PEOPLE NEWS: June 2020

Tuesday, June 30, 2020

Juventus keep Lazio at bay with Genoa stroll

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Ban China-backed news apps, Indian publishers tell govt

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France offers support of its forces

New Delhi: France has become the first country to offer India the support of its armed forces amid growing tensions on the China border and has proposed a visit by its defence minister to New Delhi at the earliest. In a letter to defence minister Rajnath Singh, his counterpart Florence Parly has said that India is France’s strategic partner in the region and has conveyed condolences for the loss of soldiers during the Galwan Valley skirmish on June 15.“This was a hard blow against the soldiers, their families and the nation. In these difficult circumstances, I wish to express my steadfast and friendly support, along with that of the French armed forces. I request you to kindly convey my heartfelt condolences to the entire Indian armed forces as well as to the grieving families,” the minister, who earlier had a phone conversation with Singh, has written.France, a key partner as well as weapons supplier to India with cutting-edge platforms ranging from Rafale fighter jets to Scorpene submarines, has also proposed a visit by Parly to follow up on the “ongoing discussions” and has reiterated its “deep solidarity” in this time of tensions.This is also the first defence minister-level visit proposed by a friendly nation since the Covid crisis broke out, indicating that Paris wishes to convey its deep commitment to India. Rajnath Singh visited Russia last week and discussed the ongoing crisis with China and India’s requirements with the top leadership in Moscow.As first reported by ET, France has promised to deliver additional combat ready Rafale jets next month and even committed that it will deploy its aerial refuelers to ensure that the jets make it to India with just a single hop.On a request from India, fighter pilots currently in France have also been given specialised training for aerial refuelling. Cutting-edge weaponry on jets, including air-to-air and air-to-ground missiles are being sent ahead of time.

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Pak moves 20k soldiers to Gilgit-Baltistan LoC

New Delhi: Pakistan has moved two divisions of troops along the LoC in occupied Gilgit-Baltistan and Chinese officials are holding talks with cadres of terrorist outfit Al Badr to incite violence in J&K, as per intelligence inputs, indicating clearer signs of a China-Pak collaboration on the border.Pakistan has moved almost 20,000 additional soldiers to LoC in northern Ladakh to match Chinese deployments on the LAC in the east. The level of troops Pakistan has deployed is more than what it did after the Balakot air strikes. Pakistani radars are believed to be fully activated all along the region too.The simultaneous build up on the Pakistan and China borders and efforts to incite terrorism in Kashmir has brought the possibility of a two-front war and fighting terrorists in Kashmir, the worst case scenario strategic experts fear, closer to reality. Sources said there have been a series of meetings between Chinese and Pakistani officials in recent weeks, followed by amassing of troops in Gilgit-Baltistan, the area that adjoins Ladakh on the north. The buildup comes at a time when thousands of Chinese soldiers have been aggressively deployed along LAC in eastern Ladakh, apart from intrusions at several points that has led to a tense standoff.A build up in Gilgit-Baltistan would require additional responsibility for the Indian Army that has deployed a credible force in eastern Ladakh to counter China. After the bifurcation of J&K , Gilgit-Baltistan is part of the Union Territory of Ladakh, but occupied by Pakistan. The area adjoins Kargil-Drass where India fought a war to evacuate Pakistani intruders in 1999.According to intelligence reports, Chinese officials have undertaken meetings with cadres of the Al Badr, a Pakistan-based terror group that has a history of wreaking violence in Kashmir. “The assessment is that China may provide support to revive the organisation. This is among the signs we have received that indicate Pakistan and China are collaborating on the ground,” sources said.Earlier this month, J&K Police DG Dilbag Singh had said there were signs that the Al Badr, decimated long ago, was being revived for operations. These signs of collaboration are worrying as tensions continue on LAC, with talks failing to make any headway and PLA increasing concentration across eastern Ladakh, apart from Arunachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Sikkim.As first reported by ET, India has been keeping an eye on airbases in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir after a Chinese refueller aircraft landed in Skardu earlier this week. Chinese air activity has increased opposite eastern Ladakh, raising the possibility of PLA Air Force (PLAAF) using airbases in Gilgit-Baltistan. Limited activity is being observed at the Skardu airbase where an IL 78 tanker of the Chinese air force landed earlier in the month.

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SBG Cleantech taps Brookfield for up to $600 mn funding

MUMBAI: Softbank backed green energy company SB Cleantech has approached Brookfield for a $500-600 million funding infusion to complete their ongoing and pipeline projects in India and US, said people aware of the development. Both sides are in negotiations to finalise the exact structure and quantum which is expected to be a combination of a convertible instrument like mezzanine debt and equity, they added.SB Energy, the renewable energy arm of SoftBank, initiated a formal fund raising exercise by mandating Barclays and Bank of America Merrill Lynch to help raise $500-$750 million from potential new co-investors in SBG Cleantech, it's 80:20 joint venture with Bharti, ET had reported in its May 29th edition.“The need for funds is immediate and so they are open to various structures. They even unsuccessfully attempted to raise a bond. They have approached several with an offer to dilute around 30% of SB Energy’s stake in the joint venture,” said a global clean tech investor privy to these discussions. However, most industry participants believe parent Softbank may eventually sell a larger chunk, even majority to bring on board large institutional investors to deal with its own liquidity challenges.ET in January reported that SoftBank was in talks with SWFs in the Middle East and Asia, some of whom are limited partners (LPs) of SoftBank Vision Fund, besides Silicon Valley-based technology giants that are big buyers of clean energy for an investment, and was even open to selling a majority stake in the venture. This was part of an ongoing review as parent SoftBank was facing record losses and liquidity pressures.76721257The company’s management in India led by CEO Raman Nanda has always maintained that it will not divest the business and is committed to growing it. On offer is the JV's entire global portfolio, except Japan where SoftBank’s renewable projects are owned by a separate entity.Brookfield declined comment. “SB Energy is exploring potential co-investment partnerships to accelerate growth of its leading renewable energy platform. Given recent and growing interest in ESG investments at scale, SoftBank decided to take further steps towards identifying a growth partner. SoftBank is committed to the long-term success of SB Energy,” a Softbank spokesperson said.Bharti did not respond to ET’s detailed queries.SBG Cleantech predominantly has operating assets in India but also has assets across the US, Latin America and Middle East through acquisitions and bidding.Brookfield Renewable Partners operates one of the world’s largest publicly-traded renewable power platforms with a portfolio consists of approximately 19,300 MW of capacity and 5,288 generating facilities in North America, South America, Europe and Asia. With the acquisition of Terraform Global, the emerging market yieldco of former Sun Edison, Brookfield got a 300 MW footprint in India. Subsequently, it also took over two wind farms of Axis Energy that gave them an additional 210 MW of generating capacity. Earlier in the year, Brookfield was in active discussions to acquire a significant stake from Goldman Sachs in ReNew Power but those discussions did not yield any results.There is no guarantee that the ongoing Brookfield SB Energy conversations will also lead to an investment, cautioned the sources mentioned above.In 2015, with huge fanfare, SoftBank had teamed up with Bharti Enterprises and Taiwan’s Foxconn Technology Group to form a 70:10:20 alliance to build solar and wind parks and subsequently start manufacturing panels in India to promote Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s push for clean energy and Make in India initiatives. Together they were to invest $20 billion over a 10-year period to set up 20,000 MW, or 20 GW, of clean energy projects, subject to certain conditions. Later, Foxconn exited without investing and it became a 80:20 alliance.In India, the company has aggressively chased central government projects participating in auctions by Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) and NTPC to bulk its portfolio.PORTFOLIO CHALLENGESAccording to industry peers, the company’s near-$1-billion leverage in operating projects could be a handicap in attracting investments. “The problem with their portfolio is on one hand their PPAs are very aggressively priced but their costs are at least 25-30% higher than most industry peers,” observed a CEO of rival green energy company familiar with the assets. “That in turn impacts the IRR. They believe it’s a technology based utilities company and expect such valuations but that’s a hard sell.”The company claims to have 7.7-gigawatt pipeline of projects in India and will reach its 20-gigawatt target within the next five years. Currently, as per the management, it has nearly 2 GW operating renewable energy capacity in the country, 2 GW under construction, and additional 3,700 MW under “active development” with contracts in hand.As on December 2019, the joint ventures partners had made equity financing of $737 million in SBG Cleantech with around $590 million coming from Softbank alone.Another $1.2 billion of equity was required then for the pipeline and operational projects to get completed.In April, SB Energy, emerged as the largest bidder when NHPC’s floated tenders for solar projects and secured 600 megawatts of capacity at Rs 2.55/kwh. Interestingly, Axis Energy Ventures, backed by Brookfield Asset Management, grabbed 400 megawatts in the same competitive auction. Its partnership with NHPC is aimed at providing affordable, round-the-clock renewable energy in a hybrid combination of solar and hydro.In the US, too, the company is looking at a gigawatt of solar parks by next year out of the 1.7 GW platform that it acquired in 2019. But supplier shutdown in China, duty hikes on imports are expected to impact rollout plans for most players.

from Economic Times https://ift.tt/3dOfpgH

Softbank-Bharti green energy JV taps Brookfield for upto $600 million funds

Top-level government panel to probe data practices of Chinese apps

NEW DELHI | BENGALURU: Representatives from the 59 Chinese apps banned by India on Monday can appear before a government-constituted committee within 48 hours of the announcement to prove that the data of Indian users is not being sent to servers in China, top officials told ET.The committee, which is likely to meet on Wednesday, will conduct a detailed inquiry into the data-sharing practices of these apps, including top social media platforms TikTok, Helo and WeChat.Executives from apps such as TikTok, Bigo Live and Likee said they will cooperate with the government in the investigations and that they had begun the process.Officials from the ministry of home affairs, ministry of electronics & IT, ministry of information & broadcasting, and law & justice will be part of the panel, along with Sanjay Bahl, director general of CERT-In — India’s nodal agency for internet security.76721129“Given the threat to national security and public order, the ban was necessary at a time of increasing tensions with China,” said a senior government official.“Emergency provisions” under law were invoked to ban the apps owing to concerns that some of these were being used for “espionage” on Indians, the official said.China Expresses Serious ConcernOn Tuesday, China issued a statement expressing serious concern over the ban.“India’s measure selectively and discriminatorily aims at certain Chinese apps on ambiguous and far-fetched grounds, runs against fair and transparent procedure requirements, abuses national security exceptions, and (is) suspected of violating the WTO rules,” said Ji Rong, a spokesperson of the Chinese embassy.Arguing that the ban goes against the general trend of international trade and ecommerce, the spokesperson said it was also not conducive to consumer interest and market competition. “The ban will affect local employment in India,” the spokesperson said.Meanwhile, government officials said they were confident the ban order will stand legal scrutiny. Pointing out that the ban is an interim one, an official said, “These are all provisions under the law.”Nikhil Gandhi, India head of TikTok, said the company had been invited to meet with government stakeholders for an opportunity to respond and submit clarifications. “TikTok continues to comply with all data privacy and security requirements under Indian law and has not shared any information of our users in India with any foreign government, including the Chinese government. Further, if we are requested in the future, we would not do so.”On Tuesday, the app went offline with a message to users: “We are in the process of complying with the government of India’s directive to block 59 apps. Ensuring the privacy and security of all our users in India remains our utmost priority.”INDIA A HUGE MARKETIn terms of users, India is one of the largest markets for Chinese apps after their home market and the US.Stocks of Chinese companies such as Alibaba, Baidu, Weibo and YY closed in the red on US stock exchanges on Monday, following the announcement of the ban.ByteDance, which owns TikTok, is said to be mulling a listing on US stock exchanges by 2021. TikTok’s ranking on the Android Play Store dropped significantly following the ban order.A senior executive with Joyy Inc, the parent of Chinese apps Bigo Live and Likee, said the company will consult the government, and is not contemplating any legal action. “The intent is to work with the government and not against it. We are happy to take initiative and comply with any policy changes proposed,” he said.LEGAL CHALLENGES FACTORED INThe government has factored in potential legal challenges by the owners of the banned Chinese apps and is hopeful the courts will support its decision. More so, as the decision to ban the apps was based on 300 documented requests from eminent people and organisations, including the Congress party, and has been imposed with respect to public order and national security at a time when tensions with China are at an all-time high, said the official cited earlier.“We don’t think any court will disagree with the government and ask us to conduct an inquiry before banning the apps, especially in such a tense situation,” said a top official.Digital activists such as the Internet Freedom Foundation have argued that each case needs to be considered individually. “The website blocks are directed on an aggregated basis against 59 websites. Here common grounds and reasoning is made which goes against the individualised nature of the blocking power under Section 69A and the Blocking Rules,” it said on Twitter on Monday.‘LOOKING TO HOLD TALKS’A lawyer representing ByteDance indicated the company may not approach courts directly and will first try to engage with the government. The person, who requested anonymity, questioned the move to “club” the 59 apps together. “ByteDance will engage with the government. If the government thinks China cares about banning social media apps, it is mistaken. These aren’t strategic industries,” the person said.ShareIT, UC Browser and shopping app Club Factory are among the other prominent apps that have been blocked amid heightened tensions along the border with China. The ban was meant to counter the threat posed by these applications to the country’s “sovereignty and security”, the government said in a press release late on Monday.Paul Haswell, partner for Hong Kong-based law firm Pinsent Masons, said the development was part of a larger geopolitical situation as increasing tensions play out globally. “Technology is increasingly being subject to restrictions as states fall into disputes over a broad range of topics, as we have seen with US sanctions against Chinese tech vendors,” he said.‘MOVE JUSTIFIED’Haswell said India is free to take any steps and may be justified since there are concerns as to how the apps in question compromise user data. “Certainly, China restricts apps and technology within China. So India is just following suit.”“The ban has opened a Pandora’s Box with regard to regulating data flows and is a short-term solution to an ongoing crisis,” said Kazim Rizvi of digital policy think tank The Dialogue.“There is a need for stronger data protection frameworks, secure digital infrastructure and deeper cooperation between like-minded countries in fighting rising threats from across the borders,” Rizvi said. (With inputs from Dipanjan Roy Chaudhury)

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Rs 196cr cyber safety centre at IIT-Kanpur

At a time when the threat of cyberattacks is growing, including those from China, the Union government has approved Rs 196 crore for a national technical centre at IIT Kanpur to counter such threats. Besides, in a first for the country, the institute will also roll out an MTech degree in cyber security from the next year.

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Indian woman wins Commonwealth short story prize

A woman from Ranchi currently studying in the US has won £5,000 after her tale about a Hindu girl falling in love with a Muslim boy beat more than 5,000 entries from 49 countries to win the 2020 Commonwealth Short Story Prize. Kritika Pandey, 29, was announced as the winner for "The Great Indian Tee and Snakes" by Ghanaian writer and editor Nii Ayikwei.

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Checks putting APIs in ‘unsterile state’: Drug companies

Drug makers are worried about quality of their products getting impacted amid persistent delay in clearance of consignments from China at various ports and airports in India.

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Top-level government panel to probe data practices of Chinese apps

The committee, which is likely to meet on Wednesday, will conduct a detailed inquiry into the data-sharing practices of these apps, including top social media platforms TikTok, Helo and WeChat. Executives from apps such as TikTok, Bigo Live and Likee said they will cooperate with the government in the investigations and that they had begun the process.

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S&P 500 ends best quarter since 1998 on a high note

NEW YORK: The S&P 500 rallied on Tuesday to finish higher and secure its biggest quarterly percentage gain in more than two decades as improving economic data bolstered investor beliefs that a stimulus-backed rebound for the U.S. economy was on the horizon. Coming off a drop of 20% in the first quarter, the biggest quarterly decline since the financial crisis in the fourth quarter of 2008, the S&P rallied more than 19.95% to notch its biggest quarterly gain since 1998, at the height of the tech boom. The gains have been fueled by unprecedented levels of fiscal and monetary stimulus and the easing of restrictions. But the S&P 500 is still down about 4% on the year, and gains in June stood at just 2% due to the flare-up in virus cases that has threatened to delay reopenings and derail a tentative economic recovery. Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell reiterated in comments on Tuesday that the path of the economy is "highly uncertain." "What everybody sees is if we can get something that puts an end to the spread or the spread becomes less, there is literally so much money out there that the Fed has put out there that when we turn, it is going to be a rocket ship the other way," said JJ Kinahan, chief market strategist at TD Ameritrade in Chicago. Still, comments from Anthony Fauci, the U.S. government's top infectious diseases expert, who said there was no guarantee the United States will have an effective COVID-19 vaccine and warned the virus spread "could get very bad," were a reminder that a full economic recovery could be a long road. Gains were capped on the Dow, pressured by a 5.75% drop in Boeing Co, as the airplane maker gave back some of Monday's 14% surge after Norwegian Air canceled orders for 97 aircraft and said it would claim compensation. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 217.08 points, or 0.85%, to 25,812.88, the S&P 500 gained 47.05 points, or 1.54%, to 3,100.29 and the Nasdaq Composite added 184.61 points, or 1.87%, to 10,058.77. The 17.78% gain in the Dow marked its best quarterly performance since a 21.56% rally in the first quarter of 1987 while the Nasdaq's 30.63% jump was its best quarter since a 48.18% gain in the fourth quarter of 1999. While coronavirus cases continue to surge in many states, the U.S. economy is showing signs of pickup, with data indicating consumer confidence increased much more than expected in June. Simmering U.S.-China tensions also remained a possible headwind, with Washington beginning to eliminate Hong Kong's special status under U.S. law in response to China's national security law for the territory. China said it would retaliate. All of the 11 major S&P 500 sectors traded higher, with a 2.2% rise in energy stocks leading the pack. Micron Technology Inc jumped 4.8% as it forecast higher-than-expected current-quarter revenue on strong demand for its chips that power notebooks and data centers. The company's results also boosted other chipmakers and lifted the Philadelphia semiconductor index by 2.7%. Uber advanced 4.9% after reports that the ride-hailing services company was in talks to buy food-delivery app Postmates. Advancing issues outnumbered declining ones on the NYSE by a 2.02-to-1 ratio; on Nasdaq, a 2.09-to-1 ratio favored advancers. The S&P 500 posted 13 new 52-week highs and 1 new low; the Nasdaq Composite recorded 76 new highs and 16 new lows. Volume on U.S. exchanges was 10.72 billion shares, compared with the 13.55 billion average for the full session over the last 20 trading days.

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India-China tussle live: Telcos block access to apps

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Live: Gas explosion at clinic kills 19 in Tehran

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PM extends free ration scheme till end of November

NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi extended the free ration scheme for 800 million people until the end of November and warned against negligence in following distancing and other norms, asking authorities to strictly implement fines as the country enters Unlock 2.0 from Wednesday. The timely imposition of a lockdown on March 25 had saved lives but disregard for protocols such as wearing masks and “do gaz doori” when Unlock 1.0 began June 1 had been a cause for worry, he said in a 16-minute address to the nation on Tuesday.The PM Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana will be extended for another five months to benefit the poor. The scheme was to run for three months when it was started in April. The extension will cost ?90,000 crore, adding up to a total cost of ?1.5 lakh crore, the PM said. “It has been decided to extend the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana up to Diwali and Chhath Puja, till November-end,” he said.PM Holds Meeting on VaccineModi said the world was surprised that 800 million were getting free ration in India as that’s more than 2.5 times the population of the US, 12 times that of the UK and double that of the European Union. Many states and Congress president Sonia Gandhi had asked the PM for extension of the scheme.Before his address, Modi held a high-level meeting to review progress on a possible vaccine. Doctors, nurses, healthcare staff and non-medical frontline workers as well as vulnerable sections among the general public should be prioritised for early vaccination.“The PM said the vaccination must be affordable and universal,” the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) said in a release. “No person should be left behind and that the entire process from production to vaccination should be monitored and supported in real time with the use of technology.”Considering the global death rate, India is in a better position compared with many other countries, the PM said. The death rate and the test positivity rate were the two numbers being closely tracked by the Centre, a senior government official told ET. The worst-affected states had been advised to focus on lowering these through extensive testing, contact tracing and increased medical infrastructure.“While cases are bound to increase in the states where case load was high in their urban centres and with more testing now, the key is to keep the mortality low and test positivity rate within limits,” the official said. “This will further increase the recovery rate that is touching 60% as we enter Unlock 2.0. Some urban centres got the wave early, like Mumbai, Indore, and Ahmedabad and are plateauing now while some have got it late, like Delhi, Chennai, Hyderabad, and Bengaluru.”Reports from states showed that the number of fines being imposed for social distancing violations were not adequate despite several central advisories in this regard, said another official. “So the message is being reiterated by the PM himself to step up compliance,” the official said.Modi referred to Bulgaria’s Prime Minister being fined for not wearing a mask in a public place.“In India too, the local administration should work with the same enthusiasm,” he said. “This is a drive to protect the lives of 130 crore countrymen. Be it a village pradhan or the Prime Minister, no one is above the law in India. Rules were followed very strictly during the lockdown. Now governments, local bodies, citizens, need to show similar alertness. Especially, we need to focus more on containment zones. Those not following the rules will need to be stopped and cautioned.”The PM also said that the One Nation-One Ration Card scheme was being implemented in some states. The Centre has asked other states to follow suit so as to make schemes such as the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana more beneficial for the poor. Modi said the nation’s top priority was to ensure no one goes hungry and thanked the farmers and taxpayers of the country for enabling the government to achieve this.

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Pak’s ‘use & throw’ policy renders Geelani irrelevant

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Jio Brings Free 2GB High-Speed Data Back for Select Users: Report

Jio is reportedly offering free 2GB high-speed daily data benefit with a validity of four days to its select users once again.

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Huawei Controversy Opens Field for 5G Challengers

With growing pressure to keep China's Huawei out of 5G network development, it could be time for firms like Japan's NEC and South Korea's Samsung to shine.

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PLA puts up signage, China map on Ladakh's bank

After physically occupying an almost 8-km stretch of what India considers its territory on the north bank of Pangong Tso in eastern Ladakh, the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) has created a massive signage in the area to claim it as Chinese land. Located between Finger-4 and Finger-5, the 80-metre-long signage is in the shape of inscriptions and is designed to be visible from the air and capable of being picked up by satellites.

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Gas explosion at clinic in Iranian capital kills 19

An explosion from a gas leak in a medical clinic in northern Tehran killed 19 people, Iranian state TV reported on Tuesday. Spokesperson for the Tehran Fire Department told state TV that the toll had risen to 19 from 13. State-run IRNA news agency also quoted Maleki as saying the dead included 15 women and four men. Maleki added that firefighters had rescued 20 people.

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India gets its wettest June in 12 years

India experienced its wettest month of June in 12 years with 18% above-normal rainfall on the back of timely monsoon onset and its swift advance across the country. Central India, as well as east and northeast, have received the heaviest showers. India received 196.2mm of rain during the month, highest since 2008, when 202mm was recorded during the month, as per IMD.

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Party rivals mount fresh pressure on Oli to quit

Nepal PM K P Sharma Oli has come under immense pressure to resign from within the ruling Nepal Communist Party, including from former PM Prachanda. According to Nepal media reports, Prachanda, Madhav Kumar Nepal, Jhalanath Khanal and Bamdev Gautam demanded that Oli quit at a meeting on Tuesday. Oli has gone on record to say that India has been behind the effort to unseat him.

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Visa processing for UK to resume from July 6

Visa processing for United Kingdom will resume in India next Monday (July 6) in a phased manner. According to VFS Global, UK visa application centres in Delhi, south Mumbai, Ahmedabad, Bengaluru (Global Tech Park), Chandigarh, Cochin, Hyderabad, Jalandhar, Kolkata and Pune will open from July 6. Chennai centre reopening that day is subject to local lockdown conditions.

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Monday, June 29, 2020

English fifth PGA player to test positive for COVID-19

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Australia postpones August ODIs against Zimbabwe

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One positive case in latest Premier League COVID-19 tests

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Govt blocks 59 Chinese Apps, cites risk to sovereignty

The government on Monday “blocked” as many as 59 Chinese Apps, including TikTok, UC Browser, WeChat, Shareit and CamScanner, for “engaging in activities which are prejudicial to sovereignty and integrity of India, defence of India, security of state and public order”. The move against the “malicious Apps" came after several complaints of stealing of user data.

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Times Top10: India enters Unlock 2.0 mode

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Google celebrates LGBTQ activist Marsha P Johnson

Google Doodle on Tuesday celebrated the widely popular US-based LGBTQ+ activist, performer, and self-identified drag queen Marsha P. Johnson, bidding farewell to the Pride month. On June 30 2019, Marsha was posthumously honoured as a grand marshal of the New York City Pride March. Johnson is credited as one of the key leaders of the 1969 Stonewall uprising.

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Redmi Note 9 Pro to Go on Sale Today at 12 Noon Via Amazon, Mi India Site: Price in India, Specifications

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Realme X3, Realme X3 SuperZoom to Go on Sale Today at 12 Noon via Flipkart, Realme.com: Price, Specifications

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China’s untenable demand to resolve standoff

New Delhi: In a seemingly untenable demand to de-escalate matters in the Finger areas of Pangong Tso, China is believed to have proposed that Indian forces move back to Finger 2 as a pre-condition to Chinese troops withdrawing to Finger 6. At present, both sides are in a standoff at Finger 4.China, sources said, is making unacceptable demands while the Indian position has been consistent that status quo ante has to be restored as the PLA has been the aggressor by moving its troops forward and setting up infrastructure across the Line of Actual Control (LAC).A third round of Corps Commander-level talks is planned for Tuesday between 14 Corps Commander Lt Gen Harinder Singh and his Chinese counterpart Maj Gen Liu Lin. These talks will take place at an Indian meeting point in Chushul.The ground situation in Eastern Ladakh has remained unchanged for several weeks now with thousands of troops locked in a standoff and talks yielding little results. Sources said there has been no reduction of troops at friction points along the LAC and disengagement will be a prolonged process.76701369No Change in Troop BuildupThe standoff could stretch on through the winter but talks would continue, they said.The Finger area is a series of spurs that rise along the bank of the Pangong lake, with the Indian perception of the LAC lying at Finger 8. The disputed area between Finger 4 and 8 — over 50 sq km — used to be patrolled by both sides.However, in an aggressive move, China moved in soldiers and equipment to Finger 4 since late April, cutting off Indian access and unilaterally changing the ground situation. Over the past month, it has built several dozen defences and hundreds of structures between Finger 4 and 8, in gross violation of all border protocols and agreements.Sources said that Chinese demands are untenable as the change in status quo was carried out by the PLA and Indian troops did not try to alter ground positions. In addition, moving back to Finger 2 would involve dismantling of two Indian military camps on the banks of the lake. Moreover, the Indian claim is till Finger 8, and anything short of restoring that would not be acceptable.Also, the ground position of PLA troops does not match what was agreed to during the last two rounds of talks. In Galwan, Chinese troops remain dug in and the troop buildup in the rear has not been dismantled.At Finger area too, there have not been signs that the Chinese troops are pulling back – satellite images show defensive structures both along the banks of the lake and at the ridgelines. The first attempt to de-escalate at Galwan, which was agreed to at a Corps Commander-level meeting on June 6, ended in disaster when a skirmish took place on June 15 in which 20 Indian soldiers were killed along with an undeclared number of PLA troops, including the Commanding Officer. India is approaching all promises of disengagement by the Chinese side with extreme caution after the skirmish.

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'Plasma therapy not promising in initial trials'

NEW DELHI: Plasma therapy for Covid-19 has not shown promising results, according to the preliminary results of a study of patients treated with the antibodies drawn from those cured of the disease.“The interim analysis from 300-odd patients who have been given plasma therapy showed that it is not working,” officials in the Indian Council of Medical Research told ET on condition of anonymity.ICMR had in April sought participation in the randomised controlled study to assess the safety and efficacy of plasma therapy. While the study is under way at various sites, a review of the interim data on Friday wasn’t encouraging, the officials said.ICMR had updated the Covid-19 clinical treatment protocol to include advice for the use of dexamethasone as an alternative to methylprednisolone in moderate to severe cases, but it has kept plasma therapy out until there is more evidence to support its use.76701700The sample size of the study is 425. The trial is still ongoing and it will be some time before the final call is taken on plasma therapy. As of now, it seems that it doesn’t work, officials said.The preliminary findings come as states including Delhi vouch for plasma therapy even amid a struggle to find donors for patients. Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal announced the setting up of a plasma bank for treatment of Covid-19 patients.“There are two things that happen to a patient during corona – oxygen levels decline and respiration levels increase. If plasma is given, both these levels show improvement,” Kejriwal said on Monday. He appealed to cured patients to donate plasma.

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Dow ends up 2.3% as US stocks bounce

New York: Wall Street stocks finished solidly higher Monday, recovering some of last week's losses amid improved investor sentiment as Boeing shares surged on progress in returning the 737 MAX to service. The Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped up 2.3 percent, or around 580 points, to 25,595.80. The broad-based S&P 500 gained 1.5 percent to 3,053.24, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index advanced 1.2 percent to 9,874.15. Major indices lost more than two percent on Friday as coronavirus case spikes in numerous southern and western states exacerbated worries the US economic recovery would be derailed. While new COVID-19 cases remained at a high level Monday, analysts expect a spate of major economic data releases this week will show sequential improvement from very weak levels. "The market is seeing the glass half-full today versus the glass half-empty at the end of last week," said Art Hogan, chief market strategist at National Securities. This week's calendar includes reports on consumer confidence, manufacturing activity and the June jobs report. Among individual companies, Boeing led the Dow, surging 14.4 percent as the Federal Aviation Administration undertook a long-awaited certification flight of the 737 MAX, which has been grounded since March 2019 following two deadly crashes. Shares of social media companies Facebook and Twitter gained 2.1 percent and 1.5 percent, respectively, as investors shrugged off announcements by more companies such as Ford and Starbucks that they will suspend spending due to concerns about how the platforms are regulating hate speech. Coty jumped 13.4 percent as it bought a 20 percent stake in Kim Kardashian West's beauty brand for $200 million.

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Digital payments bounce back to pre-Covid levels

Mumbai: Digital payment transactions through the Unified Payment Interface (UPI), cards and mobile wallets have made a near V-shaped recovery this month. Volumes had plunged nearly 60% in April after a countrywide lockdown to arrest the spread of the Covid-19 pandemic.UPI, operated by the National Payments Corp of India (NPCI), processed 1.42 billion transactions worth ₹2.31 lakh crore until June 28, the most recorded by the channel in a month, Reserve Bank of India (RBI) data showed. The monthly volume in April was 990 million amounting to ₹1.5 lakh crore, recording the sharpest month-on-month decline on the platform since it became operational in 2016.The UPI increase is due to consumers increasingly paying utility and shopping bills through contactless modes, experts said. “Covid-19 has accelerated the shift to digital,” said Ambarish Kenghe, senior director, product, Google Pay. “It’s been a V-shaped recovery after volumes had fallen in April.”Google Pay, the UPI leader in India, has seen bill payments and online recharges surge 180% on its platform in the months following the initial lockdown, he said. India imposed a nationwide lockdown at the end of March and easing of curbs started in early May.Walmart-owned payment company PhonePe also said volumes had recovered. “Payment volumes for June are back to pre-lockdown levels,” said Karthik Raghupathy, vice president, strategy and business development, PhonePe. “This is driven both by the fact that offline and online merchants across most parts of the country have now opened up.”Separately, card-based transactions are also recovering with volume and value processed by top banks seeing a gradual revival to pre-Covid scale.76701672Credit Card Payouts UpAxis Bank, Kotak Mahindra, RBL Bank and SBI Cards said card-based transactions have returned to about 70-80% of pre-Covid volumes. While the recovery has been sharper for payment by credit card, with a sizable chunk of it taking place online, debit card payments have also grown from May to June.The catalyst for recovery has been the opening up of ecommerce for non-essential goods and a digital shift in spend-heavy sectors such as entertainment and education, said executives monitoring these trends at top banks. However, spending in segments such as aviation, fuel, movies and dining remain subdued since people are traveling less and cinema halls and restaurants remain closed.“There has been a sharp surge in payments to OTT (over-the-top) and education platforms,” said Deepak Sharma, president and chief digital officer at Kotak Mahindra Bank. OTT refers to services such as Netflix.“We have also seen an increase in retail spends on ecommerce platforms in June, which is contributing heavily to our volumes,” said Vishwas Patel, CEO of CCAvenue, a leading payment gateway. “This could be because of pent-up demand.”Full Recovery to Take TimeThe trend reflects a gradual revival in consumer sentiment but full recovery could still be some time away, experts said.“While the recovery in digital payment trends going from April to June has been positive, one has to account for the fact that the sector was growing sharply before the pandemic,” said Sanjeev Moghe, EVP, cards and payments, Axis Bank. “The sector was recording 25-30% annual growth. By those calculations we are still 35% away from where we would have been.”Those managing offline digital payments at stores in the country echoed such concerns. Volumes being processed by payment companies at physical outlets remained nearly 50% down from pre-Covid levels.“About 75% of stores managed by us are now open,” said Rajeev Agrawal, CEO, Innoviti, which deploys point-of-sale units. “While food and grocery payments are almost at pre-Covid levels, segments such as fashion, apparel and entertainment remain massively impacted especially in metro cities.”Demand for pharmaceuticals and electronic goods especially in tier 2 and tier 3 cities have largely contributed towards the slight recovery observed on its platform in June, he said. Innoviti’s PoS machines power digital payments at more than 20,000 stores across the country.

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SBI urges UK Home Secretary to reject Vijay Mallya’s asylum plea

Mumbai: India’s largest lender State Bank of India (SBI) has written to UK home secretary Priti Patel’s office, challenging Vijay Mallya’s asylum plea, said three people in the know.The letter, written on behalf of the consortium of lenders led by SBI, and dispatched earlier this month, urged the British authorities to expedite the fugitive businessman’s extradition proceedings as this was key to recovering dues from him, said one of the persons.The missive is being seen as part of a collective effort by Indian banks, investigative agencies and other entities to put pressure on the UK government to hasten Mallya’s return to India.“A letter was dispatched recently, urging the UK home office to expedite Mallya’s deportation since his return is crucial to recovering the money owed to banks,” said an official in the know. “This is part of the ongoing efforts to get Mallya declared bankrupt, as well as other actions that our agencies have taken.”To a query, a SBI spokesperson said, “It is the policy of the bank not to comment on an individual account and its treatment.”Indian Banks Working with UK AuthoritiesMallya has maintained that Indian banks have repeatedly rebuffed his offers to “pay in full”. So far, banks have recovered nearly Rs 2,500 crore by selling shares and properties pledged by Mallya. Lenders have claimed that the beleaguered businessman owes them a total of Rs 9,000 crore, including interest and principal. Other banks in the consortium include Punjab National Bank, Bank of Baroda and IDBI Bank. Mallya did not comment. In April, the London High Court deferred hearing on a plea by the consortium of Indian lenders seeking that Mallya be declared bankrupt. Banks are trying to recover a loan of around £1.145 billion (nearly Rs 10,500 crore) from Mallya. They also want to be declared ‘secured lenders’ in the UK — a key step toward recovering money from the businessman’s overseas assets. Top officials said Indian banks are working closely with the UK authorities to recover as much as they can out of Mallya’s assets. “The banks’ move to send a letter to the UK government through the British High Commission is part of the collective efforts to recover dues,” said a legal source. “We cannot say if it is at the behest of the regulators or an effort by the consortium members themselves, as they have been following up with UK regulators and the home office for a long time.” In response to a query from ET, the British High Commission said: “We do not comment on individual cases and have no further comment in line with longstanding policy.”TWO REMEDIESMallya has only two possible legal remedies left with him: One is to seek asylum, and the other is to approach the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR). While the ECHR is yet to officially receive an application from Mallya, top lawyers close to the developments said this is imminent as the high court’s recent judgment allowing his extradition is in violation of certain human rights that the ECHR protects.

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Vizag: 2 dead, 4 fall sick after gas leak at plant

Two workers died and four others were hospitalised following benzimidazole gas leakage from the Sainor Life Sciences pharma company at Jawaharlal Nehru Pharma City (JNPC), Parawada in Visakhapatnam in the wee hours of Tuesday.

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KK Venugopal re-appointed as Attorney General

KK Venugopal has been re-appointed as Attorney General of India for a period of one year. "KK Venugopal, Senior Advocate as Attorney General for India for a period of one year with effect from July 1," read the notification. It further read that Tushar Mehta has been re-appointed as the Solicitor General for a period of 3 years or until further orders.

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Govt may license import of ACs, TVs to check shipments

The government is looking to license the import of 10-12 items, including air conditioners and several of its components, and parts of television sets as it discourages the entry of foreign goods into the country, especially those from China. While work on licensing of products had started a few months ago, with agarbatti and tyres being among the initial set of items along with palm oil, the list has expanded in recent weeks as tension on the Ladakh border escalated, government sources said.

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Realme Narzo 10 to Go on Sale Today at 12 Noon via Flipkart, Realme Website: Price in India, Specifications

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India bans 59 apps, majority owned by Chinese cos

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Live: WHO says pandemic 'not even close' to over

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Almost two-thirds of college grads can't find a job: Survey

Bengaluru: Around 66% of campus graduates do not have a job offer on hand, according to a survey by job portal Naukri.And, of the one-third college pass-outs who had received offer letters, close to 44% confirmed that their joining dates have been delayed, while another 9% saw their offers being rolled back, the survey of 1,300 college students showed.Most students have switched to online job portals, but 17% are taking the referral route and connecting with their college alumni, it said, adding that some students are also considering freelancing as a viable future career option.“The pandemic has hit placement prospects of the 2020 batch across 82% colleges. It has further impacted internship offers of 74% pre-final year students. However, students are not losing morale and going virtual for their learning as well as job interviews,” said Sharad Sindhwani, chief business officer at Firstnaukri.com.In fact, most companies are using new-age technology to hire remotely, he added.Further, online courses and certifications are the first choice among freshers. About 70% of college students have already subscribed to online courses, followed by half of them reading news regularly to stay abreast of developments in their fields. The situation has not impacted higher education plans of 80% surveyed graduates.Half of the students found that companies have postponed campus visits while many are resorting to new-age technology solutions for hiring and are conducting video interviews and online assessments.

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HRD ministry wants Rs 2,300cr more for edu sector

In the backdrop of Covid-19, the HRD ministry projected a requirement of Rs 2,306.4 crore for the development of online courses/ programmes over five years. The ministry also presented a requirement of Rs 55,840 crore for providing ICT facilities to 3.10 lakh government schools. The government also proposed providing digital devices to 40% of the students in higher education.

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Maharashta, Tamil Nadu extend lockdown till July 31

Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu governments on Monday extended the lockdown till July 31 to stop the surge of Covid-19 cases — with stricter norms in the Mumbai and Chennai regions. The Karnataka government has also indicated that it will bring back from July 7 harsher measures such as banning the entry and exit of people from high-risk districts

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LAC satellite images show helipad expansion by China

Fresh satellite images show that China has expanded its heliport located 21.3 km north east from the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in Pangong Tso area. The images show that no new heliport has been constructed. Latest satellite images show that China has revamped another old helibase and new infrastructure has been added in Pishan County, 176 kilometres north of Galwan.

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Sunday, June 28, 2020

Times Top10: World crosses 10 mn Covid cases

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Hinduja family dispute, how it all started

MUMBAI: Srichand Parmanand (SP) Hinduja and his daughters Shanu and Vinoo are the whole and sole owners of the Switzerland-headquartered Hinduja Bank, and SP’s three brothers — Gopichand, Prakash and Ashok — are neither executives not shareholders of the bank, sources close to the SP Hinduja family told ET. There was thus no need to consult them before appointing Shanu’s son, Karam Hinduja, as the bank’s CEO.These sources also said that in May 2015, SP Hinduja had tried to repudiate a July 2014 agreement which had said that the “brothers appoint each other as their executors, and the assets held in any single brother’s name belong to all four”. The claim by the three brothers that Hinduja Bank does not exclusively belong to SP Hinduja is on the basis of this agreement.Litigation Started in Nov 2019One of persons cited above said that in 2016, SP had made a witness statement declaring that the letter signed between the four brothers did not reflect his wishes, and that the family’s assets should be divided. Following this, SP had sent an email communication to the other three brothers stating that he did not consider himself legally or morally bound by the letter. “Evidence has been submitted in the London court that SP had sought a meeting on May 2, 2015, with the other three brothers to convince them to recant the letter, but Gopi and Ashok were not in favour of it,” said one of the sources. “The three brothers are now wrongly using the letter to try and take control.” 76681381The ongoing litigation in the London court started in November last year. Vinoo is seeking to have the July 2014 agreement declared null and void. The two sisters are said to be seeking a 25% stake in the $13-billion (by revenue) Hinduja empire, as per a legal source. One of the sources close to the SP Hinduja family said the three brothers were neither executives nor shareholders of the bank, and hence there was no need for dialogue before making senior-level appointments. The family is also upset by the fact that the three had attempted to take control of the bank in 2018, citing their elder brother’s lack of capacity to run it. “The uncles have not been consulted because the bank is wholly owned by SP, there is no debate about that at all,” a source closely involved with dealings of both the families said. “While the uncles are debating the division of the estate, the ownership of the bank is undisputedly with SP, wholly and solely. It’s not about not consulting them, it’s more to do with the fact that they are not allowed to be consulted. They are not executive members or shareholders of the bank.”Email queries sent to representatives of the four Hinduja brothers remained unanswered till press time. The dispute that has been simmering for four years, came into the open last week after a London court allowed Vinoo, SP’s younger daughter, to act as his ‘litigation friend’ to safeguard his interests, since he is said to be suffering from a form of dementia. A statement signed by the other three Hinduja brothers had contested SP’s claim. The other brothers contend that the assets are jointly owned, and ownership should vest with a trust. “It is very unfortunate that these proceedings are taking place as they go against our founder’s and family’s values and principles that have stood for many decades, especially, ‘everything belongs to everyone and nothing belongs to anyone’,” the statement had said.Two other legal proceedings are also said to be underway — one in the UK and the second in Switzerland. There is also said to be a property dispute, which is being litigated in the UK. Founded in Geneva in 1994, Hinduja Bank’s operations span across five countries. While SP’s elder daughter Shanu is the chairwoman of the bank, her son Karam took over as CEO in March as per his LinkedIn page. He and his sister Lavanya had legally adopted the Hinduja name after their mother’s divorce.

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Investing lessons to pick from negativity

By Dhirendra KumarPeople hate stories of failure in investing. This is not surprising. Savers who are pessimists stick to bank deposits. The very act of putting money in a market-backed asset marks you out as someone who thinks that the future is going to be much better than the present.Over the past two decades, in the articles and columns that I have written in Value Research publications and newspapers like this one, I have observed that negative articles are not popular. What’s a ‘negative’ article, you might ask. A negative article or analysis tells you what’s bad in saving or investing. It explains what not to do. A positive one tells you what is good and explains what you should do. A positive article is about making money. A negative one is about not losing money. That’s a very sharp distinction.Equity investors don’t like to read about how not to lose money. They’re inherently optimists. You might think that equity investing makes people optimists, but that’s not really true. The cause and effect are the other way around. Only people who are inherently optimists get drawn to stocks.I’m sure you now understand why equity investors do not like to read negative stories. If I was worried about being a popular writer then I would also focus only on happy-happy stories. Unfortunately, investing is actually a little more complicated than that.Mistakes (bad decisions) can cause far more damage to your investment value, and far more quickly than can be countered by great investments. There are lots of stocks that have gone down to 1/10th of their value. If you invested in one of these and stayed on in mistaken confidence and optimism then you will need a 10X investment to balance it out. Of course, 10-baggers are really, really hard to find. Not just that, finding a 10-bagger and then finding enough confidence to stay with and grab all 10 bags is even harder!So it becomes clear that if you want to invest profitably and safely, what you don’t do with your money could be more important than what you do. So how do you avoid mistakes? The first step is to overcome your aversion to negative stories and read up about high profile failures!Some companies that fail are victims of bad management, some are victims of crooked management, and some external circumstances. Perhaps there’s some element of everything in most cases. Our job, as investors and investment analysts, is to look at the underlying patterns and then see if they exist elsewhere. Essentially, we should take those patterns (and many more) as warning signals and ensure that they do not exist in any stocks that we are tempted to buy.This principle of studying negativity is not just something that I write in my articles, but it is also an integral part of the analytical process that I’ve put together in Value Research. In fact, in Value Research Stock Advisor, I have made this principle a core part of our stock-selection methodology. Our analyst team has evolved a list of negative characteristics that none of our recommended stocks should have. No matter how good a stock looks, if it has any one of the red lights glowing, we will reject it without a second thought. That should be the normal way that investors should act.However, sometimes even this is not enough in equity investing. Companies will find new ways of blowing up. Promoters and managements will invent new types of malfeasance. Ultimately, the only protection you have against such negative events is diversification. In a long enough investing career, everyone will be hit by a few wealth destroyers—I have faced some personally. The only deep defence is to be diversified so that you can just shrug, accept the loss, learn the lesson, and move on.(The author is CEO, Value Research)

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MNC arms yet to take a call on Facebook ads

New Delhi | Mumbai: Led by their global parents that have suspended advertising on Facebook, large consumer facing multinational companies in India have intensified engagement with social media giants — especially Facebook — to push for more accountability and transparency. However, many are continuing to advertise on social media platforms.Media agencies said the decision by some of the world’s largest advertisers, including Unilever and Coca-Cola, to ban advertising on social media due to inability of the platforms to curb “hate speech” may have a far reaching impact in India. So far, however, the boycott by Unilever pertains to the US market.Unilever’s India subsidiary, Hindustan Unilever, hasn’t taken a call on the matter yet. HUL has consistently ranked at top spot among India’s largest advertisers for the previous two years back-to-back. According to the Pitch Madison Advertising report in 2019, HUL’s ad spends touched ₹3,400 crore. 76681675A highly placed source in GroupM, HUL’s media buying partner, confirmed that HUL has not reached out to the agency yet to withdraw advertising from social media.Several executives at the MNCs that ET spoke to said they are monitoring the developments closely. A spokesperson for the country’s largest packaged foods company Nestle India said: “We are not pausing our advertising activity with FB at this stage as this is not a solution to the concerns we all share over offensive digital content. We are globally asking them to ensure that advertisements do not appear within a certain proximity of unacceptable content.”The spokesperson said Nestle will review progress on a regular basis, as part of its ongoing engagement with Facebook. “We have banned 250 white supremacist organisations from Facebook and Instagram. The investments we have made in AI mean that we find nearly 90% of Hate Speech we action before users report it to us, while a recent EU report found Facebook assessed more hate speech reports in 24 hours than Twitter and YouTube.” said a Facebook spokesperson.Media agency experts in India feel that many global brands will be under pressure to follow suit by their employees but the calls will depend on parent companies.Spokespersons of Coca-Cola India, PepsiCo, P&G and Reckitt Benckiser declined comment. Ashish Bhasin, CEO, APAC and chairman India, Dentsu Aegis Network, said, “Brands, agencies and tech giants are all on the same page on this. Having said that, there are other areas of inequality in India to be dealt with, for which we need to work together with platforms here.”

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Boycott China: Checks on imports to hit drug, devices supply

New Delhi: Delays in clearing import consignments from China at India’s ports and airports may soon hit the pharmaceutical sector, creating shortages and increasing costs.Medical equipment such as infrared thermometers and pulse oximeters needed in the fight against Covid-19, among others, are stuck at the ports and may result in shortages soon, according to the Pharmaceutical Export Promotion Council (Pharmexcil).The delays have also hindered the supply of key starting raw material, intermediates and active pharmaceutical ingredients, said Dinesh Dua, chairman of Pharmexcil. Customs officials are said to be checking all cargoes imported from China instead of inspecting them randomly, causing delays. Drug ingredients and Covid-19-related medical devices as well as diagnostics that are stuck, especially at Jawaharlal Nehru Port and New Delhi airport, have left importers worried.“Current disruption from customs will seriously and adversely affect pharma industry, which is at the forefront of fighting all diseases including Covid 19,” Dua said. “Hold-up of APIs and KSMs at ports will destabilise and derail availability of life-saving drugs both within India and the world. On the one hand, India is going up in global rankings of ease of doing business and on the other, we’re stepping back into inspector raj.”Clearance delays of shipments at JNPT, which handles about 60% of India’s containerised freight including pharmaceuticals, and at Ahmedabad, Chennai and Delhi airports have become a cause of concern, the owner of a pharma company told ET on condition of anonymity.Company officials said even consignments of the API of remdesivir, the most sought-after drug for treating Covid-19, are stuck. APIs are also known as bulk drugs and are the raw material for making formulations or medicines. Intermediates are chemical compounds that are used to produce APIs.“We have been inundated with distress calls from a lot of our member companies that there has been an acute disruption in manufacturing of pharmaceutical products over the last three days,” Dua said.Dua has written to the external affairs ministry, the cabinet secretary, the principal secretary, the Prime Minister’s Office, the department of pharmaceuticals and the health ministry, among others, seeking their intervention in the matter.“Critical KSMs, intermediates and APIs are not being cleared for reasons not known to the industry,” Dua said in the letter dated June 27.Devices such as infrared thermometers and pulse oximeters, along with glucometers and strips are held up at Delhi airport.“During current distressed and challenging times of global Covid-19 pandemic, the pharmaceutical industry has risen to meet with the challenge. However, the ‘manmade’ disruptions have created tremendous difficulties for the industry,” Dua said in the letter, which ET reviewed.Dua said if clearance of consignments is not expedited on “top priority,” the work done so far to maintain the production and supply levels may get diluted.“Pharma goods at all major seaports and airports are getting delayed because of 100% checking. It is a cause of concern for the API industry and may impact the supply lines,” said Ashok Madan, executive director of the Indian Drug Manufacturers’ Association.With the recent Sino-India tension, there is also concern over the rising cost of APIs and drug safety.India, the world’s third-largest drug producer by volumes, imports 70% of its APIs from China. For some APIs, especially antibiotics, dependence on China is over 90%.

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FMCG companies in a faster lane in rural markets

MUMBAI | NEW DELHI: Consumption growth in rural India is outpacing the rate of expansion in cities and has already reached 85% of pre-Covid average sales underpinned by higher farm income, minimal retail disruption during the lockdown and migrant workers returning home.In comparison, urban market sales were relatively lower at 70% in May, according to Nielsen’s latest data. In the next nine months, the overall fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) segment is expected to grow at around 5% but rural will expand at double the rate of urban, reversing the trend of the past two years when slowing demand in the hinterland dragged the entire market down.More than half a dozen consumer goods companies including Hindustan Unilever, Nestle, Dabur and Parle are expecting rural demand to drive the bulk of their growth during the fiscal year as the urban market, led by discretionary categories, remains stressed. “Rural demand will continue to outpace urban demand,” said Mohit Malhotra, chief executive officer at Dabur India. 76681526Rural Sales Outpacing City Growth“With migrant workers shifting back to their hometowns and the government announcing additional spend on MGNREGA (Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act) and higher MSPs (minimum support prices), rural consumption would surely see an uptick,” he added. Dabur India will add 8,000 new villages in its reach this fiscal year.Consumption in rural India that had been outpacing the rate of expansion in cities tapered off over the past two years since purchase behaviour is largely linked to farm output and farm-gate prices. While rural growth has been consistently slowing, its expansion during the September quarter last year had been slower than urban for the first time in seven years. “Relatively relaxed lockdown in rural, further corroborated by lower store closure days--seven days in rural compared to 13 days in urban--has been instrumental in rural looking healthier than urban when it comes to FMCG consumption during the lockdown months,” said Prasun Basu, South Asia zone president, Nielsen Global Connect.While FMCG companies have increasingly relied on the rural hinterland, home to more than 800 million people, the market contributes just 36% of overall industry sales despite having over two-thirds of India's consumer base.“With a predicted good monsoon, a very good harvest of the primary staple goods in the country, and benefits the government has recently announced in terms of going beyond APMC (Agricultural Produce Market Committee) for farmers to be able to sell their produce to the highest bidders, I do hope that it shores up rural incomes,” Suresh Narayanan, chairman and managing director, Nestle India, told ET recently, adding that it has been witnessing stronger demand in rural and smaller towns compared to urban India.Crisil, which analysed 57 companies that accounted for nearly 50% of the sector’s revenues, said India’s FMCG companies’ sales are expected to contract 2-3% in the current fiscal but rural India should fare better.The government’s economic package has increased allocation under the MGNREGA by an additional Rs 40,000 crore from the earlier allocation of Rs 61,000 crore to enhance employment in villages.Hindustan Unilever, the country's biggest consumer goods firm, said pantry loading was more an urban phenomenon than rural because most shops were open in the hinterland and consumers don't have the money to spend on such stockpiling.“Even before Covid, the rural economy was going through stress,” HUL chairman Sanjiv Mehta told ET last week. “So the focus of the government in having direct transfer of money to the rural people, increasing the minimum support price, improving the outlay on MGNREGA, the focus has been absolutely right.”The trend is true even for discretionary categories. A recent Motilal Oswal report said 80% stores of regional players, selling apparel to home products, have opened in smaller towns and are clocking sales at 60-70% of pre-Covid levels with only serious buyers turning up.“With the migrant labourers also moving, I think there's a possibility that rural and smaller town are less impacted and that is an opportunity for us,” United Spirits managing director Anand Kripalu said last week.

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Five stocks with high interest on F&O traders’ radar for July

Telecom, IT, pharma and hospital stocks are in the limelight in July derivatives series so far. With gains in the Nifty expected to remain capped in the near future, the focus is once again on companies that are still growing. Technology shares rose on Friday after better-than-expected earnings from Accenture. ET takes a look at five stocks which are gaining momentum in the July series and details their near-term outlook.Vodafone IdeaCMP: Rs 10.4Spot Price Change in : 5.6%OI Change in : 110.95%The stock is rising due to momentum in other telecom stocks, said Chandan Taparia, derivative analyst at Motilal Oswal Financial Services. Reports of Google eyeing stake in the company and hope of relief on AGR dues have helped the stock gain 218% since March. The stock gained nearly 6% on Friday amid higher than average volumes.MindtreeCMP: Rs 949.10Spot Price Change in : 3.5%OI Change in : 31.2%The company’s shares have risen along with gains in the IT sector on Friday after better-than-expected earnings numbers from Accenture. The stock has support near Rs 910 and can rise to Rs 1,000-Rs 1,020 in the July series, said Taparia.United BreweriesCMP: Rs 1,017.95Spot Price Change in : -3%OI Change in : 16.8%The stock has seen build-up of bearish positions after the company on Wednesday reported a 39.35% decline in March quarter profit, mainly due to Covid-19 disruptions. IDFC Securities said in a note that any correction in the stock should be used to add positions. The brokerage said the near-term trajectory will remain under pressure but the brokerage believes that United Breweries is best placed to navigate and come out stronger due to better portfolio strength and healthy balance sheet among other factors.Apollo HospitalsCMP: Rs 1,388.15Spot Price Change in : -3.4%OI Change in : 15.4%Traders have built short positions in the stocks due to uncertainties over occupancy and threat of price caps. CLSA has downgraded the stock to ‘outperform’ from ‘buy’ and cut target price to Rs 1,570 from Rs 1,800. Apollo reported a profit of Rs 209.6 crore for the March quarter mainly one account of one-off gains. Operations may normalise only in 2021; the threat of more price caps by state governments keeps us concerned about the earnings outlook as this would be a risk to margins,” said CLSA.HCL TechnologiesCMP: Rs 562.4Spot Price Change in : 2.25%OI Change in : 8.3%HCL Technologies’ have also gained on the back of optimism in the sector after Accenture’s result. The stock has taken support near its 50-day moving average in the last four to five sessions. “Now the stock has support near Rs 545 level and can move to Rs 600 in the near term,” said Taparia.

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Agencies keen to withdraw ratings of over 10k cos not sharing info

Mumbai: Credit rating agencies have approached financial market regulators for withdrawing ratings to more than 10,000 companies that are refusing to share information.Rating agencies will need a ‘no objection certificate’, or NOC from lending banks before they remove the ratings. Since banks are often reluctant to give NOC, the agencies have drawn the Reserve Bank of India’s attention to the problem.“A company which was unwilling to disclose information before the lockdown, is likely to be even more disinclined post Covid-19 as earnings and cash-flow drop,” a senior official of a rating agency told ET.Besides, it is not feasible to assess the true financial and repayment capacity of companies which, having opted for the RBI-announced moratorium, are not required to service interest or repay loans till end-August.Agency officials are understood to have broached the subject at a recent meeting with regulators.Rating agencies, which had come under the glare after the IL&FS fiasco that triggered rapid downgrades in quick succession, are required to review ratings after every material event — financial performance, industry-wide development, management changes, and even widening of bond yields which indicates rising risk perception. After incorporating the views of the company, the revised rating or outlook is put in the public domain.The absence of information particularly relates to loans of unlisted companies. “In the current environment, agencies would prefer deploying their resources to closely track borrowers who readily share data and information, rather than wasting time and choking resources on companies that do not cooperate,” said an industry source.According to regulatory requirement, banks have to attach a higher risk weight — thereby use more capital — for unrated and sub-investment grade loans.The problem arises when despite repeated reminders companies continue to hold back information. “Agencies do inform lending banks about such behaviour. However, most banks remain hesitant in giving the NOC which is necessary for the formal withdrawal of rating.... Not that they save on capital as many of these companies are in the non-investment grade,” said the official of another agency.76681276“Such loans require surveillance. In the absence of adequate information, the credit officer of any bank would look for various sources of information. So, it would like the rating agency to continue to associate itself as the ‘rating rationale’ offers a second perspective,” said the person.According to an industry officer, some of the bankers may also fear that allowing a withdrawal of rating may not go down well if fraud or other irregularities are detected later. In many cases, companies have not revealed information for more than a year.While agencies have faced allegations of conflict of interest, till recently they have had to deal with information asymmetry as banks as well as RBI reported incidence of corporate default long after the payment due date. More than 40,000 companies are rated in India.

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Broad takes sports psychologist's help to prepare for Tests without fans

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MCA geared up to appoint ad hoc CIC

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Manchester City, Chelsea, Arsenal move into FA Cup semifinals

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1.1 lakh Covid cases in 6 days, 19,700+ on Sunday

With 384 deaths on Sunday, the toll from the virus rose to 16,468. India’s caseload stood at 5,49,106, as per data from state governments, while the number of active cases and those recovered rose to over 2.1 lakh and 3.2 lakh, respectively.

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Ladakh: India's allies pitching in with weapons

New Delhi: As Indian troops remain dug in at Ladakh in a prolonged standoff with China, allies are pitching in with commitments to deliver urgently needed weapons and ammunition for the armed forces. France has promised to deliver additional Rafale jets next month, an in-service Israeli air defence system is expected soon, precision artillery rounds will be sent by the US, and Russia will make early deliveries of ammunition and weapons worth $1 billion.The commitments have been made after top-level bilateral talks and a key meeting in the capital at which it was decided that emergency financial powers will be given to the armed forces to prepare for a prolonged standoff in eastern Ladakh.The first set of cutting-edge Rafale fighter jets – equipped with perhaps the world’s best long-range air-to-air missiles – is expected to reach India by July 27. As per the initial plan, four fighters were to reach the home base at Ambala next month but sources said that France has now made a commitment to send additional Rafales in the first batch. A total of eight aircraft are nearing certification but it is unclear how many additional fighters could be delivered early.76681175Ferried by Indian PilotsThe planes will be ferried by Indian pilots who have been trained in France and will be fully combat ready when they arrive at Ambala. Sources said that in support of early delivery, France has committed that it will deploy its aerial refuelers to ensure that the jets make it to India with just a single hop.Key defence supplier Israel – which showed its commitment as a reliable partner during the Kargil war too – is expected to deliver a much-needed air defence system that will be deployed along the border. Sources said that the unnamed air defence system is likely to come from the current holdings of the Israeli defence forces and would supplement the Ladakh sector. This would be useful as the Chinese side is said to have deployed its newly acquired S-400 air defence system in the sector as well.India’s largest defence supplier Russia has pledged urgent delivery of weapons, ammunition and missiles that India asked for during the recent visit to Moscow by defence minister Rajnath Singh. A detailed list has been shared by India for several dozen requirements that would cost in excess of $1 billion and a commitment has been received from Russia of delivery within weeks.Given that most land-based systems such as tanks and armoured carriers are of Russian origin, India is looking for a variety of ammunition that will be required in the event of a larger conflict. The air force is looking for urgent supply of air-dropped bombs and missiles while the army requires anti-tank missiles and man-portable air defence systems for the border.India’s newest strategic partner – the US – has already been helping out with vital intelligence and satellite imagery that give military planners clarity on the border situation. Sources said that the US has invited India to share a list of all requirements with a commitment to be of assistance at the earliest.In particular, additional Excalibur artillery rounds have been ordered on an emergency basis. The precision attack rounds with a range of over 40 km are used in a variety of artillery guns in the Indian inventory, including the M 777s that are designed for mountain warfare. These rounds are known for their accuracy and damage potential and have been tried and tested by the army.

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Indo-Japan navies conduct joint training exercise

NEW DELHI: Amid the ongoing Sino-Indian standoff in Ladakh, the Indian Navy and Japanese Maritime Self Defence Forces (JMSDF) conducted a joint training exercise in the Indian Ocean.The exercise that concluded on Saturday was held in the backdrop of Japan defence minister Taro Kono expressing concern over not only China’s defence capabilities but also its intention in the Indo-Pacific region. This was the first such statement from Japan following Beijing’s aggressive posturing in parts of Asia over the past few months.Coinciding with the Indo-Japan defence exercise, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) put out a statement that the South China Sea dispute should be resolved in line with international law, stressing on “the importance of non-militarisation and self-restraint”.76681293While sources described the Indo-Japanese initiative as a goodwill training exercise to promote mutual understanding and trust with the Indian Navy, the timing of the exercise is significant. “The content of this exercise is tactical training and communication training with no specific scenario. It was the 15th such training exercise between JMSDF and Indian Navy during the past three years following efforts by Delhi and Tokyo to widen defence partnership,” explained a person familiar with the initiative.The exercise consisted of four warships, two from each country, and the effort was aimed at signalling amid Beijing’s belligerence, noted the person quoted above. The Indian Navy’s training vessels — INS Rana and INS Kulush — were joined by the Japanese Navy’s JS Kashima and JS Shimayuki. Since 2000, the JMSDF is the world’s fourth largest navy by total tonnage and has been steadily expanding its fleet over the past few years amid China’s territorial claims in the Japanese waters.

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In times of Covid, firms rush to get cybersecurity cover

Mumbai: India Inc is rushing to take cover from the risk of increased online security threats, with premium collections for cyber liability insurance expected to increase to ₹300 crore this year. Leading insurance companies have introduced identity theft, cyber bullying, malware intrusion and cyber extortion in their policies and said enquiries for cyber insurance have shot up 70% from March.“For the Indian insurance companies, the expected premium collection for next one year – as of May – stands at about ₹300 crore,” according to a General Insurance Council official who did not want to be identified. This compares with ₹100 crore collected as premium two years ago.Companies want insurance firms to cover malware theft, data breach, phishing attacks, identity theft and cyber bullying, among others, officials said.They said companies do not want their brand image dented while they juggle a new work culture and ensure the safety of client data. 76681208“A business in India would be outsourcing technology but reputational risk and loss of business can’t be outsourced,” said Milind Kolhe, chief underwriting officer at Bharti Axa General Insurance. “This forms the starting point of cyber liability insurance in India.”Bharti Axa recently introduced a cybersecurity product to help protect small and medium businesses against external cyber risks. Kolhe said that since Covid-19, enquiries have jumped 60-70%. ICICI Lombard has introduced a policy covering an individual from a range of attacks such as identity theft, cyber bullying, malware intrusion and cyber extortion.

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In times of Covid, firms rush to get cybersecurity cover

Amazon India to hire 20,000 seasonal staff

E-commerce major Amazon India on Sunday said it is offering close to 20,000 'seasonal' or temporary employment opportunities in its customer service (CS) organisation to help customers in India and globally with a seamless online shopping experience.

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OnePlus 8 Pro to Go on Sale in India Today via Amazon, OnePlus.in: Price in India, Specifications, More

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Live: Petrol and diesel prices increased in Delhi again

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India-China: To hold talks every week on dispute

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Companies can't survive by paying people sitting at home: Rajiv Bajaj, MD, Bajaj Auto

Amid social media criticism of Bajaj Auto after Covid cases were reported at one of its facilities, managing director Rajiv Bajaj tells ET that the automaker has the backing of its entire workforce, which appreciates the company’s focus on employee welfare and livelihood protection at a time companies are shedding jobs and slashing wages. Edited excerpts: Every life is precious. How will the management and workers deal with the loss of lives if it recurs?Every life is precious, but you tell us the solution. In Aurangabad, we had very open communication with our people and we have told them what is happening since unlocking - we have seen the cases are going up all over the country. We all know that there is no vaccine in sight. So, if you want to be absolutely safe and you want to sit at home until the vaccine comes, you are welcome to sit at home. But please understand that if we sit at home for one to two years, there is no company in the world that can continue to pay your wages. We will have to implement no work no pay.Our people deeply appreciate that we didn't implement layoffs or even cut wages despite the union voluntarily offering a reduction. They know that we have scrupulously put all precautions in place. They are very appreciative that we distributed homoeopathic remedies free to them, their families and to the community at large. They have let us know that they understand that we can't wish the virus away and are keen that the plant continues functioning.Is there a fear psychosis in the minds of workers to return to work?There is absolutely no such fear, anxiety etc among our people. Because, masses with an open mind understand the facts and figures and are absolutely clear. They understand exactly what is happening.Our people have been coming to work. They have been seeing that there are some cases happening since the sixth of June. They have been seeing that as soon as we see anybody symptomatic, we are isolating, testing and treating them. The authorities have been extremely supportive. They have been doing all the inspection, they have been giving all the inputs and they have clearly said that Bajaj has scrupulously followed all the norms. And it’s not only about Bajaj. I'm sure virtually every industry is at risk. We are all doing the best we can to mitigate that.What other steps can be taken at the factory level?We are taking all the steps. And of course on a daily basis if some improvement comes to our notice naturally we will implement it. If somebody gives us a suggestion, if the collector gives some suggestion, we will do it. But the reality is, my understanding is that today in dense areas like slums, or ghettos etc, the infection rate is probably 40% etc. as happened in the slum next to my house.Secondly, I would say in companies like Bajaj Auto in Aurangabad, 140 cases are just the tip of the iceberg. People are saying, ‘oh! 140 is a large number’. I am saying, ‘no boss it is a small number, only tip of the iceberg’. Because, we have only tested the symptomatic people. I am sure that in any large organization like ours or our competitors or our suppliers, where people are employed in hundreds, 5-10% infection must have already happened. We have 8,000 people in Aurangabad if we test all of them I am sure 400 to 800 will test positive. But fortunately, most of them will be asymptomatic.Will this impact production? Will you look at moving production to Uttarakhand if Waluj worsens? Is that your plan B?There’s no need to move anything anywhere. Because, the problem will be the same everywhere.A few states and cities are again clamping down as cases increase. Assam and Chennai did this. Does this give any confidence to plan production schedules?My problem is that whatever milk has been split is okay, but what about the future? Why Tamil Nadu is still closing down like this for 10 days? Why has Guwahati said it will close for 14 days? Why is West Bengal extending it until 31 July? What will happen on the first of August when you unlock? And to clarify, I am not saying that because of the lockdown, the number of infections or deaths has increased. I am saying whatever was suppressed that time has come out just now. So take the average of both, it is probably going to be what it would have been if this kind of lockdown hadn't been implemented.You were among the very few industrialists to have spoken out against the sweeping lockdown. This has, perhaps, given former CM Devendra Fadnavis and others an opportunity to criticize you….Well, from what I've seen, Mr Fadnavis hasn't named me; so I don't need to say anything to him. The news that our plant was shut isn't true. It's closed on Sundays because that's the weekly off. And it has been closed on some Saturdays since the lockdown started simply due to lack of demand. However, even on Saturdays, export packing and dispatches continue as do maintenance and sanitation activities.If any politician has a different perspective on what has happened at Aurangabad, I invite him to engage with us meaningfully; no productive purpose is served by making baseless allegations in public.How do you know when and whom to test?It is only when people have a slight cold or cough or temperature or something that you isolate and test them. After that, some may come positive; some will come negative. Those who come negative also anyway take a little rest at home for a few days and come back to work, while those that are positive will have to go to the hospital. Therefore, we have followed whatever is needed to be followed and there is no question of not identifying. We have identified 140 cases. Perhaps, what is happening in some companies is that if a person has got a mild cold or cough or something, they are not testing them. They just send them home. And most people anyway become okay in 4-5 days. So, that is why in many companies the infected cases may seem small because they are not testing. In our company, even at a hint of any symptom, we are immediately testing.Does it mean no amount of precaution will stop this virus?Two things we have to logically consider. The first is that within that containment zone, suppose 1,000 people are living there, are you telling me that those people are not meeting each other? Of course, they are meeting each other. Because after all, how do they get their daily provisions? After all, they are human beings. After 3 months of lockdown, these people are emotionally and economically wrecked. How can you tell them that you sit only within your little square foot? So, they are meeting each other. So first of all, they are continuously transmitting within the containment zone also.Let me give you an example from your own publication, The Times of India, about two weeks ago. It carried the news article of a slum called Ghatge Maharaj slum, which is 200 meters from my house. Monday I was going there in my car, I found that the road is blocked. I can't take my car there because everybody was on the road. I asked why? They said because the authorities have come to do 100% testing. What did they find out? They found out that of about 1200 people, almost 500 people were infected. The infection rate is 40% in such places.And the second problem is that the people living in the hotspot or containment zone are meeting each other because it is not practical not to meet each other. Also, the reality is that ultimately when you unlock, they are also going to meet the people who are living outside the containment zone. Where anyway the infection is there, which is 2%, 3%, 5% whatever. So once again, those who are outside the containment zone will give the virus to those who are inside. And those who are inside, since they can live in those dense circumstances, again the rapid spread will happen.The collector has asked people with co-morbidities to stay at home. How will companies identify?We have an annual medical check-up program so everybody’s health is well known to us. We have to secure those who are severely ill in one respect or the other.Does it mean that no amount of precautions will stop the spread of the novel Coronavirus?Ultimately what happens is that..Suppose you are living in your house with your family and you are going to work. Suddenly on a particular day, you find your wife and kids are okay, your parents are okay, your colleagues are okay but you have caught a cold. How does that work? Because on that day, maybe because of some mental reason or some physical fatigue, maybe you didn't sleep properly, your immunity is low and you become vulnerable.Whose immunity will be low on a particular day, nobody can say. A medical checkup will be done once a year, not every day. So it is just bad luck that somebody who is in stress on a particular day falls sick. Do you see demand returning?As far as demand is concerned, I have been saying very clearly that suppressed demand is coming back right now. However, I don't see any fundamental green shoots for now.So the reality is if we do simple math, suppose there was a time over a year and a half back when demand was a hundred units a month. Then we know that, as I've been saying because of the liquidity problem and because of the prices going up due to insurance and ABS etc, as it is well known that before coronavirus the demand had fallen from 100 to, say, 90. The industry was already having degrowth. Now, for two months, from 24 March until the end of May, naturally people could not purchase anything. That means for two months about 180 people could not buy their scooter or motorcycle. In India 99% of scooter and motorcycles are not bought for lifestyle, they are bought to earn daily bread. It is not a luxury, it is a necessity.What does that mean? That means that these 180 people that did not buy are probably going to buy something over the next six months. Because ultimately they have to get a vehicle so they can commute to work. So this 180 divided by six months will translate to something like 30 per month, whereas the normal demand which has come to 90, let's say it will fall further to maybe 80 or 70. Because some people lost their jobs, some people got a salary cut, some people are simply scared, whatever it is. So the demand has actually fallen to 70 but to that, we have to add 30 of the previous two months, so it is going to come back to 100. Now based on that people are saying, oh we're actually seeing growth. It is nothing, just as the suppressed infection will average out suppressed demand will also average out.

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