GENERAL UPDATES 02.05.2019

ROC TO TELL GOVERNMENT IF JET AIRWAYS PROMOTERS NEED TO BE PROBED

The Registrar of Companies (RoC), Mumbai, will in about a month’s time tell the government whether promoters of the defunct Jet Airways (India) Ltd need to be investigated for any diversion of funds from the company. The government has decided to speed up inspection of the books of Jet Airways that was ordered last August shortly after the company deferred its first quarter FY19 results. Although major shareholders of companies cannot be held liable for a business failure, any diversion of fund from the company by promoters can deprive them of their limited liability. The RoC report will tell the government if an investigation into promoters' conduct is needed or not. RoC's inspection of a company’s books is similar to a preliminary fact finding exercise which will lay the ground for further action. It could be a detailed investigation by the RoC itself or by any other detective agency, a person familiar with the development said on the condition of anonymity. The move comes at a time when the process of share sale in Jet Airways led by its lenders is underway. The insolvent carrier has come to a precarious situation where neither the existing promoters, nor the lenders have shown willingness to infuse the emergency funding that the company needs to remain afloat till a turnaround plan is agreed between shareholders and lenders. Nor did Jet Airways' shareholders or lenders decide to take the company to a bankruptcy court in time as a going concern, which would have resulted in a court appointed resolution professional executing a turnaround plan. This has led to a situation where the company's lenders led by State Bank of India (SBI) have taken charge of the resolution efforts that has largely been defined by caution while opposition parties objected to any government bailout of a private company. A corporate rescue plan outside the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC) will work if there is a credible revival plan backed by investors. Without that, such efforts will go haywire. With operations halted, there is hardly any point in referring the company to a bankruptcy tribunal now, a person privy to how the bankruptcy courts work said on condition of not being named.

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EPFO TO CHALLENGE ORDER ON HIGHER PENSION OUTGO

The Employees Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) plans to move the Supreme Court to review a high court order that allowed workers to draw pension on a wage above the current salary ceiling of ₹15,000 per month. The current monthly contribution toward employees pension scheme (EPS) is limited and is not adequate to pay a higher pension, according to the retirement fund body. Any binding order on it will make the organisation financially unviable, two government officials said requesting anonymity. We are readying for a review petition. Pension contribution by EPFO subscribers is based on a ₹15,000 salary ceiling. If pension outgo is calculated on the total salary above the ₹15,000 threshold, it will be tough to maintain. It will be a negative cash flow and we may fall short of several thousand crores every year, said one of the two officials mentioned above. EPFO plans to move the apex court though the top court dismissed a special leave petition (SLP) filed by it last month against a Kerala high court order on higher pension outgo. There are three key factors hindering the EPFO from making a higher pension payout, said the other official mentioned above. First, there is no rule about collecting a higher pension contribution. Second, a lower contribution for decades by an employee makes it untenable to get a higher pension. Third, the differential pension contribution (more by well paid subscribers based on actual salary and less by low income workers based on a ₹15,000 salary threshold) needs a different accounting system that is not in practice at EPFO right now. The government needs to subsidise a higher pension. Financially, EPFO is not equipped to pay that, the second official said.

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HIGH COURT ISSUES NOTICE TO JET ON PLEA FOR REFUND, ALTERNATIVE FLIGHTS

The Delhi High Court Wednesday issued notice to Jet Airways on a plea seeking direction to the Civil Aviation Ministry and the DGCA to ensure refunds or provide alternative travel mode for passengers who have booked tickets with the airlines which has temporarily suspended all its flights. A bench of Chief Justice Rajendra Menon and Justice A J Bhambhani sought response from Jet Airways and also asked the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) to file an affidavit on the issue. The high court said it will hear the matter after summer vacation and posted the matter for July 16.

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CASH-STRAPPED AIR INDIA HAS AROUND 20 PLANES GROUNDED FOR REPAIR

The flag carrier Air India has been forced to ground as many as 20 of its 127 fleet of aircraft comprising both wide-body as well as single-aisle, as it does not have the funds to replace their engines a senior official has said. The debt-ridden AI, surviving on public doles, needs at least Rs 1,500 crore to get new engines for these planes, and with has no funds coming in, these planes are unlikely to resume operations any soon, the official explained. The loss-making carrier has a fleet of 127 planes of which 45 are Boeing wide-bodies (27 B787s and 18 B777s) and cater to the long-haul and ultra-long haul international routes, and the rest are narrow-body Airbus A320s. As many as 20 of our planes are out of operations since late last year due to engine issues. That means almost 16 percent of our fleet is down. These planes have to be fitted with new engines, which will require around Rs 1,500 crore, the official said.

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BSE'S MUTUAL FUND PLATFORM EXECUTES 42.6 LAKH TRANSACTIONS IN APRIL

The BSE's mutual fund distribution platform BSE StAR MF has executed 42.6 lakh transactions this month. In a tweet, the BSE said, 42.6 lakh transactions in a month on StAR MF, India's largest online MF platform! BSE StAR MF now accounts for 20 per cent of all MF transactions and 40 per cent of all new subscribers to the industry.

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RBI SHOULD REVIEW DISCLOSURE POLICY REGULARLY: AIBOC

The Reserve Bank of India should critically review its Disclosure Policy from time to time, especially policies pertaining to Regulatory and Supervisory Activities, according to the All India Bank Officers' Confederation. The Confederation has made this demand as it feels there is every possibility that banks tend not to allow flow of information in this critical area, which will only be at the peril of all stakeholders and, in the long run, would hurt the economy. While hailing the recent Supreme Court decision directing RBI to disclose the wilful defaulters’ list and inspection reports, Soumya Datta, General Secretary of the Confederation, said Corporate wilful defaulters are the primary cause for today’s humongous stressed assets in banks, more especially in public sector banks. He alleged that despite all the hue and cry, the Government and the apex regulator have not put in place a suitable frame of law or regulations to check this menace, thus, affecting the health of banks and allowing economic offenders and wilful defaulters to fleece the banks and leave the country. Datta emphasised that it is the depositors’ savings held in various forms of deposits with banks, which is the source of funds being lent out by the banks to borrowers. It is observed that during the last more than a decade, the public sector banks have been consistently earning operating profits year after year, but unfortunately nearly 70 per cent of these hard-earned profits are being evaporated due to mandatory provisions for bad loans and non-performing assets, in line with the guidelines of the apex bank, he said.

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BANK CREDIT TO INDUSTRIES ROSE BY 6.9% IN FY 2019 AS COMPARED TO PREVIOUS YEAR: RBI DATA

The bank credit to industries (comprising Micro & Small, Medium and Large) rose by 6.9 % in March 2019 as compared with an increase of 0.7 per cent in March 2018, according to the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI’s) data on sectoral deployment of bank credit. The share of bank credit to Micro and Small Enterprises (MSEs) declined from 0.9% in 2018 to 0.7% in March 2019, whereas data reveals that the credit to medium enterprises increased from -1.1% in 2018 to 2.6% in 2019. However, under the priority sector lending, credit to MSEs (including manufacturing as well as service sector) declined from 10.5% in 2018 to 7.1 % in 2019. The central bank said credit to agriculture and allied activities increased by 7.9 per cent in March 2019, up from an increase of 3.8 per cent in March 2018. Credit growth to infrastructure, chemical and chemical products, and all engineering accelerated. Credit to the service sector expanded by 17.8 per cent in March 2019 as compared with 13.8 per cent in March 2018 and personal loans increased by 16.4 per cent in March 2019 as compared with an increase of 17.8 per cent in March 2018. On a year-on-year basis, non-food bank credit increased by 12.3 per cent in March 2019 as compared with an increase of 8.4 per cent in March 2018.

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REPO-LINK EFFECT: SBI SAVINGS A/C HOLDERS WITH BALANCE ABOVE ₹1 LAKH TO GET LOWER INTEREST

Savings bank account holders in SBI having more than ₹1 lakh balance will earn a quarter percentage point less interest from Wednesday, with the country’s largest lender linking interest rate to the RBI’s repo or short-term lending rate. However, SBI savings bank account holders with less than ₹1 lakh balance will continue to get 3.5 per cent interest on deposits. According to the information provided on the website of State Bank of India (SBI), the interest rate on savings bank accounts with balances above ₹1 lakh will be 2.75 per cent below the RBI’s repo rate, which currently stands at 6 per cent. Hence, SBI will give 3.25 per cent interest on savings bank deposits with balance exceeding ₹1 lakh.

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TS-RERA EXTENDS REGISTRATION DATE TO MAY-END

The Telangana State Real Estate Regulatory Authority (TS-RERA) has announced that the date for registration of projects has been extended up to May-end but upon a payment of a penal fee of ₹3 lakh As per the Telangana State Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Rules-2017, the projects which are approved on or after January 1, 2017 by the competent authorities viz., UDAS, DTCP, municipal corporations, municipalities or TSIIC, are to be registered with the TS-RERA. The TS-RERA had announced the time-lines to register online the projects before November 30, 2018, for those approved between January 1, 2017 and August 31, 2018. Press notes and show cause notices were later issued for registration of projects on or before November 30, 2018, which was later postponed to December and then till April-end.

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SC ASKS AMRAPALI GROUP TO EXPLAIN DETAILS OF TRANSACTIONS WITH M S DHONI

The Supreme Court on Tuesday directed the embattled Amrapali Group to explain its monetary transactions and agreements with Indian cricketer Mahendra Singh Dhoni, the realty firm's brand ambassador between 2009 to 2015. The top court said it wants the entire picture to be placed before it as also the explanation of each and every transactions and dealings with Dhoni. It said the group might have cheated Dhoni as well and that is the reason some media houses have reported about his case. A bench of Justices Arun Mishra and U U Lalit asked the firm to submit the details by Wednesday as to how much money was transacted between Amrapali Group and Dhoni. By, we want entire picture before us. How much money was transacted between you and Dhoni and what were your agreements with him. How much money you have paid for the advertisements (branding). We want entire detail. You might have cheated him also that's why media houses have recently reported about his case, the bench said. At the outset, the court-appointed forensic auditors Pawan Agrawal and Ravi Bhatia told the bench that they have detected 24 transactions between Amrapali Group and M/s Rhiti Sports Management Pvt Ltd, which manages endorsement and advertisement rights of Dhoni. Agrawal told the bench that in one of the transactions around Rs 25 crore was given by Dhoni to Amrapali and there were several transactions between different group companies. The top court, which is seized of several pleas of home-buyers seeking possession of around 42,000 flats booked in projects of the Amrapali group, also ordered attachment of personal properties of the CMD and directors -- Shiv Priya and Ajay Kumar.

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SC ALLOWS I-T, EOW TO ACCESS FORENSIC REPORT ON AMRAPALI GROUP

The embattled Amrapali group has diverted over Rs 3,500 crore of home buyers money to different projects, the forensic auditors Tuesday told the Supreme Court which allowed the I-T department and the EOW to access their fresh report. A bench of Justices Arun Mishra and U U Lalit was told by two forensic auditors -- Pawan Agrawal and Ravi Bhatia -- that they have received notices from I-T department and the Economic Offence Wing seeking the audit report as also their presence to explain the same. The top court, which accepted the report, allowed the forensic auditors to share a copy with the investigating agencies. It is brought to our notice that Commissioner of Police, Economic Offences Wing requires Report of the Forensic Auditors. We permit the Forensic Auditors to furnish the Report to the Economic Offences Wing but they shall not be summoned for any purpose whatsoever to aid in the investigation, the bench said. The top court said that the case has to see the light of the day and directed the Amrapali Group to file its reply within a day or two to the reports submitted by forensic auditors. Agrawal pointed to a recent order passed by Debt Recovery Tribunal (DRT), which has been asked by the court to auction the attached and unencumbered properties of Amrapali Group -- in which some adverse remarks were made against the court appointed auditors. The DRT is requested not to assume that Forensic Auditors are hampering the auction proceedings. They are rather assisting this Court in the entire process and we appreciate the able assistance rendered by them, the bench said in its order. The court had also appointed a valuer to ascertain the exact value of 5,229 unsold flats including those booked by Amrapali for just Rs 1, Rs 11 and Rs 12 and asked the valuer to submit its report.

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MAHARASHTRA LEADS NATION AS RERA COMPLETES TWO YEARS

Two years of RERA, and Maharashtra leads the nation. In Maharashtra, the number of the registered project stands at 20,718, while the number of agents registered stands at 19,699. This is the highest in the country, not only this, of all the ruling passed by MahaRERA, 79 per cent were in favour of home buyers. RERA was brought in to bring in transparency in the real estate sector, and help home buyers get possession of their delayed projects and if not possession then interest on their money for the delay. One of the biggest, and arguably the most called for, reforms in the real estate industry in India was the implementation of RERA nearly two years ago. A quick look at the rulings given by MahaRERA, arguably the most advanced state in implementing RERA, at the end of 2018, tells us that nearly 5,000 complaints were received and over 3,100 orders passed. Just till the end-2017, 79% rulings were in the favour of buyers. That should give us an estimate of the speed and the extent of buyer-protection that RERA offers. It is evident that as various states establish the authorities; and as these state authorities come to function at optimal efficiencies, real estate will be a radically transformed industry, said Gulam Zia. Maharashtra still leads with 20,718 projects and about 19,699 RERA-registered real estate agents, Gujarat comes second - 5,317 RERA-registered projects and 899 registered agents and agencies, Karnataka - 2530 projects and about 1342 RERA-registered real estate agents; Andhra Pradesh has 307 RERA-registered projects, while West Bengal is the only state with its own real estate law WBHIRA. Anuj Puri, said, Even while buyers have been continuously fretting about the dilution of the rules notified, they are bestowing their faith in the law and coming forward in bulk to raise their complaints against faulty developers for myriad reasons including project delays. For instance, MahaRERA has received as many as 6,631 complaints (as on April) since inception, out of which the state authority claims to have disposed of more than 64% of the complaints.

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TRAI PULLS UP DTH, CABLE OPERATORS FOR NOT COMPLIYING WITH NEW TARIFF

The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) has pulled up direct-to-home (DTH) operators Tata Sky, Dish TV, and Sun Direct TV, along with cable operator Independent TV for failing to abide by the rules of the new tariff order that came into effect at the start of this calendar year. In a notice dated May 1, the regulatory body directed the distribution platform operators (DPO’s) to abide by the rules of the new tariff order, specifically those pertaining to the migration of those customers who had paid for long-term packs. Trai explained in the notification that it had received numerous complaints from consumers about the DPOs’ failure to comply with the rules laid out in the new tariff order. As a result, Trai has directed the four DPOs to, desist from migrating long-term plan subscribers to any new plan till the contracted period ends, unless the subscriber opts out of it or the validity of the long term plan expires, whichever is earlier. All four DPOs have been given seven days to comply with the directions issued on May 1.

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TRAI TO SEEK MORE DETAILS ON BHARTI AIRTEL’S CUSTOMISED PLANS

The telecom regulator will demand more details from the country’s second largest mobile operator Bharti Airtel about the various tariff plans it offers to its customers, including concessions offered to specific individuals and on linked plans, a Trai official said. Bharti Airtel has not submitted all the details asked for, including linked plans on which concessions were made, a senior official at Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) told. We’ll ask them for such details which are readily available in their billing system. Trai will also summon executives of rival telcos Vodafone Idea and Reliance Jio while examining details of their segmented offers, the official said. Jio and Airtel had submitted details concerning segmented offers to the regulator by the deadline of April 25, while Vodafone Idea had asked for 15 more days to submit its details due to the recent merger between Vodafone India and Idea Cellular. However, in its submissons, Sunil Mittal-driven Airtel had withheld some specific details sought by Trai, and only shared price points and the number of users availing segmented offers to the sector regulator, the official said. The idea is to see whether the offers have been classified rightly, discouraging non-discrimination, and to see if all consumers falling under a similar category would be getting it as per the constitutional provision, the Trai official said.

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OVER RS 12,000 CRORE SUBSIDY DISBURSED TO HOMEBUYERS: GOVERNMENT

Subsidy of over Rs 12,000 crore has been disbursed to homebuyers till March under the government's Credit Linked Subsidy Scheme, the union housing and urban affairs ministry has said in reply to an RTI query. The Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (Urban), launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in June 2015, aims to ensure housing for all by 2022 by providing financial assistance to beneficiaries. Under the Credit Linked Subsidy Scheme (CLSS), the Centre provides interest subsidy of up to around Rs 2.67 lakh on home loans to individuals, which reduces the principal outstanding amount of the loan. Under the CLSS component of PMAY (U), as on March 31, 2019, interest subsidy of Rs 12,717 crore has been released across the country, the RTI reply stated.

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UDAY KOTAK SAYS NEXT SIX MONTHS CRUCIAL FOR FINANCIAL SECTOR

Banker Uday Kotak Tuesday warned of more liquidity crisis plaguing the financial sector, which is already passing through turbulent times for the newt two quarters and stressed on the need to have strong balance sheets to withstand difficult times. The next six months are crucial for the financial sector, Kotak, the executive vice-chairman of Kotak Mahindra Bank said, adding the fear this time is the financial sector impacting both itself as well as the real sector. Comments come days after smaller rival Yes Bank under a new chief executive warned that up to ₹10,000 crore of assets existing on its book as standard assets can slip into NPAs and massively provided for the same, resulting in a maiden loss of over ₹1,500 crore. We are in the midst of one of the significant challenges in the financial sector and I think the next few months are crucial in the sense how the financial sector shapes up across various segments, he told. This is the time when the quality of the balance sheet of financial players gets very crucial the true test of a financial institution is the balance sheet, he added. Rather than focusing on profits, market should look at the inherent strength of the balance sheet whether it can withstand difficulties, he said. Kotak said the financial sector was the biggest beneficiary of the note-ban exercise as massive amount of liquidity flowed into banks, insurers and mutual funds. But soon, this money got invested in illiquid assets like land and realty, which was the biggest folly because once liquidity got tighter, exiting such assets has become tough. He said the issues faced by infra lender IL&FS, which he chairs after its bankruptcy, was the first signal of the looming crisis. It can be noted that the same has been followed by the troubles faced by promoters who borrowed against pledged shares, especially from mutual funds. Kotak said banks coming out of NPA pains was also one of the issues which led us into the present situation. We need a very strong approach both from the practitioners as well as policymakers to take the financial sector into safer waters from the more turbulent waters. As a way-out, he said the best solution is more equity infusion into struggling players or consolidation and in the worst case there can be some mortalities as well.

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JET AIRWAYS BIDDERS SHOW NO EXPRESSIONS OF INTEREST

Bidders for Jet Airways so far appear uninterested in following up on their expressions of interest, dealing a major blow to the early revival of the airline. With just ten days to go for final submission of bids, three of the four qualified bidders — Etihad Airways, TPG Capital and Indigo Partners — have not signed nondisclosure agreements a must for conducting due diligence. None of the bidders, barring National Investment and Infrastructure Fund (NIIF), has been accessing the data room where potential investors are supposed to peruse Jet’s accounts and key documents as part of the due diligence. They have till May 10 to submit their bids. But no stakeholder is hopeful. We are staring at an obituary, said an executive at one of Jet’s key lenders. SBI Capital Markets is running the bid process. The move drew widespread criticism and gave the saga a political turn in the ongoing election season. The investors had also put forward difficult conditions such as an 80% haircut on loans and a reworking of leasing contracts to proceed with the bidding process. None of them worked out.

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INDIA'S MANUFACTURING IN APRIL GREW AT SLOWEST PACE SINCE AUG 2018: PMI

The country's manufacturing sector performance eased to an eight-month low in April as new business growth moderated, curbed by the elections and a challenging economic environment, a monthly survey showed Thursday. The Nikkei India Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index declined from 52.6 in March to 51.8 in April, reflecting weakest improvement in business conditions since August 2018. This is the 21th consecutive month that the manufacturing PMI remained above the 50-point mark. In PMI parlance, a print above 50 means expansion, while a score below that denotes contraction. April PMI data indicated that softer increase in new orders restricted growth of output, employment and business sentiment. Although remaining inside expansion territory, growth continued to soften and the fact that employment increased at the weakest pace for over a year suggests that producers are hardly gearing up for a rebound, said Pollyanna De Lima, said. When looking at reasons provided by surveyed companies for the slowdown, disruptions arising from the elections was a key theme, Lima said, adding that firms also seem to have adopted a wait-and-see approach on their plans until public policies become clearer upon the formation of a government. On the prices front, input cost inflation eased to a 43-month low while the rate of charge inflation was marginal and below its long-run average. With price pressures in the manufacturing economy cooling and growth losing momentum, it's increasingly likely that the RBI may cut its official rate for a third successive time in June, Lima said.

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PASSENGER VEHICLE SALES DIP THE WORST IN NEARLY 8 YEARS

Passenger vehicle sales crashed 17% last month — the sharpest decline in nearly eight years — as uncertainty before the general election results, liquidity tightening in the market & high insurance costs have prompted consumers to defer their purchases this reason. Industry estimates around 246,000 vehicles were sold in April, compared with 298,000 units sold in the corresponding period of the last financial year. Data available with industry body Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM) show the decline recorded last month is the highest since October 2011 when sales had fallen by 19.8%. In February 2013, passenger vehicle wholesale had dipped 16.7%. SIAM is yet to release official data for April 2019.

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NEED TO CLOSELY MONITOR ASSET-LIABILITY MISMATCH IN FINANCIAL SECTOR: KRISHNAMURTHY SUBRAMANIAN

Krishnamurthy Subramanian has said there is a need to closely monitor the asset-liability mismatch in the financial sector and called for an improvement in the disclosure framework for defaults, as embattled non-banking financial companies (NBFCs) face a liquidity squeeze and rating downgrades. Subramanian termed the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC) a big change, and said the economy had done well by growing at an average 7.5% over the past five years even though there has been a slowdown in the last two quarters. We all know that the effect of investment on growth is felt with a lag. And we have had a significant slowdown in capital formation since 2014. So the effects of some of that on growth will show up, and with a lag, he said. The CEA said there was need to incentivise young businesses as opposed to small businesses, as these were the ones that create more jobs and deliver growth. We basically support dwarfs. We should be supporting gazelles, those that actually grow up if you are small for 40-50 years, it’s not about vulnerability, it’s the lack of ability, he said. He justified the Rs 6,000 annual transfer to farmers under the PM-KISAN scheme, saying it addressed the huge risks faced by peasants. On the troubles plaguing the NBFC sector, Subramanian, who has a PhD from Chicago-Booth University, said incentives and information asymmetry are the two key problems that need to be solved in the financial markets to avoid stress. Subramanian said that while mandating the disclosure of even a one-day default might be too harsh, one could have a system wherein information would have to be shared if a repayment is missed for seven days. Within a year, you could default three times, but you can’t keep defaulting. There has to be some market discipline, because this is critical information and it is a material event, he said. To a question on whether there should be a special liquidity window for NBFCs, Subramanian said this was the territory of the RBI and he would not want to comment. This is a fundamental question, if in a capitalist economy one should be really intervening unless there is huge systemic risk and contagion effects that are being created. I worry about a situation where profits are private but losses are socialised, he said. On the debate over the jobs data, he said the earlier employment-unemployment survey and the present Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) numbers were not comparable. Subramanian traced the current slowdown in gross capital formation to the dual balance sheet problem and related aspects. When dual balance sheet problem was getting created, there was huge expansion of capacity and over investments and good part of exuberance, he said, and added that that the IBC had started making a positive change. Now banks have the stick to control, and corporates are seized of the fact. With threat of losing control, capital budgeting is now being done in a more controlled manner, he said. Its effect on demand side is that investments are coming in and capacity is being created. We are now at 75% capacity utilisation.

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ATMS NOT GIVING CASH A COMMON WORRY

Teller machines not dispensing cash even when bank accounts are debited remains the most common grievance among users of the devices that help bypass human intervention in traditional banking transactions. Bankers say that the problem is common enough because of financial inclusion, and that most cases are resolved satisfactorily. About 16,000 complaints, or 10% of all customer grievances at the banking ombudsman offices in FY18, were registered under the head ‘account debited but cash not dispensed at ATM,’ data released by the Reserve Bank of India last week showed. Data also showed that debit card and ATM related complaints saw a 50% jump on year. As per the ombudsman scheme of 2008, banks are mandated to give a helpline number in the premise of the ATM. An aggrieved customer should immediately register a complaint either via a call or an email with the issuing bank, say experts. Generally, the bank identifies such cases when they do their reconciliation process, within a day. In any case, banks have to resolve customer complaints within seven days, according to the RBI mandate, said a private sector banker who did not want to be named. When a bank doesn’t resolve the issue within the deadline, customers can register a complaint with RBI at the respective ombudsman office in their zone within 30 days of the failed transaction. The recent increase in deployment of ATMs in rural areas after demonetisation and increased customer awareness are reasons behind the rise in number of complaints, the person cited above said. The rise in complaints is not indicative as it is in proportion with the increase in ATM networks across the country and the number of complaints filed in the concerned period, said the banker. ATM manufacturers say that while the increase in deployment has been a factor, the primary cause for such grievances are network and power-related failures, especially in rural ATMs. What happens in most cases is that due to network issues, the transaction gets timed out but the ATM switch gets triggered, sending a message to your phone, says Mandar Agashe. The next day, when the bank does its reconciliation process, these errors get rectified as the bank’s log and transaction data don’t match. Customers mostly get their money back within a day. But it is always advisable to immediately log a complaint. We have recorded cases where the modus-operandi of stealing from ATMs involves forceful switching off of ATM machines the moment before it dispenses cash. The machines now are programmed to be shielded from these types of crimes, said Manohar Bhoi.

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UPI VOLUME DIPS 2% TO 782 MN IN APRIL, VALUE OF TRANSACTIONS UP 6%: NPCI

The volume of transactions through the Unified Payments Interface (UPI) — the government’s flagship payments platform — dipped marginally by 2 per cent on a monthly basis in April. However, the value of such transactions rose 6 per cent, shows data by the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI). The volume was 782 million in April, against nearly 800 million in March. At the same time, the value stood at Rs 1.42 trillion in April, against Rs 1.33 trillion in March. For the government’s UPI app — Bharat Interface for Money (BHIM) — the volume of transactions was at 15.5 million and value at Rs 6,583 crore in April. BHIM has seen a declining trend in UPI transactions, especially since January, amid competition from private players. However, in April, there was a rise in both volume and value of transactions through the app. Local players such as Paytm and PhonePe have been competing for market share in the digital payments space, facing stiff competition from global giants Google and WhatsApp. Amazon Pay is the latest entrant in the peer-to-peer (P2P) transactions space through UPI. While UPI transactions have mostly comprised P2P ones till date, both the NPCI and other players have undertaken measures to promote merchant transactions. Experts believe a rise in merchant transactions will exponentially raise the value of the UPI market. UPI 2.0’s features such as overdraft facility, one-time mandate, receipt of invoice in the inbox, signed intent and QR are expected to further boost UPI usage.

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AVERAGE DATA BREACH COST IN INDIA UP BY 8%

India suffers the second highest number of cyber attacks, and the average cost of a data breach rose by 8% to nearly Rs 12 crore in 2018-19 compared to the year before, says a report from the Data Security Council of India (DSCI). The report says attacks like that on Pune-based Cosmos Bank (Rs 94-crore data breach) in 2018 highlight the vulnerabilities of the banking industry. IT companies and financial institutions are top buyers of cyber insurance, said the report, adding that the premium paid for such covers vary from Rs 4.5 lakh to Rs 80 crore a year. Other buyers of such policies are companies in pharma, retail and hospitality, as also R&D and IP-based organisations. Large IT services companies buy the highest insurance coverage, seeking cyber liability for about Rs 1,400 crore ($200 million). Large public/private sector banks buy coverage for cyber risk of Rs 350-700 crore ($50-100 million), said the report. Manufacturing companies don’t foresee risk/liability beyond Rs 100 crore. Apart from hacking, changing global regulation is also prompting companies to get insured, said experts. Prominent data breach events in the US (the most attacked country) and the Western world, and recently enacted laws such as the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) are driving the uptake of cyber insurance by Indian firms with global exposure, said Anup Dhingra. Businesses also view cyber incidents as their top business risk, more worrisome than natural catastrophes, supply chain disruption, market developments or regulatory changes, according to Allianz Risk Barometer 2019.

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CYBER CRIMINALS HIDE IN THE ‘DARK WEB’ TO REMAIN ANONYMOUS

An increasing number of cyber criminals are using the dark web — the encrypted part of the internet that cannot be tracked — to shop for software that helps them remain anonymous while carrying out their crimes. The dark web is a part of the deep web, the non-indexed part of the world wide web that cannot be accessed by standard search engines such as Google and requires encrypted networks such as Tor browser. The most significant feature of this world is that the identity of its users is hidden and cannot be tracked, which is why several illicit products such as weapons and drugs are available here. Cyber criminals, too, appear to be shopping here. According to app developer and cofounder of TBG Labs Harsha Halvi, the deep web makes up as much as about 65- 75% of the world wide web. Many tools that can be used to commit cyber frauds are available on the dark web, said cyber crime police station inspector M Chandrappa. Deputy superintendent at the cyber crime police station of CID MD Sharath said it was difficult to ascertain the frequency of usage of such applications by criminals. Those fighting cyber crime in Bengaluru say that as most cases are not detected, chances are that more and more criminals are using the dark web. While investigating a case recently, a suspect admitted to having downloaded a software from the dark web that enabled him to disguise his number and also prevent it from being traced, the police said. If a person has used tools from the dark web to hide his number, the investigation ends right there, as we do not have the necessary tools and software to trace the person, a senior police officer said.

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SALE OF ELECTORAL BONDS AT AUTHORIZED BRANCHES OF STATE BANK OF INDIA (SBI) (AMENDMENT)

The Government of India has notified the Electoral Bond Scheme 2018 vide Gazette Notification No. 20 dated 02nd January 2018. As per provisions of the Scheme, Electoral Bonds may be purchased by a person (as defined in item No. 2 (d) of Gazette Notification), who is a citizen of India or incorporated or established in India. A person being an individual can buy Electoral Bonds, either singly or jointly with other individuals. Only the Political Parties registered under Section 29A of the Representation of the People Act, 1951 (43 of 1951) and which secured not less than one per cent of the votes polled in the last General Election to the House of the People or the Legislative Assembly of the State, shall be eligible to receive the Electoral Bonds. The Electoral Bonds shall be encashed by an eligible Political Party only through a Bank account with the Authorized Bank. State Bank of India (SBI) has been authorized to issue and encash Electoral Bonds through its 29 Authorized Branches in the month of May 2019. This Notification is an Amendment of the earlier Notification issued on February 28, 2019 indicating schedule of issuance/redemption of Electoral Bonds during the period March to May 2019. Government of India has now decided to restrict the next Phase of Electoral Bonds sale to 06.05.2019 to 10.05.2019 (instead of 06.05.2019 to 15.05.2019 scheduled and notified earlier).

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UNEMPLOYMENT DEBATE: PM’S ECONOMIC ADVISOR

The debate over unemployment has been fueled further with senior economist and Member of Prime Minister’s Economic Advisory Council Shamika Ravi raising questions on reliability and credibility of the Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE) data showing high unemployment. CMIE does not reveal the confidence interval and standard error of their data, Shamika Ravi said while expressing her concerns over the data in a recent television discussion with senior journalist Karan Thapar. While the unemployment rates in Gujarat and Karnataka are 0.9 percent and 1.4 per cent, it is high at as much as 13.5 percent in Kerala, she said, while describing the presence of localised market in the country. Further, she suggested to look into the details of these localised markets in which jobs are created. However, she agreed that the quality of jobs could be an issue and public data should not be suppressed. Even as the data from the weekly estimates during April showed a fall in the unemployment rate in the last week to 6.5 percent compared to 8.4 percent previous week, there might not be something to be cheered for as the slip is just temporary and different from the monthly numbers, which indicate a steady rise in unemployment rate, said Mahesh Vyas. The increase in unemployment during the third week of April to 8.4 percent was due to increase in labour force participation, according to him. Many come to the employment market in the election season and while some get it, many do not, he said. However, the government should not take comfort in the small fall of one week , he added. The government must take cognisance of the issue of unemployment and should not hide the data as it has been seen doing, Mahesh Vyas said.

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LPG CYLINDER PRICE HIKED: SUBSIDISED INCREASED

Government-owned Indian Oil Corporation has increased price of a subsidised liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) 14.2 kg cylinder by 28 paise in New Delhi and 29 paise in Mumbai from Wednesday. The non-subsidised rates have been increased by Rs 6 per cylinder in both metros.

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FILE AFFIDAVIT ON POWERS TO REGULATE EXPENDITURE BY PARTIES: DELHI HC TO ELECTION COMMISSION

The Delhi High Court directed the Election Commission (EC) on Wednesday to file an affidavit indicating the powers it has to ensure implementation of its guidelines regarding disclosure of expenditure by political parties. Rajendra Menon and Justice A J Bhambhani gave a final opportunity to the poll panel to submit the document and said it if fails to do so then the court will proceed to pass orders. The high court also noted that the matter has been pending for the last five years and the direction to EC in February to file the affidavit has not been complied with till date. Senior advocate Arvind Nigam, argued that political parties don’t file income tax but claim exemptions, requiring intervention. The matter is posted for next hearing on July 16.

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NITI AAYOG ADOPTS UP'S 'DIGITAL LAND' MODEL FOR PAN-INDIA REPLICATION

Federal think-tank Niti Aayog is considering recommending Uttar Pradesh's ‘digital land’ model to other states for digital record keeping and analysis. Under the innovative model, the UP Revenue Board has allocated a unique code to each plot/land in all the 100,000-plus revenue villages in the state. These unique codes, akin to the Aadhaar number allocated to an individual, not only speed up the process of land sorting and analysis, but also support faster resolution of land disputes and court cases. In fact, the department of land resources under the union ministry of rural development has already constituted a technical steering group to study UP’s model and prepare by-laws for circulation among the different states for replication. The steering group consists of the Board of Revenue chairpersons of UP, Madhya Pradesh and Bihar, apart from the chief secretary of Himachal Pradesh. Besides, the Board has been asked by the Aayog to prepare a detailed report/case study to be circulated among all the states for replication, adoption and/or incorporation in their existing systems. So far, UP has integrated digital land records with court cases, public distribution system (PDS) and agriculture department.

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SEXUAL HARASSMENT ALLEGATIONS: CJI RANJAN GOGOI MEETS INQUIRY COMMITTEE

Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi on Wednesday met the three-member in-house committee looking into allegations of sexual harassment levelled against him by a former woman employee of the Supreme Court, an official source said. A letter of request was issued to the Chief Justice of India asking him to meet the committee and he responded to it and he met the committee on this issue, the source said. The in-house inquiry committee is headed by Justice S A Bobde, who is the senior-most judge in the Supreme Court after the CJI, and its two other members are women judges of the apex court -- justices Indu Malhotra and Indira Banerjee. The woman, who levelled the allegations, walked out of the inquiry committee on Tuesday, raising objections over various issues, including denial of her lawyer's presence.

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COMPLAINANT AGAINST CJI SAYS WON’T GET JUSTICE FROM SC IN-HOUSE PANEL, NOT TO TAKE PART IN PROCEEDINGS

A former woman employee of the Supreme Court, who had levelled sexual harassment charges against CJI Ranjan Gogoi throwing the country’s top judiciary into a tizzy, on Tuesday decided to boycott the proceedings of the in-house panel set up by the court to enquire into the charges, saying that she felt nervous and intimidated by the panel and felt that she won’t get any justice from it. The woman's case had been referred to the three-judge panel with the CJI himself sitting on the judicial side on a court non-working day to clarify his position on the issue. A full court decided in its wisdom to ask the next-in-command Justice S.A. Bobde to create a mechanism. He named three judges as part of the panel. The process was mired in controversy from the start with the complainant taking umbrage to the inclusion of Justice N.V. Ramana who she dubbed a close friend of the CJI. Justice Ramana then recused himself saying justice must not only be done but also be seen to be done. Justice Indu Malhotra had then stepped in alongside Justices Bobde and Indira Banerjee to probe the charges. The woman who had first expressed confidence in the panel has now issued a press note saying the proceedings since belied her claim. She said she felt nervous and intimidated by the panel in absence of any lawyer to assist her. She contended she could not hear the proceedings or the orders properly because of a hearing impairment caused by her sufferings. She was repeatedly asked why she had complained so late about the alleged harassment. Further, she said, he prayer that call records relating to the case be summoned was denied by the panel and that her insistence on video recording the proceedings was also denied. The same application was finally taken by the committee on April 30, 2019, when feeling helpless and distressed I could no longer participate in the committee hearings, she said. The panel had also clarified to her that it was not a Vishaka panel nor an in-house panel but an informal proceeding, she argued. She also claimed that she was followed by motor-cycle borne persons while returning from her depositions and that she feared for her safety. She said the committee denied her request to be allowed a lawyer and that they would carry on ex-parte if she did not take part in the proceedings. I was compelled to walk out of the committee proceedings because the committee seemed not to appreciate the fact that this was no ordinary complaint but a complaint against a sitting CJI and was therefore required to adopt a procedure that would ensure fairness and equality in the highly unequal circumstances that I am placed. I had hoped that the approach of the committee towards me would be sensitive and not one that would cause me further fear, anxiety and trauma, she added. She also alleged that she was not told whether the CJI’s response had been sought about her allegations. I felt that I was not likely to get justice from this committee and so I am no longer participating in the three-judge committee proceedings, she said in her press note.

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RELIANCE DIGITAL TO ADD 100 STORES OVER NEXT ONE YEAR

Consumer electronics retail chain Reliance Digital will add 100 stores in more than 40 new cities in India over the next one year, even as it expands its omni-channel capabilities at its existing 360 stores, said a top executive at the Mumbai-based company. Reliance Digital is part of Mukesh Ambani’s ₹1,30,566 crore Reliance Retail with interests in grocery, apparel, and electronics. The company plans to expand its consumer durables business as it seeks to reach more households in India. It is an underserved market, we can still thrive irrespective if the market grows or not, said Brian Bade. The company will add stores in existing cities, Bade said, but added that smaller markets are turning out to be beneficial for the retailer as organized retail chains are yet to make their presence felt. Sometimes in tier 2-3 cities, competition isn’t strong. We have had good success in opening in these smaller cities and they get to a good sales rate very quickly, Bade said. As of 2017, India’s appliances and consumer electronics market was estimated at $31.48 billion. By 2022, it is expected to hit $48.37 billion, according to a 2018 research report by PwC, as more middle-income households upgrade to better household appliances. In this sector, Reliance Digital competes with Croma, owned by Tata-backed Infiniti Retail, which has more than 130 stores, followed by Vijay Sales. For Reliance’s electronics business, growth shall continue to remain strong led by first mover advantage of the company by entering new cities, brokerage firm Jefferies said in a note on 24 April.

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WILL CONTINUE CRACKDOWN ON CHILD SEXUAL ABUSE CONTENT ON PLATFORM: WHATSAPP TO IT MIN

WhatsApp has told the IT ministry it takes reports of child sexual abuse material on its platform very seriously and will continue to ensure that effective action is initiated as soon as exploitative content is reported to it, according to a source. The IT ministry had last week drawn attention of the Facebook-owned company to a recent report which claimed that the platform is being used to share child sexual abuse videos and had asked it to take steps to prevent such misuse. The ministry's move came after a report by Cyber Peace Foundation allegedly found that chat groups on WhatsApp continue to be created and used to disseminate and share Child Sexual Abuse Material (CSAM) in India. In its response, WhatsApp has sought to assure the IT ministry that it will continue to be vigilant on the critical issue of child sexual abuse and also expressed a keen desire to take part in any public awareness campaign that the ministry organises in this regard, a source privy to the matter said. WhatsApp has also said that it harnesses advanced technology, including artificial intelligence, and actively bans accounts suspected of circulating content that exploits children. WhatsApp has said it has zero tolerance policy on child sexual abuse, and that 250,000 accounts are banned every month by the platform globally. We are constantly stepping up our capabilities to keep WhatsApp safe, including working collaboratively with other technology platforms, and we will continue to prioritise requests from Indian law enforcement that can help confront this challenge, the WhatsApp spokesperson said. The spokesperson added: WhatsApp cares deeply about the safety of our users and we have no tolerance for child sexual abuse.

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65% OF INDIAN BUSINESSES HAVE EXPERIENCED INCREASE IN ONLINE FRAUD-RELATED LOSSES, SURVEY FINDS

Around 65% of Indian businesses have experienced an increase in online fraud-related losses over the past 12 months, says a new report. The report highlights that trusted online relationships are based on businesses providing both a secure environment and seamless consumer experiences. With insights from almost 6,000 APAC consumers including India, the report found that majority (71%) value ‘security’ as the most important element of an online experience, followed by ‘convenience’ (15%) and ‘personalisation’ (14%). Majority of the respondents in India feel they are sacrificing privacy for convenience in today’s unpredictable threat landscape. The report highlights the need for adoption of a secure and convenient platform by businesses, says Sathya Kalyanasundaram. While companies continue to innovate on new solutions that enhance the customer experience, there needs to be a focus on reducing the customer’s risk exposure by securing the data and information they currently access. Transparency is another key determinant in building mutual trust. The report found that 65% of the Indian consumers expect full transparency from businesses around how their personal information is used.

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NETHERLANDS GOT $12.8-B INDIAN FDI IN 2017, 2ND BIGGEST AFTER SINGAPORE

The Netherlands has emerged as the third largest foreign direct investor in India during 2017-18, with investments pegged at about $2.67 billion across sectors. The Netherlands was also the second largest destination for foreign investment by Indian companies, after Singapore, with investments worth $12.8 billion in 2017. Marten van den Berg, the Netherlands Ambassador to India said, India and the Netherlands ties are growing stronger each day. India is a key strategic partner for the Netherlands—both economically and geopolitically. Our partnership can greatly contribute towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030, he said. V Rajanna, said: As India is blessed with a huge demographic dividend and it is important to explore global opportunities. During 2017-18, the bilateral trade topped $ 8.77 billion while the Indian exports to the Netherlands grew at 14.7 per cent, imports were up by 18.2 per cent.

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SCHOOL FEES HIKES TROUBLE PARENTS; 83% BLAME STATE GOVERNMENTS’ INEFFECTIVENESS

A continued hike in school fees has made children’s education less affordable with the current incomes of parents, with an overwhelming majority of them blaming state governments for failing to rein in the soaring fees. The state governments have not been effective in regulating private school fee increases, said 83 per cent parents polled in a survey. Various parts of India including Telangana, Maharashtra, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana and Madhya Pradesh are witnessing excessive hikes in school fees which has led to protests by the parents at several places, LocalCircles said in a survey report. The survey, conducted to check the citizen pulse on the issue of school fees, received more than 38,000 votes from over 20,000 unique parents and grandparents from across the country. Private schools have been increasing the fees in order to raise teachers’ salaries to fulfil the recommendation by the 7th pay commission, wage incremental factors like DA, annual increment to staff, higher gratuity etc, according to the parents. Here, while 58 per cent parents or grandparents polled attribute the rise in school fees over 10 per cent to the lack of state regulation, 26 per cent attribute it to disregard by private schools and 16 per cent attribute it to the lack of enforcement by district officers. While 29 per cent parents or grandparents polled said that the school fee is up by 10 per cent compared to last session, 43 per cent feel that the increase in fee has been 10-20 per cent. Further, while 45 per cent of parents or grandparents polled said they want private school fee increase to be linked to inflation, 17 per cent want annual fee increase percentage to be capped and 38 per cent want the fee amount itself to be capped, the survey noted.

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MODI GOVT’S KEY FOCUS ON SELF EMPLOYMENT; NOT EASY TO EMPLOY SO MANY JOB SEEKERS, SAYS BJP SPOKESPERSON

Modi government’s key focus has been on self-employment and entrepreneurship as providing jobs to the fast-growing section of new job seekers is difficult said a BJP spokesperson. The government’s primary focus areas are manufacturing, developing MSME sector, entrepreneurship, self-employment and promotion of ease of doing business, said Gopal Krishna Agarwal. At a time when India is facing equity capital shortage, it’s important to attract foreign investments in the economy, he noted. So, the government, during its tenure, also focussed attracting foreign direct investment (FDI) to create capital in the domestic economy, he added. The Modi government has worked extensively to resolve the non-performing assets (NPAs) issue and ensured liquidity position improves in the banking sector, he said. The economic reforms such as IBC (Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code), NCLT (National Company Law Tribunal) have helped the situation to improve, Gopal Krishna Agarwal added. Even as credit offtake slowed down during the early years, concerted efforts by the government resulted in credit offtake for financial institutions increasing by 14-15 per cent year-on-year, he said. Since India currently has high interest rates, it’s important that these get reduced for economy and industry to grow, he said. There is need for structural changes to be brought in the structural component of financial institutions so that the country moves towards low interest rates, the BJP spokesperson said. Various projects that came to a standstill owing to issues related to land, inter-ministerial complexities among others are being addressed by the PRAGATI (Pro-Active Governance And Timely Implementation) platform launched by the Modi government, he said.

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PERFORMANCE OF ‘GOVT’ BELOW PAR ON SEVERAL PARAMETERS: ADR VOTER SURVEY

The performance of the government as regards the three top priorities of voters — traffic congestion, pollution and better employment opportunities — has been below average:according to a survey carried out by an NGO. The performance of the government on all top three voters’ priorities of traffic congestion (2.27 on a scale of 5), water and air pollution (2.29) and better employment opportunities (2.29) was rated as Below Average. The survey also said the government had performed poorly under the heads of Empowerment of Women and Security (1.85) and Noise Pollution (2.27) in urban Delhi. However, the government scored above 3 under the parameters of providing better transport facilities and drinking water. The performance of the government on rural voters’ priorities of higher price realisation for farm products (2.12 on a scale of 5), better employment opportunities (2.17) and electricity for agriculture (2.25) was also rated as below average. While deciding which candidate to vote for in an election, 84 per cent of those surveyed said their own opinion mattered the most, followed by those for whom the opinion of their family members (7 per cent) and spouse (5 per cent) mattered the most.

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CEMENT DEMAND LIKELY TO GROW 8% IN FY’20: ICRA

The domestic cement demand is likely to grow by eight per cent this fiscal which may push the capacity utilisation to 71 per cent, the ICRA report said on Wednesday. The growth in demand will be driven by a likely 18-20 million tonnes per annum (mtpa) of additional production capacity during the fiscal. The domestic cement production rose by around 13 per cent between April 2018 and February 2019 as compared to six per cent year-on-year growth in FY18, the rating agency said. For FY20, we expect a demand growth of eight per cent and given the limited capacity addition, this is likely to see an improvement in the industry’s utilisation to 71 per cent in FY’20 from 65 per cent in FY18. Improved capacity utilization is likely to support the price uptick which has been seen since March 2019, Sabyasachi Majumdar said. ICRA further noted that while in some regions such as north, north-east and east, the cement players’ utilisation is likely to be higher than the national average, in other regions such as south and west, the utilisation is likely to remain muted given the past capacity overhang.

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AHMEDABAD: REDEVELOPMENT TO PICK UP PACE, AS PRESIDENT GIVES ASSENT TO BILL

Redevelopment of old housing schemes is set to pick up pace with President Ram Nath Kovind giving his assent to the bill to allow dilapidated buildings older than 25 years to be redeveloped with the consent of 75% of the occupants. So far, redevelopment of such housing societies requires consent of 100% of the occupants. The Gujarat Ownership Flats (Amendment) Bill was passed unanimously by the state assembly on September 19. The Governor had forwarded it to the President on October 9 after giving his assent. The state government said that President Ram Nath Kovind gave his assent to the Bill on April 25. The Bill has received Hon'ble President's assent. The state government will issue a notification soon, minister of state for law and parliamentary affairs Pradipsinh Jadeja, told. The Bill will allow redevelopment with consent of 75% of the owners provided it is 25 years old, and if the authority concerned has declared it to be in ruinous condition, or likely to fall or in any way dangerous to persons occupying such structures. Earlier, redevelopment was not possible even if a single owner refused to give his consent. A senior government official said that the amended law will give a boost to redevelopment.

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GUJARAT HIGH COURT DIRECTS GOVT TO ENSURE CCTVS IN SCHOOLS

The Gujarat High Court on Tuesday directed the state government to work out a mechanism for installation of CCTV cameras in schools across the state to ensure better quality education and prevent crime against children. The direction came from the division bench of Acting Chief Justice AS Dave and Justice Biren Vaishnav during the hearing of a public interest litigation (PIL) seeking installation of CCTV cameras in all educational institutions across the state. Notably, the petitioners—Deepak Dhakana and Maheshumar Patel—have contended before the court that crime against children is on the rise and they are not even safe in schools, especially after several incidents of violence and sexual abuse of children in schools were reported from across the country. Therefore, the petitioners have appealed that the state government must ensure installation of CCTV cameras in schools through which these crimes can be curbed and it will also help in enhancing the quality of education in government-run schools. The division bench, while hearing the matter on Tuesday, ordered the state to chalk out a mechanism for installation of CCTVs in all schools, including government schools, grant-in-aid schools and private unaided schools, at all levels. The court also directed the government to file an affidavit in this regard clarifying the mechanism as well as the information on how many schools have already installed CCTV cameras and how many schools are still devoid of the security measure. Meanwhile, counsel for the state government Chintan Dave told that the government is not treating the PIL as an adversarial litigation and it also wants to ensure the safety of children in schools. We will file an affidavit as sought by the court before the due date of June 17, he said.

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CHANDRAYAAN-2 LAUNCH BETWEEN JULY 9 AND 16: ISRO

The Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro) on Wednesday said it is looking to launch Chandrayaan-2, India’s second lunar mission in the launch window between July 9 and July 16, even as sources said that a lot of work is still pending. All the modules are getting ready for Chandrayaan-2 launch during the window of July 09, to July 16, 2019, with an expected Moon landing on September 06, 2019, Isro said in a statement. Chandrayaan-2 has three modules: the Orbiter, Lander (Vikram) & Rover (Pragyan). The Orbiter and Lander modules will be interfaced mechanically and stacked together as an integrated module and accommodated inside the GSLV MK-III launch vehicle. The Rover is housed inside the Lander, Isro said.

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MAHARASHTRA: SIXTEEN PERSONS, INCLUDING 15 POLICEMEN, KILLED IN NAXAL BLAST

Sixteen persons, including 15 security personnel, were killed in an IED blast triggered by Naxals in Maharashtra’s Gadchiroli district on Wednesday, police said. The incident took place when a Quick Response Team (QRT) of Gadchiroli police was on patrolling duty in a vehicle, an official said. The blast took place as the vehicle reached Lendhari nallah in Kurkheda area, the official said. The blast followed Naxals torching 25 vehicles belonging to a road construction contractor earlier in the day, police said.

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CS Meetesh Shiroya