Modi govt establishes high-level advisory group to boost exports

A day after hiking import duties on 19 items, the government decided to set up a 12-member, high-level advisory group to look at ways of promoting export. Headed by economist Surjit Bhalla, part-time member of the Prime Minister’s Economic Advisory Council (PM-EAC), the group will work on exchange rate management and impacts of trade wars.

The panel has been set up as a temporary measure and is set to meet for the next two months regularly, and then it will submit a report to the commerce ministry, a government official said.
It will also examine the prevailing trade dynamics and suggest a framework for India for engaging in international trade.

The other members include Principal Economic Adviser Sanjeev Sanyal, former commerce secretary Rajiv Kher and Quality Council of India Chairman Adil Zainulbhai. 

Chemists on strike today against Centre's move to regularise e-pharmacies

Chemists across the country have shut down shutters on Friday to protest against the central government's move to regulate online sale of medicines.

While the government has issued appeals and warning letters to chemists not to proceed on a strike it is also taking steps to ensure there are no shortages. Pharmacies in hospitals and day and night stores will remain open, according to Maharashtra Food and Drug Administration commissioner Pallavi Darade.

Online pharmacies will accept the order and deliver medicines as usual. “A majority of our stores will be closed today, however, we plan to open a few pharmacies at the cluster level, state wise and will have a helpline number to address emergencies to avoid inconvenience to the public," said P Jaya Kumar, Chief operating officer-Apollo Pharmacy.

There are around 850,000 retail chemists across the country and J Shinde, president of All India Chemists and Druggist Association claims that Friday's strike has hundred per cent support of members.

Dharmendra Pradhan visits Nepal to discuss pipeline projects, petrol import

India's Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister Dharmendra Pradhan is in Nepal to hold talks on the modality of construction of a petroleum pipeline from Amlekhgunj to Chitwan and the import of petrol and gas to the land-locked Himalayan nation.

Nepal is seeking extension of three pipelines natural gas, liquefied petroleum gas and oil (petrol, diesel and kerosene) up to Chitwan, the Kathmandu Post reported.

The Indian petroleum minister and his team will hold discussions on the under-construction petroleum and gas pipelines, Nepal Oil Corporation (NOC) spokesperson Birendra Goit was quoted as saying by the daily.

Pradhan, who arrived here on Friday, will hold discussions with various authorities involved in the construction of the pipeline.

The meetings will discuss issues regarding the modality of construction of petroleum pipeline from Amlekhgunj to Chitwan and the import of petrol and gas, the daily said.

How digital payments merchants await debit card reimbursements since Jan

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In a bid to encourage electronic payments, the central government in December 2017, decided to bear the merchant discount rate (MDR) applicable on digital transactions worth Rs 2,000 via debit card, UPI and Aadhaar-based transactions starting January 2018. Nine months have gone by, but the digital payments industry still awaits reimbursements.

According to a report by Mint, the government of India has already reimbursed the MDRs applicable on these transactions for a period from January to June to the banks. However, the banks have not reimbursed the amount to merchant aggregators and acquirers.

“As far as I am aware, none of the banks has reimbursed for debit card/UPI/AEPS transactions processed from 1 January 2018 till date. Also, major public sector banks like State Bank of India have announced that they will only reimburse 0.15% of the transaction amount to service providers on its debit card transactions accepted at a point-of-sale terminals,” said Vishwas Patel, chairman of Payments Council of India (PCI) told Mint.

Tata's Indian Hotels outbids ITC, retains Taj Mansingh for another 33 years

Indian Hotels Company (IHCL) will retain the capital’s iconic luxury hotel Taj Mahal (popularly known as Taj Mansingh after the road on which it is located) for another thirty-three years. The Tata Group company, which operates a chain of luxury hotels under the Taj brand, emerged winner in an e-auction conducted by NDMC, the city’s civic body. IHCL outbid ITC, the only other bidder for the hotel on Friday.

Even though the result of the auction was declared after close of trading hours, the stock price of IHCL seems to have factored in a win. The share price surged more than seven per cent in intra-day trade at the BSE and closed at Rs 135.45, up more than five per cent. Shares of other listed hotel companies like EIH and Lemon Tree closed in the red. The hotel is one of the key assets of IHCL and it brought revenues of Rs 2.2 billion in FY17. 

Aadhaar verdict: Can you sue UIDAI and its licensed entities for offence?

In its verdict on Wednesday, the Supreme Court (SC) scrapped Section 47 of the Aadhaar Act which means that individual Aadhaar cardholders or citizens can file criminal complaints against the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) and its licensed entities, if a suitable amendment is brought by the Government and Parliament, say legal experts.

Section 47 of the Aadhaar Act stated that only the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI), or a person or officer authorized by it, could register and file criminal complaints against individuals or companies for offences under Aadhaar Act.

"This was a contentious part as people were worried as to how they could get legal recourse for breaches of Aadhaar security, especially when UIDAI was unwilling to accept that data breaches are a reality. You can look at the Airtel Payments Bank scam where bank accounts were created for people without their knowledge. So this was a subversion of the principle of natural justice," says Raghu Godavar, member of advocacy group, RethinkAadhaar.

You may have to shell extra on airfares this festive season. Here's why

Planning to book air tickets during the festive season? You may have to pay extra on your air travel as airlines are expecting that oil marketing companies (OMCs) may go for a hike in aviation turbine fuel (ATF) prices as the government on Wednesday raised custom duties to 5 per cent on 19 items including the jet fuel - the costliest in India for domestic flights. With this move, airlines are likely to pass on higher costs to passengers as peak travel season is around the corner.

Domestic airlines are already struggling with rising fuel prices, stiff fare competition, and declining rupee. With government’s decision to impose 5 per cent customs duty (which was nil earlier) on ATF which is one of the crucial components of airline’s operational costs, the airlines companies would be compelled to increase the air ticket prices. 

GST Council to form 7-member GoM to advice on Kerala's calamity cess demand

GST Council, the highest decision-making body of the Goods and Services Tax regime, Friday decided to set up a seven-member Group of Ministers to suggest on cess demand for Kerala flood rehabilitation.

Briefing reporters after the 30th meeting of the GST Council, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said the panel discussed the proposal from Kerala to levy Calamity Tax, a special tax or cess to raise additional resources aimed at meeting the cost of reconstruction in Kerala in the aftermath of floods.

ALSO READ: Citing Kerala floods, UNGA president urges faster action on climate change

Since this would set a precedence, a GoM was formed to give suggestions, he said.

The Council also reviewed revenue trends and deficit of states, he said, adding state deficit this year is 13 per cent and may reduce further as consumption picks up.

Low coal reserve, wind, hydro output fall behind high IEX tariff: AK Bhalla

Insufficient coal reserves at power plants and sudden decline in wind and hydro electricity generation led to spike in power tariff to Rs 15.37 per unit at Indian Energy Exchange (IEX), Power Secretary A K Bhalla said Friday.

"This is the time (in the year) when wind energy suddenly goes down and hydro also starts declining and that is where some constraints always come in,"

This time, the constraints are compounded as "we were not able to build coal stocks in power plants especially in northern India," Bhalla told reporters on the sidelines of a CII conference on power transmission.

These constraints lead to soaring of power tariff, though for a short duration of 15 minutes or half an hour.

Govt has set up advisory group to look into global trade challenges: Prabhu

Minister for Commerce and Industry, Suresh Prabhu, on Friday approved constitution of a High Level Advisory Group (HLAG) to make recommendations in identifying opportunities and addressing challenges in the contemporary global trade scenario.

The HLAG will be headed by Surjit S. Bhalla, Director of Oxus Research and Investments. The other members of the Group are S. Jaishankar, former Foreign Secretary; Rajeev Kher, former Commerce Secretary and Member Competition Appellate Tribunal; Sanjeev Sanyal, Principal Economic Advisor, Government of India; Adil Zainul bhai, Chairman Quality Council of India; Dr.Harsha Vardhana Singh, former DDG WTO; Dr.Shekhar Shah, DG, NCAER; Dr.Vijay Chauthaiwale, Foreign Policy Advisor; Dr.Pulok Ghosh, IIM Bangalore; Jayant Dasgupta, former Ambassador of India to the WTO; Rajiv K Luthra of Luthra&Luthra and Chandrajit Banerjee, DG, CII.

"The HLAG will consider ways for boosting India's share and importance in global merchandise and services trade, managing pressing bilateral trade relations and mainstreaming new age policy making," the Ministry of Commerce and Industry said in a press release.

NITI Aayog wants states to compete on good governance: Rajiv Kumar

Niti Aayog vice-chairman Rajiv Kumar said Friday that the government think tank wants states to compete on good governance.

Kumar further said that the country has started deriving benefits of India's demographic dividend.

"There cannot be any modern civilisation based on market economy where we can't take care of people who are most disadvantaged in the society," the Niti Aayog vice chairman said while speaking at an event here.

At the same event, UN Resident Coordinator and UNDP Resident Representative in India Yuri Afanasiev said, India will continue to grow at 7-9 per cent in the coming decades.

Afanasiev also pointed out that India is progressing very quickly in reducing multi-dimensional poverty.

"We have witnessed that multi-dimensional poverty reduction in backward states like Jharkhand and Arunachal Pradesh is quicker than India's national average," he said.

Vedanta's Anil Agarwal calls for policies to reduce dependence on imports

Vedanta Chairman Anil Agarwal has written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, batting for a better policy environment to raise investments and reduce India’s dependence on imports of natural resources.

“We would like to see policies and legislation conducive to ensuring greater investment in the natural resources sector to make India self-sufficient and take away its dependency on imports,” he wrote in the letter dated September 12.

During the first round of oil and gas auction under the Open Acreage Licensing Policy, Vedanta got the maximum number of 41 blocks. A contract in this regard is set to be signed with the government on October 1. India is planning to bring down its crude oil imports by 10 per cent by 2022.

In his letter, Agarwal has shared the company's tax transparency report. During the 2017-18 financial year, Vedanta contributed approximately Rs330 billion to the exchequer, which was 36 per cent of its turnover. The company claims to be the only one in India to come out with a tax transparency report, showing its contributions to the exchequer of the countries where it operates.

HCL Technologies eyes financial services and retail to boost income

HCL Technologies is diversifying its revenue stream with increasing focus on financial services, retail, and consumer packaged goods (CPG), and telecom verticals. The Noida-headquartered information technology (IT) services firm has traditionally earned less than competitors such as Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) and Infosys from these areas.

At the same time, however, HCL is strengthening its core areas such as infrastructure management and engineering services. The company aims to get more revenue than the industry average.

In the April-June (Q1) quarter of 2018-19 (FY19), HCL bagged 27 transformational deals in financial services, retail and CP, and telecom. One of these was an application support contract from a global reinsurance firm. Another was an IT deal from a UK-based grocery retailer. The company also recently said it had won a contract from the UK’s third-largest retailer, Asada. The deal value is estimated to be $20 million.

Apollo Hospitals gets shareholders' approval to issue Rs 5-billion NCDs

Apollo Hospitals, India's largest hospital chain, on Friday informed stock exchanges that its shareholders had approved its plan to raise Rs 5 billion via issue of non-convertible debentures (NCDs). The issue was taken up for discussion at the company’s 37th annual general meeting on Thursday.

The Prathap Reddy-led company had last month reported a strong 70.86 per cent year-on-year net profit growth during the quarter ended June 30 to Rs 601.6 million. It had posted a profit of Rs 352.1 million during the same period the previous year.

The company’s revenue during the June quarter grew 16 per cent to Rs 19.12 billion, compared with Rs 16.46 billion in the same period of 2017. Apollo Hospitals had also reported 12 per cent growth in healthcare services and 20 per cent in standalone pharmacies.

Global M&A activity drops 35% to $783 bn in Q3 on US-China trade tensions

Global mergers and acquisitions dropped to $783 billion in the third quarter, down 35 per cent from the prior quarter, as the escalating trade dispute between the United States and China cast a shadow on the financial and regulatory prospects of some deals.

US chip maker Qualcomm Inc pulled its planned $44 billion acquisition of NXP Semiconductors NV in July after China delayed offering antitrust clearance, a move seen as retaliatory to the trade tariffs announced by the United States.

This has cast uncertainty on the prospects of other deals involving global companies that require Chinese regulatory approval, including aerospace supplier United Technologies Corp's $23 billion acquisition of Rockwell Collins Inc .

"We've got some clouds on the horizon, vis a vis a trade skirmish, or potentially a trade war with China. You have the potential for a hard Brexit and we've got rising rates," said Mark Shafir, Citigroup Inc's global co-head of M&A.

Why Zuckerberg's Facebook needs Instagram founders now more than ever

This week, Facebook lost an executive who, in a better and different world, might one day have taken the helm of the social networking giant.

On Monday, Kevin Systrom, as well as his longtime partner, Mike Krieger, the founders of Instagram, quit Facebook. While seemingly out of the blue, it was a long time coming. The reason? Their unhappiness over increasingly aggressive meddling by Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook’s chief executive, about how Instagram was run.

This might seem like business as usual in Silicon Valley. Facebook bought Instagram for $1 billion in 2012, when it was a wee thing, and helped it surpass a billion users. Fighting over control of tech companies is commonplace, and executive shuffles happen all the time. At Facebook alone in the last two years, the founders of WhatsApp, the messaging product, left amid disagreements over the placement of advertising. So too much of the team that founded the Oculus, Facebook’s virtual reality project, as well as a conga line of other founders of start-ups the social media giant has swallowed whole. They all essentially took the money and ran (usually to luxury yachts in Fiji).

Amazon launches EMI option without credit, debit card through 'Pay'

Soon after it extended EMI option on debit cards, Amazon through it payments service Amazon Pay has launched card-less EMIs for select customers.

The facility, called Amazon Pay EMI, provides instant financing options for up to Rs 60,000 at low-interest rates to customers who may not yet have access to a credit card.

The move has been made to attract moare customers, especially ahead of the festive season when the traffic at e-commerce website is usually high.

The company has partnered with digital lending startup Capital Float to design and enable Amazon Pay EMI.

Currently, this is an invite-only program and customers will have to complete a two-step registration process to check the credit limit.

Customers without access to credit, often find it difficult to afford high-value purchases and go through the hassle of saving up or delaying their purchase, can now fulfil their shopping aspirations during the upcoming festival season, a statement by the company said.

BMW launches two new motorcycles in India, prices start from 1.1 mn

BMW Motorrad, the premium motorcycle arm of German luxury car maker BMW Group, Friday launched all-new F750 GS and F850 GS models in India, priced between Rs 1.19 mn and Rs 1.4 mn (ex-showroom).

The two models will be available as completely Built-up Units (CBU) and can be booked at BMW Motorrad dealerships from today onwards, BMW Motorrad India said in a statement.

BMW F750 GS is available in three variants in a price range of Rs 1.19 mn and Rs 1.3 mn.

Similarly, BMW F850 GS will also come in three variants priced between Rs 1.29 mn and Rs 1.44 mn (all prices ex-showroom).

"Both models feature the powerful 2-cylinder in-line engine with a displacement of 853 cc," the company added.

The new GS models have 'Rain' and 'Road' riding modes to address individual rider requirements and are also equipped with ABS and the ASC (automatic stability control) ensuring a high level of safety, it added.

Virtual currency exchange Zebpay shuts down following RBI freeze

One of India’s largest cryptocurrency exchanges, Zebpay has announced that it’s shutting down its exchange business from Friday 4 PM. In a blog post, the company said that all pending transactions will be cancelled and remaining cryptocurrency units will be credit back to user’s wallets.

Even as the company stated that it will continue to run its wallet service, shutting down of the exchange blow is being seen as a big blow to the virtual currency ecosystem in India. The Supreme Court is yet to announce its final stance on the future of cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Ethereum in India after the Reserve Bank of India directed all regulated banks and institutions to stop providing services to all virtual currency exchanges.

“The curb on bank accounts has crippled our, and our customer’s, ability to transact business meaningfully. At this point, we are unable to find a reasonable way to conduct the cryptocurrency exchange business,” Zebpay wrote in a blog post.

Diagnostics firm Metropolis Healthcare files IPO draft papers with Sebi

Diagnostics company Metropolis Healthcare has filed its draft papers with market regulator Sebi for its initial public offering (IPO).

The IPO is of up to 1,52,69,684 equity shares, consisting an offer for sale of up to 50,17,868 equity shares by Sushil Kanubhai Shah and up to 1,02,51,816 equity shares by CA Lotus Investments, according to the draft red herring prospectus (DRHP) filed with the Sebi.

The objective of the offer are to achieve the benefits of listing the equity shares on the stock exchanges and for the offer for sale, it said.

Further, the company expects that listing of the equity shares will enhance its visibility and brand image and provide liquidity to shareholders. The listing will also provide a public market for the equity shares in India.

JM Financial, Credit Suisse Securities (India), Goldman Sachs (India), HDFC Bank and Kotak Mahindra Capital Company are the managers to the issue.

Uber drives back to China: But for making bikes, not ride-hailing service

Two years after exiting China, Uber Technologies Inc is putting feet back on the ground. Staff there, however, aren’t working on the ride-hailing company’s main business, but overseeing the creation of its bikes and scooters — Uber’s bet for its next consumer hit.

After buying Jump Bikes, a US bike-rental service, Uber is set to unveil its own scooter, plunging into a chaotic new transit market. Uber is adding supply chain, recruiting and other personnel in southern China to work closely with the manufacturers of these devices, according to Rachel Holt, head of Uber’s New Mobility unit.

She also said the San Francisco-based company may launch these services in Asian countries, such as Japan, where Uber has limited operations because of regulatory reasons. “We absolutely have global aspirations here,” she said at an event on Friday in Hong Kong.

Those plans, however, won’t include mainland China anytime soon. Uber sold its operations there to Didi Chuxing in 2016 after suffering heavy losses. And China already hosts a thicket of e-bike companies in cutthroat competition. Holt admitted that Uber has no immediate plans for similar services in China.

Mercedes launches new E-Class All-Terrain at Rs 7.5 mn: All you must know

German luxury carmaker Mercedes-Benz Friday launched the all-new version of E-Class All-Terrain in India, priced at Rs 7.5 million (ex-showroom).

The model, which is BS VI compliant, comes with a four-cylinder diesel engine that generates 194 hp of power.

"Our strategy for the Indian market of launching more and more products from our global portfolio is very well received by our discerning customers," Mercedes-Benz India Managing Director and CEO Roland Folger said in a statement.

With this launch, the company now has an array of E-Class variants from its global portfolio available in India, he added.

The vehicle can achieve a top speed if 231 km/hr. Its rear seat backrest folds into a 40:20:40 split allowing 1,820 litres of storage.

IL&FS default: Did rating agencies' failure to connect dots lead to crisis?

Did rating agencies again trip up in their assessment of IL&FS, leaving the markets with little time to adjust to the unravelling of the infrastructure company? Or do you accept the rating wisdom that at least three non-banking financial companies (NBFCs) are AAA, and more than one public-sector banks have slipped down to AA minus or even lower on their Tier-I bonds? It means these banks are more prone to default than the highest-rated NBFCs. To get a sense of what goes when a paper is rated by a credit rating, let us examine a typical one in the case of an IL&FS subsidiary.

In February this year, India Ratings had affirmed an AA minus rating for a debt paper of IL&FS Education & Technology (IETSL) Services Limited. Despite recognising that the company had Rs 17.29 billion overdue for 180 days (double the time period for recognition of bad debt by banks and NBFCs), it noted that this risk was mitigated through “an unconditional and irrevocable line of credit facility of Rs 300 million from IL&FS, sponsor and parent of IETSL, to tide over the collection shortfall”.

CBI books VMC Systems in bank fraud case of Rs 17 bn on complaint of PNB

The CBI has booked Hyderabad-based telecom equipment manufacturer VMC Systems and its promoters in an alleged bank fraud case of Rs 17 billion on the complaint of Punjab National Bank, which is reeling under the $ 2 billion fraud committed by jewellers Nirav Modi and Mehul Choksi. The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) registered an FIR against the company and its promoters--Vuppalapati Hima Bindu, Vuppalapati Venkat Rama Rao and Bhagavatula Venkat Ramanna-- in a case of criminal conspiracy, cheating and forgery, officials said Thursday. The agency carried out searches at three locations in Hyderabad i.e at the residence and office of the directors, they said. According to the complaint by the PNB, the company defaulted on repayment of loans worth over Rs 17 billion to a consortium of banks. It has alleged Rs 5.39 billion as outstanding dues towards itself, while remaining Rs 12.07 billion is pending towards the State Bank of India, Corporation Bank, Andhra Bank and JM Financial Assets Reconstruction Company.

VTB-led group offers to match ArcelorMittal's Rs 420-bn Essar Steel bid

A VTB Capital-led consortium has offered to match ArcelorMittal’s Rs 420 billion ($5.8 billion) bid for Essar Steel India Ltd., heating up the long drawn battle for the biggest steel mill being sold under India’s new bankruptcy law. Numetal Ltd., the consortium led by VTB, is willing to revise its earlier bid of Rs 370 billion for the 10 million tons a year steel manufacturing unit, Mukul Rohatgi, the lawyer representing the company, told the nation’s top court on Thursday. At the same time, rival bidder ArcelorMittal must pay the 70 billion rupees its group companies owe to creditors to stay in the race, he said. The court is yet to take a decision. Acquiring Essar Steel’s assets will give the buyer a sizable presence in a sector that is expected to benefit from India’s plan to invest trillions of rupees on roads, ports and airports. That’s prompted a prolonged legal challenge by bidders in multiple courts to prove their eligibility and delayed the sale.

HAL may have lost Rafale as its man-hour bid was 2.57x Dassault's: Supriyo

Wading into the Rafale jets controversy, Union Minister Babul Supriyo Thursday indicated that Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL) lost on the deal because it quoted 2.57 times more man-hours to build fighter jets.

While HAL was to produce 108 fighter jets locally in a joint venture with French firm Dassault Aviation in the deal for 126 Rafale jets that the previous UPA regime had negotiated. The state-owned firm, however, was left out in the deal as the present government signed to buy 36 fighter jets in 'fly-away' condition from France.

Minister of State for Heavy Industries Supriyo, speaking at a conference on public sector enterprises organised by CII here, said HAL quoted "257 man-hours" for a job Dassault said could be done in "100 man-hours".

UP CM Yogi asks Walmart to create synergies with traders, farmers

Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath has asked US retail giant Walmart to create synergies with local traders and farmers for mutual benefit.

Adityanath said the company should proactively engage with traders and farmers for seamless business operations and leverage the vast agricultural potential of the state. Recently, Walmart had bought a majority stake in Indian ecommerce major Flipkart.

The chief minister advised Walmart, which has already announced plans to expand its cash-and-carry operations in India and hike its local farm procurement, to help in the global branding of the state horticultural crops, including mango and guava, so that farmers get remunerative prices and consumers enjoy quality products.

Last evening, Walmart International President and CEO, Judith McKenna, and Country President and CEO, Krish Iyer, had called upon the CM here to brief him about the company’s activities in the state.

Google is not just an answer machine, it monitors your responses too

In 1998, Google began humbly, formally incorporated in a Menlo Park garage, providing search results from a server housed in Lego bricks. It had a straightforward goal: make the poorly indexed World Wide Web accessible to humans. Its success was based on an algorithm that analyzed the linking structure of the internet itself to evaluate what web pages are most reputable and useful. But founders Sergey Brin and Larry Page had a much more ambitious goal: They wanted to organize the world’s information.

Twenty years later, they have built a company going far beyond even that lofty goal, providing individuals and businesses alike with email, file sharing, web hosting, home automation, smartphones and countless other services. The playful startup that began as a surveyor of the web has become an architect of reality, creating and defining what its billions of users find, see, know or are even aware of.

Google controls more than 90 percent of the global search market, driving users and companies alike to design websites that appeal to the company’s algorithms. If Google can’t find a piece of information, that knowledge simply doesn’t exist for Google users. If it’s not on Google, does it really exist at all?

Why software engineers should be taught human rights law besides technology

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is finding its way into more and more aspects of our daily lives. It powers the smart assistants on our mobile phones and virtual “home assistants”. It is in the algorithms designed to improve our health diagnostics. And it is used in the predictive policing tools used by the police to fight crime.

Each of these examples throws up potential problems when it comes to the protection of our human rights. Predictive policing, if not correctly designed, can lead to discrimination based on race, gender or ethnicity.

Privacy and data protection rules apply to information related to our health. Similarly, systematic recording and use of our smartphones’ geographical location may breach privacy and data protection rules and it could lead to concerns over digital surveillance by public authorities.

Software engineers are responsible for the design of the algorithms behind all of these systems. It is the software engineers who enable smart assistants to answer our questions more accurately, help doctors to improve the detection of health risks, and allow police officers to better identify pockets of rising crime risks.

RBI ready to step in with liquidity support for the banking system

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Thursday said it was ready to provide necessary liquidity support in the banking system and allowed banks to borrow two percentage points more for their liquidity coverage ratio using government securities as collateral.

Money market rates have short up due to liquidity shortage in the system, and generally, the mutual fund (MF) industry is aversed to buying short-term papers of NBFCs after IL&FS started defaulting on its obligation.

Under the Basel III norms, the liquidity coverage ratio is now more important for the banking system than the statutory liquidity ratio (SLR), which is the percentage of deposits banks should hold in bonds.

“It has been decided to permit banks with effect from October 1, 2018, to reckon government securities held by them up to another 2 per cent of their NDTL, under FALLCR (Facility to Avail Liquidity for Liquidity Coverage Ratio) within the mandatory SLR requirement, as Level 1 HQLA (high quality liquid assets) for the purpose of computing their LCR,” RBI said in a notification on its website.

Amazon bets on smaller cities, big brands for Great Indian Festival sale

E-commerce major Amazon is confident of clocking strong growth this festive season in India, driven by availability of large selection of products and big brands as well as new customers coming onto its platform, especially from tier II and III towns.
Amazon India, which competes head-on with rival Flipkart, will kick off its festive sale from October 10-15, lining up new launches across various categories and dishing out discount offers to woo Indian shoppers. Walmart-backed Flipkart will host its 'The Big Billion Days' (TBBD) festive sale from October 10-14.
"Each festive sale (Great Indian Festival) has been bigger than the previous one. We feel confident because we have new customers coming in. More than 70 per cent of new customers are expected to come from tier II and III towns," Amazon India Vice President (Category Management) Manish Tiwary told PTI.

RBI monetary policy preview: Expect a rate hike despite bond turmoil

Even as the bond market is going through some turmoil, the Reserve Bank would still continue with its rate-hiking cycle, say economists.

At least a 25 basis points hike can be expected on the October 5 policy, economists said. There could also be a change in stance this time. The consumer price index-based inflation for August was at 3.69 per cent, lower than the RBI’s target of 4 per cent. On Wednesday, the rupee closed at 72.62 a dollar and the 10-year bond yields crossed 8 per cent-mark.

“The larger unattended question is on using monetary policy as a pincer movement: in terms of a more flexible and balanced approach responding systemically to episodes of current financial market volatility and sticking to price stability,” said Soumyakanti Ghosh, chief economist at State Bank of India group.

“This would mean a transparent evaluation of the existing policy framework,” Ghosh said.

Cabinet approves $100-billion investment goal in e-communication

The Union Cabinet on Wednesday has cleared a new telecom policy, which aims to provide broadband to all, create an additional four million jobs and get $100 billion investment in the digital communications sector by 2022.

The objectives of the National Digital Communications Policy (NDCP) 2018 include enhancing the contribution of the digital communications sector to 8 per cent of India's GDP from 6 per cent in 2017 and propelling the country to the top-50 nations in the ICT Development Index of International Telecommunication Union (ITU) from 134 in 2017.

The policy also calls for rationalisation of levies for the telecom sector, which is struggling under financial stress. Telecom Minister Manoj Sinha said work on most of the aspects of the policy will be done within a year.

Aadhaar: What happens to firms like Jio, Paytm as SC strikes down sec 57?

Finance minister Arun Jaitley on Wednesday indicated that the Centre would examine whether separate legal backing is needed for Section 57 of the Aadhaar Act, a provision which allows private entities access to the core Aadhaar database.

The Supreme Court on Wednesday struck down Section 57 of the Aadhaar Act, which deals with private entities, and read down a few others, stating that they were unconstitutional.

“If it is backed by law, it is not unconstitutional,” Jaitley said when asked about Supreme Court striking down Section 57, which allows ‘any body corporate or person’ or ‘private entity’ to demand Aadhaar.

He added that the Centre would see if the court’s decision arose from a “procedural concern”.

“So let us first read the judgement. There are two-three prohibited areas. Are they because they are totally prohibited or are they because they need legal backing. So my answer in general, the generic answer will depend on what is the rationale… for instance on these private entities, it needs to be backed by law. That’s my understanding. I still have a detailed reading of the judgement to do,” Jaitley said.

Here's why Justice Chandrachud believes Aadhaar is unconstitutional

In writing a dissenting opinion that differs greatly on the validity of Aadhaar as a money bill, the constitutionality of Section 7 of the Aadhaar Act and on whether the unique identification programme lays the ground for a surveillance state, Justice D.Y. Chandrachud has laid the ground for future political and judicial debate.

The Wire brings you a selected curation of what the judge feels on different aspects of the Aadhaar project and its enabling legislation.

On Aadhaar as the new oil

While data is the new oil, it still eludes the life of the average citizen. If access to welfare entitlements is tagged to unique data sets, skewed access to informational resources should not lead to perpetuating the pre-existing inequalities of access to public resources.

An identification project that involves the collection of the biometric and demographic information of 1.3 billion people, creating the largest biometric identity project in the world, must be scrutinised carefully to assess its compliance with human rights.

Aadhaar Act: Here's a primer on where you need to furnish your biometrics

The long-awaited Supreme Court judgement on the constitutional validity of Aadhaar is finally out.

While the five-judge bench, in the three-judge majority opinion, has effectively upheld both the unique identification project and the Aadhaar Act 2016, it has placed a number of restrictions on how who can demand Aadhaar and what services or schemes it can be used for.

While the full verdict is yet to be placed in the public domain – which would provide a more detailed reasoning on the validity of Aadhaar for each service – here’s a quick primer on where you will be required to furnish your biometrics and where you won’t.

Bank accounts: Don’t need to be linked.

In his remarks in open court, Justice Sikri went one step further and noted that changes to the PMLA (Prevention of Money Laundering Act), which mandated Aadhaar linking with bank accounts, were unconstitutional and do not satisfy the legal test of proportionality. This, incidentally, is an argument The Wire has made before.

Aadhaar remains valid but SC strikes down some sections to boost privacy

Private entities cannot demand Aadhaar data to authenticate identity. Individuals must be allowed to file complaints against the use of their data. Information can be accessed for matters of national security only when a judicial officer such as a sitting High Court judge has sanctioned it.

These were the highlights in a series of landmark rulings by India’s Supreme Court as it ruled against the use of an Aadhaar number for opening bank accounts, mobile connections and school admissions, calling access to the national identity database by private companies wishing to authenticate identities “unconstitutional”.

Though the court upheld the overall validity of the government’s Unique Identification (UID) programme, and the linking of Aadhaar to permanent account number (PAN) and welfare schemes, it prohibited many organisations and services--such as banks, insurance firms and mobile phone companies--from demanding Aadhaar data.

US sanctions on Iran oil are credit negative for Indian refiners: Moody's

Moody's investor service expects US sanctions on Iran to be credit negative for Indian refiners with the estimated total decline in earnings for the Indian refiners to be about $400-$500 million. The move is also expected to increase refiners' exposure to oil price volatility.

"Assuming a complete cessation of imports of crude oil from Iran and a $3 per barrel negative impact on earnings because of that, on the barrels being substituted, we estimate the total decline in earnings for the Indian refiners to be about $400-$500 million, against combined EBITDA of about $10 billion for the three largest state-owned Indian refiners in the fiscal year ended March 2018. Thus we expect the impact on the refiners’ credit metrics to be limited," Moody's said in its note.

The report added that the sanction will increase supplier concentration for Indian refiners, which in turn makes it credit negative. “India is one of the largest buyers of Iranian crude, accounting for about 30% of total crude exports from Iran during April to August 2018. Over the same period, Indian refineries, which import over 80% of their crude feedstock from overseas, sourced about 14% of their imports from Iran," the report pointed out. Moody’s expects Indian refiners will either have to significantly reduce or completely stop importing crude oil from Iran over the next month or so. This is expected to force Indian refiners to increase dependence on the remaining Middle Eastern crude oil suppliers, mainly Saudi Arabia and Iraq, aside from Iran.

NBFC crisis could slow down projects, derail India's robust growth story

Manzoor Ahmad lost his job as an electrician and is struggling to make ends meet after a crucial road tunnel project shut down in Srinagar, the summer capital of Jammu and Kashmir state in the north.

Construction of the Z-Morh tunnel came to a halt two months ago after Infrastructure Leasing & Financial Services (IL&FS), one of India's top infrastructure funding companies which was helping build the project, stopped paying contractors in the face of a severe cash crunch.

"I have no work since work on the project was stopped in July," said Ahmad, 34, who was earning about Rs 30,000 ($413) a month.

Hundreds of other people working on the project are also out of a job because of non-payments by IL&FS. The company has also defaulted on its debt obligations, roiling Indian markets and sparking worries of a credit crunch in the shadow financing sector.

UNCTAD pegs GDP growth at 7% in 2018; China remains stagnant at 6.7%

India's gross domestic product (GDP) growth may stop at 7 per cent in 2018, according to the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development. The forecast comes on the heel of a nine-quarter high growth of 8.2 per cent in the April-June quarter (Q1) of 2018-19 (FY19).

In its Trade and Development Report 2018, the United Nations agency on Wednesday said huge volumes of bad debt in the banking set risked derailing credit expansion and ultimately investment and economic growth.

"Growing demand for exports has led to a moderate recovery in industrial production although the effects of demonetisation are still evident in private consumption trends within the economy," the report pointed out. It added that while the resulting increase in capacity utilisation has helped the manufacturing sector, a continuous deceleration in growth has plagued the primary sectors.

Govt, RBI make coordinated policy moves to fight rupee drop, cash crunch

India upped the ante in its efforts to restore investor confidence, with the central bank taking measures to ease liquidity for lenders a day after the government raised import tariffs to support the battered rupee.

The Reserve Bank of India allowed banks to dip further into statutory liquidity reserves to help them meet their liquidity coverage ratio needs, a step that would boost cash available for lending. On Wednesday, the government raised import taxes on $12 billion of goods as it seeks to narrow the current-account deficit from a five-year high.

The coordinated policy moves come as Asia’s third-largest economy faces a barrage of bad news, from elevated oil prices and a tumbling rupee to the debt crisis at a lender and a cash crunch in the banking system. Foreigners have pulled $8.6 billion from local shares and debt this year, adding to the weakness in the currency that’s already Asia’s worst performer. The measures may not go far in lifting the despondency that has settled over the markets.

SBI to issue and encash electoral bonds from Oct 1 to 10, says FinMin

The finance ministry on Thursday said that State Bank of India, the country’s largest lender, was authorised to issue and encash electoral bonds with effect from October 1 to 10. These could be done at 29 of the bank’s authorised branches.

According to the provisions of the Electoral Bond scheme notified in January this year, these bonds could be purchased by a person who is a citizen of India or an entity incorporated or established in India. An individual can buy electoral bonds either singly or jointly with other individuals. Only the political parties registered under Section 29A of the Representation of the People Act, 1951 (43 of 1951) and which secured not less than one per cent of the votes polled in the previous Lok Sabha or Assembly election are eligible to receive the electoral bonds.

“The electoral bonds shall be encashed by an eligible political party only through a bank account with the authorised bank,” the department of economic affairs, under the finance ministry, said in a press release on Thursday.

Impact of import duty hikes: Festive offers by companies to dry up

In a bid to curb import of household appliances and electronic products, primarily from China, the Central government has hiked the basic customs duty on these items from midnight. This is likely to force firms to raise the prices of consumer durables as imported components will get costlier.

The news is a dampener ahead of the festive season. Household products like refrigerators, ACs, washing machines with a capacity of less than 10 kg and audio speakers will be hit the most. “This is bad news,” said Eric Brigranza, president, Haier Appliances India. Kamal Nandi, business head and executive vice-president, Godrej Appliances, said it will impact all categories and ACs will take the biggest hit. “Indoor units of ACs are mostly imported. The GST rate for ACs is also highest. This is a double whammy,” he said.

B Thiagarajan, joint managing director, Blue Star, said, the firm was contemplating a round of price hikes in October due to surging cost of imports, thanks to the depreciating rupee. But now, it will have to look into its inventory level. “There could be a second round of price hikes in December-January,” he said.

Ajmera Group announces first overseas project in Bahrain, four in London

Real estate developer Ajmera Group announced their first international project in Bahrain along with four other projects in London. The Group also aims to develop of a land bank of2 mn square feet in India and around 1 mn square feet in the international markets.

It has formed a strategic partnership with Mayfair Housing and formed Ajmera Mayfair Realty Group to jointly invest Rs 14 bn into developing residential towers in Bahrain called Golden Gate. The two towers of Golden Gate (45 and 53 storeys) will comprise of apartments across 1,40,000 square meters of built up space. Ajmera Mayfair Realty Group has collaborated with Kooheji Golden Gate (KGG), a local real estate developer. The project is spread across 1.45 million square meters of land reclaimed from the Arabian sea. The total investment in Bahrain is around Rs 21 bn, of which around Rs 14 bn is by Ajmera and the remaining by Mayfair.

Walmart to invest Rs 1.8 bn to improve farmers' livelihood in next 5 years

As part of its initiative to support sustainable livelihood for farmers in India, the Walmart Foundation Thursday announced investment of Rs 1.8 billion over the next five years in the country.

"The Walmart Foundation, working beyond the Walmart India supply chain, will invest approximately Rs 1.8 billion ($25 million) to improve farmers' livelihood over the next five years," Walmart International CEO Judith McKenna said.

She was speaking at a meeting with local farmers in Kasimpur village on the outskirts of the state capital.

Walmart India CEO Krish Iyer, Walmart India Chief Corporate Affairs Officer Rajneesh Kumar and Flipkart Group CEO Binny Bansal accompanied McKenna when she toured a vegetable farm and evinced keen interest in the cultivation going on there. Walmart Vice President of Global Public Policy and Government Affairs Paul Dyck was also present.

The high-level delegation Wednesday discussed with Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath various matters related to investment by Walmart in the state.

Indian companies are turning to machines quicker than its global peers

A textile-yarn company in western Indian soon will have more machines than workers. A manufacturer in southern India sold almost double the number of its automated goods last year. India’s biggest carmaker has one robot for every four plant employees.

Automation will double over the next three years in Indian factories, according to a survey by Willis Towers Watson. Companies in the Asia Pacific region reckon machines will account for 23 per cent of work, on average, over the next three years, compared with 13 per cent today. In India, that figure is expected to rise to almost 30 per cent from 14 per cent over the same period.

India Inc. is turning to machines quicker than its global peers. But unlike companies in Japan and Germany — which are automating to move up the food chain as their workers age — factories in the world’s second most populous country have a surprising motivation: They’re running out of willing (human) workers.

This is also happening as India’s ballooning working-age population needs more jobs. Over the next decade, 138 million people will be added to the workforce, a 30 per cent rise, according to the McKinsey Global Institute.

Tata Power, HPCL partner to set up electric vehicle charging stations

Private power producer Tata Power and state-run Hindustan Petroleum Corporation (HPCL) on Thursday announced a memorandum of understanding (MoU) for setting up the electric vehicle (EV) charging stations at HPCL retail outlets and other locations across India. The two companies will also explore other opportunities for collaboration in renewable energy.

"Tata Power and HPCL, through this new landmark MoU, have agreed to collaborate in planning, development and operation of charging infrastructure for electric vehicles (e-cars, e-rickshaws, e-bikes, e-buses, etc.), at suitable locations across India. Both the entities also intend to explore areas of opportunities and collaboration in related fields like renewable energy," Tata Power said in a statement today.

ALSO READ: 87% Indians would buy electric vehicles if that reduced pollution: survey

Rajnish Mehta, Executive Director, Corporate Strategy Planning & Business Development, HPCL said, " Tata Power with its focused approach towards sustainable and clean energy and wider outreach across the power value chain, provides an excellent opportunity for an integrated Oil and Gas company like HPCL to collaborate for promoting the e-mobility initiative. We intend to leverage on our vast marketing infrastructure network in the form of Retail Outlets and other locations for setting up of electric vehicle charging stations on pan India basis”.

IL&FS withdraws declaration for seeking shareholders' nod for dividend

Debt-laden infrastructure financier Infrastructure Leasing & Financial Services (IL&FS) on Thursday said it had withdrawn a declaration seeking members’ approval for the dividend.

In its corrigendum to notice of an annual general meeting and annual report for 2017-18, filed with the listing department of BSE, the company told its shareholders that “the debenture trustee vide its letter dated September 24, 2018, has not consented to the declaration and payment of dividend on equity shares.”

ALSO READ: Repeat of 2008-type liquidity measure to revive IL&FS unlikely. Read why

IL&FS explained that it had defaulted on its payment of interest on non-convertible debentures (NCDs). And, pursuant to one of the covenants of the debenture trust deed, it was required to obtain prior consent of the debenture trustee, Centbank Financial Service Ltd, for declaration and distribution of dividend on equity shares.

Debt-ridden IL&FS scraps dividend to its shareholders ahead of AGM

Just two days before its annual general meeting on Saturday, the beleaguered IL&FS has scrapped Re 1 per share dividend to its shareholders.

Just a month ago, IL&FS had earlier reduced its dividend from Rs 6 to Re 1 per share. The dividend was scrapped after its debenture trustee – Centbank Financial Services did not give permission to offer dividend to its shareholders. Centbank's action came after the company defaulted on its debentures.

IL&FS shareholders include Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) which owns 25.34 per cent, HDFC Ltd has 9.02 per cent, Central Bank of India (7.67 per cent) and State Bank of India (6.42 per cent). These institutions jointly hold around 49 per cent shareholding in IL&FS while foreign institutional investors including ORIX Corporation, Japan owns 23.54 per cent and Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, Abu Dhabi holds 12.56 per cent of the stake.

As a part of the plan for de-leveraging the balance sheet and monetisation of the portfolio, IL&FS now plans to raise equity capital of Rs 45 billion by way of rights issue and raise a line of credit of Rs 35 billion from LIC and SBI to meet any temporary liquidity requirement.

Apollo Hospitals, SBI Card partner up to launch co-branded credit card

Apollo Hospitals Group and SBI Card, the country's second-largest credit card issuer, on Wednesday announced a partnership to launch the Apollo SBI Card. Apollo Hospitals claims that it is the first of its kind co-branded credit card in the healthcare segment. Apollo SBI cardholders will receive complimentary OneApollo membership through which they can enjoy exclusive discounts and savings of up to 10 per cent on health check-ups, diagnostic services, pharmacy products, physiotherapy, etc. Through this membership, cardholders can avail of complimentary services such as consultations, dental screening, home sample collection, counselling with diabetic educator and dedicated relationship manager at Apollo Cradle, etc. Further, cardholders can avail of savings and benefits of up to Rs 40,000 through the OneApollo membership.