General Affairs
PM Modi Visits Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque in Abu Dhabi
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ABU DHABI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi today began his two-day trip to the UAE by visiting the historic Sheikh Zayed Grand mosque, the world's third largest.
After his arrival, PM Modi, on first public engagement in Abu Dhabi, visited the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque, a key place of worship in the UAE and known as a masterpiece of Islamic architecture.
The mosque is third largest in the world after the ones in Mecca and Madina in Saudi Arabia. It is named after the founder and first President of the UAE, the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan.
The mosque can accommodate around 40,000 people. The mosque was constructed from 1996 to 2007.
The first Indian Prime Minister to visit the UAE in 34 years, Mr Modi was earlier received by Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi along with his five brothers at the airport, in a departure from protocol. The last dignitary to be received by him was the King of Morocco in May this year.
ABU DHABI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi today began his two-day trip to the UAE by visiting the historic Sheikh Zayed Grand mosque, the world's third largest.After his arrival, PM Modi, on first public engagement in Abu Dhabi, visited the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque, a key place of worship in the UAE and known as a masterpiece of Islamic architecture.
The mosque is third largest in the world after the ones in Mecca and Madina in Saudi Arabia. It is named after the founder and first President of the UAE, the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan.
The mosque can accommodate around 40,000 people. The mosque was constructed from 1996 to 2007.
The first Indian Prime Minister to visit the UAE in 34 years, Mr Modi was earlier received by Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi along with his five brothers at the airport, in a departure from protocol. The last dignitary to be received by him was the King of Morocco in May this year.
On Day 1 in UAE, PM Modi Visits Iconic Mosque, Meets Indian Workers
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ABU DHABI: In the UAE to hold talks on enhancing cooperation in trade and security, Prime Minister Narendra Modi today began his two-day visit to the Gulf nation by visiting an iconic mosque in Abu Dhabi and later interacted with Indian workers.
"This magnificent place of worship strikes you with its size and beauty. It brings together exquisite skills and creations from around the world, and serves as a fine example of human achievements and unity," the PM wrote in the visitors book at the Sheikh Zayed mosque, the third largest in the world.
The PM also posed for a selfie at the mosque, which is constructed with marble brought in from all across the globe, including from India.
PM Modi then visited a residential camp that is home to some 28,000 Indians workers, where he interacted with nearly 300 of them.
Mr Modi, the first Indian PM to visit the UAE in 34 years, was received by Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi at the airport, in a departure from protocol.
I deeply appreciate kind gesture of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, who received me at the airport pic.twitter.com/TjGBVHM3ld
Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) August 16, 2015
Earlier, the PM had described the Gulf country as a "mini-India" close to his heart.
About 2.6 million Indians live in the UAE. "India and UAE have everything to be a top priority for each other. This is the way I look at the UAE. The Gulf region is vital for India's economic, energy and security interests," said PM Modi in an interview to Dubai-based newspaper Khaleej Times.
Improving trade and investment ties between the two nations is high on the PM's agenda and his trip is packed with business meetings. Trade with the UAE is pegged at $60 billion a year, down from 2013 but still third highest after trade with the US and China.
UAE's concern over the spread of Islamic State in the region is also expected to feature in talks.
Tomorrow, PM Modi will go to the Dubai Cricket Stadium, where he will address about 50,000 Indians.
ABU DHABI: In the UAE to hold talks on enhancing cooperation in trade and security, Prime Minister Narendra Modi today began his two-day visit to the Gulf nation by visiting an iconic mosque in Abu Dhabi and later interacted with Indian workers."This magnificent place of worship strikes you with its size and beauty. It brings together exquisite skills and creations from around the world, and serves as a fine example of human achievements and unity," the PM wrote in the visitors book at the Sheikh Zayed mosque, the third largest in the world.
The PM also posed for a selfie at the mosque, which is constructed with marble brought in from all across the globe, including from India.
Mr Modi, the first Indian PM to visit the UAE in 34 years, was received by Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi at the airport, in a departure from protocol.
I deeply appreciate kind gesture of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, who received me at the airport pic.twitter.com/TjGBVHM3ld
Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) August 16, 2015
Earlier, the PM had described the Gulf country as a "mini-India" close to his heart.
About 2.6 million Indians live in the UAE. "India and UAE have everything to be a top priority for each other. This is the way I look at the UAE. The Gulf region is vital for India's economic, energy and security interests," said PM Modi in an interview to Dubai-based newspaper Khaleej Times.
Improving trade and investment ties between the two nations is high on the PM's agenda and his trip is packed with business meetings. Trade with the UAE is pegged at $60 billion a year, down from 2013 but still third highest after trade with the US and China.
UAE's concern over the spread of Islamic State in the region is also expected to feature in talks.
Tomorrow, PM Modi will go to the Dubai Cricket Stadium, where he will address about 50,000 Indians.
OROP: Ex-Servicemen to Launch Indefinite Hunger Strike From August 24
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NEW DELHI: Disappointed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi's assurance that the government has accepted "in principle" their demand for 'One Rank One Pension' (OROP), ex-servicemen today announced intensification of their stir by deciding to launch an indefinite hunger strike from August 24.
"A group of ex-servicemen will start an indefinite fast here from August 24," Col (Retd) Anil Kaul, media advisor to the United Front of Ex-Servicemen Movement, said as the agitation at Jantar Mantar entered the 63rd day today.
The protestors have been on a relay hunger strike so far. In his speech yesterday, PM Modi had not given a specific timeline for the implementation of OROP, but stressed that talks were in the final stages, drawing sharp reactions from ex-servicemen who vowed to step up their protest.
Meanwhile, AAP MLA Col (Retd) Devinder Sehrawat, who skipped the President's at-home reception on Independence Day over the demand, has written to Mr Pranab Mukherjee seeking his intervention on behalf of the protesting ex-servicemen.
"I have to inform you with a heavy heart that the ex-servicemen are languishing on the road, undergoing shabby and disgraceful treatment at the hands of police and municipal authorities, as they protest for their rightful demand of OROP."
"Pardon my audacity, but they do expect your intervention in the matter," Mr Sehrawat said in his letter yesterday to the President -- who is the Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces.
The AAP legislator from Delhi's Bijwasan constituency, Mr Sehrawat also said he will "actively" participate in a dharna called by ex-servicemen over the OROP demand as no firm timeframe has been declared for its implementation.
Ex-servicemen are holding a protest at Jantar Mantar and in other parts of the country for two months demanding early implementation of OROP.
NEW DELHI: Disappointed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi's assurance that the government has accepted "in principle" their demand for 'One Rank One Pension' (OROP), ex-servicemen today announced intensification of their stir by deciding to launch an indefinite hunger strike from August 24."A group of ex-servicemen will start an indefinite fast here from August 24," Col (Retd) Anil Kaul, media advisor to the United Front of Ex-Servicemen Movement, said as the agitation at Jantar Mantar entered the 63rd day today.
The protestors have been on a relay hunger strike so far. In his speech yesterday, PM Modi had not given a specific timeline for the implementation of OROP, but stressed that talks were in the final stages, drawing sharp reactions from ex-servicemen who vowed to step up their protest.
"I have to inform you with a heavy heart that the ex-servicemen are languishing on the road, undergoing shabby and disgraceful treatment at the hands of police and municipal authorities, as they protest for their rightful demand of OROP."
"Pardon my audacity, but they do expect your intervention in the matter," Mr Sehrawat said in his letter yesterday to the President -- who is the Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces.
The AAP legislator from Delhi's Bijwasan constituency, Mr Sehrawat also said he will "actively" participate in a dharna called by ex-servicemen over the OROP demand as no firm timeframe has been declared for its implementation.
Ex-servicemen are holding a protest at Jantar Mantar and in other parts of the country for two months demanding early implementation of OROP.
PM Narendra Modi's Silence on Ceasefire Violations Hurtful: Omar Abdullah
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SRINAGAR: Former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah today questioned the "silence" of Prime Minister Narendra Modi over ceasefire violations by Pakistan which claimed six lives, terming it as "hurtful".
"6 inc.(including) a woman & 12 yr (year) old boy are dead sir. They're part of your #TeamIndia. As captain of the team your silence is hurtful sir @PMOIndia," Mr Abdullah wrote on social microblogging site Twitter.
The working president of the opposition National Conference (NC) earlier said he was "sorry" to see that the Prime Minister could not tweet a condolence message after people were killed in the shelling.
"So sorry to see that my PM, who remembers to tweet for every obscure birthday & National Day can't tweet a condolence for the dead today," he said.
In another tweet, Mr Abdullah said his father Mr Farooq Abdullah was the only senior political leader to visit the areas near the Line of Control in Poonch.
"So far my father is the only senior person to visit this area in Poonch to boost morale. High time Ministers of Center & State visit now," he said.
Mr Abdullah also lashed out at Minister of state in the Prime Minister's Office Jitendra Singh, saying he was "heaping insult on injury".
"Someone please get him to keep quiet. He's heaping insult on injury now," Mr Abdullah tweeted after Mr Singh reportedly said that "people living along borders now feel much more secure than ever before".
SRINAGAR: Former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah today questioned the "silence" of Prime Minister Narendra Modi over ceasefire violations by Pakistan which claimed six lives, terming it as "hurtful"."6 inc.(including) a woman & 12 yr (year) old boy are dead sir. They're part of your #TeamIndia. As captain of the team your silence is hurtful sir @PMOIndia," Mr Abdullah wrote on social microblogging site Twitter.
The working president of the opposition National Conference (NC) earlier said he was "sorry" to see that the Prime Minister could not tweet a condolence message after people were killed in the shelling.
In another tweet, Mr Abdullah said his father Mr Farooq Abdullah was the only senior political leader to visit the areas near the Line of Control in Poonch.
"So far my father is the only senior person to visit this area in Poonch to boost morale. High time Ministers of Center & State visit now," he said.
Mr Abdullah also lashed out at Minister of state in the Prime Minister's Office Jitendra Singh, saying he was "heaping insult on injury".
"Someone please get him to keep quiet. He's heaping insult on injury now," Mr Abdullah tweeted after Mr Singh reportedly said that "people living along borders now feel much more secure than ever before".
Guwahati lab Terms Maggi Noodles Sample as 'Misbranded'
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AIZAWL: Three days after the Bombay High Court lifted ban on Maggi noodles, a Guwahati laboratory termed the samples of noodles as 'misbranded', state Joint Director (Food and Drugs Administration) Lalsawma today said.
Lalsawma said that the samples, which were collected from Mizoram, were sent to the Assam Public Health Laboratory in Guwahati and the results were recently received in Aizawl in which Mono Sodium Glutamate (Ajinomoto) was found.
"While the MNC major claimed that the instant noodle packages did not contain Mono Sodium Glutamate, the laboratory tests came out positive of the chemical," he said, adding that the laboratory labelled the samples from Mizoram as 'misbranded'.
The report of the laboratory would now be sent to the Food Safety and Standard Authority of India (FSSAI), he added.
The reports came in the wake of the Bombay High Court on August 13 setting aside the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) ban order on Maggi noodles and having told the food authority to justify the ban on six variants of the product.
However, Nestle will not be able to sell its marquee product just yet, the court had ruled, adding that preserved samples will now have to be tested in three different labs located in Jaipur, Mohali and Hyderabad in a span of six weeks.
AIZAWL: Three days after the Bombay High Court lifted ban on Maggi noodles, a Guwahati laboratory termed the samples of noodles as 'misbranded', state Joint Director (Food and Drugs Administration) Lalsawma today said.Lalsawma said that the samples, which were collected from Mizoram, were sent to the Assam Public Health Laboratory in Guwahati and the results were recently received in Aizawl in which Mono Sodium Glutamate (Ajinomoto) was found.
"While the MNC major claimed that the instant noodle packages did not contain Mono Sodium Glutamate, the laboratory tests came out positive of the chemical," he said, adding that the laboratory labelled the samples from Mizoram as 'misbranded'.
The reports came in the wake of the Bombay High Court on August 13 setting aside the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) ban order on Maggi noodles and having told the food authority to justify the ban on six variants of the product.
However, Nestle will not be able to sell its marquee product just yet, the court had ruled, adding that preserved samples will now have to be tested in three different labs located in Jaipur, Mohali and Hyderabad in a span of six weeks.
Business Affairs
The Company that Killed HR
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Three years ago, Sanjay Mehta, the suave Managing Director of Teleperformance India, decided to do something fairly radical for the company of over 5,000 employees. He closed down the Human Resource (HR) department.
HR practices have always come in for a fair bit of scrutiny. Take the way Accenture recently belled the assessment cat. It dumped the statistics-driven bell curve performance appraisal system terming it unfair. But it's rare that a company actually bumps off the whole HR department itself. More so when it is a people-centric BPO business.
Well, to be fair, Teleperformance did not kill the important tasks that the HR function does - it just totally rewired the HR structure.
The fabric of HR needs to change, believes Mehta. When there is an overdrive of process, it kills experience, he says. This is why the Indian arm of the $3.7 billion global outsourcing firm decided to take a hard look at its people practices. Mehta describes how there was a yawning gap between the demands and expectations from the HR function. For instance, talent retention was a big challenge in an industry marked by high attrition levels, led primarily by a young team with average age of 18 to 25 years. " There was a gap between the expectations and delivery to nurture talent in the organisation. In our industry, retention of the talent is just as crucial as acquiring the right kind of talent from the available pool," he says.
The company began introspecting on how it could rewire its HR. "What does HR do? Manage talent and also take care of administrative processes like payroll and so on," says Mehta.
So much like the suggestion of management guru Ram Charan, who, in a compelling Harvard Business Review (HBR) article written in 2014, had advocated that the HR function should be split into two. Teleperformance ruthlessly engineered the divide.
It handed over the payroll function to finance. And the role of the HR function was redefined as talent excellence guardians. This included acquisition, engagement, care and retention of employees.
"We rewired HR to talent excellence in 2012 prior to this article. There was no personal advice or external advice. Just seemed the right thing to do basis employee centricity to advance employee experience," says Sanjay Mehta.
Now came the task of finding a team of people to handle the task of talent management. Only somebody who had been through the operations of Teleperformance, and had been an agent himself could understand the needs and issues of the employees, it was felt. So, a Teleperformer who was in the thick of operations - Amandeep Singh Arora - was handpicked and brought in as Vice President-Talent Excellence in 2012.
Arora describes how he had been with TP India for almost 13 years, starting out as an agent, and then working across functions, including in the training department. He was senior manager for operations when he was chosen to front-end talent - both retention and acquisition. "I had experience of doing 90 per cent of the tasks that our organisation does," says Arora.
Amandeep Singh Arora (standing) with employees. Arora was handpicked and brought in as Vice President-Talent Excellence in 2012
His brief was simple: as somebody who had lived, practised and felt what the agents did in the organisation, he had to map out their needs and aspirations. "Essentially, I was putting all the journey I had in the organisation on a new canvas," says Arora.
So how did he and his team of seven (five handpicked from operations) re-engineer it? "There was nothing special really that we did," says Arora. "What we did was proper listening to understand what our agents wanted, what are their concerns, what do they look forward to."
LISTENING HARD
Today, as all scores show that both employee engagement and productivity have risen multifold, Arora feels the biggest contributing factor was the way they set about providing avenues for people to listen to each other.
Town halls - that much feted and talked about engagement tool - were junked. As Mehta points out, like everybody else Teleperformance too had earlier held town halls but soon found out that nobody really shared serious grievances during such assemblies.
So in its place personalised CEO chat sessions were arranged. Mehta would meet employees in small batches of 15 to 20 people. Forty sessions were held last year (2014) and about 900 of the 5,000-odd employees got to chat and share their wants and aspirations.
But even this was not deemed enough. So in a clever twist, Teleperformance used its core strength - call centre operations - to create a standalone channel for its employees. You could call it a call centre for its own employees.
With the employee care (e-care) ticket channel, the lines were opened for all its 5,000 employees across three sites and four offices to log in and voice whatever they felt. "It was a real-time pulse check of what people wanted," says Arora.
Six thousand tickets came in last year and ranged from complaints, suggestions, fresh ideas on issues ranging from integrity, salary, food, travel, facilities and so on. "From ideas on training needs to basic hygiene issues, we started getting a lot of feedback," says Arora.
Managed like a mini call centre for employees, the e-care ticketing system was connected to the intranet of the organisation, where employees could log-in to 'My zone' and post an e-care request. A round-the-clock system, e-ticketing is managed by a team of eight whose responsibility was to provide first resolution within 24 hours of a ticket being raised, and case closure in 72 hours.
A daily report (Voice of Internal Customer Report) is prepared and shared with the MD (Mehta), CFO and heads of various departments, so everybody is in the loop and listening in directly to employees.
So what have been the learnings from rewiring the HR at Teleperformance? Arora says while listening was key, the other big learning was not to create unnecessary processes for the sake of processes. Instead, understand what the business is all about and work to optimise it.
As Mehta sums up, HR systems should be the icing on the cake, but if the cake is not there, then where is the fun.
Three years ago, Sanjay Mehta, the suave Managing Director of Teleperformance India, decided to do something fairly radical for the company of over 5,000 employees. He closed down the Human Resource (HR) department.
HR practices have always come in for a fair bit of scrutiny. Take the way Accenture recently belled the assessment cat. It dumped the statistics-driven bell curve performance appraisal system terming it unfair. But it's rare that a company actually bumps off the whole HR department itself. More so when it is a people-centric BPO business.
Well, to be fair, Teleperformance did not kill the important tasks that the HR function does - it just totally rewired the HR structure.
The fabric of HR needs to change, believes Mehta. When there is an overdrive of process, it kills experience, he says. This is why the Indian arm of the $3.7 billion global outsourcing firm decided to take a hard look at its people practices. Mehta describes how there was a yawning gap between the demands and expectations from the HR function. For instance, talent retention was a big challenge in an industry marked by high attrition levels, led primarily by a young team with average age of 18 to 25 years. " There was a gap between the expectations and delivery to nurture talent in the organisation. In our industry, retention of the talent is just as crucial as acquiring the right kind of talent from the available pool," he says.
The company began introspecting on how it could rewire its HR. "What does HR do? Manage talent and also take care of administrative processes like payroll and so on," says Mehta.
So much like the suggestion of management guru Ram Charan, who, in a compelling Harvard Business Review (HBR) article written in 2014, had advocated that the HR function should be split into two. Teleperformance ruthlessly engineered the divide.
It handed over the payroll function to finance. And the role of the HR function was redefined as talent excellence guardians. This included acquisition, engagement, care and retention of employees.
"We rewired HR to talent excellence in 2012 prior to this article. There was no personal advice or external advice. Just seemed the right thing to do basis employee centricity to advance employee experience," says Sanjay Mehta.
Now came the task of finding a team of people to handle the task of talent management. Only somebody who had been through the operations of Teleperformance, and had been an agent himself could understand the needs and issues of the employees, it was felt. So, a Teleperformer who was in the thick of operations - Amandeep Singh Arora - was handpicked and brought in as Vice President-Talent Excellence in 2012.
Arora describes how he had been with TP India for almost 13 years, starting out as an agent, and then working across functions, including in the training department. He was senior manager for operations when he was chosen to front-end talent - both retention and acquisition. "I had experience of doing 90 per cent of the tasks that our organisation does," says Arora.
Amandeep Singh Arora (standing) with employees. Arora was handpicked and brought in as Vice President-Talent Excellence in 2012
So how did he and his team of seven (five handpicked from operations) re-engineer it? "There was nothing special really that we did," says Arora. "What we did was proper listening to understand what our agents wanted, what are their concerns, what do they look forward to."
LISTENING HARD
Today, as all scores show that both employee engagement and productivity have risen multifold, Arora feels the biggest contributing factor was the way they set about providing avenues for people to listen to each other.
Town halls - that much feted and talked about engagement tool - were junked. As Mehta points out, like everybody else Teleperformance too had earlier held town halls but soon found out that nobody really shared serious grievances during such assemblies.
So in its place personalised CEO chat sessions were arranged. Mehta would meet employees in small batches of 15 to 20 people. Forty sessions were held last year (2014) and about 900 of the 5,000-odd employees got to chat and share their wants and aspirations.
But even this was not deemed enough. So in a clever twist, Teleperformance used its core strength - call centre operations - to create a standalone channel for its employees. You could call it a call centre for its own employees.
With the employee care (e-care) ticket channel, the lines were opened for all its 5,000 employees across three sites and four offices to log in and voice whatever they felt. "It was a real-time pulse check of what people wanted," says Arora.
Six thousand tickets came in last year and ranged from complaints, suggestions, fresh ideas on issues ranging from integrity, salary, food, travel, facilities and so on. "From ideas on training needs to basic hygiene issues, we started getting a lot of feedback," says Arora.
Managed like a mini call centre for employees, the e-care ticketing system was connected to the intranet of the organisation, where employees could log-in to 'My zone' and post an e-care request. A round-the-clock system, e-ticketing is managed by a team of eight whose responsibility was to provide first resolution within 24 hours of a ticket being raised, and case closure in 72 hours.
A daily report (Voice of Internal Customer Report) is prepared and shared with the MD (Mehta), CFO and heads of various departments, so everybody is in the loop and listening in directly to employees.
So what have been the learnings from rewiring the HR at Teleperformance? Arora says while listening was key, the other big learning was not to create unnecessary processes for the sake of processes. Instead, understand what the business is all about and work to optimise it.
As Mehta sums up, HR systems should be the icing on the cake, but if the cake is not there, then where is the fun.
RIL again loses most profitable company tag, this time to Indian Oil
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Within two quarters of losing its 23-year-old reign as the country's most profitable company to TCS in the December quarter, Reliance Industries was again humbled in the June quarter, this time by Indian Oil.
The state-run firm booked Rs 118 crore more profit than the Mukesh Ambani-run firm net income of Rs 6,318 crore.
Better refining margins arising from lower oil prices and almost full payback of subsidies by the government helped the nation's biggest oil company Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) to report a massive more than twofold jump in the June quarter net profit at Rs 6,436 crore.
IOC's refining margins soared to a seven-year high during the reporting quarter.
For Reliance, losing the numero uno slot comes within two quarter as in the December 2014 earnings season as well it had lost out to TCS as it booked more profit than RIL with a net income of Rs 5,328 crore.
The loss in the December 2014 quarter was the end of RIL's 23-year run as the most profitable firm with a net profit in the country, overtaking the long-standing champion Reliance which saw its profit dip to Rs 5,256 crore as falling crude prices hurt its core business.
The third most profitable company in the June quarter was Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) with net income at Rs 5,684 crore for the June quarter, up 2 per cent y-o-y, while its revenue rose 16.1 per cent to Rs 25,668 crore.
With this, IOC thus also becomes the first domestic company to sniff at the billion-dollar club in quarterly earnings based on the closing price of the rupee on the earnings day (65.10) while it was well in the club on the as the rupee had closed at 63.64 on June 30.
During the reporting quarter the crude prices on an average fell 43.5 per cent for both the companies.
Even in the December 2014 quarter, IOC was very close to RIL with quarterly net profit of Rs 6,285 crore.
The loss of RIL is more pronounced as only last fiscal year (FY15) the company had overtaken the state-run oil and gas giant ONGC to become the most profitable company in the country both on an annual basis with a annual net income of Rs 23,566 crore, against the public sector company's net profit of Rs 18,334 crore.
Till FY14, ONGC was the undisputed leader in the profitability rung when it had reported a whopping Rs 26,506.53 crore net income, while RIL had only Rs 22,493 crore.
FY15 was so bad that ONGC even slipped below TCS to the third slot as the Tata group software giant reported a net profit of Rs 19,852 crore in FY15.
What is surprising about the loss of RIL and gain of IOC is that both the companies have gained immensely from the sharply falling crude prices and the resultant jump in refining margins during reporting quarter.
While for June quarter, IOC's revenue dropped 19.2 per cent year-on-year to Rs 1.01 trillion due to fall in crude oil price, RIL revenue slumped more sharply by 26 per cent to Rs 77,130 crore, hurt by a sharp fall in crude prices and petroleum products.
The June numbers are best for RIL in the past 7.5 years since the December 2007 quarter, for IOC it too was the best in the past seven years.
"Variation in profit is majorly due to higher refinery and petrochemical margins," IOC chairman B Ashok said, adding the company earned $10.77 on turning every barrel of crude oil into fuel during the quarter compared with a gross refining margin of $2.25 per barrel.
IOC's GRMs were the highest since June quarter of 2008-09 fiscal when we clocked $ 16.81 per barrel margin, while refinery throughput rose 5.5 per cent higher at 13.568 million tonne.
Ashok also said the bottomline was boosted by a Rs 1,732.95 crore payback from the government towards subsidised kerosene and cooking gas.
Against this RIL's, which is the operator of the world's biggest oil-refinery complex, net grew 12 per cent to a 7.5 year high on strong refining and petrochemical margins stood at a lower $10.4. This was the GRM the company has earned in the six years.
Meanwhile, ONGC is catching up to claw back its lost glory with a 14 per cent in June earnings at Rs 5,460 crore on lower fuel subsidy and rise in oil output. Its revenue rose 4.3 per cent to Rs 22,868 crore.
Oil production rose 2.2 per cent to 5.227 mt tonne, according to ONGC chairman DK Sarraf, but gas output however dipped 3 per cent to 5.482 billion cubic metres.
Within two quarters of losing its 23-year-old reign as the country's most profitable company to TCS in the December quarter, Reliance Industries was again humbled in the June quarter, this time by Indian Oil.
The state-run firm booked Rs 118 crore more profit than the Mukesh Ambani-run firm net income of Rs 6,318 crore.
Better refining margins arising from lower oil prices and almost full payback of subsidies by the government helped the nation's biggest oil company Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) to report a massive more than twofold jump in the June quarter net profit at Rs 6,436 crore.
IOC's refining margins soared to a seven-year high during the reporting quarter.
For Reliance, losing the numero uno slot comes within two quarter as in the December 2014 earnings season as well it had lost out to TCS as it booked more profit than RIL with a net income of Rs 5,328 crore.
The loss in the December 2014 quarter was the end of RIL's 23-year run as the most profitable firm with a net profit in the country, overtaking the long-standing champion Reliance which saw its profit dip to Rs 5,256 crore as falling crude prices hurt its core business.
The third most profitable company in the June quarter was Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) with net income at Rs 5,684 crore for the June quarter, up 2 per cent y-o-y, while its revenue rose 16.1 per cent to Rs 25,668 crore.
With this, IOC thus also becomes the first domestic company to sniff at the billion-dollar club in quarterly earnings based on the closing price of the rupee on the earnings day (65.10) while it was well in the club on the as the rupee had closed at 63.64 on June 30.
During the reporting quarter the crude prices on an average fell 43.5 per cent for both the companies.
Even in the December 2014 quarter, IOC was very close to RIL with quarterly net profit of Rs 6,285 crore.
The loss of RIL is more pronounced as only last fiscal year (FY15) the company had overtaken the state-run oil and gas giant ONGC to become the most profitable company in the country both on an annual basis with a annual net income of Rs 23,566 crore, against the public sector company's net profit of Rs 18,334 crore.
Till FY14, ONGC was the undisputed leader in the profitability rung when it had reported a whopping Rs 26,506.53 crore net income, while RIL had only Rs 22,493 crore.
FY15 was so bad that ONGC even slipped below TCS to the third slot as the Tata group software giant reported a net profit of Rs 19,852 crore in FY15.
What is surprising about the loss of RIL and gain of IOC is that both the companies have gained immensely from the sharply falling crude prices and the resultant jump in refining margins during reporting quarter.
While for June quarter, IOC's revenue dropped 19.2 per cent year-on-year to Rs 1.01 trillion due to fall in crude oil price, RIL revenue slumped more sharply by 26 per cent to Rs 77,130 crore, hurt by a sharp fall in crude prices and petroleum products.
The June numbers are best for RIL in the past 7.5 years since the December 2007 quarter, for IOC it too was the best in the past seven years.
"Variation in profit is majorly due to higher refinery and petrochemical margins," IOC chairman B Ashok said, adding the company earned $10.77 on turning every barrel of crude oil into fuel during the quarter compared with a gross refining margin of $2.25 per barrel.
IOC's GRMs were the highest since June quarter of 2008-09 fiscal when we clocked $ 16.81 per barrel margin, while refinery throughput rose 5.5 per cent higher at 13.568 million tonne.
Ashok also said the bottomline was boosted by a Rs 1,732.95 crore payback from the government towards subsidised kerosene and cooking gas.
Against this RIL's, which is the operator of the world's biggest oil-refinery complex, net grew 12 per cent to a 7.5 year high on strong refining and petrochemical margins stood at a lower $10.4. This was the GRM the company has earned in the six years.
Meanwhile, ONGC is catching up to claw back its lost glory with a 14 per cent in June earnings at Rs 5,460 crore on lower fuel subsidy and rise in oil output. Its revenue rose 4.3 per cent to Rs 22,868 crore.
Oil production rose 2.2 per cent to 5.227 mt tonne, according to ONGC chairman DK Sarraf, but gas output however dipped 3 per cent to 5.482 billion cubic metres.
BSNL loses 2 crore subscribers in 2014-15
State-run BSNL lost about 2 crore subscribers in the last financial year as the telco could not match aggressive marketing by private operators besides persisting issues related to coverage and quality of its services.
According to an official in the Department of Telecom, BSNL lost about 1.78 crore wireless and over 20 lakh wireline subscribers between March 2014 and March 2015.
Stating the reasons responsible for the loss of wireless subscribers, the official said BSNL was not able to match the aggressive marketing of services by private telecom operators.
Also, the official added that due to the PSU's inability to invest in upgradation of its network during the period 2008-2012, there were issues related to mobile network coverage, capacity and quality of service.
"The reasons for decline in wireline subscriber base include the general decline in demand for fixed lines telephone on account of shift to mobile services," he said.
At the end of May 2015, the wireless subscriber base of BSNL stood at 7.76 crore with a market share of 7.96 per cent.
The wireline base stood at 1.60 crore with a market share of 61.07 per cent.
The company, however, is taking various steps to increase its subscriber base and revenue through investments in network and improve quality of service.
As a part of its phase 7 project, the company will be investing Rs 4,804.77 crore in network augmentation which will result in addition of 14,421 2G sites and 10,605 3G sites across the country.
Apart from that, BSNL has taken a number of initiatives to attract customers which include unlimited free night calls from landline, free incoming calls on roaming and a host of different special plans.
State-run BSNL lost about 2 crore subscribers in the last financial year as the telco could not match aggressive marketing by private operators besides persisting issues related to coverage and quality of its services.
According to an official in the Department of Telecom, BSNL lost about 1.78 crore wireless and over 20 lakh wireline subscribers between March 2014 and March 2015.
Stating the reasons responsible for the loss of wireless subscribers, the official said BSNL was not able to match the aggressive marketing of services by private telecom operators.
Also, the official added that due to the PSU's inability to invest in upgradation of its network during the period 2008-2012, there were issues related to mobile network coverage, capacity and quality of service.
"The reasons for decline in wireline subscriber base include the general decline in demand for fixed lines telephone on account of shift to mobile services," he said.
At the end of May 2015, the wireless subscriber base of BSNL stood at 7.76 crore with a market share of 7.96 per cent.
The wireline base stood at 1.60 crore with a market share of 61.07 per cent.
The company, however, is taking various steps to increase its subscriber base and revenue through investments in network and improve quality of service.
As a part of its phase 7 project, the company will be investing Rs 4,804.77 crore in network augmentation which will result in addition of 14,421 2G sites and 10,605 3G sites across the country.
Apart from that, BSNL has taken a number of initiatives to attract customers which include unlimited free night calls from landline, free incoming calls on roaming and a host of different special plans.
Yuan impact on rupee to be temporary: Arvind Subramanian
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The impact of the devaluation of the Chinese yuan on the rupee will only be "temporary", given "adequate" foreign exchange reserves, chief economic adviser, Arvind Subramanian, said on Friday.
The comments come after the rupee slumped to its lowest since September 2013 this week after China's action on the yuan . The rupee fell 1.87 per cent against the dollar this week, its biggest fall since late April.
India on Friday reported its forex reserves fell slightly to $353.35 billion as of August 7 from the previous week, not far from a record high of $355.46 billion hit in June.
The impact of the devaluation of the Chinese yuan on the rupee will only be "temporary", given "adequate" foreign exchange reserves, chief economic adviser, Arvind Subramanian, said on Friday.
The comments come after the rupee slumped to its lowest since September 2013 this week after China's action on the yuan . The rupee fell 1.87 per cent against the dollar this week, its biggest fall since late April.
India on Friday reported its forex reserves fell slightly to $353.35 billion as of August 7 from the previous week, not far from a record high of $355.46 billion hit in June.
All About Windows 10
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Microsoft's Windows 10 is available for free upgrade for existing Windows 7, 8 and 8.1 systems.
WHAT'S GOOD
- Start up time: With Windows 10, your machine powers up within seconds. Everything seems to launch at a blazing fast speed. While the Windows 8 start up time was much quicker than Windows 7, Windows 10 is even better. And this isn't just restricted to powering on the device, but also while launching any program or simply browsing the files.
- Start menu is back: If you have ever used Windows operating system (OS) prior to Windows 8, you will instantly feel at home. Thankfully, Microsoft has decided to bring back the Start menu where you can access all your software and search drives. Live Tile dominated the user interface (UI) on Windows 8, and it is very much present here. You can, however, get rid of it by unpinning the app tiles from the Start menu. Even the settings and power options that were difficult to access on Windows 8 are now back in the Start menu. A new search bar added to the task bar that runs a search on the web and Windows works seamlessly. Overall, Windows 10 is intuitive and easy to use.
- Multiple desktops: Microsoft has introduced multiple desktops to Windows 10. Easy to access, it gives you more space to organise data. You can also easily switch between the desktop - one desktop can be for work, other for home, and you can even have one for kids (if they are using the same machine).
- Microsoft Edge browser: I have been using a Windows machine for a long time, but my default browser wasn't Internet Explorer. With Windows 10, the company has replaced it with the Microsoft Edge browser. The web pages load much faster now. It also has a feature of scribbling a note on the web page screen.
- Aero Snap: Windows 10 also gives access to use multiple apps side by side on the same screen. Dragging an app to either the left or the right side of the screen automatically resizes it into half screen space. Instantly, the other app thumbnail appears and clicking on the same resizes it to the second half of the display.
- Action centre: Windows 10 has an action centre that notifies you of new emails, system information, apps, etc. It also gives you access to tablet mode, all settings, battery saver, virtual private network, Wi-Fi and airplane mode. It is an easy way to access the latest notification and basic settings.
- Across platforms: I tested Windows 10 on a hybrid and realised that the desktop mode is slightly different from the tablet mode. Under the desktop mode, the Windows key comes in to play. You have a complete desktop at your disposal. One can easily switch between the desktop and tablet mode from the bottom right menu, under action centre. Microsoft also plans to bring a similar interface for Windows 10 smartphones.
WHAT'S BAD
- Cortana: With Windows 10, Microsoft has introduced voice assistant software Cortana, which, the company claims, understands the context and answers accordingly. While this is one of the best features on Windows 10, it isn't going to be launched in India straight away. Cortana will be first made available to insiders (developers with Microsoft) in coming weeks. It will be available for consumers once the localisation has been done.
- Automatic updates: Until now, you had an option to turn off the automatic update features and update the system only when you want to. But now, with Windows 10, the auto-update cannot be stopped. The software periodically checks for system and app updates, and downloads and installs them. The only option you have is to select when to restart the system after updating so that you don't lose the data you had been working on. However, this feature is accessible in Windows 10 for businesses only.
Microsoft's Windows 10 is available for free upgrade for existing Windows 7, 8 and 8.1 systems.
WHAT'S GOOD- Start up time: With Windows 10, your machine powers up within seconds. Everything seems to launch at a blazing fast speed. While the Windows 8 start up time was much quicker than Windows 7, Windows 10 is even better. And this isn't just restricted to powering on the device, but also while launching any program or simply browsing the files.
- Start menu is back: If you have ever used Windows operating system (OS) prior to Windows 8, you will instantly feel at home. Thankfully, Microsoft has decided to bring back the Start menu where you can access all your software and search drives. Live Tile dominated the user interface (UI) on Windows 8, and it is very much present here. You can, however, get rid of it by unpinning the app tiles from the Start menu. Even the settings and power options that were difficult to access on Windows 8 are now back in the Start menu. A new search bar added to the task bar that runs a search on the web and Windows works seamlessly. Overall, Windows 10 is intuitive and easy to use.
- Multiple desktops: Microsoft has introduced multiple desktops to Windows 10. Easy to access, it gives you more space to organise data. You can also easily switch between the desktop - one desktop can be for work, other for home, and you can even have one for kids (if they are using the same machine).
- Microsoft Edge browser: I have been using a Windows machine for a long time, but my default browser wasn't Internet Explorer. With Windows 10, the company has replaced it with the Microsoft Edge browser. The web pages load much faster now. It also has a feature of scribbling a note on the web page screen.
- Aero Snap: Windows 10 also gives access to use multiple apps side by side on the same screen. Dragging an app to either the left or the right side of the screen automatically resizes it into half screen space. Instantly, the other app thumbnail appears and clicking on the same resizes it to the second half of the display.
- Action centre: Windows 10 has an action centre that notifies you of new emails, system information, apps, etc. It also gives you access to tablet mode, all settings, battery saver, virtual private network, Wi-Fi and airplane mode. It is an easy way to access the latest notification and basic settings.
- Across platforms: I tested Windows 10 on a hybrid and realised that the desktop mode is slightly different from the tablet mode. Under the desktop mode, the Windows key comes in to play. You have a complete desktop at your disposal. One can easily switch between the desktop and tablet mode from the bottom right menu, under action centre. Microsoft also plans to bring a similar interface for Windows 10 smartphones.
WHAT'S BAD
- Cortana: With Windows 10, Microsoft has introduced voice assistant software Cortana, which, the company claims, understands the context and answers accordingly. While this is one of the best features on Windows 10, it isn't going to be launched in India straight away. Cortana will be first made available to insiders (developers with Microsoft) in coming weeks. It will be available for consumers once the localisation has been done.
- Automatic updates: Until now, you had an option to turn off the automatic update features and update the system only when you want to. But now, with Windows 10, the auto-update cannot be stopped. The software periodically checks for system and app updates, and downloads and installs them. The only option you have is to select when to restart the system after updating so that you don't lose the data you had been working on. However, this feature is accessible in Windows 10 for businesses only.
General Awareness
:::INTERNATIONAL ALLIANCES :::
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South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC)
The South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) is an organisation of South Asian nations, which was established on 8 December 1985 when the government of Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka formally adopted its charter providing for the promotion of economic and social progress, cultural development within the South Asia region and also for friendship and co-operation with other developing countries. It is dedicated to economic, technological, social, and cultural development emphasising collective self-reliance. Its seven founding members are Sri Lanka, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Bangladesh. Afghanistan joined the organisation in 2007.Meetings of heads of state are usually scheduled annually; meetings of foreign secretaries, twice annually. It is headquartered in Kathmandu, Nepal.
Regional Centres
The SAARC Secretariat is supported by following Regional Centres established in Member States to promote regional co-operation. These Centres are managed by Governing Boards comprising representatives from all the Member States, SAARC Secretary-General and the Ministry of Foreign/External Affairs of the Host Government. The Director of the Centre acts as Member Secretary to the Governing Board which reports to the Programming Committee.
SAARC Agricultural Centre (SAC), Dhaka
SAARC Meteorological Research Centre (SMRC), Dhaka
SAARC Tuberculosis Centre (STC), Kathmandu
SAARC Documentation Centre (SDC), New Delhi
SAARC Human Resources Development Centre (SHRDC), Islamabad
SAARC Coastal Zone Management Centre (SCZMC), Maldives
SAARC Information Centre (SIC), Nepal
SAARC Energy Centre (SEC), Pakistan
SAARC Disaster Management Centre (SDMC), India
SAARC Development Fund (SDF), Bhutan
SAARC Forestry Centre (SFC), Bhutan
SAARC Cultural Centre (SCC), Sri Lanka
BRICS
BRICS is the acronym for an association of five major emerging national economies: Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa.The grouping was originally known as "BRIC" before the inclusion of South Africa in 2010. The BRICS members are all developing or newly industrialised countries, but they are distinguished by their large, fast-growing economies and significant influence on regional and global affairs; all five are G-20 members. As of 2013, the five BRICS countries represent almost 3 billion people, with a combined nominal GDP of US$16.039 trillion, and an estimated US$4 trillion in combined foreign reserves.Presently, South Africa holds the chair of the BRICS group. The BRICS have received both praise and criticism from numerous quarters.
BRICS Development Bank
The BRICS Development Bank is a proposed development bank of the BRICS nations. Its establishment was agreed to by BRICS leaders at the 2013 BRICS summit held in Durban, South Africa on 27 March 2013. Among its goals is to provide funding for infrastructure projects, and create a "Contingent Reserve Arrangement" worth $100 billion which will help member countries counteract future financial shocks.
Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)
The Association of Southeast Asian Nations is a geo-political and economic organisation of ten countries located in Southeast Asia, which was formed on 8 August 1967 by Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand. Since then, membership has expanded to include Brunei, Burma (Myanmar), Cambodia, Laos, and Vietnam. Its aims include accelerating economic growth, social progress, cultural development among its members, protection of regional peace and stability, and opportunities for member countries to discuss differences peacefully.
ASEAN covers a land area of 4.46 million km², which is 3% of the total land area of Earth, and has a population of approximately 600 million people, which is 8.8% of the world's population. The sea area of ASEAN is about three times larger than its land counterpart. In 2011, its combined nominal GDP had grown to more than US$ 2 trillion. If ASEAN were a single entity, it would rank as the eighth largest economy in the world.
Headquarters is at Jakarta, Indonesia.
Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation(BIMSTEC)
The Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) is an international organisation involving a group of countries in South Asia and South East Asia. These are: Bangladesh, India, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Bhutan and Nepal.
Background
On 6 June 1997, a new sub-regional grouping was formed in Bangkok and given the name BIST-EC (Bangladesh, India, Sri Lanka, and Thailand Economic Cooperation). Myanmar attended the inaugural June Meeting as an observer and joined the organization as a full member at a Special Ministerial Meeting held in Bangkok on 22 December 1997, upon which the name of the grouping was changed to BIMST-EC. Nepal was granted observer status by the second Ministerial Meeting in Dhaka in December 1998. Subsequently, full membership has been granted to Nepal and Bhutan in 2004.
In the first Summit on 31 July 2004, leaders of the group agreed that the name of the grouping should be known as BIMSTEC or the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation.
Mekong–Ganga Cooperation (MGC)
The Mekong–Ganga Cooperation (MGC) was established on November 10, 2000 at Vientiane at the First MGC Ministerial Meeting. It comprises six member countries, namely India, Thailand, Myanmar, Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam. They emphasised four areas of cooperation, which are tourism, culture, education, and transportation linkage in order to be solid foundation for future trade and investment cooperation in the region. The organization takes its name from the Ganga and the Mekong, two large rivers in the region.
Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO)
The Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO) is an intergovernmental organization involving seven Asian and three Eurasian nations, part of the South-central Asian Union. It provides a platform to discuss ways to improve development and promote trade, and investment opportunities. The ECO is an ad hoc organization under the United Nations Charter (Chap. VIII). The common objective is to establish a single market for goods and services, much like the European Union. ECO's secretariat and cultural department are located in Tehran, its economic bureau is in Turkey and its scientific bureau is situated in Pakistan. The organization's population is 416,046,863 and the area is 8,620,697 km². The organization was founded by Turkey, Iran and Pakistan. ECO's Charter was signed on 15 March 1995 in Islamabad, Pakistan.
Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO)
The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation or SCO is a Eurasian political, economic and military organisation which was founded in 2001 in Shanghai by the leaders of China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan. Except for Uzbekistan, the other countries had been members of the Shanghai Five, founded in 1996; after the inclusion of Uzbekistan in 2001, the members renamed the organisation. Headquarters is in Beijing, China.
Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf or Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC)
The Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf (CCASG), also known as the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), is a political and economic union of Arab states bordering the Persian Gulf, namely Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates.
In December 2011, Saudi Arabia proposed that the GCC deepen their integration to form a confederation. Objections have been raised against the proposal by the other countries.
There have been discussions regarding the future membership of Jordan, Morocco, and Yemen
Headquartered at Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Asia Cooperation Dialogue (ACD)
The Asia Cooperation Dialogue (ACD) is an intergovernmental organization created in 2002 to promote Asian cooperation at a continental level and to help integrate separate regional cooperation organizations such as ASEAN, SAARC and the Gulf Cooperation Council.
History
It is the main objective of the former Thai Prime Minister to form the Asia Cooperation Dialogue or the forerunner to the ASIAN UNION. The ACD's main members states are Kuwait, Pakistan, Iran, Bahrain, Sri Lanka, Turkey, Thailand, China and Japan, the so-called major nine ACD Nations.
Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC)
OPEC (Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries) is an oil cartel whose mission is to coordinate the policies of the oil-producing countries. The goal is to secure a steady income to the member states and to secure supply of oil to the consumers.
OPEC is an intergovernmental organization that was created at the Baghdad Conference on September 10–14, 1960, by Iraq, Kuwait, Iran, Saudi Arabia and Venezuela. Later it was joined by nine more governments: Libya, United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Indonesia, Algeria, Nigeria, Ecuador, Angola, and Gabon. OPEC was headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland before moving to Vienna, Austria, on September 1, 1965.
OPEC was formed at a time when the international oil market was largely separate from centrally planned economies, and was dominated by multinational companies. OPEC's ‘Policy Statement' states that there is a right of all countries to exercise sovereignty over their natural resources.
Headquarters is in Vienna, Austria.
Non-Aligned Movement (NAM)
The Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) is a group of states which are not formally aligned with or against any major power bloc. As of 2012, the movement has 120 members and 17 observer countries.
The organization was founded in Belgrade in 1961, and was largely conceived by India's first prime minister, Jawaharlal Nehru; Indonesia's first president, Sukarno; Egypt's second president, Gamal Abdel Nasser; Ghana's first president Kwame Nkrumah; and Yugoslavia's president, Josip Broz Tito. All five leaders were prominent advocates of a middle course for states in the Developing World between the Western and Eastern blocs in the Cold War. The phrase itself was first used to represent the doctrine by Indian diplomat Vengalil Krishnan Krishna Menon in 1953, at the United Nations.
North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO)
is an intergovernmental military alliance based on the North Atlantic Treaty which was signed on 4 April 1949. The organization constitutes a system of collective defence whereby its member states agree to mutual defense in response to an attack by any external party. NATO's headquarters are in Brussels, Belgium, one of the 28 member states across North America and Europe, the newest of which, Albania and Croatia, joined in April 2009. An additional 22 countries participate in NATO's "Partnership for Peace", with 15 other countries involved in institutionalized dialogue programs. The combined military spending of all NATO members constitutes over 70% of the world's defence spending.
Headquarters at Brussels, Belgium.
Commonwealth of Nations
The Commonwealth of Nations is an intergovernmental organisation of 53 member states that were mostly territories of the former British Empire. The Commonwealth operates by intergovernmental consensus of the member states, organised through the Commonwealth Secretariat, and non-governmental organisations, organised through the Commonwealth Foundation Headquarters at London, United Kingdom.
Group of 15 (G-15)
The Group of 15 (G-15) is an informal forum set up to foster cooperation and provide input for other international groups, such as the World Trade Organization and the Group of Eight. It was established at the Ninth Non-Aligned Movement Summit Meeting in Belgrade, Yugoslavia, in September 1989, and is composed of countries from Latin America, Africa, and Asia with a common goal of enhanced growth and prosperity. The G-15 focuses on cooperation among developing countries in the areas of investment, trade, and technology. Membership has since expanded to 17 countries, but the name has remained unchanged. Chile, Iran and Kenya have since joined the Group of 15, whereas Yugoslavia is no longer part of the group; Peru, a founding member-state, decided to leave the G-15 in 2011.
Membership :17
Algeria Argentina Brazil Chile Egypt India Indonesia Iran Jamaica Kenya Malaysia Mexico Zimbabwe Nigeria Senegal Sri Lanka Venezuela
Headquarters: Geneva, Switzerland
GROUP OF 24 (G24)
The Group of 24 (G24), a chapter of the G-77, was established in 1971 to coordinate the positions of developing countries on international monetary and development finance issues and to ensure that their interests were adequately represented in negotiations on international monetary matters. The group, which is officially called the Intergovernmental Group of Twenty-Four on International Monetary Affairs and Development, is not an organ of the International Monetary Fund, but the IMF provides secretariat services for the Group. Its meetings usually take place twice a year, prior to the International Monetary and Financial Committee and Development Committee meetings, to enable developing country members to discuss agenda items beforehand. Although membership in the G-24 is strictly limited to 24 countries, any member of the G-77 can join discussions. China has been a "special invitee" since the Gabon meetings of 1981.
Member states
Algeria Argentina Brazil Colombia Democratic Republic of the Congo Egypt Ethiopia Gabon Ghana Kenya Guatemala India Iran Ivory Coast Lebanon Mexico Nigeria Pakistan Peru Philippines South Africa Sri Lanka Syria Peru Trinidad and Tobago Venezuela
GROUP OF 77 (G77)
The Group of 77 at the United Nations is a loose coalition of developing nations, designed to promote its members' collective economic interests and create an enhanced joint negotiating capacity in the United Nations. There were 77 founding members of the organization, but the organization has since expanded to 132 member countries.
India is a memeber state in G 77.
European Union (EU)
The European Union (EU) is an economic and political union of 28 member states that are located primarily in Europe. The EU operates through a system of supranational independent institutions and intergovernmental negotiated decisions by the member states. Institutions of the EU include the European Commission, the Council of the European Union, the European Council, the Court of Justice of the European Union, the European Central Bank, the Court of Auditors, and the European Parliament. The European Parliament is elected every five years by EU citizens. The EU's de facto capital is Brussels.
Member states
Austria Belgium Bulgaria Croatia Cyprus Czech Republic Denmark Estonia Finland France Germany Greece Hungary Ireland Italy Latvia Lithuania Luxembourg Malta Netherlands Poland Portugal Romania Slovakia Slovenia Spain Sweden United Kingdom
Group of Eight (G 8)
The Group of Eight (G8) is a forum for the governments of eight of the world's largest national economies as nominal GDP with higher HDI; not included are India at 9th, Brazil at 7th and China at 2nd. The forum originated with a 1975 summit hosted by France that brought together representatives of six governments:France, the Federal Republic of Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, and the United States, thus leading to the name Group of Six or G6. The summit became known as the Group of Seven or G7 the following year with the addition of Canada. The G7 is composed by the 7 developed wealthiest countries on Earth (as national net wealth) and by the 7 developed wealthiest countries on Earth by GDP, and it remains active despite the creation of the G8. In 1997, Russia was added to the group which then became known as the G8. The European Union is represented within the G8 but cannot host or chair summits.
G 8 Member States:
Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia, United Kingdom and the United States.
G-20 major economies
The Group of Twenty Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors (also known as the G-20, G20, and Group of Twenty) is a group of finance ministers and central bank governors from 20 major economies: 19 countries plus the European Union, which is represented by the President of the European Council and by the European Central Bank. The G-20 heads of government or heads of state have also periodically conferred at summits since their initial meeting in 2008. Collectively, the G-20 economies account for approximately 86% of the gross world product (GWP), 80 percent of world trade (including EU intra-trade), and twothirds of the world population.
Membership:
Argentina Australia Brazil Canada China European Union France Germany India Indonesia Italy Japan Mexico Saudi Arabia South Africa South Korea Turkey United Kingdom United States
- South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC)
The South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) is an organisation of South Asian nations, which was established on 8 December 1985 when the government of Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka formally adopted its charter providing for the promotion of economic and social progress, cultural development within the South Asia region and also for friendship and co-operation with other developing countries. It is dedicated to economic, technological, social, and cultural development emphasising collective self-reliance. Its seven founding members are Sri Lanka, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Bangladesh. Afghanistan joined the organisation in 2007.Meetings of heads of state are usually scheduled annually; meetings of foreign secretaries, twice annually. It is headquartered in Kathmandu, Nepal.
Regional Centres
The SAARC Secretariat is supported by following Regional Centres established in Member States to promote regional co-operation. These Centres are managed by Governing Boards comprising representatives from all the Member States, SAARC Secretary-General and the Ministry of Foreign/External Affairs of the Host Government. The Director of the Centre acts as Member Secretary to the Governing Board which reports to the Programming Committee.
SAARC Agricultural Centre (SAC), Dhaka
SAARC Meteorological Research Centre (SMRC), Dhaka
SAARC Tuberculosis Centre (STC), Kathmandu
SAARC Documentation Centre (SDC), New Delhi
SAARC Human Resources Development Centre (SHRDC), Islamabad
SAARC Coastal Zone Management Centre (SCZMC), Maldives
SAARC Information Centre (SIC), Nepal
SAARC Energy Centre (SEC), Pakistan
SAARC Disaster Management Centre (SDMC), India
SAARC Development Fund (SDF), Bhutan
SAARC Forestry Centre (SFC), Bhutan
SAARC Cultural Centre (SCC), Sri Lanka
BRICS
BRICS is the acronym for an association of five major emerging national economies: Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa.The grouping was originally known as "BRIC" before the inclusion of South Africa in 2010. The BRICS members are all developing or newly industrialised countries, but they are distinguished by their large, fast-growing economies and significant influence on regional and global affairs; all five are G-20 members. As of 2013, the five BRICS countries represent almost 3 billion people, with a combined nominal GDP of US$16.039 trillion, and an estimated US$4 trillion in combined foreign reserves.Presently, South Africa holds the chair of the BRICS group. The BRICS have received both praise and criticism from numerous quarters.
BRICS Development Bank
The BRICS Development Bank is a proposed development bank of the BRICS nations. Its establishment was agreed to by BRICS leaders at the 2013 BRICS summit held in Durban, South Africa on 27 March 2013. Among its goals is to provide funding for infrastructure projects, and create a "Contingent Reserve Arrangement" worth $100 billion which will help member countries counteract future financial shocks.
Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)
The Association of Southeast Asian Nations is a geo-political and economic organisation of ten countries located in Southeast Asia, which was formed on 8 August 1967 by Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand. Since then, membership has expanded to include Brunei, Burma (Myanmar), Cambodia, Laos, and Vietnam. Its aims include accelerating economic growth, social progress, cultural development among its members, protection of regional peace and stability, and opportunities for member countries to discuss differences peacefully.
ASEAN covers a land area of 4.46 million km², which is 3% of the total land area of Earth, and has a population of approximately 600 million people, which is 8.8% of the world's population. The sea area of ASEAN is about three times larger than its land counterpart. In 2011, its combined nominal GDP had grown to more than US$ 2 trillion. If ASEAN were a single entity, it would rank as the eighth largest economy in the world.
Headquarters is at Jakarta, Indonesia.
Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation(BIMSTEC)
The Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) is an international organisation involving a group of countries in South Asia and South East Asia. These are: Bangladesh, India, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Bhutan and Nepal.
Background
On 6 June 1997, a new sub-regional grouping was formed in Bangkok and given the name BIST-EC (Bangladesh, India, Sri Lanka, and Thailand Economic Cooperation). Myanmar attended the inaugural June Meeting as an observer and joined the organization as a full member at a Special Ministerial Meeting held in Bangkok on 22 December 1997, upon which the name of the grouping was changed to BIMST-EC. Nepal was granted observer status by the second Ministerial Meeting in Dhaka in December 1998. Subsequently, full membership has been granted to Nepal and Bhutan in 2004.
In the first Summit on 31 July 2004, leaders of the group agreed that the name of the grouping should be known as BIMSTEC or the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation.
Mekong–Ganga Cooperation (MGC)
The Mekong–Ganga Cooperation (MGC) was established on November 10, 2000 at Vientiane at the First MGC Ministerial Meeting. It comprises six member countries, namely India, Thailand, Myanmar, Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam. They emphasised four areas of cooperation, which are tourism, culture, education, and transportation linkage in order to be solid foundation for future trade and investment cooperation in the region. The organization takes its name from the Ganga and the Mekong, two large rivers in the region.
Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO)
The Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO) is an intergovernmental organization involving seven Asian and three Eurasian nations, part of the South-central Asian Union. It provides a platform to discuss ways to improve development and promote trade, and investment opportunities. The ECO is an ad hoc organization under the United Nations Charter (Chap. VIII). The common objective is to establish a single market for goods and services, much like the European Union. ECO's secretariat and cultural department are located in Tehran, its economic bureau is in Turkey and its scientific bureau is situated in Pakistan. The organization's population is 416,046,863 and the area is 8,620,697 km². The organization was founded by Turkey, Iran and Pakistan. ECO's Charter was signed on 15 March 1995 in Islamabad, Pakistan.
Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO)
The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation or SCO is a Eurasian political, economic and military organisation which was founded in 2001 in Shanghai by the leaders of China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan. Except for Uzbekistan, the other countries had been members of the Shanghai Five, founded in 1996; after the inclusion of Uzbekistan in 2001, the members renamed the organisation. Headquarters is in Beijing, China.
Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf or Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC)
The Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf (CCASG), also known as the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), is a political and economic union of Arab states bordering the Persian Gulf, namely Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates.
In December 2011, Saudi Arabia proposed that the GCC deepen their integration to form a confederation. Objections have been raised against the proposal by the other countries.
There have been discussions regarding the future membership of Jordan, Morocco, and Yemen
Headquartered at Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Asia Cooperation Dialogue (ACD)
The Asia Cooperation Dialogue (ACD) is an intergovernmental organization created in 2002 to promote Asian cooperation at a continental level and to help integrate separate regional cooperation organizations such as ASEAN, SAARC and the Gulf Cooperation Council.
History
It is the main objective of the former Thai Prime Minister to form the Asia Cooperation Dialogue or the forerunner to the ASIAN UNION. The ACD's main members states are Kuwait, Pakistan, Iran, Bahrain, Sri Lanka, Turkey, Thailand, China and Japan, the so-called major nine ACD Nations.
Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC)
OPEC (Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries) is an oil cartel whose mission is to coordinate the policies of the oil-producing countries. The goal is to secure a steady income to the member states and to secure supply of oil to the consumers.
OPEC is an intergovernmental organization that was created at the Baghdad Conference on September 10–14, 1960, by Iraq, Kuwait, Iran, Saudi Arabia and Venezuela. Later it was joined by nine more governments: Libya, United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Indonesia, Algeria, Nigeria, Ecuador, Angola, and Gabon. OPEC was headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland before moving to Vienna, Austria, on September 1, 1965.
OPEC was formed at a time when the international oil market was largely separate from centrally planned economies, and was dominated by multinational companies. OPEC's ‘Policy Statement' states that there is a right of all countries to exercise sovereignty over their natural resources.
Headquarters is in Vienna, Austria.
Non-Aligned Movement (NAM)
The Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) is a group of states which are not formally aligned with or against any major power bloc. As of 2012, the movement has 120 members and 17 observer countries.
The organization was founded in Belgrade in 1961, and was largely conceived by India's first prime minister, Jawaharlal Nehru; Indonesia's first president, Sukarno; Egypt's second president, Gamal Abdel Nasser; Ghana's first president Kwame Nkrumah; and Yugoslavia's president, Josip Broz Tito. All five leaders were prominent advocates of a middle course for states in the Developing World between the Western and Eastern blocs in the Cold War. The phrase itself was first used to represent the doctrine by Indian diplomat Vengalil Krishnan Krishna Menon in 1953, at the United Nations.
North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO)
is an intergovernmental military alliance based on the North Atlantic Treaty which was signed on 4 April 1949. The organization constitutes a system of collective defence whereby its member states agree to mutual defense in response to an attack by any external party. NATO's headquarters are in Brussels, Belgium, one of the 28 member states across North America and Europe, the newest of which, Albania and Croatia, joined in April 2009. An additional 22 countries participate in NATO's "Partnership for Peace", with 15 other countries involved in institutionalized dialogue programs. The combined military spending of all NATO members constitutes over 70% of the world's defence spending.
Headquarters at Brussels, Belgium.
Commonwealth of Nations
The Commonwealth of Nations is an intergovernmental organisation of 53 member states that were mostly territories of the former British Empire. The Commonwealth operates by intergovernmental consensus of the member states, organised through the Commonwealth Secretariat, and non-governmental organisations, organised through the Commonwealth Foundation Headquarters at London, United Kingdom.
Group of 15 (G-15)
The Group of 15 (G-15) is an informal forum set up to foster cooperation and provide input for other international groups, such as the World Trade Organization and the Group of Eight. It was established at the Ninth Non-Aligned Movement Summit Meeting in Belgrade, Yugoslavia, in September 1989, and is composed of countries from Latin America, Africa, and Asia with a common goal of enhanced growth and prosperity. The G-15 focuses on cooperation among developing countries in the areas of investment, trade, and technology. Membership has since expanded to 17 countries, but the name has remained unchanged. Chile, Iran and Kenya have since joined the Group of 15, whereas Yugoslavia is no longer part of the group; Peru, a founding member-state, decided to leave the G-15 in 2011.
Membership :17
Headquarters: Geneva, SwitzerlandAlgeria Argentina Brazil Chile Egypt India Indonesia Iran Jamaica Kenya Malaysia Mexico Zimbabwe Nigeria Senegal Sri Lanka Venezuela
GROUP OF 24 (G24)
The Group of 24 (G24), a chapter of the G-77, was established in 1971 to coordinate the positions of developing countries on international monetary and development finance issues and to ensure that their interests were adequately represented in negotiations on international monetary matters. The group, which is officially called the Intergovernmental Group of Twenty-Four on International Monetary Affairs and Development, is not an organ of the International Monetary Fund, but the IMF provides secretariat services for the Group. Its meetings usually take place twice a year, prior to the International Monetary and Financial Committee and Development Committee meetings, to enable developing country members to discuss agenda items beforehand. Although membership in the G-24 is strictly limited to 24 countries, any member of the G-77 can join discussions. China has been a "special invitee" since the Gabon meetings of 1981.
Member states
GROUP OF 77 (G77)Algeria Argentina Brazil Colombia Democratic Republic of the Congo Egypt Ethiopia Gabon Ghana Kenya Guatemala India Iran Ivory Coast Lebanon Mexico Nigeria Pakistan Peru Philippines South Africa Sri Lanka Syria Peru Trinidad and Tobago Venezuela
The Group of 77 at the United Nations is a loose coalition of developing nations, designed to promote its members' collective economic interests and create an enhanced joint negotiating capacity in the United Nations. There were 77 founding members of the organization, but the organization has since expanded to 132 member countries.
India is a memeber state in G 77.
European Union (EU)
The European Union (EU) is an economic and political union of 28 member states that are located primarily in Europe. The EU operates through a system of supranational independent institutions and intergovernmental negotiated decisions by the member states. Institutions of the EU include the European Commission, the Council of the European Union, the European Council, the Court of Justice of the European Union, the European Central Bank, the Court of Auditors, and the European Parliament. The European Parliament is elected every five years by EU citizens. The EU's de facto capital is Brussels.
Member states
Group of Eight (G 8)Austria Belgium Bulgaria Croatia Cyprus Czech Republic Denmark Estonia Finland France Germany Greece Hungary Ireland Italy Latvia Lithuania Luxembourg Malta Netherlands Poland Portugal Romania Slovakia Slovenia Spain Sweden United Kingdom
The Group of Eight (G8) is a forum for the governments of eight of the world's largest national economies as nominal GDP with higher HDI; not included are India at 9th, Brazil at 7th and China at 2nd. The forum originated with a 1975 summit hosted by France that brought together representatives of six governments:France, the Federal Republic of Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, and the United States, thus leading to the name Group of Six or G6. The summit became known as the Group of Seven or G7 the following year with the addition of Canada. The G7 is composed by the 7 developed wealthiest countries on Earth (as national net wealth) and by the 7 developed wealthiest countries on Earth by GDP, and it remains active despite the creation of the G8. In 1997, Russia was added to the group which then became known as the G8. The European Union is represented within the G8 but cannot host or chair summits.
G 8 Member States:
Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia, United Kingdom and the United States.
G-20 major economies
The Group of Twenty Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors (also known as the G-20, G20, and Group of Twenty) is a group of finance ministers and central bank governors from 20 major economies: 19 countries plus the European Union, which is represented by the President of the European Council and by the European Central Bank. The G-20 heads of government or heads of state have also periodically conferred at summits since their initial meeting in 2008. Collectively, the G-20 economies account for approximately 86% of the gross world product (GWP), 80 percent of world trade (including EU intra-trade), and twothirds of the world population.
Membership:
Argentina Australia Brazil Canada China European Union France Germany India Indonesia Italy Japan Mexico Saudi Arabia South Africa South Korea Turkey United Kingdom United States
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