General Affairs
PM Narendra Modi Urges US To Keep An Open Mind On Visas For Skilled Workers
Prime Minister Narendra Modi urged the United States today to keep an open mind on admitting skilled Indian workers, in comments that pushed back against Republican President Donald Trump's "America First" rhetoric on jobs.
PM Modi's comments reflected concern that Rs. 15,000 crores IT services industry would suffer if the United States curbs the visas, known as H-1B, it relies on to send its software experts to the United States on project work.
"The prime minister referred to the role of skilled Indian talent in enriching the American economy and society," PM Modi's office said in a statement after he met a bipartisan delegation of 26 members of the US Congress.
"He urged developing a reflective, balanced and far-sighted perspective on movement of skilled professionals."
Indians are by far the largest group of recipients of the 65,000 H-1B visas issued each year to new applicants under a cap mandated by Congress. Exemptions on the H-1B cap are available to up to 20,000 further applicants who have obtained a US master's degree.
The actual number of Indians working in the United States under the H-1B programme is significantly higher, however, because many visas are rolled over.
Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, who was born in India, also met PM Modi today. He told the Economic Times earlier that his own career had been made possible by "an enlightened immigration policy".
Initial confidence that Asia's third-largest economy would benefit from Mr Trump's election victory has given way to concern that his isolationist rhetoric and hostility to free trade would hurt India's hi-tech and outsourcing industry.
The sector, led by Tata Consultancy Services, Infosys Ltd and Wipro Ltd, employs 35 lakhs people and is lobbying against proposed US visa curbs - including increases on salaries that H-1B visa holders must earn.
Part of the delegation led by Congressman Bob Goodlatte, a Republican from Virginia who chairs the House Judiciary Committee, met IT minister Ravi Shankar Prasad.
Mr Goodlatte, speaking at the meeting with Mr Prasad, declined to answer a question on visa restrictions, saying it was up to the president to reassess his policies on immigration.
A senior Indian official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said India hoped to resolve the visa issue with the United States but declined to be drawn on the details.
The government supported a move by NASSCOM, India's high-tech industry association, to lobby US lawmakers and companies to urge the administration not to crack down on allowing its skilled workers into the United States, the source said.
PM Modi's comments reflected concern that Rs. 15,000 crores IT services industry would suffer if the United States curbs the visas, known as H-1B, it relies on to send its software experts to the United States on project work.
"The prime minister referred to the role of skilled Indian talent in enriching the American economy and society," PM Modi's office said in a statement after he met a bipartisan delegation of 26 members of the US Congress.
"He urged developing a reflective, balanced and far-sighted perspective on movement of skilled professionals."
Indians are by far the largest group of recipients of the 65,000 H-1B visas issued each year to new applicants under a cap mandated by Congress. Exemptions on the H-1B cap are available to up to 20,000 further applicants who have obtained a US master's degree.
The actual number of Indians working in the United States under the H-1B programme is significantly higher, however, because many visas are rolled over.
Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, who was born in India, also met PM Modi today. He told the Economic Times earlier that his own career had been made possible by "an enlightened immigration policy".
Initial confidence that Asia's third-largest economy would benefit from Mr Trump's election victory has given way to concern that his isolationist rhetoric and hostility to free trade would hurt India's hi-tech and outsourcing industry.
The sector, led by Tata Consultancy Services, Infosys Ltd and Wipro Ltd, employs 35 lakhs people and is lobbying against proposed US visa curbs - including increases on salaries that H-1B visa holders must earn.
Part of the delegation led by Congressman Bob Goodlatte, a Republican from Virginia who chairs the House Judiciary Committee, met IT minister Ravi Shankar Prasad.
Mr Goodlatte, speaking at the meeting with Mr Prasad, declined to answer a question on visa restrictions, saying it was up to the president to reassess his policies on immigration.
A senior Indian official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said India hoped to resolve the visa issue with the United States but declined to be drawn on the details.
The government supported a move by NASSCOM, India's high-tech industry association, to lobby US lawmakers and companies to urge the administration not to crack down on allowing its skilled workers into the United States, the source said.
7 Naxals Gunned Down In Chhattisgarh, Weapons Recovered
Seven Naxals were killed in a fierce gun-battle with security forces in Chhattisgarh's Narayanpur district today, the police said.
The exchange of fire took place in the forests of Pushpal village of the district in which seven ultras were gunned down, Special Director General of Police (anti-Maoist operations) DM Awasthi told PTI.
A joint team of District Reserve Group (DRG) and district force launched a counter-insurgency operation from Barsoor police station of neighbouring Dantewada district this morning.
When the forces were cordoning off jungles of Pushpal along the border of the two districts, they came under heavy firing from a group of rebels, leading to a prolonged gunfight, he said.
Pushpal, which falls in restive Abhujmad area, is located around 350 km from the state capital Raipur.
After the guns fell silent, security forces searched the area and recovered the bodies of seven ultras besides two Insas rifles and other weapons, Mr Awasthi said.
He added that more details will be known once the security forces reach their base camp.
The exchange of fire took place in the forests of Pushpal village of the district in which seven ultras were gunned down, Special Director General of Police (anti-Maoist operations) DM Awasthi told PTI.
A joint team of District Reserve Group (DRG) and district force launched a counter-insurgency operation from Barsoor police station of neighbouring Dantewada district this morning.
When the forces were cordoning off jungles of Pushpal along the border of the two districts, they came under heavy firing from a group of rebels, leading to a prolonged gunfight, he said.
Pushpal, which falls in restive Abhujmad area, is located around 350 km from the state capital Raipur.
After the guns fell silent, security forces searched the area and recovered the bodies of seven ultras besides two Insas rifles and other weapons, Mr Awasthi said.
He added that more details will be known once the security forces reach their base camp.
India, China To Hold First Strategic Dialogue In Beijing Tomorrow
As India and China battle key differences over Jaish-E Mohammed terrorist Masood Azhar and India's membership of the elite Nuclear Suppliers Group, Foreign Secretary S Jaishankar today held talks with China's top diplomat Yang Jiechi in Beijing, ahead of a key strategic dialogue tomorrow. This is the first strategic dialogue between the two nations.
Mr Jaishankar is also expected to meet Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi.
China has deputed the head of the influential CPC Committee of the Chinese Foreign Ministry for the talks.
But ahead of the dialogue, China remained firm on its opposition to impose the UN ban on Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) chief Azhar, saying China wants "solid evidence".
Last year, China put a technical hold twice on India's application to the sanctions committee of the UN Security Council and again blocked a resolution moved by the US - and backed by France and the UK - in January.
"Whether last year's application by India or this year's by relevant country our position is consistent. Our criteria is only one, we need solid evidence. If there is solid evidence the application can be approved. If there is no solid evidence there is hardly consensus," the Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson had said last week.
On India's admission into the NSG, again blocked by China, he reiterated China's stand. "We stick to a two-step approach, namely, first NSG members need to arrive at a set of principles for the entry of NSG by non-NPT state parties, and then move forward discussions of specific cases," he said.
Mr Jaishankar is also expected to meet Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi.
China has deputed the head of the influential CPC Committee of the Chinese Foreign Ministry for the talks.
But ahead of the dialogue, China remained firm on its opposition to impose the UN ban on Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) chief Azhar, saying China wants "solid evidence".
Last year, China put a technical hold twice on India's application to the sanctions committee of the UN Security Council and again blocked a resolution moved by the US - and backed by France and the UK - in January.
"Whether last year's application by India or this year's by relevant country our position is consistent. Our criteria is only one, we need solid evidence. If there is solid evidence the application can be approved. If there is no solid evidence there is hardly consensus," the Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson had said last week.
On India's admission into the NSG, again blocked by China, he reiterated China's stand. "We stick to a two-step approach, namely, first NSG members need to arrive at a set of principles for the entry of NSG by non-NPT state parties, and then move forward discussions of specific cases," he said.
World Buys More Weapons Than Ever Before, India Tops List
Global arms sales over the last five years reached their highest level since 1990, with India continuing to top the charts as the world's largest defense importer, a report from the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute has found.
Between 2012 and 2016, India accounted for 13 percent of global arms imports, followed by Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, China and Algeria, said SIPRI, which tracks global arms purchases. Between 2007 and 2011, India accounted for 9.7 percent of global imports, still more than any other country, the group's data shows.
Most Gulf Arab states are involved in armed conflicts in Yemen, Syria or on their own territory and have tense relations with Iran, the report noted. In 2012-16, Saudi Arabia's arms imports increased by 212 percent compared with the previous five years, accounting for 8.2 percent of global arms imports.
India faces serious geopolitical threats from its nuclear-armed rival Pakistan and China's rising military strength. As China becomes more assertive across Asia and invests billions of dollars in strategic infrastructure projects in Pakistan -- including in contested territory claimed by India -- New Delhi has tried to deepen defense cooperation with the United States and other countries in the region, such as Vietnam.
Despite rising threats, and a 'Make in India' program to encourage local arms production, India's domestic defense sector is not capable of meeting New Delhi's growing requirements, said Siemon Wezeman, a senior researcher with SIPRI.
"They spend a lot of time and also money trying to develop weapons in India and things just go hopelessly wrong," Wezeman said, adding that leaves them relying on imports.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has pledged $250 billion to modernize the country's aging military equipment -- from fighter jets to guns and submarines. The government wants to award contracts to companies, such as Lockheed Martin Corp and Saab AB, which have promised to build products in India. But Wezeman said red tape, a historic reliance on state-owned companies and constant delays hinder the country's ability to supplant imports with domestically-produced weapons.
This leaves India overwhelmingly reliant on foreign imports, mainly from Russia, the United States and Israel. While India's share of global weapons imports has risen, China has increasingly been able to domestically produce weapons required by its military, SIPRI said, leading China's share of global defense imports to fall to 4.5 percent of the global total between 2012 and 2016 from 5.5 percent between 2007 and 2011.
Amit Cowshish, a former financial adviser for acquisitions at India's Ministry of Defence, said India's defense sector has traditionally been unable to meet the immediate demands of the country's armed forces -- which are battling insurgents, patrolling contested borders and doing joint patrols and military exercises with allies in the region.
"It's a catch-22 situation. Indian industry was not able to meet the requirements because it didn't have a history of doing defense," Cowshish said, adding that replacing imports with domestically produced weapons will take time. "You can't really climb up the value chain overnight, and the requirements are imminent."
Both Cowshish and Wezeman said the shift under Modi to rely more on private Indian companies for defense procurement, could lead to success. India signed an $8.7 billion contract to buy 36 Rafale jets from Dassault Aviation SA. But both analysts also warned that structural changes to India's defense purchasing would take a long time, given the lengthy timelines involved in defense R&D and manufacturing, as well as the necessity of meeting the military's pressing requirements for combat-ready equipment.
"Since the 1950s, the Indian leadership has continuously maintained that they want to make in India," Wezeman said. Even "if they realign, it's not something that can be done very fast."
Between 2012 and 2016, India accounted for 13 percent of global arms imports, followed by Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, China and Algeria, said SIPRI, which tracks global arms purchases. Between 2007 and 2011, India accounted for 9.7 percent of global imports, still more than any other country, the group's data shows.
Most Gulf Arab states are involved in armed conflicts in Yemen, Syria or on their own territory and have tense relations with Iran, the report noted. In 2012-16, Saudi Arabia's arms imports increased by 212 percent compared with the previous five years, accounting for 8.2 percent of global arms imports.
India faces serious geopolitical threats from its nuclear-armed rival Pakistan and China's rising military strength. As China becomes more assertive across Asia and invests billions of dollars in strategic infrastructure projects in Pakistan -- including in contested territory claimed by India -- New Delhi has tried to deepen defense cooperation with the United States and other countries in the region, such as Vietnam.
Despite rising threats, and a 'Make in India' program to encourage local arms production, India's domestic defense sector is not capable of meeting New Delhi's growing requirements, said Siemon Wezeman, a senior researcher with SIPRI.
"They spend a lot of time and also money trying to develop weapons in India and things just go hopelessly wrong," Wezeman said, adding that leaves them relying on imports.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has pledged $250 billion to modernize the country's aging military equipment -- from fighter jets to guns and submarines. The government wants to award contracts to companies, such as Lockheed Martin Corp and Saab AB, which have promised to build products in India. But Wezeman said red tape, a historic reliance on state-owned companies and constant delays hinder the country's ability to supplant imports with domestically-produced weapons.
This leaves India overwhelmingly reliant on foreign imports, mainly from Russia, the United States and Israel. While India's share of global weapons imports has risen, China has increasingly been able to domestically produce weapons required by its military, SIPRI said, leading China's share of global defense imports to fall to 4.5 percent of the global total between 2012 and 2016 from 5.5 percent between 2007 and 2011.
Amit Cowshish, a former financial adviser for acquisitions at India's Ministry of Defence, said India's defense sector has traditionally been unable to meet the immediate demands of the country's armed forces -- which are battling insurgents, patrolling contested borders and doing joint patrols and military exercises with allies in the region.
"It's a catch-22 situation. Indian industry was not able to meet the requirements because it didn't have a history of doing defense," Cowshish said, adding that replacing imports with domestically produced weapons will take time. "You can't really climb up the value chain overnight, and the requirements are imminent."
Both Cowshish and Wezeman said the shift under Modi to rely more on private Indian companies for defense procurement, could lead to success. India signed an $8.7 billion contract to buy 36 Rafale jets from Dassault Aviation SA. But both analysts also warned that structural changes to India's defense purchasing would take a long time, given the lengthy timelines involved in defense R&D and manufacturing, as well as the necessity of meeting the military's pressing requirements for combat-ready equipment.
"Since the 1950s, the Indian leadership has continuously maintained that they want to make in India," Wezeman said. Even "if they realign, it's not something that can be done very fast."
India, Rwanda Sign Three Agreements To Boost Bilateral Relations
India and Rwanda have signed three agreements during the visit of Vice President Hamid Ansari to boost bilateral relations that include establishment of an entrepreneurship developement centre in Kigali. According to the Memorandum of Understandings signed between Rwanda and India, Rwanda Air will soon begin services to India, and the two countries will mutually exempt visa requirements for diplomatic and official passport holders.
Rwandan Prime Minister Anastase Murekezi said the MoUs will boost economic and business ties with India. "We have 54 years of fruitful bilateral relationship. Rwanda and India share important ties and we are committed to make this relationship grow stronger," Prime Minister Murekezi said.
Vice President Ansari, who is on a five-day tour to Rwanda and Uganda, earlier yesterday launched an innovation growth programme and addressed business leaders and experts from the two countries.
He said Rwanda offers a "wonderful platform" to Indian partners to enhance their presence in other parts of Africa and emphasised India was "ready to work" with partners in Rwanda and the larger African continent in "transferring our experience" in building an innovation-driven economy.
"India-Rwanda Innovation Growth Program is being launched to expand ties in science, Technology and Innovation. After this pilot project, the programme is proposed to be implemented in the East African community in seven countries and will then be scaled up to seven other economic zones across Africa," he said.
Under the programme, 20 Indian technologies and innovations are to be adopted over a period of two years.
"The programme aims at creating an ecosystem wherein Indian innovations and technology enterprises will thrive and encourage business ventures from both sides," Mr Ansari said.
The Vice President said it was an "exciting prospect" to see the captains of trade and industry from Rwanda stand alongside the Indian business community and innovators.
"This portends well for the future of Rwanda-India commercial and economic relations," he said.
Prime Minister Murekezi attended the event organised by Rwanda Development Board, the Private Sector Federation of Rwanda and the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry (FICCI).
Rwandan Prime Minister Anastase Murekezi said the MoUs will boost economic and business ties with India. "We have 54 years of fruitful bilateral relationship. Rwanda and India share important ties and we are committed to make this relationship grow stronger," Prime Minister Murekezi said.
Vice President Ansari, who is on a five-day tour to Rwanda and Uganda, earlier yesterday launched an innovation growth programme and addressed business leaders and experts from the two countries.
He said Rwanda offers a "wonderful platform" to Indian partners to enhance their presence in other parts of Africa and emphasised India was "ready to work" with partners in Rwanda and the larger African continent in "transferring our experience" in building an innovation-driven economy.
"India-Rwanda Innovation Growth Program is being launched to expand ties in science, Technology and Innovation. After this pilot project, the programme is proposed to be implemented in the East African community in seven countries and will then be scaled up to seven other economic zones across Africa," he said.
Under the programme, 20 Indian technologies and innovations are to be adopted over a period of two years.
"The programme aims at creating an ecosystem wherein Indian innovations and technology enterprises will thrive and encourage business ventures from both sides," Mr Ansari said.
The Vice President said it was an "exciting prospect" to see the captains of trade and industry from Rwanda stand alongside the Indian business community and innovators.
"This portends well for the future of Rwanda-India commercial and economic relations," he said.
Prime Minister Murekezi attended the event organised by Rwanda Development Board, the Private Sector Federation of Rwanda and the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry (FICCI).
Business Affairs
Sensex opens flat with a positive bias, Nifty holds above 8,850 level
The Indian stock market on Tuesday opened flat on the back of in Asian markets as a holiday in the US left investors with few options to trade.At 9.40 AM, the S&P BSE Sensex was trading 28,682, up 20 points while the Nifty50 was trading 8,884, up 5 points.Brokers said that a pick-up in buying activity coupled with covering-up of short position by speculators in the face of February month's expiry in the derivatives segment on Thrusday had a positive impact too."For the coming trading session, the Nifty is likely to head towards 8920 - 8969 after making a move above Fridays high of 8896.45. We anticipate this to happen and hence, traders are advised to keep holding directional long positions by now trailing a stop loss at 8700," said an Angel Broking report.All sectoral indices, led by metal, IT and power, were in the green, gaining up to 2.04 per cent.Tata Steel and Tata Motors were the top gainers in early trade clocking as much as 1.50 per cent on the BSE.Among the laggards were Bharti Airtel that fell nearly 2 per cent followed by ITC and Coal India.
Buzzing stockAs per media reports, Tata Tele may join the merged entity of RCom-Aircel and MTS.BSE has sought clarification from both the companies with reference to the report that Tata Tele is in early talks to join RCom Aircel MTS combine.At 10 AM, Tata Teleservices (Maharashtra) Ltd was trading 2.48 per cent higher while Reliance Communications gained over 1 per cent on Tuesday.
Global MarketsThe Asian markets were uptick with China's Shnaghai Composite gaining 0.86 per cent, Hang Seng Index rising 35 points and Japan's Nikkei gaining 137 points.Wall Street remained closed for the Presidents Holiday on Monday.
The Indian stock market on Tuesday opened flat on the back of in Asian markets as a holiday in the US left investors with few options to trade.
At 9.40 AM, the S&P BSE Sensex was trading 28,682, up 20 points while the Nifty50 was trading 8,884, up 5 points.
Brokers said that a pick-up in buying activity coupled with covering-up of short position by speculators in the face of February month's expiry in the derivatives segment on Thrusday had a positive impact too.
"For the coming trading session, the Nifty is likely to head towards 8920 - 8969 after making a move above Fridays high of 8896.45. We anticipate this to happen and hence, traders are advised to keep holding directional long positions by now trailing a stop loss at 8700," said an Angel Broking report.
All sectoral indices, led by metal, IT and power, were in the green, gaining up to 2.04 per cent.
Tata Steel and Tata Motors were the top gainers in early trade clocking as much as 1.50 per cent on the BSE.
Among the laggards were Bharti Airtel that fell nearly 2 per cent followed by ITC and Coal India.
Buzzing stock
Buzzing stock
As per media reports, Tata Tele may join the merged entity of RCom-Aircel and MTS.
BSE has sought clarification from both the companies with reference to the report that Tata Tele is in early talks to join RCom Aircel MTS combine.
At 10 AM, Tata Teleservices (Maharashtra) Ltd was trading 2.48 per cent higher while Reliance Communications gained over 1 per cent on Tuesday.
Global Markets
Global Markets
The Asian markets were uptick with China's Shnaghai Composite gaining 0.86 per cent, Hang Seng Index rising 35 points and Japan's Nikkei gaining 137 points.
Wall Street remained closed for the Presidents Holiday on Monday.
Reliance Jio tariff plans to begin from April 1, Prime membership on offer
Reliance Industries Chairman Mukesh Ambani announced the launch of Prime Membership for existing Jio customers and revealed tariff plans while addressing a press conference today.Ambani said Reliance Jio crossed 100-million subscribers, in less than six months of its launch. "Jio added 7 customers every second of every single day for the last 170 days," he said in his speech.Jio had crossed 50 million subscribers in just 83 days, adding at an average rate of 6 lakh subscribers per day and surpassing the subscriber addition rates of global giants like Facebook, WhatsApp and Skype. "This milestone belongs to every member of the Jio community. We have created sustainable employment and this is an achievement for the entire country. We are humbled by the enormous trust placed on us by our customers," Ambani added. Here's what Mukesh Ambani said in his address: - Jio prime members can continue to enjoy unlimited benefits of New Year offer for another 12 months.
- Only Rs 303 per month or Rs 10 per day for another full year
- Enrollment will start from March 1 till 31 March 2017.
- Jio Prime membership for Rs 99 for 1 year from April 2017.
- In coming months, we will double data capacity. By 2017, Jio will be present in all villages of India covering 99% of population, says Ambani.
- Lakhs of customers have done mobile no. portability in moving to Jio. I hope more customers will choose MNP and and make Jio their permanent home, says Ambani.
- From April 1, Reliance Jio will start its tariff plans. All domestic voice calls to remain free, no roaming charges, no hidden charges, says Ambani.
- 100 crore gigabytes of data was consumed on the Jio network.
- We have continued to build on our strengths for the last six months.
- Jio customers have created records. Every single day, Jio users make more than 200 crore minutes of voice and video calls. Before Jio, India was 150th in world's broadband penenetration for data. Last month, Jio users consumed more than 100 crore gigabytes of data.
- 7 customers added per second to the network per day since Reliance Jio's launch
- Reliance Jio has crossed 100 million customer mark in 170 days.
- After Jio, India became no. 1 country in the world for mobile data usage.
On December 2, 2016, RIL chairman Mukesh Ambani announced the extension of free services offer for customers till March 31, 2017.The company is in the process of doubling the network, to four lakh digitally enabled outlets by March 2017. Jio has also introduced home delivery of Jio SIMs, Mukesh Ambani had said.More recently, announcing its third quarter results, Reliance Industries had said that its telecom subsidiary Jio has garnered 72.4 million subscribers as of 31 December, 2016.Aadhaar enabled us to acquire a million customer a day which is unheard of in the industry as a whole," Mukesh Ambani said on February 16, 2017. Jio subscriber base is growing at a pace which it had itself had not expected at the time of launch.
Reliance Industries Chairman Mukesh Ambani announced the launch of Prime Membership for existing Jio customers and revealed tariff plans while addressing a press conference today.
Ambani said Reliance Jio crossed 100-million subscribers, in less than six months of its launch. "Jio added 7 customers every second of every single day for the last 170 days," he said in his speech.
Jio had crossed 50 million subscribers in just 83 days, adding at an average rate of 6 lakh subscribers per day and surpassing the subscriber addition rates of global giants like Facebook, WhatsApp and Skype.
"This milestone belongs to every member of the Jio community. We have created sustainable employment and this is an achievement for the entire country. We are humbled by the enormous trust placed on us by our customers," Ambani added.
Here's what Mukesh Ambani said in his address:
- Jio prime members can continue to enjoy unlimited benefits of New Year offer for another 12 months.
- Only Rs 303 per month or Rs 10 per day for another full year
- Enrollment will start from March 1 till 31 March 2017.
- Jio Prime membership for Rs 99 for 1 year from April 2017.
- In coming months, we will double data capacity. By 2017, Jio will be present in all villages of India covering 99% of population, says Ambani.
- Lakhs of customers have done mobile no. portability in moving to Jio. I hope more customers will choose MNP and and make Jio their permanent home, says Ambani.
- From April 1, Reliance Jio will start its tariff plans. All domestic voice calls to remain free, no roaming charges, no hidden charges, says Ambani.
- 100 crore gigabytes of data was consumed on the Jio network.
- We have continued to build on our strengths for the last six months.
- Jio customers have created records. Every single day, Jio users make more than 200 crore minutes of voice and video calls. Before Jio, India was 150th in world's broadband penenetration for data. Last month, Jio users consumed more than 100 crore gigabytes of data.
- 7 customers added per second to the network per day since Reliance Jio's launch
- Reliance Jio has crossed 100 million customer mark in 170 days.
- After Jio, India became no. 1 country in the world for mobile data usage.
On December 2, 2016, RIL chairman Mukesh Ambani announced the extension of free services offer for customers till March 31, 2017.
The company is in the process of doubling the network, to four lakh digitally enabled outlets by March 2017. Jio has also introduced home delivery of Jio SIMs, Mukesh Ambani had said.
More recently, announcing its third quarter results, Reliance Industries had said that its telecom subsidiary Jio has garnered 72.4 million subscribers as of 31 December, 2016.
Aadhaar enabled us to acquire a million customer a day which is unheard of in the industry as a whole," Mukesh Ambani said on February 16, 2017. Jio subscriber base is growing at a pace which it had itself had not expected at the time of launch.
Promoter holding in TCS to largely remain unchanged post-buyback
Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) at its board meeting on February 20, 2016 approved the buyback of 5.61 crore shares subject to a maximum outlay of Rs 16,000 crore. This would mean a buy back of the shares at a maximum price of Rs 2, 850. This came on the backdrop of Cognizant announcing a $3.4 billion buyback of shares, a couple of weeks ago. "The buyback of the shares, is a good indication of the under valuation of the stock in the markets and is good given that the cash yields are running low and earning yield in IT industry has improved on back of the underperformance of the stock, says Sarabjit Kour Nangra, VP Research- IT, Angel Broking.In a share buyback a company offers to purchase shares from the shareholder which reduces the equity base of the company.TCS will be conducting this buyback of 5.61 crore shares via the proportionate tender offer route to its existing shareholders, which will constitute 2.85 per cent of its total paid up capital. Normally, buybacks are done through three methods --- proportionate tender offer to existing shareholders, from the open market or from odd lot shareholders.The TCS management had indicated the likelihood of a buyback on February 15 and therefore the announcement on Feb 20 was a logical culmination to the same. "Major IT companies like TCS, Infosys, Wipro and HCL Tech are estimated to be sitting on a combined cash pile of $16 billion. With limited opportunities for large capital investments or for strategic acquisitions and mergers, there have been strident demands for distributing this cash in the form of special dividends or in the form of buyback of shares", says Angel Broking in its blog.The promoter group consisting of Tata Sons and few other group companies such as Tata Power and Tata Steel own nearly 73.31 per cent of TCS. Since this is a proportionate buyback, even if all the shareholders tender their shares in the said proportion, the post-buyback stake of the TCS promoters will continue to remain at 73.31 per cent. Thus from the Tata Sons point of view there will be no dilution of equity stake in the event all shareholders, including the promoters participate in the buyback offer. "But what is more likely to happen is that institutions, high networth individuals and retail investors may look to exit their holdings in a bigger proportion as the price of Rs 2,850 is very attractive and is closer to the recent highs touched by the company", highlights the Angel Broking blog. TCS touched a high of Rs 2,740 in August 2016 and the buyback price is 13 per cent higher than its current market price.The company has a cash pile of around Rs 39,000 crore and the buyback will account for nearly Rs 16,000 crore of this cash pile. "If the promoters opt to participate in the proportionate buyback, then for them it represents a smarter and more economical method than getting dividends," says the blog. Dividends attract 15 per cent dividend distribution tax (DDT) and an additional 10 per cent tax in the hands of shareholders if the annual dividend income is more than Rs 1 million. The IT major, has been a regular dividend payer with an average dividend pay-out ratio of 46 per cent over five years. Buybacks have been generally beneficial for promoter shareholders. It either offers them a dividend arbitrage without loss of control or increases their hold over the company. "The buyback will take out a part of cash out of the books of TCS which will enhance the overall return on equity, as the proportion of the low yielding asset ( i.e. cash ) will be reduced in the balance sheet and hence will reward shareholders," says Nangra.
Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) at its board meeting on February 20, 2016 approved the buyback of 5.61 crore shares subject to a maximum outlay of Rs 16,000 crore. This would mean a buy back of the shares at a maximum price of Rs 2, 850. This came on the backdrop of Cognizant announcing a $3.4 billion buyback of shares, a couple of weeks ago. "The buyback of the shares, is a good indication of the under valuation of the stock in the markets and is good given that the cash yields are running low and earning yield in IT industry has improved on back of the underperformance of the stock, says Sarabjit Kour Nangra, VP Research- IT, Angel Broking.
In a share buyback a company offers to purchase shares from the shareholder which reduces the equity base of the company.
TCS will be conducting this buyback of 5.61 crore shares via the proportionate tender offer route to its existing shareholders, which will constitute 2.85 per cent of its total paid up capital. Normally, buybacks are done through three methods --- proportionate tender offer to existing shareholders, from the open market or from odd lot shareholders.
The TCS management had indicated the likelihood of a buyback on February 15 and therefore the announcement on Feb 20 was a logical culmination to the same. "Major IT companies like TCS, Infosys, Wipro and HCL Tech are estimated to be sitting on a combined cash pile of $16 billion. With limited opportunities for large capital investments or for strategic acquisitions and mergers, there have been strident demands for distributing this cash in the form of special dividends or in the form of buyback of shares", says Angel Broking in its blog.
The promoter group consisting of Tata Sons and few other group companies such as Tata Power and Tata Steel own nearly 73.31 per cent of TCS. Since this is a proportionate buyback, even if all the shareholders tender their shares in the said proportion, the post-buyback stake of the TCS promoters will continue to remain at 73.31 per cent. Thus from the Tata Sons point of view there will be no dilution of equity stake in the event all shareholders, including the promoters participate in the buyback offer. "But what is more likely to happen is that institutions, high networth individuals and retail investors may look to exit their holdings in a bigger proportion as the price of Rs 2,850 is very attractive and is closer to the recent highs touched by the company", highlights the Angel Broking blog. TCS touched a high of Rs 2,740 in August 2016 and the buyback price is 13 per cent higher than its current market price.
The company has a cash pile of around Rs 39,000 crore and the buyback will account for nearly Rs 16,000 crore of this cash pile. "If the promoters opt to participate in the proportionate buyback, then for them it represents a smarter and more economical method than getting dividends," says the blog. Dividends attract 15 per cent dividend distribution tax (DDT) and an additional 10 per cent tax in the hands of shareholders if the annual dividend income is more than Rs 1 million. The IT major, has been a regular dividend payer with an average dividend pay-out ratio of 46 per cent over five years.
Buybacks have been generally beneficial for promoter shareholders. It either offers them a dividend arbitrage without loss of control or increases their hold over the company. "The buyback will take out a part of cash out of the books of TCS which will enhance the overall return on equity, as the proportion of the low yielding asset ( i.e. cash ) will be reduced in the balance sheet and hence will reward shareholders," says Nangra.
India's NRA for medicines is lauded by WHO
In a letter to J P Nadda, Union Minister for Health & Family Welfare, the WHO applauded the country's NRA, declaring it "functional' with a maturity level of 4 -- the highest level as per currently evolved definitions in respect of 5 functions -- and maturity level 3 in respect of 4 functions. While, maturity level 4 indicates good results and sustained improvement trends, maturity level 3 reflects systematic process based approach, early stage of systematic improvements, data availability regarding conformance to objectives and existence of improvement trends.The WHO appreciation for India's drug regulatory system could not have come at a more appropriate time as there have been concerted efforts from several quarters to show India's drug regulatory mechanism in poor light. The objective of undermining India's regulatory capabilities was to undermine the strengths and competitiveness of India's thriving generic medicine manufacturing industry.In a world where there are growing concerns over high medicine prices, India's ability to manufacture low cost, high quality generic medicines is seen as huge business opportunity by the domestic industry. A weak drug regulatory administration would thus have strengthened the lobbying against Indian drugs by the competition."The successful outcome of the WHO conducted assessment of the National Regulatory Authority (NRA) of India is a big boost to the Government's efforts towards quality healthcare, for which the Government is committed to, says" Nadda.A fully functional NRA is a pre-requisite for WHO prequalification of vaccines. One of the requirements to become eligible and retain prequalification status is to have the National Regulatory Authority (NRA) assessed as functional against the WHO published NRA indicators. WHO Prequalification Programme, as such, facilitates access to vaccines that meet the unified standards of quality, safety and efficacy as well as programme needs. The vaccine manufacturers can only apply for WHO vaccine prequalification if the NRA meets the standards of the WHO NRA published indicators i.e. WHO Global benchmarking Tool on functional regulatory system for vaccines.Recently, WHO has completed the assessment of the status of the Indian vaccine regulatory system against WHO NRA Global Benchmarking Tool (GBT) for benchmarking and measured the maturity of the system. The assessment has been carried out by a WHO team comprising lead experts in different areas from WHO Headquarters Geneva, WHO India Country Office, experts drawn from the regulators of USA, Italy, Germany, Netherlands, Indonesia, Thailand and Egypt. The assessment has been done in respect of nine different functionalities.
In view of India being one of the main global suppliers of drug and biological medicinal products including vaccines, medical devices, and traditional medicines, and as it is supplying several vaccines to UN agencies, the 'successful assessment will go a long way in strengthening global confidence in medical products from India', the minister states.The review is based on a robust benchmarking tool developed over years of consultation with various experts drawn from across the globe. The National Regulatory Authority (NRA) of India includes the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO), State Drug Regulatory Authorities, Pharmaco-vigilance Programme of India (PvPI) and Adverse Events Following Immunization (AEFI) structures at the Central and state levels. The Global Benchmarking Tool (GBT) has 63 indicators and 288 sub-indicators, out of which 150 are critical. Earlier, in 2012, NRA was assessed against 7 functions and 181 indicators.
In a letter to J P Nadda, Union Minister for Health & Family Welfare, the WHO applauded the country's NRA, declaring it "functional' with a maturity level of 4 -- the highest level as per currently evolved definitions in respect of 5 functions -- and maturity level 3 in respect of 4 functions. While, maturity level 4 indicates good results and sustained improvement trends, maturity level 3 reflects systematic process based approach, early stage of systematic improvements, data availability regarding conformance to objectives and existence of improvement trends.
The WHO appreciation for India's drug regulatory system could not have come at a more appropriate time as there have been concerted efforts from several quarters to show India's drug regulatory mechanism in poor light. The objective of undermining India's regulatory capabilities was to undermine the strengths and competitiveness of India's thriving generic medicine manufacturing industry.
In a world where there are growing concerns over high medicine prices, India's ability to manufacture low cost, high quality generic medicines is seen as huge business opportunity by the domestic industry. A weak drug regulatory administration would thus have strengthened the lobbying against Indian drugs by the competition.
"The successful outcome of the WHO conducted assessment of the National Regulatory Authority (NRA) of India is a big boost to the Government's efforts towards quality healthcare, for which the Government is committed to, says" Nadda.
A fully functional NRA is a pre-requisite for WHO prequalification of vaccines. One of the requirements to become eligible and retain prequalification status is to have the National Regulatory Authority (NRA) assessed as functional against the WHO published NRA indicators. WHO Prequalification Programme, as such, facilitates access to vaccines that meet the unified standards of quality, safety and efficacy as well as programme needs. The vaccine manufacturers can only apply for WHO vaccine prequalification if the NRA meets the standards of the WHO NRA published indicators i.e. WHO Global benchmarking Tool on functional regulatory system for vaccines.
Recently, WHO has completed the assessment of the status of the Indian vaccine regulatory system against WHO NRA Global Benchmarking Tool (GBT) for benchmarking and measured the maturity of the system. The assessment has been carried out by a WHO team comprising lead experts in different areas from WHO Headquarters Geneva, WHO India Country Office, experts drawn from the regulators of USA, Italy, Germany, Netherlands, Indonesia, Thailand and Egypt. The assessment has been done in respect of nine different functionalities.
In view of India being one of the main global suppliers of drug and biological medicinal products including vaccines, medical devices, and traditional medicines, and as it is supplying several vaccines to UN agencies, the 'successful assessment will go a long way in strengthening global confidence in medical products from India', the minister states.
In view of India being one of the main global suppliers of drug and biological medicinal products including vaccines, medical devices, and traditional medicines, and as it is supplying several vaccines to UN agencies, the 'successful assessment will go a long way in strengthening global confidence in medical products from India', the minister states.
The review is based on a robust benchmarking tool developed over years of consultation with various experts drawn from across the globe. The National Regulatory Authority (NRA) of India includes the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO), State Drug Regulatory Authorities, Pharmaco-vigilance Programme of India (PvPI) and Adverse Events Following Immunization (AEFI) structures at the Central and state levels. The Global Benchmarking Tool (GBT) has 63 indicators and 288 sub-indicators, out of which 150 are critical. Earlier, in 2012, NRA was assessed against 7 functions and 181 indicators.
GST: No clarity on the size of state compensation package
While GST Council has approved the bill compensating the states due to loss of revenue after the implementation of the Goods and Services Tax (GST), there is fair amount of suspense on the size of the overall compensation package.The only estimate of the compensation package that we know about is Rs 55,000 crore that the West Bengal finance minister Amit Mitra, who is also the chairman of the Empowered Committee of Ministers on GST, had mentioned in some of his media interactions.However, experts say they are not sure on what basis this figure has been arrived at. People were expecting the budget estimates of revenue deficit figures may throw some light into the kind of compensation figure that the Centre is expecting. The budget, though, remains silent on the issue.MS Mani, senior director, Indirect Tax, Deloitte India, says that the government has not yet put out an official estimate of the size of compensation package. "The government might have an estimate but it wants to keep it a secret for now," says Mani.One of the reasons why it is difficult for the government to come out with an official estimate is the fact that it has not yet decided which product would be taxed at what rate. All we know now is that there would be four rates, 5 per cent, 12 per cent, 18 per cent and 28 per cent, but the GST Council is yet to decide which products and services would be taxed at what rate.Even before the Budget, there were speculation as to how the government might make its indirect tax collection estimate. But the budget estimates do not look very different and it might have simply made the estimates based on the existing indirect tax laws. According to the compensation bill, the states will be given full compensation for the first five years for any shortfall in revenue due to implementation of GST. The compensation would be calculated based on the revenue of 2015-16 assuming a 14 per cent revenue growth in the subsequent five years.The base year revenue for a state would be the sum of the revenue collected by the State and local bodies from the Value Added Tax (VAT), sales tax, purchase tax, Central Sales Tax (CST), entry tax, octroi, local body tax, etc.The government also faces the challenge of funding this compensation package, given it has not much headroom on the fiscal deficit front. It is therefore likely to fund the compensation through cesses levied on goods and services in the highest tax bracket of 28 per cent. According to experts, four products may fall under this category-luxury cars, aerated beverages, cigarette and 'pan masala'."A challenge now to the Centre would be raise funds in order to compensate States, which in a way could be met through levy of cess on luxury items and demerit goods, including clean energy cess," says Nishit Dhruva, Managing Partner, at law firm MDP & Partners.
While GST Council has approved the bill compensating the states due to loss of revenue after the implementation of the Goods and Services Tax (GST), there is fair amount of suspense on the size of the overall compensation package.
The only estimate of the compensation package that we know about is Rs 55,000 crore that the West Bengal finance minister Amit Mitra, who is also the chairman of the Empowered Committee of Ministers on GST, had mentioned in some of his media interactions.
However, experts say they are not sure on what basis this figure has been arrived at. People were expecting the budget estimates of revenue deficit figures may throw some light into the kind of compensation figure that the Centre is expecting. The budget, though, remains silent on the issue.
MS Mani, senior director, Indirect Tax, Deloitte India, says that the government has not yet put out an official estimate of the size of compensation package. "The government might have an estimate but it wants to keep it a secret for now," says Mani.
One of the reasons why it is difficult for the government to come out with an official estimate is the fact that it has not yet decided which product would be taxed at what rate. All we know now is that there would be four rates, 5 per cent, 12 per cent, 18 per cent and 28 per cent, but the GST Council is yet to decide which products and services would be taxed at what rate.
Even before the Budget, there were speculation as to how the government might make its indirect tax collection estimate. But the budget estimates do not look very different and it might have simply made the estimates based on the existing indirect tax laws.
According to the compensation bill, the states will be given full compensation for the first five years for any shortfall in revenue due to implementation of GST. The compensation would be calculated based on the revenue of 2015-16 assuming a 14 per cent revenue growth in the subsequent five years.
The base year revenue for a state would be the sum of the revenue collected by the State and local bodies from the Value Added Tax (VAT), sales tax, purchase tax, Central Sales Tax (CST), entry tax, octroi, local body tax, etc.
The government also faces the challenge of funding this compensation package, given it has not much headroom on the fiscal deficit front. It is therefore likely to fund the compensation through cesses levied on goods and services in the highest tax bracket of 28 per cent. According to experts, four products may fall under this category-luxury cars, aerated beverages, cigarette and 'pan masala'.
"A challenge now to the Centre would be raise funds in order to compensate States, which in a way could be met through levy of cess on luxury items and demerit goods, including clean energy cess," says Nishit Dhruva, Managing Partner, at law firm MDP & Partners.
General Awareness
List of Current Governors in India – Updated On February 2017
- Current Governors in IndiaGovernor is the constitutional head of each of the twenty-nine states. The governor is appointed by the President of India for a term of five years, and holds office at the President’s pleasure.
State Name Current Governors Name Andhra Pradesh E. S. L. Narasimhan Arunachal Pradesh Padmanabha Acharya Assam Banwarilal Purohit Bihar Ram Nath Kovind Chhattisgarh Balramji Das Tandon Goa Mridula Sinha Gujarat Om Prakash Kohli Haryana Kaptan Singh Solanki Himachal Pradesh Acharya Dev Vrat Jammu and Kashmir Narinder Nath Vohra Jharkhand Draupadi Murmu Karnataka Vajubhai Vala Kerala P. Sathasivam Madhya Pradesh Om Prakash Kohli Maharashtra C. Vidyasagar Rao Manipur Najma Heptulla Meghalaya Banwarilal Purohit Mizoram Nirbhay Sharma Nagaland Padmanabha Acharya Odisha S. C. Jamir Punjab V P Singh Badnore Rajasthan Kalyan Singh Sikkim Shriniwas Dadasaheb Patil Tamil Nadu C. Vidyasagar Rao(Addl. charge) Telangana E. S. L. Narasimhan Tripura Tathagata Roy Uttar Pradesh Ram Naik Uttarakhand Krishan Kant Paul West Bengal Keshari Nath Tripathi
Current Lieutenant Governors and Administrators of Union Territories
Office and union territory Name Lieutenant Governor of Andaman and Nicobar Islands Jagdish Mukhi Administrator of Chandigarh Kaptan Singh Solanki Administrator of Dadra and Nagar Haveli Vikram Dev Dutt Administrator of Daman and Diu Vikram Dev Dutt Lieutenant Governor of Delhi Najeeb Jung Administrator of Lakshadweep Vijay Kumar Lieutenant Governor of Puducherry Kiran Bedi
Current Governors in India
Governor is the constitutional head of each of the twenty-nine states. The governor is appointed by the President of India for a term of five years, and holds office at the President’s pleasure.
| State Name | Current Governors Name |
| Andhra Pradesh | E. S. L. Narasimhan |
| Arunachal Pradesh | Padmanabha Acharya |
| Assam | Banwarilal Purohit |
| Bihar | Ram Nath Kovind |
| Chhattisgarh | Balramji Das Tandon |
| Goa | Mridula Sinha |
| Gujarat | Om Prakash Kohli |
| Haryana | Kaptan Singh Solanki |
| Himachal Pradesh | Acharya Dev Vrat |
| Jammu and Kashmir | Narinder Nath Vohra |
| Jharkhand | Draupadi Murmu |
| Karnataka | Vajubhai Vala |
| Kerala | P. Sathasivam |
| Madhya Pradesh | Om Prakash Kohli |
| Maharashtra | C. Vidyasagar Rao |
| Manipur | Najma Heptulla |
| Meghalaya | Banwarilal Purohit |
| Mizoram | Nirbhay Sharma |
| Nagaland | Padmanabha Acharya |
| Odisha | S. C. Jamir |
| Punjab | V P Singh Badnore |
| Rajasthan | Kalyan Singh |
| Sikkim | Shriniwas Dadasaheb Patil |
| Tamil Nadu | C. Vidyasagar Rao(Addl. charge) |
| Telangana | E. S. L. Narasimhan |
| Tripura | Tathagata Roy |
| Uttar Pradesh | Ram Naik |
| Uttarakhand | Krishan Kant Paul |
| West Bengal | Keshari Nath Tripathi |
| Office and union territory | Name |
| Lieutenant Governor of Andaman and Nicobar Islands | Jagdish Mukhi |
| Administrator of Chandigarh | Kaptan Singh Solanki |
| Administrator of Dadra and Nagar Haveli | Vikram Dev Dutt |
| Administrator of Daman and Diu | Vikram Dev Dutt |
| Lieutenant Governor of Delhi | Najeeb Jung |
| Administrator of Lakshadweep | Vijay Kumar |
| Lieutenant Governor of Puducherry | Kiran Bedi |
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