General Affairs
SC refuses to order inquiry into documents recovered in IT raids at Birla, Sahara offices
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The Supreme Court on Friday refused to order an inquiry into documents recovered by Income Tax (I-T) department during its raids at Birla and Sahara offices that allegedly showed payoffs to politicians. The court said that it couldn’t order inquiry against a chief minister or the prime minister only because there is an entry in a computer showing payments. The apex court directed the department to find better material for it to start an inquiry.
Amit Shah says demonetisation flood has united arch rivals in Indian politics
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A day after former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh slammed Narendra Modi for the mess over demonetisation, BJP chief Amit Shah in a public rally compared the demonetisation to a flood which has even arch rivals in Indian politics. Comparing the demonetisation to a flood and the opposition unity to a banyan tree standing amid the floodwaters, Shah said the opposition parties were behaving like cat, mouse, snake and mongoose who have climbed the tree, but no one is attacking the other.
“Imagine there is a flood in Mahanadi river and there is a banyan tree in it. The cat, mouse, snake and mongoose don’t fear each other. Each of them is watching the floodwaters to recede. Congress, Mamata Banerjee, Arvind Kejriwal, Mayawati and Mulayam Singh Yadav have climbed the tree and waiting for Modi’s demonetisation flood to relent,” said Shah, at the public rally named Jana Jagaran Samavesh.
Criticising Manmohan for his speech in Rajya Sabha Thursday, Shah said Congress is worried over demonetisation as it is flush with black money. “Manmohan ji bolte hain unko bahut dard hai , jiska jayega usi ko dard hoga. Those whose black money will be lost will feel the pain. Till November 7, political parties were asking what has Modi dones on black money. Now from November 8 night, they are asking why did you do this? Parties like Congress, SP, BSP, AAP have lost their lustre on their face,” Shah said, adding that people are solidly behind Modi.
Asking Naveen to give account of his government in last 17 years, he said while several States have developed by leaps and bounds, Odisha has remained backward. “Go and see Madhya Pradesh, Chhatisgarh, Gujarat, Rajasthan, Maharasthra Haryana and Jharkhand. The coal in Odisha can power all homes in India, but 41 per cent houses in Odisha are yet to be electrified. If you could not provide power to all in 17 years, you have no rights to rule,” he said.
He said in Malkangiri people do not get food twice a day, not to talk of health, education and water. “In Kalahandi, Dana Majhi had to carry his wife for 10 km on his back,” he said.
“Imagine there is a flood in Mahanadi river and there is a banyan tree in it. The cat, mouse, snake and mongoose don’t fear each other. Each of them is watching the floodwaters to recede. Congress, Mamata Banerjee, Arvind Kejriwal, Mayawati and Mulayam Singh Yadav have climbed the tree and waiting for Modi’s demonetisation flood to relent,” said Shah, at the public rally named Jana Jagaran Samavesh.
Criticising Manmohan for his speech in Rajya Sabha Thursday, Shah said Congress is worried over demonetisation as it is flush with black money. “Manmohan ji bolte hain unko bahut dard hai , jiska jayega usi ko dard hoga. Those whose black money will be lost will feel the pain. Till November 7, political parties were asking what has Modi dones on black money. Now from November 8 night, they are asking why did you do this? Parties like Congress, SP, BSP, AAP have lost their lustre on their face,” Shah said, adding that people are solidly behind Modi.
Asking Naveen to give account of his government in last 17 years, he said while several States have developed by leaps and bounds, Odisha has remained backward. “Go and see Madhya Pradesh, Chhatisgarh, Gujarat, Rajasthan, Maharasthra Haryana and Jharkhand. The coal in Odisha can power all homes in India, but 41 per cent houses in Odisha are yet to be electrified. If you could not provide power to all in 17 years, you have no rights to rule,” he said.
He said in Malkangiri people do not get food twice a day, not to talk of health, education and water. “In Kalahandi, Dana Majhi had to carry his wife for 10 km on his back,” he said.
Those accusing govt of not being prepared for demonetisation were themselves not ready: PM Modi
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Prime Minister Narendra Modi said Friday that those who accused the government of not being prepared for demonetisation were themselves not ready. His remarks came at a book release function at the Parliament complex.
“The common man has become a soldier against corruption and black money,” the PM stressed amid repeated opposition attacks on the government. The Centre, on November 8, withdrew currency notes of Rs 500 and Rs 1000 in a surprise announcement in a bid to flush out black money and weed out corruption. A united opposition, in both Houses of Parliament, has berated the government for putting common people in peril by making them stand in long queues outside banks and ATMs ever since the announcement. More than 60 people have reportedly died in incidents linked to demonetisation.
On Thursday, former prime minister Manmohan Singh, in his first remarks on demonetisation, called the move a case of ‘monumental mismanagement’, ‘organised loot’ and ‘legalised plunder.’ He asked PM Modi to come up with practical and pragmatic solutions to relieve common people of their distress.
While PM Modi was present in Rajya Sabha for the demonetisation debate in the pre-lunch session, he was targeted by the opposition for missing the rest of the session. The opposition parties led by the Congress have clamoured for a statement by the prime minister on the demonetisation move. BSP chief Mayawati even challenged the prime minister to dissolve the current Lok Sabha and go for fresh elections seeking a new mandate. She rubbished the survey that was conducted on the Narendra Modi app asking people for their views on demonetisation.
“The common man has become a soldier against corruption and black money,” the PM stressed amid repeated opposition attacks on the government. The Centre, on November 8, withdrew currency notes of Rs 500 and Rs 1000 in a surprise announcement in a bid to flush out black money and weed out corruption. A united opposition, in both Houses of Parliament, has berated the government for putting common people in peril by making them stand in long queues outside banks and ATMs ever since the announcement. More than 60 people have reportedly died in incidents linked to demonetisation.
On Thursday, former prime minister Manmohan Singh, in his first remarks on demonetisation, called the move a case of ‘monumental mismanagement’, ‘organised loot’ and ‘legalised plunder.’ He asked PM Modi to come up with practical and pragmatic solutions to relieve common people of their distress.
While PM Modi was present in Rajya Sabha for the demonetisation debate in the pre-lunch session, he was targeted by the opposition for missing the rest of the session. The opposition parties led by the Congress have clamoured for a statement by the prime minister on the demonetisation move. BSP chief Mayawati even challenged the prime minister to dissolve the current Lok Sabha and go for fresh elections seeking a new mandate. She rubbished the survey that was conducted on the Narendra Modi app asking people for their views on demonetisation.
Godrej delivers 50th motor casing for surface-to-air missile
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Godrej & Boyce on Friday said it has delivered the 50th motor casing for the long range surface-to-air missile (LR-SAM) to the Defence Ministry for serial production. The company also said it inaugurated a new facility for manufacturing rubber and composite materials for the defence sector.
G Satheesh Reddy, Scientific Advisor to the Defence Minister, received the motor casing at an event here. Speaking at the event, Reddy said Godrej & Boyce has been contributing significantly towards the defence and space programmes.
“We anticipate and look forward to such significant contributions from other domestic manufacturers as well,” he maintained.
Godrej & Boyce Executive Director and President Anil G Verma said motor casing would be the 180th hardware which is ready for serial production. The Godrej Group has been consistently contributing to strengthen the nation’s defence and aerospace capabilities.
“For LR-SAM, we started the development (of the device) in 2010 and have over time established a set up for serial production for the same. This demonstrates our commitment towards indigenous manufacturing for defence and space programmes,” Verma said.
He said the new facility inaugurated today will help them enter the non-metallic side of the aerospace industry which in turn will enable them to manufacture more value-added assemblies and systems.
The facility will make rubber and composite components such as ablative lining for solid motor casings, reinforced airframe seals, conductive seals, aeroengine components, composite motor casing, sandwich panels (honeycomb/foam, ceramic matrix composite and other high-temp aeroengine parts.
The diversified Godrej Group started operations in 1897 by manufacturing high quality locks and launched Godrej Aerospace in 1985.
For long it has been supplying many complex equipment such as liquid propulsion engines for PSLV and GSLV rockets, thrusters for satellites and antenna systems to the Isro.
Godrej has also contributed to prestigious Chandrayaan and Mangalyaan missions. In the defence space, Godrej & Boyce also manufactures riveted structures, tankages, engines for IGMT-5 missiles and actuators for aircraft.
The company has contributed towards the development of famed Prithvi Missile, which uses a liquid engine and the firm has so far supplied 60 engines of these missiles.
Over the years, Godrej has invested substantially into developing the BrahMos facility with nearly Rs 100 crore being invested in setting up serial production of the missile. It now supplies six assemblies for the supersonic cruise missile.
Godrej & Boyce on Friday said it has delivered the 50th motor casing for the long range surface-to-air missile (LR-SAM) to the Defence Ministry for serial production. The company also said it inaugurated a new facility for manufacturing rubber and composite materials for the defence sector.
G Satheesh Reddy, Scientific Advisor to the Defence Minister, received the motor casing at an event here. Speaking at the event, Reddy said Godrej & Boyce has been contributing significantly towards the defence and space programmes.
“We anticipate and look forward to such significant contributions from other domestic manufacturers as well,” he maintained.
Godrej & Boyce Executive Director and President Anil G Verma said motor casing would be the 180th hardware which is ready for serial production. The Godrej Group has been consistently contributing to strengthen the nation’s defence and aerospace capabilities.
“For LR-SAM, we started the development (of the device) in 2010 and have over time established a set up for serial production for the same. This demonstrates our commitment towards indigenous manufacturing for defence and space programmes,” Verma said.
He said the new facility inaugurated today will help them enter the non-metallic side of the aerospace industry which in turn will enable them to manufacture more value-added assemblies and systems.
The facility will make rubber and composite components such as ablative lining for solid motor casings, reinforced airframe seals, conductive seals, aeroengine components, composite motor casing, sandwich panels (honeycomb/foam, ceramic matrix composite and other high-temp aeroengine parts.
The diversified Godrej Group started operations in 1897 by manufacturing high quality locks and launched Godrej Aerospace in 1985.
For long it has been supplying many complex equipment such as liquid propulsion engines for PSLV and GSLV rockets, thrusters for satellites and antenna systems to the Isro.
Godrej has also contributed to prestigious Chandrayaan and Mangalyaan missions. In the defence space, Godrej & Boyce also manufactures riveted structures, tankages, engines for IGMT-5 missiles and actuators for aircraft.
The company has contributed towards the development of famed Prithvi Missile, which uses a liquid engine and the firm has so far supplied 60 engines of these missiles.
Over the years, Godrej has invested substantially into developing the BrahMos facility with nearly Rs 100 crore being invested in setting up serial production of the missile. It now supplies six assemblies for the supersonic cruise missile.
Delhi HC relief for Modi government on demonetisation
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The Modi government on Friday got relief from the Delhi High Court which refused to go into the correctness of the Centre’s demonetisation policy and issue any direction for removing the cap on daily withdrawal from banks. “Virtually by way of this writ petition you are challenging the notification on demonetisation. We cannot go into it as the Supreme Court is already looking into it,” a bench of Chief Justice G Rohini and Justice V K Rao said. The petitioner had sought quashing of a clause of the Centre’s notification putting restriction on withdrawal limit.
The order assumes importance as the apex court in the last two hearings had refused to restrain the high courts across the country from entertaining petitions against the demonetisation decision, saying that the public can get immediate relief from them. The apex court Friday agreed with the Centre’s plea to hear its transfer petition and other matters connected to the demonetisation on December 2.
Noting that the apex court is already seized of the matter, the high court disposed of the PIL by Ashok Sharma, a businessman, who had urged the court for relief on the ground that the Centre’s decision to put a cap on weekly withdrawal of Rs 24,000 is “affecting right to livelihood” of the people at large.
Under the earlier clause 2 (VI), the weekly withdrawal limit from the banks was Rs 20,000, while the daily limit was Rs 10,000. Later, the weekly limit was increased to Rs 24,000 and the daily limit was scrapped. From ATMs, the daily limit is Rs 2,500.
Thursday, the Centre had extended till December 15 the facility of using old Rs 500 notes in public utilities and included more services like mobile recharge but stopped the over-the-counter exchange of defunct currencies and use of Rs 1,000 notes.
The order assumes importance as the apex court in the last two hearings had refused to restrain the high courts across the country from entertaining petitions against the demonetisation decision, saying that the public can get immediate relief from them. The apex court Friday agreed with the Centre’s plea to hear its transfer petition and other matters connected to the demonetisation on December 2.
Noting that the apex court is already seized of the matter, the high court disposed of the PIL by Ashok Sharma, a businessman, who had urged the court for relief on the ground that the Centre’s decision to put a cap on weekly withdrawal of Rs 24,000 is “affecting right to livelihood” of the people at large.
Under the earlier clause 2 (VI), the weekly withdrawal limit from the banks was Rs 20,000, while the daily limit was Rs 10,000. Later, the weekly limit was increased to Rs 24,000 and the daily limit was scrapped. From ATMs, the daily limit is Rs 2,500.
Thursday, the Centre had extended till December 15 the facility of using old Rs 500 notes in public utilities and included more services like mobile recharge but stopped the over-the-counter exchange of defunct currencies and use of Rs 1,000 notes.
Business Affairs
Sensex goes up to 456 points as rupee racks up big gains
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After days of dithering, bulls made a strong comeback today, with the Sensex surging 456 points to reclaim the 26,000-mark on the first day of December series, led by gains in export-oriented IT and pharma on a rebounding rupee. This was the benchmark’s biggest single day gain since October 18, when it had surged 520.91 points. The Sensex opened higher at 25,953.24 and hovered in a range of 25,874.45 and 26,343.95 before ending at 26,316.34, showing a gain of 456.17 points or 1.76 per cent. The NSE 50-share Nifty rose by 148.80 points or 1.87 per cent to close above 8,100-level at 8,114.30. After touching a fresh all-time low against the US dollar yesterday, the rupee jumped 27 paise to end at 68.46.
“With fresh positions being initiated in December futures and options (F&O) series, and with rupee strengthening sharply, market found its voice, and registered gains across sectors,” said Anand James, Chief Market Strategist, Geojit BNP Paribas Financial Services. Gains were initially seen in IT and metal sectors, but mid-caps too joined the rally, suggesting that risk appetite had improved after a fortnight-long selling spree had rendered prices ripe for value picking, he added.
In the IT pack, TCS rose 5.23 per cent, followed by Infosys (4.78 per cent) and Wipro(3.09 per cent), while pharma sector gainers were Sun Pharma (4.18 per cent), Aurobindo Pharma (4.07 per cent), Lupin (3.36 per cent) and Cipla (1.75 per cent).
Today’s rally helped the markets wipe-off losses posted earlier this week. Both the Sensex and Nifty ended the week higher by 166.10 points (0.63 per cent) and 40.20 points (0.49 per cent), respectively. Fitch Ratings today said it expects India’s GDP growth to trend higher than China’s in the medium term, adding that it would accelerate next fiscal on the back of reforms and monetary policy easing, which may have contributed to the market upmove.
Meanwhile, foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) sold shares worth a net Rs 2,010.15 crore yesterday, as per provisional data released by the stock exchanges. In overseas markets, Asian stocks gained as the Thanksgiving break in the US pegged the dollar’s relentless surge that had sucked capital out of most emerging markets. Key Asian indices in China, Hong Kong, Japan, South Korea, Singapore and Taiwan moved up by 0.08 per cent to 0.62 per cent. European markets were trading narrowly mixed as key indices in France and UK rose by 0.02 per cent to 0.04 per cent, while Germany’s DAX quoted lower by 0.01 per cent.
After days of dithering, bulls made a strong comeback today, with the Sensex surging 456 points to reclaim the 26,000-mark on the first day of December series, led by gains in export-oriented IT and pharma on a rebounding rupee. This was the benchmark’s biggest single day gain since October 18, when it had surged 520.91 points. The Sensex opened higher at 25,953.24 and hovered in a range of 25,874.45 and 26,343.95 before ending at 26,316.34, showing a gain of 456.17 points or 1.76 per cent. The NSE 50-share Nifty rose by 148.80 points or 1.87 per cent to close above 8,100-level at 8,114.30. After touching a fresh all-time low against the US dollar yesterday, the rupee jumped 27 paise to end at 68.46.
“With fresh positions being initiated in December futures and options (F&O) series, and with rupee strengthening sharply, market found its voice, and registered gains across sectors,” said Anand James, Chief Market Strategist, Geojit BNP Paribas Financial Services. Gains were initially seen in IT and metal sectors, but mid-caps too joined the rally, suggesting that risk appetite had improved after a fortnight-long selling spree had rendered prices ripe for value picking, he added.
In the IT pack, TCS rose 5.23 per cent, followed by Infosys (4.78 per cent) and Wipro(3.09 per cent), while pharma sector gainers were Sun Pharma (4.18 per cent), Aurobindo Pharma (4.07 per cent), Lupin (3.36 per cent) and Cipla (1.75 per cent).
Today’s rally helped the markets wipe-off losses posted earlier this week. Both the Sensex and Nifty ended the week higher by 166.10 points (0.63 per cent) and 40.20 points (0.49 per cent), respectively. Fitch Ratings today said it expects India’s GDP growth to trend higher than China’s in the medium term, adding that it would accelerate next fiscal on the back of reforms and monetary policy easing, which may have contributed to the market upmove.
Meanwhile, foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) sold shares worth a net Rs 2,010.15 crore yesterday, as per provisional data released by the stock exchanges. In overseas markets, Asian stocks gained as the Thanksgiving break in the US pegged the dollar’s relentless surge that had sucked capital out of most emerging markets. Key Asian indices in China, Hong Kong, Japan, South Korea, Singapore and Taiwan moved up by 0.08 per cent to 0.62 per cent. European markets were trading narrowly mixed as key indices in France and UK rose by 0.02 per cent to 0.04 per cent, while Germany’s DAX quoted lower by 0.01 per cent.
Airbnb signs MoU with SEWA to expand its network in rural areas
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Leading community-driven hospitality company Airbnb has announced signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Self-Employed Women’s Association of India (SEWA). Through the partnership Airbnb will work with SEWA members to help them share their homes with Airbnb’s community of international and domestic guests, creating economic opportunities for women in rural areas and promoting tourism spend in parts of India that have not traditionally benefited from tourism and hospitality.
As part of the partnership, Airbnb and SEWA will expand the network of Airbnb homes in rural areas through SEWA’s member network. The initiative will begin in Gujarat and eventually expand to other states that have a significant presence of SEWA members.
It will train SEWA members on home sharing, hospitality and amenity standards, and responsible hosting practices. Airbnb will also help SEWA build a strong community of SEWA hosts who can learn from each other and constantly improve hosting standards.
Together, both the companies will explore opportunities to create visibility and drive demand for the SEWA homes through joint partnerships with various State Governments, academic institutions, media partners and other civil society organizations.
“The partnership is an important step in Airbnb’s commitment to enable economic empowerment for female entrepreneurs and promote digital inclusion in rural areas,” said Director of Policy Partnerships Asia Pacific, Airbnb, Thao Nguyen.
“Our mission is to democratize travel and through the partnership, we can help promote economic opportunities across diverse communities, help revitalize the rural economy and help prevent distress migration to urban areas, particularly among women and the youth,” added Thao Nguyen.
“The partnership along with our recent MoU with the Government of Gujarat, signals our commitment to work with local stakeholders to build a model of home sharing that contributes to the local community. By partnering with SEWA members to offer home-stays on Airbnb,” said Airbnb India Country Manager, Amanpreet Bajaj.
As part of the partnership, Airbnb and SEWA will expand the network of Airbnb homes in rural areas through SEWA’s member network. The initiative will begin in Gujarat and eventually expand to other states that have a significant presence of SEWA members.
It will train SEWA members on home sharing, hospitality and amenity standards, and responsible hosting practices. Airbnb will also help SEWA build a strong community of SEWA hosts who can learn from each other and constantly improve hosting standards.
Together, both the companies will explore opportunities to create visibility and drive demand for the SEWA homes through joint partnerships with various State Governments, academic institutions, media partners and other civil society organizations.
“The partnership is an important step in Airbnb’s commitment to enable economic empowerment for female entrepreneurs and promote digital inclusion in rural areas,” said Director of Policy Partnerships Asia Pacific, Airbnb, Thao Nguyen.
“Our mission is to democratize travel and through the partnership, we can help promote economic opportunities across diverse communities, help revitalize the rural economy and help prevent distress migration to urban areas, particularly among women and the youth,” added Thao Nguyen.
“The partnership along with our recent MoU with the Government of Gujarat, signals our commitment to work with local stakeholders to build a model of home sharing that contributes to the local community. By partnering with SEWA members to offer home-stays on Airbnb,” said Airbnb India Country Manager, Amanpreet Bajaj.
No security clearance obtained for GSTN shareholding: Santosh Kumar Gangwar
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No security clearance was obtained for private institutions that hold stake in GST- Network — the company that is building IT infrastructure for the world’s biggest indirect tax system, the government said Friday. The Government of India has 24.5 per cent stake in Goods and Services Tax Network (GSTN) and the state governments an
equal share. The remaining 51 per cent is with private financial institutions.
Minister of State for Finance Santosh Kumar Gangwar said HDFC Ltd, HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, NSE Strategic Investment Co hold 10 per cent each in GSTN, while LIC Housing Finance holds 11 per cent. “No security clearance was obtained in respect of the private institutions mentioned above,” Gangwar said in a written reply to a question in the Lok Sabha.
He said the Union Cabinet had in April 2012 approved creation GSTN as a non-Government, not-for-profit (Section
25), private limited company to be registered under the Companies Act, with 49 per cent equity held by the Central and state governments collectively and 51 per cent by non-government institutions. “The shareholding pattern ensures that centre individually and states collectively are the largest stakeholders at 24.5 per cent each. In combination, the Government shareholding at 49 per cent far exceeds that of any single private institution,” Gangwar said.
Incorporated on March 28, 2013, GSTN was set up with a specific mandate to build the IT infrastructure and the services required for implementing GST. The government plans to roll out the new indirect tax regime from April next year. BJP leader Subramanian Swamy has questioned the structure of the entity created under the previous UPA regime saying how a private firm can be allowed access to “sensitive” tax information without security clearance.
No security clearance was obtained for private institutions that hold stake in GST- Network — the company that is building IT infrastructure for the world’s biggest indirect tax system, the government said Friday. The Government of India has 24.5 per cent stake in Goods and Services Tax Network (GSTN) and the state governments an
equal share. The remaining 51 per cent is with private financial institutions.
equal share. The remaining 51 per cent is with private financial institutions.
Minister of State for Finance Santosh Kumar Gangwar said HDFC Ltd, HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, NSE Strategic Investment Co hold 10 per cent each in GSTN, while LIC Housing Finance holds 11 per cent. “No security clearance was obtained in respect of the private institutions mentioned above,” Gangwar said in a written reply to a question in the Lok Sabha.
He said the Union Cabinet had in April 2012 approved creation GSTN as a non-Government, not-for-profit (Section
25), private limited company to be registered under the Companies Act, with 49 per cent equity held by the Central and state governments collectively and 51 per cent by non-government institutions. “The shareholding pattern ensures that centre individually and states collectively are the largest stakeholders at 24.5 per cent each. In combination, the Government shareholding at 49 per cent far exceeds that of any single private institution,” Gangwar said.
25), private limited company to be registered under the Companies Act, with 49 per cent equity held by the Central and state governments collectively and 51 per cent by non-government institutions. “The shareholding pattern ensures that centre individually and states collectively are the largest stakeholders at 24.5 per cent each. In combination, the Government shareholding at 49 per cent far exceeds that of any single private institution,” Gangwar said.
Incorporated on March 28, 2013, GSTN was set up with a specific mandate to build the IT infrastructure and the services required for implementing GST. The government plans to roll out the new indirect tax regime from April next year. BJP leader Subramanian Swamy has questioned the structure of the entity created under the previous UPA regime saying how a private firm can be allowed access to “sensitive” tax information without security clearance.
Government may now impose curbs on domestic gold holdings: Report
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The Indian government may impose curbs on domestic holdings of gold as Prime Minister Narendra Modi intensifies a fight against “black money”, news agency NewsRise reported, citing an unnamed finance ministry official. NewsRise did not provide further details. A finance ministry spokesman declined to comment on the report.
Gold premiums in India jumped to two-year highs last week as jewellers ramped up purchases on fears the government might restrict imports after withdrawing higher-denomination notes from circulation in its fight against black money.
India is the world’s second biggest gold buyer, and it is estimated that one-third of its annual demand of up to 1,000 tonnes is paid for in black money – untaxed funds held in secret by citizens in cash that don’t appear in any official accounts.
The move to withdraw higher denomination notes has already started to disrupt cash-based gold smuggling, officials have said. Scrap gold supplies were also set to halve this quarter as the cash crunch and falling prices make it difficult for consumers to liquidate their holdings.
The Indian government may impose curbs on domestic holdings of gold as Prime Minister Narendra Modi intensifies a fight against “black money”, news agency NewsRise reported, citing an unnamed finance ministry official. NewsRise did not provide further details. A finance ministry spokesman declined to comment on the report.
Gold premiums in India jumped to two-year highs last week as jewellers ramped up purchases on fears the government might restrict imports after withdrawing higher-denomination notes from circulation in its fight against black money.
India is the world’s second biggest gold buyer, and it is estimated that one-third of its annual demand of up to 1,000 tonnes is paid for in black money – untaxed funds held in secret by citizens in cash that don’t appear in any official accounts.
The move to withdraw higher denomination notes has already started to disrupt cash-based gold smuggling, officials have said. Scrap gold supplies were also set to halve this quarter as the cash crunch and falling prices make it difficult for consumers to liquidate their holdings.
Demonetisation to have negative impact on growth in short run: Fitch Ratings
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Demonetisation will have a “negative” impact on growth in the short run but for the full fiscal, the GDP decline would be “relatively moderate”, Fitch Ratings said on Friday. The ratings agency, however, expects India’s GDP growth to trend higher than China’s in the medium term, adding that it would accelerate next fiscal on the back of reforms and monetary policy easing.
“The impact on GDP growth is clearly going to be negative in the short run and depends to a large extent on how long the cash crunch is going to take.
“A significant decline in the growth number for this quarter is highly likely, but for the fiscal year as a whole the decline may still be relatively moderate,” Fitch Asia-Pacific Sovereigns Group Director Thomas Rookmaaker said.
He, however, said that there are many elements to the demonetisation exercise, which makes it difficult to quantify its impact on real GDP growth.
“In India we expect GDP growth to accelerate in FY2018 on the back of reform implementation, monetary easing of the past year and infrastructure spending,” Rookmaaker added.
Listing out the positives of demonetisation, he said it may improve the fiscal position to the extent more earnings will be declared and a transfer is possible from the RBI to the government of the seigniorage earned from unchanged notes.
“A stronger revenue intake would be positive from a rating perspective, as the fiscal position forms the Achilles heel in India’s sovereign credit profile, given the high general government debt burden and fiscal deficit compared with peers,” Rookmaaker said.
Beyond the immediate policy issues of managing the cash crunch as best as possible and trying to mitigate the worst side-effects, it would be interesting to see what further steps the government will take to formalise the economy and structurally generate higher government revenues, Fitch said.
India’s economy expanded at 7.6 per cent in 2015-16, and the Finance Ministry’s Economic Survey has projected growth to be between 7-7.75 per cent this fiscal.
He said that the macroeconomic effects of the cash crunch include a temporary delay of consumption and investment, disrupted supply chains, farmers being unable to buy inputs, and some loss in productivity due to time lost to deal with cash issues.
“People find inventive ways around the cash crunch as well — there is always the art of jugaad. At the same time, this seems to suggest that demonetisation is a one-off event and is not likely to generate a significant structural shift of activity from the informal to the formal sector,” he added.
Fitch expects India’s GDP growth to trend higher than China’s in the medium term as a continued increase in leverage in the broader Chinese economy is more and more becoming a burden for growth.
For China, Fitch forecasts real GDP growth of 6.4 per cent in 2017, down from a projected 6.7 per cent in 2016, due to the impact of recent macro-prudential tightening measures targeting the housing market.
“The impact on GDP growth is clearly going to be negative in the short run and depends to a large extent on how long the cash crunch is going to take.
“A significant decline in the growth number for this quarter is highly likely, but for the fiscal year as a whole the decline may still be relatively moderate,” Fitch Asia-Pacific Sovereigns Group Director Thomas Rookmaaker said.
He, however, said that there are many elements to the demonetisation exercise, which makes it difficult to quantify its impact on real GDP growth.
“In India we expect GDP growth to accelerate in FY2018 on the back of reform implementation, monetary easing of the past year and infrastructure spending,” Rookmaaker added.
Listing out the positives of demonetisation, he said it may improve the fiscal position to the extent more earnings will be declared and a transfer is possible from the RBI to the government of the seigniorage earned from unchanged notes.
“A stronger revenue intake would be positive from a rating perspective, as the fiscal position forms the Achilles heel in India’s sovereign credit profile, given the high general government debt burden and fiscal deficit compared with peers,” Rookmaaker said.
Beyond the immediate policy issues of managing the cash crunch as best as possible and trying to mitigate the worst side-effects, it would be interesting to see what further steps the government will take to formalise the economy and structurally generate higher government revenues, Fitch said.
India’s economy expanded at 7.6 per cent in 2015-16, and the Finance Ministry’s Economic Survey has projected growth to be between 7-7.75 per cent this fiscal.
He said that the macroeconomic effects of the cash crunch include a temporary delay of consumption and investment, disrupted supply chains, farmers being unable to buy inputs, and some loss in productivity due to time lost to deal with cash issues.
“People find inventive ways around the cash crunch as well — there is always the art of jugaad. At the same time, this seems to suggest that demonetisation is a one-off event and is not likely to generate a significant structural shift of activity from the informal to the formal sector,” he added.
Fitch expects India’s GDP growth to trend higher than China’s in the medium term as a continued increase in leverage in the broader Chinese economy is more and more becoming a burden for growth.
For China, Fitch forecasts real GDP growth of 6.4 per cent in 2017, down from a projected 6.7 per cent in 2016, due to the impact of recent macro-prudential tightening measures targeting the housing market.
General Awareness
QS Graduate Employability Ranking 2017 Ranks IIT Kharagpur Top Institution in India
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According to the QS Graduate Employability Ranking for 2017, IIT Kharagpur has been ranked as the top institution in the country for the second successive year. The IIT Kharagpur has been placed at the highest position among Indian Institutions with a rank ranging between 81-90, from a list of 300 Universities from all over the world.
IIT Kharagpur :
- The Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur (IIT Kharagpur or IIT KGP) is a public engineering institution established by the Government of India in 1951.
- It was one of the first IITs to be established, and is recognized as an Institute of National Importance by the Government of India.
- Among all IITs, IIT Kharagpur has the largest campus of 2,100 acres, highest number of departments, and the highest student enrollment.
- IIT Kharagpur provides degree to nearly 2,500 students each year and has a successful track record of placement of students from the graduating batches enrolling for campus placement.
- IIT KGP emphasizes on nurturing employer-student relationship through special internship programmes and corporate relations programmes.
- The institute focuses on project based learning which gives exposure to industry needs and problem solving attitude and adds value to the overall aptitude and performance of the students in the process of recruitment.
Other universities in the rank ranging between 81-90 with IIT Kharagpur includes Georgetown University, Lancaster University, Pennsylvania State University, Queensland University of Technology, University of Illinois, Chicago and University of Liverpool.
- IIT Bombay was also was listed in the top 100 Universities of the World after IIT Kharagpur, and are the only Indian Universities to be placed among top 100 Universities of the World in the ranking list.
- Other Indian institutions among the top 300 QS Graduate Employability Ranking are IIT Madras, IIT Delhi and University of Delhi.
The top 5 Universities ranked globally includes:
Rank University Country 1 Stanford University USA 2 Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) USA 3 Tsinghua University China 4 The University of Sydney Australia 5 University of Cambridge UK
QS Graduate Employability Ranking
The Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) Graduate Employability Ranking designed and commissioned by French Human Resources Consulting Agency ‘Emerging’ and carried out by the German market research firm Trendence since 2014, is a ranking system which ranks the world’s top 300 universities to analyze the links between university teaching and research practices and graduate employability.
- The QS Graduate Employability Rankings is an initiative intended to design a new approach for evaluating employability in university rankings.
- The ranking shows the best universities for getting a job.
- Universities are judged on parameters such as employer reputation, partnerships with employers, presence of employers on campus, and alumni outcomes apart from graduate employment rates.
According to the QS Graduate Employability Ranking for 2017, IIT Kharagpur has been ranked as the top institution in the country for the second successive year. The IIT Kharagpur has been placed at the highest position among Indian Institutions with a rank ranging between 81-90, from a list of 300 Universities from all over the world.
IIT Kharagpur :
- The Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur (IIT Kharagpur or IIT KGP) is a public engineering institution established by the Government of India in 1951.
- It was one of the first IITs to be established, and is recognized as an Institute of National Importance by the Government of India.
- Among all IITs, IIT Kharagpur has the largest campus of 2,100 acres, highest number of departments, and the highest student enrollment.
- IIT Kharagpur provides degree to nearly 2,500 students each year and has a successful track record of placement of students from the graduating batches enrolling for campus placement.
- IIT KGP emphasizes on nurturing employer-student relationship through special internship programmes and corporate relations programmes.
- The institute focuses on project based learning which gives exposure to industry needs and problem solving attitude and adds value to the overall aptitude and performance of the students in the process of recruitment.
Other universities in the rank ranging between 81-90 with IIT Kharagpur includes Georgetown University, Lancaster University, Pennsylvania State University, Queensland University of Technology, University of Illinois, Chicago and University of Liverpool.
- IIT Bombay was also was listed in the top 100 Universities of the World after IIT Kharagpur, and are the only Indian Universities to be placed among top 100 Universities of the World in the ranking list.
- Other Indian institutions among the top 300 QS Graduate Employability Ranking are IIT Madras, IIT Delhi and University of Delhi.
The top 5 Universities ranked globally includes:
| Rank | University | Country |
| 1 | Stanford University | USA |
| 2 | Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) | USA |
| 3 | Tsinghua University | China |
| 4 | The University of Sydney | Australia |
| 5 | University of Cambridge | UK |
QS Graduate Employability Ranking
The Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) Graduate Employability Ranking designed and commissioned by French Human Resources Consulting Agency ‘Emerging’ and carried out by the German market research firm Trendence since 2014, is a ranking system which ranks the world’s top 300 universities to analyze the links between university teaching and research practices and graduate employability.
- The QS Graduate Employability Rankings is an initiative intended to design a new approach for evaluating employability in university rankings.
- The ranking shows the best universities for getting a job.
- Universities are judged on parameters such as employer reputation, partnerships with employers, presence of employers on campus, and alumni outcomes apart from graduate employment rates.
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