Wimbledon: Jabeur sweeps aside Venus to achieve new personal landmark

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Canadian boxer Mandy Bujold wins CAS decision to fight at Tokyo Olympics

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US Social Media Giants Must Obey Indian Laws: IT Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad

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Twitter Website Down for Some Users, Company Says Working on a Fix

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When is husband not a legal heir of wife's property?

If a Hindu male dies without a will then his assets are passed on to his Class I heirs like his mother, wife, son, daughter and so on (father is not an immediate Class I legal heir). However, this is not the case if a Hindu woman dies intestate. If a Hindu woman dies without a will then, who her class-I heirs are, depends on whether she has children. And just like the father is not an immediate legal heir of a Hindu male, there is a scenario where the husband of a Hindu woman who has died intestate will not be the legal heir to certain properties of the deceased woman.Here is how the property of a deceased Hindu woman will be divided in the absence of a will. If a married Hindu woman has no childrenIf a married Hindu woman does not have children, then the devolution of her property after her death will depend on how the properties and other assets were acquired by her. Usually, a woman can acquire property by these routes: Acquire it herself (also known as self-acquired property) Acquire it via inheritance from her parents after their death Acquire it as a gift from her parents when they are aliveAcquire it as a share in coparcenary property after its divisionAcquire it as a gift from her husband or father-in-lawLet us now see who are the legal heirs to the property in each of these cases. Amit Jajoo, Partner, IndusLaw, an Indian law firm advising on various aspects says, "Self-acquired property or property received by the woman from her husband or father-in-law will be divided among the heirs of husband. As per Hindu Succession Act, the immediate legal heirs of husband (Hindu male) will include husband's son, daughter, mother, children of pre-deceased sons and daughters, widow of pre-deceased son etc. Therefore, in the absence of children, only the husband and mother-in-law of Hindu woman will be considered as Class-I legal heirs of husband. Even the Streedhan of the married woman will be divided among the heirs of husband, i.e., between husband himself and mother-in-law."With regards to property acquired as a gift, the husband will be the legal heir of the property. "The property received by the married Hindu woman by way of gift from her parents or share in the coparcenary property, after its division, is considered as woman's own property. Thus, husband will be the legal heir of such property," informs Sukun Chandele, Partner, Mind Legal, a Delhi-based law firm. What if the coparcenary property is undivided, who will be the legal heirs of such a property?"With respect to undivided coparcenary property, upon the woman's demise, in the absence of children and grandchildren, the property would devolve solely upon the husband. Since the right to coparcenary property of the woman has arisen by virtue of birth, and not by inheritance from father or mother, it cannot go to the heirs of the father but will devolve as per the general rule that whatever property belongs to the woman will devolve solely upon the husband in the absence of children and grandchildren," says Chandele.However, the same cannot be said for inherited property. Chandele says, "The property inherited by the woman after the death of her father or mother will not have the husband as a legal heir. In case of inherited property, such property will be divided among the heirs of the deceased woman's father in the absence of children and grandchildren. The heirs of the father would include his mother, his wife, his children, children of his pre-deceased children and so on."Thus, if a married Hindu woman without children dies intestate, then the husband would not have legal right over the property inherited by the married woman from her parents.If a married Hindu woman has childrenIf a married Hindu woman has children, then irrespective of whether the property has been received from her parents, husband, or parents-in-law, the properties will be divided among her class-I heirs. Even her own self-acquired property including Streedhan will be divided among the class-I heirs.Jajoo says, "Class-I heirs of a married woman are: sons and daughters (including children of any pre-deceased son or daughter) and husband. However, do keep in mind that wife of the pre-deceased son and husband of pre-deceased daughter will not be considered as legal heirs for such properties of a married woman."

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Should you invest in credit risk MFs now?

Credit risk funds are currently sitting on top of the performance chart of debt funds. Yes, the same ill-behaved bunch that was floundering at the bottom of the chart a year ago. These have clocked a healthy 9% average returns over past one year in sharp contrast to the miserable –3.7% yielded back then. Does this stellar show mark a turnaround in the much-derided category?The travails of credit risk funds in recent years are well known. A string of issuer defaults and downgrades sunk several funds that consciously took higher exposure to lower quality issuers. The hunt for higher yields backfired badly as credit events surfaced one after the other. The funds took sharp NAV hits, wiping out multiple years’ worth of returns in many cases. These funds were largely responsible for giving birth to the concept of segregated portfolios—also known as side-pocketing—in India. This refers to the carving out of bad assets from the cleaner portfolio into a separate fund in order to ring-fence the former. So, does recent performance suggest that the worst is over for credit risk funds? There are several reasons behind this improved show. 83866849Part of the ‘turnaround’ can be attributed to the low base effect of last year. Much of the rotten bonds had either been carved out or written down to reflect actual worth by this time last year. Even some of the quality bonds had seen dip in value owing to weak market conditions. As a result, fund NAVs had seen sharp corrections. The returns that you see today are on this lower initial value. Owing to the segregation of bad assets, returns over this time period have also captured much cleaner portfolios. However, performance of the segregated portfolios is not captured in the fund returns, and therefore in category performance.Further, these funds were running higher yields at this time last year, which have been captured in today’s NAV. Bonds rated AA and below had seen their yields flare up to 9-10% or higher amid tight liquidity conditions and beaten down prices. “Funds benefited from the higher accruals prevailing a year ago, which is showing up in the return profile today,” points out Vidya Bala, Head – Research, Primeinvestor.in. By contrast, the yield to maturity (YTM) on these funds is much lower today at 6-7% or even less. The fund returns in the near term will also reflect these low yields. Some of the most badly affected funds have particularly made the most of these gains. BOI AXA Credit Risk, Baroda Credit Risk, Aditya Birla Sun Life Credit Risk, Nippon India Credit Risk and IDBI Credit Risk have emerged among the top performers over the past year. Franklin India Credit Risk—among the six suspended debt funds of Franklin Templeton—is also among the table toppers. Apart from the higher accrual, these funds have also benefited from appreciation in bond prices pushed down earlier. “The sheer magnitude of the initial shock justifiably triggered the need for safety in investments for many. As it turned out, however, the nature of the shock and the subsequent behaviour of lenders and companies ended up substantially rewarding the risk taker during that phase,” notes Suyash Choudhary, Head – Fixed Income, IDFC AMC, while explaining the pickup in lower credit papers.So, what should investors make of credit risk funds in their current avatar? Improved returns can often mask underlying realities. Heavy redemptions over the past one year have left some affected funds with skeletal, cash-heavy portfolios running concentrated exposures in a few names. PGIM India Credit Risk, DSP Credit Risk, BOI AXA Credit Risk and IDBI Credit Risk are some examples. Yet, some of the troubled lot have revisited risk practices after the hit to NAV and perception. A few have cut back substantially on exposure to poor quality and unrated bonds and moved higher up the credit ladder. The funds’ aggregate exposure to bonds rated below AA (including unrated) has reduced from 26% a year ago to 11% now. “Credit risk funds have been scaling down their risk profile gradually to run a much cleaner portfolio today,” observes Bala. Some funds have taken conscious decision to shun concentrated exposure and focus only on names with cash flow visibility. This is apart from the handful of funds which were already running more prudent risk practices like ICICI Prudential Credit Risk, HDFC Credit Risk, Kotak Credit Risk, SBI Credit Risk and IDFC Credit Risk, to name a few. While credit risk funds today don a cleaner look compared to a year ago, investors must remain watchful for any deterioration in risk profile. Do not be tempted purely by the past one year’s return. Recent corrective steps by funds and moderate yields will put a lid on returns going forward. Credit spreads (yield differential of lower rated bonds over highest credit quality) have narrowed significantly, leaving limited return potential relative to risk. “This backdrop calls for greater credit consciousness and a heightened awareness of how much reward one is getting versus risk taken,” opines Choudhary. Only those who have sufficient risk appetite should consider these funds. The choice of funds is also critical in this space—ascertain the portfolio composition not just for credit quality but also extent of diversification.

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How new scheme will impact power stocks

The Rs 3.03-lakh-crore scheme is equally important for all the stakeholders across the power sector and not just the distribution segment. It is positive for stakeholders in the generation as well as the transmission space, says Sandeep Upadhyay, MD & CEO, Centrum Infrastructure Advisory. The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) on June 30, approved a reform-based result-linked power distribution scheme worth Rs 3.03 lakh crore that has been in the works for five years. This was pretty much on expected lines. What is your view?Yes this particular scheme was long awaited and from a timing perspective could have come earlier but is certainly a welcome move. It is equally important for all the stakeholders across the power sector and not just the distribution segment. It is positive for stakeholders in the generation as well as the transmission space. The other point that the government has made is that they are not shying off from taking some of these decisions which in spite of being capex incentives are actually high on impact. The crux of the scheme and the fine prints are yet to come. It is suggesting that about Rs 3 lakh crore will be invested, out of which about 97,000-98,000 crore will come from the centre. What the minister highlighted was that it is going to be result-oriented and so quite a lot of focus was laid in terms of the discoms performing and then being eligible for these kinds of allocations. It is a big positive and this is also very refreshing. The other part is that one is actually talking of a lot of sophistication coming in the distribution sector with the advent of smart metering which will not only cut down the technical losses, but will also go a long way in terms of cutting down the commercial losses. What about the approval of the viability gap funding with support of up to Rs 19,000 crore for BharatNet? How are you looking at the BharatNet implementation via the PPP model across the 16 states that has been approved?One initiative which will be broad-based and have a very, very high impact is something that we are pretty much used to in the infrastructure space. I foresee grants coming through. What one needs to watch out for is how the PPP will get modified because for the longest time, we have seen a lot of success based on the PPP model which has been applied to sectors like roads and railways and water. One has to see how this actually gets implemented on the broad-based networks which have been announced.

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6 stocks to bet on in power, auto sectors

Among power stocks, we like NTPC and Tata Power. Both these companies are focussing on renewable energy which does give them a leg up, going forward. In auto, we like M&M and Ashok Leyland among tractor stocks and Motherson Sumi and Bharat Forge among the ancillaries, says Sudip Bandyopadhyay, Group Chairman, Inditrade Capital. The two stories in the market are power and speciality chemicals. What do you sense is happening in the power sector?A couple of things. One, a lot of expectation is building around some policy announcement by the government focussed on the distribution. This is one sector which the government has been trying to handle for quite some time. Remember the UDAY Scheme? I do not think it was a complete success but the distribution related problems need to be resolved for healthy growth of the power sector. Some measures are eagerly awaited and we will have to see how that would streamline the distribution business which has been a major problem area for the power sector. Assuming that this policy does come, the beneficiaries will be a lot of power equipment and power related engineering companies. Brokerage reports are already out on Siemens and ABB, and revised targets have been set. Both are good companies and both have great potential considering that private capex and government capex are back and there can be a lot of movement and positive development in both these counters. Also we like some of the power stocks with distribution linkages. We like NTPC in the PSU space. We believe it has got a long way to go and somebody is building a portfolio where they want to be a little safe. NTPC is a good buy even from a dividend yield perspective at current levels. The other stock which we like in the power space is Tata Power. They have a large distribution play and also both NTPC and Tata Power are focussing on renewable energy which does give them a leg up, going forward. What are you pencilling in when it comes to the auto sales numbers? We are working with the expectations that there will be some sort of an incremental recovery in June,There will be better performance in terms of numbers from the auto companies in June vis-à-vis May. May did see major lockdowns across the country in multiples states. But June things have started opening up and the numbers will be better in June. But having said that, in the entire quarter Q1, which is ending today, the numbers will be subdued compared with Q4 last fiscal. But a lot of buying by the auto majors is expected during the coming months or Q2. We will have to carefully see the commentary from the companies. Also one particular pocket we are bullish on in the auto sector is tractor. Rural India is seeing good traction. Agriculture is expected to show good results on the back of good monsoon and so tractor sales numbers will be keenly watched. Mahindra in that context, stands out and we definitely like Mahindra at current levels, both for the tractor as well as SUV and commercial vehicles. Overall we do like the commercial vehicle space. The commercial vehicle demand is expected to pick up with the reopening of the economy and commercial vehicle manufacturers also will stand doing well. In this space, we like Ashok Leyland. The price has moved up substantially from where it was a few months back but commercial vehicle pick up and also the uniqueness of Ashok Leyland is bus manufacturing, where they have nearly 50% market share. They are exporting their buses to nearby countries as well. Ashok Leyland can be looked at current levels as well. Now on a slightly broader theme, we like the auto ancillary companies, particularly the companies having presence in the global markets. Motherson Sumi and Bharat Forge continue to remain our favourites even at current levels.

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Bank Nifty traders betting on a swing of over 700 pts

Mumbai: Option traders have baked in an over 2% movement eitherside in the Bank Nifty over the next few sessions, going by the provisional value of a 35,000 strike straddle — call and put option — expiring on July 8. With weekly expiry slated for Thursday, traders have purchased a July 8 expiry call and put option at the 35,000 strike for a provisional Rs 775 a share (25 shares make one Bank Nifty contract) . The value implies that Bank Nifty has to break out of a 34,225-35,775 range by the end of July 8 for them to make money. The strategy also indicates that while the traders are neutral on the direction, they expect an increase in choppiness or volatility and larger moves eitherside. 84000331The Bank Nifty has lagged the Nifty, which has surpassed its February 16 high of 15,431.75. The Bank Nifty trades below its February 16 record high of 37,708.75, having closed at 34,772.2 on June 30. "Low implied volatility has made option prices cheap and this is being exploited by traders who are playing both sides of the market,” said Rohit Srivastava, founder, IndiaCharts. The idea behind buying both call and put is that a large move either side will result in the trader raking in more than he has paid for both the options. “Jump in volatility or large move up or down will result in good gains for the trader," said Vishal Wagh, research head at Bonanza Portfolio. Among the major players, FIIs are net long cumulatively both on index calls and puts, while HNIs and corporates, known as Clients, are neutral on calls and net short on puts.

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Zomato IPO may hit Dalal Street this month

Mumbai: July is shaping up to be one of the busiest months for initial public offerings (IPOs) as the winning run in the primary market continues with investors making quick gains on recent listings. After five in June, eleven more companies, including Zomato, Clean Science & Technology, Glenmark Life Sciences, Krsnaa Diagnostics, GR Infra and Shriram Properties, are planning to launch IPOs in July to raise nearly ₹18,000 crore, according to investment bankers with knowledge of the matter.The ₹8,250 crore IPO by Zomato, the biggest offer since SBI Cards & Payments Services in March 2010, is expected to hit the primary market this month, according to the people cited above. The online food delivery and restaurant discovery platform is looking to raise ₹7,500 crore through a fresh issue of equity shares, they said. An offer for sale by Info Edge will raise ₹750 crore. 84007050Roadshows OnThe parent company of Naukri.com owns about 18.5% of Zomato and will sell shares worth $100 million in the IPO. Bankers said promoters and private equity stakeholders of several companies are currently conducting roadshows to get a sense of demand. There is strong appetite for new companies from various sections of investors, they said.“Apart from domestic institutions, HNIs (high net worth individuals) and retail, high-quality emerging market funds from Europe, sovereign wealth funds from Asia and Canada and long-only hedge funds are getting more active and investing in IPOs,” said S Ramesh, CEO, Kotak Investment Banking. “FY22 is likely to be dominated by listings of new-age tech companies and the pipeline is quite strong while the average deal sizes have kept moving up.”The monthly IPO record was set in September 2010, when 15 companies sold shares. Since then the maximum has been nine each in September 2011 and March 2021.The persistent buoyancy in small and mid-cap shares has helped the primary market sustain its momentum. Most IPO participants in 2021 have been rewarded. Out of 22 IPOs, stocks of seven companies have returned 50-113% over offer prices. Another 10 have given 10-40% returns since listing. Only four are currently trading below the offer price.GR Infraprojects is set to be the first to hit the primary market in July. The integrated road engineering, procurement and construction company is planning a ₹1,000 crore IPO that’s expected to open for subscription on July 7.The ₹1,500 crore issue by specialty chemical company Clean Science and Technology is entirely an offer for sale. The Pune-based company is a leading global player in most of its product areas with a focus on green chemistry. The latter is a key area for manufacturing industries seeking to minimise pollution at a molecular level.Glenmark Pharmaceuticals is planning a ₹1,800 crore IPO for its active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) division Glenmark Life Sciences. The sale consists of a fresh issue of as much as ₹1,160 crore and an offer for sale of up to ₹73 lakh by Glenmark Pharma.“With ample liquidity in the system, there is enough investor appetite for IPOs, provided they are priced well,” said Atul Mehra, MD, JM Financial. “Investors planning to invest money in the primary market this time would have a number of choices from traditional to new-age businesses.”

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England tour all but over for injured Shubman Gill?

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I trained like a madman, says Tokyo-bound Srihari Nataraj

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Battling Andy Murray into Wimbledon third round

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India's Olympics-bound athletes take a break from social media

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Australia aim for bumper crowds at Ashes Tests

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2nd ODI: Mithali's 59 in vain as England beat India by 5 wickets

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Covid measures for the poor come under scrutiny

After the deadly Covid-19 second wave, vaccine availability, socio-economic fallout, impact on railways and medium and small industries, unemployment in unorganised sector and overall impact of the pandemic have come under parliamentary scrutiny. Parliamentary standing committees, led by Opposition MPs, have added new subjects for examination by the panels which would bring under scrutiny various aspects of the second wave, which had overwhelmed India in April and May. As parliamentary standing committees resume meetings after a gap of two months, various aspects of government’s Covid-19 management during the second wave and overall impact would be minutely examined. Almost all parliamentary committees, headed by Opposition members, have added these politically potent subjects.Parliamentary committee on home affairs, headed by Congress’ Rajya Sabha MP Anand Sharma, would examine the socio-economic fallout of the second wave. According to sources, the panel would study job loss, migration from cities to villages, economic slowdown and effectiveness of measures undertaken by the government especially for the vulnerable sections. Parliamentary panel on labour, headed by Biju Janata Dal MP Bhartruhari Mahtab, has added the impact of Covid onloss of jobs/ livelihood in organised and unorganised sectors.

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This Pune lab can now approve Covid vaccines

The Centre has notified the National Centre for Cell Science (NCCS) as another laboratory to approve Covid-19 vaccine batches. So far, only Central Drugs Laboratory (CDL), Kasauli, had been approving the vaccine batches.The Centre has notified the Pune-based laboratory as another facility to approve Covid-19 vaccines to ensure its smooth availability for the on-going public immunisation drive. As per norms, every batch of vaccine manufactured by a company has to be tested by CDL and passed. This quality testing is compulsory to ensure that all vaccine batches adhere to the composition passed by the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO). 84000166With the government adding more vaccines, there is an unprecedented pressure on CDL, which has traditionally received 7,000 batches of immunobiologicals per year for testing or pre-release certification. CDL has already crossed this limit since the rollout of the Covid-19 immunisation drive on January 16. So far, it has already passed close to 50 crore vaccine doses. Increased pace of passing of vaccines is essential for the government to reach the target of inoculating 1 crore people daily. With the government scaling up the pace of immunisation starting June 21, the approvals would also need to pick up. A senior government told ET, “Since NCCS is in Pune, it will also help in increasing the speed of approval as all the vaccines are being manufactured in Pune and Hyderabad right now.” Sputnik V’s commercial launch has been delayed because of supply constraints and adequate doses being passed by CDL.

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CJI calls for debate on social media impact

CJI NV Ramana on Wednesday suggested a debate on the impact of the social media noise on institutions such as the judiciary as such noise may not necessarily be reflective of what is right but may put the institution under a lot of stress and pressure.The CJI said the judiciary must be completely free of all pressures if it was to act as a check on governmental power. The judiciary cannot be controlled directly or indirectly by the legislature or the executive or else the rule of law would become illusory, he said.Judges, he said, cannot be swayed by the emotional pitch of public opinion which gets amplified by social media platforms. “Judges have to be mindful of the fact that the noise thus amplified is not necessarily reflective of what is right or what the majority believes in,” he said.“The new media tools that have enormous amplifying ability are incapable of distinguishing between right and wrong, good and bad, and the real and fake. Therefore, media trials cannot be a guiding factor in deciding cases.“It is therefore extremely vital to function independently and withstand all external aids and pressures. While there is a lot of discussion about the pressure from the executive, it is also imperative to start a discourse as to how social media trends can affect the institutions.”“This, however, does not mean that judges should dissociate themselves completely from what is going on,” the CJI said. He was speaking on “Rule of Law” at the 17th PD Memorial Lecture delivered on Wednesday.The CJI cautioned that the pandemic may be a pre-curser to a bigger crisis in the days to come and called for an honest evaluation of whether the rule of law had been used to ensure the welfare of all. He said that he didn’t want to give such an evaluation as he was bound by his post and temperament.

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What may lead to a pause in mkt exuberance

The US Federal Reserve may just have pulled the exuberance of global financial markets down a notch in its monetary policy statement on June 16. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) shed a hefty 3% of its value between June 16 and 18. The rupee moved a good 80 paise down against the dollar and analysts point to more depreciation. (There has been a subsequent pullback in the markets. But whether this is merely a ‘correction’ or a resumption of the financial markets’ northward march remains to be seen.)What spooked the markets? The powerful Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) that decides things like interest rate levels and the amount of cash that the Fed prints did not do anything dramatic. The policy interest rate was kept at zero, and the massive cash infusion programme ($120 billion a month) was left untrimmed. The financial markets took their cues, instead, from the change in the projections that the 18 members of the committee pencilled in.Growth Good, at This Rate Thirteen of them favoured at least one policy rate increase by the end of 2023, versus only seven in the March 2021 policy meeting. Eleven member officials predicted at least two rate hikes (25 basis points each) by end-2023. Interestingly, seven members actually saw a rate increase as early as 2022, up from four members in March. The Fed also raised its inflation and growth forecasts for 2021 and the next two years.The upward revision was the largest for this year, at a full percentage point for inflation and half for growth. Fed Chairman Jerome Powell also indicated that discussions on tapering the aggressive bond purchase programme — the Fed buys bonds from financial institutions to infuse money —would commence soon.A little background may help to make sense of this gobbledygook. Over the last nine months, financial markets, stocks in particular, have resolutely uncoupled from the economic fundamentals on the ground, despite havoc wrought by the Covid pandemic.As Covid cases began to ratchet up in the US from October 2020, so did the DJIA index. Other markets told a similar story. The Sensex gained by over 50% over the last 12 months, never mind the fact that GDP contracted over the period, or that two major Covid waves battered the economy. The only way to rationally explain this disconnect is to argue that investors were firmly focused on future economic performance, as vaccines promised an end to the pandemic and massive fiscal and monetary stimuli contained immediate economic damage. Sceptics argue that this irrational exuberance was just a case of cheap liquidity seeping into any asset market that offered the faintest possibility of a decent return.The US and European central banks alone pumped in around $7.5 trillion since March 2020. As more and more investors got on the bandwagon, prices spiralled up. These sceptics have long argued that at the first sign that the major central banks were readying to take the punchbowl away, financial markets would cool off and, perhaps, reverse course. That seems to be precisely what happened on June 16.But why scare the markets in these difficult times? Why not keep the money engines chugging instead? The problem is inflation — driven partly by sharply rising commodity prices (the Commodity Research Bureau index rose by 24% since January), labour shortages in sectors like hospitality that have reopened after a long lockdown and rising consumer demand on the back of hefty fiscal stimulus. US consumer price inflation rose 5% in May, its highest increase in the last 13 years.Reading Tea LeavesTextbooks claim that high inflation is invariably the result of too much money chasing too few goods, and central banks need to apply the brakes on monetary stimulus. The Fed’s (and other central banks’) party line has been that this elevated inflation is the result of supply-side frictions caused by disruptions caused by the pandemic, and are likely to be transient. However, June 16 forecasts seem to suggest that a fair number of the FOMC members believe that inflation is here to stay, and a degree of rectitude is warranted.Financial markets are known to be fickle, and prone to interpreting the same policy communiqué differently at different times. Thus, it is possible that soon enough they will read the June 16 policy as an affirmation that the US economy is picking up faster than expected and rally again.Besides, China, a big commodity guzzler, is making a serious bid to rein in commodity inflation by releasing its own reserves in the open market. It might just have the heft to do this. It is sitting on 2 million tonnes of copper reserves, 800,000 tonnes of aluminium and 350,000 tonnes of zinc. This could unveil the proverbial ‘Goldilocks’ scenario — neither too hot nor too cold — of rising growth and low inflation.Multiple views and scenarios make for increased volatility. Thus, financial markets could see its fair share of both ups and downs, depending on which set of investor belief dominates. If I were a betting man, I would put my money on the Fed following through on its warning and slowly switching to neutral gear. If this is well calibrated and communicated carefully by the Fed and other central banks, markets may not crash. However, the days of runaway increases in asset prices might be over.

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Venugopal reappointed as attorney general

Senior advocate K K Venugopal was on Wednesday reappointed as the Attorney General of India for one year, a law ministry notification said. The attorney general usually has a tenure of three years. When Venugopal's first term as AG was to end last year, he had requested the government to give him a one-year tenure keeping in mind his advanced age. He is 90. This time, too, Venugopal has been reappointed for one year. "The President is pleased to reappoint Shri K K Venugopal, Senior Advocate as Attorney General for India for a period of one year with effect from July 1, 2021," the notification issued by the Department of Legal Affairs under the law ministry read. Keeping in mind the high-profile cases Venugopal is handling in the Supreme Court and his experience at the Bar, the government decided to extend his tenure for one more year, sources had said on Monday. Venugopal's current tenure ended on Wednesday. He first took over as the attorney general, the top law officer of the Union government, on July 1, 2017, succeeding Mukul Rohatgi.

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View:China's growing geopolitical ambitions

Twenty years ago, on a trip to Shanghai, we visited the Xintiandi area of Shanghai. Amid chic boutiques and trendy restaurants stood the grey building where, in July 1921, 13 members met to start the Communist Party of China (CPC). It has come a long way since then. CPC now boasts 91.9 million members, making it the second-largest political party in the world, behind BJP. Xintiandi is a vivid reflection of a rising China — modernity rooted in tradition.As China begins the centenary celebrations of the CPC tomorrow, the world is ambivalent towards China, the new geopolitical gorilla, an exciting business destination and a human rights nightmare. The predominant lesson one learns from China as a businessman is scale. In the old days, the large unified market of the US gave its companies an edge over fragmented Europe. The same is happening with China today.Among the world’s 500 largest companies, 124 are Chinese, excluding Taiwan. Notably, last year, there were more Chinese companies than US ones on the list. In many sectors, the dominance is stark. There are four Chinese banks among the world’s largest five. Chinese firms dwarf other emerging market peers. China’s 50th largest company by market value is Citic Securities, valued at $48 billion, which is almost 3.5 times the value of Vedanta Resources, India’s 50th largest.China is among the largest trading partners for Australia, Brazil, South Korea, Russia and Vietnam. It used to be said, when the US sneezes, Europe catches a cold. Now the same can be said for China and most emerging markets.Chinese innovation defines markets. In 2019, the gross expenditure in China via mobile apps — $54 trillion — was 551 times greater than that of the US. Baidu has 130 partners for its ‘open source autonomous vehicle platform’. And DJI is widely regarded as the world’s leading drone manufacturer. In November 2020, China successfully launched an experimental test satellite with candidates for 6G technology into orbit. China has 145 unicorns, 89 of them created in the past four years. ‘China speed’ is the new buzzword in Silicon Valley.China’s most remarkable story is that 745 million fewer people live in poverty than 30 years ago. Pew Research has calculated that China has the fastest growing middle class in the world — from 3.1% of the population in 2000 to 50.8% in 2018. A May-June 2021 Harvard Business Review article (bit.ly/3jn5ipJ) calculated a ‘Lived Change Index’ for various countries, tracking the economic change (in per-capita GDP growth) a population has experienced over a lifetime. Between 1990 and 2019, China delivered 32-times change on this index. The runner up, Poland, was at nine times. India, sixth on the list, was at 5.5 times.All this has been a result of Deng Xiaoping’s ‘To Get Rich is Glorious’ pivotal moment in 1978, heralding China’s calibrated integration with the world economy, and invoking Confucian values, and China’s uniquely successful government-business partnership.However, China is estimated to have 81 million fewer active workers in 2030 as compared to 2015. This would affect dependency ratios, savings rate and economic growth. Considering that in 2019 China spent $216 billion on internal security, its fault lines will likely surface in the coming decades.There are five takeaways from my talks with Chinese business leaders. One, memories of the Tiananmen Square demonstrations in 1989 and the disintegration of the Soviet Union still shape much thinking about the use of State power. Even the most global Chinese CEO supports a tight-fisted internal political posture.Two, the external opening up of China fuels nationalism. Old humiliations inflicted by western powers will need to be managed. Three, the Chinese see Taiwan as an accident of history in the late 1940s and feel that integration will have tremendous popular appeal. Four, they argue that many societies will find it easier to hate China than to admit envy. They acknowledge that this will be amplified by the inevitable backlash when the romance of sensitive projects such as the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) fades, as well as the zero-sum nature of some of China’s geopolitical manoeuvres.Five, they feel that China should not fritter away the historic opportunity — a combination of the relative decline of the west and the strategic opening given to them since the US diversion into West Asia in the early 2000s. The world will need to get used to this new China.Successful countries have to balance between complacency and overreach. 2034: A Novel of the Next World War, by Elliot Ackerman and former US admiral James Stavridis, is a thrilling account of China’s geopolitical ambitions, aided and abetted by Iran, US hubris finally getting the better of greatness, and ultimately Indian diplomacy winning the day, resulting in the ‘New Delhi Peace Accords’ and the UN moving to Mumbai. Now, if India builds its economy as a counterweight to China and plays its multilateralism cards right, this fiction could well turn into reality.The writer is chairman, Dalmia Group Holdings

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View: The great Indian social media circus

In the US, a war appears to have commenced in earnest against big tech. Concerned that opaque processes and unconstrained financial muscle will lead to absolute dominance in ecommerce, entertainment and information dissemination, lawmakers are trying to overhaul old antitrust laws to curb the power of these corporations.Rather than enact privacy regulation that will allow them to redesign and recalibrate their technologies to achieve a new modus operandi, US Congress is attempting to break them up and diminish their power. Facebook, Google and Twitter are justifiably concerned.India is a different story. The antics of Twitter — two of whose recent acts have included denying an Indian minister access to his account for an hour because of a US copyright violation, and redrawing the map of India to deny Jammu, Kashmir and Ladakh, for which the hapless Indian head of Twitter has been charged in a court of law — seem like direct provocations.And, by appointing a non-resident American, Jeremy Kessel, as its Indian resident grievance officer, while assuring GoI that it intends to comply with its new IT rules that came into effect on May 25, Twitter continues to mock India’s attempts to prosecute any form of non-compliance.The story does not end there. For, even though Facebook and Google claim to have complied with the new IT rules — including making public the monthly list of content takedown requests — GoI continues to investigate WhatsApp for anti-competitive behaviour.These threats sizzle, but nothing ever comes of them. This may be because digital giants represent two types of monopolistic threat in India. The deleterious impact of the first type can be easily measured, penalised and rectified. One instance of this is the case brought against Amazon and Flipkart on the grounds that they granted concessions to preferred sellers, resulting in the loss of business for other small retailers on their platforms. Even if GoI’s motivation to pursue this case is fuelled by the need to placate a few large local competitors, the need to curb marketplace dominance is warranted.The second type of threat is more difficult to measure or rectify. Social media firms not only enjoy economic dominance in an industry invisible to the naked eye, but also control the conversations and the mental dictionary of the citizenry, with the added capacity to provoke profitable unrest. Yet, once this convenient excuse for inaction is dispensed with, it is apparent that, in the absence of home-grown alternatives, the government will greatly depend on these companies to monitor its own people.Stern privacy regulation and punitive restrictions will only threaten GoI’s own interests. This may be the reason for the delayed passage of the Personal Data Protection Bill. This may also explain why nothing consequential has been initiated against WhatsApp, despite the fact that the Delhi High Court granted the Competition Commission of India (CCI) a free hand when it quashed WhatsApp’s appeal to be spared being probed by the agency over its updated privacy policy.How, then, will this circus play out in India? History may show the way. The Roman circus was, after all, a free entertainment that elevated the State by distracting the populace. And the carousel of mock battles and triumphal celebrations was especially useful when the State was loath to commit to a course of action that would tie its hands, but was even more fearful of appearing weak in the eyes of a mob who could depose it in a fit of nationalistic or righteous rage.Is it any wonder, then, that GoI takes issue with the lèse-majesté of these companies, and does nothing? And can there be any doubt that social media firms resist government diktats not from some moral imperative, but because they desperately desire the guaranteed safeguards that accompany definitive regulation? After all, the absence of a statute is no guarantee against a future lawsuit.Once GoI has found that happy middle-ground that allows it to control social media companies without infringing on its own right to control the public conversation, the boon of regulation will be granted. Once regulated, these firms will be left to their own devices — literally — allowing technology to do what it does best: capture personal data and advertising share. And both GoI and these foreign intermediaries may begin to enjoy some measure of peaceful coexistence.But unlike in ancient Rome, the Indian consumer — whose data, eyeballs, opinions and actions are the only commodities that can be traded or restricted — may end up paying for the show.Tankha is former head, Citi Merchant Services, US, and Banerjee is professor of marketing, University of Michigan, US

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Will HDFC Group stocks underperform in near term?

Mumbai: Did quality come at too steep a price? Recent tepid returns on the listed HDFC group portfolio appear to give the impression that the allure might temporarily be fading of the powerhouse that pioneered mortgage lending in the country and created India’s most valuable bank.Investor preference lately for beaten-down value stocks crimped returns for expensive quality shares, such as those from the HDFC group, which had driven the rally in Indian equities prior to the March 2020 blowout. “The dynamics have changed now with investors buying those beaten-down stocks that are fundamentally recovering instead of paying a huge premium to own quality stocks,” said Gaurav Dua, head — capital market strategy, Sharekhan. “HDFC group stocks are seen as safer bets in a dull market, but investors or fund managers have to divert money from these stocks to others that are turning around — such as State Bank of India and ICICI Bank — to outperform the market.”To be sure, the reasons behind stock underperformance might be different at each of the companies.HDFC Bank has faced regulatory curbs due to unresolved technology glitches amid its first change of guard in a quarter century. Weak loan demand and a broader depressed property market, on the other hand, weighed on HDFC. Finally, premium valuations, relative underperformance of investment plans and increased stock supply due to share sales by Standard Life prevented HDFC AMC and HDFC Life, respectively, from matching industry returns. 83967611While HDFC Bank has gained 17% since January 2020 compared with a 29% jump in the Nifty, HDFC, HDFC Life, and HDFC AMC have given returns of 2.77%, 10.47%, and -7.28%, respectively. Separately, shares of unlisted HDB Financial Services declined 39% in the past one year to ₹900 apiece on the platform for trading such stocks.Despite relative underperformance, HDFC Bank currently commands a price to book ratio of 3.25 compared with 2.81 of ICICI Bank. HDFC Life Insurance is trading at price to book of 16 times, a premium of 65% to its nearest peer ICICI Prudential Life Insurance. HDFC AMC price to book is 13 times compared with Nippon India’s 7.3 times. Even HDFC’s book value is almost double that of LIC Housing Finance.“HDFC group’s underperformance, to a large extent, can be attributed to the regulatory overhang that restricted HDFC Bank from accelerating its digital drive and that hit fresh issuances of credit cards,” said Binod Modi, head of strategy, Reliance Securities. “This resulted in its credit card market share contracting, while the valuation premium of most group companies has always been relatively high, compared with peers.”Indeed, HDFC group stocks outperformed in a weak broader market. Between 2008 and 2010, HDFC and HDFC Bank gained more than 30% compared with a 3% rise in Nifty.

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Federer gets lucky on Mannarino’s birthday at Wimbledon

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3rd T20I: Shamsi inspires South Africa to one-run win over Windies

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Gavranovic goal among 'most important' in Swiss football history

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Black Widow, Haseen Dillruba, Toofaan, and More: July Guide to Netflix, Disney+ Hotstar, and Prime Video

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Where to add fresh positions in a post-Covid world

“If markets consolidate around these levels after the ferocious move seen over the last one year, it will be very healthy for the future course of this bull market, says Pankaj Murarka, Founder, Renaissance Investment Managers. Murarka is likely to add positions in capital goods and engineering as well as renewable energy stocks. What are you making of the market temperament? At the index level, could we be in for some consolidation while the sectoral rotation continues?We are in a classical bull market where after every move, the market spends a few months or weeks in sideways consolidation and within that, we have a very nice sector rotation and the good thing about the Indian market or Indian economy is that we have a very broad-based economy. There are very few markets where all the 15 sectors represent the market. As a result, sectoral rotation just plays out very beautifully amongst different sectors. If markets consolidate around these levels after the ferocious move seen over the last one year, it will be very healthy for the future course of this bull market. What is your view on the underperformance in Reliance after the latest announcements that came at the AGM?The stock had virtually doubled prior to that. If you look at the performance over the three-year or five-year period, I still think the stock has done phenomenally well. Reliance has made significant announcements in terms of IT investments and are likely to make more investments in their existing businesses as well some of the new ventures. The market needs some more clarity in terms of how exactly those investments are going to play out and more importantly, what will be the return on those investments. It is pretty healthy for the market for a large cap like Reliance to consolidate at these levels after such a massive move. To some extent, markets were expecting some sort of tariff hike on the telecom side of the business where Jio would have been a big beneficiary. But now, given that we have an impending launch of the low-cost 4G phone with Google in September, it seems the tariff hike might be pushed back for some time and that has disappointed markets slightly. The latest report on big tech says there is a strong opportunity for revenue surprises offsetting margin misses. Large caps seem to be in preference. Will you be very selective when it comes to the IT basket or do you see a lot of opportunity within the midcaps also?My view is that after a very long time we are seeing a very strong uptick in IT spending. This current wave in IT is driven by digital and cloud. Most of the traditional businesses will migrate to cloud and we are just at the beginning of this wave which potentially can be very large. If that is the case, then both large cap and midcap companies will do well. In fact, Accenture recently made a very interesting comment on the earnings call where they said that they expect that over a period of time, every large business in the world will be digital and if that is the case, then we are just at the beginning of that trend. Where would you be comfortable about adding fresh positions after the run up that has already happened?We are taking a slightly more medium term view on our investment portfolio and we are looking at businesses which probably will do well over the next three years as the economy stabilises and opens up in the post Covid world. There is a marked shift in terms of how the world and economy and consumer behaviour evolve in the post Covid world versus what existed pre Covid. One thing we are expecting and we can clearly see initial signs of is the revival of India’s investment cycle and a strong recovery. Just to give you an example, this year all the metal companies in India, especially the steel companies, will have the highest-ever cash flows in their history. We see these companies making significant investments in capacity enhancements. After a gap of almost 10 years, we see a very strong recovery in India’s investment cycle and as a result we are looking at engineering and capital goods as a sector which will be a significant beneficiary as the investment cycle recovers. Apart from that, we are also fairly positive on consumer discretionary because consumers have been sitting back at home for almost a year and as the economy stabilises, towards the later part of this year, consumers will venture out and would want to travel or spend a lot on discretionary goods and services. So that is another area we are very bullish on from a slightly more medium-term perspective.Any stocks that you would like to name?A disclaimer, we have holdings or positions in most of the names that I talk about. Within the consumer discretionary, we like the retail segment and companies like Aditya Birla Fashion. We like hotels as a sector and are pretty bullish on Indian Hotels. Likewise, we like businesses in and around travel and tourism as well because we think we will see a strong resurgence in demand as consumers would want to venture and travel out as soon as things stabilise kind of a thing. On the capital goods and engineering side, we like companies which are working on new age technologies. So, automation of the manufacturing sector or the shopfloor is going to be a big theme as all manufacturing companies would want to drive efficiencies. Likewise, renewable energy is going to be a big theme and we like companies in and around that. For example, we like companies like ABB and Siemens which are working on continuous technology when it comes to the investment cycle and which is where the next leg of investment cycle in India will be directed at. What do you make of placing your bets on stocks within the hospitality space?We are likely to witness a very strong resurgence in consumer demand because people have not travelled for a very long time because of the lockdown. As the pace of vaccination increases and as the economy stabilises through the year, we should see both leisure and business travel come back very strongly. If we look at data points that have emerged from the western economies across Europe and US, as the economies are opening up, we are seeing a very sharp resurgence in demand across the travel and hospitality sector. I think something similar should happen here in India as well. More importantly, a massive consolidation has happened in the sector amongst the service providers because some of the weaker players in the sector be it hotels or service providers across the hospitality sector have not been able to survive this crisis. As a result, some of these leading companies will actually exit the crisis much stronger in terms of their relative standing when they entered the crisis. So while the crisis has had a short term impact on businesses, companies with a strong balance sheet have emerged much stronger and for them the growth opportunity in the post Covid world will be far higher than that existed in the pre Covid world. We are pretty positive on the sector.

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By August, every Vedanta staffer to be vaccinated

Martin Luther King, Jr. famously said, “We must accept finite disappointment, but never lose infinite hope.” I am an eternal optimist, not because I believe circumstances are always favourable but because I know that human beings have an infinite ability to rise to challenges. None of us have ever experienced anything like this pandemic. Government alone cannot fight this battle. In many ways, business has an equal responsibility; to save the lives of our employees, partner SMEs and communities and to preserve livelihoods by keeping the wheels of the economy running.At Vedanta, safety is something we never compromise on. There is nothing more precious than life. At our production units, we adopted Covid-appropriate protocols while increasing efficiency and productivity to ensure that levels of production are maintained. The well-being of our communities is a clear priority. Human resources are the beating heart of any business. As our workforce has risen to the challenges presented by Covid, we are fully committed to safeguarding their interests. By August, each employee and business partner will be vaccinated. Already, insurance cover has been enhanced and benefits extended to those affected. For the families of employees who lost their lives to Covid, we will continue to pay the salary until date of retirement and fund the education of children till graduation.The first wave saw us create a safety net for our employees, families, and local communities, helping migrant workers, feeding animals, supplying ration to communities who were isolated due to Covid, even importing machines for emergency supply of PPEs to Covid Warriors. During the second wave, which had a more serious and severe impact on people’s health than the first wave, Vedanta’s business units worked closely with all levels of Government. We contributed hospital equipment, including critical care machines like ventilators while ensuring that oxygen from our units in Rajasthan, Jharkhand, Goa, and Tamil Nadu was provided free and in maximum quantity. In Tuticorin, our engineers performed a herculean feat by quickly restarting the oxygen plants of the copper unit that had been completely closed for three years. To augment health infrastructure, particularly in under-served geographies, we decided to set up 10 field hospitals pan India in Rajasthan, Karnataka, Odisha, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, TamilNadu, Haryana and Goa. These were built in a record time of three weeks. Most of these are tented facilities, fully air conditioned with Covid appropriate air filters and top of the line equipment. Each facility has 100 beds, including 20 for critical care (with a mix of mechanical and non-invasive ventilators) and the remaining 80 with oxygen support. The hospitals are a beautiful example of public-private partnership. In all ten locations, the district administrations and state governments are our partners.The first wave taught us many lessons and I am still amazed at the tenacity of my colleagues who continued to produce 80% output with 20% staff. In our business, technology and Innovation proved to be a big differentiator. In the past one year, Vedanta has migrated to an IT-enabled remote working environment, set up virtual war rooms, digital emergency command, control centres and leveraged drones at our plants and business locations. In no time, Vedanta became a technology savvier version of itself.Hindustan Zinc developed technologies to manage operations remotely while consolidating operational data from mines, mills, smelters and powerplants in a digital platform. Vedanta implemented industry-first digital smelters at one of its plants in Jharsuguda, Odisha, which is one of the largest smelters outside of China. The technology enables remote monitoring and controlling of operations.Cairn Oil & Gas has put in place a variety of digital technologies such as Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning and robotics for creative business problem solving, in order to do more with less. Extraordinary times require out of the box thinking. We must be innovative and empathetic. I am confident that science will eradicate this pandemic and we will all emerge stronger. The writer is the Executive Chairman of Vedanta Resources. All thoughts expressed above are the author's own.

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Mehbooba visits family of Pulwama SPO

People's Democratic Party (PDP) president Mehbooba Mufti Tuesday visited the family of a slain special police officer (SPO) in Pulwama district who was shot dead by terrorists. SPO Fayaz Ahmad, his wife and daughter were killed by terrorists recently in Awantipora area of the district. In a statement here, the PDP president said such dastardly attacks should be unequivocally condemned by one and all as they further vitiate the political atmosphere. "Violence continues to snatch away families from us, leaving behind pain and wounds which are irreparable," she said. Mehbooba urged authorities, as requested by the family, to absorb Liaqat Ahmed Bhat, son of the slain SPO, in civil administration.

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Local companies to start trials of Covid drug

In a first of its kind in Indian drug industry, five leading pharmaceutical companies have joined hands to run clinical trials for a Covid-19 drug. Cipla, Dr Reddy’s Laboratories, Emcure Pharmaceuticals, Sun Pharmaceutical and Torrent Pharmaceuticals will collaborate for clinical trial of investigational oral antiviral drug Molnupiravir for the treatment of mild Covid-19 in an outpatient setting in the country, the companies said in a joint statement on Tuesday.Merck or Merck Sharpe Dohme (MSD), the innovator, has already issued a voluntary licence to these companies to manufacture and supply Molnupiravir to India and over 100 low and middle-income countries (LMICs). Molnupiravir, which inhibits replication of multiple RNA viruses including SARS-CoV-2, is under phase-3 trial in the US.The five pharma companies have entered into a collaboration agreement wherein the parties will jointly sponsor, supervise and monitor the clinical trial in India. As per the directive of subject expert committee (SEC) of the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO), Dr Reddy’s will conduct the clinical trial using its product, and the other four pharma companies will be required to demonstrate equivalence of their product to the product used by Dr Reddy’s in its clinical trial, the statement said. The trial is expected to take place between June and September this year across the country with participation of 1,200 patients. On successful completion of the trial, each company will independently approach regulatory authorities for approval to manufacture and supply Molnupiravir for the treatment of Covid-19 in India.Merck has tied up with the US government for the supply of Molnupiravir, which is awaiting the emergency use authorisation (EUA) or approval by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The US government has entered into a $1.2-billion deal with Merck for supply of the antiviral.

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Tearful Serena retires from Wimbledon after first-round injury

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Realme Narzo 30 5G, Realme Buds Q2 to Go on Sale for the First Time in India Today: Price, Sale Offers

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India unlikely to get Pfizer doses via Covax

India may not benefit from the recent announcement made by the US government allocating free doses of Pfizer vaccines to the Covax facility. The issue of indemnity, which is yet to be sorted out between the Indian government and the company, will become a hurdle for India to get free doses through the Covax facility, a government official said.“The indemnity clause is in-built. Those countries which have or are receiving free doses through Covax have to sign the indemnity clause. In the absence of which, it won’t be possible for India to benefit and secure doses of Pfizer vaccines through the Covax facility,” added the official. On June 10, the company announced that it had secured 500 million doses of Pfizer/BioNTech’s Covid-19 vaccine at a not-for-profit price for donation to the world's ‘poorest’ countries. As part of the agreement, 200 million vaccine doses will be delivered in 2021 and the further 300 million doses are earmarked for delivery in the first half of 2022. The US will allocate the doses to 92 low- and lower middle-income countries and economies, as defined by Gavi’s Covax Advance Market Commitment and the 55 member states of the African Union. Both the government and the company are at loggerheads over the demand of the company for legal protection against liabilities from adverse events of its Covid jabs. “The discussions are stuck,” said a person privy to the matter. VK Paul, member of Niti Aayog, said on Tuesday the government will close deal on Pfizer vaccine soon. India has not provided indemnity protection to domestically available Covid-19 vaccines of Serum Institute of India and Bharat Biotech. The purchase order executed by the government with Indian manufacturers Serum Institute of India and Bharat Biotech stipulated that the companies would have to inform the government authorities immediately in case of reports of any health risks or complications arising from the vaccine.

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Airtel mulls investments in more new startups

Bharti Airtel is evaluating about 10 new startups for potential investments and to induct them into its startup accelerator programme. It is also ramping up investments in technologies such as artificial intelligence and machine learning to transform its enterprise and consumer businesses besides internal processes, said its chief product and experience officer Adarsh Nair.“Airtel accelerator today has six companies, and there are another 10 new companies that we are analysing to see if they can enter,” Nair told ET in an exclusive interaction.These startups are working in the areas of 5G networks, entertainment, internet of things (IoT), cloud and security, he said.83966503The telecom operator is also investing in its 5G network, entertainment unit, customer experience, and B2B areas such as IoT, cloud, security and communications. “All these areas are fair game for startups to work with us. And because we are making investments in those fields, we believe we can help startups in these areas,” said Nair.As part of its accelerator programme, Bharti Airtel buys stakes in startups and helps them grow to raise their series A funding. The telco commits to partnering with them operationally to scale them up and get customers. “We also see if the startup’s product can actually help one of Airtel’s own strategies... when you look at the youngest startups, there’s still so much guidance missing to the CEOs on how to grow your business. We provide that to them,” he said.The telco is also devising a device strategy to complement its upcoming 5G networks.

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SsangYong puts controlling stake up for auction

Cash-strapped Korean carmaker SsangYong Motor has put up a controlling stake for auction as it looks to bring on board a new investor to take charge of the company. SsangYong is currently undergoing a court receivership process after parent company, India’s Mahindra & Mahindra, failed to bring in a buyer over the last one year after announcing it would make no further investment in SsangYong.EY Hanyoung, the court appointed auditor in charge of the sale, said that as it receives letters of intent (LOI) till end July from potential buyers, it will start preliminary reviews of the bids from this August, and a preferred bidder will be announced in September, according to people in the know.The Korean auto major, which is 75% owned by Mahindra, is under court receivership since April after it failed to rollover loans worth $148 million from creditors such as the state-run Korea Development Bank (KDB) and several other banks.83966499“Auctioning the hard assets is the only option now for the company,” said Bahram Vakil, founding partner at AZB & Partners, and that the potential buyer will get the assets at a good price.An email sent to SsangYong seeking comment on the matter remained unanswered. Reports mention that local law firm, Shin & Kim, is also participating in the sale process in sync with EY Hanyoung, while SsangYong has apparently requested the Seoul Bankruptcy Court to postpone the submission date for its rehabilitation to early September. This is the second time that SsangYong has come under court receivership, the first being in 2009 when the company laid off more than 35% of its workforce, prior to Mahindra’s acquisition in 2011.US vehicle importer HAAH Automotive was the frontrunner as a strategic investor but did not officially submit its bid. HAAH Automotive spokesperson Chris Hosford said: “At this time there are no comments on your questions.”The value of the stake is likely to be fixed around $250 million, offered earlier by HAAH Automotive. With the increased push for electric vehicles globally, SsangYong is likely to see more EV bidders too in the fray. While HAAH Automotive continues to be in the game, others including electric bus maker Edison Motors, small electric vehicle maker K Pop Motors, and a consortium of EV makers along with a PE fund are also showing interest in picking up a stake.It must be seen whether SsangYong can find a new investor soon, considering its heavy debt and poor sales. Its sales dropped 19% to 1.07 lakh units last year and net loss jumped to 423.5 billion Korean won from 281.9 billion won for same period.Recently, workers at SsangYong agreed to accept restructuring measures that included the company’s proposal to furlough 1,681 of the 3,224 unionised workers, which works out to 52% of the workforce. The remaining staff will see a deduction in wages.

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Drone case: Initial report concurs with testimony

Initial forensic reports on improvised explosive devices by the National Security Guards has concurred with the testimony of an Indian Air Force sentry, who reported that he heard dropping of explosives at the Jammu Air Force station. The sentry reported that he heard the buzz of a drone, followed by two explosions within six minutes. However, none of the radars or security cameras installed at the IAF base could provide visuals of the drones.Forensic examination at the blast site revealed use of shrapnel, ball bearings packed with a cocktail consisting RDX. A final report on the similarity between the two IEDs is awaited. “Unlike a timer device or remote controlled IEDs, the explosives were fitted with impact charge and detonated minutes after they were dropped,” said an official familiar with the forensic reports.One of the blasts caused minor damage to the roof of a building while the other exploded in an open area. Preliminary investigations indicated that the bombs were assembled by someone trained in military explosives, he added.Prime Minister Narendra Modi held a high-level meeting with defence minister Rajnath Singh, home minister Amit Shah and National Security Advisor Ajit Doval on Tuesday. With reports of two drones spotted over Ratnuchak-Kaluchak military area in Jammu, the PM discussed futuristic challenges in the defence sector and arming the forces with modern equipment apart from aspects related to involving youth, startups and strategic community.Earlier in the day, the home ministry transferred the investigations into the drone attack to the National Investigation Agency. A team of NIA officials visited the spot to carry out preliminary investigations later in the day. The sleuths were yet to determine the flight path of the drones that dropped the bombs. “We will be examining the CCTV footage, scanning radar images installed around the IAF base. It appears that drones which could fly beyond the visual line of sight were used to drop the payloads,” said a senior NIA official. The aerial distance from the Jammu airport to the international border is 14 km. The drones that dropped the explosives either flew back across the border or to some other destination at night. No debris of the UAV that carried out the strike was found at the location.

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EU clarifies on accepting Covishield

The EU on Tuesday sought to clarify about its Digital Covid Certificate and stated that its individual member states will have the option to accept vaccinations that have been authorised by the World Health Organization (WHO), such as Covishield, sources from Brussels told ET. The EU added that it was awaiting SII’s request for European Medicine Agency (EMA) authorisation. This comes after the issue of Covishield’s exclusion from EU Green Pass threatened to snowball into a crisis with the African CDC issuing a strong statement against the EU move. ET reported on Monday that India plans to raise the issue with the EU and has already moved France and the EMA on the Green Pass issue for Covishield. Concerning a possible EMA authorisation for Covishield, the EMA stated that it had not received a request for approval as of Monday, sources said, adding it will examine any such request when received, as per its procedures. The EMA does not investigate new drugs on its own, unless it is asked by the relevant companies, sources informed.As to travel to the EU from India, temporary restrictions on non-essential travel to the EU are currently in place from many non-EU countries, including India, due to Covid, sources said, adding EU member states will gradually lift these temporary travel restrictions at the external borders, based on developments of the health situation.Meanwhile, the African Union Commission and the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) noted with concern recent communication regarding the applicability of the EU Digital Covid Certificate “Green Pass” to different Covid-19 vaccines. The availability of such a certificate, with its potential to significantly facilitate free safe movement across all EU member states and certain associated countries, is a significant step forward. However, the current applicability guidelines put at risk the equitable treatment of persons having received their vaccines in countries profiting from the EU-supported COVAX Facility, including a majority of the African Union (AU) member states, stated the Commission and African CDC.“Under such regulations, persons who received Covishield, despite being able to demonstrate proof of vaccination, would continue to be subject to public health restrictions, including limitations of movement and testing requirements, with considerable administrative and financial implications,” according to the African Union and Africa CDC statement.

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'Evolve defense policy amid new threat'

The Congress urged the Centre on Tuesday to evolve a credible policy and strategic measures to deal with the latest threat to national security in the form of drone attack. The suggestion came after drone attacks on the Air Force station in Jammu.“Armed drone attacks are a real threat to security forces and government establishments. A credible and comprehensive policy and measures are the need of the hour to tackle attacks by the Pakistan-based terror outfits, backed by the infamous ISI, instead of mere circulars and amendments of rules,” party spokesperson Randeep Surjewala said.He reminded the government that some members of Parliament had raised their concerns about the drone attacks through questions in the House in July 2019 and again in March 2020.While stressing that the entire nation stands as one with the security forces and government to repulse such attacks, the Congress spokesperson said the Centre should realise that “it needs to act on strategic advice of defence experts with experience of modern warfare” rather than rely upon mere “headlines management”.He also referred to the reports about Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence and terrorist groups across the border using Chinese Hexacopters and drones, gifted by Beijing to Pakistan for use in the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, to drop arms in India, and also about the sale of 50 Wing Loong II armed drones by China to Pakistan for use in high-altitude areas.

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Covaxin's 'rolling data' to start in July: WHO

Taking the approval process ahead, World Health Organisation (WHO) which is currently approached by Bharat Biotech for an Emergency Use Listing of its COVID-19 vaccine Covaxin, has said pre-submission meeting for it was held and the "Rolling Data will starting in July." The information was provided in theWHOwebsite in the Status of COVID-19 vaccines withinWHOEUL-PQ evaluation process document. Emergency Use Listing (EUL) is a procedure to streamline the process by which new or unlicensed products can be used during public health emergencies,WHOguidelines said. Meanwhile, stating that its COVID-19 vaccine Covaxin adheres to international standards, Bharat Biotech's joint managing director Suchitra Ella on Tuesday said external timelinesare in the company's hands. "Covaxin will cross new frontiers, adhering highest international regulatory guidelines. A new vaccine from (India) is all set to make history once again, with proven data, safety & quality. We stand committed to deliver no matter what, external timelines not in our control," Ella tweeted. Her tweet assumes significance in the wake of the company trying to get EUL from the WHO even as its US partner Ocugen preparing to get US Food and Drug Administrations nod to use the jab in that country. Ella also tweeted a table of states and cities in which Covaxin is currently available. It said the jab is used in 27 cities in 18 states.

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Dovbyk heads Ukraine into Euro 2020 quarter-final clash with England

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Delhi Police books Twitter under POCSO

The Delhi Police on Tuesday booked Twitter over alleged sharing of child pornography over the platform, based on a complaint filed by the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) that had recently alleged the platform has failed to check the easy availability of child pornography.The child rights body had on May 29 asked the Delhi Police to book Twitter India under three sections of the POCSO Act, after claiming that it had conducted an inquiry and had found child sexual abuse material on the platform.NCPCR chairperson Priyanka Kanoongo said Twitter allowed sharing of WhatsApp links which showed child porn. The body had written two letters — one to Delhi Police’s cyber cell and another to the commissioner.It had asked the Delhi Police to submit an action taken report within seven days. After repeated reminders, the body had asked Delhi Police officers to appear via video conferencing on June 29.A Twitter spokesperson said the platform has a zero tolerance policy with regard to child sexual exploitation and a proactive approach in combating sexual exploitation of minors.Twitter said it uses PhotoDNA technology and it own proprietary tools, besides other systems, to detect behavioural signals and removes media and even new accounts linked to such content before they have even sent out their first tweet.

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View: China's growing geopolitical ambitions

Twenty years ago, on a trip to Shanghai, we visited the Xintiandi area of Shanghai. Amid chic boutiques and trendy restaurants stood the grey building where, in July 1921, 13 members met to start the Communist Party of China (CPC). It has come a long way since then. CPC now boasts 91.9 million members, making it the second-largest political party in the world, behind BJP. Xintiandi is a vivid reflection of a rising China — modernity rooted in tradition.As China begins the centenary celebrations of the CPC tomorrow, the world is ambivalent towards China, the new geopolitical gorilla, an exciting business destination and a human rights nightmare. The predominant lesson one learns from China as a businessman is scale. In the old days, the large unified market of the US gave its companies an edge over fragmented Europe. The same is happening with China today.Among the world’s 500 largest companies, 124 are Chinese, excluding Taiwan. Notably, last year, there were more Chinese companies than US ones on the list. In many sectors, the dominance is stark. There are four Chinese banks among the world’s largest five. Chinese firms dwarf other emerging market peers. China’s 50th largest company by market value is Citic Securities, valued at $48 billion, which is almost 3.5 times the value of Vedanta Resources, India’s 50th largest.China is among the largest trading partners for Australia, Brazil, South Korea, Russia and Vietnam. It used to be said, when the US sneezes, Europe catches a cold. Now the same can be said for China and most emerging markets.Chinese innovation defines markets. In 2019, the gross expenditure in China via mobile apps — $54 trillion — was 551 times greater than that of the US. Baidu has 130 partners for its ‘open source autonomous vehicle platform’. And DJI is widely regarded as the world’s leading drone manufacturer. In November 2020, China successfully launched an experimental test satellite with candidates for 6G technology into orbit. China has 145 unicorns, 89 of them created in the past four years. ‘China speed’ is the new buzzword in Silicon Valley.China’s most remarkable story is that 745 million fewer people live in poverty than 30 years ago. Pew Research has calculated that China has the fastest growing middle class in the world — from 3.1% of the population in 2000 to 50.8% in 2018. A May-June 2021 Harvard Business Review article (bit.ly/3jn5ipJ) calculated a ‘Lived Change Index’ for various countries, tracking the economic change (in per-capita GDP growth) a population has experienced over a lifetime. Between 1990 and 2019, China delivered 32-times change on this index. The runner up, Poland, was at nine times. India, sixth on the list, was at 5.5 times.All this has been a result of Deng Xiaoping’s ‘To Get Rich is Glorious’ pivotal moment in 1978, heralding China’s calibrated integration with the world economy, and invoking Confucian values, and China’s uniquely successful government-business partnership.However, China is estimated to have 81 million fewer active workers in 2030 as compared to 2015. This would affect dependency ratios, savings rate and economic growth. Considering that in 2019 China spent $216 billion on internal security, its fault lines will likely surface in the coming decades.There are five takeaways from my talks with Chinese business leaders. One, memories of the Tiananmen Square demonstrations in 1989 and the disintegration of the Soviet Union still shape much thinking about the use of State power. Even the most global Chinese CEO supports a tight-fisted internal political posture.Two, the external opening up of China fuels nationalism. Old humiliations inflicted by western powers will need to be managed. Three, the Chinese see Taiwan as an accident of history in the late 1940s and feel that integration will have tremendous popular appeal. Four, they argue that many societies will find it easier to hate China than to admit envy. They acknowledge that this will be amplified by the inevitable backlash when the romance of sensitive projects such as the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) fades, as well as the zero-sum nature of some of China’s geopolitical manoeuvres.Five, they feel that China should not fritter away the historic opportunity — a combination of the relative decline of the west and the strategic opening given to them since the US diversion into West Asia in the early 2000s. The world will need to get used to this new China.Successful countries have to balance between complacency and overreach. 2034: A Novel of the Next World War, by Elliot Ackerman and former US admiral James Stavridis, is a thrilling account of China’s geopolitical ambitions, aided and abetted by Iran, US hubris finally getting the better of greatness, and ultimately Indian diplomacy winning the day, resulting in the ‘New Delhi Peace Accords’ and the UN moving to Mumbai. Now, if India builds its economy as a counterweight to China and plays its multilateralism cards right, this fiction could well turn into reality.The writer is chairman, Dalmia Group Holdings

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England reach Euro 2020 quarters to end Germany curse

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Roger Federer survives Wimbledon scare to reach second round

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COVID-19 bubble makes it really tiring, says beaten Stefanos Tsitsipas

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Euro 2021: We showed weakness, says France coach Deschamps

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Ether Sees Record Outflows in Last Week of June Due to Negative Crypto Sentiment, CoinShares Data Shows

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Uber Said to Let Office Staff Work Up to Half Their Time From Anywhere

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Facebook Hits $1 Trillion Value After US Judge Rejects Antitrust Complaints

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Twitter Removes Distorted Map Displaying Jammu and Kashmir, Ladakh Outside India

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Mkt participation of FPIs, DIIs falls to 15-year low

Mumbai: While the Sensex and Nifty are hovering near all-time highs, institutional participation in the Indian stock market has declined to a 15-year low. Market participants said a drop in flows from foreign funds due to elevated share valuations have led to the decline, which has been offset by a jump in activity by individual investors starved of other high-yielding investment avenues.So far in June, the average daily turnover by institutions in the cash market, including foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) and domestic institutional investors (DIIs), has been ₹25,200 crore a day, about 30% of the aggregate ₹79,600 crore on both the NSE and BSE, according to an ET study. In September 2006, institutional participation as a percentage of daily turnover was 28.63%, rising to a high of 89.21% in May 2015. It was 59.38% in March last year when the share of individual investors started rising.FPIs sold stocks worth ₹8,500 crore between April and June after being buyers in the January-March period to the tune of ₹44,500 crore. 83941315‘Mid- & Small-cap Stocks Vulnerable’Declining institutional participation could add liquidity risk to the Indian markets, especially in mid and small-cap stocks, analysts said.“With low institutional participation, a sudden change in market sentiment may create big trouble for mid and small-cap stocks that are currently trading at irrational valuations,” said Sanjeev Prasad, co-head, Kotak Institutional Equities. “While large-cap stocks are trading at a reasonable valuation, mid and small-cap stocks have rallied sharply with retail money and exit in many of them could pose a big risk in case of corrections.”Institutional investors in India include foreign asset managers, domestic mutual funds, insurance and other vehicles. The daily average turnover of FPIs declined to ₹15,513 crore in June from 18,358 crore in the January-May period. That of DIIs — mostly mutual funds and insurers — declined to ₹9,628 crore from ₹10,712 crore.Trading by individual investors, both retail and high networth ones, has surged. The average daily turnover by non-institutional investors in the cash market was Rs 54,400 crore in June, 70% of the total. This comprises only direct investments in stocks. Retail investors also invest in equity through mutual funds and equity-linked insurance products.Lack of Investment OptionsIndividual investors have been aggressively participating directly in the stock markets since March last year, a trend usually seen during bull-run peaks. This time, they have been active since the market rebound in late 2020 soon after the Covid-triggered sell-off as the lack of other investment options boosted appetite for stocks. The traditional investment avenues are going through a dull phase — interest rates are low and real estate prices are unattractive, while gold has been volatile.“For the last few months institutional participation has gone down, but over the longer period their turnover remained the same but non-institutional volumes have risen significantly, which is a global phenomenon,” said Gautam Duggar, head of research, Motilal Oswal Financial Services. “A large portion of fixed-deposit money from retail investors has been diverted to equities amid lower interest rates.”In February 2020, the retail investor contribution was 47% of the total cash market turnover, falling to 42% a month later, then steadily increasing to 70% now. Since April 1, 2020, more than 18.8 million new investors have opened demat accounts with Central Depository Services Ltd (CDSL) and National Securities Depository Ltd (NSDL).Fund Flows in Equity SchemesWhile flows into equity mutual funds soared to a 14-month high in May, many new retail investors have of late preferred putting money into stocks directly. Starting March 2020, flows into equity schemes had begun receding with these products witnessing outflows between July and February. Equity schemes however have begun receiving investor money in the past three months.Indian benchmarks have outperformed many other emerging markets so far in 2021 on the back of higher retail investor participation. The MSCI India index has risen 15% so far this year, whereas the MSCI Emerging Market and MSCI World indices have gained 8% and 13%, respectively.“Non-institutional investor participation has risen meaningfully in Indian markets, adding liquidity risks in the event of a correction,” said Sanjay Mookim, head of India research, JP Morgan. “MSCI India has been remarkably resilient through the second Covid-19 wave, yet underlying market dynamics have been deteriorating for some time.”

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Sebi holds back GoAir, Aditya Birla MF’s IPOs

Mumbai: Markets regulator Sebi has put two applications for launching IPOs — by GoAir (now named Go First) and Aditya Birla MF — on hold without assigning any reason. Market players, however, said that there are ongoing investigations against group entities, and not against these companies that have filed the offer documents with the Sebi, and hence the delay in getting a clearance from the regulator.Sebi’s latest updates on the status of offer documents filed for fund-raising from the public showed that its observations on the offer document by Aditya Birla MF was ‘kept in abeyance’. Sebi gave the same reason against GoAir’s IPO. Sebi usually keeps its nod to a fund-raising plan in abeyance if there is any regulatory investigation against a company or its group companies.According to GoAir’s IPO document, Sebi is investigating its group company Bombay Dyeing about financial irregularities and fraud relating to a scheme of arrangement between Bombay Dyeing and SCAL Services. The investigation was started on a complaint by one of Bombay Dyeing’s shareholders. In May, GoAir filed the draft prospectus with Sebi to raise an estimated Rs 3,600 crore.In case of Aditya Birla MF, two of its sponsors — Aditya Birla Capital and the Indian arm of Sun Life Group of Canada — planned to offer 3.9 crore shares of the company to reduce their combined stake by about 13.5%. Sebi is reportedly investigating a series of deals between Aditya Birla Finance, a group company of the fund house that has applied for an IPO, and the promoters of CG Power, the Thapar family. The deals date back to 2016.

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Andy Murray wins first Wimbledon singles match since 2017

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Messi leads Argentina show in Copa win over Bolivia

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Euro 2021: Harry Kane to wear rainbow armband against Germany

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Maradona's doctor 'not in charge' of icon's final days: Lawyer

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Don’t go overweight on pharma: Ajay Bagga

Instead of pharma I would say go with the specialty chemicals, go into the supply chain of the pharma. These are priced to perfection, says market expert Ajay Bagga. Do you believe that going forward, some sort of correction could set in the market -- be it due to the macroeconomic factors, be it inflation worries or perhaps global events? Or do you think that the trajectory of the markets continues to look fairly strong over the next few months?Markets are clearly struggling and have been moving sideways for nearly a month now. Most of the reflation, recovery trade has got baked in. One interesting statistic is that for the first time after 1992, 90% of active managers in the US outperformed the Russell 1000. What that shows is that it has become very much a stock-pickers market. It is no longer a beta play that you buy the entire market and coast along with the Fed’s generosity leading markets up across the world. So we have to be careful now. We are expecting that in the August meeting at Jackson Hole, they might come out with a calendar for starting tapering by January. The Fed fund futures are factoring in four rate hikes, two in 2022 and two in 2023 even though a majority of the Fed participants are still counting for the first rate hike to come only in 2023. Those are the indicators for the market which is showing that a lot of the earnings growth is already baked in. Also, inflation is very much there. So, there is a triple whammy. One is that the commodity super cycle is still going on. Second, supply chain disruptions have not eased out. Thirdly, there is a big issue with global trade where frictional costs have gone up because of the rise in shipping or the lack of shipping capacity which is again leading to disruptions. So all that will have to be factored in. Right now I would say it is a stock pickers market. We have to be very careful and I do not expect much from the market per se but you will have individual sectors and individual stocks which will outperform. So it will be better to go with good stock pickers in this kind of market, they will tend to outperform rather than the entire market moving up. Where is this rotation going to take place next and where do you think gains are to be made?If you look across the world, the US recovery has got baked in. The European recovery is just starting. Emerging markets are still lagging. One can say, China is at base one, US is at base two, Europe is at base three and India with most of the other emerging markets is still very much at base four but the stocks are already reflecting the recovery. The best thing in such a situation would be a barbell strategy. You have to be growth-focused and defensive both. In terms of the pick up, I would go with cyclicals. In the case of automobiles, we will look at the June recovery but the commentary from the majors has been that inventory overhang has not been as bad as anticipated. Market leader Maruti has taken a price hike. Escorts has announced tractor price hikes. So, power to price with the quality companies is what we have to go with -- be it Asian Paints increasing prices, be it the cement majors who have raised prices. Even in monsoon season across April, May and June, cement majors hiked prices by nearly 5%. So, I would go with the cyclicals. Financials, industrials, real estate and autos would be the preferred cyclicals. On the defensive side, if one looks through the Accenture numbers, they had very strong growth across geographies. Out of every four dollars, nearly one-and-a-half dollars in global IT is spent in BFSI; BFSI had a 21% growth. Retail saw a good traction. Manufacturing was very good. The only player that lagged their average number was energy and we know that oil and gas is not really spending capex. They are transforming themselves because of ESG issues into global energy companies rather than oil and gas companies. So I would go with IT as a part of the defensives. A barbell approach is what we have to look at. What about pharmaceuticals? There was the PharmEasy-Thyrocare deal. How are you looking at the entire healthcare universe that is pure play pharma --diagnostics and hospitals included?Yes, all have done very well. If you look at hospitals, the kind of growth and usage that has happened has led to a re-rating. In pharma, the only issue remains the compliance part. There are just so many surprises that building a quality long-term portfolio becomes very difficult. Dr Reddy’s went up to Rs 5,500-5,600 and then came down again. Now on this DRDO medicine news, there is again an increase but you do not know what is lurking around the corner and that is the big issue with Indian pharma. I am continuously in touch with auditors who work on behalf of FDA to figure out why India gets singled out. Is it a racism issue, is it an insecurity issue? But the same company buys a plant in New Jersey and gets an adverse comment! That does not happen in the US. They would shut down a company which would be getting FDA adverse comments like this. So it comes back to the management and that is the biggest issue with Indian pharma. The same MNCs operating in India and their plants do not get the FDA comments and we have been talking about this for years now. We have been following this for nearly three to four years. So instead of pharma I would say go with the specialty chemicals, go into the supply chain of the pharma. These are priced to perfection. One has to be careful. But there are enough quality small cap, midcap companies in the specialty segment. I would go with those. One cannot expect blockbuster drugs from Indian pharma. We see a betrayal of investor trust. I would rather go with IT as my defensive global pick and would not go overweight on pharma at all.

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T20 World Cup shifted out of India to UAE and Oman

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Euro 2020: Switzerland beat France on penalties to reach last eight

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Euro: Spain outlast Croatia in eight-goal thriller, enter quarters

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Fiscal impact of sops under 1% of GDP: Experts

The fiscal impact of the relief measures announced by finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman was likely to be less than 1% of gross domestic product (GDP), experts have said.Sitharaman announced a host of relief measures on Monday, targeting various sectors of the economy, some of which included fresh public spending while others were measures that were either previously announced or budgeted for. These included Rs 1.1 lakh crore loan guarantee schemes for Covid-affected sectors, Rs 97,631 crore Centre’s component in a reform-linked power sector schemes, and Rs 93,869 crore for extending the free food grains scheme till November.According to the finance ministry, the total value of the latest package came up to Rs 6.29 lakh crore, representing about 3% of GDP. Experts pointed out that much of this is in the form of credit guarantees that do not need immediate spending. The direct fiscal measures were limited to extended free food grains scheme, health infrastructure credit guarantee scheme, and additional spending on Bha ratNet – amounting to Rs 1.2 lakh crore, DK Srivastava, chief policy advisor at EY India, said.DK Pant, chief economist at India Ratings and Research (Ind-Ra), said, “The fiscal impact of today’s announcements amounts to 75-90 basis points of GDP. However, similar to last year, a large part of it could come from expenditure reprioritisation.”At India’s current GDP, 1% would be about Rs 2 lakh crore. 83933457According to Barclays’ estimates, this would push India’s fiscal deficit in FY22 to 7.5% of GDP against the targeted 6.8%.Sakshi Gupta, economist at HDFC Bank, said: “Today’s announce ments, along with the extra fiscal spending on the vaccination programme, the free food programme and the borrowing for GST compensation cess, could imply extra market borrowings of up to Rs 3 lakh crore if the entire amount is borrowed from the market this year.”Against Rs 35.11 lakh crore of total expenditure in FY21, the latest measures would push the expenditure for FY22 to about Rs 36.6 lakh crore, said Madan Sabnavis, chief economist, CARE Ratings.Ratings agency ICRA estimates the fiscal outgo in FY22 based on the fresh announcements at around Rs 60,000 crore.

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