General Affairs
After BJP's Mega Event, Congress Dubs PM Modi As 'Sapno Ka Saudagar'
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LUCKNOW/NEW DELHI: Opposition parties today continued its attack on the Modi government over its two-year rule with the Congress dubbing the prime minister as 'sapno ka saudagar' (merchant of dreams) for not keeping the promises he made during the 2014 Lok Sabha poll campaign.
The BJD accused the BJP-led government of moving in a pro-corporate and anti-people direction right from the beginning while the NCP said it was not able to contain the price rise and raised questions on the need for the mega celebrations in the national capital on completion of two years in office.
Hitting back at Congress for criticising the government over its second anniversary celebrations, BJP leader and Union Minister Kalraj Mishra said the main opposition party has a "negative" attitude and is levelling allegations to hide its shortcomings.
Claiming that the NDA government has failed on all fronts, senior Congress leader Anand Sharma called PM Modi a 'sapno ka saudagar' (merchant of dreams) for not keeping the promises he made during the Lok Sabha polls.
Mr Sharma also ridiculed the claims made by the prime minister on completion of two years in office and accused him of betraying people of the country. He said that PM Modi's words have no relation to truth.
"Investments and export have dropped. Lakhs of people have lost jobs. Modi has betrayed the country," he told reporters in Lucknow.
Mr Sharma, who was Commerce and Industry Minister in the UPA government, said that during the NDA government's rule investment in agriculture sector has declined.
The Deputy Leader of the Opposition in Rajya Sabha charged the Modi government with taking credit by changing the names of schemes launched by the previous UPA government.
"This is not done. This is wrong," he said.
Congress spokesperson Manish Tewari said that in the last two years, people have "seen through" the Prime Minister and in 2019, people will have the "last laugh", he said.
"In the past two years, the NDA government ripped the social fabric, slayed institutions, demolished federalism, sunk the economy and shrunk India's emerging international profile. That is the sum and substance of 'acche din'," he alleged.
Another Congress leader Kishore Chandra Deo compared PM Modi to "double-headed temple of Janus, the Greek god who speaks with one face and acts with another".
"Take only one issue - price rise, which affects the common people. Narendra Modi spoke much on the issue during campaigning (for the 2014 Lok Sabha polls). Now what is happening," asked NCP leader D P Tripathi.
"Take industry or agriculture, which sector is happy? If you see the happiness index, you will see there is no happiness, as nothing is happening," he said, adding, "Two years without even two smiles. There are miles to go."
BJD leader Tathagata Satpathy said the Modi government was unable to satisfy people's wishes on the ground level and that the country has been mis-served due to its "extremely bad managerial skills".
"Congress' attitude has always been negative. They are levelling allegations to hide their shortcomings. They have always cheated the country and misled the people through false slogans," Mr Mishra said.
The BJD accused the BJP-led government of moving in a pro-corporate and anti-people direction right from the beginning while the NCP said it was not able to contain the price rise and raised questions on the need for the mega celebrations in the national capital on completion of two years in office.
Hitting back at Congress for criticising the government over its second anniversary celebrations, BJP leader and Union Minister Kalraj Mishra said the main opposition party has a "negative" attitude and is levelling allegations to hide its shortcomings.
Claiming that the NDA government has failed on all fronts, senior Congress leader Anand Sharma called PM Modi a 'sapno ka saudagar' (merchant of dreams) for not keeping the promises he made during the Lok Sabha polls.
Mr Sharma also ridiculed the claims made by the prime minister on completion of two years in office and accused him of betraying people of the country. He said that PM Modi's words have no relation to truth.
"Investments and export have dropped. Lakhs of people have lost jobs. Modi has betrayed the country," he told reporters in Lucknow.
Mr Sharma, who was Commerce and Industry Minister in the UPA government, said that during the NDA government's rule investment in agriculture sector has declined.
The Deputy Leader of the Opposition in Rajya Sabha charged the Modi government with taking credit by changing the names of schemes launched by the previous UPA government.
"This is not done. This is wrong," he said.
Congress spokesperson Manish Tewari said that in the last two years, people have "seen through" the Prime Minister and in 2019, people will have the "last laugh", he said.
"In the past two years, the NDA government ripped the social fabric, slayed institutions, demolished federalism, sunk the economy and shrunk India's emerging international profile. That is the sum and substance of 'acche din'," he alleged.
Another Congress leader Kishore Chandra Deo compared PM Modi to "double-headed temple of Janus, the Greek god who speaks with one face and acts with another".
"Take only one issue - price rise, which affects the common people. Narendra Modi spoke much on the issue during campaigning (for the 2014 Lok Sabha polls). Now what is happening," asked NCP leader D P Tripathi.
"Take industry or agriculture, which sector is happy? If you see the happiness index, you will see there is no happiness, as nothing is happening," he said, adding, "Two years without even two smiles. There are miles to go."
BJD leader Tathagata Satpathy said the Modi government was unable to satisfy people's wishes on the ground level and that the country has been mis-served due to its "extremely bad managerial skills".
"Congress' attitude has always been negative. They are levelling allegations to hide their shortcomings. They have always cheated the country and misled the people through false slogans," Mr Mishra said.
IPL: David Warner Leads SRH to Maiden Title, Heartbreak For Virat Kohli
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Bengaluru: Sunrisers Hyderabad bowlers put up an incredible performance to ruin Virat Kohli's fairytale season beating Royal Challengers Bangalore by 8 runs in a high-octane summit clash walking away with their maiden Indian Premier League trophy, in Bengaluru on Sunday night.
In a battle between IPL's best batting and bowling line-ups, the Orange Army came up trumps despite initial blitzkrieg from Chris Gayle and Kohli, defending their total of 208 for seven by restricting the home team to 200 for seven.
It was David Warner's batting and astute captaincy complemented by some inspirational death overs bowling by Mustafizur Rahaman (1/37 in 4 overs) and Bhuvneshwar Kumar (0/25 in 4 overs) that clinched the issue.
Warner, who hit 68, finished second in run-getters' list with 848 runs.
The turning point certainly would be the 24 runs that Ben Cutting (39 no and 2/35) got in the final over off Shane Watson's bowling during Sunrisers innings and then came back to dismiss a rampaging Gayle.
With 18 needed off last over, Bhuvneshwar, who bowled 13 dot balls gave only 9 runs. As the last ball was delivered, skipper Warner's joy knew no bounds with the entire team and dug-out joining him in wild celebrations.
Gayle (76 off 38 balls) and skipper Kohli (54 off 35 balls) had a scintillating opening stand of 114 in 10.3 overs as it looked like a cakewalk for the home team.
But in the end, Kohli was the tragic hero once again after the WorldT20 in a tournament that will be remembered for his exploits.
He finished the tournament with an astounding 973 runs at an average of 81.08 and and equally impressive strike-rate of 152.03. He hit an unbelievable four hundreds and seven half-centuries, not to forget 83 boundaries and a staggering 38 sixes.
Once the duo were back in quick succession, it depended AB de Villiers (5), who had one of his rare failures as Sunrisers came back into the match.
KL Rahul was done in by a slow off-cutter from Cutting and Shane Watson found it hard to get the big shots going as Mustafizur accounted for him.
Stuart Binny hit Mustafizur down the ground for a six as the equation came down to 37 from 3 overs.
But Bhuvneshwar bowled a brilliant 18th over keeping everything in the blockhole as only 7 came off the over.
RCB 30 were needed off last two overs as Binny (9) was run-out off the first delivery of the 19th over bowled by Mustafizur. Sachin Baby hit six off the last ball as RCB's requirement of final over was 18 runs but Bhuvneshwar kept his cool to win the match for Sunrisers.
In pursuit of 209, it was Gayle who started the carnage with two sixes and a boundary off the fourth over bowled by left-arm Barinder Sran.
In the fifth over of the innings, Gayle hit Cutting for a six and a four off consecutive deliveries to bring up RCB's 50.
Gayle was already in his 40's when Kohli finally reached double figures as RCB also managed an identical 59 for no loss after Powerplays.
Gayle's 50 came off 25 balls with a six down the ground off Moises Henriques.
The likes of Henriques and Cutting were guilty of bowling too many length balls to Gayle, who promptly dispatched them over the ropes. The mayhem continued as the 100 came off 9 overs with Gayle's contribution being 74 compared to Kohli's 20. Poor David Warner had no option but to bring Mustafizur for a second spell within the 10 overs but then the damage had been done as Kohli got into the act with a four and a six. The Gayle mayhem ended when he tried to hit Cutting for a ninth six but mistimed it with Bipul Sharma running in from his third man position to take the catch. Gayle's 76 off 38 balls had four boundaries and eight sixes. By the time he was out, Kohli was already in his zone picking up boundaries at will. The 50 came off 32 balls with a six off Sran. But immediately after that Sran hit one back of the length and Kohli gave him the charge only to get an inside edge that saw the leg-bail being clipped. The stadium was stunned into silence as Kohli's 35-ball-54 studded with five fours and two sixes came to an end. De Villiers and KL Rahul were two new men at the crease but the target was 68 off 42 balls, slomething well within their reach.
But it was left-arm spinner Bipul Sharma, who came to the party as he got De Villiers to give him inside out charge but he skied to Henriques.
Earlier, skipper David Warner blasted his way to a 38-ball-69 as unheralded Ben Cutting's incredible hitting enabled Sunrisers Hyderabad get to a competitive 208 for seven against Royal Challengers Bangalore in the final of the Indian Premier League cricket tournament, here tonight.
Bengaluru: Sunrisers Hyderabad bowlers put up an incredible performance to ruin Virat Kohli's fairytale season beating Royal Challengers Bangalore by 8 runs in a high-octane summit clash walking away with their maiden Indian Premier League trophy, in Bengaluru on Sunday night.
In a battle between IPL's best batting and bowling line-ups, the Orange Army came up trumps despite initial blitzkrieg from Chris Gayle and Kohli, defending their total of 208 for seven by restricting the home team to 200 for seven.
It was David Warner's batting and astute captaincy complemented by some inspirational death overs bowling by Mustafizur Rahaman (1/37 in 4 overs) and Bhuvneshwar Kumar (0/25 in 4 overs) that clinched the issue.
Warner, who hit 68, finished second in run-getters' list with 848 runs.
The turning point certainly would be the 24 runs that Ben Cutting (39 no and 2/35) got in the final over off Shane Watson's bowling during Sunrisers innings and then came back to dismiss a rampaging Gayle.
With 18 needed off last over, Bhuvneshwar, who bowled 13 dot balls gave only 9 runs. As the last ball was delivered, skipper Warner's joy knew no bounds with the entire team and dug-out joining him in wild celebrations.
Gayle (76 off 38 balls) and skipper Kohli (54 off 35 balls) had a scintillating opening stand of 114 in 10.3 overs as it looked like a cakewalk for the home team.
But in the end, Kohli was the tragic hero once again after the WorldT20 in a tournament that will be remembered for his exploits.
He finished the tournament with an astounding 973 runs at an average of 81.08 and and equally impressive strike-rate of 152.03. He hit an unbelievable four hundreds and seven half-centuries, not to forget 83 boundaries and a staggering 38 sixes.
Once the duo were back in quick succession, it depended AB de Villiers (5), who had one of his rare failures as Sunrisers came back into the match.
KL Rahul was done in by a slow off-cutter from Cutting and Shane Watson found it hard to get the big shots going as Mustafizur accounted for him.
Stuart Binny hit Mustafizur down the ground for a six as the equation came down to 37 from 3 overs.
But Bhuvneshwar bowled a brilliant 18th over keeping everything in the blockhole as only 7 came off the over.
RCB 30 were needed off last two overs as Binny (9) was run-out off the first delivery of the 19th over bowled by Mustafizur. Sachin Baby hit six off the last ball as RCB's requirement of final over was 18 runs but Bhuvneshwar kept his cool to win the match for Sunrisers.
In pursuit of 209, it was Gayle who started the carnage with two sixes and a boundary off the fourth over bowled by left-arm Barinder Sran.
In the fifth over of the innings, Gayle hit Cutting for a six and a four off consecutive deliveries to bring up RCB's 50.
Gayle was already in his 40's when Kohli finally reached double figures as RCB also managed an identical 59 for no loss after Powerplays.
Gayle's 50 came off 25 balls with a six down the ground off Moises Henriques.
The likes of Henriques and Cutting were guilty of bowling too many length balls to Gayle, who promptly dispatched them over the ropes. The mayhem continued as the 100 came off 9 overs with Gayle's contribution being 74 compared to Kohli's 20. Poor David Warner had no option but to bring Mustafizur for a second spell within the 10 overs but then the damage had been done as Kohli got into the act with a four and a six. The Gayle mayhem ended when he tried to hit Cutting for a ninth six but mistimed it with Bipul Sharma running in from his third man position to take the catch. Gayle's 76 off 38 balls had four boundaries and eight sixes. By the time he was out, Kohli was already in his zone picking up boundaries at will. The 50 came off 32 balls with a six off Sran. But immediately after that Sran hit one back of the length and Kohli gave him the charge only to get an inside edge that saw the leg-bail being clipped. The stadium was stunned into silence as Kohli's 35-ball-54 studded with five fours and two sixes came to an end. De Villiers and KL Rahul were two new men at the crease but the target was 68 off 42 balls, slomething well within their reach.
But it was left-arm spinner Bipul Sharma, who came to the party as he got De Villiers to give him inside out charge but he skied to Henriques.
Earlier, skipper David Warner blasted his way to a 38-ball-69 as unheralded Ben Cutting's incredible hitting enabled Sunrisers Hyderabad get to a competitive 208 for seven against Royal Challengers Bangalore in the final of the Indian Premier League cricket tournament, here tonight.
But it was left-arm spinner Bipul Sharma, who came to the party as he got De Villiers to give him inside out charge but he skied to Henriques.
Earlier, skipper David Warner blasted his way to a 38-ball-69 as unheralded Ben Cutting's incredible hitting enabled Sunrisers Hyderabad get to a competitive 208 for seven against Royal Challengers Bangalore in the final of the Indian Premier League cricket tournament, here tonight.
Over 300 Bonded Labourers Rescued From Brick Kiln In Tamil Nadu
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CHENNAI: Over 300 workers including 88 children were rescued from a brick kiln in Tamil Nadu today where they were being forced to work for up to 20 hours a day without a proper salary.
The workers, all of them from Odisha, were brought into Tamil Nadu last year in November. The kiln owners exploited them by paying an advance of Rs. 12,000 to each family.
Since then, the 101 families were being given a meager wage of Rs. 200 a week each for making bricks. The families who loaded bricks got Rs. 240 per week.
The police came to know of the kiln's forced labourers after one of them was beaten up by his employer and admitted in a government hospital. An NGO, International Justice Mission, who met the injured worker, informed the police.
The workers said they were forced to leave their home state of Odisha after a drought left them with no livelihood. "We had to accept whatever came our way," said one of the workers.
Activists have alleged that over 300 workers were rescued from the same kiln last year. The say the owners had evaded arrest after a police case and employed more people this year through fake agents in Odisha.
Mathew Joji, spokesperson of International Justice Mission said, "The fine is just Rs. 2,000 under the Bonded Labour Act and they don't fear repeating it. We hope things would change once the new law against human trafficking is put in place".
The rescued families are on their way home to Odisha where the state government would give Rs. 20,000 to each family for rehabilitation.
But many workers are in debt due to drought and unemployment in the state, and fear that returning home could be worse for their families.
The workers, all of them from Odisha, were brought into Tamil Nadu last year in November. The kiln owners exploited them by paying an advance of Rs. 12,000 to each family.
Since then, the 101 families were being given a meager wage of Rs. 200 a week each for making bricks. The families who loaded bricks got Rs. 240 per week.
The workers said they were forced to leave their home state of Odisha after a drought left them with no livelihood. "We had to accept whatever came our way," said one of the workers.
Activists have alleged that over 300 workers were rescued from the same kiln last year. The say the owners had evaded arrest after a police case and employed more people this year through fake agents in Odisha.
Mathew Joji, spokesperson of International Justice Mission said, "The fine is just Rs. 2,000 under the Bonded Labour Act and they don't fear repeating it. We hope things would change once the new law against human trafficking is put in place".
The rescued families are on their way home to Odisha where the state government would give Rs. 20,000 to each family for rehabilitation.
But many workers are in debt due to drought and unemployment in the state, and fear that returning home could be worse for their families.
Congress Elects Ramesh Chennithala As Leader Of Opposition In Kerala Assembly
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THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Congress leader Ramesh Chennithala was today elected as Congress Legislature Party Leader and will be the Opposition Leader in Kerala Assembly.
It was announced after a CLP meeting in Thiruvananthapuram which stretched for several hours. The meeting was attended by former Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit as representative of the central leadership. She also held one to one meeting with all the 22 elected lawmakers.
Mr Chennithala's election was "unanimous". AICC chief Sonia Gandhi has approved the decision, Ms Dikshit said at a press conference.
Former Chief Minister Oommen Chandy said he proposed the name of Mr Chennithala and three other MLAs supported him. IUML leader PK Kunhalikutty would be the Deputy Leader of UDF in the House, he said.
59-year-old Mr Chennithala began his political career as a leader of party students' wing KSU in 1970s. He is a former KPCC chief and held the Home portfolio in Chandy government.
A prodigy of veteran Congress leader and former Chief Minister K Karunakaran, Mr Chennithala scripted history by becoming the youngest minister in the state at the age of 28 in 1986 in the then Karunakaran ministry.
He also served as president of the national Youth Congress in 1990 and became a known face of the Congress at state and national levels. After becoming the joint secretary of AICC, he went on to be appointed as KPCC chief during 2006-14.
He later joined the UDF ministry led by Ommen Chandy on January 1, 2014 and held the Home portfolio.
Mr Chennithala, a four-time member of Parliament and member of Legislative Assembly, said the new position was a challenging task as Congress is not in power both in the state and at the Centre.
He expressed confidence that he would be able to bring Congress back to its past glory.
He won the May 16 assembly polls from his home constituency Haripad with a margin of 18,621 votes.
It was announced after a CLP meeting in Thiruvananthapuram which stretched for several hours. The meeting was attended by former Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit as representative of the central leadership. She also held one to one meeting with all the 22 elected lawmakers.
Mr Chennithala's election was "unanimous". AICC chief Sonia Gandhi has approved the decision, Ms Dikshit said at a press conference.
59-year-old Mr Chennithala began his political career as a leader of party students' wing KSU in 1970s. He is a former KPCC chief and held the Home portfolio in Chandy government.
A prodigy of veteran Congress leader and former Chief Minister K Karunakaran, Mr Chennithala scripted history by becoming the youngest minister in the state at the age of 28 in 1986 in the then Karunakaran ministry.
He also served as president of the national Youth Congress in 1990 and became a known face of the Congress at state and national levels. After becoming the joint secretary of AICC, he went on to be appointed as KPCC chief during 2006-14.
He later joined the UDF ministry led by Ommen Chandy on January 1, 2014 and held the Home portfolio.
Mr Chennithala, a four-time member of Parliament and member of Legislative Assembly, said the new position was a challenging task as Congress is not in power both in the state and at the Centre.
He expressed confidence that he would be able to bring Congress back to its past glory.
He won the May 16 assembly polls from his home constituency Haripad with a margin of 18,621 votes.
Xi Jinping Holds Review As China's Old Age Population Crosses 220 Million
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BEIJING: Grappling with the world's biggest senior citizen population, China's President Xi Jinping held a high-level meeting with officials after the number of people above 60 years in the world's most populous country crossed 220 million, 16 per cent of the total population.
Xi, who heads the Communist Party of China (CPC) along with the members of the powerful Politburo of the party, attended a group study on the "state and future of a graying society" yesterday, state-run Xinhua news agency reported.
CPC leaders hold such group studies to hold in-depth discussions on critical issues to work out appropriate policies.
The meeting was held as the latest figures showed that the population above 60 years has crossed 220 million people constituting 16 per cent of the total population, far sooner than expected.
Chinese capital is already feeling the heat with numbers of pensioners climbing up to 23.4 per cent of the total 22 million population.
The Beijing local government expects 30 per cent of the city's population to be aged 60 or above by 2030.
By 2020, the city will pay out 200 billion yuan (USD 30.7 billion) in old-age pensions and the amount is expected to surge to 670 billion (about USD 111 billion) in 2030, Li Hongbing, deputy head of the Beijing Civil Affairs Bureau, has been quoted as saying by the official media recently.
The number of those aged between 16 and 59 will decrease to 896 million in 2020 and 824 million in 2030, while those aged 60 and over will grow to 253 million in 2020 and 365 million in 2030, new data provided by the Population and Development Studies Centre at the Renmin University of China said.
China has already scrapped over three-decades-old one child policy, allowing couples to have two children but the policy change has not drawn positive response from the public as many fear second child will be a burden due to heavy costs of education and health care.
Addressing the study group, Xi while calling for stepping up efforts to improve health care and social benefits to old age population, also pointed to the bright prospects of the old-age business, given the huge demand for products and services.
He said government support should foster new growth points.
With the world's largest number of senior citizens, China has improved elder care, Xi said.
Xi, who heads the Communist Party of China (CPC) along with the members of the powerful Politburo of the party, attended a group study on the "state and future of a graying society" yesterday, state-run Xinhua news agency reported.
CPC leaders hold such group studies to hold in-depth discussions on critical issues to work out appropriate policies.
Chinese capital is already feeling the heat with numbers of pensioners climbing up to 23.4 per cent of the total 22 million population.
The Beijing local government expects 30 per cent of the city's population to be aged 60 or above by 2030.
By 2020, the city will pay out 200 billion yuan (USD 30.7 billion) in old-age pensions and the amount is expected to surge to 670 billion (about USD 111 billion) in 2030, Li Hongbing, deputy head of the Beijing Civil Affairs Bureau, has been quoted as saying by the official media recently.
The number of those aged between 16 and 59 will decrease to 896 million in 2020 and 824 million in 2030, while those aged 60 and over will grow to 253 million in 2020 and 365 million in 2030, new data provided by the Population and Development Studies Centre at the Renmin University of China said.
China has already scrapped over three-decades-old one child policy, allowing couples to have two children but the policy change has not drawn positive response from the public as many fear second child will be a burden due to heavy costs of education and health care.
Addressing the study group, Xi while calling for stepping up efforts to improve health care and social benefits to old age population, also pointed to the bright prospects of the old-age business, given the huge demand for products and services.
He said government support should foster new growth points.
With the world's largest number of senior citizens, China has improved elder care, Xi said.
Business Affairs
RBI to lower rates by another 50 bps in FY17, says Morgan Stanley
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The Reserve Bank is expected to keep key rates unchanged in the next policy meeting on June 7, but might lower rates by another 50 bps during the current financial year, says a report by Morgan Stanley.
According to the report, retail inflation is likely to moderate going forward and is expected to decelerate to 4.5 per cent by March 2017.
"Based on our CPI forecast and RBI's stated real rate target of 1.5-2 per cent, we expect RBI to lower rates by another 50 bps in FY2017," Morgan Stanley said in a research note.
Retail inflation soared to 5.39 per cent in April on higher food prices, reversing a downward trend seen in recent months.
In terms of pace of rate cuts, the global brokerage firm expects the Reserve Bank to wait for the onset of monsoon to see the trend in actual inflation, and hence expects the RBI to keep rates unchanged in the next policy meeting on June 7.
"We see a higher chance of RBI reducing rates in the October meeting. However, there is a possibility of RBI cutting rates in the August meeting if the rainfall arrives in time and is significantly above normal by end of July," the report said adding "post that, we expect RBI to move in December or February meeting, with the key event to watch being Fed monetary policy action".
Earlier in April, RBI reduced its policy rate by 0.25 per cent to 6.5 per cent. While this was the first rate cut after a gap of six months, RBI has lowered its rate by 1.5 per cent cumulatively since January 2015.
However, the industry still wants further rate cuts from RBI to boost investment.
Regarding the growth outlook, the report said that the macro environment has been on a steady improvement in the past two years; however, the pace of growth recovery has been "slower than anticipated".
"We believe the recovery in this cycle will be led by domestic demand, i.e. consumption, public capex and foreign investment. We believe this will be a longer duration expansion cycle with GDP growth expected to accelerate and inflation expected to remain at or below 5 per cent over the next two years," Morgan Stanley said.
The Reserve Bank is expected to keep key rates unchanged in the next policy meeting on June 7, but might lower rates by another 50 bps during the current financial year, says a report by Morgan Stanley.
According to the report, retail inflation is likely to moderate going forward and is expected to decelerate to 4.5 per cent by March 2017.
"Based on our CPI forecast and RBI's stated real rate target of 1.5-2 per cent, we expect RBI to lower rates by another 50 bps in FY2017," Morgan Stanley said in a research note.
Retail inflation soared to 5.39 per cent in April on higher food prices, reversing a downward trend seen in recent months.
In terms of pace of rate cuts, the global brokerage firm expects the Reserve Bank to wait for the onset of monsoon to see the trend in actual inflation, and hence expects the RBI to keep rates unchanged in the next policy meeting on June 7.
"We see a higher chance of RBI reducing rates in the October meeting. However, there is a possibility of RBI cutting rates in the August meeting if the rainfall arrives in time and is significantly above normal by end of July," the report said adding "post that, we expect RBI to move in December or February meeting, with the key event to watch being Fed monetary policy action".
Earlier in April, RBI reduced its policy rate by 0.25 per cent to 6.5 per cent. While this was the first rate cut after a gap of six months, RBI has lowered its rate by 1.5 per cent cumulatively since January 2015.
However, the industry still wants further rate cuts from RBI to boost investment.
Regarding the growth outlook, the report said that the macro environment has been on a steady improvement in the past two years; however, the pace of growth recovery has been "slower than anticipated".
"We believe the recovery in this cycle will be led by domestic demand, i.e. consumption, public capex and foreign investment. We believe this will be a longer duration expansion cycle with GDP growth expected to accelerate and inflation expected to remain at or below 5 per cent over the next two years," Morgan Stanley said.
FDI up 16.5 per cent to $2.46 billion in March
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Foreign direct investment (FDI) into India increased by 16.5 per cent to $2.46 billion in March this year.
The FDI inflows were at $2.11 billion in the same month of last year, according to the data of the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP).
For the entire 2015-16 fiscal ended March 31, the inflows grew by 29 per cent to $40 billion as against $30.93 billion in 2014-15.
FDI for 2015-16 was the highest since 2000-01. The services segment attracted the highest investments of $6.88 billion followed by computer hardware and software ($5.90 billion), trading business ($3.84 billion) and automobile industry ($2.52 billion).
Singapore toppled Mauritius as the top FDI source for FDI in India last fiscal.
India received $13.69 billion overseas inflows from Singapore, followed by Mauritius ($8.35 billion), the US ($4.19 billion), the Netherlands ($2.64 billion) and Japan ($2.61 billion).
The government has taken several steps to promote investments through a liberal FDI policy.
It is expected to soon take a decision on permitting 100 per cent FDI in the food processing sector through the FIPB approval route.
Foreign investment is considered crucial for India, which needs around $1 trillion for overhauling its infrastructure sector such as ports, airports and highways to boost growth.
A strong inflow of foreign investments will help improve the country's balance of payments situation and strengthen the rupee value against other global currencies, especially the US dollar.
Foreign direct investment (FDI) into India increased by 16.5 per cent to $2.46 billion in March this year.
The FDI inflows were at $2.11 billion in the same month of last year, according to the data of the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP).
For the entire 2015-16 fiscal ended March 31, the inflows grew by 29 per cent to $40 billion as against $30.93 billion in 2014-15.
FDI for 2015-16 was the highest since 2000-01. The services segment attracted the highest investments of $6.88 billion followed by computer hardware and software ($5.90 billion), trading business ($3.84 billion) and automobile industry ($2.52 billion).
Singapore toppled Mauritius as the top FDI source for FDI in India last fiscal.
India received $13.69 billion overseas inflows from Singapore, followed by Mauritius ($8.35 billion), the US ($4.19 billion), the Netherlands ($2.64 billion) and Japan ($2.61 billion).
The government has taken several steps to promote investments through a liberal FDI policy.
It is expected to soon take a decision on permitting 100 per cent FDI in the food processing sector through the FIPB approval route.
Foreign investment is considered crucial for India, which needs around $1 trillion for overhauling its infrastructure sector such as ports, airports and highways to boost growth.
A strong inflow of foreign investments will help improve the country's balance of payments situation and strengthen the rupee value against other global currencies, especially the US dollar.
State Bank of India net profit falls 66% on bad loan provisions, 260% dividend declared
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State Bank of India has reported Rs 1,263 crore net profit in Q4 against Rs 1,115 crore profit October-December quarter of the preceding fiscal. On a q-o-q (quarter on quarter) basis, the bank reported a 13.27 per cent rise in net profit.
However, the bank reported a 66 per cent y-o-y (year-on-year) fall in profit as it posted Rs 3,742 crore in net profit in Q4 of previous fiscal.
The bank reported Rs 13,174 crore in provisions in the fourth quarter against Rs 7,949 crore provisions in the preceding quarter. The bank had Rs 6,943 crore in provisions in Q4 of previous fiscal.
The state lender had 6.5 per cent in gross NPAs against 5.10 per cent in the preceding quarter.
The bank said it has carried out its asset quality review (AQR) and the Q4 earnings reflect the same.
It has declared a dividend of Rs 2.60 per share (260%) for the financial year ended March 31, 2016. The date of payment of the dividend is fixed on June 22, 2016 and the dividend warrants will be dispatched before the date of payment, which will be payable, in India, at par at all branches of State Bank of India, irrespective of the amount.
The SBI stock rose 10 per cent intraday. Later it settled the day 6.42 per cent higher at Rs 195.55 on the BSE.
State Bank of India has reported Rs 1,263 crore net profit in Q4 against Rs 1,115 crore profit October-December quarter of the preceding fiscal. On a q-o-q (quarter on quarter) basis, the bank reported a 13.27 per cent rise in net profit.
However, the bank reported a 66 per cent y-o-y (year-on-year) fall in profit as it posted Rs 3,742 crore in net profit in Q4 of previous fiscal.
The bank reported Rs 13,174 crore in provisions in the fourth quarter against Rs 7,949 crore provisions in the preceding quarter. The bank had Rs 6,943 crore in provisions in Q4 of previous fiscal.
The state lender had 6.5 per cent in gross NPAs against 5.10 per cent in the preceding quarter.
The bank said it has carried out its asset quality review (AQR) and the Q4 earnings reflect the same.
It has declared a dividend of Rs 2.60 per share (260%) for the financial year ended March 31, 2016. The date of payment of the dividend is fixed on June 22, 2016 and the dividend warrants will be dispatched before the date of payment, which will be payable, in India, at par at all branches of State Bank of India, irrespective of the amount.
The SBI stock rose 10 per cent intraday. Later it settled the day 6.42 per cent higher at Rs 195.55 on the BSE.
Foreign investors welcome, but no place for tainted money: Sebi
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Allaying concerns about any further misuse of Participatory Notes, market watchdog Sebi's Chairman U K Sinha has said Indians can no longer use these offshore instruments, even indirectly, and a strong safety net has been put in place to check any routing of black money.
He also said that foreign investors have been taken "completely on board" for changes in the regulations governing Offshore Derivative Instruments (ODIs) - commonly known as P-Notes - and they have been consulted even for design of the reporting formats about investments through this route.
Sebi will soon finalise reporting formats as also the revised guidelines and new circulars, for Foreign Portfolio Investors (FPIs) dealing in ODIs, after incorporating the changes approved by its board earlier this month.
While foreign investors can register themselves as FPIs to invest directly in India, ODIs are typically market-access instruments preferred by those looking to save on time and operational costs involved with a direct registration.
Sebi rules allow certain classes of FPIs to issue ODIs after a proper due-diligence process that has been further tightened now to address the concerns raised by the Special Investigation Team (SIT) on Black Money.
In an interaction here, the Sebi Chairman said India wants to encourage and promote long-term investments and would prefer foreign investors to come directly, but there will be no roadblocks for genuine investments even through PNs.
Ruling out any special concession for the investors using this route, including for hedge funds, Sinha said if some investors have a genuine reason such as 'testing the Indian waters' they can use ODIs after complying with the due KYC and other regulatory requirements.
"In the past, this route was misused by some Indian nationals and Indian corporates for getting their ill-gotten money rerouted to the Indian markets.
"The intention was also to put money into their own firms so as to manipulate the share prices. As late as 2007-2008, we found some such cases and took action," Sinha said.
"Now, Sebi has got the information and a guarantee from the foreign investors issuing ODIs that not a single Indian has been issued such instruments and they would not be allowed to subscribe to these instruments, directly or indirectly.
"Earlier, there were also cases about some hedge funds camouflaging their identity and come through this route, but that is also not possible now and Sebi has got full details till the last possible end beneficial owner," he added.
ODIs now account for investments worth Rs 2.12 lakh crore in Indian markets, which is 9.3 per cent of the overall FPI investments -- down from a peak of over 55 per cent in 2007.
Sinha said he sees this percentage falling even further, as foreign investors are preferring the direct route and hundreds of new FPIs are getting registered every quarter.
Even among FPIs, broad-based funds with low-risk profile account for well over 95 per cent of investments into the Indian markets at about Rs 22 lakh crore, while presence of high-risk investors such as hedge funds is very small -- both in terms of their number as well as the investments.
Sebi classifies FPIs into three categories based on their risk profile and they are subjected to the KYC requirements accordingly.
The Category-I FPIs mostly include central banks and sovereign funds, while the Category-II comprises of broad- based investors such as mutual funds, insurers, pension funds and banks. The Category III is the highest-risk category and includes hedge funds and other smaller investors.
The third-category of investors are not allowed to deal in ODIs, while only some in the second category are permitted to issue or subscribe to these instruments.
Sharing further details, Sinha said investments by Category-III FPIs currently stand at only about Rs 77,000 crore while their count is just about 600. In comparison, there are over 7,000 Category-II FPIs and they have invested over Rs 18,74,000 crore. There are about 300 Category I FPIs that have invested close to Rs 3,30,000 crore in India.
ODIs are issued abroad by FPIs as market access products against securities held by it that are listed or are proposed to be listed on a stock exchange in India, as its underlying.
These underlying securities can be equity, debt, derivatives, index, a basket of securities from different jurisdictions, or a basket of all Indian securities.
The ODIs include over-the-counter derivatives documented through a bilateral contract, as also the securitised instruments such as notes, certificates or warrants.
Sinha said there have been two extreme sets of worries in the public's mind.
He explained: "One is that Sebi is not doing enough to prevent the flow of black money and whether whatever Sebi has done is good enough. The worry on the other side is that are we killing this instrument and what would be the impact on the markets?
"Even before we decided on the latest changes, there were worries that it would affect the markets. I remember this decision was taken on a Thursday afternoon and my colleagues kept calling me the previous night and in the morning that they are worried about the markets.
"Personally, I was not worried because we had held a series of detailed consultations with the FPIs. After the decision also, we called them, as based on these decisions we need to issue some circulars, some guidelines and also some formats need to designed.
"Even to the extent of designing these formats, we have consulted them so that they are on board and they realise what is the rationale behind it."
Sinha said that the intention of the government and Sebi has been always clear that any inclination among genuine investors to come through PNs and not the direct FPI route must be removed.
"That is why we have made the FPI registration process very simple and for those using PNs we have brought in more and more transparency so that the difference between the two routes becomes less and less," he said.
Assuring that rules are strong enough to check any misuse, Sinha said PNs or ODIs still form part of an important and genuine business requirement.
He further said: "We don't frown upon these instruments.
We have seen these instruments are used all over the world and many jurisdictions allow them as many investors need these instruments as a genuine business requirement.
"At the same time, the effort has been to remove the dichotomy between these two sets of foreign investors -- FPIs and ODIs -- and bring them together as far as legitimate investors are concerned.
"We have focussed on making FPI registration process simple and ensure proper KYC compliance.
"One of the worries earlier was that Sebi did not know who were the ODI holders -- In which jurisdictions they were and whether they were Indian nationals or not.
"Over the years, Sebi has put in place a very detailed mechanism for reporting requirements of FPIs and that provided for who are the ODI holders and which jurisdictions they were in, among other things.
"Some people may find it hard to believe, probably because of their own bad experiences in the market in the past, but Sebi now has full details about each and every ODI holder at the end of every month.
"So, the earlier possibility of Indian nationals using the ODI route is not possible. There were a variety of routes earlier and the one such route was Protected Cell Companies which had a very opaque structures. Sebi has ensured that no such opaque structures are being used now."
Sinha said it was not very easy to persuade the FPIs for the changes. In the past, whenever Sebi wanted to tighten the ODI rules, there used to be a serious impact on the markets.
"So, learning from the past, we began consulting the industry on any proposal to bring in new changes.
"There are about 8,000 FPIs registered today, out of which only 39 issue ODIs. We consulted all of them. We had extensive consultations and we explained to them that what SIT was saying and what was the reason behind it. After convincing them, we went to our Board and it took a decision," he said.
"The idea has been that let us make FPI process so much simple that the genuine investors are not inclined to go to this route. But there would still be some people who want to use this form genuine reasons, such as those who just want to test the Indian waters and do not want to get registered as FPIs initially.
"FPIs and ODI issuers are also realising that it is not something which is happening only in India, but it is a global movement against black money and in favour of transparency," he said.
The Sebi Chief said the regulator's consultations with FPIs show that more and more people have begun coming directly as FPIs as the process has been made very simple.
Allaying concerns about any further misuse of Participatory Notes, market watchdog Sebi's Chairman U K Sinha has said Indians can no longer use these offshore instruments, even indirectly, and a strong safety net has been put in place to check any routing of black money.
He also said that foreign investors have been taken "completely on board" for changes in the regulations governing Offshore Derivative Instruments (ODIs) - commonly known as P-Notes - and they have been consulted even for design of the reporting formats about investments through this route.
Sebi will soon finalise reporting formats as also the revised guidelines and new circulars, for Foreign Portfolio Investors (FPIs) dealing in ODIs, after incorporating the changes approved by its board earlier this month.
While foreign investors can register themselves as FPIs to invest directly in India, ODIs are typically market-access instruments preferred by those looking to save on time and operational costs involved with a direct registration.
Sebi rules allow certain classes of FPIs to issue ODIs after a proper due-diligence process that has been further tightened now to address the concerns raised by the Special Investigation Team (SIT) on Black Money.
In an interaction here, the Sebi Chairman said India wants to encourage and promote long-term investments and would prefer foreign investors to come directly, but there will be no roadblocks for genuine investments even through PNs.
Ruling out any special concession for the investors using this route, including for hedge funds, Sinha said if some investors have a genuine reason such as 'testing the Indian waters' they can use ODIs after complying with the due KYC and other regulatory requirements.
"In the past, this route was misused by some Indian nationals and Indian corporates for getting their ill-gotten money rerouted to the Indian markets.
"The intention was also to put money into their own firms so as to manipulate the share prices. As late as 2007-2008, we found some such cases and took action," Sinha said.
"Now, Sebi has got the information and a guarantee from the foreign investors issuing ODIs that not a single Indian has been issued such instruments and they would not be allowed to subscribe to these instruments, directly or indirectly.
"Earlier, there were also cases about some hedge funds camouflaging their identity and come through this route, but that is also not possible now and Sebi has got full details till the last possible end beneficial owner," he added.
ODIs now account for investments worth Rs 2.12 lakh crore in Indian markets, which is 9.3 per cent of the overall FPI investments -- down from a peak of over 55 per cent in 2007.
Sinha said he sees this percentage falling even further, as foreign investors are preferring the direct route and hundreds of new FPIs are getting registered every quarter.
Even among FPIs, broad-based funds with low-risk profile account for well over 95 per cent of investments into the Indian markets at about Rs 22 lakh crore, while presence of high-risk investors such as hedge funds is very small -- both in terms of their number as well as the investments.
Sebi classifies FPIs into three categories based on their risk profile and they are subjected to the KYC requirements accordingly.
The Category-I FPIs mostly include central banks and sovereign funds, while the Category-II comprises of broad- based investors such as mutual funds, insurers, pension funds and banks. The Category III is the highest-risk category and includes hedge funds and other smaller investors.
The third-category of investors are not allowed to deal in ODIs, while only some in the second category are permitted to issue or subscribe to these instruments.
Sharing further details, Sinha said investments by Category-III FPIs currently stand at only about Rs 77,000 crore while their count is just about 600. In comparison, there are over 7,000 Category-II FPIs and they have invested over Rs 18,74,000 crore. There are about 300 Category I FPIs that have invested close to Rs 3,30,000 crore in India.
ODIs are issued abroad by FPIs as market access products against securities held by it that are listed or are proposed to be listed on a stock exchange in India, as its underlying.
These underlying securities can be equity, debt, derivatives, index, a basket of securities from different jurisdictions, or a basket of all Indian securities.
The ODIs include over-the-counter derivatives documented through a bilateral contract, as also the securitised instruments such as notes, certificates or warrants.
Sinha said there have been two extreme sets of worries in the public's mind.
He explained: "One is that Sebi is not doing enough to prevent the flow of black money and whether whatever Sebi has done is good enough. The worry on the other side is that are we killing this instrument and what would be the impact on the markets?
"Even before we decided on the latest changes, there were worries that it would affect the markets. I remember this decision was taken on a Thursday afternoon and my colleagues kept calling me the previous night and in the morning that they are worried about the markets.
"Personally, I was not worried because we had held a series of detailed consultations with the FPIs. After the decision also, we called them, as based on these decisions we need to issue some circulars, some guidelines and also some formats need to designed.
"Even to the extent of designing these formats, we have consulted them so that they are on board and they realise what is the rationale behind it."
Sinha said that the intention of the government and Sebi has been always clear that any inclination among genuine investors to come through PNs and not the direct FPI route must be removed.
"That is why we have made the FPI registration process very simple and for those using PNs we have brought in more and more transparency so that the difference between the two routes becomes less and less," he said.
Assuring that rules are strong enough to check any misuse, Sinha said PNs or ODIs still form part of an important and genuine business requirement.
He further said: "We don't frown upon these instruments.
We have seen these instruments are used all over the world and many jurisdictions allow them as many investors need these instruments as a genuine business requirement.
"At the same time, the effort has been to remove the dichotomy between these two sets of foreign investors -- FPIs and ODIs -- and bring them together as far as legitimate investors are concerned.
"We have focussed on making FPI registration process simple and ensure proper KYC compliance.
"One of the worries earlier was that Sebi did not know who were the ODI holders -- In which jurisdictions they were and whether they were Indian nationals or not.
"Over the years, Sebi has put in place a very detailed mechanism for reporting requirements of FPIs and that provided for who are the ODI holders and which jurisdictions they were in, among other things.
"Some people may find it hard to believe, probably because of their own bad experiences in the market in the past, but Sebi now has full details about each and every ODI holder at the end of every month.
"So, the earlier possibility of Indian nationals using the ODI route is not possible. There were a variety of routes earlier and the one such route was Protected Cell Companies which had a very opaque structures. Sebi has ensured that no such opaque structures are being used now."
Sinha said it was not very easy to persuade the FPIs for the changes. In the past, whenever Sebi wanted to tighten the ODI rules, there used to be a serious impact on the markets.
"So, learning from the past, we began consulting the industry on any proposal to bring in new changes.
"There are about 8,000 FPIs registered today, out of which only 39 issue ODIs. We consulted all of them. We had extensive consultations and we explained to them that what SIT was saying and what was the reason behind it. After convincing them, we went to our Board and it took a decision," he said.
"The idea has been that let us make FPI process so much simple that the genuine investors are not inclined to go to this route. But there would still be some people who want to use this form genuine reasons, such as those who just want to test the Indian waters and do not want to get registered as FPIs initially.
"FPIs and ODI issuers are also realising that it is not something which is happening only in India, but it is a global movement against black money and in favour of transparency," he said.
The Sebi Chief said the regulator's consultations with FPIs show that more and more people have begun coming directly as FPIs as the process has been made very simple.
Indian Oil Corp net profit plunges 80% in March quarter
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Indian Oil Corp (IOC) on Friday reported a 80 per cent fall in its March quarter net profit to Rs 1,235.64 crore.
IOC had a net profit of Rs 6,285.35 crore in January-March 2015, the company said in a stock exchange filing. Low oil prices meant turnover dropped to Rs 80,449.57 crore in the fourth quarter of 2015-16 fiscal from Rs 93,830.13 crore a year ago. Shares of Indian Oil closed 3.01 per cent up at Rs 414.05 apiece on BSE.
Indian Oil Corp (IOC) on Friday reported a 80 per cent fall in its March quarter net profit to Rs 1,235.64 crore.
IOC had a net profit of Rs 6,285.35 crore in January-March 2015, the company said in a stock exchange filing. Low oil prices meant turnover dropped to Rs 80,449.57 crore in the fourth quarter of 2015-16 fiscal from Rs 93,830.13 crore a year ago. Shares of Indian Oil closed 3.01 per cent up at Rs 414.05 apiece on BSE.
General Awareness
World Steel Association reported that India among top 10 steel importers in 2015
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According to the data released by the Global Industry body World Steel Association, India become the world’s third largest steel producer, was among the top 10 importers of the alloy in 2015.
Countries ranks and their Steel Imports in Million Tonnes in 2015
Ranking Countries Imports in mt 1 European Union 37.7 2 United States 36.5 3 Germany 24.8 4 South Korea 21.7 5 Italy 19.9 6 Turkey 18.6 7 Vietnam 16.3 8 Thailand 14.6 9 France 13.7 10 India 13.3 11 China 13.2
- India imported more than China in 2015 while India exported 6 mt of steel in 2015 which was fraction of China Exported during the year at 111.6 mt
- Steel Minister Narendra Singh Tomar stated that Government will take all steps to promote and safeguard the Steel Industry while Indian steel sector is going through stress.
- Imports from China, Japan and Korea
Initiatives by Upper House
- Imposing Anti-dumping duty
- Safeguard duty on imported steel products
- Policy announcement on minimum import price
Demand Projetion:
Demand is expected to grow by 5.4 per cent to 83.8 mt in 2016
Steel demand will increase by 5.4 per cent in 2016 and 2017 reaching 88.3 mt in 2017
Challenges faced by Steel Industry:
- China’s slowdown impacting globally across a range of indicators thereby contributing to volatility in financial markets
- Inactive growth in global trade
- Low oil and other commodity prices
- Insufficient investment expenditure
- Continued weakness in manufacturing sector
- According to the data released by the Global Industry body World Steel Association, India become the world’s third largest steel producer, was among the top 10 importers of the alloy in 2015.
Countries ranks and their Steel Imports in Million Tonnes in 2015Ranking Countries Imports in mt 1 European Union 37.7 2 United States 36.5 3 Germany 24.8 4 South Korea 21.7 5 Italy 19.9 6 Turkey 18.6 7 Vietnam 16.3 8 Thailand 14.6 9 France 13.7 10 India 13.3 11 China 13.2
- India imported more than China in 2015 while India exported 6 mt of steel in 2015 which was fraction of China Exported during the year at 111.6 mt
- Steel Minister Narendra Singh Tomar stated that Government will take all steps to promote and safeguard the Steel Industry while Indian steel sector is going through stress.
- Imports from China, Japan and Korea
Initiatives by Upper House- Imposing Anti-dumping duty
- Safeguard duty on imported steel products
- Policy announcement on minimum import price
Demand Projetion:Demand is expected to grow by 5.4 per cent to 83.8 mt in 2016Steel demand will increase by 5.4 per cent in 2016 and 2017 reaching 88.3 mt in 2017Challenges faced by Steel Industry:- China’s slowdown impacting globally across a range of indicators thereby contributing to volatility in financial markets
- Inactive growth in global trade
- Low oil and other commodity prices
- Insufficient investment expenditure
- Continued weakness in manufacturing sector
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