General Affairs
Government To Develop 300 Villages As Growth Centres, Says PM Modi
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NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi today said his government plans to develop 300 villages across the country as growth centers by creating city like infrastructure, from education and healthcare to digital connectivity.
The National Urban Mission aims to provide better quality of life and employment in villages, he said at the townhall organised to mark the second anniversary of myGov app.
There is no dearth of smart cities, but shouldn't the scenario of villages change, he asked. "Facilities available in cities must be made available to villages."
National Urban Mission is 'Smart City Plus', he said, adding 300 villages have been identified, which will be developed as growth centres for the area.
All infrastructure identical to cities like digital and physical connectivity as well as quality healthcare and education will be provided, he said. "The idea is that the soul of a village is retained while amenities of cities are provided."
These villages are the ones where rural people may visit for healthcare, education or attending to other needs like repairing or recharging mobiles.
Villages, he said, can become the growth centre of the rural economy.
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On the eve of Handloom Day, PM Modi urged 125 crore Indians to use khadi and handloom for 5 per cent of their clothing needs.
This would boost the textile sector, which is the second biggest employment provider in the country, he said. "This will help the poor."
Rural economy will change if the sector is provided holistic support, e-platform for global marketing and facilities to weavers, he added.
The National Urban Mission aims to provide better quality of life and employment in villages, he said at the townhall organised to mark the second anniversary of myGov app.
There is no dearth of smart cities, but shouldn't the scenario of villages change, he asked. "Facilities available in cities must be made available to villages."
National Urban Mission is 'Smart City Plus', he said, adding 300 villages have been identified, which will be developed as growth centres for the area.
All infrastructure identical to cities like digital and physical connectivity as well as quality healthcare and education will be provided, he said. "The idea is that the soul of a village is retained while amenities of cities are provided."
These villages are the ones where rural people may visit for healthcare, education or attending to other needs like repairing or recharging mobiles.
Villages, he said, can become the growth centre of the rural economy.
x
On the eve of Handloom Day, PM Modi urged 125 crore Indians to use khadi and handloom for 5 per cent of their clothing needs.
This would boost the textile sector, which is the second biggest employment provider in the country, he said. "This will help the poor."
Rural economy will change if the sector is provided holistic support, e-platform for global marketing and facilities to weavers, he added.
Nothing Wrong In Bureaucrats, Ministers Expressing Themselves Freely: Arun Jaitley
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NEW DELHI: Finance Minister Arun Jaitley today advocated for freehand to ministers and bureaucrats to express themselves on social media to make government functioning transparent.
His comments at the event to mark second anniversary of myGov app came against the backdrop of the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) recently issuing draft service rules proposing to allow bureaucrats to participate freely on social media websites like Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn but criticism of government will still be a no-no.
The draft rules bar officers from making "criticism of government" on TV, social media or any other communication application by any means, including a "caricature".
"In the final decisions of the government, you should talk in one voice and it should be one decision," Mr Jaitley said. "But one strong asset which the social media has provided you is that before you reach that one decision there are multiple opinions which come."
Social media providers alternate viewpoints, criticisms, comments and suggestions, he said. "Therefore in a transparent government system, I see nothing wrong in civil servants expressing themselves freely, ministers expressing themselves freely."
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Airing opinion freely is how consultation process should take place. "Eventually the decision has to be one."
Speaking about advantages of social media, he said previously only big metropolitan cities were looked at for opinion or suggestions but today with the advent of social media, opinions are freely available from schools, colleges, tier II, III and even downwards. "The youth are more informed."
Talking about ways to propagate about government schemes like crop insurance, Mr Jaitley said government should not leave any form of media as cost is limited and unlimited advantages like wide reach.
His comments at the event to mark second anniversary of myGov app came against the backdrop of the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) recently issuing draft service rules proposing to allow bureaucrats to participate freely on social media websites like Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn but criticism of government will still be a no-no.
"In the final decisions of the government, you should talk in one voice and it should be one decision," Mr Jaitley said. "But one strong asset which the social media has provided you is that before you reach that one decision there are multiple opinions which come."
Social media providers alternate viewpoints, criticisms, comments and suggestions, he said. "Therefore in a transparent government system, I see nothing wrong in civil servants expressing themselves freely, ministers expressing themselves freely."
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Airing opinion freely is how consultation process should take place. "Eventually the decision has to be one."
Speaking about advantages of social media, he said previously only big metropolitan cities were looked at for opinion or suggestions but today with the advent of social media, opinions are freely available from schools, colleges, tier II, III and even downwards. "The youth are more informed."
Talking about ways to propagate about government schemes like crop insurance, Mr Jaitley said government should not leave any form of media as cost is limited and unlimited advantages like wide reach.
NIA Team In Kokrajhar, Massive Combing Operation On
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KOKRAJHAR: An NIA team today scoured the site and spoke to eyewitnesses of yesterday's terror attack here in which 14 people were killed while a massive combing operation was on to nab the militants of Bodo separatist outfit NDFB(S) suspected to be involved in the strike.
Assam Finance Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, who visited the attack site, told reporters that the militant who was neutralised yesterday has been identified as Manjay Islari.
"He is a self-styled area commander of 16th battalion of NDFB(S) faction. We will give the body to his parents," he said.
He said that combing operation in the area has been intensified to nab those who fled after carrying out the attack on Balajan Tiniali market, about 12 km from here, just days before Independence Day.
To a question, he said that the militants were not part of any suicide squad. "If they were part of a suicide squad they would not have fled."
An NIA team has reached the spot and was speaking to eyewitnesses, officials said.
Combing operation by police, para-military and army is also on in neighbouring Chirang district to nab militants.
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Defence sources said specialised troops, tracker dogs and other equipment have been pressed into service.
The Army was also carrying out extensive area domination operations in the district to ensure swift actions, they said.
The situation was described as tense but under control by police.
Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal visited the seriously injured at Gauhati Medical College Hospital and inquired about their condition. He spoke to doctors there on providing them advance medical treatment, government sources in Guwahati said.
Kokrajhar deputy commissioner held a high level security meeting with police, army and paramilitary forces to review the situation ahead of Independence Day, administration sources said.
A strict vigil was being maintained along the Assam-Bengal interstate border and international fronts with Bhutan to prevent the NDFB(S) militants from escaping there, the sources said.
Meanwhile, opposition Congress leaders, who visited Kokrajhar today, accused the ruling BJP government in the state of failing to take preventive measures despite the fact that militants regularly indulge in violent activities in the run up to Independence and Republic Days.
Armed militants dressed in army fatigues and belonging to the Bodo separatist outfit had opened fire and threw grenades at the crowded weekly market killing 14 people.
One of the attackers, who were believed to be five in number, was killed in retaliatory action by security forces, police had said.
Assam Director-General of Police Mukesh Sahay had said that the attack was suspected to be the handiwork of National Democratic Front of Bodoland (NDFB-S). AK-56 and 47 series rifles along with grenades were also recovered from the spot.
The Assam Director General of Police and Additional Chief Secretary T Y Das also held a high level security review meeting with the district administration where it was decided to continue with the security operations.
Assam Finance Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, who visited the attack site, told reporters that the militant who was neutralised yesterday has been identified as Manjay Islari.
"He is a self-styled area commander of 16th battalion of NDFB(S) faction. We will give the body to his parents," he said.
He said that combing operation in the area has been intensified to nab those who fled after carrying out the attack on Balajan Tiniali market, about 12 km from here, just days before Independence Day.
To a question, he said that the militants were not part of any suicide squad. "If they were part of a suicide squad they would not have fled."
An NIA team has reached the spot and was speaking to eyewitnesses, officials said.
Combing operation by police, para-military and army is also on in neighbouring Chirang district to nab militants.
x
Defence sources said specialised troops, tracker dogs and other equipment have been pressed into service.
The Army was also carrying out extensive area domination operations in the district to ensure swift actions, they said.
The situation was described as tense but under control by police.
Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal visited the seriously injured at Gauhati Medical College Hospital and inquired about their condition. He spoke to doctors there on providing them advance medical treatment, government sources in Guwahati said.
Kokrajhar deputy commissioner held a high level security meeting with police, army and paramilitary forces to review the situation ahead of Independence Day, administration sources said.
A strict vigil was being maintained along the Assam-Bengal interstate border and international fronts with Bhutan to prevent the NDFB(S) militants from escaping there, the sources said.
Meanwhile, opposition Congress leaders, who visited Kokrajhar today, accused the ruling BJP government in the state of failing to take preventive measures despite the fact that militants regularly indulge in violent activities in the run up to Independence and Republic Days.
Armed militants dressed in army fatigues and belonging to the Bodo separatist outfit had opened fire and threw grenades at the crowded weekly market killing 14 people.
One of the attackers, who were believed to be five in number, was killed in retaliatory action by security forces, police had said.
Assam Director-General of Police Mukesh Sahay had said that the attack was suspected to be the handiwork of National Democratic Front of Bodoland (NDFB-S). AK-56 and 47 series rifles along with grenades were also recovered from the spot.
The Assam Director General of Police and Additional Chief Secretary T Y Das also held a high level security review meeting with the district administration where it was decided to continue with the security operations.
Kiran Bedi Interferes In Working Of Puducherry Government, Says AAP
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NEW DELHI: Attacking Puducherry Lt Governor Kiran Bedi for allegedly interfering in the working of the government, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) today said the centre is using similar tactics in the Union Territory (UT) the way it is doing in Delhi. However, Puducherry Chief Minister V Narayanasamy denied the allegations.
AAP leader Sanjay Singh alleged that Ms Bedi, who was recently appointed as the LG of Puducherry interferes in the working of the UT to the extent that she even issues orders on the projects.
Taking a jibe at Ms Bedi, AAP legislator and party's in-charge of southern states, Somnath Bharti alleged that PM Modi has appointed those people to the post of LG, who harboured chief ministerial ambitions, but could not become one.
"Kiran Bedi ji has said that her writ runs in Puducherry. She gives messages on Whatsapp groups, Twitter. Officers, including the police chief, is summoned and told that they should listen to her.
Modi ji's government has become a serious threat to the democracy and the Constitution and has no faith in elected government," Mr Singh alleged.
He also demanded that the parliament should take note of this and pass a strong law to strengthen the federal structure of the country.
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Interestingly, Puducherry Chief Minister V Narayanasamy today asserted that there was no difference of opinion between his ministry and LG Kiran Bedi.
"There is no clash between the Lt Governor and the ministry," Mr Narayansamy said.
Ms Bedi and the AAP has been at the crossroads ever since she parted ways with Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal over the formation of AAP in 2012. She later joined the BJP and was its chief ministerial candidate in 2015 Assembly polls, which the BJP lost.
AAP leader Sanjay Singh alleged that Ms Bedi, who was recently appointed as the LG of Puducherry interferes in the working of the UT to the extent that she even issues orders on the projects.
Taking a jibe at Ms Bedi, AAP legislator and party's in-charge of southern states, Somnath Bharti alleged that PM Modi has appointed those people to the post of LG, who harboured chief ministerial ambitions, but could not become one.
"Kiran Bedi ji has said that her writ runs in Puducherry. She gives messages on Whatsapp groups, Twitter. Officers, including the police chief, is summoned and told that they should listen to her.
Modi ji's government has become a serious threat to the democracy and the Constitution and has no faith in elected government," Mr Singh alleged.
He also demanded that the parliament should take note of this and pass a strong law to strengthen the federal structure of the country.
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Interestingly, Puducherry Chief Minister V Narayanasamy today asserted that there was no difference of opinion between his ministry and LG Kiran Bedi.
"There is no clash between the Lt Governor and the ministry," Mr Narayansamy said.
Ms Bedi and the AAP has been at the crossroads ever since she parted ways with Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal over the formation of AAP in 2012. She later joined the BJP and was its chief ministerial candidate in 2015 Assembly polls, which the BJP lost.
Long-Term Solution Required For Flood Control: Pema Khandu
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ITANAGAR: To address the recurring flood problem in the state, Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Pema Khandu has called for finding a long-term solution instead of taking short-term measures.
"What we want is a long-term solution. The cost will be high but efforts will be on," the Chief Minister said yesterday.
During his visit to flood-ravaged Namsai district yesterday, Mr Khandu inspected a breached embankment of Noa-Dehing river that has taken a new course through low-lying areas of Lower Silatoo, Nongkhong and Mahadevpur areas crossing NH 52 to rejoin its original course near Mahaloni village, an official release said today.
The swollen river pose a danger to the entire Mahadevpur town and could be a threat to Namsai area if it is not diverted to its original course, the release said.
Redirecting the river to its original course would involve latest technology, the Chief Minister said, adding the work would be entrusted to the Water Resource department, which would consult specialized firms for river piping to prevent erosion along the 2 km of breached embankment.
"What we want is a long-term solution. The cost will be high but efforts will be on. I have authorized the Chief Secretary to go ahead with the work," he said at a public meeting in Namsai town and announced that the project to channel Nao-Dehing river to its original course will be started soon.
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Mr Khandu said the people affected by the floods will be "fully" compensated as per relief norms.
"I have come here to share your sorrow as Chief Minister. Don't worry the government is with you, the administration is with you," he assured.
Responding to the memoranda submitted by the public, Mr Khandu advised the people to be optimistic during a difficult situation like this.
"People are in grief over their loss. If we fill the atmosphere with negativity, it will make them sadder. What we need is a problem-solving attitude. Give them hope," he urged the officials, the release added.
"What we want is a long-term solution. The cost will be high but efforts will be on," the Chief Minister said yesterday.
During his visit to flood-ravaged Namsai district yesterday, Mr Khandu inspected a breached embankment of Noa-Dehing river that has taken a new course through low-lying areas of Lower Silatoo, Nongkhong and Mahadevpur areas crossing NH 52 to rejoin its original course near Mahaloni village, an official release said today.
The swollen river pose a danger to the entire Mahadevpur town and could be a threat to Namsai area if it is not diverted to its original course, the release said.
Redirecting the river to its original course would involve latest technology, the Chief Minister said, adding the work would be entrusted to the Water Resource department, which would consult specialized firms for river piping to prevent erosion along the 2 km of breached embankment.
"What we want is a long-term solution. The cost will be high but efforts will be on. I have authorized the Chief Secretary to go ahead with the work," he said at a public meeting in Namsai town and announced that the project to channel Nao-Dehing river to its original course will be started soon.
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Mr Khandu said the people affected by the floods will be "fully" compensated as per relief norms.
"I have come here to share your sorrow as Chief Minister. Don't worry the government is with you, the administration is with you," he assured.
Responding to the memoranda submitted by the public, Mr Khandu advised the people to be optimistic during a difficult situation like this.
"People are in grief over their loss. If we fill the atmosphere with negativity, it will make them sadder. What we need is a problem-solving attitude. Give them hope," he urged the officials, the release added.
Business Affairs
Infosys seeks govt nod to set up IT SEZ in West Bengal
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Software firm Infosys has sought the central government's approval to set up an IT special economic zone (SEZ) in West Bengal.
The company's application will be considered by the inter-ministerial body, Board of Approval (BoA), headed by Commerce Secretary Rita Teaotia, in its meeting on August 12.
Infosys has proposed to set up IT/ITeS SEZ over an area of 20.14 hectares in South 24 Parganas, the boards' meeting agenda said.
"Development Commissioner of Falta Special Economic Zone has recommended grant of in-principle approval subject to state government clearance which has been sought for from the applicant," it said.
Two more players-Devbhumi Realtors and Phoenix Living paces-have also sought approval from the BoA to set up It/ITeS zones in Telangana.
Further, Chhindwara Plus Developers has approached the government for setting up of a multi product SEZ in Madhya Pradesh, over an area of 1,320.06 hectares.
SEZs are exports hubs which contribute about 16 per cent to the country's total outbound shipments.
The commerce ministry is taking steps to revive investors interest in these zones. It has asked the Finance Ministry to extend sops like rollback or reduction in the minimum alternate tax.
The 19-member BoA deals with SEZ related matters.
Exports from special economic zones (SEZs) logged a marginal growth of 0.77 per cent to Rs 4.67 lakh crore in 2015-16.
The exports from such 204 zones were Rs 4.63 lakh crore in 2014-15.
Highest number of SEZs are operational in states like Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Telengana and Maharashtra.
Software firm Infosys has sought the central government's approval to set up an IT special economic zone (SEZ) in West Bengal.
The company's application will be considered by the inter-ministerial body, Board of Approval (BoA), headed by Commerce Secretary Rita Teaotia, in its meeting on August 12.
Infosys has proposed to set up IT/ITeS SEZ over an area of 20.14 hectares in South 24 Parganas, the boards' meeting agenda said.
"Development Commissioner of Falta Special Economic Zone has recommended grant of in-principle approval subject to state government clearance which has been sought for from the applicant," it said.
Two more players-Devbhumi Realtors and Phoenix Living paces-have also sought approval from the BoA to set up It/ITeS zones in Telangana.
Further, Chhindwara Plus Developers has approached the government for setting up of a multi product SEZ in Madhya Pradesh, over an area of 1,320.06 hectares.
SEZs are exports hubs which contribute about 16 per cent to the country's total outbound shipments.
The commerce ministry is taking steps to revive investors interest in these zones. It has asked the Finance Ministry to extend sops like rollback or reduction in the minimum alternate tax.
The 19-member BoA deals with SEZ related matters.
Exports from special economic zones (SEZs) logged a marginal growth of 0.77 per cent to Rs 4.67 lakh crore in 2015-16.
The exports from such 204 zones were Rs 4.63 lakh crore in 2014-15.
Highest number of SEZs are operational in states like Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Telengana and Maharashtra.
Vodafone offers free 10-min time for dropped calls
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Telecom firm Vodafone on Friday launched a new initiative, offering free 10-minute talk time to customers whose conversations get "interrupted" for any reason.
"Under Vodafone Delights bonanza - free 10-minute talk time (will be given) to all customers whose conversation gets interrupted for any reason," Vodafone India said in a statement.
To avail the benefit, customers will have to SMS 'BETTER' on 199 and the 10-minute talk time will be credited, it added.
Customers in the country have been facing the menace of call drops across operators. The government has held meetings with operators and issued instructions to improve the situation.
"Each conversation on our network is important and must carry on uninterrupted. At times, however, conversations do get interrupted. To continue such conversations, we are offering 10-minute talk time benefit, no questions asked," Vodafone India Director (Consumer) Sandeep Kataria said.
However, the credit can be availed once during the month long offer period and is applicable only within the same circle on Vodafone to Vodafone calls.
For prepaid customers, the free minutes will be valid till next day midnight and for postpaid customers, till the end of the billing cycle.
Vodafone's rival, Airtel on Friday launched an unlimited voice-calling for postpaid users for Rs 1,199 onwards.
Earlier this week, Vodafone had also come out with promotional schemes offering up to 67 per cent more data of 2G, 3G and 4G services at same price during this month.
These announcement come ahead of the impending launch of Reliance Jio's 4G service. Reliance Jio launch is expected to cause a massive disruption in pricing of data and voice-calling services.
Telecom firm Vodafone on Friday launched a new initiative, offering free 10-minute talk time to customers whose conversations get "interrupted" for any reason.
"Under Vodafone Delights bonanza - free 10-minute talk time (will be given) to all customers whose conversation gets interrupted for any reason," Vodafone India said in a statement.
To avail the benefit, customers will have to SMS 'BETTER' on 199 and the 10-minute talk time will be credited, it added.
Customers in the country have been facing the menace of call drops across operators. The government has held meetings with operators and issued instructions to improve the situation.
"Each conversation on our network is important and must carry on uninterrupted. At times, however, conversations do get interrupted. To continue such conversations, we are offering 10-minute talk time benefit, no questions asked," Vodafone India Director (Consumer) Sandeep Kataria said.
However, the credit can be availed once during the month long offer period and is applicable only within the same circle on Vodafone to Vodafone calls.
For prepaid customers, the free minutes will be valid till next day midnight and for postpaid customers, till the end of the billing cycle.
Vodafone's rival, Airtel on Friday launched an unlimited voice-calling for postpaid users for Rs 1,199 onwards.
Earlier this week, Vodafone had also come out with promotional schemes offering up to 67 per cent more data of 2G, 3G and 4G services at same price during this month.
These announcement come ahead of the impending launch of Reliance Jio's 4G service. Reliance Jio launch is expected to cause a massive disruption in pricing of data and voice-calling services.
Sebi proposes new framework for algo trading, co-location
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To stop inequitable trading access to the exchanges, markets regulator Sebi on Friday proposed a new framework for super-fast algorithmic trading and co-location facility, including by suggesting 'speed bumps' and separate queues for algo and non-algo trades.
Algorithmic trading or 'algo' in market parlance refers to orders generated at a super-fast speed by use of advanced mathematical models that involve automated execution of trade, while co-location involves setting up servers on the exchange premises.
The Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) has proposed to introduce resting time for order, random delays and random speed bumps, separate queues for co-location and non-co-location orders for strengthening the regulatory framework for algo trading and Co-location facility.
The regulators across the world are looking to find an effective solution for this.
Sebi has sought public comments on the proposal till August 31 and final guidelines would be put in place after taking into account views of all the stakeholders.
The speed bump mechanism involves introduction of randomised order processing delay of few milliseconds to orders.
The move is expected "to discourage latency sensitive strategies as such delays would affect HFT (High Frequency Trade) but would not deter non-algo order flow for which delay in milliseconds is insignificant," Sebi said in a discussion paper.
"The intent behind such mechanism is to nullify the latency advantage of co-located players to a large extent," it added.
The regulator also plans to begin minimum resting time mechanism, wherein orders received by the stock exchange would not be allowed to be amended or cancelled before a specified amount of time-500 milliseconds is elapsed.
Besides, it plans to eliminate 'fleeting orders' or orders that appear and then disappear within a short period of time.
The regulator has proposed introduce separate queues and order-validation mechanism for co-lo orders and non-colo orders.
"Orders from queues will be taken up in the order-book in round-robin fashion... the co-located participants would still be among the first to receive the market data feeds due to their proximity to the trading platforms of the exchange and this coupled with the capability to make trading decisions in fraction of seconds would still provide the co-located participants the ability to quickly react to such market data," Sebi noted.
The regulator is examining various options to allay fear and concern of unfair and inequitable access to the trading systems of the exchanges.
Accordingly, it has decided to consult market participants and seek their views on the efficacy and need to introduce the several mechanisms in markets.
It also proposed to introduce randomisation of orders, maximum order message-to-trade ratio requirement and review of tick-by-tick data feed.
Under the randomisation of orders, time-priority of the new/modified orders that would be received during predefined time period (say 1-2 seconds) randomised and the revised queue with a new time priority is then forwarded to the order matching engine.
A maximum order-to-trade ratio requires a market participant to execute at least one trade for a set number of order messages sent to a trading venue.
"The mechanism is expected to increase the likelihood of a viewed quote being available to trade and reduce hyper-active order book participation," Sebi said.
Tick-by-Tick data feed provide details relating to orders (addition + modification + cancellation) and trades on a real-time basis. It facilitates a detailed view of the order-book (such as depth at each price point).
At present, the exchanges provide Tick-by-Tick data feeds to any desirous market participant upon payment of requisite fee.
"The proposal under examination is to provide 'Structured Data' containing Top 20/Top30/Top 50bids/asks, market depth, to all the market participants at a prescribed time interval (or as real-time feed)," Sebi noted.
The regulator proposed to launch frequent batch auctions.
This mechanism would accumulate buy and sell orders on the order book for a particular length of time (say 100 milliseconds). At the end of every such period, the exchange would match orders received during the time interval.
This proposal would try to address the problem of 'latency advantage' by undertaking batch auctions at a particular interval.
"The idea is to set a time interval for matching of orders which is short enough to allow for opportunities for intra-day price discovery,but long enough to minimise the latency advantage of HFT to a large extent," Sebi said.
To stop inequitable trading access to the exchanges, markets regulator Sebi on Friday proposed a new framework for super-fast algorithmic trading and co-location facility, including by suggesting 'speed bumps' and separate queues for algo and non-algo trades.
Algorithmic trading or 'algo' in market parlance refers to orders generated at a super-fast speed by use of advanced mathematical models that involve automated execution of trade, while co-location involves setting up servers on the exchange premises.
The Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) has proposed to introduce resting time for order, random delays and random speed bumps, separate queues for co-location and non-co-location orders for strengthening the regulatory framework for algo trading and Co-location facility.
The regulators across the world are looking to find an effective solution for this.
Sebi has sought public comments on the proposal till August 31 and final guidelines would be put in place after taking into account views of all the stakeholders.
The speed bump mechanism involves introduction of randomised order processing delay of few milliseconds to orders.
The move is expected "to discourage latency sensitive strategies as such delays would affect HFT (High Frequency Trade) but would not deter non-algo order flow for which delay in milliseconds is insignificant," Sebi said in a discussion paper.
"The intent behind such mechanism is to nullify the latency advantage of co-located players to a large extent," it added.
The regulator also plans to begin minimum resting time mechanism, wherein orders received by the stock exchange would not be allowed to be amended or cancelled before a specified amount of time-500 milliseconds is elapsed.
Besides, it plans to eliminate 'fleeting orders' or orders that appear and then disappear within a short period of time.
The regulator has proposed introduce separate queues and order-validation mechanism for co-lo orders and non-colo orders.
"Orders from queues will be taken up in the order-book in round-robin fashion... the co-located participants would still be among the first to receive the market data feeds due to their proximity to the trading platforms of the exchange and this coupled with the capability to make trading decisions in fraction of seconds would still provide the co-located participants the ability to quickly react to such market data," Sebi noted.
The regulator is examining various options to allay fear and concern of unfair and inequitable access to the trading systems of the exchanges.
Accordingly, it has decided to consult market participants and seek their views on the efficacy and need to introduce the several mechanisms in markets.
It also proposed to introduce randomisation of orders, maximum order message-to-trade ratio requirement and review of tick-by-tick data feed.
Under the randomisation of orders, time-priority of the new/modified orders that would be received during predefined time period (say 1-2 seconds) randomised and the revised queue with a new time priority is then forwarded to the order matching engine.
A maximum order-to-trade ratio requires a market participant to execute at least one trade for a set number of order messages sent to a trading venue.
"The mechanism is expected to increase the likelihood of a viewed quote being available to trade and reduce hyper-active order book participation," Sebi said.
Tick-by-Tick data feed provide details relating to orders (addition + modification + cancellation) and trades on a real-time basis. It facilitates a detailed view of the order-book (such as depth at each price point).
At present, the exchanges provide Tick-by-Tick data feeds to any desirous market participant upon payment of requisite fee.
"The proposal under examination is to provide 'Structured Data' containing Top 20/Top30/Top 50bids/asks, market depth, to all the market participants at a prescribed time interval (or as real-time feed)," Sebi noted.
The regulator proposed to launch frequent batch auctions.
This mechanism would accumulate buy and sell orders on the order book for a particular length of time (say 100 milliseconds). At the end of every such period, the exchange would match orders received during the time interval.
This proposal would try to address the problem of 'latency advantage' by undertaking batch auctions at a particular interval.
"The idea is to set a time interval for matching of orders which is short enough to allow for opportunities for intra-day price discovery,but long enough to minimise the latency advantage of HFT to a large extent," Sebi said.
After Kickass Torrents, now world's largest torrent search site quietly bids adieu
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The popular torrent search engine Torrentz.eu abruptly shut down with a message on the website that says 'Torrentz will always love you. Farewell'.
This is the second biggest shut down when two weeks ago Kickass Torrents was taken down after the arrest of its founder Artem Vaulin. Kickass Torrentz was accused of distributing over $ 1 billion illegally copied movies, music and content.
Founded in 2003, Torrentz has been the world's largest and most popular torrent search engine for 13 years with over million users. It later expanded from a torrent hosting site to a meta-search engine.
The website, though still accessible, is not functional. It instead reads:
"Torrentz was a free, fast and powerful meta-search engine combining results from dozens of search engines," the text reads.
The popular torrent search engine Torrentz.eu abruptly shut down with a message on the website that says 'Torrentz will always love you. Farewell'.
This is the second biggest shut down when two weeks ago Kickass Torrents was taken down after the arrest of its founder Artem Vaulin. Kickass Torrentz was accused of distributing over $ 1 billion illegally copied movies, music and content.
Founded in 2003, Torrentz has been the world's largest and most popular torrent search engine for 13 years with over million users. It later expanded from a torrent hosting site to a meta-search engine.
This is the second biggest shut down when two weeks ago Kickass Torrents was taken down after the arrest of its founder Artem Vaulin. Kickass Torrentz was accused of distributing over $ 1 billion illegally copied movies, music and content.
Founded in 2003, Torrentz has been the world's largest and most popular torrent search engine for 13 years with over million users. It later expanded from a torrent hosting site to a meta-search engine.
The website, though still accessible, is not functional. It instead reads:
"Torrentz was a free, fast and powerful meta-search engine combining results from dozens of search engines," the text reads.
"Torrentz was a free, fast and powerful meta-search engine combining results from dozens of search engines," the text reads.
This is a no-holds-barred account of the author's tenure as RBI governor amidst the global financial crisis and differences with the then government.
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Former RBI Governor Duvvuri Subbarao's tell-all book Who Moved My Interest Rate? is probably the first from a Central banker to give an inside account of all the pressures of the job. The 22nd Governor of the Reserve Bank of India has narrated his turbulent relationship with the previous UPA government during his five-year tenure between 2008 and 2013. This book is also timely as the current RBI Governor, Raghuram Rajan, who replaced Subbarao three years ago, has also called it quits amidst differences with the BJP-led NDA government.
This civil-servant-cum-economist was appointed by former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and former Finance Minister P. Chidambaram. He was a trusted man having worked with Chidambaram as Finance Secretary and Secretary to the PM's Economic Advisory Council. But problems started erupting as early as mid-October 2008, merely one and a half months since his appointment, at the RBI headquarters in Mumbai. Chidambaram ignored RBI and constituted a committee on liquidity management. That was the time when financial markets witnessed liquidity issues as investors were pulling out money from stocks, debt, etc. Subbarao called up Chidambaram to convey that the action was totally inappropriate and requested him to dissolve the committee. The former FM explained that getting advice from external market participants would help. "I granted that, but if he wanted external experience to be tapped, he could have advised me informally to constitute such a committee rather than taking Reserve Bank for granted," writes Subbarao. The call ended with Subbarao telling him that RBI would not participate in the committee - a rather bold move.
Undoubtedly, his tenure was a difficult one with the global financial meltdown dictating the central bankers what to do next. In fact, central banks of the world, especially emerging economies, were on a reactive mode as things unfolded in the developed world. For example, the US resorted to unconventional measures like quantitative easing to pump in money into its market by buying back bonds from banks and financial institutions. This created a surge of liquidity in the financial markets of emerging economies. Two months after Subbarao took over as governor, Chidambaram was moved from the finance ministry to the home ministry. He returned 13 months before Subbarao retired in September 2013. So, during a large part of Subbarao's tenure, Pranab Mukherjee was FM.
Subbarao, currently a visiting faculty at National University of Singapore, writes that while the interest rate regime had been the main area of difference between the government and the RBI, there were also other issues such as estimate of growth that stoked the friction even deeper. "The government's pet peeve was that the Reserve Bank was being too cynical in its forecasts," writes Subbarao. The government wanted RBI to project a higher growth rate and a lower inflation rate in order to share the responsibility with the government for 'shoring up sentiment'. The government used different tactics to pass on the message. In Subbarao's words, "Finance Secretary Arvind Mayaram went to the extent of saying in one meeting that whereas everywhere else in the world, government and central banks are cooperating, here in India the Reserve Bank is being very recalcitrant". Another constant source of friction used to be the position taken by the RBI on the government's fiscal stance. A large fiscal deficit was one of the critical elements in driving up inflationary pressure.
In the past 80-plus years of RBI's history, the differences between the RBI and the government mostly remained within closed doors. But Chidambaram threw norms out of the window in October 2012 when he publicly showed his displeasure at the RBIs decision not to reduce interest rates. In the pre-policy meeting, Subbarao informed Chidambaram of his decision to maintain status quo in view of concerns on the inflationary and fiscal deficit fronts. "He was clearly unhappy with my proposed decision, was upfront with it and argued strongly for a rate cut. I did not believe I could yield," writes Subbarao. Just a day before the policy meeting, Chidambaram, who often met Subbarao alone, took the battle forward by unveiling the government's roadmap for fiscal deficit in a hurriedly convened media conference. When Chidambaram was asked if the RBI would cut rates based on his announcement, he used the opportunity to send a loud message from Delhi to Mumbai via the media: "I sincerely hope everybody will read the statement and take note of that." When Subbarao did not relent, he shot back: "Growth is as much a concern as inflation. If the government has to walk alone to face the challenge of growth, we will walk alone."
Subbarao was also embarrassed by the government when he recommended extensions for two of his deputies - Subir Gokarn and Usha Thorat. In fact, his own extension became a matter of suspense. He writes that the way in which the announcement of his reappointment came from the PMs office, on its website, rather than from the Ministry of Finance, provided grist for the media mill. "Did this indicate a tussle between the PM and the FM? Did this suggest that the PM uncharacteristically pushed for my extension overruling the FM's reservations?" Subbarao questions. "If, indeed, the FM was against an extension for me, wouldn't that impair the already fraught relationship between the two of us?" writes Subbarao. He goes on to say, "I am no wiser than anyone else on the first question?on the second question, I must say that my relationship with Mukherjee remained exactly as before?."
The book is not about Subbarao defending his decisions or passing the buck to others, but explaining the circumstances in which he acted at a time when there were a lot of uncertainties in the market.
Former RBI Governor Duvvuri Subbarao's tell-all book Who Moved My Interest Rate? is probably the first from a Central banker to give an inside account of all the pressures of the job. The 22nd Governor of the Reserve Bank of India has narrated his turbulent relationship with the previous UPA government during his five-year tenure between 2008 and 2013. This book is also timely as the current RBI Governor, Raghuram Rajan, who replaced Subbarao three years ago, has also called it quits amidst differences with the BJP-led NDA government.
This civil-servant-cum-economist was appointed by former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and former Finance Minister P. Chidambaram. He was a trusted man having worked with Chidambaram as Finance Secretary and Secretary to the PM's Economic Advisory Council. But problems started erupting as early as mid-October 2008, merely one and a half months since his appointment, at the RBI headquarters in Mumbai. Chidambaram ignored RBI and constituted a committee on liquidity management. That was the time when financial markets witnessed liquidity issues as investors were pulling out money from stocks, debt, etc. Subbarao called up Chidambaram to convey that the action was totally inappropriate and requested him to dissolve the committee. The former FM explained that getting advice from external market participants would help. "I granted that, but if he wanted external experience to be tapped, he could have advised me informally to constitute such a committee rather than taking Reserve Bank for granted," writes Subbarao. The call ended with Subbarao telling him that RBI would not participate in the committee - a rather bold move.
Undoubtedly, his tenure was a difficult one with the global financial meltdown dictating the central bankers what to do next. In fact, central banks of the world, especially emerging economies, were on a reactive mode as things unfolded in the developed world. For example, the US resorted to unconventional measures like quantitative easing to pump in money into its market by buying back bonds from banks and financial institutions. This created a surge of liquidity in the financial markets of emerging economies. Two months after Subbarao took over as governor, Chidambaram was moved from the finance ministry to the home ministry. He returned 13 months before Subbarao retired in September 2013. So, during a large part of Subbarao's tenure, Pranab Mukherjee was FM.
Subbarao, currently a visiting faculty at National University of Singapore, writes that while the interest rate regime had been the main area of difference between the government and the RBI, there were also other issues such as estimate of growth that stoked the friction even deeper. "The government's pet peeve was that the Reserve Bank was being too cynical in its forecasts," writes Subbarao. The government wanted RBI to project a higher growth rate and a lower inflation rate in order to share the responsibility with the government for 'shoring up sentiment'. The government used different tactics to pass on the message. In Subbarao's words, "Finance Secretary Arvind Mayaram went to the extent of saying in one meeting that whereas everywhere else in the world, government and central banks are cooperating, here in India the Reserve Bank is being very recalcitrant". Another constant source of friction used to be the position taken by the RBI on the government's fiscal stance. A large fiscal deficit was one of the critical elements in driving up inflationary pressure.
In the past 80-plus years of RBI's history, the differences between the RBI and the government mostly remained within closed doors. But Chidambaram threw norms out of the window in October 2012 when he publicly showed his displeasure at the RBIs decision not to reduce interest rates. In the pre-policy meeting, Subbarao informed Chidambaram of his decision to maintain status quo in view of concerns on the inflationary and fiscal deficit fronts. "He was clearly unhappy with my proposed decision, was upfront with it and argued strongly for a rate cut. I did not believe I could yield," writes Subbarao. Just a day before the policy meeting, Chidambaram, who often met Subbarao alone, took the battle forward by unveiling the government's roadmap for fiscal deficit in a hurriedly convened media conference. When Chidambaram was asked if the RBI would cut rates based on his announcement, he used the opportunity to send a loud message from Delhi to Mumbai via the media: "I sincerely hope everybody will read the statement and take note of that." When Subbarao did not relent, he shot back: "Growth is as much a concern as inflation. If the government has to walk alone to face the challenge of growth, we will walk alone."
Subbarao was also embarrassed by the government when he recommended extensions for two of his deputies - Subir Gokarn and Usha Thorat. In fact, his own extension became a matter of suspense. He writes that the way in which the announcement of his reappointment came from the PMs office, on its website, rather than from the Ministry of Finance, provided grist for the media mill. "Did this indicate a tussle between the PM and the FM? Did this suggest that the PM uncharacteristically pushed for my extension overruling the FM's reservations?" Subbarao questions. "If, indeed, the FM was against an extension for me, wouldn't that impair the already fraught relationship between the two of us?" writes Subbarao. He goes on to say, "I am no wiser than anyone else on the first question?on the second question, I must say that my relationship with Mukherjee remained exactly as before?."
The book is not about Subbarao defending his decisions or passing the buck to others, but explaining the circumstances in which he acted at a time when there were a lot of uncertainties in the market.
General Awareness
Much Awaited Motor Vehicle Act amendment Bill 2016 clears it ground through the Cabinet approval
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On its commitment to reduce the road accidents and fatalities, the Union Cabinet led by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi approved the Motor Vehicle (Amendment) Bill 2016.
About Motor Vehicle Act:
- The Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 is an Act of the Parliament of India which regulates all aspects of road transport vehicles.
- The Act came into force from 1 July 1989. It replaced Motor Vehicles Act, 1939 which earlier replaced the first such enactment Motor Vehicles Act, 1914.
- The Act provides in detail the legislative provisions regarding licensingof drivers/conductors, registration of motor vehicles, control of motor vehicles through permits, special provisions relating to state transport undertakings, traffic regulation,insurance, liability, offences and penalties, etc.
- Under this act, there is a provision to provide Rs.50,000 to Rs. 1 lakh as interim relief to the family of victim of fatal accidents. The cases of road accident compensation claims are decided in the Motor Accident Claims Tribunal.
Recent Amendment:-
In the present Motor Vehicle Act, there are 223 Sections out of which the Bill aims to amend 68 sections whereas Chapter 10 has been deleted and a Chapter 11 is being replaced with new provisions in order to simplify third party insurance claims and settlement process.
This new Motor Vehicle Amendment Bill 2016 provision emphasizes on the following attributes:-
- To levy hefty penalties for violation of traffic norms including up to Rs 10,000 fine for drunken driving and Rs 2 lakh compensation for hit-and-run cases.
- Provision of up to Rs 10 lakh compensation in case of road fatality.
- Increase in compensation for Hit & Run cases from Rs. 25000 to Rs. 2 lakhs.
- Addition of 28 new sections.
The amendments mainly focus on issues relating to
- Improving road safety,
- Citizens’ facilitation while dealing with the Transport Department.
- Strengthening rural transport,
- Last mile connectivity and public transport,
- Automation and computerization and
- Enabling online services.
It gives the adjudge to the State Government to specify a multiplier, not less than one and not greater than ten, to be applied to each fine under this Act and such modified fine and also to regulate the activities in a public place of pedestrians and such means of transport.
- New “Vahan” & “Sarathi” platforms to create National Register for Driving Licence and National Register for Vehicle registration to facilitate uniformity of the process across the country.
- In order to address the shortage of commercial drivers in the country, the driving training process has been strengthened enabling faster issuance of transport licenses.
- The process for testing and certification for automobiles is proposed to be regulated more effectively. The testing agencies issuing automobile approvals have been brought under the ambit of the Act.
- Stricter provisions are being proposed in respect of offences like juvenile driving, drunken driving, driving without license, dangerous driving, over-speeding, overloading.
The complete list of various penalties to be levied by the new amendment of the Motor Vehicle Act, (amendment), 2016.
Section Old Provision / Penalty New Proposed Provision / Minimum Penalties 177 General Rs 100 Rs 500 New 177A Rules of road regulation violation Rs 100 Rs 500 178 Travel without ticket RS 200 Rs 500 179 Disobedience of orders of authorities Rs 500 Rs 2000 180 Unautorized use of vehicles without licence Rs 1000 Rs 5000 181 Driving without licence Rs 500 Rs 5000 182 Driving despite disqualification Rs 500 Rs 10,000 182 B Oversize vehicles New Rs 5000 183 Over speeding Rs 400 Rs 1000 for LMV
Rs 2000 for Medium passenger vehicle
184 Dangerous driving penalty Rs 1000 Upto Rs 5000 185 Drunken driving Rs 2000 Rs 10,000 189 Speeding / Racing Rs 500 Rs 5,000 192 A Vehicle without permit upto Rs 5000 Upto Rs 10,000 193 Aggregators (violations of licencing conditions) New Rs 25,000 to
Rs 1,00,000
194 Overloading Rs 2000 and
Rs 1000 per extra tonne
Rs 20,000 and
Rs 2000 per extra tonne
194 A Overloading of passengers Rs 1000 per extra passenger 194 B Seat belt Rs 100 Rs 1000 194 C Overloading of two wheelers Rs 100 Rs 2000, Disqualification for 3 months for licence 194 D Helmets Rs 100 Rs 1000 Disqualification for 3 months for licence 194 E Not providing way for emergency vehicles New Rs 10,000 196 Driving Without Insurance RS 1000 Rs 2000 199 Offences by Juveniles New Guardian / owner shall be deemed to be guilty. Rs 25,000 with 3 yrs imprisonment. For Juvenile to be tried under JJ Act. Registration of Motor Vehicle to be cancelled 206 Power of Officers to impound documents Suspension of driving licenses u/s 183, 184, 185, 189, 190, 194C, 194D,194E 210 B Offences committed by enforcing authorities Twice the penalty under the relevant section
On its commitment to reduce the road accidents and fatalities, the Union Cabinet led by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi approved the Motor Vehicle (Amendment) Bill 2016.
About Motor Vehicle Act:
- The Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 is an Act of the Parliament of India which regulates all aspects of road transport vehicles.
- The Act came into force from 1 July 1989. It replaced Motor Vehicles Act, 1939 which earlier replaced the first such enactment Motor Vehicles Act, 1914.
- The Act provides in detail the legislative provisions regarding licensingof drivers/conductors, registration of motor vehicles, control of motor vehicles through permits, special provisions relating to state transport undertakings, traffic regulation,insurance, liability, offences and penalties, etc.
- Under this act, there is a provision to provide Rs.50,000 to Rs. 1 lakh as interim relief to the family of victim of fatal accidents. The cases of road accident compensation claims are decided in the Motor Accident Claims Tribunal.
Recent Amendment:-
In the present Motor Vehicle Act, there are 223 Sections out of which the Bill aims to amend 68 sections whereas Chapter 10 has been deleted and a Chapter 11 is being replaced with new provisions in order to simplify third party insurance claims and settlement process.
This new Motor Vehicle Amendment Bill 2016 provision emphasizes on the following attributes:-
- To levy hefty penalties for violation of traffic norms including up to Rs 10,000 fine for drunken driving and Rs 2 lakh compensation for hit-and-run cases.
- Provision of up to Rs 10 lakh compensation in case of road fatality.
- Increase in compensation for Hit & Run cases from Rs. 25000 to Rs. 2 lakhs.
- Addition of 28 new sections.
The amendments mainly focus on issues relating to
- Improving road safety,
- Citizens’ facilitation while dealing with the Transport Department.
- Strengthening rural transport,
- Last mile connectivity and public transport,
- Automation and computerization and
- Enabling online services.
It gives the adjudge to the State Government to specify a multiplier, not less than one and not greater than ten, to be applied to each fine under this Act and such modified fine and also to regulate the activities in a public place of pedestrians and such means of transport.
- New “Vahan” & “Sarathi” platforms to create National Register for Driving Licence and National Register for Vehicle registration to facilitate uniformity of the process across the country.
- In order to address the shortage of commercial drivers in the country, the driving training process has been strengthened enabling faster issuance of transport licenses.
- The process for testing and certification for automobiles is proposed to be regulated more effectively. The testing agencies issuing automobile approvals have been brought under the ambit of the Act.
- Stricter provisions are being proposed in respect of offences like juvenile driving, drunken driving, driving without license, dangerous driving, over-speeding, overloading.
The complete list of various penalties to be levied by the new amendment of the Motor Vehicle Act, (amendment), 2016.
| Section | Old Provision / Penalty | New Proposed Provision / Minimum Penalties | |
| 177 | General | Rs 100 | Rs 500 |
| New 177A | Rules of road regulation violation | Rs 100 | Rs 500 |
| 178 | Travel without ticket | RS 200 | Rs 500 |
| 179 | Disobedience of orders of authorities | Rs 500 | Rs 2000 |
| 180 | Unautorized use of vehicles without licence | Rs 1000 | Rs 5000 |
| 181 | Driving without licence | Rs 500 | Rs 5000 |
| 182 | Driving despite disqualification | Rs 500 | Rs 10,000 |
| 182 B | Oversize vehicles | New | Rs 5000 |
| 183 | Over speeding | Rs 400 | Rs 1000 for LMV
Rs 2000 for Medium passenger vehicle
|
| 184 | Dangerous driving penalty | Rs 1000 | Upto Rs 5000 |
| 185 | Drunken driving | Rs 2000 | Rs 10,000 |
| 189 | Speeding / Racing | Rs 500 | Rs 5,000 |
| 192 A | Vehicle without permit | upto Rs 5000 | Upto Rs 10,000 |
| 193 | Aggregators (violations of licencing conditions) | New | Rs 25,000 to
Rs 1,00,000
|
| 194 | Overloading | Rs 2000 and
Rs 1000 per extra tonne
| Rs 20,000 and
Rs 2000 per extra tonne
|
| 194 A | Overloading of passengers | Rs 1000 per extra passenger | |
| 194 B | Seat belt | Rs 100 | Rs 1000 |
| 194 C | Overloading of two wheelers | Rs 100 | Rs 2000, Disqualification for 3 months for licence |
| 194 D | Helmets | Rs 100 | Rs 1000 Disqualification for 3 months for licence |
| 194 E | Not providing way for emergency vehicles | New | Rs 10,000 |
| 196 | Driving Without Insurance | RS 1000 | Rs 2000 |
| 199 | Offences by Juveniles | New | Guardian / owner shall be deemed to be guilty. Rs 25,000 with 3 yrs imprisonment. For Juvenile to be tried under JJ Act. Registration of Motor Vehicle to be cancelled |
| 206 | Power of Officers to impound documents | Suspension of driving licenses u/s 183, 184, 185, 189, 190, 194C, 194D,194E | |
| 210 B | Offences committed by enforcing authorities | Twice the penalty under the relevant section |
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