jobs
and our poorly prepared human capital will have on the country. The final
section narrates success stories or best practices. Some of the ideas are
scalable, others not so much.
__ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
EXPERTS REJECT CLAIMS OF PESTICIDES CAUSING CANCER IN PUNJAB'S
MALWA REGION
An industry body and
experts Friday rejected claims that use of pesticides was the only reason for a
spike in cancer deaths in Malwa region of Punjab, stressing that the
life-threatening disease can be caused by multiple factors. A team comprising
eminent toxicologist and researchers at an outreach event organised by the Crop
Care Federation of India along with the Centre for Environment and Agriculture
mentioned how other reasons were causing cancer deaths, a release said. When
pesticides are applied in accordance to the Good Agricultural Practices (GAP),
they do not pose any health risks and India has a robust regulatory system in
this regard, Crop Care Federation of India Chairman (Technical Committee) Ajit
Kumar said. Toxicologist Tejas Prajapati emphasised that socio-economic factors
affect cancer rates and mortality and will become a bigger challenge in the
future. Cancer rates, cancer types and cancer mortality vary widely around the
world and at least environmental or lifestyle risk factors that account for 50
per cent of all cancer deaths, he said, adding that tobacco exposure is by far
the most prominent reason for cancer deaths. In this context, strategies to
reduce these risk factors will have a tremendous impact on reducing the burden
of cancer globally, he added.
__ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
SUPREME COURT DENIES MEDICAL INSURANCE CLAIM TO MAN
Noting that a contract of
insurance involves utmost good faith, the Supreme Court has denied medical
insurance claim of a man who did not disclose past history of a disease he was
suffering while buying the policy. A Bench of Justice D.Y. Chandrachud and
Justice Hemant Gupta said: The failure of the insured to disclose the past
history of cardiovascular disease was a valid ground for repudiation. Manish
Gupta had obtained a mediclaim policy from Life Insurance Corporation of India
(LIC) in June 2008. The policy was issued under the category of Non-Medical
General (NMG) for a sum of ₹1.6 lakh. The proposal form required a disclosure of health
details and medical information. Among them was whether Mr. Gupta had suffered
from cardiovascular disease like palpitations, heart attack, stroke or chest
pain. He denied having any of the above ailments in the form. The next year, he
submitted a claim after undergoing a Mitral Valve Replacement (MVR) surgery.
The claim was denied by LIC on the ground that he was suffering from a
pre-existing illness. When challenged LIC’s decision before the District
Consumer Disputes Redressal Forum, Ambala, which pass an order in his favour.
The District Forum directed LIC to pay a sum of ₹2.21 lakh with interest. This
order was concurred by the State Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission and
later by the National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission. LIC subsequently
moved the apex court. Before the top court, LIC submitted that the Health-plus
policy falls under the NMG category where the insured is not subjected to a
medical examination before the issuance of the policy. It argued that the onus
was on the insured to provide material particulars of his health since no
medical examination was mandated. Mr. Gutpa argued that he was not suffering
from any other ailment and that he cannot be faulted for any noting which has
been made by the doctor in the course of treatment. But the Bench pointed out
that the treatment record indicates that Mr. Gupta was operated for MVR, the
nature of the diagnosis was rheumatic heart disease. Bench said they have made
a fundamental error in allowing the claim for reimbursement of medical expenses
in the face of the uncontroverted material on record.
__ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
‘MY WIFE WILL LEAVE ME IF I JOIN POLITICS’: EX-RBI GOVERNOR
RAGHURAM RAJAN
The former governor of the
Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Raghuram Rajan doesn’t think about joining politics
or floating a political party will do any good to his family life. The
56-year-old spoke about Congress’ minimum income guarantee scheme Nyunatam Aay
Yojna or NYAY and the BJP-led government’s successes in the interview in
Chennai recently, where he attended a board meeting of liberal arts university
Krea as a member of its governing council. First, my wife has said she will not
stay with me if I join politics. Politics everywhere is similar. It is not
particularly noisy or whatever, I don’t have any taste for it. Somebody else
can give the speeches and gain the votes, Rajan said when asked if he has
something against joining politics. He said he will not be floating a party. My
writings are all out there, you know my views. The point is I have no interest
in politics. Absolutely none. And to speculations that he will be appointed as
a minister if the Congress party is elected to power, Rajan said he is happy
where he is. That’s too many steps, too far. Unfortunately, given the kind of
work that I have done here, there is an expectation that my primary function is
in the public arena. No, my primary job is academic. I like the job. I am a
reasonably engaged academic. I have written a book recently (The Third Pillar)
which is more intellectual than polemic. So given all that, I am very happy
where I am, the Katherine Dusak Miller Distinguished Service Professor of
Finance at the US’ University of Chicago’s Booth School of Business said. Rajan
said he will also be happy to help in some useful way. I am happy to do it.
Sometimes people want advice, and I’m happy to do it. He said, we have not
moved the needle unlike what was anticipated. It may be good enough to keep
going, 7% is nothing to be sneezed at. Then is it 7% with or without jobs? That
is another issue. The underlying theme is that growth has some concerns. Have
we changed the kind of economic framework for the world of tomorrow? I’d say
no. I’d say this is pretty much the framework we had for a long time. He,
however, said the parameters of the successes of the government needs to be
looked at carefully. There is continuity in governance. NDA looks a lot like
what UPA did— emphasised the same thing like GST, Direct Benefit Transfer,
Aadhaar. If you tick off all the reforms that have been done, there is a
continuity in that. The question again is, is that good news? It goes back to,
can we afford the average? And the job situation would suggest that we really
need to think about do we need a reboot, he pointed out. The next government
whether it is the BJP coming back to power or a new one, he said, has to
contemplate on the future of the reforms, think about the structures to tackle
economic challenges and that jobs will be no 1 for any new government. It is
not that there are no jobs, there are no good jobs. Do we have the economic
apparatus to enable us for the next phase of growth? Do we have research forces
in various universities that are gonna help industries become a force? I have
not seen that, Rajan said. Are we investing in areas of those researches are
also not clear. Electric batteries for example. Are we able to take up the jobs
that are leaving China? I’d argue, anecdotally, that investors prefer coming to
Vietnam, or even some times Bangladesh, than here. So, jobs will be no 1 for
any new government, he added. When asked whether Congress’ NYAY is a better way
to transfer cash than welfare schemes, he said the country needs structures
around the market to help people live productive lives. The broader point about
direct income transfers, which both NDA and UPA have agreed on, is that it can
empower people. That doesn’t mean in every place the government will open a
medical dispensary for the people to be able to buy. But once they have money
power, people can go to private dispensary set up. And now that people have
money to buy, the medicine is actually there. This is how they will evolve. It
is not just about what it will do today, he said. He also talked about the
similarities in the anger people have in India and the west and suggested that
communities to be empowered to be able to bring in more place-based growth
network. Let’s push more powers and funding down to the community so that they
can actually respond. Some of these direct income transfer schemes are a way of
pushing more power directly to the people. Of course, the devil lies in the
details. You have done attempts of poverty alleviation for so many decades,
with very limited results. So we should experiment, carefully, he said. This
anger, he said, is affecting the society over the absence of good middle-class
jobs which tends to have negative effects on the family, especially when you
used to have those jobs and you don’t have now. They are getting very angry
because they are slipping on social security.
__ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
INDIA SETS A RECORD FOODGRAINS TARGET OF 291 MILLION TONNES
The government has set an
ambitious foodgrains target of 291.1 million tonnes (mt) for 2019-20, nearly
2.6 per cent more than the previous year’s 283.7 mt, as a favourable monsoon is
anticipated in the current season. While the target set for rice is 116 mt, 3
mt more than that in 2018-19, wheat production target is set at 100.5 mt, which
is marginally higher than the previous year’s (July-June) 100 mt, said
Agricultural Ministry sources at the National Kharif Campaign conference on
Thursday. However, as per the second advance estimates for 2018-19, rice output
is projected to be 115.6 mt, while that of wheat is 99.12 mt. The government,
on the other hand, is hoping to have a substantial 10 per cent increase in
pulses production at 26.3 mt, as against the target of 24 mt in the previous
year. The target set for coarse cereals is 48.3 mt as against 46.7 mt last
year. The output of oilseeds, however, is expected to be 36.1 mt (36 mt in
2018-19). So is cotton, whose tentative target for 2019-20 is 35.75 million
bales of 170 kg each, marginally higher than 35.5 million bales in 2018-19. However,
as per the second advance estimates, projected oilseeds production in 2018-19
was 31.5 mt, while that of cotton was a poor 30 million bales. Targeted
sugarcane production, on the other hand, is 385.5 mt, nearly 30 mt more than
that targeted in the previous year, but only 5 mt more than that was estimated
in the 2018-19 second advance estimates. Maize target for the current year is
28.9 mt, while that for bajra and jowar are 9.5 mt and 4.9 mt respectively.
__ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
INDIA-DOMICILED COS FILED OVER 4,600 PATENTS IN US BETWEEN
2015-2018: NASSCOM
India-domiciled companies
filed over 4,600 patents in the US between 2015-2018, a majority of which were
from the technology domain, a report by industry body Nasscom said Friday. Interestingly,
Indian start-ups have filed nearly 200 patents in the US during 2015-18, and a
majority of these focused on emerging technology areas including image
processing, artificial intelligence, cyber security, vehicle technology and
Internet of Things (IoT). Overall, the share of technology patents from
India-domiciled companies has consistently increased to 64.8 per cent in
2017-18 from 51 per cent in 2015, the report said. Within technology patents,
the share of emerging technologies has increased consistently to 56.3 per cent
in 2017-18 from 38.3 per cent in 2015, while the share of computer and
communication technology patents witnessed a decline. AI led the emerging
technologies patent race both in terms of number of patents (330 patents) as
well as growth over the period 2015-18. Apart from AI, there has been a
consistent growth on building IP in other emerging tech domains with patents
being filed in cyber security (193), IoT (107) and cloud computing (88)
accounting for over 50 per cent of the tech patents filed in 2017-18, the
report said. Innovation is the key to driving transformation and such patents
and trademarks are a testimony to this transformational growth, Nasscom
President Debjani Ghosh said. As a country, India can further strengthen its
potential as an innovation hub through more investments in research and
strategic collaborations. We are confident that we will usher in a new wave of
innovation and intelligence in the country, she added. The study also
highlighted the patent growth story in newer application areas including cyber
security (96), digital payments (31), e-commerce (87) and navigation (58).
__ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
JUSTICE INDU MALHOTRA APPOINTED TO IN-HOUSE INQUIRY PANEL TO
PROBE ALLEGATIONS AGAINST CJI
Supreme Court judge Indu
Malhotra was Thursday appointed as the third member of the in-house inquiry
panel set up to examine allegations of sexual harassment against Chief Justice
of India Ranjan Gogoi following recusal of Justice N V Ramana. Senior-most
judge S A Bobde, who is heading the panel, has appointed Justice Malhotra to
the committee. Justice Indira Banerjee is also part of the panel. The
development assumes significance as the former woman employee of the apex court
had written a letter on Wednesday to the panel expressing reservation over the
inclusion of Justice Ramana on the ground that he is a close friend of the CJI
and a regular visitor to his house. In her letter to Justice Bobde, she had
also raised question over the presence of only one woman apex court judge —
Banerjee — in the panel to examine her allegations against the CJI which
according to her is not in accordance with the Vishaka Guidelines. The woman is
supposed to appear before the panel on Friday. During the day, Justice Ramana
recused himself from the panel by writing a letter to Justice Bobde. Sources
said that Justice Ramana did not recuse owing to the objections raised by the
former woman employee who has levelled allegations of sexual harassment against
the CJI. Justice Ramana has recused and letter has been sent to Justice Bobde.
It is a big three pages letter. The recusal is not based on the grounds raised
by the former woman employee. But it is done so that the whole exercise does
not get vitiated, a source said.
__ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
GOVERNMENT SCHOOLS ENCOURAGE HEALTHIER LIFESTYLES: STUDY
The study was done in 19
co-educational schools located in Delhi that had primary and senior-secondary
level classes to understand how many of them encouraged healthy habits in children.
Researchers assessed school health policies, canteen and lunch box policies,
infrastructure for sports and physical activity, measures for tobacco and
alcohol control. It was found that almost all schools had some policies and
practices in place to address a healthy lifestyle. Almost 80% private and 89%
government schools said they were following the Comprehensive School Health
Programme suggested by the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE). However,
there was considerable variation in the type and number of policies amongst the
schools. All government schools provided a free and balanced lunch to students
of primary and upper primary classes under the mid-day meal scheme, thus
discouraging consumption of junk food. None of the government schools had a
canteen, while 60% of private schools had one. Advertisements of food and
beverage companies (in and outside school campus) were observed in private
schools, but not in any of the government schools. The visual impact of
advertisements tempts children to purchase unhealthy foods. When it came to
displaying signs related to nutrition policy, only 10% private and about 55%
government schools did so. While all schools had a playground, they were
suitable for sports in 60% of the private schools as against only 33% in
government schools. Adequate or good sports equipment was available in all
private and 71% government schools. All the schools had physical education
periods for each class. There were however, only two physical education periods
per week of 40–50 minutes, which is less than the minimum duration in the CBSE
guidelines. Most government schools provided information about harmful effects
of tobacco and alcohol in the school curriculum. But only 40% (at primary
school level) and 60% (at secondary school level) private schools had similar
information in their curriculum. Tobacco vendors within a 100-yards radius of
the school were observed in 40% of private and 11% of government schools. Most
government schools had anti-smoking signs on display, while only one private
school had such displays. One private school had an alcohol outlet in its
immediate vicinity. Schools are important setting for delivering health
interventions. Despite this, little is known about existing school-based health
initiatives in the Indian context. We have comprehensively assessed existing
school policies, built environment and practices in relation to prevention and
control of non-communicable diseases, beyond what is officially documented,
explained Shalini Bassi, a member of the study team from the Public Health
Foundation of India (PHFI). The onset of many lifestyle or non-communicable
diseases like diabetes, obesity and cardiovascular diseases can be prevented or
delayed by addressing these risk factors earlier in life. By increasing
awareness about risk factors like unhealthy diet, physical inactivity and
tobacco use, children can be encouraged to develop healthy practices.
__ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
GOAIR TO EXPAND NETWORK WITH 28 NEW FLIGHTS FROM APRIL 26
Budget carrier GoAir on
Wednesday said it will launch 28 additional flights in its network, including
eight services from its hub in Mumbai and another seven from New Delhi,
starting April 26. Its bigger rivals, IndiGo and SpiceJet, have already announced
the roll out of additional flights from the city following the temporary
grounding of Jet Airways and subsequently steep reduction in capacity, mainly
in the domestic market amid peak demand season. GoAir announced 28 flight
options this summer in addition to our existing flights. There are two sectors
that GoAir is launching for the first time, namely, Delhi-Nagpur-Delhi and
Delhi-Kochi-Delhi, GoAir managing director Jeh Wadia said in a release. The
airline also announced fare as low as ₹1,368 on select routes, he
added. As per the company, the roll out of 28 additional flights covering
across airports will alleviate the shortage of flights and inconvenience caused
to passengers due to the Jet Airways flight cancellations, the release said.
__ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
INDIGO'S APRIL 2 PUNE INCIDENT DUE TO ENGINE STALLING: AAIB
PROBE
An initial probe by the
apex aircraft investigation body AAIB has found that one of the Pratt &
Whitney-powered engines of the A320 Neo flight of IndiGo, which had made a turn
back to Pune early this month, stalled mid-air with a loud bang, according to
sources. The investigation into the incident that took place on April 2 were
handed over to the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB), after a
preliminary probe by the aviation regulator Directorate General of Civil
Aviation (DGCA). The bureau has the mandate to investigate all serious
incidents/accidents involving aircraft. The Pune-Nagpur flight being operated
by an A320 Neo plane (VT-ITG) was later grounded at the Pune airport as it
required a major engine overhaul. While climbing out of FL150 (15,000 ft), a
loud bang was heard by the crew which was followed by one engine stalling and
high EGT (exhaust gas temperature) going over the limit, the AAIB said in its
initial probe. The report has been shared with the French aviation authorities.
The preliminary report also found damages to the engine's low pressure turbine
(LPT), which forced the pilot to return to Pune. Significantly, IndiGo
spokesperson on April 2 had termed the incident only as an 'engine caution
message, while the incident was a grave safety risk as per the bureau report. After
take-off from Pune for Nagpur, the pilot observed engine caution message in the
flight (6E-134) operated by an A320 Neo plane. Following this the aircraft
returned to Pune, the spokesperson said even without admitting that the plane
was a P&W-powered A320 Neo. When reached for comments on the AAIB probe,
the airline Friday said as a matter of policy it does not comment on an
on-going investigation and parried a query on why such a serious incident was
dubbed as simply engine 'caution message. We immediately reported the
occurrence as per the laid down SOP to the DGCA. Subsequently, the matter was
also referred to the AAIB, whose investigation is still on, Indigo said in the
statement.
__ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
CONSUMERS TO FACE POST-ELECTION FUEL PRICE SHOCK, ECONOMISTS
WARN HIGHER OIL PRICES MAY HIT GDP, BUDGET
Surging global oil prices
will pose a first big challenge to India’s new government whoever wins an
election now under way, especially as domestic prices have been allowed to lag,
meaning consumers are in for a painful surge as they catch up. For oil-import
dependent India, higher global prices could lead to a weaker rupee, higher
inflation, the ruling out of interest rate cuts and could further weigh on twin
current account and budget deficits, economists warned. But compounding the
future pain, state-run fuel suppliers and retailers have held off passing on to
consumers the higher prices during a staggered general election, which began on
April 11 and ends on May 23, according to sources familiar with the situation.
That delay is expected to be unwound once the election is over. And there could
be additional price increases to make up for losses or profits missed during
the period of delayed increases, the sources said. In some major Asian
countries, such as Japan and South Korea, pump prices are adjusted periodically
so they move largely in tandem with international crude prices. That was what
was supposed to happen in India but the election means there have been many
days when pump prices have been unchanged. In New Delhi, for example, while
crude oil prices have gone up by nearly $9 a barrel, or about 12 percent, in
the past six weeks, gasoline prices have only risen by 0.47 rupees a litre, or
0.6 percent. State-controlled fuel suppliers and retailers declined to say why
they had delayed price increases, or discuss whether there has been any pressure
from the government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The opposition Congress
party said Modi’s government was violating its own policy of daily price
revision by advising the state oil companies to hold prices steady. The
government should cut fuel taxes otherwise consumers will have to pay much
higher oil prices once the elections are over, said Akhilesh Pratap Singh.
Nitin Goyal, said prices were similarly held down for 19 days in the southern
state of Karnataka last year, when it held state assembly elections. Only for
them to surge after the vote. Consumers should be ready for a rude shock of a
massive jump in retail prices, similar to the level we have seen in the
Karnataka state election, Goyal said.bSri Paravaikkarasu, said retail prices of
gasoline and gasoil prices would have been up to 6 percent, or about 4 rupee,
higher if they had been allowed to rise in line with global prices. Indian pump
prices have failed to keep up with the recent uptrend in crude prices,
Paravaikkarasu said. With the country’s general elections underway, the
incumbent government has been keeping pump prices relatively unchanged. India
had switched to a daily price revision in June 2017 from a revision every two
weeks, as the government allowed retailers to set prices. But the government
faced protests last October when retailers raised prices by up to 10 rupees a
litre after the crude oil price went above $80 a barrel, forcing it to cut fuel
taxes. Global prices rose to their highest level in 2019 on Thursday, days after
the United States announced all Iran sanction waivers would end by May,
pressuring importers including India to stop buying Tehran’s oil. Higher oil
prices will mean Asia’s third largest economy is likely to see growth of less
than 7 percent rate this fiscal year, economists said. Growth slowed to 6.6
percent in the October-December quarter, the slowest in five quarters. Rating
agency CARE has warned that a 10 percent rise in global oil prices could
increase demand for dollars, putting pressure on the rupee and widening the
current account deficit. India’s oil import bill rose by nearly one-third in
the fiscal year ending March 31 to $140.5 billion, against $108 billion the
previous year. Policymakers are worried that a sustained increase in the oil
price in the range of $70-75/barrel or higher can move the rupee down by 3-4
percent on an annual basis. The rupee has depreciated by 1.24 percent against
the dollar since a year high in mid-March. ($1 = 70.1800 Indian rupees)
__ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
INDIA'S SMARTPHONE SHIPMENT GROWS 4% TO 31 MILLION IN MARCH
QUARTER: COUNTERPOINT
Smartphone shipment in the
country grew four per cent year-on-year to 31 million units in the
January-March 2019 quarter, according to a report by Counterpoint Research.
Anshika Jain, said the overall growth was slower than expected as some of the
major brands were sitting on inventory after a stock build-up during the
festive period last quarter. This quarter, we have seen all major brands
expanding their footprint in offline channels to gain market share, Jain added.
While the report did not disclose the shipment numbers for feature phones, it
said Jio had a 30 per cent share, followed by Samsung (15 per cent), Lava (13
per cent), Nokia (8 per cent) and Itel (7 per cent). While the smartphone
market offers a big opportunity, one can't ignore 400 million feature phone
users in the market which is also likely to stay for the next five years in
India, the report added. Xiaomi continued to lead the smartphone tally with 29
per cent share, followed by Samsung (23 per cent), Vivo (12 per cent), Realme
and Oppo (7 per cent each). Volume of the Chinese brands is estimated to have
grown 20 per cent year-on-year driven by growth of brands like Vivo, Realme,
and OPPO. The market share of Chinese brands in the Indian smartphone market
reached a record 66 per cent during the first quarter of 2019. India's
smartphone market continues to attract a lot of attention from global and
Chinese players. Data consumption is on the rise and users are upgrading their
phones faster as compared to other regions, Counterpoint Research associate
director Tarun Pathak said. This has led to users spending more on their
purchase which is driving up the overall average selling price in the market,
he added. As a result of this, the premium specifications are now diffusing
faster into the mid-tier price brands. We estimate this trend to continue
leading to a competitive mid-tier segment in coming quarters, Pathak said.
Samsung surpassed OnePlus to become the number one player in the premium
smartphone segment, driven by the good response for its Galaxy S10 series.
__ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
ISRO POSTPONES CHANDRAYAAN-2 AFTER ISRAEL'S UNSUCCESSFUL
ATTEMPT TO LAND ON MOON
Wary of failure after
Israel's unsuccessful attempt to land on Moon, Chandrayaan-2 has been further
postponed to July, an ISRO official said. We saw Israel's example and we don't
want to take any risk. Despite Israel being such a technologically advanced
country, the mission failed. We want the mission to be a success, he said. The
launch of India's Moon mission was scheduled in April but it was postponed
after Israel's Beresheet spacecraft crashed during moon landing early this
month. The ambitious mission was a first for a private effort. Landing on the
Moon is a very complex mission and all the exigencies have to be factored in,
the official added. The next launch window is available in mid-July for 10
days, he said. Chandrayaan-2 was scheduled to be launched in April last year,
but it was postponed to October after ISRO lost contact with GSAT-6A in March
2018. Following the setback, the ISRO grew cautious about its missions to
ensure there was no failure. The postponement of the ambitious mission was due
to two setbacks it faced in two years.
__ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
J&J FACES MORE PAIN AS MUMBAI COPS REOPEN IMPLANTS CASE
The Mumbai Police has
opened investigation into an eight-year-old case against DePuy Medical Pvt.
Ltd, a subsidiary of Johnson and Johnson Pvt. Ltd (J&J), for its faulty hip
replacement implants, a top police official said on Thursday. The city police
is in the process of recording statements of patients and doctors to collect
evidence. The investigation concerns a complaint filed against DePuy at the
Mahim police station in 2011 by an inspector in Food and Drug Administration
(FDA), Maharashtra. The police, having ignored the matter, has now sprung into
action after a spate of recent media reports on the subject and the findings of
an expert committee. The central government too became serious about the issue
after a Mint investigation brought to light the plight of Indian patients, who
had suffered because of faulty implants. A high-level panel set up by the
government to look into the matter recommended that every affected patient be
compensated. The suggested amounts range from ₹33 lakh to ₹1.25
crore. We have been contacting patients and the doctors to record their
statements. We are also looking into the medical records of the patients and
their present status with regard to presence of chromium and cobalt levels in
their body for the purpose of evidence, Ajinath Satpute, said on the phone. Around
4,700 patients have undergone acetabular surface replacement (ASR) surgeries in
India between 2004 and 2010. However, only 1,080 patients have been traced so
far through the company’s ASR helpline. The Mahim police station has written to
the patients asking for their medical records. During the course of
investigation, it has come to our knowledge that a medical procedure was
conducted and an allegedly faulty ASR hip implant marketed by the accused
company was implanted in your body. As such, your assistance in this regard is
necessary for further investigation. You are therefore requested to attend this
office with all medical papers in respect of pre and post above said medical
procedure, reads the letter. The case has been pending for long. However, it
has now gathered speed due to the recent expert committee report. We will do a
thorough investigation to take the case to its logical conclusion, said
Satpute.
__ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
MOTHER-OF-PEARL! SCIENTISTS CREATE SYNTHETIC PEARL USING
BACTERIA
Scientists have used
bacteria to create synthetic mother-of-pearl that is tough but bendable, and
could be used as medical implants or for constructing buildings on the Moon in
future. Nacre, also known as mother-of-pearl is an exceptionally tough, stiff
material produced by some mollusks and serving as their inner shell layer. It
also comprises the outer layer of pearls, giving them their lustrous shine.
However, while nacre’s unique properties make it an ideal inspiration in the
creation of synthetic materials, most methods used to produce artificial nacre
are complex and energy intensive. Scientists at the University of Rochester in
the US invented an inexpensive and environmentally friendly method for making
artificial nacre using an innovative component: bacteria. The artificial nacre
is made of biologically produced materials and has the toughness of natural
nacre, while also being stiff and bendable. In a research published in the
journal Small, the team outlined their method of using two strains of bacteria
to replicate these layers. When they examined the samples under an electron
microscope, the structure created by the bacteria was layered similarly to
nacre produced naturally by mollusks. One of the most beneficial
characteristics of the nacre produced at the University of Rochester is that it
is biocompatible — made of materials the human body produces or that humans can
eat naturally anyway. This makes the nacre ideal for medical applications like
artificial bones and implants, Anne S Meyer, an associate professor at
University of Rochester. If you break your arm, for example, you might put in a
metal pin that has to be removed with a second surgery after your bone heals. A
pin made out of our material would be stiff and tough, but you wouldn’t have to
remove it, she said. The nacre might also be an ideal material to build houses
on the moon and other planets: the only necessary ingredients would be an
astronaut and a small tube of bacteria, Meyer said. The moon has a large amount
of calcium in the moon dust, so the calcium’s already there. The astronaut
brings the bacteria, and the astronaut makes the urea, which is the only other
thing you need to start making calcium carbonate layers, she said. Although
nacre-inspired materials have been created synthetically before, the methods
used to make them typically involve expensive equipment, extreme temperatures,
high-pressure conditions, and toxic chemicals, said Meyer. Many people creating
artificial nacre use polymer layers that are only soluble in nonaqueous
solutions, an organic solvent, and then they have this giant bucket of waste at
the end of the procedure that has to be disposed of, she said. To produce nacre
in Meyer’s lab, however, all researchers have to do is grow bacteria and let it
sit in a warm place. In order to make the artificial nacre, researchers create
alternating thin layers of crystalised calcium carbonate — like cement — and
sticky polymer. They first take a glass or plastic slide and place it in a
beaker containing the bacteria Sporosarcina pasteurii, a calcium source, and
urea (in the human body, urea is the waste product excreted by the kidneys
during urination). This combination triggers the crystallization of calcium
carbonate. To make the polymer layer, they place the slide into a solution of
the bacteria Bacillus licheniformis, then let the beaker sit in an incubator.
Right now it takes about a day to build up a layer, approximately five micrometers
thick, of calcium carbonate and polymer. Researchers are currently looking at
coating other materials like metal with the nacre, and we’re trying new
techniques to make thicker, nacre-like materials faster and that could be the
entire material itself, Meyer said.
#For Source of Information copy and paste the heading in google.
Thanks & Regards,
CS Meetesh Shiroya
Thanks & Regards,
CS Meetesh Shiroya
No comments:
Post a Comment