General Affairs
Congress To Put Sheila Dikshit On A Bus, Wants Sonia Gandhi In Varanasi
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NEW DELHI: Now that it has decided its ensemble cast for Uttar Pradesh, the Congress will launch its campaign for India's largest state today.
Sheila Dikshit, the 78-year-old chief ministerial candidate will board a bus along with Raj Babbar, the actor-turned-politician who's been named the head of the party in Uttar Pradesh, for a 600-kilometre drive to Kanpur. En route, they will stop to interact with party workers.
As its main campaign slogan, the Congress, whose strategy is being assembled by Prashant Kishor, has decided on "27 saal, UP behaal" (27 years of UP in ruins). Sources said the aim is to target not one particular party that has governed Uttar Pradesh, but all governments that have led the state since the Congress was last in charge.
Mr Kishor, once a member of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's team, has chosen to work with the Congress in Punjab and Uttar Pradesh.
A week from now, Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi will meet with 50,000 party workers in Lucknow, said sources, based on its learning experience from rivals like the BJP, whose well-organised cadres are a primary component of recent electoral triumphs. Mr Gandhi will introduce the team of leaders selected to frontline the UP effort to Congress members and volunteers.
On August 2, Mr Gandhi's mother and Congress chief Sonia Gandhi is likely to hold a roadshow in Varanasi, the constituency of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The Congress campaign debuts in a week when Mayawati, a Dalit leader and four-time Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh, established her skill and clout as a politician. The 69-year-old led the opposition's attack against the ruling BJP in parliament over the thrashing of Dalits in Gujarat, the PM's home state, by cow vigilantes, who filmed the beatings and uploaded them on social media.
On Wednesday, the BJP expelled a senior leader in Uttar Pradesh for six years after a video emerged of him abusing Mayawati with such venomous accusations that all parties rose to her defense in parliament.
In a calm but forceful speech, Mayawati, who lost the last Uttar Pradesh election to the Samajwadi Party, accused the government of failing to protect Dalits. Separately, she accused the Congress of doing the same by failing, as the main opposition party, to hold the government accountable, while claiming to champion the rights of society's weakest.
Dalits make up nearly 20 per cent of Uttar Pradesh's population. The result of next year's election will be used as an indicator of who will become the next Prime Minister in 2019.
Sheila Dikshit, the 78-year-old chief ministerial candidate will board a bus along with Raj Babbar, the actor-turned-politician who's been named the head of the party in Uttar Pradesh, for a 600-kilometre drive to Kanpur. En route, they will stop to interact with party workers.
As its main campaign slogan, the Congress, whose strategy is being assembled by Prashant Kishor, has decided on "27 saal, UP behaal" (27 years of UP in ruins). Sources said the aim is to target not one particular party that has governed Uttar Pradesh, but all governments that have led the state since the Congress was last in charge.
A week from now, Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi will meet with 50,000 party workers in Lucknow, said sources, based on its learning experience from rivals like the BJP, whose well-organised cadres are a primary component of recent electoral triumphs. Mr Gandhi will introduce the team of leaders selected to frontline the UP effort to Congress members and volunteers.
On August 2, Mr Gandhi's mother and Congress chief Sonia Gandhi is likely to hold a roadshow in Varanasi, the constituency of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The Congress campaign debuts in a week when Mayawati, a Dalit leader and four-time Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh, established her skill and clout as a politician. The 69-year-old led the opposition's attack against the ruling BJP in parliament over the thrashing of Dalits in Gujarat, the PM's home state, by cow vigilantes, who filmed the beatings and uploaded them on social media.
On Wednesday, the BJP expelled a senior leader in Uttar Pradesh for six years after a video emerged of him abusing Mayawati with such venomous accusations that all parties rose to her defense in parliament.
In a calm but forceful speech, Mayawati, who lost the last Uttar Pradesh election to the Samajwadi Party, accused the government of failing to protect Dalits. Separately, she accused the Congress of doing the same by failing, as the main opposition party, to hold the government accountable, while claiming to champion the rights of society's weakest.
Dalits make up nearly 20 per cent of Uttar Pradesh's population. The result of next year's election will be used as an indicator of who will become the next Prime Minister in 2019.
Arvind Kejriwal Dubs BJP Government 'Anti-Dalit', Meets Victims In Gujarat
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MOTA SAMADHIYALA/RAJKOT: Alleging Gujarat government's collusion in the Dalit thrashing incident, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal today dubbed it "anti-Dalit" and accused the ruling BJP of "trampling" upon the depressed
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Mr Kejriwal targeted the BJP after meeting the victims in Rajkot civil hospital first and visiting Mota Samadhiyala village in Una to meet their family members, a day after Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi met the victims.
Seven persons of the Dalit community were brutally thrashed by cow vigilantes for skinning a dead cow on July 11, triggering nationwide condemnation.
The AAP chief also alleged that the Gujarat government first allows crimes be carried out on Dalits and then slaps false cases on people who come out in protest on streets. He alleged that the Dalit victims were beaten up at the behest of the administration.
"The beating happened in front of a police station in the presence of police, with police batons...it means this is happening at the behest of the administration. Why is police silent ? Why is it involved ? This means there is some direction from the top administration," he told reporters.
"The BJP government in Gujarat is inflicting atrocities on Dalits, it is anti-Dalit," he said.
"The BJP first sends its goons to beat Dalits, and when their community members come out on the streets to protest, false cases are filed against them," Mr Kejriwal alleged.
Mr Kejriwal also rubbished BJP's contention that leaders are making a beeline to Gujarat only to make political gains.
"Our politics is for justice of Dalits, while BJP's politics is for trampling upon them," Mr Kejriwal said in reply to a question on politics behind the visit.
Apart from Rahul Gandhi and leaders of other non-BJP parties, Gujarat chief minister Anandiben Patel had visited the victims on Wednesday.
A Trinamool Congress parliamentary delegation is slated to come to Rajkot and Una tomorrow and JD(U) leader Sharad Yadav is also expected to meet the victim's family.
Arvind Kejriwal also questioned the state government's intent to carry out investigation without showing bias against Dalits.
He said only 16 persons have been arrested while 40-50 people were involved in the incident. "Why are others not held so far? The victims told me that the accused were members of Shiv Sena. The government is trying to save them," he alleged.
Mr Kejriwal also triggered a controversy by meeting a Dalit youth arrested for allegedly murdering a police head constable in Amreli during protests over the thrashing of youths from the community by cow vigilantes.
It evoked strong reaction from BJP, whose Saurashtra-Kutch spokesperson Raju Dhruv said the Delhi CM's aim was to make "personal and political gains."
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Mr Kejriwal targeted the BJP after meeting the victims in Rajkot civil hospital first and visiting Mota Samadhiyala village in Una to meet their family members, a day after Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi met the victims.
Seven persons of the Dalit community were brutally thrashed by cow vigilantes for skinning a dead cow on July 11, triggering nationwide condemnation.
The AAP chief also alleged that the Gujarat government first allows crimes be carried out on Dalits and then slaps false cases on people who come out in protest on streets. He alleged that the Dalit victims were beaten up at the behest of the administration.
"The beating happened in front of a police station in the presence of police, with police batons...it means this is happening at the behest of the administration. Why is police silent ? Why is it involved ? This means there is some direction from the top administration," he told reporters.
"The BJP government in Gujarat is inflicting atrocities on Dalits, it is anti-Dalit," he said.
"The BJP first sends its goons to beat Dalits, and when their community members come out on the streets to protest, false cases are filed against them," Mr Kejriwal alleged.
Mr Kejriwal also rubbished BJP's contention that leaders are making a beeline to Gujarat only to make political gains.
"Our politics is for justice of Dalits, while BJP's politics is for trampling upon them," Mr Kejriwal said in reply to a question on politics behind the visit.
Apart from Rahul Gandhi and leaders of other non-BJP parties, Gujarat chief minister Anandiben Patel had visited the victims on Wednesday.
A Trinamool Congress parliamentary delegation is slated to come to Rajkot and Una tomorrow and JD(U) leader Sharad Yadav is also expected to meet the victim's family.
Arvind Kejriwal also questioned the state government's intent to carry out investigation without showing bias against Dalits.
He said only 16 persons have been arrested while 40-50 people were involved in the incident. "Why are others not held so far? The victims told me that the accused were members of Shiv Sena. The government is trying to save them," he alleged.
Mr Kejriwal also triggered a controversy by meeting a Dalit youth arrested for allegedly murdering a police head constable in Amreli during protests over the thrashing of youths from the community by cow vigilantes.
It evoked strong reaction from BJP, whose Saurashtra-Kutch spokesperson Raju Dhruv said the Delhi CM's aim was to make "personal and political gains."
India-Bangladesh Home Minister Level Talks On July 28; ISIS, Radicalisation On Agenda
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NEW DELHI: Growing activities of ISIS, radicalisation of youths and cross-border crimes will be high on the agenda of India-Bangladesh Home Minister level talks scheduled to be held next week.
Home Minister Rajnath Singh will hold the delegation level talks with his Bangladeshi counterpart Asaduzamman Khan Kamal in Delhi on July 28 during which activities of the Middle-East terror group, counter-terror cooperations and how to check cross border crimes will be discussed threadbare.
The three-day visit of the Bangladeshi leader comes nearly a month after a terror attack, believed to be carried out by ISIS, at a Dhaka cafe in which 22 people, including an Indian girl were killed.
ISIS and anti-terror cooperation are two top issues to be discussed at the bilateral meeting, a Home Ministry official said.
The Bangladeshi team is expected to give a list of terror suspects who might have been hiding in India to escape that country's security net.
Besides, illegal infiltration, smuggling of narcotics and cattle and a few other issues will be discussed at the meeting.
National Security Advisor Ajit Doval, Union Home Secretary Rajiv Mehrish and Director General of Border Security Force and Director General of Narcotics Control Bureau will participate in the talks.
The last Home Minister level talks in India was held in December, 2012 and in Bangladesh in January, 2013.
Home Minister Rajnath Singh will hold the delegation level talks with his Bangladeshi counterpart Asaduzamman Khan Kamal in Delhi on July 28 during which activities of the Middle-East terror group, counter-terror cooperations and how to check cross border crimes will be discussed threadbare.
The three-day visit of the Bangladeshi leader comes nearly a month after a terror attack, believed to be carried out by ISIS, at a Dhaka cafe in which 22 people, including an Indian girl were killed.
ISIS and anti-terror cooperation are two top issues to be discussed at the bilateral meeting, a Home Ministry official said.
The Bangladeshi team is expected to give a list of terror suspects who might have been hiding in India to escape that country's security net.
Besides, illegal infiltration, smuggling of narcotics and cattle and a few other issues will be discussed at the meeting.
National Security Advisor Ajit Doval, Union Home Secretary Rajiv Mehrish and Director General of Border Security Force and Director General of Narcotics Control Bureau will participate in the talks.
The last Home Minister level talks in India was held in December, 2012 and in Bangladesh in January, 2013.
India Avoided Adverse Brexit Effect, Now A Safe Haven: Arun Jaitley
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NEW DELHI: Finance Minister Arun Jaitley today said India has avoided any adverse impact of Brexit and has emerged as a safe haven for investors around the world.
He informed the Lok Sabha that the government, the Reserve Bank and market regulator Sebi are keeping a constant vigil on the global developments with a view to protecting interest of investors.
"The government has assessed the impact of Brexit on the Indian economy. Thus far, India has not only avoided adverse impacts, but it has in fact emerged as a safe haven for investors around the world," Mr Jaitley said in a written reply.
He said the rupee depreciated against the US dollar by around 1 per cent for one day post-Brexit referendum while currencies of other emerging markets depreciated for many days. Besides, the Sensex fell only on one day by 2 per cent while the equity index of many other developed and developing countries fell by a higher percentage for many days.
"By virtue of its domestic policies, India is seen as a haven of stability and opportunity in these turbulent times," Mr Jaitley said.
India's goods exports to the UK and the EU (including UK) have been around 3 per cent and 17 per cent of our total exports, respectively.
India also exports roughly USD 10 billion in software to both the UK and EU. Overall though, India's exports to both the UK and Europe have been on a downtrend in the past two years on account of subdued demand led by a frail and scattered recovery in the region.
Besides, IMF has also revised downward its forecast of global growth from 3.2 per cent to 3.1 per cent in the aftermath of UK's exit from the European Union, widely known as Brexit.
Mr Jaitley, however, said these potential effect on India's growth could be offset by the weaker price of oil, which will help maintain macro-stability, and by the likelihood of more policy support in the advanced economies.
"The impact of Brexit on trade, if any, in the medium term, would also depend on bilateral trade negotiations that will determine India's future market access to these countries," he said.
Strong macroeconomic fundamentals and forex reserves position provide a buffer against any temporary episodes of volatility in the domestic foreign exchange market, the minister said.
As regards the stock market, the government and the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) are keeping a constant vigil.
"Sebi has laid down various regulations and guidelines for protecting investors' interest and ensuring orderly functioning of the stock market," Mr Jaitley added.
He informed the Lok Sabha that the government, the Reserve Bank and market regulator Sebi are keeping a constant vigil on the global developments with a view to protecting interest of investors.
"The government has assessed the impact of Brexit on the Indian economy. Thus far, India has not only avoided adverse impacts, but it has in fact emerged as a safe haven for investors around the world," Mr Jaitley said in a written reply.
"By virtue of its domestic policies, India is seen as a haven of stability and opportunity in these turbulent times," Mr Jaitley said.
India's goods exports to the UK and the EU (including UK) have been around 3 per cent and 17 per cent of our total exports, respectively.
India also exports roughly USD 10 billion in software to both the UK and EU. Overall though, India's exports to both the UK and Europe have been on a downtrend in the past two years on account of subdued demand led by a frail and scattered recovery in the region.
Besides, IMF has also revised downward its forecast of global growth from 3.2 per cent to 3.1 per cent in the aftermath of UK's exit from the European Union, widely known as Brexit.
Mr Jaitley, however, said these potential effect on India's growth could be offset by the weaker price of oil, which will help maintain macro-stability, and by the likelihood of more policy support in the advanced economies.
"The impact of Brexit on trade, if any, in the medium term, would also depend on bilateral trade negotiations that will determine India's future market access to these countries," he said.
Strong macroeconomic fundamentals and forex reserves position provide a buffer against any temporary episodes of volatility in the domestic foreign exchange market, the minister said.
As regards the stock market, the government and the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) are keeping a constant vigil.
"Sebi has laid down various regulations and guidelines for protecting investors' interest and ensuring orderly functioning of the stock market," Mr Jaitley added.
Philippines' Oil Still In Troubled Waters After South China Sea Ruling
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MANILA: The Philippines, eager to resume development of vital oil and gas reserves off its coast, will likely need to reach an accord with a Chinese government infuriated by last week'sruling that granted Manila a big victory in the South China Sea.
The Philippines relies overwhelmingly on imports to fuel its fast-growing economy. That reliance will grow further in a few years when the main source of domestic natural gas runs out, so the clock is ticking for it to develop offshore fields that China shows no sign of loosening its grip on.
Beijing has refused to recognise the ruling by the Permanent Court of Arbitration that granted thePhilippines sovereign rights to access offshore oil and gas fields, including the Reed Bank, a shallow tablemount some 85 nautical miles off its coast.
And as long as things stay that way, the Philippines will have a hard time finding much-needed foreign expertise willing to risk upsetting China, officials and experts say.
According to US oilfield services company Weatherford, one concession - SC 72 - contains 2.6-8.8 trillion cubic feet of natural gas. That would be as much as triple the amount discovered at the Malampaya project, an offshore field that powers 40 percent of the main island of Luzon, home to the capital Manila.
Malampaya, which was developed by Royal Dutch Shell <RDSa.L> and began operations in 2001, is approaching the end of its productive life. Its only viable replacements are in waters that China insists it will not cede.
"Malampaya is going to run out of gas in 10 years so there is urgency for us to develop the Reed Bank," said Antonio Carpio, a supreme court associate justice.
Carpio was part of the legal team that made the case in The Hague and said a big factor in thePhilippines' decision to pursue arbitration in 2013 was China's obstructions around Reed Bank.
"Every time we send a survey ship there, Chinese coastguard vessels harass our survey ships," he told news channel ANC. "That's why we had to do something."
DEFERRED BY DISPUTES
The US Energy Information Administration believes that beneath the South China Sea could be 11 billion barrels of oil, more than Mexico's reserves, and 190 trillion cubic feet of natural gas.
Most foreign firms with capital and technology needed to develop those reserves, however, don't want to risk being caught up in spats over jurisdiction and have avoided concessions offered indisputed waters.
Manila's state-run Philex Petroleum <PXP.PS> has the controlling stakes in two stalled concessions, the 880,000-hectare SC-72 at the Reed Bank and the 616,000-hectare SC-75 off the island of Palawan.
The court verdict on July 12 sparked a surge in energy stocks the next day, with Philex shares up as much as 21 percent.
Philex says it is seeking a meeting with Philippine energy officials regarding the potential to lift a suspension order on drilling activities in the Reed Bank, in place since December 2014.
"It's a matter of national importance. We don't want to move on our own without guidance from the government," Philex Chairman Manuel Pangilinan told reporters.
"We will need a partner ... no local company has the expertise that we need."
Department of Energy spokesman Felix William Fuentebella said there were no immediate plans to lift the suspension as the department awaited guidance from new President Rodrigo Duterte.
"The moratorium stays. We are exploring ways to resolve the conflict peacefully and we follow the lead of the President," he said.
Manila and Beijing have both expressed a desire to resume talks, but the Philippines says it could not accept China's pre-condition of not discussing the ruling.
CONCESSION TO SHARE?
Without an agreement between Manila and Beijing, finding development partners would be difficult, said Andrew Harwood, a Southeast Asia upstream analyst at Wood Mackenzie.
"There has to be some softening of Beijing's stance before any companies would be willing to go and drill in any of the disputed areas," he said.
China has involved energy businesses in diplomatic disputes previously.
In May 2014, state-owned China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC) moved its Haiyang Shiyou 981 oil rig into Vietnam's Exclusive Economic Zone, guarded with a flotilla of coastguard ships. In a tense standoff, Vietnam protested vehemently and sent ships to try to disrupt operations.
Surveying on the disputed Reed Bank concessions began in 2003 under a Joint Marine Seismic Undertaking (JMSU) between Philippine state-owned PNOC Exploration Corp, CNOOC and state-owned PetroVietnam. Manila did not extend the agreement when it lapsed in 2008 after criticism from within the Philippines that the deal compromised its sovereignty.
The pact also caused a diplomatic upset in Southeast Asia as it was seen as undermining regional solidarity against an assertive China.
But some Filipino oil executives think teaming up again with CNOOC could solve problems on both the diplomatic and logistical fronts.
Pangilinan of Philex said he would not close the door on a China JV, while Philex President Daniel Stephen Carlos said a "farm-in" type deal was also being looked at.
Rufino Bomasang, a former Philippines energy ministry undersecretary and current executive chairman of Otto Energy Investments, an oil and gas exploration and production company, said restarting the JMSU with CNOOC should be considered.
"It is something worthwhile resuming," Bomasang told Reuters. "If there's good faith on both sides, why not? And I hope so."
The Philippines relies overwhelmingly on imports to fuel its fast-growing economy. That reliance will grow further in a few years when the main source of domestic natural gas runs out, so the clock is ticking for it to develop offshore fields that China shows no sign of loosening its grip on.
Beijing has refused to recognise the ruling by the Permanent Court of Arbitration that granted thePhilippines sovereign rights to access offshore oil and gas fields, including the Reed Bank, a shallow tablemount some 85 nautical miles off its coast.
And as long as things stay that way, the Philippines will have a hard time finding much-needed foreign expertise willing to risk upsetting China, officials and experts say.
According to US oilfield services company Weatherford, one concession - SC 72 - contains 2.6-8.8 trillion cubic feet of natural gas. That would be as much as triple the amount discovered at the Malampaya project, an offshore field that powers 40 percent of the main island of Luzon, home to the capital Manila.
Malampaya, which was developed by Royal Dutch Shell <RDSa.L> and began operations in 2001, is approaching the end of its productive life. Its only viable replacements are in waters that China insists it will not cede.
"Malampaya is going to run out of gas in 10 years so there is urgency for us to develop the Reed Bank," said Antonio Carpio, a supreme court associate justice.
Carpio was part of the legal team that made the case in The Hague and said a big factor in thePhilippines' decision to pursue arbitration in 2013 was China's obstructions around Reed Bank.
"Every time we send a survey ship there, Chinese coastguard vessels harass our survey ships," he told news channel ANC. "That's why we had to do something."
DEFERRED BY DISPUTES
The US Energy Information Administration believes that beneath the South China Sea could be 11 billion barrels of oil, more than Mexico's reserves, and 190 trillion cubic feet of natural gas.
Most foreign firms with capital and technology needed to develop those reserves, however, don't want to risk being caught up in spats over jurisdiction and have avoided concessions offered indisputed waters.
Manila's state-run Philex Petroleum <PXP.PS> has the controlling stakes in two stalled concessions, the 880,000-hectare SC-72 at the Reed Bank and the 616,000-hectare SC-75 off the island of Palawan.
The court verdict on July 12 sparked a surge in energy stocks the next day, with Philex shares up as much as 21 percent.
Philex says it is seeking a meeting with Philippine energy officials regarding the potential to lift a suspension order on drilling activities in the Reed Bank, in place since December 2014.
"It's a matter of national importance. We don't want to move on our own without guidance from the government," Philex Chairman Manuel Pangilinan told reporters.
"We will need a partner ... no local company has the expertise that we need."
Department of Energy spokesman Felix William Fuentebella said there were no immediate plans to lift the suspension as the department awaited guidance from new President Rodrigo Duterte.
"The moratorium stays. We are exploring ways to resolve the conflict peacefully and we follow the lead of the President," he said.
Manila and Beijing have both expressed a desire to resume talks, but the Philippines says it could not accept China's pre-condition of not discussing the ruling.
CONCESSION TO SHARE?
Without an agreement between Manila and Beijing, finding development partners would be difficult, said Andrew Harwood, a Southeast Asia upstream analyst at Wood Mackenzie.
"There has to be some softening of Beijing's stance before any companies would be willing to go and drill in any of the disputed areas," he said.
China has involved energy businesses in diplomatic disputes previously.
In May 2014, state-owned China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC) moved its Haiyang Shiyou 981 oil rig into Vietnam's Exclusive Economic Zone, guarded with a flotilla of coastguard ships. In a tense standoff, Vietnam protested vehemently and sent ships to try to disrupt operations.
Surveying on the disputed Reed Bank concessions began in 2003 under a Joint Marine Seismic Undertaking (JMSU) between Philippine state-owned PNOC Exploration Corp, CNOOC and state-owned PetroVietnam. Manila did not extend the agreement when it lapsed in 2008 after criticism from within the Philippines that the deal compromised its sovereignty.
The pact also caused a diplomatic upset in Southeast Asia as it was seen as undermining regional solidarity against an assertive China.
But some Filipino oil executives think teaming up again with CNOOC could solve problems on both the diplomatic and logistical fronts.
Pangilinan of Philex said he would not close the door on a China JV, while Philex President Daniel Stephen Carlos said a "farm-in" type deal was also being looked at.
Rufino Bomasang, a former Philippines energy ministry undersecretary and current executive chairman of Otto Energy Investments, an oil and gas exploration and production company, said restarting the JMSU with CNOOC should be considered.
"It is something worthwhile resuming," Bomasang told Reuters. "If there's good faith on both sides, why not? And I hope so."
Business Affairs
Sensex ends 93 points higher, Nifty at 8,541; Tata Motors top gainer, up 3%
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In a volatile trading day, the S&P BSE Sensex on Friday ended 92 per cent higher, while the broader Nifty50 settled just a tad below its key 7,550-mark.
The headline indices edged higher as gains in market heavyweight ITC on the back of strong quarterly earnings helped offset lacklustre performance by banking and IT sectors.
The 30-share index ended the day at 27,803, up 92.72 points, while broad-based 50-share index quoted 8,541, up 31.10 points at close.
Broader sentiment, however, remained subdued after Wall Street cooled off on Thursday as disappointing quarterly reports from Intel Corp and from transportation companies stalled momentum in a US corporate earnings season that has been better than feared.
"There is a concern which is now coming back into PSU banks, people are worried about their asset quality. That is why investors are getting cautious and booking profits there," said Neeraj Dewan, director at Quantum Securities.
The Nifty Bank index and the Nifty Private Bank index fell as much as 0.66 per cent and 0.51 per cent, respectively, after earnings from HDFC Bank and Kotak Mahindra Bank on Thursday raised concerns about bad loan ratios in the sector.
Some amount of profit-taking and shuffling was taking place since there had not been a major correction in the market, Dewan added.
Tata Motors stock was the best performer on both the benchmark indices and added over 3 per cent on the bourses.
Axis Bank, Federal Bank and Vijaya Bank are some of the banks scheduled to report later in the day.
Meanwhile, ITC shares rose as much as 2.2 per cent after the country's biggest cigarette maker on Thursday reported a more than 10 per cent rise in net profit for the first quarter.
Biopharmaceutical company Biocon rose to a record high after profit topped estimates, and the company and Mylan said their regulatory submission for proposed Biosimilar Pegfilgrastim, a drug used to bolster white blood cells in cancer patients receiving chemotherapy, was accepted for review by the European Medicines Agency.
In a volatile trading day, the S&P BSE Sensex on Friday ended 92 per cent higher, while the broader Nifty50 settled just a tad below its key 7,550-mark.
The headline indices edged higher as gains in market heavyweight ITC on the back of strong quarterly earnings helped offset lacklustre performance by banking and IT sectors.
The 30-share index ended the day at 27,803, up 92.72 points, while broad-based 50-share index quoted 8,541, up 31.10 points at close.
Broader sentiment, however, remained subdued after Wall Street cooled off on Thursday as disappointing quarterly reports from Intel Corp and from transportation companies stalled momentum in a US corporate earnings season that has been better than feared.
"There is a concern which is now coming back into PSU banks, people are worried about their asset quality. That is why investors are getting cautious and booking profits there," said Neeraj Dewan, director at Quantum Securities.
The Nifty Bank index and the Nifty Private Bank index fell as much as 0.66 per cent and 0.51 per cent, respectively, after earnings from HDFC Bank and Kotak Mahindra Bank on Thursday raised concerns about bad loan ratios in the sector.
Some amount of profit-taking and shuffling was taking place since there had not been a major correction in the market, Dewan added.
Tata Motors stock was the best performer on both the benchmark indices and added over 3 per cent on the bourses.
Axis Bank, Federal Bank and Vijaya Bank are some of the banks scheduled to report later in the day.
Meanwhile, ITC shares rose as much as 2.2 per cent after the country's biggest cigarette maker on Thursday reported a more than 10 per cent rise in net profit for the first quarter.
Biopharmaceutical company Biocon rose to a record high after profit topped estimates, and the company and Mylan said their regulatory submission for proposed Biosimilar Pegfilgrastim, a drug used to bolster white blood cells in cancer patients receiving chemotherapy, was accepted for review by the European Medicines Agency.
'New jobs in FY'17 may be lower than last year'
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IT body NASSCOM on Thursday said fresh hiring in the current financial year may be lower than last year as IT companies are facing pressure on margins, besides focusing on automation of jobs.
"Hiring activity in the year before last was 2.20 lakh (new jobs were created in IT sector). Last year, (FY 2015-16) there were about two lakh additions. This financial year, we are expecting it to be on the lower side of that", National Association of Software and Service Companies (NASSCOM) President R Chandrashekhar told reporters here.
Declining to give an exact figure, he said, "I cannot reliably predict what is going to happen. These are trends".
Explaining about the decrease in hiring activity, he said, fresh hiring is either static or gently declining. It is not as if overall hiring is going down. It is not going to be in the same pace as it was, he said.
Chandrashekhar attributed the companies' focus on automation and pressure on margins for the decrease in hiring activities.
"They (IT companies) are adopting higher productivity by reducing the strength and focusing on automation. For a country like India, automation works differently as cost effectiveness on automation is different because our economic levels are different," he said.
While certain jobs within the industry may be automated, those which are off-shored are actually coming in to India.
There is a loss of jobs because of automation within India and also because of a new set of jobs which are coming due to off-shoring and technology changes, he said.
"In short, for the next two years, we are still quite optimistic. Our fundamentals are stronger than others (countries)", he added.
IT body NASSCOM on Thursday said fresh hiring in the current financial year may be lower than last year as IT companies are facing pressure on margins, besides focusing on automation of jobs.
"Hiring activity in the year before last was 2.20 lakh (new jobs were created in IT sector). Last year, (FY 2015-16) there were about two lakh additions. This financial year, we are expecting it to be on the lower side of that", National Association of Software and Service Companies (NASSCOM) President R Chandrashekhar told reporters here.
Declining to give an exact figure, he said, "I cannot reliably predict what is going to happen. These are trends".
Explaining about the decrease in hiring activity, he said, fresh hiring is either static or gently declining. It is not as if overall hiring is going down. It is not going to be in the same pace as it was, he said.
Chandrashekhar attributed the companies' focus on automation and pressure on margins for the decrease in hiring activities.
"They (IT companies) are adopting higher productivity by reducing the strength and focusing on automation. For a country like India, automation works differently as cost effectiveness on automation is different because our economic levels are different," he said.
While certain jobs within the industry may be automated, those which are off-shored are actually coming in to India.
There is a loss of jobs because of automation within India and also because of a new set of jobs which are coming due to off-shoring and technology changes, he said.
"In short, for the next two years, we are still quite optimistic. Our fundamentals are stronger than others (countries)", he added.
BBC can learn a bit from Indian style of debate in news rooms: BBC Global News CEO
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BBC Global News CEO Jim Egan talked to Business Today about the lurking threat of ad blocking for content publishers and combating the rise of native advertising.
Ad blocking is becoming a major concern for publishers. What is your view on this?
In the UK, the industry is completely obsessed with ad blocking and it is becoming one big strategic issue. There are certain parts of publishing industry that are getting affected by it very profoundly. Those would be people who have very cluttered and busy properties for the user.
With ad blocking getting adopted at the device or network level, whether it is a good publisher or not, everyone will get caught up by it. We are seeing more and more publishers such as New York Times reminding readers that good content doesn't come for free and has to be paid for.
At the moment, at BBC we are talking about it rather than doing anything about it. Till date, it has had limited financial impact on us. It might be because we have a relatively low ad to content ratio on our site. We don't have a fixed percentage of ads to content but you tend not to see BBC page that is choc-a-bloc full of ads.
We are looking at what others are doing but we are not yet at that stage of saying that please remove the ad blocker. The big debate, however, seems to be that publishers are recognising that audiences have had enough of bad ads and are seeking to reset their relationship with them.
With native advertising on the rise, how do you ensure journalistic content is separate from sponsored content.
We work on that in a very literal way. We have different teams for each. Both are BBC expert content producers but there is never any confusion about the nature of content they are working on. That's from the production perspective. From the point of view of how it gets to the audience, it is always clearly marked.
Last year we launched BBC StoryWorks - a content marketing team lead by a former BBC journalist with over ten years' experience. The team brings newsroom values to content creation - spotting compelling narratives that will engage audiences and deliver for brands. Earlier this year, we conducted some research into the emotional impact of content-led marketing by measuring consumers' subconscious reaction to campaigns on BBC.com through facial coding. The study, called the Science of Engagement, showed that, when well executed and clearly labelled, content-led marketing is considered trusted and persuasive and has a powerful emotional impact for the brands involved.
Have there been cases where you have been asked by advertisers to make the branded content subtle so it comes through as editorial content.
Intelligent advertisers understand that they have a very carefully-developed corporate reputation and so does BBC. Our corporate reputation rests on the trust the audience have in us and as a result they understand that it is not in our interest and it is not in theirs either. We tend not to have these awkward conversations where advertisers say, can you slip in the reference in the content or talk a bit more about our fantastic product.
There are certain advertisers we tend not to work with for very long. We have this kind of approach, but I am afraid I am not going to give you any names.
Indian news channels are moving from studio news to having a debate in the news rooms. Is BBC also thinking of introducing this strategy?
I think in some ways this is something BBC can learn from because those channels are certainly engaging and lively and there is a lot of energy in them. And, they would make sense for news organisations to do news this way. It is not how BBC does it nor I ever will be able to pass judgment on the way news channels do news here.
We have our own particular style that works for us. Some people may find it a bit dry and arid. It is not our goal to be boring but if you watch BBC World News there is a single ticker running across the screen. We don't overload the screen with graphics all the way through to the editorial treatment of stories. This reflects BBC's lifelong commitment to impartiality and giving a balanced view. We believe our audience is intelligent and we leave it to them to make up their own mind and just give them the different specs on it rather than provide the answers.
I don't think we will have newsroom debate just like that but there is always a row for dynamism, personality and colour and those are the things we are having more in the channel. But that doesn't mean 9 pm at BBC will all of a sudden become a lot like 9 pm on other channels.
Can you share an example of a crisis situation in the recent past and how did you handle it?
There was a recent issue around a programme on politics in Russia that we broadcasted. It was regarded very unfavourably by the Russian authorities and we were under a lot of pressure on not broadcasting it in Russia.
In such situations, one thing I have learnt is remaining calm and when the pressure is on never to send an angry email. I wrote that angry email and saved it in drafts folder and then came back the next morning and decided whether I wanted to send it or not. Generally, I never want to send it when I come back after a night's sleep. The other thing I believe is in the old saying: experience is what you get when you don't get what you want. Normally, when you look back at these experiences they are quite a rich source of learning for next time round.
What are the top revenue generating countries for BBC?
Those would be countries like the US, Canada, Japan and Australia. India is in and around in the top five revenue generators for us but it varies from quarter to quarter. It is a mix of advertising on TV, BBC.com and also the subscription revenue from Indian Pay TV.
BBC Global News CEO Jim Egan talked to Business Today about the lurking threat of ad blocking for content publishers and combating the rise of native advertising.
Ad blocking is becoming a major concern for publishers. What is your view on this?
In the UK, the industry is completely obsessed with ad blocking and it is becoming one big strategic issue. There are certain parts of publishing industry that are getting affected by it very profoundly. Those would be people who have very cluttered and busy properties for the user.
With ad blocking getting adopted at the device or network level, whether it is a good publisher or not, everyone will get caught up by it. We are seeing more and more publishers such as New York Times reminding readers that good content doesn't come for free and has to be paid for.
At the moment, at BBC we are talking about it rather than doing anything about it. Till date, it has had limited financial impact on us. It might be because we have a relatively low ad to content ratio on our site. We don't have a fixed percentage of ads to content but you tend not to see BBC page that is choc-a-bloc full of ads.
We are looking at what others are doing but we are not yet at that stage of saying that please remove the ad blocker. The big debate, however, seems to be that publishers are recognising that audiences have had enough of bad ads and are seeking to reset their relationship with them.
With native advertising on the rise, how do you ensure journalistic content is separate from sponsored content.
We work on that in a very literal way. We have different teams for each. Both are BBC expert content producers but there is never any confusion about the nature of content they are working on. That's from the production perspective. From the point of view of how it gets to the audience, it is always clearly marked.
Last year we launched BBC StoryWorks - a content marketing team lead by a former BBC journalist with over ten years' experience. The team brings newsroom values to content creation - spotting compelling narratives that will engage audiences and deliver for brands. Earlier this year, we conducted some research into the emotional impact of content-led marketing by measuring consumers' subconscious reaction to campaigns on BBC.com through facial coding. The study, called the Science of Engagement, showed that, when well executed and clearly labelled, content-led marketing is considered trusted and persuasive and has a powerful emotional impact for the brands involved.
Have there been cases where you have been asked by advertisers to make the branded content subtle so it comes through as editorial content.
Intelligent advertisers understand that they have a very carefully-developed corporate reputation and so does BBC. Our corporate reputation rests on the trust the audience have in us and as a result they understand that it is not in our interest and it is not in theirs either. We tend not to have these awkward conversations where advertisers say, can you slip in the reference in the content or talk a bit more about our fantastic product.
There are certain advertisers we tend not to work with for very long. We have this kind of approach, but I am afraid I am not going to give you any names.
Indian news channels are moving from studio news to having a debate in the news rooms. Is BBC also thinking of introducing this strategy?
I think in some ways this is something BBC can learn from because those channels are certainly engaging and lively and there is a lot of energy in them. And, they would make sense for news organisations to do news this way. It is not how BBC does it nor I ever will be able to pass judgment on the way news channels do news here.
We have our own particular style that works for us. Some people may find it a bit dry and arid. It is not our goal to be boring but if you watch BBC World News there is a single ticker running across the screen. We don't overload the screen with graphics all the way through to the editorial treatment of stories. This reflects BBC's lifelong commitment to impartiality and giving a balanced view. We believe our audience is intelligent and we leave it to them to make up their own mind and just give them the different specs on it rather than provide the answers.
I don't think we will have newsroom debate just like that but there is always a row for dynamism, personality and colour and those are the things we are having more in the channel. But that doesn't mean 9 pm at BBC will all of a sudden become a lot like 9 pm on other channels.
Can you share an example of a crisis situation in the recent past and how did you handle it?
Can you share an example of a crisis situation in the recent past and how did you handle it?
There was a recent issue around a programme on politics in Russia that we broadcasted. It was regarded very unfavourably by the Russian authorities and we were under a lot of pressure on not broadcasting it in Russia.
In such situations, one thing I have learnt is remaining calm and when the pressure is on never to send an angry email. I wrote that angry email and saved it in drafts folder and then came back the next morning and decided whether I wanted to send it or not. Generally, I never want to send it when I come back after a night's sleep. The other thing I believe is in the old saying: experience is what you get when you don't get what you want. Normally, when you look back at these experiences they are quite a rich source of learning for next time round.
What are the top revenue generating countries for BBC?
What are the top revenue generating countries for BBC?
Those would be countries like the US, Canada, Japan and Australia. India is in and around in the top five revenue generators for us but it varies from quarter to quarter. It is a mix of advertising on TV, BBC.com and also the subscription revenue from Indian Pay TV.
New RBI Governor will face stubborn old foe: rural inflation
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India's next RBI governor could learn a lot about stubbornly high prices in rural areas by driving down a ramshackle road in Uttar Pradesh state to talk to small farmers like Dharmendra Malik.
After cooling last year due largely to lower oil prices, India's old nemesis inflation is back on the prowl and is threatening to breach the Reserve Bank of India's (RBI) target, a harsh welcome for its new chief who is expected to be appointed soon.
Rising prices are also feeding rural perceptions that Prime Minister Narendra Modi increasingly favors the urban middle class, a key voter base. Millions of government employees recently received hefty pay hikes, while more farmers are going bust.
The dusty village of Sisauli puts the dilemma facing India's policymakers into clear focus.
Sisuali is three hours by rough road from New Delhi, making transporting goods difficult and expensive.
Layers of middlemen also clog the supply chain and take their cuts. Some farmers say their produce can go through at least four intermediaries before reaching customers.
Malik says he sold rice for 16 rupees (24 US cents) a kilogram to a middle man. In a market 10 minutes away, it retails for three times as much.
"Inflation has come down only on paper; in reality, there is no let up in surging prices," Sudhir Kumar said in his grocery shop, which also has a small TV set he uses to keep an eye on commodity prices.
DECADES OF NEGLECT BUBBLING OVER
Rural India has long suffered from neglect, but tensions are rising as food prices have surged after two years of drought.
Retail inflation in rural areas has consistently outpaced urban areas in the past 18 months, hitting 6.20 percent in June, well above 5.26 percent in cities such as Mumbai.
That has pushed overall inflation to a near two-year high of 5.77 percent in June, near the upper end of the RBI's 2-6 percent inflation target.
RBI officials have stressed that many of the causes are structural and beyond the central bank's control, but the spike in inflation could complicate the next governor's job.
Though India has become the world's fastest growing large economy, political pressure on the RBI is growing to cut interest rates more aggressively to spur full employment, at the risk of unleashing even stronger inflationary forces.
Outgoing Governor Raghuram Rajan was lauded by investors for introducing inflation targeting last year, restoring the RBI's credibility by linking price management to numerical targets. Investors are closely watching to see if his successor will stick to tough targets or water them down.
Economists polled by Reuters see only one more rate cut over the next year, if inflation does not pick-up too sharply.
NO EASY FIXES
Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is already facing a tough electoral test in the state next year. Uttar Pradesh will be a crucial test for its re-election bid in 2019.
"You are not ready to pay more to farmers because that is bad economics," said Malik. "But no one complains when hefty pay increases are given to government employees."
The government is making some strides. It is spending on infrastructure and is seeking to weed out middlemen by giving farmers an option of selling their goods across India via electronic trading platforms set up at wholesale markets.
But progress is slow, and middlemen continue to hold sway as farmers lack the means to ship directly to buyers.
Rate cuts would do little for villagers such as Narpendar Jhinjha, a heavily indebted 52-year-old farmer, who says another bad year will force him to sell his land.
"A farmer is hit on both sides," Jhinja said, referring to low crop prices and higher prices for goods he needs to buy.
"And on top of that we have our loans to pay for. Farmers have been condemned to a life of misery."
India's next RBI governor could learn a lot about stubbornly high prices in rural areas by driving down a ramshackle road in Uttar Pradesh state to talk to small farmers like Dharmendra Malik.
After cooling last year due largely to lower oil prices, India's old nemesis inflation is back on the prowl and is threatening to breach the Reserve Bank of India's (RBI) target, a harsh welcome for its new chief who is expected to be appointed soon.
Rising prices are also feeding rural perceptions that Prime Minister Narendra Modi increasingly favors the urban middle class, a key voter base. Millions of government employees recently received hefty pay hikes, while more farmers are going bust.
The dusty village of Sisauli puts the dilemma facing India's policymakers into clear focus.
Sisuali is three hours by rough road from New Delhi, making transporting goods difficult and expensive.
Layers of middlemen also clog the supply chain and take their cuts. Some farmers say their produce can go through at least four intermediaries before reaching customers.
Malik says he sold rice for 16 rupees (24 US cents) a kilogram to a middle man. In a market 10 minutes away, it retails for three times as much.
"Inflation has come down only on paper; in reality, there is no let up in surging prices," Sudhir Kumar said in his grocery shop, which also has a small TV set he uses to keep an eye on commodity prices.
DECADES OF NEGLECT BUBBLING OVER
Rural India has long suffered from neglect, but tensions are rising as food prices have surged after two years of drought.
Retail inflation in rural areas has consistently outpaced urban areas in the past 18 months, hitting 6.20 percent in June, well above 5.26 percent in cities such as Mumbai.
That has pushed overall inflation to a near two-year high of 5.77 percent in June, near the upper end of the RBI's 2-6 percent inflation target.
RBI officials have stressed that many of the causes are structural and beyond the central bank's control, but the spike in inflation could complicate the next governor's job.
Though India has become the world's fastest growing large economy, political pressure on the RBI is growing to cut interest rates more aggressively to spur full employment, at the risk of unleashing even stronger inflationary forces.
Outgoing Governor Raghuram Rajan was lauded by investors for introducing inflation targeting last year, restoring the RBI's credibility by linking price management to numerical targets. Investors are closely watching to see if his successor will stick to tough targets or water them down.
Economists polled by Reuters see only one more rate cut over the next year, if inflation does not pick-up too sharply.
NO EASY FIXES
Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is already facing a tough electoral test in the state next year. Uttar Pradesh will be a crucial test for its re-election bid in 2019.
Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is already facing a tough electoral test in the state next year. Uttar Pradesh will be a crucial test for its re-election bid in 2019.
"You are not ready to pay more to farmers because that is bad economics," said Malik. "But no one complains when hefty pay increases are given to government employees."
The government is making some strides. It is spending on infrastructure and is seeking to weed out middlemen by giving farmers an option of selling their goods across India via electronic trading platforms set up at wholesale markets.
But progress is slow, and middlemen continue to hold sway as farmers lack the means to ship directly to buyers.
Rate cuts would do little for villagers such as Narpendar Jhinjha, a heavily indebted 52-year-old farmer, who says another bad year will force him to sell his land.
"A farmer is hit on both sides," Jhinja said, referring to low crop prices and higher prices for goods he needs to buy.
"And on top of that we have our loans to pay for. Farmers have been condemned to a life of misery."
EPFO may soon invest more than 5% in exchange traded funds
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Retirement fund body EPFO is likely to consider a proposal to increase proportion of its investments in exchange traded funds (ETFs) in its trustees' meet on July 26.
"The proposal to increase quantum of investments in exchange traded funds is likely to come up in the the meeting of the Central Board of Trustees (CBT) of the Employees' Provident Fund on July 26," a senior official said.
EPFO, at present, is investing 5 per cent of investible deposits in ETFs despite opposition by labour unions.
"Labour Minister Bandaru Dattatreya has already indicated earlier that EPFO will enhance the proportion of its investments in ETFs which will eventually be increased to 12 per cent of investible deposits every year," the official said.
EPFO started investing in ETFs in August last year.
However, trade unions have been opposing the decision.
Total amount invested by EPFO in ETFs is Rs 7,468 crore as on as on June 30 2016. The absolute return on the investment so far is 7.45 per cent.
Labour Ministry had notified a pattern of Investment on April 23, 2015, which allows investment in equity and related investments from 5 to 15 per cent.
However, the CBT had decided to invest only 5 per cent in ETFs to start with last year.
"There will be a CBT meeting...We may take a decision on the quantum of investments to be made in ETF. We are in discussions with BSE and National Stock Exchange also. The investment will certainly increase (over last year).
"The Finance Ministry gave us clearance to invest from 5 to 15 per cent. It is a long-term investment. It may up to 10 to 12 per cent also depending up on the market conditions. We expect the markets would be stabilised in the long run.
Markets also need money," Dattatreya had said.
Last week, the minster had also told that as on June 30, the EPFO invested Rs 7,468 crore in two index-linked ETFs (Exchange Traded Funds) -- one to the BSE's Sensex and the other to NSE's Nifty -- and as of now the market value of the investment stood at Rs 8,024 crore with 7.45 per cent yield.
This fiscal the investible deopoits of the EPFO could be over Rs 1.35 lakh crore.
Retirement fund body EPFO is likely to consider a proposal to increase proportion of its investments in exchange traded funds (ETFs) in its trustees' meet on July 26.
"The proposal to increase quantum of investments in exchange traded funds is likely to come up in the the meeting of the Central Board of Trustees (CBT) of the Employees' Provident Fund on July 26," a senior official said.
EPFO, at present, is investing 5 per cent of investible deposits in ETFs despite opposition by labour unions.
"Labour Minister Bandaru Dattatreya has already indicated earlier that EPFO will enhance the proportion of its investments in ETFs which will eventually be increased to 12 per cent of investible deposits every year," the official said.
EPFO started investing in ETFs in August last year.
However, trade unions have been opposing the decision.
Total amount invested by EPFO in ETFs is Rs 7,468 crore as on as on June 30 2016. The absolute return on the investment so far is 7.45 per cent.
Labour Ministry had notified a pattern of Investment on April 23, 2015, which allows investment in equity and related investments from 5 to 15 per cent.
However, the CBT had decided to invest only 5 per cent in ETFs to start with last year.
"There will be a CBT meeting...We may take a decision on the quantum of investments to be made in ETF. We are in discussions with BSE and National Stock Exchange also. The investment will certainly increase (over last year).
"The Finance Ministry gave us clearance to invest from 5 to 15 per cent. It is a long-term investment. It may up to 10 to 12 per cent also depending up on the market conditions. We expect the markets would be stabilised in the long run.
Markets also need money," Dattatreya had said.
Last week, the minster had also told that as on June 30, the EPFO invested Rs 7,468 crore in two index-linked ETFs (Exchange Traded Funds) -- one to the BSE's Sensex and the other to NSE's Nifty -- and as of now the market value of the investment stood at Rs 8,024 crore with 7.45 per cent yield.
This fiscal the investible deopoits of the EPFO could be over Rs 1.35 lakh crore.
General Awareness
Cauvery Delta’s Irrigation Facilities to be Boosted up through ADB’s Loan Agreement with GOI
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In order to fortify and develop the important Irrigation and Drainage management system in the Cauvery Delta of Tamil nadu, GOI AND ADB has signed a pact on July 14 which estimates around $100 million (670 Crores approx.). This system is going to revitalize the mounds and hills of the six major Irrigation systems in the Vennar system and also to renovate the existing Pumping stations.
What is Cauvery Delta?
Cauvery Delta Zone (CDZ) lies in the eastern part of Tamil Nadu between 10.00-11.30, North latitude and between 78.15 – 79.45 longitudes. It is bounded by the Bay of Bengal on the East and the Palk straight on the South, Trichy district on the west, Perambalur, Ariyalur districts on the North West, Cuddalore district on the North and Puddukkottai district on the South West.
This Zone stretches to almost 50 revenue taluks of six different districts of Tamilnadu. All these areas depend on this river water for Irrigation and Agriculture.
It is noted that CDZ has a total geographic land area of 14.47 lakh hectares which is equivalent to 11.13 percent of the Tamilnadu’s total land area.
Loan Tenure:
The loan from ADB’s ordinary capital resources has a 25-year term. The Water Resources Department of the State of Tamil Nadu is responsible for implementing the project and is expected to be completed by December 2020.
Benefits:
The Cauvery river basin is an important source of water for agriculture, for Tamil Nadu and the neighboring states. The vast majority of the delta’s population is engaged in farming and fishing. The project aims to improve existing infrastructure and will provide flood protection and renewed access to irrigation.
About ADB:
♦ Name – Asian Development Bank
♦ HQ – Philippines
♦ CEO – Takehiko Nakao
♦ Establishment – 1966
In order to fortify and develop the important Irrigation and Drainage management system in the Cauvery Delta of Tamil nadu, GOI AND ADB has signed a pact on July 14 which estimates around $100 million (670 Crores approx.). This system is going to revitalize the mounds and hills of the six major Irrigation systems in the Vennar system and also to renovate the existing Pumping stations.
What is Cauvery Delta?
Cauvery Delta Zone (CDZ) lies in the eastern part of Tamil Nadu between 10.00-11.30, North latitude and between 78.15 – 79.45 longitudes. It is bounded by the Bay of Bengal on the East and the Palk straight on the South, Trichy district on the west, Perambalur, Ariyalur districts on the North West, Cuddalore district on the North and Puddukkottai district on the South West.
Cauvery Delta Zone (CDZ) lies in the eastern part of Tamil Nadu between 10.00-11.30, North latitude and between 78.15 – 79.45 longitudes. It is bounded by the Bay of Bengal on the East and the Palk straight on the South, Trichy district on the west, Perambalur, Ariyalur districts on the North West, Cuddalore district on the North and Puddukkottai district on the South West.
This Zone stretches to almost 50 revenue taluks of six different districts of Tamilnadu. All these areas depend on this river water for Irrigation and Agriculture.
It is noted that CDZ has a total geographic land area of 14.47 lakh hectares which is equivalent to 11.13 percent of the Tamilnadu’s total land area.
Loan Tenure:
The loan from ADB’s ordinary capital resources has a 25-year term. The Water Resources Department of the State of Tamil Nadu is responsible for implementing the project and is expected to be completed by December 2020.
Benefits:
The Cauvery river basin is an important source of water for agriculture, for Tamil Nadu and the neighboring states. The vast majority of the delta’s population is engaged in farming and fishing. The project aims to improve existing infrastructure and will provide flood protection and renewed access to irrigation.
About ADB:
♦ Name – Asian Development Bank
♦ HQ – Philippines
♦ CEO – Takehiko Nakao
♦ Establishment – 1966
♦ Name – Asian Development Bank
♦ HQ – Philippines
♦ CEO – Takehiko Nakao
♦ Establishment – 1966
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