With four games scheduled in ten days, Team India's resilience set to be tested

via Sports News: Latest Cricket News, Live Match Scores & Sports News Headlines, Results & more http://bit.ly/2FuWKse

Shapoorji Pallonji, Hines tie up for premium Bangalore project

MUMBAI: Realty developer Shapoorji Pallonji Real Estate has entered into an agreement with global property investment management firm Hines to jointly develop two phases of its premium residential project Parkwest in Bangalore.The total investment by the joint venture partners for the development of these new phases will be around Rs 425 crore. According to the agreement, Hines will be paying about Rs 318 crore to Relationship Properties, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Shapoorji Pallonji Group, for a majority stake in phase 3 and phase 4 of the project.The residential project is spread across around 46 acres in Binnypet area of Bangalore and has a total saleable area of around 4.8 million sq ft. Of this, phase 3 of the project, which has already been launched, has around 0.32 million sq ft saleable space, while the fourth phase, to be launched by this year end, has 1.48 million sq ft area. The first phase of the project is already sold out, while the second phase is being undertaken by Shapoorji Pallonji Real Estate independently.“This strategic partnership is in line with our theme of joint ventures with India's best development companies. This project also marks our entry into Bangalore after an extensive search, and further to our existing presence in NCR and Mumbai," Amit Diwan, managing director and country head, Hines India Real Estate, told ET.Hines has previously partnered with developers such as DLF, Tata Housing and Conscient Group to develop real estate in the NCR and Mumbai property market.“This partnership fits well with our strategy to partner with global investors to expand our product offering in the premium residential segment. As part of the partnership, there will be new product addition to our premium residential project which will strengthen our presence in the Bangalore residential market,” Venkatesh Gopalkrishnan, CEO, Shapoorji Pallonji Real Estate, told ET.Shapoorji Pallonji Real Estate has, in 2016, partnered with Actis, International Finance Corporation (IFC) and Asian Development Bank (ADB) to develop middle income housing across India under its Joyville brand that currently has four projects across the country.Global investors, including CPPIB, Blackstone Group, Singapore's sovereign fund GIC, Goldman Sachs and Qatar Investment Authority have been investing in Indian realty assets for the past few years. In addition to this, more funds are eyeing investment and alliance opportunities here.Crucial policy decisions, which have resulted in change in global investors’ perception of Indian real estate, include implementation of the Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act, 2016 (RERA), the Benami Transactions (Prohibition) Amendment Act, 2016, infrastructure status to affordable housing projects, demonetisation, interest subvention schemes, relaxation of norms to encourage Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT) listings and implementation of the Goods and Services Tax.In terms of cities, Mumbai, Delhi NCR and Bangalore have been the preferred markets accounting for over two-third of institutional investments from 2009 till 2018, showed a recent report. With 42% share of investments worth $8.6 billion in 2014-18, Mumbai is ahead of other cities; it is followed by Delhi-NCR and Bangalore with $4.4 billion and $2.6 billion, respectively.

from Economic Times http://bit.ly/2ZNR3ND

Solar play: Vedanta to bid aggressively for government projects

NEW DELHI: The Vedanta Group plans to invest heavily in solar energy to generate 1,000 MW in a couple of years, and bid aggressively for government projects as the metals and mining multinational seeks to increase generation and consumption of emission-free power, Chairman Anil Agarwal said.Agarwal, who was in Delhi for a pre-budget meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and top officials, said he was inspired by the government’s aggressive push for increasing renewable energy generation in the country which will reduce India’s dependence on imported fuel and help reduce pollution. “Our maximum focus for energy is in the renewables domain. We will be participating in large government tenders that are coming. I’m looking at renewable energy sources contributing 20% of the energy we generate,” Agarwal told ET.Vedanta will continue to invest in oil and gas. It has bid and won many oil and gas exploration blocks, from which it hopes to add to its sizeable production from its oilfields in Rajasthan. India will continue to need oil and gas for a long time, and the government needs to give incentives to companies involved in natural resources as the sector has a phenomenal potential to create wealth, reduce imports and create jobs, he said.In addition to investment in the conventional energy sector, Vedanta wants to step up renewable energy generation to balance its energy portfolio between fossil fuels and clean electricity generation, Agarwal said.Vedanta aims to significantly expand its existing portfolio of 300 MW of wind and solar energy capacity by participating in new projects offered by the government, he said.“From 300 MW, our first goal is 1,000 MW. When we get there depends on government tenders. We are looking at a couple of years, or three years,” Agarwal said.Agarwal said he fully supported the government’s aim to significantly increase renewable energy generation in the country because it was a clean, emission-free source and costs had fallen rapidly in recent years making it a viable option.“The prime minister’s dream is that 50% of India’s energy will come from renewable sources. That’s a great dream. We fully support it.”The government’s programme of tendering solar and wind energy projects has helped India expand its renewable energy capacity rapidly and attracted companies from Europe, Middle East and Africa, but project developers have complained that cut-throat competition had reduced their margins considerably because companies bid recklessly to win projects.

from Economic Times http://bit.ly/2FpBgwL

Young bosses go the extra mile for employees

KOLKATA | BENGALURU: Startup founders, who face long hours, huge workloads and a relentless pursuit of revenue and profitability, have another Key Responsibility Area of sorts — coming up with policies that keep young employees engaged and on their toes.Young CEOs at startups are getting as involved as their HR teams in rolling out initiatives as diverse as ESOP repurchase plans that unlock value to letting employees design their own work hours/places and learning allowances to nap rooms, to keep the workforce hooked and happy.“A startup by design calls for innovation, agility, and dynamism, and to manage a workforce in such a culture, the HR practices need to be one step ahead in these attributes,” says Rajesh Yabaji, CEO of logistics tech startup BlackBuck, which is nearing unicorn status after its latest Series D fundraising round last month.Right from inception, says Yabaji, he and co-founders have worked closely with HR team to build a work environment of openness and high energy.69936005 In four years, BlackBuck has twice bought back some stock options held by employees. The first was in 2017 and the second happened recently, when about 100 employees liquidated a certain portion of their ESOPs.The total ESOP transaction was close to ?37 crore in the round, generating a lot of excitement among the employees who exercised the opportunity to unlock value — even as some others chose to hold on. “We strongly believe in creating programmes which can spur fast growth and long-term value creation for employees,” said Yabaji, who also leads several fitness initiatives internally.Hiring and retaining the right people can make or break a business — and founders are doing what it takes to create a productive work culture.Cashback website Cashkaro offers flexible working hours to all employees with dependents, while Wingify has complete flexibility around office timings and leaves.RADICAL IDEAS“Ours is a very flexible culture. There are people who don’t come in four days a week. We need to be available for our customers 24/7, and as long as people are delivering, that’s all that matters,” says Sparsh Gupta, CEO, Wingify.The company is equally flexible about giving sabbaticals to employees who may want to take time off to pursue their own ideas. Alternatively, there is an option to come in and use the company resources to work on their own ideas for a few hours every day.When it comes to dealing with a young, dynamic workforce, a one-size-fits-all approach doesn’t work.Some founders are, therefore, experimenting with more radical ideas.Deepinder Goyal, CEO of Zomato, is talking about 26-week parental leave for both men and women, while online mattress company Wakefit has created nap rooms at its office, starting this month.“After a lot of research and consumer surveys, we figured that workplace wellness and naps for productivity are high on employees’ radar,” says Chaitanya Ramalingegowda, co-founder, Wakefit. “They are especially useful for employees who need a quick shut-eye to be more productive; even for women employees who may be pregnant or have cramps.”Other companies such as Rentomojo and Cloud Nine Hospitals too wanted to set up nap rooms, with help from Wakefit, he says.The co-founders of Razorpay, Harshil Mathur and Shashank Kumar, implemented an opendoor policy to make old and new employees feel it was a mission in which they are in together.All meeting rooms in Razorpay are glass partitioned, to promote and practise a transparent work culture.With more than 60% of its employees under the age of 30, Mathur believes millennials “like to interact with brands that are open, transparent and stand for more than just their bottom line”.Several startups are playing to their strengths and ensuring that employees also get the advantage.At ed-tech platform Great Learning, for instance, other than a learning allowance for all employees, the company also sponsors those employees who want to take up courses to up-skill themselves. Employees have to pay a fraction of the cost of the programme upfront, depending on the number of years spent at Great Learning, and the balance is reimbursed over time, says co-founder Hari Krishnan Nair.“Any startup is less about the idea and the funding, and more about people. Bright young people have more options today. If you want to get the best out of them, it’s important that companies adapt to their needs rather than asking them to adapt to traditional corporate culture. And here, founders have a key role to play,” says Wingify’s Gupta.

from Economic Times http://bit.ly/2RvnwFA

Huawei offers to sign a 'no-backdoor agreement'

Pact would stipulate no snooping on its network or handing over of data, company urges rivals to do the same.

from Tech-Economic Times http://bit.ly/2YaurX3

MNC bids record Rs 2k cr for 3-acre Mumbai plot

Japanese conglomerate Sumitomo has shaken Mumbai's dormant property market by submitting a whopping bid of Rs 2,238 crore for a three-acre plot in Bandra-Kurla Complex.

from Times of India http://bit.ly/31OBdE9

Why crypto should be India's best friend and not its mortal enemy

Even as plans are afoot to launch a digital rupee, India proposes to ban cryptocurrencies altogether, and a law is reportedly in the works that would make holding cryptocurrencies a crime that would put you in jail. RBI has already banned cryptocurrencies. This is myopic. India needs to be open to the possibility of using cryptocurrencies for international payments bypassing the dollar.Cryptocurrencies have a bad name and that is probably well-earned. But all currencies that move around using the blockchain technology are not of the same kind. A subgroup is called stablecoins. Unlike bitcoins, which can be produced independently of any central bank, whose value is unstable and whose total numbers would hit a predetermined ceiling, stablecoins are linked to fiat currency, managed by banks and other reliable entities.Don’t Think Just BitcoinThe principal attraction of a new stablecoin — there are many floating around, apart from Facebook’s proposed Libra — is the possibility of using that for settling international payments that do not involve a US counterparty, without using the dollar.At the time when negotiations were on to create the International Monetary Fund, John Maynard Keynes had proposed, on behalf of the British government, creation of Bancor, a new unit of account for settling international payments in a new International Clearing Union. The Americans poohpoohed the idea and said the dollar would do quite well as the world’s currency for settling international payments, thank you.The war-ravaged Brits were in no position to resist the pressure of the US, then financing much of the Allies’ war effort, and Bancor went into that heap of good ideas in history that never saw the light of day.The US derives much power from the use of the dollar as the world’s principal currency for settling payments between countries. It can borrow as much it wants from the rest of the world and simply print dollar bills to repay the loans. Other countries cannot follow that example. That is bad enough.Those were innocent times when the US merely profited from global seigniorage. Then, it started weaponising the dollar. The latest example is the Iran sanctions. If any entity transacts with any entity that has transacted with Iran, that is, even indirectly, that entity would be denied access to the dollar payment network.No bank can afford to be cut off from access to the dollar. So, no bank would deal with anyone that deals with an entity on which the US has declared secondary sanctions. The dollar is a powerful weapon in the hands of the US that it can wield against anyone it wants to. The Europeans made a half-hearted attempt to create a shied for European companies that want to do business with Iran, but this found no takers — so little credibility did this system have.Clearly, the way out is to have a payments system that allows transactions that do not involve a US counterparty to be settled in a currency other than the dollar. Of course, you can settle trade with the EU in euros and trade with Japan in yen, if you have those currencies in reserve. If you do not, you have to settle in dollars, as with all other countries.For Non-Dollar PaymentsCreating a payments system that sidesteps the dollar is primarily a political task, granted. But if that courage is summoned, a technical challenge would still remain. A blockchain-based currency is the most likely technical solution. If India’s legal system makes all blockchain-based currencies beyond the pale, that would hurt India’s ability to take part in, leave alone lead, an effort by a coalition of nations to create a payment mechanism outside the dollar framework. Facebook’s Libra is the one making the most news. But JPMorgan is launching its own stablecoin. IBM has created the framework for a global payments system using cryptocurrencies.Not all currencies and payment systems that make use of the distributed ledger inherent in the blockchain are suspect by definition. Of course, systems must be put in place to prevent money laundering and heists that leave the unwary and the unsavvy bereft of their savings.Distributed ledgers would probably play a big role in fintech solutions for cross-border remittances. When a migrant labourer in Dubai wants to send money back home to India, the cost can be prohibitive, as much as 5%. Fintech is working on the problem. Several of the solutions could take the form of tokens that move around on the blockchain technology. India should not be prohibiting such experiments.Instead of banning cryptocurrencies, India should be taking the lead to rope in China, the European Union and other willing national governments and the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) to create payment and settlement systems that do not allow one issuer of a national currency to acquire a stranglehold over the global financial system, leaving open the possibility of a new stablecoin linked to a basket of currencies being created for the purpose, the basket and the linkage being managed by a credible body such as the BIS.

from Economic Times http://bit.ly/322MSzw