General Affairs
Kolkata Flyover Collapse: Construction Company Was Taken Over By Banks
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kolkata: The IVRCL Group -- the company in charge of building the flyover in Kolkata which collapsed yesterday causing the deaths of 24 people - had been under a consortium of banks for the last four months.
The takeover took place in December 2015 after the infrastructure builder posted a loss of Rs 672 crore. This happened despite the number of projects the real estate giant was executing across India, an investigation has found.
In 2009 -- the year it took charge of building the flyover, the company, headquartered in Hyderabad, had bagged 27 projects across India.
Six years later, only 45% of the 2-km flyover had been completed, the company had admitted. When it collapsed yesterday, the builders were reportedly hurrying the project after Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee reportedly asked for its completion by February.
In its website, the IVRCL indicated that the flyover was a tough project to execute. The area is "very congested, hampering movement of heavy equipment," and "effective working hours only 6 that too at midnight" - read the relevant section in the website.
Eight officials of the company were detained today in Kolkata and Hyderabad, a FIR has been filed under the relevant sections of murder and attempt to murder. A plea has also been filed in court against the company, seeking an investigation by the Central Bureau of Investigation.
Amid speculations and allegations of negligence, a senior official of the IVRCL has called the collapse "an act of God". Today, the company has said the collapse could also be a result of sabotage.
Calling their attitude "casual" and "wrong", Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has said, "It is a big loss of human lives, strong action will be taken."
Opposition parties allege that the flyover was being built without proper planning and rules had been overlooked to allow its construction at a teeming commercial area.
BJP's Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi said the disaster was an "act of fraud".
CPM's former minister Ashok Bhattacharya has claimed IVRCL was later blacklisted by some central and state governments. "Why did Mamata Banerjee allow IVRCL to continue," he asked.
kolkata: The IVRCL Group -- the company in charge of building the flyover in Kolkata which collapsed yesterday causing the deaths of 24 people - had been under a consortium of banks for the last four months.The takeover took place in December 2015 after the infrastructure builder posted a loss of Rs 672 crore. This happened despite the number of projects the real estate giant was executing across India, an investigation has found.
In 2009 -- the year it took charge of building the flyover, the company, headquartered in Hyderabad, had bagged 27 projects across India.
In its website, the IVRCL indicated that the flyover was a tough project to execute. The area is "very congested, hampering movement of heavy equipment," and "effective working hours only 6 that too at midnight" - read the relevant section in the website.
Eight officials of the company were detained today in Kolkata and Hyderabad, a FIR has been filed under the relevant sections of murder and attempt to murder. A plea has also been filed in court against the company, seeking an investigation by the Central Bureau of Investigation.
Amid speculations and allegations of negligence, a senior official of the IVRCL has called the collapse "an act of God". Today, the company has said the collapse could also be a result of sabotage.
Calling their attitude "casual" and "wrong", Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has said, "It is a big loss of human lives, strong action will be taken."
Opposition parties allege that the flyover was being built without proper planning and rules had been overlooked to allow its construction at a teeming commercial area.
BJP's Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi said the disaster was an "act of fraud".
CPM's former minister Ashok Bhattacharya has claimed IVRCL was later blacklisted by some central and state governments. "Why did Mamata Banerjee allow IVRCL to continue," he asked.
PM Narendra Modi Holds Bilateral Talks With Canada's Justin Trudeau
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WASHINGTON: Prime Minister Narendra Modi began his engagement on the second day of his visit to Washington with a meeting with his Canadian counterpart Justin Trudeau.
The prime minister is in the US to a attend a two-day Nuclear Security Summit.
A "careful examination of nuclear security issues" is on the agenda as PM Modi arrived for opening plenary of the Nuclear Security Summit, External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Vikas Swarup tweeted today.
After Canada, PM Modi is also expected to chair bilateral talks with UK, Argentina and Japan.
The prime minister is in the US to a attend a two-day Nuclear Security Summit.
A "careful examination of nuclear security issues" is on the agenda as PM Modi arrived for opening plenary of the Nuclear Security Summit, External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Vikas Swarup tweeted today.
After Canada, PM Modi is also expected to chair bilateral talks with UK, Argentina and Japan.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi Has Insulted Me: Tarun Gogoi
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GUWAHATI: Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi today accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of insulting him during his visit to the state to campaign for BJP for the upcoming state assembly polls and questioned his courage.
"Where did Modi get the courage to insult me in my own state, on my own land where I was born, did my studies and devoted 45 years of my life in the service of the people and the youth here?" Mr Gogoi asked while talking to reporters in Guwahati.
"He can criticise me but not insult. He must have got the courage from (BJP chief ministerial candidate) Sarbananda Sonowal and (BJP leader) Himanta Biswa Sarma," the chief minister asserted.
"Modi has become such a big dictator that he comes to Assam and insults me on my soil," Mr Gogoi claimed referring to a speech by PM Modi at an election campaign rally on Saturday.
Attacking Mr Gogoi, who is seeking a fourth straight term as Assam chief minister, PM Modi had said "It is no longer Tarun Gogoi, but Tarun go, go".
The prime minister had also said Mr Gogoi would be 90 years old in a few years and he had come to Assam to pay his respects to him.
Mr Gogoi, who according to his poll affidavit is about 79 years, said disrespecting him amounted to disrespecting the people of Assam as they had elected him as their chief minister.
The Chief Minister, who belongs to the Ahom community, also commented on BJP president Amit Shah last week at a poll rally in Assam saying that Ahom king Sukaphaa had attacked and defeated the Mughals 17 times.
"They (BJP) don't know the history of Assam or the state. They haven't find out," Mr Gogoi said. Sukaphaa had founded the Ahom kingdom in 1228 AD and died in 1268 AD, while Babur established the Mughal Empire in 1526 AD.
Mr Gogoi's son and lawmaker Gaurav Gogoi at a press meet in Jorhat yesterday had said the prime minister's remarks in reference to their family name 'Gogoi' was not only an insult to the chief minister but to the whole community sharing the surname.
GUWAHATI: Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi today accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of insulting him during his visit to the state to campaign for BJP for the upcoming state assembly polls and questioned his courage."Where did Modi get the courage to insult me in my own state, on my own land where I was born, did my studies and devoted 45 years of my life in the service of the people and the youth here?" Mr Gogoi asked while talking to reporters in Guwahati.
"Modi has become such a big dictator that he comes to Assam and insults me on my soil," Mr Gogoi claimed referring to a speech by PM Modi at an election campaign rally on Saturday.
Attacking Mr Gogoi, who is seeking a fourth straight term as Assam chief minister, PM Modi had said "It is no longer Tarun Gogoi, but Tarun go, go".
The prime minister had also said Mr Gogoi would be 90 years old in a few years and he had come to Assam to pay his respects to him.
Mr Gogoi, who according to his poll affidavit is about 79 years, said disrespecting him amounted to disrespecting the people of Assam as they had elected him as their chief minister.
The Chief Minister, who belongs to the Ahom community, also commented on BJP president Amit Shah last week at a poll rally in Assam saying that Ahom king Sukaphaa had attacked and defeated the Mughals 17 times.
"They (BJP) don't know the history of Assam or the state. They haven't find out," Mr Gogoi said. Sukaphaa had founded the Ahom kingdom in 1228 AD and died in 1268 AD, while Babur established the Mughal Empire in 1526 AD.
Mr Gogoi's son and lawmaker Gaurav Gogoi at a press meet in Jorhat yesterday had said the prime minister's remarks in reference to their family name 'Gogoi' was not only an insult to the chief minister but to the whole community sharing the surname.
Army Chief Dalbir Singh Suhag Visits Siachen Glacier
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SRINAGAR: Chief of the Army Staff General Dalbir Singh Suhag has visited Siachen Glacier to review the situation at the highest battlefield in the world, where 10 army soldiers died in an avalanche in February.
"The Army Chief (yesterday) visited the sites where our soldiers lost their lives at Siachen in the recent avalanches," a defence spokesman said today.
He said Gen Singh interacted with the soldiers serving at Siachen and commended them for their outstanding work in the difficult conditions.
He exhorted them to be careful about the avalanche threats.
"The Army Chief separately met the porters who work tirelessly to maintain the posts in difficult conditions at Siachen," the spokesman said.
He was accompanied by the Northern Army Commander, Lt General DS Hooda and Corps Commander of Army's 14 Corps, Lt General SK Patyal, he added.
"The Army Chief (yesterday) visited the sites where our soldiers lost their lives at Siachen in the recent avalanches," a defence spokesman said today.
He said Gen Singh interacted with the soldiers serving at Siachen and commended them for their outstanding work in the difficult conditions.
"The Army Chief separately met the porters who work tirelessly to maintain the posts in difficult conditions at Siachen," the spokesman said.
He was accompanied by the Northern Army Commander, Lt General DS Hooda and Corps Commander of Army's 14 Corps, Lt General SK Patyal, he added.
Entry Fee For Archaeological Survey Monuments Hiked
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NEW DELHI: The government today brought into effect a three-fold hike in the entry fee for 116 monuments under ASI for domestic visitors and 100 per cent for foreign tourists.
For the 32 'World Heritage Monuments', the ticket price has been increased to Rs 30 from Rs 10 for the domestic visitor, while the entry fee for foreign nationals has been hiked to Rs 500 from Rs 250, according to an official statement.
South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) and Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) countries are treated at par with Indians and are charged similarly.
For monuments other than the World Heritage ones, the entry fee has been increased three-fold to Rs 15 from Rs 5 for the domestic visitor, while foreigners will have to pay Rs 200 against Rs 100.
"The enhancement comes after a period of more than 15 years as the last increase took place in 2000...The enhanced rates are at par with entry fee at monuments abroad," the statement said.
Justifying the move, the Culture Ministry said this would not only boost the economy of the sector but also help in providing better services and amenities to tourists.
Last year, the ministry had announced that it would implement the hike in entry fee for monuments across the country from November 1 but it was postponed due to pressure from the tourism lobby.
NEW DELHI: The government today brought into effect a three-fold hike in the entry fee for 116 monuments under ASI for domestic visitors and 100 per cent for foreign tourists.For the 32 'World Heritage Monuments', the ticket price has been increased to Rs 30 from Rs 10 for the domestic visitor, while the entry fee for foreign nationals has been hiked to Rs 500 from Rs 250, according to an official statement.
South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) and Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) countries are treated at par with Indians and are charged similarly.
"The enhancement comes after a period of more than 15 years as the last increase took place in 2000...The enhanced rates are at par with entry fee at monuments abroad," the statement said.
Justifying the move, the Culture Ministry said this would not only boost the economy of the sector but also help in providing better services and amenities to tourists.
Last year, the ministry had announced that it would implement the hike in entry fee for monuments across the country from November 1 but it was postponed due to pressure from the tourism lobby.
Business Affairs
Sensex ends 77 points down, Nifty holds above 7,700; Bharti Airtel top loser
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In a volatile trading session, the S&P BSE Sensex settled the day 77 points lower after falling as much as 222 points in trade on Friday, while broader CNX Nifty managed to hold above its key 7,700-mark.
The headline indices slipped a day after hitting a near three-month high, as investors braced for yet another weak quarter for earnings, and after weak business sentiment data from Japan rekindled global growth worries.
The 30-share index ended the day at 25,264, down 77.56 points, while broad-based 50-share index quoted 7,710, down 28.10 points at close.
Market breadth turned negative with 17 of the 30 Sensex components ending the day in red.
Bharti Airtel was the worst performing stock on Sensex and shed 4.46 per cent.
Business sentiment among Japan's big manufacturers deteriorated to the lowest in nearly three years and is expected to worsen in the coming quarter, a closely watched central bank survey showed on Friday.
Asian shares and the dollar both lost more ground as investors began the new quarter in a cautious mood, with glimmers of life in China's economy offset by a darkening mood in Japan.
Markets back home were also a bit groggy after rallying about 10 per cent in March following a fiscally prudent federal budget and amid expectations of a 50 basis point rate cut by the central bank on April 5.
"Whatever happened in the month of March was the rally of March. Now I'm expecting a correction as the results season is likely to start and things will get difficult from here on," said AK Prabhakar, head of research at IDBI Capital to Reuters.
Analysts have been cutting projections for the March quarter, due to a surge in bad loans for Indian banks, oil price slump and weak global demand.
If the declining projections are realised, already costly stocks could become pricier and equity investors could become even more skittish.
Automakers Tata Motors and Mahindra and Mahindra fell more than 1 per cent after the Supreme Court on Thursday extended a ban on the sale of large diesel cars in New Delhi until the next hearing of the case.
Infrastructure firm IVRCL slumped 8.45 per cent after a flyover, which the company was building, collapsed on Thursday in Kolkata.
Among the gainers, Jaiprakash Associates surged 11.65 per cent after UltraTech Cement's board approved a deal to buy the former's identified cement plants at an enterprise value of Rs 15,900 crore.
In a volatile trading session, the S&P BSE Sensex settled the day 77 points lower after falling as much as 222 points in trade on Friday, while broader CNX Nifty managed to hold above its key 7,700-mark.
The headline indices slipped a day after hitting a near three-month high, as investors braced for yet another weak quarter for earnings, and after weak business sentiment data from Japan rekindled global growth worries.
The 30-share index ended the day at 25,264, down 77.56 points, while broad-based 50-share index quoted 7,710, down 28.10 points at close.
Market breadth turned negative with 17 of the 30 Sensex components ending the day in red.
Bharti Airtel was the worst performing stock on Sensex and shed 4.46 per cent.
Business sentiment among Japan's big manufacturers deteriorated to the lowest in nearly three years and is expected to worsen in the coming quarter, a closely watched central bank survey showed on Friday.
Asian shares and the dollar both lost more ground as investors began the new quarter in a cautious mood, with glimmers of life in China's economy offset by a darkening mood in Japan.
Markets back home were also a bit groggy after rallying about 10 per cent in March following a fiscally prudent federal budget and amid expectations of a 50 basis point rate cut by the central bank on April 5.
"Whatever happened in the month of March was the rally of March. Now I'm expecting a correction as the results season is likely to start and things will get difficult from here on," said AK Prabhakar, head of research at IDBI Capital to Reuters.
Analysts have been cutting projections for the March quarter, due to a surge in bad loans for Indian banks, oil price slump and weak global demand.
If the declining projections are realised, already costly stocks could become pricier and equity investors could become even more skittish.
Automakers Tata Motors and Mahindra and Mahindra fell more than 1 per cent after the Supreme Court on Thursday extended a ban on the sale of large diesel cars in New Delhi until the next hearing of the case.
Infrastructure firm IVRCL slumped 8.45 per cent after a flyover, which the company was building, collapsed on Thursday in Kolkata.
Among the gainers, Jaiprakash Associates surged 11.65 per cent after UltraTech Cement's board approved a deal to buy the former's identified cement plants at an enterprise value of Rs 15,900 crore.
RBI expected to cut rates next week as inflation dips: Poll
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Falling inflation will give the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) room to cut interest rates at a policy review on Tuesday, and cut them again by September, before holding steady to assess the impact of the upcoming monsoon season on food prices, a Reuters poll found.
RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan led an aggressive cycle of policy easing last year, slashing a cumulative 125 basis points off the repo rate to leave it at 6.75 per cent in September. Since then, however, the bank has chosen to wait.
The poll of over 50 economists showed the interest rate was likely to be cut to 6.50 per cent at the April 5 review, showing views unchanged from a Reuters survey conducted last month.
"An accommodative monetary policy is the need of the hour with industrial and agricultural data suggesting weakness," said Debopam Chaudhuri, chief economist at ZyFin, who expects the RBI to front-load with a 50 basis points cut next week.
The poll predicted a second 25 basis points cut to 6.25 per cent during the July-September quarter, but then foresaw no further change until at least mid-2017.
"The RBI will want to wait for some clarity on the monsoon to ascertain the trajectory of food inflation before signaling another rate cut," said Shivom Chakravarty, senior economist at HDFC Bank.
Inflation cooled slightly to 5.18 per cent in February from January's 5.69 per cent, breaking a five-month streak of increases and leaving room for RBI to ease in April.
But, summer rains have been unpredictable recently and 2015 marked a second year of drought in India. Most of the country's population depend on agriculture to make a living and rely on the monsoon for irrigation.
A majority of economists - 18 of 31 who responded to the question - expect the tone of Rajan's upcoming statement to be similar to February's, with 11 saying it would be more dovish and only two saying more hawkish.
Falling inflation will give the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) room to cut interest rates at a policy review on Tuesday, and cut them again by September, before holding steady to assess the impact of the upcoming monsoon season on food prices, a Reuters poll found.
RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan led an aggressive cycle of policy easing last year, slashing a cumulative 125 basis points off the repo rate to leave it at 6.75 per cent in September. Since then, however, the bank has chosen to wait.
The poll of over 50 economists showed the interest rate was likely to be cut to 6.50 per cent at the April 5 review, showing views unchanged from a Reuters survey conducted last month.
"An accommodative monetary policy is the need of the hour with industrial and agricultural data suggesting weakness," said Debopam Chaudhuri, chief economist at ZyFin, who expects the RBI to front-load with a 50 basis points cut next week.
The poll predicted a second 25 basis points cut to 6.25 per cent during the July-September quarter, but then foresaw no further change until at least mid-2017.
"The RBI will want to wait for some clarity on the monsoon to ascertain the trajectory of food inflation before signaling another rate cut," said Shivom Chakravarty, senior economist at HDFC Bank.
Inflation cooled slightly to 5.18 per cent in February from January's 5.69 per cent, breaking a five-month streak of increases and leaving room for RBI to ease in April.
But, summer rains have been unpredictable recently and 2015 marked a second year of drought in India. Most of the country's population depend on agriculture to make a living and rely on the monsoon for irrigation.
A majority of economists - 18 of 31 who responded to the question - expect the tone of Rajan's upcoming statement to be similar to February's, with 11 saying it would be more dovish and only two saying more hawkish.
IT department notifies new Income Tax Returns norms
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People with an income of more than Rs 50 lakh per annum and having the pleasure of owning a yacht, aircraft or valuable jewellery will now have to disclose these costly assets with the IT department notifying a new set of Income Tax Return (ITR) forms for assessment year 2016-17.
Filing for the new forms begins with the onset of the new financial year on Friday.
The Finance Ministry published a gazette order in this regard on March 30 and taxpayers can file their ITRs till the stipulated deadline of July 31.
The department has introduced a fresh reporting column in the new ITRs (ITR-2 and 2A) called 'Asset and Liability at the end of the year' which is applicable in cases where the total income exceeds Rs 50 lakhs. Individuals and entities coming under this income bracket will also have to mention the total cost of such assets.
So, while immovable assets like land and building have to be furnished under the new ITR regime, movable assets like cash in hand, jewellery, bullion, vehicles, yachts, boats and aircraft will also have to be disclosed to the taxman.
The entity reporting these high-value possessions will also have to describe their "Liability in relation" to these items.
"The new reporting mechanisms for people earning over Rs 50 lakh per annum are made to check tax evasion by high-net worth individuals and entities. While their income returns used to cover this in a way till now, a new exclusive column was essential to keep the taxman informed," a senior official said.
For the first time, the ITRs, keeping in spirit the government's flagship agenda of promoting startup businesses has brought out a separate column for earnings made from this sector.
The ITR-2A, to be filled by those individuals and HUFs who do not have income from either business, profession or by way of capital gains and do not hold foreign assets, has the new column called Pass Through Income (PTI) and seeks details from business trust or investment fund as per section 115UA and 115UB of the Income Tax Act (investments made in a venture capital company) which pertains to emerging companies or startup firms.
People with an income of more than Rs 50 lakh per annum and having the pleasure of owning a yacht, aircraft or valuable jewellery will now have to disclose these costly assets with the IT department notifying a new set of Income Tax Return (ITR) forms for assessment year 2016-17.
Filing for the new forms begins with the onset of the new financial year on Friday.
The Finance Ministry published a gazette order in this regard on March 30 and taxpayers can file their ITRs till the stipulated deadline of July 31.
The department has introduced a fresh reporting column in the new ITRs (ITR-2 and 2A) called 'Asset and Liability at the end of the year' which is applicable in cases where the total income exceeds Rs 50 lakhs. Individuals and entities coming under this income bracket will also have to mention the total cost of such assets.
So, while immovable assets like land and building have to be furnished under the new ITR regime, movable assets like cash in hand, jewellery, bullion, vehicles, yachts, boats and aircraft will also have to be disclosed to the taxman.
The entity reporting these high-value possessions will also have to describe their "Liability in relation" to these items.
"The new reporting mechanisms for people earning over Rs 50 lakh per annum are made to check tax evasion by high-net worth individuals and entities. While their income returns used to cover this in a way till now, a new exclusive column was essential to keep the taxman informed," a senior official said.
For the first time, the ITRs, keeping in spirit the government's flagship agenda of promoting startup businesses has brought out a separate column for earnings made from this sector.
The ITR-2A, to be filled by those individuals and HUFs who do not have income from either business, profession or by way of capital gains and do not hold foreign assets, has the new column called Pass Through Income (PTI) and seeks details from business trust or investment fund as per section 115UA and 115UB of the Income Tax Act (investments made in a venture capital company) which pertains to emerging companies or startup firms.
Gold edges up on fresh buying, silver declines
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Gold prices edged up at the domestic bullion market here on mild demand from jewellery stockists and traders.
Silver declined following speculative selling and lacklustre industrial offtake.
Standard gold (99.5 purity) moved-up by Rs 5 to end at Rs 28,345 per 10 grams from yesterday's level of Rs 28,340.
Pure gold (99.9 purity) also rose by a similar margin of Rs 5 to close at Rs 28,495 per 10 grams against Rs 28,490 yesterday.
However, Silver (.999 fineness) dropped by Rs 60 per kg to finish at Rs 36,930 compared to Rs 36,990 previously.
Globally, gold steadied as a retreat in equities and the dollar supported the metal after its biggest quarterly rise in nearly 30 years, but moves were muted ahead of key US payrolls data.
Spot gold was at USD 1,231.78 an ounce in early trade, little changed from $1,231.95 late on Thursday.
Among other precious metals, silver was down 0.1 per cent at $15.40 an ounce.
Gold prices edged up at the domestic bullion market here on mild demand from jewellery stockists and traders.
Silver declined following speculative selling and lacklustre industrial offtake.
Standard gold (99.5 purity) moved-up by Rs 5 to end at Rs 28,345 per 10 grams from yesterday's level of Rs 28,340.
Pure gold (99.9 purity) also rose by a similar margin of Rs 5 to close at Rs 28,495 per 10 grams against Rs 28,490 yesterday.
However, Silver (.999 fineness) dropped by Rs 60 per kg to finish at Rs 36,930 compared to Rs 36,990 previously.
Globally, gold steadied as a retreat in equities and the dollar supported the metal after its biggest quarterly rise in nearly 30 years, but moves were muted ahead of key US payrolls data.
Spot gold was at USD 1,231.78 an ounce in early trade, little changed from $1,231.95 late on Thursday.
Among other precious metals, silver was down 0.1 per cent at $15.40 an ounce.
Flipkart acquires payment firm PhonePe
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Flipkart today announced the acquisition of PhonePe, a city-based mobile payments company co-founded by the e-commerce giant's two former employees.
PhonePe, co-founded by Sameer Nigam and Rahul Chari, is building India's first Unified Payments Interface (UPI) based product.
UPI, planned to go live in April, will allow users to transact using their unique identification and mobile phone number or virtual payments address without sharing any other bank details.
In contrast to the present payments process, which involves entering numerous account/card details and multi-level interventions, UPI will provide a highly secure hassle-free digital payments experience, Flipkart said.
Anyone holding an active bank account can easily perform instant transactions by simply using their mobile phone, it said in a release.
Flipkart CEO Binny Bansal said payments has been one of the biggest hurdles for mass adoption of online shopping in India, adding, UPI has the potential of transforming the entire payments ecosystem in the country.
The acquisition of PhonePe is in line with Flipkart's focus on driving innovation on the payments front, he said.
Nigam said PhonePe's mission is to significantly improve the online and offline digital payments experience for millions of Indian customers.
"We are really excited to merge with Flipkart and get access to one of the largest consumer bases in the country, which will allow us to realize our vision at a much larger scale," he said.
The PhonePe team will transition to Flipkart but will function as an independent business unit, the release said.
Flipkart today announced the acquisition of PhonePe, a city-based mobile payments company co-founded by the e-commerce giant's two former employees.
PhonePe, co-founded by Sameer Nigam and Rahul Chari, is building India's first Unified Payments Interface (UPI) based product.
UPI, planned to go live in April, will allow users to transact using their unique identification and mobile phone number or virtual payments address without sharing any other bank details.
In contrast to the present payments process, which involves entering numerous account/card details and multi-level interventions, UPI will provide a highly secure hassle-free digital payments experience, Flipkart said.
Anyone holding an active bank account can easily perform instant transactions by simply using their mobile phone, it said in a release.
Flipkart CEO Binny Bansal said payments has been one of the biggest hurdles for mass adoption of online shopping in India, adding, UPI has the potential of transforming the entire payments ecosystem in the country.
The acquisition of PhonePe is in line with Flipkart's focus on driving innovation on the payments front, he said.
Nigam said PhonePe's mission is to significantly improve the online and offline digital payments experience for millions of Indian customers.
"We are really excited to merge with Flipkart and get access to one of the largest consumer bases in the country, which will allow us to realize our vision at a much larger scale," he said.
The PhonePe team will transition to Flipkart but will function as an independent business unit, the release said.
General Awareness
MoU on IMPRINT programme signed by 25 Ministries
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In a bid to encourage research in premier technical institutions through IMPRINT (Impacting Research Innovation and Technology), the memorandum of understanding has been signed by the 25 ministries comprising human resource development.
- This is for the first time that all IITs have jointly taken an initiative of IMPRINT, under which technological innovations will be undergone which would be beneficialfor a common man.
- All the Ministers assured their full cooperation in taking forward the research work under 10 technology domainscomprised under IMPRINT.
Key Highlights of MoU
- Responsibilities of HRD – Laying down the Policy for implementation, coordination with the other departments and resolving difficulties in implementation and meeting50% cost of the project cost.
- Responsibilities of other departments – Defining therequirements of research for inclusion in the IMPRINT programme, participating in the Apex Committee meetingsfor selection of the projects and to review the progress of the projects from time to time.
About IMPRINT initiative:
Launched on November 5, 2014, IMPRINT is the Pan-IIT + IIScjoint initiative backed by MHRD. It is a multi-partner and multi-goal oriented national programme aimed at technology development covering all engineering disciplines, steered by all IITs and IISc. This novel initiative is aimed at:
- Developing new engineering education policy
- Creating a road map to pursue engineering challenges
IMPRINT provides the overarching vision that guides research into areas that are predominantly socially relevant.
In a bid to encourage research in premier technical institutions through IMPRINT (Impacting Research Innovation and Technology), the memorandum of understanding has been signed by the 25 ministries comprising human resource development.- This is for the first time that all IITs have jointly taken an initiative of IMPRINT, under which technological innovations will be undergone which would be beneficialfor a common man.
- All the Ministers assured their full cooperation in taking forward the research work under 10 technology domainscomprised under IMPRINT.
- Responsibilities of HRD – Laying down the Policy for implementation, coordination with the other departments and resolving difficulties in implementation and meeting50% cost of the project cost.
- Responsibilities of other departments – Defining therequirements of research for inclusion in the IMPRINT programme, participating in the Apex Committee meetingsfor selection of the projects and to review the progress of the projects from time to time.
About IMPRINT initiative:
Launched on November 5, 2014, IMPRINT is the Pan-IIT + IIScjoint initiative backed by MHRD. It is a multi-partner and multi-goal oriented national programme aimed at technology development covering all engineering disciplines, steered by all IITs and IISc. This novel initiative is aimed at:- Developing new engineering education policy
- Creating a road map to pursue engineering challenges
IMPRINT provides the overarching vision that guides research into areas that are predominantly socially relevant.
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