Hong Kong set to dash Lam’s hopes with democracy camp poised for victory

The protest movement has made five key demands, including direct popular elections and a probe into alleged police brutality. Lam has dismissed the idea of government concessions as “wishful thinking”

Hong Kong’s pro-democracy camp was cruising towards a crushing victory in community-level elections on Monday, sending the Beijing-backed government a clear message of public support for the demands of a protest movement that has gripped the territory for months.

Counting was still under way following record turnout in Sunday’s polls, but partial results indicated that candidates favouring greater democracy were on course to seize a shock majority of the normally establishment-dominated 18 district councils. The stunning result was a humiliating rebuke to Beijing and dashed any lingering hopes of Hong Kong protest leader Carrie Lam that the increasingly aggressive tactics deployed by radical protesters would encourage a silent majority to turn out in support of her administration.

Change-seeking politicians seized on the result as proof that citizens want more say in running the city. “No matter how strong Carrie Lam is I hope she can comply with the wishes of the people, fulfil the five demands (and) give the youngsters a chance,” political activist Jimmy Sham told reporters after winning a district council seat.

The protest movement has made five key demands, including direct popular elections and a probe into alleged police brutality. Lam has dismissed the idea of government concessions as “wishful thinking”. Hong Kong has endured months of mass rallies and violent clashes, initially touched off by anger over a bill backed by Lam that would have allowed extraditions to China’s opaque judicial system….

Maharashtra: SC reserves order for Tuesday, govt defends governor

The Shiv Sena, Nationalist Congress Party, and the Congress–the combine that had expected to govern Maharashtra–are expected to challenge the BJP in Parliament which resumes after the weekend.

The Supreme Court will on Tuesday, 10.30am, rule on petitions challenging the Bharatiya Janata Party forming a government in Maharashtra, reserving its judgment after hearing arguments by lawyers of the central government and the Shiv Sena-Nationalist Congress Party-Congress combine.

The three parties argued that BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis doesn’t have the numbers to be chief minister, taking their fight separately to Parliament. BJP and the central government lawyers said Fadnavis will prove his majority, but the court didn’t have the power to direct Maharashtra’s governor to fix a deadline for a floor test in the Assembly.

CATCH ALL THE LIVE UPDATES

Supreme Court reserves order on Shiv Sena, NCP and Congress petition for Tuesday 10.30 am.

Leaders of the Shiv Sena, NCP and Congress submitted letter to Maharashtra Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari, saying they have the required numbers to form government, reports PTI. The ‘Maha Vikas Aghadi’, the post-poll alliance formed by the three parties, said Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis “does not have the required numbers”. The letter was signed by Eknath Shinde, Jayant Patil and Balasaheb Thorat, the legislature party leaders of the Shiv Sena, NCP and Congress.

SC asks Abhishek Manu Singhvi to withdraw plea

Supreme Court asks Abhishek Manu Singhvi, lawyer for Congress and NCP, to withdraw fresh petition with affidavits of 154 Maharashtra MLAs supporting Opposition combine as it has not been supplied to the BJP, reports PTI. Whatever you file in court, you need to give to other side: court tells Singhvi, who withdraws the plea.

SC can’t review Governor’s discretionary power: BJP, govt lawyers

Governor’s discretionary power cannot be judicially reviewed: BJP lawyer Mukul Rohatgi tells Supreme Court. Governor in absolute discretion invited largest party—the BJP—on November 23: Solicitor General Tushar Mehta tells court…..Click Here

Paytm raises a billion dollars at a valuation of $16 bn, plans expansion

Ant Financial and SoftBank back it with full force; money will go for expansion in small cities, towns

In a mega funding round, Paytm, the country’s top financial technology entity, has raised a billion dollars (Rs 7,200 crore), at a valuation of $16 billion, from existing shareholders Ant Financial, Softbank Vision Fund and also new investors, including funds and accounts advised by T Rowe Price Associates, among others.

Discovery Capital, an existing shareholder, also participated in the round. Paytm plans to invest Rs 10,000 crore over the next three years, with the stated aim of expanding its services in tier-III cities and smaller towns.

With this funding round, the Vijay Shekhar Sharma-led fintech giant has become a top-tier Asian digital firm, much ahead of others. In this round, the company made a $1-billion equity closure, where SoftBank Vision Fund (SVF) invested $200 million, Jack Ma’s Ant Financial added $400 million and the balance amount came from T Rowe Price and Discovery, among others.

This has happened in a climate where investors are not making big bets on companies and SoftBank is still reeling from the WeWork Initial Public Offer debacle. Till now, Paytm has raised a little over $2.5 billion in investments. Proceeds from the latest round would be directed towards further expanding it’s payment and financial services business….

Reliance likely to make bid for RCom and its related companies today

Bharti Airtel also likely to reconsider its decision and bid

Having asked for a 10-day extension from a Resolution Professional, Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance group is expected to make a bid for his brother Anil Ambani’s Reliance Communications (RCom) and its related companies on Monday.

The companies are up for grabs as going concerns from the Anil Ambani stable under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC) process. They include RCom, Reliance Telecom (which has the spectrum), and Reliance Telecom Infrastructure which houses the tower and fibre assets. Rcom also has subsidiaries which control its real estate and data centre businesses. The bids close on Monday and it is expected that the committee of creditors will open them on the same day for discussions.

The structure of how the bid will be made is not clear as, under the regulatory rules, a bid by Reliance Jio (which is not a listed entity) acquiring RCom (a listed entity) would require the former to merge the latter. Yet that is clearly not acceptable to the group which is looking at coming out with a separate IPO for Jio. An e-mail to Jio elicited no response. It is also expected that Bharti Airtel, which had complained to the Resolution Professional that the extension given to Mukesh Ambani was unfair and had withdrawn its offer, might reconsider and also bid.

The others expected to put in bids include US-based PE fund Varde Partners, I Squared Capital (for Reliance Communication’s data centres and optic fibre assets), and Delhi-based UV Asset Reconstruction Company. The latter had earlier won its sole bid for the Aircel group (which was also under the IBC) for Rs 150 crore. Bharti had already earlier announced that it would be making a conditional bid through Bharti Airtel and Bharti Infratel. A Bharti spokesperson had at that time confirmed that it had made a conditional bid primarily for the spectrum — a precious asset…

Rural India open defecation free? Not quite, shows NSO survey report

Around 71.3 per cent of rural households and 96.2 per cent of urban households had access to toilets during 2018, according to the survey

More than one-fourth of households in villages have no access to toilets, according to the latest official survey conducted by the National Statistical Office (NSO).

Around 71.3 per cent of rural households and 96.2 per cent of urban households had access to toilets during 2018, according to the NSO’s “Drinking Water, Sanitation, Hygiene and Housing Condition in India” report, released on Saturday. The survey was conducted between July and December last year. The findings have come more than a month after Prime Minister Narendra Modi declared rural India to be open defecation-free (ODF).

According to the survey, a household has access to a toilet if a majority of its members has the facility of using it. This included toilets exclusively used by households, commonly used in the same building, or public-use toilets with or without payment.

The National Democratic Alliance government in 2014, by launching the Swachh Bharat Mission, had set a target of making rural areas open defecation-free by October 2 this year, the 150th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi. A target was to “provide access to toilet facilities to all rural households in the country”.

“Today, rural India has declared itself ‘open defecation-free’. This is the strength and proof of success of the Swachh Bharat Mission. We are getting appreciated and awarded for providing toilets to over 660 million people in 60 months by building 110 million toilets in five years,” Modi said at a function in Gujarat on October 2 this year.

Two data sets presented in the survey report — household access to toilets and benefits received from government schemes on sanitation — were at the heart of a disagreement between the NSO and the government on the official survey results, leading to a six-month delay in the release of the report…Click Here

Liquor ban: Over 200,000 cases pile-up, irked Patna HC raps Bihar govt

The HC has asked the Bihar government to explain the details of the infrastructure and mechanism it plans to develop to deal with mounting prohibition-related cases

Latest News: Bihar government’s alcohol ban in the state may or may not have delivered desired results yet, but the move has put a huge burden on the judiciary.

The judiciary, already burdened with a large number of pending cases, has to now settle over 200,000 prohibition-related cases, including nearly 40,000 bail petitions pending with the Patna High Court. The HC has asked Nitish Kumar-led Bihar government to explain the details of the infrastructure and mechanism it plans to develop to deal with mounting prohibition-related cases, according to a news report in The Times of India.

“In how many such cases has the state government appealed the high court’s order in the Supreme Court?,” a bench asked advocate general Lalit Kishore. In reply, the advocate general said the state government had moved the SC on several occasions but he didn’t mention the number of cases. The bench also sought to know what action the Bihar government has taken to pursue the cases filed in the SC challenging the enforcement of prohibition in the state…

Uber faces fresh legal attack for refusing to treat drivers as employees

A lawyer who’s been fighting the ride-hailing giant in court for six years wants a judge to now take into account the extra costs saddled on California taxpayers by Uber’s business model

Uber Technologies Inc. faces a new legal attack on its refusal to treat drivers as employees that depicts the company as mistreating not just them but the public at large. A lawyer who’s been fighting the ride-hailing giant in court for six years wants a judge to now take into account the extra costs saddled on California taxpayers by Uber’s business model.

Drivers being cheated out of wages and not being reimbursed for expenses causes California to lose out on payroll taxes, attorney Shannon Liss-Riordan said in an interview. Uber also avoids paying premiums for workers compensation, social security, unemployment and disability insurance, and public assistance for drivers who can’t support themselves, she said.

The company has warned that attempts to convert its drivers from independent contractors to employees under California’s recently passed AB 5 law, which goes into effect Jan. 1, will be handled as they always have: by its armies of lawyers in courtroom combat. For good measure, Uber is pouring tens of millions of dollars into a 2020 ballot initiative in an attempt to shield its drivers from the law.

Uber says the driver Liss-Riordan is representing, Thomas Colopy, can’t show its labor model causes him “irreparable harm.” His request for the company to be forced to reclassify drivers “does not serve the public interest, but rather only his own,” Uber said in a court filing.

The case was argued Thursday before US District Judge Edward Chen, who handled one of their previous battles that ended in a $20 million settlement without any change to the company’s business model.

How a potential $5 bn DHFL write-off can worsen the shadow bank crisis

The potential write-off would place an additional burden on Indian banks already struggling with $130 billion of bad loans, one of the highest levels in the world

India’s surprise seizure of a troubled shadow bank won’t end the woes of its lenders, faced with the risk of heavy write-offs if Dewan Housing Finance Corp. is declared a fraudulent account.

That’s because the Reserve Bank of India requires banks to provision fully for their entire exposure over four quarters if they decide a loan account involves fraud. The decision on Dewan will be based on a final report by the international accountancy firm KPMG on the firm’s lending practices, which is due to be submitted soon, according to bankers with knowledge of the matter, who asked not to be identified further.

An interim KPMG study of Dewan’s books earlier this year cited anomalies including 165 billion rupees of loans to entities connected to the company’s founders, equivalent to just under half of the banks’ total exposure of 380 billion rupees ($5.3 billion) to the shadow lender.

“If Dewan is tagged as a fraud account that will create significant additional provisioning requirement and will further dent the profits of banks,” said Mitul Budhbhatti, the head of financial institutions at CARE Ratings Ltd. A total write-off would counter some of the optimism about efforts to contain the shadow banking crisis sparked by the Reserve Bank of India’s Wednesday move to remove Dewan’s management and initiate bankruptcy procedures. It would place an additional burden on Indian banks already struggling with $130 billion of bad loans, one of the highest levels in the world….

Cong seeks JPC probe into electoral bonds, says it’s threat to democracy

The party also sought an early decision on the issue by the Supreme Court on the legality of these bonds

Stepping up its attack on the Union government over the electoral bonds issue, the Congress on Thursday sought an inquiry by a joint parliamentary committee (JPC) into these “opaque” donations.

The party also sought an early decision on the issue by the Supreme Court on the legality of these bonds. Addressing a press conference in New Delhi, Congress leader Manish Tewari said the party will continue to raise the issue in the Rajya Sabha and the Lok Sabha as it considers it to be a “threat to democracy”.

Earlier in the day, the party in the Lok Sabha accused the Union government of making “government corruption official” by introducing anonymous electoral bonds, and said the earlier regulation over the influence of the rich on politics is no longer there.

Tewari raised the issue during the Zero Hour but his reference to the role of the Prime Minister’s Office prompted Speaker Om Birla to turn off his mic and ask another member to raise his issue, prompting protests from Congress members.

Congress President Sonia Gandhi, who was in the House, then left her seat and led a walkout by her party members.Tewari earlier said despite reservations expressed by the Reserve Bank of India and the Election Commission, the government went ahead with the introduction of electoral bond. “This made government corruption official,” he said. There used to be control over the influence of the rich on politics earlier, Tewari said, adding this scheme introduced through the 2017 budget made donation anonymous….

Sony eyes up to 30% stake in Mukesh Ambani’s Network18 after Zee bid failed

Sony, said sources, is expected to evaluate its options carefully owing to regulation around foreign direct investment in media

Japanese major Sony Corporation is in preliminary talks with Mukesh Ambani’s Network18 Media & Investments for a possible stake buy, making it the second attempt by the group in 10 months for a local acquisition.

In March, Sony had emerged the front runner to acquire a 20 per cent stake in Zee after the promoters of the latter said they were ready to offload up to half their shareholding to a strategic investor.

The talks had eventually fallen through over a valuation mismatch, forcing the Japanese major, which runs a bouquet of entertainment channels in the country, to look elsewhere, said persons in the know. Apart from a stake buy, some other options on the table include a merger of the entertainment businesses of Sony and Network18 Media, they said, as the Japanese major seeks to consolidate its presence in India, a market it considers key.

Sony, said sources, is expected to evaluate its options carefully owing to regulation around foreign direct investment in media. While 100 per cent FDI is permitted in the entertainment broadcast business here, FDI in news media is capped at 26 per cent, both in the broadcast and digital segments.

Sony may go for a 25-30 per cent stake in Network18, said persons in the know. Network18’s FY19 gross debt stood at Rs 3,045 crore, while net debt stood at Rs 2,860 crore. Based on Thursday’s close, Network18’s market capitalisation stood at Rs 2,900 crore, the data from the BSE shows…

NTPC may shell Rs 10,000 crore for Centre’s stake in NEEPCO, THDC: Report

The Centre holds entire 100% stake in NEEPCO and has 75% holding in THDC

Country’s largest power producer NTPC may make an aggressive bid of about Rs 10,000 crore to buy out the Centre’s stake in two hydro power producing companies – NEEPCO and THDC, two persons having knowledge of the development said.

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) on Wednesday cleared strategic disinvestment in the two hydroelectric power generating PSUs in favour of NTPC that is looking to expand its operations and boost the renewable portfolio.

One of the persons quoted above said that the thermal power generator may offer close to Rs 10,000 crore though the transaction advisor will come to valuations about the entities later. The portfolio of projects with the NEEPCO and THDC make it a fit case to command good value.

The Centre holds entire 100 per cent stake in NEEPCO that operates close to 1,500 MW of power plants in the northeastern region, and has 75 per cent holding in THDC. The Uttar Pradesh government holds the balance 25 per cent stake in THDC India.

The stake sale would be only disinvestment proposal this year where a state-owned entity would pick up government equity in another public sector undertaking (PSU). In the case of BPCL disinvestment, the government is eyeing a private sector global MNC to take its entire equity….

Chandrayaan 2: Vikram hard-landed within 500 meters of landing site: Govt

In a written reply to a question in the Lok Sabha, Jitendra Singh, said the first phase of descent was performed from an altitude of 30 kms to 7.4 kms

Chandrayaan-2’s Vikram lander hard-landed as reduction in velocity during its descent was more than the designed parameters, the government said on Wednesday throwing more light on ISRO’s dashed hopes of making a soft landing on the lunar surface in its maiden attempt.

In a written reply to a question in the Lok Sabha, Jitendra Singh, the minister of state in the Prime Minister’s Office, who looks after the department of space, said the first phase of descent was performed nominally from an altitude of 30 kms to 7.4 kms above the moon’s surface and velocity was reduced from 1,683 metres per second to 146 metres per second.

“During the second phase of descent, the reduction in velocity was more than the designed value. Due to this deviation, the initial conditions at the start of the fine braking phase were beyond the designed parameters. As a result, Vikram hard-landed within 500 metres of the designated landing site,” he said.

Singh, however, said most components of technology demonstration, including the launch, orbital critical maneuvers, lander separation, de-boost and rough braking phase were successfully accomplished.

With regards to the scientific objectives, all the eight state-of-the-art scientific instruments of the orbiter are performing according to the design and providing valuable scientific data. Due to the precise launch and orbital maneuvers, the mission life of the orbiter is increased to seven years, he said…

Read More: Chandrayan 2

Maharashtra govt formation : Congress ‘agrees’ to Sena-NCP alliance

Maharashtra government formation LIVE updates: NCP and Shiv Sena leaders said that the political impasse in the state would end today.

Maharashtra’s wait for a government continues since the assembly elections, which were held a month ago, in spite of frantic talks involving all four probable stakeholders of power – Bharatiya Janta Party, Nationalist Congress Party, Shiv Sena and the Congress party.

The coveted chief minister’s post is the bone of contention between the former allies – Shiv Sena and BJP and the probable NCP-Congress-Sena alliance.

On Wednesday, Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut told reporters that the chief minister of the state will be from his party, but parried question on whether the Sena would hold the post for five years.

Maharashtra govt formation : Congress ‘agrees’ to Sena-NCP alliance

Maharashtra assembly were held on October 21 and were fought by two alliances – BJP-Shiv Sena and Congress-NCP. The BJP-Shiv Sena coalition comfortably crossed the majority mark. However, the saffron parties severed ties with each other. Arithmetically speaking, no party in Maharashtra had the ability to form a government without the help of any other. As none of the political parties succeeded in getting the numbers, Maharashtra governor imposed President’s rule on the state.

CATCH ALL THE LIVE UPDATES

• Decision on Maharashtra by Friday; CWC agrees to go ahead for govt formation with Shiv Sena: Cong sources
• Congress leader KC Venugopal on CWC meeting: We have apprised the CWC members of the latest political situation in Maharashtra. Today, Congress-NCP discussion will continue. I think, tomorrow, we will probably have a decision in Mumbai.
• Mallikarjun Kharge, Congress on Maharashtra govt formation: The Congress Working Committee today discussed and decided what steps need to be taken ahead. We will now take steps as decided in the meeting.
• A final decision on the new government in Maharashtra will be taken in the next two days, Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut said on Thursday. (He told reporters that there there are no plans of any meeting between Congress president Sonia Gandhi and Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray this week.)

Pramit Jhaveri, who brought scale to Citi’s India business, retires early

His resignation was announced by the Citi Asia Pacific chief executive Peter Babej over email to the employees

Pramit Jhaveri, the former country head of Citi India, has taken an early retirement after spending close to four decades at the bank in various capacities, sources said on Wednesday.

The 56-year-old Jhaveri had joined the Wall Street major as a management associate way back in 1987, and had a steady rise to become vice-chairman of banking, capital markets and advisory for Asia Pacific earlier this year, after heading the India operations for almost a decade between 2010 and 2019.

His retirement was announced by the Citi Asia Pacific chief executive Peter Babej over email to the employees, the sources said. Babej’s mail lists out the key milestones in City Jhaveri‘s 32-year-long association with Citi, including his leadership of India operations. “Jhaveri’s leadership, partnership and friendship will be missed across our firm,” the memo, which was reviewed by PTI, said.

A Citi spokesperson confirmed the development but without offering details. “Jhaveri has decided to retire from Citi. During his tenure, he built a strong team and established Citi as a market leader in the country,” the spokesperson said. Under his helm, the bank’s domestic assets almost doubled (95.48 percent to be precise) between FY10 and FY19, to Rs 1.86 lakh crore, while gross non-performing assets improved massively to 1.37 percent in March 2019 from 3.43 percent in March 2010....

Tharoor-led Parliamentary panel decides to take up WhatsApp ‘spying’ issue

Headed by Shashi Tharoor, committee meet got off to a stormy start; the matter was put to vote

The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Information Technology (IT), headed by Member of Parliament Shashi Tharoor, met on Wednesday and got off to a stormy start, with members being at odds over whether to take up the WhatsApp-Pegasus snooping issue.

Eventually, the matter was put to vote and the panel decided in favour of discussing the issue that involves snooping on 121 Indians. The meeting, which lasted over two and a half hours, took a political turn, with members taking sides, while the ruling alliance members were largely opposed to taking up the WhatsApp Spying issue. The voting on whether WhatsApp-Pegasus should be discussed ended in a tie. It was Tharoor’s vote in favour that ended the debate.

In May, WhatsApp became aware of NSO Group, an Israeli company, having used a coding glitch in the messaging app that let its customers spy on some people. The software developed by NSO Group for spying is called Pegasus. As many as 1,400 people were targeted by the spyware worldwide and 121 in India — most of them being activists and journalists.

On October 29, WhatsApp decided to sue NSO Group for misusing the messaging platform’s code to compromise user privacy. The issue has since taken a political turn, with the government asking WhatsApp to explain the breach of Indians’ privacy. The government has also come under some heat for not answering whether any of its agencies bought the Pegasus software….

Cube Highways’ Rs 5,000-cr bid the highest for third lot of TOT projects

The National investment and Infrastructure Fund quoted Rs 4,230 crore while Mumbai-based IRB quoted Rs 3,510 crore

Cube Highways has emerged as the highest bidder for the third bundle of the toll-operate-transfer (TOT) projects offered by the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) by quoting Rs 5,011-crore fee.

The National investment and Infrastructure Fund (NIIF) quoted Rs 4,230 crore while Mumbai-based IRB quoted Rs 3,510 crore. The authority had estimated around Rs 4,995 crore from monetisation of this tranche of 566 km of highways under the TOT model, sources said. The first bundle of the monetisation programme gave NHAI Rs 9,682 crore.

The second bundle was cancelled last year after the response was lukewarm and the bids were below the base price. The bids for the third bundle were invited on June 13 this year, and the last date for the submission of bids was September 11. Nine highway stretches of 566.27 km in Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, and Tamil Nadu are on offer in the third bundle.

Several more bundles will be offered in the months to come, NHAI had said at the road show for the third bundle. Crisil Infrastructure Advisory were the transaction advisors for this tranche. The government is banking on the TOT model for monetisation of completed road stretches. These contracts requires private operators to manage and maintain roads while collecting toll on them. Since these are constructed projects, there is no construction or road acquisition risks involved the contracts...

Govt clears Code on Industrial Relations Bill; retrenchment norms not eased

Proposes to give legal backing to fixed-term employment

The Centre on Wednesday approved the Code on Industrial Relations (IR) Bill, 2019 — considered to be the most contentious labour law amendments. The central government has withdrawn its proposal to give flexibility to big companies, in terms of manpower, to retrench or lay off workers and shut shop without seeking official consent, a government official said, requesting anonymity.

As a result, another proposal to increase the compensation for retrenched or laid off workers is also not a part of the Bill. However, instead of going for a change in the central law, there are provisions in the Bill which safeguards the amendments brought in by various state governments, giving flexibility to companies to “hire and fire” workers — a move that may be cheered by the industry.

To further help industries in hiring contract workers directly, the government has proposed to introduce the concept of fixed-term employment in the labour laws. Sitharaman said the Bill has proposed giving a legal framework for fixed-term employment through which contract workers serving a fixed-tenure will get equal statutory social security benefits as regular workers in the same unit.

Under the present system, firms resort to hiring contract workers through contractors and they argue that it’s a resourceful exercise. Through the fixed-term employment system, companies will be able to hire contract workers directly. “All workers, under a fixed-term contract, will be taken up on depending upon seasonality of industry but will be treated on a par with regular workers. This is the biggest feature (of this labour law amendment),” Sitharaman said….

These tribals were displaced from C’garh. Can they get land rights in AP?

At least 190,000 Adivasis have been forcefully evicted or displaced since 2005 without compensation or rehabilitation, according to six cases documented so far by Land Conflict Watch

“I will never go back,” said Madakam Adama, referring to his home in Chhattisgarh’s Gedampal village, which he last saw 13 years ago, in 2006. Adama, who looks about 60 but says he is 45, now lives in Kota Namilipeta, a settlement of 27 mud-walled houses in the middle of a forest in Andhra Pradesh’s West Godavari district.

Adama is among the thousands of Adivasis (tribal, indigeneous people) displaced from their homes and villages in southern Chhattisgarh. The Adivasis were fleeing violence allegedly inflicted by a state-sponsored militia, the Salwa Judum, soon after it was formed in mid-2005. The Supreme Court banned the Salwa Judum in 2011, calling it unconstitutional and the state support to it “a matter of gravest constitutional concerns and deserving of the severest constitutional opprobrium”.

The displaced Adivasis, who had found refuge in the forests of Andhra Pradesh, feared retribution if they returned home. They eventually settled on land that they had cleared in Andhra forests. At least 500 of these families have now applied for land titles for their new houses and small farms under the Forest Rights Act (FRA). They are relying on a special provision meant to rehabilitate displaced Adivasis and other traditional forest dwellers, which has never been used before.

Adivasis have never before sought relief under Section 3(1)(m) of the Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act, 2006, or FRA. There is a hurdle that the families will have to overcome, though. According to FRA, claims for forest rights can only be made on land that the claimants occupied before December 13, 2005, the day on which the Forest Rights Act was placed before the Lok Sabha, the lower house of India’s parliament. The majority of the Adivasis fled Chhattisgarh in 2006…

Only 51 days of work per household given under MNREGS in 2018-19

Govt said the total number of individuals who worked under the scheme in 2015-16 was 72.2 million

Only 51 days of work was provided per household across the country in 2018-19 as against 100 days mandated in the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MNREGA), the Centre said on Tuesday. While the Centre said the number of beneficiaries and budgetary allocation towards the rural employment scheme have increased over the years, the rural development ministry is struggling to meet the targets of the prime minister’s housing for all scheme for rural areas.

According to Rural Development Minister Narendra Tomar’s reply in the Lok Sabha, under the PM Awaas Yojana (Grameen) — restructured from the erstwhile Indira Awaas Yojana from April 1, 2016 — as many as 198,608 houses have been constructed as on November 15 against the target of 527,552 houses.

The minister said total 1,98,136 houses have been completed in Phase I (2016-17 to 2018-19) against the target of 327,552 houses. In Phase II (2019-20 to 2021-22), a mere 472 houses have been completed against the target of 200,000 houses.

On the MNREGA, in a reply to a question by the Bharatiya Janata Party’s Pritam Munde, the minister said the scheme is demand-driven. He said the Centre is engaged with state governments to set up systems to ensure the provision of work according to demand, transparency and accountability, and also take steps to create awareness about the scheme. According to the data, Mizoram topped the list providing 92 workdays, followed by West Bengal (77 workdays) and Kerala (66 workdays)…

Telecom tariff: Jio to follow Airtel, Voda Idea, raise rates in a few weeks

In anticipation of the tariff hike, Reliance Industries’ market cap crossed the Rs 9.5-trillion mark on Tuesday

Reliance Jio, which disrupted the telecom market ever since its commercial launch in 2016, has decided to follow rivals Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Idea in raising mobile phone tariffs. Having kicked off a no holds barred tariff war three years ago, the Mukesh Ambani-owned firm is now stepping back.

According to sources in the know, the tariff hike decision by the telcos is in response to the government wanting the industry to stop the long-drawn price war and set their house in order. In the absence of a tariff hike, Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) may have been forced to impose a floor price for the operators. Also, the government has been of the view that any relief measure for the telecom industry should be given only after telcos get out of the price war, that has left the incumbent operators with record losses and high debt, the sources said.

On Tuesday evening, reliance Jio announced it would take measures including “appropriate increase in tariffs’’ in the next few weeks. The move, industry watchers believe, may bring down the pitch of the bitter battle between the incumbents and a new player. Jio’s announcement comes a day after Airtel and Vodafone Idea said they were hiking tariffs from December 1.

In its statement, Jio has asked the government to mandate a ‘2G mukt’ India in the shortest time if the objectives of Digital India mission has have to be achieved. The Jio demand for a 2G-free country is significant as it’s the only operator offering just 4G services pan-India. Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Idea still have a bulk of their customers using 2G….

From India to Brazil, emerging markets can shore up global economy

South Korea and Brazil are among those with further cuts likely on the horizon, while others like China and Thailand are proceeding more cautiously on further easing

Emerging-economy central banks from India to Brazil still enjoy the firepower to shore up the global economy as their peers from developed markets take to the sidelines. While policy makers at the Federal Reserve and European Central Bank are seemingly set to keep interest rates on hold, many of their developing nation counterparts have room to cut further. That should help support the world economy amid its weakest expansion in a decade.

“In most cases, emerging markets are now in the comfortable position to be able to cushion an economic downturn with monetary easing,” Ulrich Leuchtmann, head of currency strategy at Commerzbank AG in Frankfurt, said in a report this month. “This easing of monetary policy is likely to give a lift to EM economies, and this would also be positive for developed countries.”

Faster Growth

That outlook was underscored this week by Morgan Stanley economists, who predicted emerging markets will grow 4.4% next year, more than three times the 1.3% rate anticipated in the Group of 10 economies.

After 20 of the 32 central banks monitored by the bank eased policy in 2019, its economists forecast 13 will do so in 2020 with the cuts concentrated in emerging markets helping to reduce the global weighted average policy rate to a seven-year low by March. India, Brazil, Indonesia and Turkey can all strike if they need to…

With water plants and hospitals, China is on a charm offensive in Sri Lanka

This month’s presidential election, won by Gotabaya Rajapaksa, puts Beijing back in the driving seat in Sri Lanka

Amid the lush paddy fields of central Sri Lanka, a large, state-of-the-art hospital rises between the cranes and cement mixers.

Its perimeter walls are adorned with pictures of China’s president Xi Jinping and prime minister Li Keqiang, along with Sri Lankan leaders hailing the $67 million gift from Beijing. The hospital, specialising in kidney-related diseases, is helping China gain popular support in a country where its mega-projects have added to rising debt and raised concerns about excessive economic and political leverage.

Water plants and a Chinese radio station promoting its economic and social programmes are part of the campaign to win over doubters. China has invested an estimated $11 billion in Sri Lanka, around $8 billion in the form of loans related to Xi’s signature “Belt and Road Initiative” designed to boost trade and transport links across Asia.

Chinese firms, employing thousands of local workers, have built a giant port and plan to construct power stations and expressways as well. But the terms of some of those projects have drawn criticism from politicians in Sri Lanka and overseas and led to policy reversals that have stalled China’s ambitions on the Indian Ocean island.

“We … expect our companies to help the Sri Lankan people with donations and corporate social responsibility work,” China’s ambassador to Sri Lanka, Cheng Xueyuan, said last month after inviting local journalists on a tour of the big Chinese investment projects on the island…

Mukesh Ambani’s RIL beats BP to make elite club of 6 global energy giants

Reliance has increased 35% this year, compared with BP’s 1.2% gain as it works on cutting high debt levels

Reliance Industries Ltd., run by Asia’s richest man Mukesh Ambani, has eclipsed BP Plc to break into an elite club of energy supermajors.

The Indian conglomerate’s market capitalization was about $133 billion, overtaking the British energy giant’s $132 billion value at the close of trading on Tuesday. Reliance’s shares have increased at three times the pace of India’s benchmark index this year after its billionaire owner in August announced plans to cut the company’s net debt to zero in 18 months through measures including a stake sale in the oil-to-chemicals business to Saudi Aramco. The surge in shares gives Mukesh Ambani a net worth of $56 billion, making him Asia’s richest person, above Alibaba Group’s Jack Ma, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.

Reliance’s market value briefly surpassed BP for the first time at the end of last month, and it has now regained the lead over the British company after its shares ended at a record high in Mumbai. It also narrowing the gap with PetroChina Co., currently Asia’s biggest oil company by market cap.

Reliance has increased 35% this year, compared with BP’s 1.2% gain as it works on cutting high debt levels. Oil companies have struggled because of swings in crude prices and as uncertainty persists over future energy demand.

Reliance, meanwhile, has benefited in a number of ways. It operates the world’s biggest oil-refining complex in western India, which can process low-quality crude and turn it into higher-grade fuels, partly protecting it from volatility in prices...

Indian shadow banks remain weak as credit crisis continues unabated

Authorities have taken more steps recently to help the shadow bank sector, which plays a vital role in getting money to everyone from small merchants to property tycoons

The health of India’s shadow banks remained weak last month as a credit crisis continued to sting. Among four indicators compiled by Bloomberg News covering areas including liquidity and share performance, three were stuck in the same position as the previous month, with two at levels indicating weakness.

Another gauge showed total outstanding debt increased at 50 financial firms and other companies impacted by the crisis, as banking-system liquidity remained buoyant given the central bank’s monetary easing.

To be sure, the absolute amount of outstanding debt wasn’t at alarming levels, and access to credit markets for healthier financiers could help get money flowing more efficiently again — just what the flagging economy needs. But if more troubled borrowers continue to add rather than pare borrowings, that could prolong the crisis.

Authorities have taken more steps recently to help the shadow bank sector, which plays a vital role in getting money to everyone from small merchants to property tycoons. Some observers see an extended battle, as the nation’s slowing economy complicates those efforts.

Moody’s Investors Service recently warned that a prolonged credit squeeze among India’s financiers may worsen, just as S&P Global Ratings said risks of contagion are rising in the financial sector. The premium that investors demand to hold shadow lender bonds over sovereign notes is persistently high and a custom gauge of shares of 20 financial firms and other companies impacted by the crisis remained sluggish…

Read More: Banking Crisis