General Affairs
Winter session dates soon, delays happened during Congress rule too: Arun Jaitley
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Countering the opposition Congress's criticism, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley today said the winter session of Parliament would "certainly" be held, adding that Parliament sessions have been delayed in the past as well by the Congress.
"The Congress said that the NDA is running away from Parliament session. They should know that even during their rule, winter session dates were decided in a way that they didn't clash with elections," Jaitley said.
"The winter session will definitely take place and the government will announce dates soon," he added.
"It has happened several times that Parliament sessions are rescheduled when an election is happening and timing is decided in such a way that it does not overlap with election campaigns," Jaitley told reporters in poll-bound Gujarat's Rajkot district.
"They (Congress) did so in 2011, and even before that... Parliament session will be certainly held, all issues will be taken, and the Congress will be exposed," Jaitley said.
The minister's comments came after Congress president Sonia Gandhi accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of delaying the winter session of Parliament on "flimsy grounds".
Countering the opposition Congress's criticism, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley today said the winter session of Parliament would "certainly" be held, adding that Parliament sessions have been delayed in the past as well by the Congress.
"The Congress said that the NDA is running away from Parliament session. They should know that even during their rule, winter session dates were decided in a way that they didn't clash with elections," Jaitley said.
"The winter session will definitely take place and the government will announce dates soon," he added.
"It has happened several times that Parliament sessions are rescheduled when an election is happening and timing is decided in such a way that it does not overlap with election campaigns," Jaitley told reporters in poll-bound Gujarat's Rajkot district.
"They (Congress) did so in 2011, and even before that... Parliament session will be certainly held, all issues will be taken, and the Congress will be exposed," Jaitley said.
The minister's comments came after Congress president Sonia Gandhi accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of delaying the winter session of Parliament on "flimsy grounds".
Campaigning for UP municipal elections, Yogi Adityanath hints at major perks for Agra if BJP wins
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Sensing the need for power projection to ensure a victory for the BJP following the decrease in the party's popularity post-GST, UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has taken the reigns of the UP municipal elections in his own hands.
Barely a day before the electoral campaign ended for the municipal elections to be held in Agra on November 22, Yogi Adityanath arrived in the city, carrying numerous promises for the city, although none of them were directly connected to the municipal corporation's jurisdiction, for which he was campaigning.
His nearly 20-minutes speech at the Government Inter College grounds of Agra concentrated less on local issues and more on criticizing the previous Samajwadi Party and Bahujan Samaj Party governments in UP.
As if pulling out a copy of his previous speech in Agra, delivered barely a month back, Yogi claimed in his speech that his government is working on connecting every major city of UP to metropolitan cities like Delhi, Mumbai and Kolkata by air. Soon Agra will also have an international airport and metro train.
He said that the remaining 65 crores needed for the completion of land acquisition for the Agra Civil Airport project have been released and soon the airport will start coming up. He announced that the long pending Gangajal project to Agra will be completed in 2018. A rubber check dam will also be built downstream from the Taj Mahal on Yamuna river with the cost of Rs 350 crores.
Announcing his government's intent to promote GIS branding of local products, Yogi said that goods of local importance like 'Petha' of Agra and 'Peda' of Mathura will be included in the One District - One Product project, under which these local products will gain promotional benefits. Keeping his 'Hindu Leader' image intact, he asked the BJP supporters to shout 'Jai Sri Ram' slogans many times during his speech.
Enumerating his government's achievements, Yogi said that within 24 hours, his government closed all illegal abattoirs. Crime has been controlled and the Petha industry of Agra is being branded to promote tourism.
However, when India Today questioned him on the dispute over Taj Mahal, Yogi refused to comment and just reminded everyone that he had swept the Taj Mahal with a broom barely a month back.
Commenting on Yogi's Agra visit to promote the candidature of BJP candidates in the municipal elections, Congress leader Mohd Shareef Kale said that it was the first time when national leaders of the stature of Prime Minister and Chief Minister are taking out time to campaign in local body elections in the state. This was setting a dangerous precedent which would be highly detrimental for the propagation of healthy democratic principles in the country.
He said that leaders like the PM and CM had all the government power in their hands and they could misuse that power any time to turn the tide in their party's favour in the local elections. He suggested that the senior party leaders of any party should not interfere in the local body elections as this would only mean unduly influencing the voters.
Kale further added that industrialist Naveen Jain is contesting from the BJP in Agra while Digamber Singh Dhakrey is contesting from BSP, Rahul Chaturvedi from Samajwadi Party and Vinod Bansal from the Indian National Congress but in the interest of a healthy democracy at local body levels, ex-Chief Ministers Mayawati and Akhilesh Yadav had not campaigned for any candidates in the state, nor had any senior Congress leader except UP Congress chief Raj Babbar had campaigned for the Congress candidates, but the BJP was taking full advantage of the government machinery to facilitate its star campaigners in the municipal elections, which was utterly disgraceful and showed that the BJP could stoop to the lowest levels in order to secure a win in any elections.
Sensing the need for power projection to ensure a victory for the BJP following the decrease in the party's popularity post-GST, UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has taken the reigns of the UP municipal elections in his own hands.
Barely a day before the electoral campaign ended for the municipal elections to be held in Agra on November 22, Yogi Adityanath arrived in the city, carrying numerous promises for the city, although none of them were directly connected to the municipal corporation's jurisdiction, for which he was campaigning.
His nearly 20-minutes speech at the Government Inter College grounds of Agra concentrated less on local issues and more on criticizing the previous Samajwadi Party and Bahujan Samaj Party governments in UP.
As if pulling out a copy of his previous speech in Agra, delivered barely a month back, Yogi claimed in his speech that his government is working on connecting every major city of UP to metropolitan cities like Delhi, Mumbai and Kolkata by air. Soon Agra will also have an international airport and metro train.
He said that the remaining 65 crores needed for the completion of land acquisition for the Agra Civil Airport project have been released and soon the airport will start coming up. He announced that the long pending Gangajal project to Agra will be completed in 2018. A rubber check dam will also be built downstream from the Taj Mahal on Yamuna river with the cost of Rs 350 crores.
Announcing his government's intent to promote GIS branding of local products, Yogi said that goods of local importance like 'Petha' of Agra and 'Peda' of Mathura will be included in the One District - One Product project, under which these local products will gain promotional benefits. Keeping his 'Hindu Leader' image intact, he asked the BJP supporters to shout 'Jai Sri Ram' slogans many times during his speech.
Enumerating his government's achievements, Yogi said that within 24 hours, his government closed all illegal abattoirs. Crime has been controlled and the Petha industry of Agra is being branded to promote tourism.
However, when India Today questioned him on the dispute over Taj Mahal, Yogi refused to comment and just reminded everyone that he had swept the Taj Mahal with a broom barely a month back.
Commenting on Yogi's Agra visit to promote the candidature of BJP candidates in the municipal elections, Congress leader Mohd Shareef Kale said that it was the first time when national leaders of the stature of Prime Minister and Chief Minister are taking out time to campaign in local body elections in the state. This was setting a dangerous precedent which would be highly detrimental for the propagation of healthy democratic principles in the country.
He said that leaders like the PM and CM had all the government power in their hands and they could misuse that power any time to turn the tide in their party's favour in the local elections. He suggested that the senior party leaders of any party should not interfere in the local body elections as this would only mean unduly influencing the voters.
Kale further added that industrialist Naveen Jain is contesting from the BJP in Agra while Digamber Singh Dhakrey is contesting from BSP, Rahul Chaturvedi from Samajwadi Party and Vinod Bansal from the Indian National Congress but in the interest of a healthy democracy at local body levels, ex-Chief Ministers Mayawati and Akhilesh Yadav had not campaigned for any candidates in the state, nor had any senior Congress leader except UP Congress chief Raj Babbar had campaigned for the Congress candidates, but the BJP was taking full advantage of the government machinery to facilitate its star campaigners in the municipal elections, which was utterly disgraceful and showed that the BJP could stoop to the lowest levels in order to secure a win in any elections.
Army captures Chinese national snooping around defence installations in Agra
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The Indian Army has captured a Chinese national roaming inside the Agra Army base area. The intruder has been handed over to the intelligence agencies. He is being interrogated by the police and intelligence officials in Agra.
Talking to India Today, a senior police official said that the Chinese national, who has been identified as Yan Hi Bo as per his passport records, entered India on October 24 this year. Yan Hi Bo came to India on a tourist visa that is valid till 12 February 2018.
He was apprehended by the army guards on Saturday night when he was found roaming around the Central Ordnance Depot on a bicycle, which he claims to have purchased. The army guards handed him over to the Agra tourist police after preliminary inquiry.
The Chinese national appeared to be of an unsound mind by his activities. The officials said that he might not have taken a bath for over a week. He was given a proper bath and cleaned up properly before interrogation.
The officials said that the fact that he got a visa despite having an unsound mind raised suspicion over the real motive of his activities around sensitive defense installations in Agra.
A police official claimed that the possessions of the captured Chinese contained a passport and a mobile phone, which was being examined by the cyber security experts. He said that the Chinese embassy has been informed about the capture of its citizen under the suspicion of espionage.
Once the security agencies indicate, Yan Hi Bo will be allowed full consular access as per norms, the official said. No case has been registered against him till now.
The Indian Army has captured a Chinese national roaming inside the Agra Army base area. The intruder has been handed over to the intelligence agencies. He is being interrogated by the police and intelligence officials in Agra.
Talking to India Today, a senior police official said that the Chinese national, who has been identified as Yan Hi Bo as per his passport records, entered India on October 24 this year. Yan Hi Bo came to India on a tourist visa that is valid till 12 February 2018.
He was apprehended by the army guards on Saturday night when he was found roaming around the Central Ordnance Depot on a bicycle, which he claims to have purchased. The army guards handed him over to the Agra tourist police after preliminary inquiry.
The Chinese national appeared to be of an unsound mind by his activities. The officials said that he might not have taken a bath for over a week. He was given a proper bath and cleaned up properly before interrogation.
The officials said that the fact that he got a visa despite having an unsound mind raised suspicion over the real motive of his activities around sensitive defense installations in Agra.
A police official claimed that the possessions of the captured Chinese contained a passport and a mobile phone, which was being examined by the cyber security experts. He said that the Chinese embassy has been informed about the capture of its citizen under the suspicion of espionage.
Once the security agencies indicate, Yan Hi Bo will be allowed full consular access as per norms, the official said. No case has been registered against him till now.
NSG conducts mock drill at Gurgaon school to counter terror attacks in schools
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Indian security force continued to be in a state of full preparedness as National Security Guard (NSG or black cat commandos) undertook a mock drill at Shri Ram School in Gurugram.
The exercise was carried out at the midnight to avoid interference with the school schedule. Utmost secrecy was maintained as the mock drill took place. The practice drill was conducted to exercise securing buildings from the terrorists, thwarting any attempt at possible destruction or taking hostages.
Terrorists globally have at many times chosen to attack the schools world over to further their deadly agenda. 150 people comprising 132 students were massacred on December 16, 2014 when Taliban suicide bombers stormed a school in Peshawar.
The school was run by the Pakistani army. The terrorists took hostages, including teachers and the principal of the school, and used them as human shield during the assault. The standoff with the security forces ended after eight grueling hours.
Another notable incident was in Beslan, Russia. 32 terrorists stormed the school building and laid a 3 day siege that resulted in 300 casualties including 186 children.
The NSG says that though there is no intelligence input of such an attack on Indian Schools, the mock drill was carried out to familiarize the commandos with any eventuality, especially involving small children.
The force is also preparing different set of scenario's like neutralizing a lone wolf attacker or a scenario involving multiple attackers in multiple locations.
While several schools have in the past approached the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF), another paramilitary force for security of schools, the nod was never given by Union Home Ministry the parent ministry of the force.
Indian security force continued to be in a state of full preparedness as National Security Guard (NSG or black cat commandos) undertook a mock drill at Shri Ram School in Gurugram.
The exercise was carried out at the midnight to avoid interference with the school schedule. Utmost secrecy was maintained as the mock drill took place. The practice drill was conducted to exercise securing buildings from the terrorists, thwarting any attempt at possible destruction or taking hostages.
Terrorists globally have at many times chosen to attack the schools world over to further their deadly agenda. 150 people comprising 132 students were massacred on December 16, 2014 when Taliban suicide bombers stormed a school in Peshawar.
The school was run by the Pakistani army. The terrorists took hostages, including teachers and the principal of the school, and used them as human shield during the assault. The standoff with the security forces ended after eight grueling hours.
Another notable incident was in Beslan, Russia. 32 terrorists stormed the school building and laid a 3 day siege that resulted in 300 casualties including 186 children.
The NSG says that though there is no intelligence input of such an attack on Indian Schools, the mock drill was carried out to familiarize the commandos with any eventuality, especially involving small children.
The force is also preparing different set of scenario's like neutralizing a lone wolf attacker or a scenario involving multiple attackers in multiple locations.
While several schools have in the past approached the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF), another paramilitary force for security of schools, the nod was never given by Union Home Ministry the parent ministry of the force.
Modi lacks courage to face Parliament, sabotaging winter session on flimsy grounds: Sonia Gandhi
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Before the stage was officially set by her for son Rahul Gandhi's elevation as Congress president, Sonia Gandhi today attacked Prime Minister Narendra Modi, saying he is "sabotaging" the winter session of Parliament "on flimsy grounds" and "lacks the courage" to face his opponents.
"The Modi government in its arrogance has cast a dark shadow on India's Parliamentary democracy by sabotaging the Winter Session of Parliament on flimsy grounds. The Government is mistaken if it thinks that by locking the temple of democracy, it will escape constitutional accountability ahead of the assembly elections," the 70-year-old leader said in her opening remarks at the Congress Working Committee (CWC) meeting, which finalised the schedule for Rahul's elevation as the party chief.
Sonia said the Prime Minister had the "audacity to have a midnight celebration in Parliament to launch an ill-prepared and flawed GST, but today he lacks the courage to face Parliament".
The winter session of Parliament traditionally convenes from the third week of November and lasts till the third week of December. According to sources, the government is considering a truncated winter session of around 10 days starting from the second week of December. The apparent reason: Assembly elections in Modi's home state of Gujarat.
Sonia said that Parliament is the forum in which questions should be asked - questions about corruption in high places, conflict of interest of serving Ministers and dubious defence deals.
"Government will be obliged to answer these questions, but in order to avoid the questions and answers ahead of Gujarat elections, the government has taken the extraordinary step of not holding a Winter Session when it should be held," she said.
Training her guns on the Prime Minister over his poll promises and claims on the economic front, Gandhi accused the government of "building the fortunes of a handful while destroying the future of the poor".
"Unemployment, rising inflation, falling exports and GST are causing tremendous suffering to millions of people. A year later, demonetisation has done nothing but rub salt on the wounds of distressed farmers, small traders, housewives and daily workers. The fortunes of a handful are being built by destroying the future of the poor and the oppressed," she said.
"Yet the Prime Minister continues with greater vigour, to make announcements, false promises, and to quote facts and figures that have nothing to do with the reality on the ground," she added.
The Congress president also charged the government with "forcefully" trying to change history of modern India by "erasing contributions" made by former prime ministers Jawaharlal Nehru and Indira Gandhi.
Before the stage was officially set by her for son Rahul Gandhi's elevation as Congress president, Sonia Gandhi today attacked Prime Minister Narendra Modi, saying he is "sabotaging" the winter session of Parliament "on flimsy grounds" and "lacks the courage" to face his opponents.
"The Modi government in its arrogance has cast a dark shadow on India's Parliamentary democracy by sabotaging the Winter Session of Parliament on flimsy grounds. The Government is mistaken if it thinks that by locking the temple of democracy, it will escape constitutional accountability ahead of the assembly elections," the 70-year-old leader said in her opening remarks at the Congress Working Committee (CWC) meeting, which finalised the schedule for Rahul's elevation as the party chief.
Sonia said the Prime Minister had the "audacity to have a midnight celebration in Parliament to launch an ill-prepared and flawed GST, but today he lacks the courage to face Parliament".
The winter session of Parliament traditionally convenes from the third week of November and lasts till the third week of December. According to sources, the government is considering a truncated winter session of around 10 days starting from the second week of December. The apparent reason: Assembly elections in Modi's home state of Gujarat.
Sonia said that Parliament is the forum in which questions should be asked - questions about corruption in high places, conflict of interest of serving Ministers and dubious defence deals.
"Government will be obliged to answer these questions, but in order to avoid the questions and answers ahead of Gujarat elections, the government has taken the extraordinary step of not holding a Winter Session when it should be held," she said.
Training her guns on the Prime Minister over his poll promises and claims on the economic front, Gandhi accused the government of "building the fortunes of a handful while destroying the future of the poor".
"Unemployment, rising inflation, falling exports and GST are causing tremendous suffering to millions of people. A year later, demonetisation has done nothing but rub salt on the wounds of distressed farmers, small traders, housewives and daily workers. The fortunes of a handful are being built by destroying the future of the poor and the oppressed," she said.
"Yet the Prime Minister continues with greater vigour, to make announcements, false promises, and to quote facts and figures that have nothing to do with the reality on the ground," she added.
The Congress president also charged the government with "forcefully" trying to change history of modern India by "erasing contributions" made by former prime ministers Jawaharlal Nehru and Indira Gandhi.
Business Affairs
Subscribed record 'four times', Bharat 22 ETF issue mops up Rs 14,500 crore
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The government has decided to retain Rs 14,500 crore of the total subscription that has come in for Bharat-22 Exchange Traded Fund, which comprises 22 companies. With bids worth Rs 32,000 crore coming in, the 8,000 crore Bharat 22 Electronic Traded Fund was subscribed four times. However, foreign institutional investors (FIIs) bade for one-third of the money. The retail investors' portion was subscribed around 1.45 times, NIIs and QIBs 7 times, and retirement funds 1.50 times.
With this, the government has raised Rs 52,500 crore through disinvestment in the current fiscal, including listing of insurance PSUs, reported PTI, adding that last week the portion reserved for anchor investors was subscribed six times amounting to Rs 12,000 crore.
Compared to its counterpart CPSE ETF, which was launched in March 2014, the Bharat-22 Exchange Traded Fund (ETF) is more diversified with blue chips such as ONGC, SBI, IOC, Nalco, BPCL, NTPC and Bank of Baroda as well as SUUTI shares in entities such as ITC, Axis Bank and L&T. The ETF's expense ratio is 0.0095 per cent. A discount of three per cent is available for all categories of investors. ICICI Prudential Asset Management Company is the fund manager for the ETF.
The issue received highest subscription for any new fund offer (NFO) in the history of Indian mutual fund industry, reported the Economic Times. ICICI Prudential Mutual Fund managed Bharat-22 ETF's new fund offer (NFO) had an initial issue size of over Rs 8,000 crore. As much as 25 per cent of total issue size, or Rs 2,000 crore, was reserved for anchor investors who put in bids worth about Rs 12,000 crore. "During the three days reserved for non-anchor investors, we witnessed an overwhelming response from all investors, particularly retail segment. In due course, the ETF will be listed," ICICI Prudential AMC MD and CEO Nimesh Shah told PTI. LIC, Bank of India, SBI Pension Fund, EPFO and HDFC Ergo Insurance are among those who have put in bids.
This ETF comprises leading companies from the private sector having an exposure of 39 per cent to the fund while the rest are public sector firms. The fund comprises leading blue-chips such as ITC (through SUUTI) with 15.2 per cent weightage, State Bank of India with 8.6 per cent weightage, and Axis Bank (through SUUTI) with 7.7 per cent weightage. Bank of Baroda, Bharat Electronics, Bharat Petroleum Corp, Coal India, Engineers India, Gail India, Indian Bank, Indian Oil Corp, Larsen & Toubro, National Aluminium Co, NBCC (India), NHPC, NLC India, NTPC, Oil & Natural Gas Corp, Power Finance Corp, Power Grid Corp of India, Rural Electrification Corp and SJVN are the other constituents of the fund. The fund consists of stocks from six sectors such as capital goods, finance, oil & gas, power, FMCG and metal, metal products and mining.
"This is the second fund in the PSU ETF series, after Reliance CPSE ETF, which clocked returns twice as Nifty 50 ETF over last one year. The earlier ETF was more skewed towards three sectors and hence the risk factor was high. The current Bharat 22 index is more diversified one with 22 stocks across six sectors. This reduces risk as well as return potential in comparison to the old one. Out of the six sectors, we hold a positive outlook towards 5 of them and neutral in FMCG and hence it is overall futuristic. Also since sectors, including banking and metals, have been in doldrums since long time, a long term investor is set to benefit from this proposition. Notwithstanding the recent rally in PSU banks post recapitalisation decision, there is long way to go," said Jeevan Kumar, Head of Investment Advisory, Geojit Financial Services, had earlier told Business Today.
However, some experts believe that this fund is not for the common investors. "Ideally, such funds are for more evolved investors. For common investors, it is better to stick to diversified funds. While Bharat 22 is more diversified as compared to CPSE ETF, it is still a thematic fund with PSU focus. And in time like these when markets have run up quite a bit, it would be prudent for investors to stick to diversified funds and invest systematically," said Anil Rego, CEO & Founder, Right Horizons.
The government has set an ambitious target of raising Rs 72,500 crore for disinvestment in the current fiscal. Of this, Rs 46,500 crore is to be raised through minority stake sale in PSU and Rs 15,000 crore from strategic sale. Another Rs 11,000 crore is to come from listing of insurance companies.
The government has decided to retain Rs 14,500 crore of the total subscription that has come in for Bharat-22 Exchange Traded Fund, which comprises 22 companies. With bids worth Rs 32,000 crore coming in, the 8,000 crore Bharat 22 Electronic Traded Fund was subscribed four times. However, foreign institutional investors (FIIs) bade for one-third of the money. The retail investors' portion was subscribed around 1.45 times, NIIs and QIBs 7 times, and retirement funds 1.50 times.
With this, the government has raised Rs 52,500 crore through disinvestment in the current fiscal, including listing of insurance PSUs, reported PTI, adding that last week the portion reserved for anchor investors was subscribed six times amounting to Rs 12,000 crore.
Compared to its counterpart CPSE ETF, which was launched in March 2014, the Bharat-22 Exchange Traded Fund (ETF) is more diversified with blue chips such as ONGC, SBI, IOC, Nalco, BPCL, NTPC and Bank of Baroda as well as SUUTI shares in entities such as ITC, Axis Bank and L&T. The ETF's expense ratio is 0.0095 per cent. A discount of three per cent is available for all categories of investors. ICICI Prudential Asset Management Company is the fund manager for the ETF.
The issue received highest subscription for any new fund offer (NFO) in the history of Indian mutual fund industry, reported the Economic Times. ICICI Prudential Mutual Fund managed Bharat-22 ETF's new fund offer (NFO) had an initial issue size of over Rs 8,000 crore. As much as 25 per cent of total issue size, or Rs 2,000 crore, was reserved for anchor investors who put in bids worth about Rs 12,000 crore. "During the three days reserved for non-anchor investors, we witnessed an overwhelming response from all investors, particularly retail segment. In due course, the ETF will be listed," ICICI Prudential AMC MD and CEO Nimesh Shah told PTI. LIC, Bank of India, SBI Pension Fund, EPFO and HDFC Ergo Insurance are among those who have put in bids.
This ETF comprises leading companies from the private sector having an exposure of 39 per cent to the fund while the rest are public sector firms. The fund comprises leading blue-chips such as ITC (through SUUTI) with 15.2 per cent weightage, State Bank of India with 8.6 per cent weightage, and Axis Bank (through SUUTI) with 7.7 per cent weightage. Bank of Baroda, Bharat Electronics, Bharat Petroleum Corp, Coal India, Engineers India, Gail India, Indian Bank, Indian Oil Corp, Larsen & Toubro, National Aluminium Co, NBCC (India), NHPC, NLC India, NTPC, Oil & Natural Gas Corp, Power Finance Corp, Power Grid Corp of India, Rural Electrification Corp and SJVN are the other constituents of the fund. The fund consists of stocks from six sectors such as capital goods, finance, oil & gas, power, FMCG and metal, metal products and mining.
"This is the second fund in the PSU ETF series, after Reliance CPSE ETF, which clocked returns twice as Nifty 50 ETF over last one year. The earlier ETF was more skewed towards three sectors and hence the risk factor was high. The current Bharat 22 index is more diversified one with 22 stocks across six sectors. This reduces risk as well as return potential in comparison to the old one. Out of the six sectors, we hold a positive outlook towards 5 of them and neutral in FMCG and hence it is overall futuristic. Also since sectors, including banking and metals, have been in doldrums since long time, a long term investor is set to benefit from this proposition. Notwithstanding the recent rally in PSU banks post recapitalisation decision, there is long way to go," said Jeevan Kumar, Head of Investment Advisory, Geojit Financial Services, had earlier told Business Today.
However, some experts believe that this fund is not for the common investors. "Ideally, such funds are for more evolved investors. For common investors, it is better to stick to diversified funds. While Bharat 22 is more diversified as compared to CPSE ETF, it is still a thematic fund with PSU focus. And in time like these when markets have run up quite a bit, it would be prudent for investors to stick to diversified funds and invest systematically," said Anil Rego, CEO & Founder, Right Horizons.
The government has set an ambitious target of raising Rs 72,500 crore for disinvestment in the current fiscal. Of this, Rs 46,500 crore is to be raised through minority stake sale in PSU and Rs 15,000 crore from strategic sale. Another Rs 11,000 crore is to come from listing of insurance companies.
Camaraderie in Reliance-L&T rivalry: Mukesh Ambani narrates his bonding with AM Naik
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The launch of AM Naik's biography 'The Nationalist' witnessed a rare camaraderie, where billionaire Mukesh Ambani called them as 'proud baniyas' who hard bargain each other in business. On Saturday, Larsen & Toubro (L&T) chairman's biography, written by columnist Minhaz Merchant, was launched in Mumbai and was attended by top industrialists and dignitaries including Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Phadnavis.
While Mukesh Ambani, who elaborately commented on his relationship and business deals with Naik that goes back to 35 years since Naik was a general manager with L&T, the 75 year old AM Naik preferred to elucidate only L&T's business relationships with Reliance Industries.
After returning from his studies abroad, Ambani was scouting for setting up manufacturing facilities of world class. He narrated that he went around the world, including leading industrial nations of the time like Japan and Germany, but it was Naik who won over saying L&T could do it. "Whenever I came up with an idea, Naik would say 'no.. no.. I can do it', said Ambani.
He said the two agreed on one parameter, to make an India without any sacrifice on quality, and that was what driving the warm relationship between the two companies.
Elaborating how Naik looks into micro details in a business deal, Ambani remembered how L&T saved Reliance in a critical situation. "I still remember that in the middle 80's, we had a Japanese compressor, it was a titanium and we had a problem. I called Mr. Naik and he said 'I will fix it for you' and within six days, we fixed the problem in India".
"We greatly value our relationship with Reliance Industries, who have trusted L&T to be their partners in all their major projects right from Patalganga, Hazira, Jamnagar 1, Jamnagar 3 and other projects", said Naik.
Ambani, observing ambition and curiosity as two traits of Naik, said "every time that we would meet and I would tell him 'these guys have got CAD', three months later, he would tell me, now even I got CAD and my engineering piece is better".
"Both of us are from Gujarat and are proud baniyas, I think I am a better negotiator than him and he thinks otherwise", said Mukesh Ambani on a lighter vein, terming that the Reliance-L&T partnership is a cost plus one.
Naik, who preferred not to mention a failed hostile attempt in the past of Reliance Industries to takeover L&T and subsequent selling of RIL's L&T stake to the Birlas, said "What seemingly started as a conflict situation with Grasim ended in a win-win solution for both the companies." Grasim became the largest and top quality cement producer and L&T emerged as one of the best engineering, manufacturing and projects company in this part of the world, he said.
"A great moment of satisfaction came when, at the end, Mr. Birla extended his hand to me and said, 'history should never, never forget you. You know what you have achieved, employee ownership of the company", remembered Naik.
Mukesh Ambani also revealed his business bargains with Naik were hard, but would suggest him to ensure the benefits reach out to all its sub-contractors and related employees.
"The L&T Group provides direct employment to around 90,000 people and engages contract labour for construction of close to 3.5 lakh. So, cumulatively, we touch the lives of more than a million people", said Naik.
While Mukesh Ambani, who elaborately commented on his relationship and business deals with Naik that goes back to 35 years since Naik was a general manager with L&T, the 75 year old AM Naik preferred to elucidate only L&T's business relationships with Reliance Industries.
After returning from his studies abroad, Ambani was scouting for setting up manufacturing facilities of world class. He narrated that he went around the world, including leading industrial nations of the time like Japan and Germany, but it was Naik who won over saying L&T could do it. "Whenever I came up with an idea, Naik would say 'no.. no.. I can do it', said Ambani.
He said the two agreed on one parameter, to make an India without any sacrifice on quality, and that was what driving the warm relationship between the two companies.
Elaborating how Naik looks into micro details in a business deal, Ambani remembered how L&T saved Reliance in a critical situation. "I still remember that in the middle 80's, we had a Japanese compressor, it was a titanium and we had a problem. I called Mr. Naik and he said 'I will fix it for you' and within six days, we fixed the problem in India".
"We greatly value our relationship with Reliance Industries, who have trusted L&T to be their partners in all their major projects right from Patalganga, Hazira, Jamnagar 1, Jamnagar 3 and other projects", said Naik.
Ambani, observing ambition and curiosity as two traits of Naik, said "every time that we would meet and I would tell him 'these guys have got CAD', three months later, he would tell me, now even I got CAD and my engineering piece is better".
"Both of us are from Gujarat and are proud baniyas, I think I am a better negotiator than him and he thinks otherwise", said Mukesh Ambani on a lighter vein, terming that the Reliance-L&T partnership is a cost plus one.
Naik, who preferred not to mention a failed hostile attempt in the past of Reliance Industries to takeover L&T and subsequent selling of RIL's L&T stake to the Birlas, said "What seemingly started as a conflict situation with Grasim ended in a win-win solution for both the companies." Grasim became the largest and top quality cement producer and L&T emerged as one of the best engineering, manufacturing and projects company in this part of the world, he said.
"A great moment of satisfaction came when, at the end, Mr. Birla extended his hand to me and said, 'history should never, never forget you. You know what you have achieved, employee ownership of the company", remembered Naik.
Mukesh Ambani also revealed his business bargains with Naik were hard, but would suggest him to ensure the benefits reach out to all its sub-contractors and related employees.
"The L&T Group provides direct employment to around 90,000 people and engages contract labour for construction of close to 3.5 lakh. So, cumulatively, we touch the lives of more than a million people", said Naik.
Commodities assisting India Inc growth
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Companies in commodity sector like Sugar, Tea/Coffee, Chemicals, Cement, Oil exploration, refineries, iron & steel, metals have boosted the corporate performance in Sep 2017 quarter. The sector, which is in a cyclical recovery, posted bottom-line growth of 43.4%. The performance of commodity sector can be gauged from the fact that Nifty commodity index has outperformed Nifty 50 by nearly 5 times between July-Sept 2017. Strong global demand for commodities like metals, natural gas & coal coupled with supply shortage has led to increase in prices.
Looking at the India Inc aggregate standalone numbers, 2,011 companies that have declared results so far, with an improvement in operating profit in Sep 2017 quarter compared to June 2017 quarter. The operating profit grew to 6.65% in Sep 2017 quarter compared to a decline of 3.21% in June 2017 quarter. Even in terms of net profit (bottom-line) growth, India Inc seems to be improving as the fall in net profit growth has reduced to -7.8% in Sept 2017 compared to a reduction of -17.6% in June 2017 quarter.
However, the performance of India Inc deteriorates if commodity companies are excluded from the aggregated numbers. After removing 260 commodity companies, the remaining companies aggregate operating profit growth reduced to 2.71% in Sep 2017 quarter. Moreover, net profit growth (bottom-line) deteriorated to -18.4% in Sept 2017 quarter compared to -15.9% in June 2017 quarter.
Companies in commodity sector like Sugar, Tea/Coffee, Chemicals, Cement, Oil exploration, refineries, iron & steel, metals have boosted the corporate performance in Sep 2017 quarter. The sector, which is in a cyclical recovery, posted bottom-line growth of 43.4%. The performance of commodity sector can be gauged from the fact that Nifty commodity index has outperformed Nifty 50 by nearly 5 times between July-Sept 2017. Strong global demand for commodities like metals, natural gas & coal coupled with supply shortage has led to increase in prices.
Looking at the India Inc aggregate standalone numbers, 2,011 companies that have declared results so far, with an improvement in operating profit in Sep 2017 quarter compared to June 2017 quarter. The operating profit grew to 6.65% in Sep 2017 quarter compared to a decline of 3.21% in June 2017 quarter. Even in terms of net profit (bottom-line) growth, India Inc seems to be improving as the fall in net profit growth has reduced to -7.8% in Sept 2017 compared to a reduction of -17.6% in June 2017 quarter.
However, the performance of India Inc deteriorates if commodity companies are excluded from the aggregated numbers. After removing 260 commodity companies, the remaining companies aggregate operating profit growth reduced to 2.71% in Sep 2017 quarter. Moreover, net profit growth (bottom-line) deteriorated to -18.4% in Sept 2017 quarter compared to -15.9% in June 2017 quarter.
Cement stocks fall over 5% after Supreme Court seeks nationwide ban on use of pet coke
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Cement industry stocks fell in Monday's trade after the Supreme Court on Friday sought a nationwide ban on use of pet coke and furnace oil.
The call for ban comes amid the national capital region engulfed by dense fog last week which lowered visibility and forced people to remain inside their houses prompting the government to close schools in the region and including advancing of BS-VI fuel introduction in Delhi.
The apex court has already imposed ban on the use of pet coke in the national capital region (NCR).
Pet coke is a cheap but polluting fuel used by cement, paper brick kiln, chemicals and textile industries.
The likely ban will be discussed in a meeting headed by oil minister Dharmender Pradhan on Tuesday.
Reacting to the apex court's call, Shree Cement shares slump as much as 5.3 percent, while JK Lakshmi Cement and JK Cement slide as much as 5.2 percent and 5 percent, respectively.
Companies like Shree Cement and JK Cement are largely dependent on pet coke, and the ban will have an impact on their EBITDA margins, said Rohit Natarajan of IDBI Capital.
Other cement makers such Ambuja Cements and UltraTech Cement Ltd were down 3.28 percent and 1.85 percent , respectively.
While the Shree Cement shares closed 4.21 percent lower, JK Cement fell 5.25 percent.
Ambuja Cements (3.44 percent) and Ultratech Cement (1.97 percent) also closed lower on the BSE.
Cement industry stocks fell in Monday's trade after the Supreme Court on Friday sought a nationwide ban on use of pet coke and furnace oil.
The call for ban comes amid the national capital region engulfed by dense fog last week which lowered visibility and forced people to remain inside their houses prompting the government to close schools in the region and including advancing of BS-VI fuel introduction in Delhi.
The apex court has already imposed ban on the use of pet coke in the national capital region (NCR).
Pet coke is a cheap but polluting fuel used by cement, paper brick kiln, chemicals and textile industries.
The likely ban will be discussed in a meeting headed by oil minister Dharmender Pradhan on Tuesday.
Reacting to the apex court's call, Shree Cement shares slump as much as 5.3 percent, while JK Lakshmi Cement and JK Cement slide as much as 5.2 percent and 5 percent, respectively.
Companies like Shree Cement and JK Cement are largely dependent on pet coke, and the ban will have an impact on their EBITDA margins, said Rohit Natarajan of IDBI Capital.
Other cement makers such Ambuja Cements and UltraTech Cement Ltd were down 3.28 percent and 1.85 percent , respectively.
While the Shree Cement shares closed 4.21 percent lower, JK Cement fell 5.25 percent.
Ambuja Cements (3.44 percent) and Ultratech Cement (1.97 percent) also closed lower on the BSE.
Biocon stock closes 7.27% higher on inspection closure report from USFDA
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The Biocon stock closed 7.57 percent higher in Monday's trade after the biotechnology firm said it has received the Establishment Inspection Report with 'voluntary action indicated' status from the USFDA on closure of inspection of its aseptic drug product facility.
At 10:53 am, the Biocon stock was trading 4.11 percent or 16 points higher at 410 level on the BSE.
The stock closed 7.57 percent or 28.65 points higher at 423 level on the BSE.
Shares of Biocon surged as much as 6.4 percent today, their biggest intraday percentage gain since November 17.
The stock is up almost 33.7 percent since the beginning of this year. On an yearly basis, the stock is up 45.76 percent on the BSE.
"The US Food and Drug Administration (USFDA) has issued an Establishment Inspection Report in relation to the cGMP (current good manufacturing practice) inspection of its aseptic drug product facility that was audited between May 25 -June 3, 2017," Biocon said in a BSE filing. "The USFDA has classified the outcome of this inspection as VAI (voluntary action indicated) and EIR states that the inspection is closed," it added.
The company has not elaborated on the VAI status. The USFDA releases a copy of the EIR to the establishment that was the subject of an FDA or FDA-contracted inspection when the agency determines the inspection to be closed.
The Biocon stock closed 7.57 percent higher in Monday's trade after the biotechnology firm said it has received the Establishment Inspection Report with 'voluntary action indicated' status from the USFDA on closure of inspection of its aseptic drug product facility.
At 10:53 am, the Biocon stock was trading 4.11 percent or 16 points higher at 410 level on the BSE.
The stock closed 7.57 percent or 28.65 points higher at 423 level on the BSE.
Shares of Biocon surged as much as 6.4 percent today, their biggest intraday percentage gain since November 17.
The stock is up almost 33.7 percent since the beginning of this year. On an yearly basis, the stock is up 45.76 percent on the BSE.
"The US Food and Drug Administration (USFDA) has issued an Establishment Inspection Report in relation to the cGMP (current good manufacturing practice) inspection of its aseptic drug product facility that was audited between May 25 -June 3, 2017," Biocon said in a BSE filing. "The USFDA has classified the outcome of this inspection as VAI (voluntary action indicated) and EIR states that the inspection is closed," it added.
The company has not elaborated on the VAI status. The USFDA releases a copy of the EIR to the establishment that was the subject of an FDA or FDA-contracted inspection when the agency determines the inspection to be closed.
General Awareness
India moves up one notch to 126 in GDP per capita terms: IMF Data
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As per data which forms part of the latest World Economic Outlook report of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), India ranks 126th out of 200 countriesin terms of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) per capita
Highlights of IMF Data on GDP Per Capita of Countries:
- GDP Per Capita of a country is computed by dividing its gross domestic product(GDP) by the number of people in the country. In theoretical terms, higher GDP per capita results in to a higher standard of living.
- India’s rank has improved by one spot as compared to previous year’s rank. This improvement is on account of increase in GDP to USD 7170 in 2017, from USD 6690 in the previous year.
- However, India still ranks lower among BRICS nations on this parameter. Brazil’s GDP Per Capita is USD 15500, Russia – USD 27900, China – USD 16620 and South Africa – USD 13,400.
- Despite of India’s low rank, it is interesting to know that India is home to 2.45 lakh millionaires with a total household wealth of USD 5 trillion (as per Credit Suisse report).
- Qatar topped the rankings with GDP Per Capita of USD 124930.Interestingly, despite low unemployment and growth in consumption and investment, US with GDP Per Capita of US 59500 did not feature among the Top 10 countries.
- As per a recent report of Fortune magazine on this data of IMF, economy of many countries having high GDP Per Capita, such as Brunei and Qatar, is highly dependent on oil, whereas countries like Iceland have strong banking and investment systems.
Top 10 Countries in terms of GDP Per Capita:
Rank Country GDP Per Capita 1 Qatar $124930 2 Macau $114430 3 Luxembourg $109190 4 Singapore $90530 5 Brunei $76740 6 Ireland $72630 7 Norway $70590 8 Kuwait $69670 9 United Arab Emirates (UAE) $68250 10 Switzerland $61360
As per data which forms part of the latest World Economic Outlook report of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), India ranks 126th out of 200 countriesin terms of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) per capita
Highlights of IMF Data on GDP Per Capita of Countries:
- GDP Per Capita of a country is computed by dividing its gross domestic product(GDP) by the number of people in the country. In theoretical terms, higher GDP per capita results in to a higher standard of living.
- India’s rank has improved by one spot as compared to previous year’s rank. This improvement is on account of increase in GDP to USD 7170 in 2017, from USD 6690 in the previous year.
- However, India still ranks lower among BRICS nations on this parameter. Brazil’s GDP Per Capita is USD 15500, Russia – USD 27900, China – USD 16620 and South Africa – USD 13,400.
- Despite of India’s low rank, it is interesting to know that India is home to 2.45 lakh millionaires with a total household wealth of USD 5 trillion (as per Credit Suisse report).
- Qatar topped the rankings with GDP Per Capita of USD 124930.Interestingly, despite low unemployment and growth in consumption and investment, US with GDP Per Capita of US 59500 did not feature among the Top 10 countries.
- As per a recent report of Fortune magazine on this data of IMF, economy of many countries having high GDP Per Capita, such as Brunei and Qatar, is highly dependent on oil, whereas countries like Iceland have strong banking and investment systems.
Top 10 Countries in terms of GDP Per Capita:
| Rank | Country | GDP Per Capita |
| 1 | Qatar | $124930 |
| 2 | Macau | $114430 |
| 3 | Luxembourg | $109190 |
| 4 | Singapore | $90530 |
| 5 | Brunei | $76740 |
| 6 | Ireland | $72630 |
| 7 | Norway | $70590 |
| 8 | Kuwait | $69670 |
| 9 | United Arab Emirates (UAE) | $68250 |
| 10 | Switzerland | $61360 |
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