Current Affairs - 29 October 2015

General Affairs

India-Africa Forum Summit Historic, Says President Pranab Mukherjee

• NEW DELHI:  President Pranab Mukherjee today said the ongoing India-Africa Forum Summit was a historic occasion.
  
  "Third Summit of India Africa Forum is a historic occasion," Mr Mukherjee said in a tweet.
  
  On Tuesday night, the president received King of Swaziland Mswati III.
  
  He said: "India has the privilege to receive leaders of the entire African continent together in a Summit meeting for first time."
  
  Mr Mukherjee said India values its cordial relations and cooperation with Swaziland and is happy to note that the friendly relations between India and Swaziland have grown steadily over the past few years.
  
  "India appreciates Swaziland's consistent support for India's candidature at the UN and other international fora," he said, assuring the full cooperation of the government of India in the achievement of Swaziland's developmental goals.
  
  King Mswati expressed gratitude to India for organising the 3rd India Africa Forum Summit and for its development assistance to Swaziland as well as the whole of Africa.
  
  "Swaziland needs the experience and continued support of India to attain its national goals," the king said.
  

Indian Navy Chief Admiral RK Dhowan Calls for 'High Combat Readiness'

• NEW DELHI:  Indian Navy chief Admiral RK Dhowan today urged commanders to maintain highest combat readiness at all times.
  
  Speaking at the conclusion of the Naval Commanders' Conference, Admiral Dhowan emphasised upon India's geographic location and the prevailing security situation.
  
  The navy chief said it "demands continuous vigil and readiness to respond to any contingencies in our area of interest" and urged the commanders to "maintain highest combat readiness of our platforms and diligent monitoring of developments in the maritime domain."
  
  He also lauded the navy's efforts for its focused action in deterring piracy attempts off the Gulf of Aden and closer to Indian islands in the Arabian Sea.
  
  This comes in the light of the recent decision by Contact Group of Piracy off the Coast of Somalia (CGPCS) to shift the eastern limit of High Risk Area from 78 Degrees East to 65 Degrees East.
  
  Admiral Dhowan highlighted that not even one India-owned ship has been hijacked since October 2008 due to the Indian Navy's proactive anti-piracy stance.
  
  The conference, which started on Monday, saw top commanders of the navy deliberate on several issues related to operation, combat readiness, administration and modernisation and indigenisation of the navy.
  
  Key technological enablers for transformation of the navy was one of the issues on agenda, and the navy chief called for continued and sustained efforts with progressive substitution of imports by 'Make in India'.
  
  An official statement said that the discussions in the conference will serve as a roadmap for the future navy till 2030 and indigenisation, in line with the 'Make in India' initiative is the key driver for this roadmap.
  
  Currently, the navy has 47 ships currently under construction at Indian shipyards.
  
  Among other issues, the conference discussed e-governance and induction of manpower.
  
  The navy chief also reviewed the progress of various infrastructure projects in the pipeline and stressed on the need to adopt sustainable green technologies, recycling and waste management to reduce carbon footprint of naval bases.
  
  He also reviewed the 'coastal security construct', and preparations for upcoming International Fleet Review (IFR), set to take place in February 2016.
  
  Consolidation and strengthening of the rapidly expanding aviation arm of the navy was also discussed, as was infrastructure and manning requirements for new induction aircraft, including Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV) and enhancement of surveillance.

PM Modi to Inaugurate 'Resurgent Rajasthan' Summit on November 19

• JAIPUR:  Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate the two-day "Resurgent Rajasthan Partnership Summit" in Jaipur on November 19.
  
  The summit will see participation from renowned investors and industrialists, an official spokesman said today.
  
  Several union ministers such as Nitin Gadkari, Nirmala Sitharaman, Kalraj Mishra and Rajiv Pratap Rudy, among others, will also attend the summit, he added.
  
  The first day of the event will witness eight sectoral sessions along with two country-specific sessions.
  
  

  While the 'focus country' sessions will be on Japan and Singapore, the parallel sectoral sessions will stress on the thrust sectors of Rajasthan and would be centered on various themes.
  
  The themes include Smart Cities & Highways; Make in India: Skilling Rajasthan; Leveraging tourism for sustainable development; Auto and ESDM sector; Agriculture and Food Processing; Regulatory Reforms; Sustainable Mining and Transforming Healthcare Delivery in Rajasthan.
  
  Prominent industrialists who would be attending the summit include Kiran Mazumdar Shaw of Biocon, Arun Nanda of Mahindra & Mahindra, Mohandas Pai of Manipal Global, Sunil Kant Munjal of Hero Moto Corp, Ajay S Shriram of DCM Shriram, Manish Sabharwal of TeamLease, Vijay K Thadani of NIIT, Shobana Kamineni of Apollo Hospitals.
  
  Besides, SN Eisenhower of Saint-Gobain Glass India, Tom Albanese of Vedanta Resources, Rakesh Bharti Mittal of Field Fresh Foods, Vipin Sondhi of JCB India Ltd, Katsushi Inoue of Honda Cars, among others, will participate in the event.
  
  The second day of the summit will be dedicated to MSME conclave. The keynote address will be delivered by MSME Secretary Anup Pujari.
  
  The session will see discussions on topics such as Comparative Advantages of Investing in Rajasthan, Immense potential of handicrafts exports from Rajasthan and access to marketing, among others.
  
  Industrialists such as Jayant Davar of Sandhar Technologies, Dileep Baid of Dileep Industries and OP Mittal of Laghu Udyog Bharti will also speak on the occasion.

Bidhya Bhandari Elected as Nepal's First Woman President

• KATHMANDU, NEPAL:  Bidhya Bhandari was elected as Nepal's first woman president today, after the adoption of a landmark constitution last month.
  
  Ms Bhandari, currently the vice-chair of the ruling Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist Leninist), defeated her opponent Kul Bahadur Gurung of the Nepali Congress by securing 327 to 214 votes to become the Himalayan nation's ceremonial head of state.
  
  

  A former defence minister, Ms Bhandari is a cancer survivor and widow of late communist leader Madan Bhandari, who died in 1991 in a yet unexplained road accident.
  
  The incumbent, Ram Baran Yadav, who belonged to Nepali Congress, was elected president in 2008 after the first elections to the Constituent Assembly.
  
  Under the country's new republican federal Constitution, promulgated on September 20, it was mandatory to elect new president and vice-president, prime minister, and parliament speaker and deputy speaker.
  
  "I announce that Bidhya Devi Bhandari has been elected to the post of Nepal's president," said Speaker Onsari Gharti Magar, to loud cheers from lawmakers.
  
  Ms Bhandari, a rare female face in Nepal's parliament, took up politics in her teens, seeking to overturn the absolute monarchy and later marrying a fellow communist, Madan Bhandari.
  
  But it was after her husband's death in a vehicle accident in 1993 that the mother of two became a prominent voice, riding a wave of sympathy to win a seat in parliament.
  
  Mr Yadav was initially supposed to hold office for only two years. But years of political wrangling delayed agreement on a new constitution, which was only finally adopted last month.
  
  Ms Bhandari, 54, is the second woman to be elected to a senior position since then, after Ms Magar became the country's first female Speaker of the parliament.
  
  As required by the new charter, parliament also this month elected a new prime minister, KP Sharma Oli, who is tasked with unifying the earthquake-hit country.
  
  The constitution, the first drawn up by elected representatives, was meant to cement peace and bolster Nepal's transformation to a democratic republic after decades of political instability and a 10-year Maoist insurgency.
  
  But it has instead sparked deadly violence.
  
  More than 40 people have been killed in clashes between police and ethnic minority protesters, who say a new federal structure laid out in the charter adopted last month will leave them under-represented in parliament.
  
  Work on the constitution began in 2008 after Maoist rebels laid down arms and entered politics, winning parliamentary elections and abolishing the monarchy. But power-sharing squabbles between parties stymied progress.
  
  Lawmakers finally reached agreement in June, spurred by the massive earthquake two months earlier that killed nearly 8,900 people and left more than half a million people homeless.

More Psychiatric Tests for Belgian Man Charged With Son's Murder in Singapore

• SINGAPORE:  A Belgian financial executive accused of murdering his five-year-old son in Singapore was remanded today for another four weeks for further psychiatric tests.
  
  Philippe Graffart, 41, was charged with murder earlier this month for the death of his son Keryan at an upmarket condominium near Singapore's embassy row, an offence punishable by hanging.
  
  Graffart was remanded for psychiatric observation at the medical complex in Changi Prison after he was charged on October 7.
  
  Today state prosecutors told a district court judge they had been informed by psychiatrists at the Institute of Mental Health that they needed four more weeks to assess the accused.
  
  

  Another hearing was set for November 25.
  
  Graffart was not brought to court but appeared on a large screen linked to Changi Prison.
  
  Dressed in prison clothes, he looked composed as he answered "yes" to a question by the judge on whether he understood the proceedings. He also said he preferred English as his main language.
  
  Defence lawyer Ramesh Tiwary said he also spoke to the psychiatrist assessing his client and had no objection to another four weeks in remand.
  
  Graffart's charge sheet said he "did commit murder by causing the death" of Keryan between the evening of October 5 and the morning of October 6 on their 32nd floor condominium unit.
  
  No other details were given but local media said the boy was found strangled, with hand-shaped bruises around his neck, inside his bedroom, and that Graffart was believed to have been fighting for custody of his son with his former wife.
  
  Graffart was arrested before dawn on October 6 after showing up with self-inflicted wounds outside a police station.
  
  The Belgian's account on business networking service LinkedIn described him as an executive director and head of fund distribution in the Asia-Pacific for Nordea Investment Management, based in Oslo.
  
  A Facebook account in his name showed a collection of happy pictures with Keryan.
  
  "Happy Birthday to you Keryan ! 5 years i am so proud of you !" said a post dated September 25.

Business Affairs 

Axis Bank, Cairn India and Trident among top stocks that trended today

• Extending losses for the third consecutive session, the domestic markets ended sharply lower in trade on Wednesday, as investors remained cautious ahead of the conclusion of the US Federal Reserve's meeting later in the day and the expiry of monthly derivatives contracts back home this week.

  The S&P BSE Sensex settled the day 204 points down, but managed to maintain its key support level of 27,000, while broader CNX Nifty ended at 8,177.15, down 55.75 points. At one point, the index had fallen below its crucial psychological level of 8,150.

  Markets breadth remained fairly negative with 19 of the 30 Sensex stocks ending the day in red.

  Here are top stocks which were in focus today:

  1. Axis Bank: Shares of Axis Bank tumbled over 7 per cent in trade on Wednesday as the private sector lender failed to meet Street expectations for the quarter ended September 30. The stock ended the day 7.36 per cent down and was the worst performer on both the benchmark indices. The script hit an intraday low of Rs 482.75, down 7.39 per cent, on BSE.
  2. Bharti Airtel: Bharti Airtel on Tuesday said its board has approved merger of wireless broadband firm Augere's India operations with the company. The company in August had announced to acquire the firm for an undisclosed amount.
  3. Trident: Shares of Trident surged over 8 per cent in trade on Wednesday after the company reported an over two-fold increase in its standalone net profit to Rs 50.97 crore for the second quarter ended September 30, mainly on account of reduced expenses. The stock ended the day over 6 per cent up after hitting an intraday high of Rs 47.50, up 8.57 per cent on the Bombay Stock Exchange.
  4. Thermax: Shares of Thermax skidded nearly 6 per cent in trade on Tuesday as the company reported 24.6 per cent drop in standalone net profit at Rs 64.83 crore for the quarter ended September 30, 2015. The stock ended 5.38 per cent down after hitting an intraday low of Rs 840.65, down 5.88 per cent on the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE).
  5. Jubilant Life Sciences: Shares of drug firm Jubilant Life Sciences' fell 4 per cent in trade on Wednesday. The company's board will meet on Thursday to consider a proposal to raise about Rs 1,300 crore through issuance of securities.
  6. Ceat: Shares of tyre maker Ceat ended 2.78 per cent down after the company posted 30.41 per cent increase in consolidated net profit at Rs 107.4 crore for the second quarter ended September 30, primarily due to softening of raw material costs.
  7. Opto Circuits: Shares of medical devices firm Opto Circuits settled the day 4.89 per cent down after the company said its step-down subsidiary in the US has filed for bankruptcy to facilitate debt restructuring.
  8. Cairn India: Shares of Cairn India fell nearly 4 per cent in trade on Wednesday after the Vedanta Chief Executive Officer Tom Albanese ruled out speculations that the merger deal might be reworked to present 'sweetening offer' to Carin India minority shareholders. The stock ended 2.75 per cent down after hitting an intraday low of Rs 152.20, down 3.70 per cent on the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE).

India moves up in World Bank's 'ease of doing business' list

• World Bank Chief Economist and Senior Vice-president Kaushik Basu has said it is not impossible for India to be in top 100 ranking of ease of doing business report next year if it continues with its set of planned economic reforms, including the crucial Goods and Services Tax (GST) and cuts down on the bureaucratic cost of doing business.

  "If the changes that we saw thus far can be kept up and strengthened a little, it is not impossible for India to be in top 100 (ranking of the ease of doing business report) by next year," Basu told PTI. "There are countries which have moved 30-40 places at one go, but usually these are small countries. For a big economy like India, it is difficult, but from what we have seen thus far, it is not impossible," he said after the World Bank in its report released on Tuesday said that India jumped 12 places in the ease of doing business from 142 last year to 130 this year.

  Basu, who served as the top economic advisor during the previous Manmohan Singh government, described this as a remarkable achievement for a country of the size of Indian economy and that too in the first year of the reform. 

  "We have usually seen in other countries when the reforms start, in the first year, you get a small movement then in the second and third year, you get a big movement. And India had a reasonably substantial movement in the first year itself. So one is very hopeful," Basu said. However, he felt there is still a long way to go. "There is a lot of serious interest in India to cut down bureaucratic costs of doing business for small and medium-sized firms. It is important however to recognise that this is just a start. There is still a long way to go," he said. 

  Responding to a question, Basu said there are three areas where India needs reforms and initiatives. First, India needs to cut down transactions costs and the bureaucratic hurdles it places on individuals and small enterprises. "As I just said, there is reason for optimism on this," he said. "Second, India needs better infrastructureroads, railways, ports. There has already been improvement in infrastructural investment. But the momentum needs to be kept up," he added. "And, third, is inclusiveness. India is a diverse society and you have to have policies so that all groups feel included, and part of society. This entails health and educational interventions for the disadvantaged," he said. "Inclusiveness goes beyond economics, but, done well, it can yield rich dividends for the economy," he said.

  Going back to economic reforms, Basu said there are a couple of big ticket items on the agenda. He described GST as the biggest one. "If, India can move so that by next year, after the Budget, you have a GST in place, that can make a very big difference. It will not be a perfect GST to start with but it should be possible to make amendments and improve it over time," he said. "Here is one very simple statistic. In India, a truck carrying freight goes from one city to another spends on average 60 per cent of the time stationary; and the bulk of that time is because of check posts, doing paper work, paying taxes and levie," Basu said. 

  Once the GST is in place, India can very easily have a rule that there will be no check posts on the way. All charges will be paid at the source or at the destination, Basu said, indicating implementation of GST would help considerable improvement in ease of doing business ranking.

  Observing that the design of economic policy requires a lot of skillful professional thought, Basu said luckily, there are very good professionals Raghuram Rajan, Arvind Subramanian, to name just two in the Indian government. "They must be used to design policy better. And it should use people not just from those in government. There is excellent skill in India's universities, the Delhi School of Economics, Indian Statistical Institute, Indira Gandhi Institute. India needs to give voice to these professionals and their independent voices," he said. 

  Considered as the top world economist, Basu said India's economy is looking very good. In the World Bank's table of growth projections for major economies in the world India is topping the list for this the next year. "Something similar is true of IMF projections. I do not think this has happened before. The Indian economy has some deep strengths and must continue to build on them," he said. "But as I said before, we do not live by the economy alone. We have to attend to several diverse reforms and an active policy of inclusiveness and the promotion of shared prosperity," Basu said. 

ITC to double investments in Punjab to Rs 1,400 crore

• FMCG firm ITC said on Wednesday it will double its investments in the food processing sector in Punjab from Rs 700 crore to Rs 1,400 crore.

  Besides, the company is interested in sourcing Kinnow fruit from Punjab for making juice at its facility in the state.

  "For integrated food processing park, we had committed Rs 700 crore. But after having gone back from here, we soon came to the conclusion that Rs 700 crore was not enough to make investment in the food bowl of India. So, we upped the investment to Rs 1,400 crore," ITC Chairman YC Deveshwar said while addressing the second edition of Progressive Punjab Investors Summit in Mohali on Wednesday.

  The company, which is coming up with its integrated food processing park at Kapurthala, will also increase area for its upcoming manufacturing facility.

  "I am happy to inform that construction is on at 40 acres of land (in Kapurthala)," he said, adding that the facility's acreage would be increased to 71 acre.

  In the first edition of investor summit in 2013, ITC had announced to invest Rs 700 crore in food processing sector in Punjab.

  He also hailed the Punjab government's move to exempt all taxes on food processing inputs.

  Deveshwar further said he was also keen on sourcing Kinnow from Punjab and invest in hospitality sector in the state.

  "Barring unforeseen circumstances, this kind of tax free inputs, Punjab should be the place from where all value added food processing products should be supplied all over India. We already have in mind to compete against imported orange juice and beverages with Kinnow from Punjab. If all goes well, then within three months from now, Kinnow sourced from Punjab will be marketed by ITC and processed it here in our facility," he said.

  "We are also in tourism and hospitality business and will be very happy to make further investment if opportunity was given for land at right location. We will make investment in luxury hotel, convention centre or large facility where conference should be held here," he added.

  Deveshwar informed ITC is already engaged in seed potato business, agro forestry and wheat buying in Punjab besides procuring clothing from the state's Wills Lifestyle stores.

  The food processing sector is the biggest challenge today for the country, he said.

  "Food processing is the biggest challenge today for the young country where average age is very young. We are bringing 12 million people to join market every year but we are able to provide 3 million jobs," the ITC Chairman said.

  Referring to the 'Make in India' initiative, Deveshwar said it is in the right direction.

  "But the lowest hanging fruit is at intersection of agriculture and industry if we add value to agriculture then there will be a lot of benefits, including creation of jobs," he added.

Invest in Africa for resources and growth, says Sushma Swaraj

• Indian companies must invest in African countries as they offer resources and growth opportunities that can be a win-win situation for both sides, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj said today.

  Sharing her experience after meeting visiting foreign ministers of African nations, Swaraj said countries in that continent offer immense business and investment opportunities for India.

  "Nowhere is the impact of economic growth and development as visible as in Africa...The day you combine your strength with their needs, that would be a win-win situation for both...their needs would be fulfilled and you would make money," she said while addressing the India-Africa Business Forum here.

  The Minister said that while trade between India and Africa has increased 10-fold in a decade to $72 billion in 2014-15, its still way below its potential considering the size of India and Africa.

  Swaraj stressed that the 2.3 billion combined population of India and Africa offer a huge market for all sorts of goods and services.

  "Today India is fastest growing major economy in the world, and Africa, a fastest growing Continent. Our respective economic growths provide unparallelled economic opportunities for our businesses and investors," she said, adding that as India's economy has grown and matured, considerable amount of capital generated in India seeks new destination outside the country, including in Africa.

  Indian companies have invested about $32.35 billion in Africa.

  "Indian investors are aware of the potential of Africa with large land mass, rich natural resources and demand... We hope various countries in Africa will take steps to attract such investments from India, particularly from manufacturing and processing activities," the Minister said.

  She also asked Indian and African businesses to take advantage of the 'Make In India' initiative to work towards mutually beneficial joint business ventures.

  "Africa has suffered and lagged behind because it was victim of apartheid policy, despite being blessed with natural resources, hard working people and good leadership," she said.

  The minister called upon the industry chambers to hold meetings with Heads of Missions of African nations to explore opportunities.

  Swaraj said she held meetings with 7 foreign ministers yesterday and would be meeting 12 today and the other visiting ministers day after.

India's World Bank ranking on 'ease of doing business' will improve further: FM Arun Jaitley

• With India jumping 12 positions to rank 130th in the world on ease of doing business , Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said on Wednesday the improvement in ranking does not fully reflect the reforms initiated and the position will improve further next year.

  "I am grateful that the World Bank has recognised that India is now becoming an easier place to do business ... I believe that this 12 point movement does not reflect the full pace of reforms that we have done," he said.

  "A large number of steps which we have already taken are going to be reflected in the rankings next year. These rankings are only up to June 1 and some of those steps, whose impact is not seen on the ground, as yet have not been factored into this. But I am sure in the years our ranking will certainly improve."

  A World Bank report on Tuesday ranked India at 130 out of 189 country on the ease of doing business, up 12 places from 142nd rank last year.

  "A forward movement of 12 spots in the ease of doing business by an economy of the size of India is a 'remarkable achievement," World Bank's Chief Economist and Senior Vice President Kaushik Basu said.

  Reacting to the ranking, Jaitley said he believed that India still has a long way to go and it is "work in progress" on improving environment for doing business in the country.

  "Our ranking really has to move up substantially," he told ET Now business news channel.

  Jaitley said that in recent days the government has taken a number of steps to further improve the ranking. "I am trying to make the Income Tax Act much simpler. Yesterday I have announced a Committee which will recast some of these provisions."

  Similarly, there is a committee working on removing complications in the Companies Act.

  "There is still an area on enforcement of contracts, easier adjudication of disputes... so have brought out an ordinance for a fast-track arbitration procedure," Jaitley said.

General Awareness

2 Indian artists named in “Power 100” of contemporary art world

• • The London-based publication’s latest issue featuresRenowned artists Bose Krishnamachari and Riyas Komu, who are the co-founders of India’s only biennale, have been ranked among the top 100 most influential people in contemporary art world by leadingBritish magazine ArtReview.

    
    

    • Their name has been marked in list of “Power 100” for their contribution to contemporary art by organising the Kochi-Muziris Biennale (KMB).

    About Bose Krishnamachari
    Bose Krishnamachari is Kerala born internationally acclaimed Malayali painter and Artist-Curator based in Mumbai who have been exhibited in numerous solo and group exhibitions.

    • His work comprises vivid abstract paintings, figurative drawings, sculpture, photography, multimedia installations and architecture.
    • He was honoured with Life Time Fellowship Award– Kerala Lalita Kala Academy.
    • He is also a recipient of British Council travel award in 1993 and Mid America Arts Alliance Award (1996) and Chales Wallace India Trust Award (1999–2000).

    About Riyas Komu
    Riyas Komu is also Kerala born Indian artist and sculptor. He did Bachelors in Fine Arts & Masters in Fine Arts from Sir J.J. School of Art in Mumbai. His work was conferred with the following awards:

    • K. Hebbar Foundation Society Scholarship 1997 to 1999
    • Bombay Art Society Award 1996
    • Maharashtra State Art Prize 1995
    • “Critic’s Choice” at NGMA 1999

    About ArtReview
    ArtReview regularly compiles an annual list of 100 people in recognition of their contribution to contemporary art. The “Power 100” list is one of the most established rankings in the art world featuring artists, curators, directors of museums, art foundations and art fairs, collectors and patrons of art. In 2015 the list was compiled by a 16-member international jury.