Moderna Covid vaccine appears to work as well in older adults: Study

The latest data from an early Phase I study includes an analysis from 20 additional people detailing how the vaccine performed in older adults

International News: (Reuters) – Moderna Inc said on Wednesday its experimental COVID-19 vaccine induced immune responses in older adults similar to those in younger participants, offering hope that it will be effective in people considered to be at high risk for severe complications from the coronavirus.

The company is one of the leading contenders in the race to develop a vaccine against the virus that has killed more than 820,000 people worldwide. Its candidate, mRNA-1273, is already in late-stage human trials testing its ability to safely prevent infection. The latest data from an early Phase I study includes an analysis from 20 additional people detailing how the vaccine performed in older adults.

The analysis looked at subjects given the 100-microgram dose being tested in the much larger Phase III trial. Moderna said the immune responses in those aged between ages 56 and 70, above age 70 and those 18 to 55-years-old were similar. Health officials have been concerned about whether Corona vaccine candidates would work in older people, whose immune systems typically do not respond as strongly to vaccines.

Moderna shares, which have more than tripled in value this year, rose about 6% after the data’s release. The company has so far enrolled over 13,000 participants in its late-stage study. About 18% of the total participants are Black, Latino, Native American or Alaska Native, groups that have been particularly hard hit by the pandemic, and are often under represented in clinical trials…

India opts out of RCEP; PM Modi says key issues remain unresolved

Fifteen other nations, however, went ahead with the deal after the conclusion of the summit in Bangkok, which was also attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi

The government on Monday said India will not join the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) deal, adding that doing so would adversely affect the national interest.

This was a nod by the government to concerns raised by domestic industry and farmers, most of whom had opposed the pact, fearing it would lead to uncontrolled dumping by China. “India conveyed its decision to not join… (There are) significant issues of core interest and the impact it would have on the livelihood of vulnerable sections. India has participated in good faith in the RCEP discussions and had negotiated hard with a clear-eyed view of our interests,” said Vijay Singh Thakur, secretary (east), Ministry of External Affairs, in Bangkok.

She added that not joining the pact was the right decision at the moment. Fifteen other nations, however, went ahead with the deal after the conclusion of the summit in Bangkok, which was also attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

“Participating countries have concluded text-based negotiations for all 20 chapters and essentially all their market access issues,” said the joint statement issued after a meeting of RCEP leaders. The deal is now being scrubbed for legal issues. Negotiations, started in 2012, will now culminate in a final deal being signed by 2020, it added.

The RCEP nations have also left the door open for India — the largest untapped consumer and industrial market — in the bloc. “All RCEP countries will work together to resolve these outstanding issues in a mutually satisfactory way. India’s final decision will depend on satisfactory resolution of these issues,” the joint statement added. But Modi informed the other leaders that the deal in its current form “does not fully reflect the basic spirit and the agreed guiding principles of the RCEP”.

Income Tax return processing time to reduce from 63 days to just 1 day

Under the new system, Infosys will handle end-to-end solution – from e-filing to return assessment to refund processing

Economy News: The Union Cabinet on Wednesday approved an integrated income-tax e-filing and centralised processing centre (CPC) portal, which will reduce the return processing time from 63 days to just one day. The new portal is also expected to process the refunds within one day of filing of tax returns, in huge relief for taxpayers. However, one will have to wait for 18 months to see its launch.

“Earlier, taxpayers would face troubles because of delay in refund processing and the CBDT used to spend a lot of money every year as interest on pending refunds, which will be history now,” Union minister Piyush Goyal told reporters after the Cabinet meeting here.

Last month, Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) Chairman Sushil Chandra had said a simplified return form and process would be put in place soon in which the department would process the self-declaration made by the taxpayer. The new Rs 4,241-crore project will incorporate these changes.

Contain By: Business Standard

Reliance Industries market cap touches $100-bn mark, stock at record high

RIL became the second Indian company to scale the milestone after TCS.

 

Reliance Industries (RIL) market capitalisation (market cap) surpassed the $100 billion mark, after its stock price soaring to a record high of Rs 1,090, up 5% on Thursday on the BSE in intra-day trade. It became the second Indian company to scale the milestone after TCS.

At 11:56 am; RIL market cap stood at Rs 6.88 trillion or $ 100 billion mark, the BSE data shows. The stock was quoting at Rs 1,088, up 4.9%. On comparison, the S&P BSE Sensex was up over 1%.

Earlier, Mukesh Ambani-led RIL broke the $100 billion barrier in 2007. Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), the IT giant, is on top of the rank with Rs 7.57 trillion market cap, data shows.(CLICK HERE : Reliance Industry share price)

The rally in RIL comes after it announced an aggressive plan in its 41st annual general meeting and ahead of its June quarter earnings.

Mukesh Ambani, Chairman and Managing Director in the AGM launched ultra high speed fixed line broadband services for homes and enterprises under the brand of JioGigaFiber on July 5. “Fiber will redefine 24/7 emergency help for all homes across India and Jio will offer the most competitive broadband connection.”

The oil-retail-to-telecom giant has invested Rs 2.5 lakh crore in fiber connectivity.

RIL’s net profits grew by more than 20.6 percent to Rs 36,075 crore in FY18. Reliance’s earnings profile underwent a fundamental change this year.(Article source : BS) 

Reliance Jio double dhamaka offer: Know new plans, data offers, discounts

Touted as the 'Double Dhamaka offer', new plans with revised data offers can be availed on all recurring recharges made in June

Reliance Jio, a Mukesh Ambani owned telecommunication service provider, on June 12 reduced the price of Rs 149 and Rs 399 prepaid plans, and also revised the per day data offering on several plans. The new plans, however, get no change in terms of validity. Touted as the ‘Double Dhamaka offer’, the new plans with revised data offers can be availed on all recurring recharges made in June.

Reliance Jio: Rs 149 recharge plan

Under the Double Dhamaka offer, the telecom operator is offering the Rs 149 monthly recharge plan (28 days) at 20 per cent discount, which brings down effective price to Rs 120. However, the discount is valid only on the recharges made via MyJio app. The new plan now comes bundled with 3GB data per day for 28 days, instead of 1.5GB data. The existing plan benefits such as free access to Jio apps suite, unlimited free voice calls (local and roaming) and free SMS remain the same.

Reliance Jio: Rs 199 recharge plan

In the new Rs 199 monthly recharge plan (28 days), the telecom operator is now offering 3.5GB data per day valid for 28 days, instead of 2GB data that the plan used to come bundled with earlier. This pack, however, is not eligible for 20 per cent discount. The existing plan benefits such as free access to Jio apps suite, unlimited free voice calls (local and roaming) and free SMS remain the same.

Reliance Jio: Rs 399 recharge plan

In Rs 399 quarterly recharge plan, the company is offering flat discount of Rs 100, which brings down the effective price to Rs 299. The discount can be availed only on the recharges made via MyJio app. The new plan now comes bundled with 3GB data per day for 84 days, instead of 1.5GB data. The existing plan benefits such as free access to Jio apps suite, unlimited free voice calls (local and roaming) and free SMS remain the same.

Reliance Jio: Rs 498 recharge plan

In the new Rs 498 quarterly recharge plan (84 days), the telecom operator is now offering 3.5GB data per day valid for 84 days, instead of 2GB data that plan used to come bundled with earlier. This pack is not eligible for 20 per cent discount. The existing plan benefits such as free access to Jio apps suite, unlimited free voice calls (local and roaming) and free SMS remain the same.

Reliance Jio: Rs 499 recharge plan

In the new Rs 499 quarterly recharge plan (91 days), the telecom operator is now offering 3.5GB data per day valid for 91 days. This plan is the new addition to Jio’s existing quarterly recharge plans and comes bundled with benefits such as free access to Jio apps suite, unlimited free voice calls (local and roaming) and free SMS remain the same.

Click Here : Jio double dhamaka

Taj Mansingh Hotel auction flops, Indian Hotels Company sole bidder

The cold response from the hotel industry was unexpected, especially at a time when the sector is seeing an uptrend

The New Delhi Municipal Council’s ambitious plan to auction the Taj Mansingh Hotel has almost drawn a blank, with only Tata group-owned Indian Hotels Company (IHCL), the current operator, bidding for the property. The NDMC will now have to conduct a fresh round of auction for the luxury hotel, thereby delaying the process by at least several months.

Thursday was the last day for submission of bids for the Taj Mansingh as well as two other hotels in the capital —the Connaught and Hotel Asian International — built on NDMC land. In contrast to the Taj, the two lesser-known hotels have got three bidders each, allowing the auction process to move forward.

A new auction date will be decided for the Taj Mansingh (as the hotel is widely known, based on its Mansingh Road address), an official said. The tender rules said the bid process would be annulled in case there were less than three bidders. An official at the NDMC who is part of the tender process did not respond to calls. SBI Capital Markets is the transaction advisor to the auction.

Surinder Singh, an AAP legislator from Delhi and an NDMC member, said the current auction process of the Taj Mansingh was no less than a ‘’conspiracy’’. He told Business Standard that the next tender should be done properly to attract more bidders.

The cold response from the hotel industry was unexpected, especially at a time when the sector is seeing an uptrend. Representatives of hotel companies said they were not enthused with the financial terms and certain conditions of the tender. In spite of a relaxation in certain conditions in the second tender floated by the NDMC in April, a number of hotel companies failed to qualify. Some said the responses to queries raised by prospective bidders in a pre-bid meeting were not satisfactorily answered.

Read More : Taj Mansingh Hotel auction

From cheating banks to faking identity, Aadhaar frauds peak in 2018: Report

At a recent court hearing, UIDAI admitted that 6% of Aadhaar authentication requests using fingerprints transactions are known to fail

In January 2018, eight persons were arrested in Chandigarh for purchasing expensive mobile phones with fraudulent loans secured using fake Aadhaar cards. The accused, among whom were former bankers and employees of a finance company, had placed their own photographs on others’ Aadhaar cards to secure bank loans, and were booked for cheating, fraud, forgery and criminal conspiracy under the relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code.

This is just one among the 73 incidents of misuse of the Unique Identity Authority of India’s (UIDAI) Aadhaar programme that have been reported in the English-language media so far this year (up to May 7, 2018). This averages nearly four incidents each week, as per a new database created by independent researchers Anmol Somanchi and Vipul Paikra.

Of these, 52 cases involved fake or forged Aadhaar numbers–coming up with entirely new Aadhaar enrolment based on fake details, or forging existing cards by replacing certain details like photographs–and 21 involved Aadhaar-related banking frauds.

In the six years since the launch of the Aadhaar programme in September 2011, 164 cases of forged or fake Aadhaar numbers and Aadhaar-related banking frauds have been reported in the English-language media, the database noted. These include 123 cases of fake or forged Aadhaar numbers or cards and 41 cases of Aadhaar-related banking fraud.

“This database does not include the whole gamut of reported incidents of Aadhaar-related fraud and forgery,” Somanchi told IndiaSpend. “We had initially included Hindi reports and found more such incidents. However, since we couldn’t include all other regional languages we restricted the database to English news reports.”

Several attempts to reach out to the UIDAI for comment on the findings of the database met with no response. On April 30, 2018, IndiaSpend reached out to the office of the chief executive officer of UIDAI via email. On May 2, 2018, we reached out again and were told by the communications team that UIDAI would get back to us. On May 3, 2018, IndiaSpend reached out a third time, telephonically. On May 8, 2018, we sent out a third email.

The story will be updated with the Authority’s response when we receive one.

Lack of clarity

“The ambiguity around Aadhaar has led to an increasing number of cases where citizens are swindled of their money,” Somanchi said. “India is still grappling with limited financial, technological literacy–people aren’t sure of what they should or should not share and the authorities have failed to provide that clarity.”

The government has been speaking “with a forked tongue” in this regard, Somanchi said, adding, “On one hand they insist the uniqueness of the Aadhaar number prevents duplicity and is an in-built layer of security–on the other hand they advise caution on sharing of Aadhaar details. So what should citizens believe?”...Read More

False alarm! Petrol prices down by just 1 paisa to Rs 78.43/litre in Delhi

Indian Oil says it published wrong prices in the morning

 

 

After news of a cut in petrol prices in the morning, India's biggest fuel retailer, Indian Oil has revealed that the announcement of a cut in prices it made earlier in the day was a mistake. It has revised the prices once again on its website.

IOCL informed ET Now that it had published wrong prices on its website earlier.

According to the Indian Oil Corporation website, petrol is now priced at Rs 78.42 per litre in Delhi. This is just 1 paisa lower than yesterday's price.

In Mumbai, petrol will be sold at Rs 86.23 per litre.

Earlier, it was reported that Indian Oil Corp had slashed the prices of petrol by 60 paise after 16 days of price hike. The new prices had been listed on their website as well. Petrol price in Delhi was cut by 60 paise to Rs 77.83 per litre.

The same is true for prices of diesel which were first reported to be cut by 56 paise today but now stand revised to just 1 paise less than yesterday's levels.

Looks like the joy was shortlived as prices are now back to yesterday's level.

CBSE 10th result 2018 to be out tomorrow at 4pm on cbse.nic.in; updates

CBSE 10th result 2018 will be declared on May 29, Central Board of Secondary Education confirmed. Check for CBSE Results updates on Business Standard

 

 

CBSE 10th Result 2018 will be declared on Tuesday at 4pm. The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) today announced that CBSE Class 10 result 2018 will be declared tomorrow. Over 16 lakh students appeared for Class 10 exams this year. CBSE will release CBSE 10th result 2018 on its official website cbse.nic.in or cbseresults.nic.in.

"Results of CBSE Class 10 examinations for 2017-18 to be declared by 4 pm on 29th of May, 2018," tweeted Union Education Secretary Anil Swarup.

The CBSE Class 10 exams were marred by controversy in 2018 with question paper leaks being reported from Delhi-NCR, Haryana and Jharkhand of Class 10 mathematics paper, but the HRD ministry had decided against conducting a re-examination in the "interest of students". This was the first batch to appear for the Class 10 board examinations after the CBSE decided to junk the Continuous and Comprehensive Evaluation (CCE) and reintroduce the board exams.

Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) announced CBSE 12th result on Saturday with the overall pass percentage of 83.01 percent. The top three regions were Thiruvananthapuram with 97.32 percent, Chennai 93.87 percent, and Delhi with 89 percent. Meghna Srivastava, from Ghaziabad, became the national topper with 499 marks out of 500. Anoushka Chandra from Ghaziabad secured the second position with 498. A Vijay Ganesh from Kerala topped the differently able category with a score of 492. Pooja Kumari of Dehradun secured the second position with 489 and, Lavanya Jha of Delhi came third with 487.

Check CBSE result through Google

CBSE has partnered with Google to host the CBSE Class 10 on the search engine. Students can check their results on Google by searching for CBSE Class 10 result 2018. They will have to enter roll number to login and access their results.

Check CBSE Board Exam Results 2018 through Microsoft

Through Microsoft application's SMS organiser, students will be informed about CBSE 10th result 2018. The candidates will have to register with their roll number, school code and the date of birth to be able to access their marks.

Thoothukudi protest: How NDA govt decisions helped Vedanta bypass norms

NDA government's decisions helped Vedanta bypass public consultations for the Copper smelter expansion in Thoothukudi

 

The controversial expansion of Vedanta's 1,200 tonnes per day copper smelter in Thoothukudi, Tamil Nadu has been stayed by the High Court on May 23 after at least 11 people protesting against the plant were shot dead by state police. The court has ordered that the company consult people before building the plant - something the company claimed it was legally not required to do.

Vedanta claims it had legally got an environmental clearance from the Union government to expand the smelter to double the capacity without consulting people. A perusal of Union environment ministry’s and several court records show the NDA government made an interpretation to green regulations in December 2014, which helped particularly plants such as that of Vedanta's at 

Thoothukudi to be built without consulting people of the project-affected area.

This exception in the environmental safety regulations was made on the request of various industries, show court and government documents reviewed by Business Standard. The exception to the rules was carved out through orders of the then environment minister and called a ‘clarification’. This clarification would in months ahead allow Vedanta and several others to start constructing their plants, such as the one in Thoothukudi, without public consultations. This interpretation by the NDA government was fortuitous for companies because the environment ministry under UPA government had insisted in May 2014 that projects such as Vedanta’s in Thoothukudi were required by law to first go through public consultations.

In 2016 the National Green Tribunal found, the December orders of the NDA government, which favoured Vedanta, to be illegal. It had to go to the point of threatening bailable orders against the environment ministry officials in the case to divulge information on the matter. Ministry officials said rescinding the government’s December 2014 orders would adversely impact many projects.

Eventually, the NGT quashed the December 2014 orders. On the NGT’s instructions, the ministry had to pass fresh orders clearly stating that projects in industrial parks without environmental clearances needed to conduct public hearings.

But, by then Vedanta had secured an extension of the green clearance to its expansion project in Thoothukudi without the need for a public hearing.

It is citing this 2016 ruling of the National Green Tribunal and other facts that came to light during the case, that the High Court on Wednesday has ordered Vedanta to stop its expansion plans in track and go back to first consult the people.

The usual green clearance regulations

Almost all large scale industrial projects require a mandatory environmental clearance from the Union environment ministry. The project developer first prepares a report laying out how the industry would impact the people and environment in the vicinity of the project site. It then presents this report to public for consultations under the supervision of the state government. Experts of the Union environment ministry study the results of these consultations and the environmental impact assessment to decide if the project should be given a nod or not. People cannot veto the project during consultations but their concerns have to be addressed by the company and the Union government before the project can take off.

The environment clearance regulations, dating back to 2006, make exceptions to the need for public hearing in select cases. If a small industry is set up inside designated industrial park, which itself has an environmental clearance, then the specific industry is allowed to bypass public consultations.

During the United Progressive Alliance government's tenure in May 2014 questions were raised with the government about this exception. What if the industrial park is established so long ago that it came up before the environmental regulations of 2006 were in place and the industrial park itself has no environmental clearance? Would industries in such cases too not need to consult the project-affected people?

Click Here For Full Story : Thoothukudi protest

Now pensioners can view passbook on their mobile phone using Umang app

The introduction of this facility is part of EPFO's plan to go paperless by August this year and provide all services online

 

 

Pensioners would now be able to view their pension passbook on mobile phones with the help of Umang app.

Retirement fund body EPFO today announced the launch of a facility to extend the special service to pensioners.

A labour ministry statement said View Pension Passbook' service for pensioners will be available through Umang app.

The introduction of this facility is part of EPFO's plan to go paperless by August this year and provide all services online.

The Employees' Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) is already providing various e-services for its stakeholders through Umang.

Umang app was launched by the government last year and provides access to various government services at one place. It is a common platform for services such as gas booking, Aadhaar, crop insurance, EPF and National Pension System.

ATMs run out of notes: Here's the reason behind the massive cash crunch

Although the rate of cash circulation has surpassed the pre-demonetisation level, it is not in tandem with the rate of economic growth

 

Automated Teller Machines (ATMs) across various states are running dry with the present situation reminiscent of demonetisation of high-value currency notes one-and-a-half years back.

States, including Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, Andhra Pradesh, Manipur and Telangana, have reported shortage of cash at ATMs. A stock-taking analysis submitted by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) found that the rate of cash withdrawal was much higher than the rate of cash deposits in Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, and Telangana, among other states. Complaints of cash crunch have been reported from semi-urban and rural regions of the states.

Although the rate of cash circulation has surpassed the pre-demonetisation level, it is not in tandem with the rate of economic growth.

The notes in circulation on November 4, 2016 - four days before the Union government announced demonetisation of Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes - were Rs 17.74 trillion. Currency notes in circulation are now at Rs 18.04 trillion. The cash in circulation-to-GDP ratio before demonetisation stood at 11.6% and it has declined to 10.7% at present.

The Centre on Tuesday admitted to the cash crunch and blamed it on uneven distribution of currency by the RBI across states. “There is an issue of disparity. Some states have less currency and the others have more. Government has formed state-wise committee and RBI has also formed a committee to transfer currency from one state to the other. In two-three days, this problem will be resolved,” Minister of State in Finance Shiv Pratap Shukla told TV channels.

Gujarat deputy chief minister Nitin Patel told a newspaper few days back that the state is in touch with the RBI to resolve the issue of cash crunch. “In Gujarat, the currency chests were not getting adequate supply of cash from the RBI,” said an executive director of a public sector bank. ATMs dried up in north Bihar due to issues related to transportation of cash from currency chests located in other parts of the state, officials said.

The Manipur government also wrote a letter to the finance ministry apprising them of acute shortage of cash in the state.

Senior finance ministry officials, who held a meeting with RBI's currency circulation division, banks and state government officials on Thursday, blamed the shortage of cash to various factors, including mismanagement of cash flow by banks, recalibration of ATMs to support the new currency notes, and logistical issues.

Public sector bank executives also said there is a spurt in demand for cash to make payments for agricultural activities as well.

Q4 results: Infosys stock could dip today on lower margin guidance

The main reason for the lower margin guidance is investments in the digital business

Companies news : Information-technology major Infosys' January-March quarter numbers, announced on Friday, were in line with analysts' expectation. Despite this, they say the stock might come under pressure in Monday's trading session. The first reason is the feeble performance of Infosys' banking, financial services and insurance (BFSI) segment, almost no revenue growth sequentially in constant currency terms. Retail and life sciences revenue down 0.7 per cent sequentially in constant currency terms; contribute 55 per cent to its revenue. While the management expects BFSI to improve in 2018-19, the retail (along with consulting) segment is likely to remain under pressure.

Second, though Infosys' 2018-19 revenue growth forecast of 6-8 per cent in constant currency terms was at par with expectation, its earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (Ebitda) margin forecast of 22-24 per cent was below the current level. This comes in spite of a contraction in Ebitda margin, witnessed in the past four years.

The main reason for the lower margin guidance is investments in the digital business. Increased focus on high-yield business will benefit the company. But, the lower guidance has led to some analysts being sceptical of Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Salil Parekh's confidence. "While lowering the Ebit margin may disappoint investors in the near term, we view it as a medium-term revenue accelerator," says Abhishek Bhandari, analyst at Macquarie Research. According to Emkay's latest report on Infosys, the weak profitability expectation at 22-24 per cent suggests the new CEO's low confidence in the company's current capabilities. Many analysts said Infosys' capital allocation steps would support the stock price in the near term.

Click here: Infosys Q4 results 

ICICI Bank-Videocon loan case: Things to know about Rajiv Kochhar

Rajeev Kochhar's Avista Advisory is said to have helped ICICI Bank clients recast their foreign loans

Avista Advisory group, a Singapore based company owned by Rajeev Kochhar, is said to have helped ICICI Bank clients in restructuring their foreign loans. On Thursday, the Central Bureau of Investigation stopped Kochhar at the Mumbai airport and questioned him. But who is Rajeev Kochhar?

Here are a few things to know about Rajeev Kochhar and his alleged role in the ICICI Bank-Videocon loan case:

Rajiv Kochhar is the brother of ICICI Bank MD & CEO Chanda Kochhar’s husband Deepak Kochhar, who is facing a CBI probe in relation to an alleged impropriety in the loan the bank gave consumer durables firm Videocon. It is being investigated if the loan was granted to Videocon in lieu of the firm’s investments in Kochhar’s personal company Nupower.

Nupower, the ICICI Bank board and Videocon have denied any wrongdoing.

The Kochhar brothers are well known in Mumbai’s financial circles for setting up Credential Finance in the 1990s. The company folded up in the early 2000s and both brothers parted ways. Rajeev Kochhar, who is the son-in-law of Sharad Upasani, the former chief secretary of Maharashtra, later went to Singapore to set up Avista Advisory group.

Over the past six years, Avista won the mandate to restructure foreign currency-denominated debt deals worth over $1.7 billion to seven companies. All these companies were borrowers of ICICI Bank. In at least one of these deals, ICICI Bank was the lead bank of the lenders, the Indian Express reported on Tuesday.

On Monday, Subramanian Swamy, a BJP Member of Parliament, had tweeted that the CBI should probe whether Avista Advisory received 5 per cent on every big loan for certification. Avista, according to an industry source, had expertise in restructuring foreign currency loans in association with Houlihan Lokey, a US-based firm.

Rajiv Kochhar had denied any conflict of interest in business dealing with ICICI Bank in his earlier interviews to the media. “There is no conflict. The entire process of selection of ‘debtor advisor’ was competitive. We were chosen as a ‘debtor advisor’ in the restructuring of the FCCBs of Jaiprakash Associates Limited, Jaiprakash Power Ventures Limited and GTL Infrastructure. In these restructuring transactions, the ‘Debtor’ of the FCCBs were the respective companies and the ‘Creditor’ were the respective foreign currency convertible bondholders who are ‘Foreign Investors’ in these FCCBs. Avista advised the companies in the negotiation with these Foreign Investors in order to restructure the FCCBs. Since the FCCB restructuring transaction did not involve any negotiations between the companies and the ‘Domestic Lenders’, there is no conflict of interest of whatsoever nature,” he had said.

According to Avista’s website, the company has a strong stressed asset restructuring advisory practice and a successful NPL resolution platform in South East Asia and India and access to a wide spectrum of pools of institutional and private capital. The company was also in the process of setting up a stressed asset and special situation (SASS) investment management and investment advisory platform.

Read more: ICICI Bank

9 years after Satyam scam, Price Waterhouse banned from audit for 2 years

Nine years after Satyam scam, Sebi orders Rs 130.9-million disgorgement; audit firm says it is confident of getting order stayed

The Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) late on Wednesday banned Price Waterhouse (PW) from providing audit services to listed companies and market intermediaries for two years in the Satyam fraud case. Two PW partners have been banned for three years.

The regulator also imposed a disgorgement of Rs 130.9 million on Price Waterhouse, and two of its chartered accountants — S Gopalakrishnan and Srinivas Talluri. The three entities also have to pay 12 per cent interest on the disgorgement amount since January 7, 2009, in 45 days from the date of the order.

Further, it said that no listed company or intermediary registered with Sebi to be engaged with any audit firm associated with the PW network for issuing any certificate with respect to compliance of statutory obligations which Sebi is competent to administer and enforce, under various laws for a period of two years.

These entities have been charged under Sebi’s prohibition of Fraudulent and Unfair Trade Practices (FUTP) regulation. “I find that the auditors have failed in showing any evidence to the effect that they had done their job with standards of professional duty and care as required. The auditors were well aware of the consequences of their omissions which would make such accumulated and aggregated acts of gross negligence scale up to an act of commission of fraud for the purposes of the Sebi Act and the Sebi (FUTP) regulation,” said G Mahalingam, wholetime member, Sebi, in a 108-page order....Read More 

Infosys to leave turmoil behind as Salil Parekh takes over as CEO today

Salil S Parekh will take over as the chief executive of Infosys on Tuesday

 

Salil S Parekh will take over as the chief executive of Infosys on Tuesday as the information technology (IT) bellwether looks to shed its past year of turmoil and forge ahead with a focus on execution and grow business by engaging clients via digital contracts.

For Parekh, a former Capgemini executive who rose through the ranks to be on its global board after successfully building its offshore base in India, the top job at Infosys will be his first that will put him under public scrutiny. So far, Infosys, listed on the Indian and global stock exchanges, has built its reputation on transparency and good corporate governance.

A lapse in disclosure by former CEO Vishal Sikka, who took charge in August 2014, about offering severance pay 10 times the standard contract to former chief financial officer Rajiv Bansal had escalated into a public spat between the board and the founders led by N R Narayana Murthy. This had resulted in the resignation of Sikka and R Seshasayee, then board chairman, last August, paving the way for co-founder Nandan Nilekani to return at the helm.

Nilekani realises that he has to stay longer at Infosys to ensure a smooth transition for Parekh, who will operate out of its headquarters in Bengaluru. Parekh will also need to fit in a culture of frugality that Murthy and Nilekani built over the past three decades, engage with in-house talent and ensure higher returns to stakeholders.

An operational man, Parekh had led the growth trajectory for Capgemini India as an offshore destination to deliver client projects and help the European firm remain competitive. During his tenure, Capgemini team grew from 800 people to over 85,000 people in India, which included leading the acquisition of iGATE Corp....

Read more: Infosys CEO Salil  S Parekh

Aadhaar will work as weapon against benami properties: PM Modi at HT Summit

By linking Aadhaar to Mobile and Jan Dhan, we have created a system that could not have been imagined few years back: Modi

 

economy news: Describing Aadhaar as a major "power" to bring about an "irreversible change" in the common man's life, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday said that the Unique Identification Number will now be used in cases involving benami properties.

"By linking Aadhaar to Mobile and Jan Dhan, we have created such a system that could not have been imagined few years back.

"In last three years, with the help of Aadhaar, crores of fake names have been removed from the system. Now it is going to be a big weapon against benami properties," Modi said while addressing the inaugural session of the Hindustan Times Summit.

He said that the country saw a "behavioural change" after demonetisation, which helped in converting to a "clean and healthy economy".

"For the first time after Independence the corrupt people are scared of transacting in black money. They are scared of being caught. The black money which was earlier base of parallel economy, has now become part of formal economy," he said.

"Such an irreversible change is getting boost from Aadhaar. Aadhaar is such a power through which this government want to ensure rights of poor. It is also playing a big role in providing subsidised ration, scholarships, medicines, pensions and other government subsidies," he said.

He said the day the country would adopt maximum transactions via digital addresses, "organised crime would come to an end to some extent".

Modi said "big transformations" do not come easily and for it "hauling up of the entire system was needed".

"We can increase our ease of doing business ranking from 142 to 100 only when we take initiatives for big transformation," Modi said.

Bitcoin tops $11,000 barrier after $1,000 surge in 12 hours

bitcoin uses encryption and a blockchain database that enables the fast and anonymous transfer of funds

Markets : Bitcoin zoomed past $11,000 to hit a record high for the sixth day in a row on Wednesday after gaining more than $1,000 in just 12 hours, stoking concerns that a rapidly swelling bubble could be set to burst in spectacular fashion.

After soaring more than 1,000 percent since the start of the year, bitcoin rose as much as 15 per cent on Wednesday.

It topped $10,000 for the first time in early Asia trading, before surging above $11,000 less than 12 hours later to reach $11,395 on Luxembourg-based Bitstamp, one of the largest and most liquid cryptocurrency exchanges, and then dipping back below $11,000.

Bitcoin's rapid ascent has led to countless warnings that it has reached bubble territory in recent weeks. But the warnings have had little effect, with dozens of new crypto-hedge funds entering the market and retail investors piling in.

The world's largest bitcoin wallet provider, San Francisco-based Coinbase, signed up 300,000 new users between last Wednesday and Sunday, during the US Thanksgiving holiday, according to data compiled by Altana cryptocurrency fund manager Alistair Milne. It now counts more than 13 million customers.

The evidence suggests that few of the users are buying bitcoin to use it as a means of exchange, but are speculating to increase their capital.

"What's happening right now has nothing to do with bitcoin's functionality as a currency - this is pure mania that's taken hold," said Garrick Hileman, a research fellow at the University of Cambridge's Judge Business School.

"This is very much a bubble that will very much correct itself at some point and people need to be very careful."

Hileman, who last week gave a lecture to the Bank of England on the risks of bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, also flagged the risk of the whole market collapsing entirely.

"There's always the possibility that some fundamental cryptographic flaw that we can't solve craters the whole space, or that regulators unite and decide this represents systemic risk and actually could trigger the next financial crisis," he said.

"Exit Ramps"

Created in 2008, bitcoin uses encryption and a blockchain database that enables the fast and anonymous transfer of funds outside of a conventional centralized payment system.

It has far outstripped gains seen in any traditional asset classes or currencies this year. It rise accelerated in recent months as exchanges such as the CME Group Inc and the Chicago Board Options Exchange announced plans to offer futures contracts for the cryptocurrency.

Read More about Bitcoin

Maggi noodle in crisis, again: After lead, now it's ash taking away spice

An FSSAI official said the body was closely monitoring the developments

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Companies: Just when India’s favourite instant noodle brand Maggi was about to claim back its dominance over the market, the iconic brand is under pressure, again. Maggi noodle, which had earlier faced a lot of scrutiny and a subsequent market share loss over an alleged presence of lead, is now under a regulator's scanner over alleged violation of another safety norm.

The district food and drug administration officials of Shahjahanpur in Uttar Pradesh, have sent a legal notice to Nestle India – the makers of Maggi noodle – and its trade partners in the region, seeking Rs 71 lakh as damages and for violation of food safety norms. The notice was issued after the UP FDA found a high level of ash content in the samples of the noodle. According to a PTI report, the Maggi noodle samples were collected from the Shahjahanpur area in November 2016.

While Nestle India is yet to receive a copy of the notice, it told Business Standard that the lab report might have been formed on the basis of quality standards that are now obsolete. However, the question that haunts millions of consumers and its patrons is how the noodle failed a lab test after the matter was settled in 2016, when the country’s apex court had given it a clean chit following stringent tests at independent laboratories across India.

After lead, it's ash:

From the facts that have emerged so far and from a research done by this publication, it prima facie appears that the issue of ash content in packaged food, specifically in case of Maggi noodle, is an ambiguous area. Last time, when Maggi noodle was found to be sub-standard for human consumption, the main issue pertained to the presence of lead in a quantity higher than permissible. This, eventually led to a ban on the products across the country on 5 June, 2015. What followed was a period of uncertainty for the Swiss major in India and elsewhere.

Read full story : Maggie fails lab test inUP

Bitcoin at all-time high, tops $10,000 in some exchanges

It has soared more than 900 per cent so far this year, posting the largest gain of all asset classes

 

 

Virtual currency bitcoin soared to an all-time high above $10,000 on Tuesday on some smaller exchanges and digital currency indexes, but remained just below that milestone in major trading platforms such as Luxembourg-based BitStamp.

Created in 2009, bitcoin uses encryption and a blockchain database that enables the fast and anonymous transfer of funds outside of a traditional centralised payment system.

It has soared more than 900 per cent so far this year, posting the largest gain of all asset classes, amid increased institutional demand for crypto-currencies as financial and mainstream use has expanded.
On the CEX.IO exchange, bitcoin hit $10,234. On crypto-currency index coinmarketcap.com, it touched $10,050.

On BitStamp, it hit a high of $9,968 and last traded up 1.7 per cent on the day at $9,876.99.
Neither did it reach $10,000 on Coinbase's digital asset US-based exchange GDAX, or on Gemini Exchange, owned and operated by virtual currency entrepreneurs Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss.

"With bitcoin nearing $10,000, long-time bitcoiners finally feel vindicated that their currency that has been ridiculed for years, is at last being taken seriously," said Sol Lederer, blockchain director at US technology company LOOMIA.

"Bitcoin's future is still uncertain; it faces the same serious technical challenges it has for years and faces stiff competition from newer, more sophisticated blockchains. But even if it were to crash, it's apparent that bitcoin is here to stay."

In some emerging markets, bitcoin has hit well over $10,000. In Zimbabwe, bitcoin traded at $17,875 on Monday. Tuesday's price in Zimbabwe was not available.

In South Korean exchanges, bitcoin was already close to $11,000 or higher. It traded at nearly $11,000 on Tuesday on bithumb after hitting the $10,000 milestone on Monday. At Coinone, bitcoin traded at more than $11,700, and at $11,734 on Korbit.

Bitcoin has been boosted as exchanges such as the CME Group Inc and the Chicago Board Options Exchange announced plans to launch futures contracts for the currency.

Mike Novogratz, a former macro hedge fund manager at Fortress Investment Group, said in a Reuters Investment Summit earlier this month that mainstream institutional investors were about six to eight months from adopting bitcoin.