General Affairs
"From Dehradun To Dublin, Yoga Is Everywhere": Top 5 PM Modi Quotes
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Prime Minister Narendra Modi led over 50,000 volunteers in Dehradun today morning to mark the fourth International Yoga Day celebrations. In his address at Forest Research Institute, the Prime Minister said, "people across the country are welcoming the sun today. From Dehradun to Dublin, there's only Yoga." Indians should be proud of their traditions and only then will the world be proud of them, the Prime Minister said before performing yoga asanas along with thousands of volunteers at the venue.
Here are top 5 quotes from PM Modi on International Yoga Day:
The world has embraced yoga and glimpses of this can be seen in the manner in which International Day of Yoga has been marked every year. In fact, Yoga Day has become one of the biggest mass movements in the quest for good health and well-being.
From Dehradun to Dublin, Shanghai to Chicago, Jakarta to Johannesburg yoga has become a positive influence in lives of millions.
Yoga is beautiful because it is ancient yet modern, it is constant yet evolving. It has the best of our past and presents and a ray of hope for our future. In yoga, we have the perfect solution to the problems we face, either as individuals or in our society.
The way to lead a calm, creative and content life is yoga. It can show the way in defeating tensions and mindless anxiety. Instead of dividing, yoga unites. Instead of further animosity, yoga assimilates. Instead of increasing suffering, yoga heals.
If we regularly practice pranyam and asanas, we can minimise illness around us. Yoga plays an important role in promoting health. I urge all the people in the nation to practice yoga and those too who have never tried it.
Here are top 5 quotes from PM Modi on International Yoga Day:
The world has embraced yoga and glimpses of this can be seen in the manner in which International Day of Yoga has been marked every year. In fact, Yoga Day has become one of the biggest mass movements in the quest for good health and well-being.
From Dehradun to Dublin, Shanghai to Chicago, Jakarta to Johannesburg yoga has become a positive influence in lives of millions.
Yoga is beautiful because it is ancient yet modern, it is constant yet evolving. It has the best of our past and presents and a ray of hope for our future. In yoga, we have the perfect solution to the problems we face, either as individuals or in our society.
The way to lead a calm, creative and content life is yoga. It can show the way in defeating tensions and mindless anxiety. Instead of dividing, yoga unites. Instead of further animosity, yoga assimilates. Instead of increasing suffering, yoga heals.
If we regularly practice pranyam and asanas, we can minimise illness around us. Yoga plays an important role in promoting health. I urge all the people in the nation to practice yoga and those too who have never tried it.
"Yoga Has Nothing To Do With Religion": Venkaiah Naidu
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Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu on Thursday said that yoga adopts a holistic approach towards health and well-being and it has "nothing to do with religion".
"Yoga adopts a holistic approach towards health and well-being," Mr Naidu said while participating in the fourth International Yoga Day celebrations in Mumbai.
"Yoga has nothing to do with religion and it is a holistic science embodying the basic principle of organic, interconnectedness of different facets of life," he said.
"It is unfortunate that some people attribute religious overtones to this ancient scientific system," he added.
He emphasised that yoga should become a part and parcel of people's daily routine to combat modern-day health problems, both physical and mental.
"There is also a misconception that yoga is only a sort of physical exercise meant to help the fitness of an individual... It is a holistic system where the mind and body act in unison and get completely rejuvenated as physical postures, breathing exercises and meditation help in overall well-being of an individual," he said.
"Yoga adopts a holistic approach towards health and well-being," Mr Naidu said while participating in the fourth International Yoga Day celebrations in Mumbai.
"Yoga has nothing to do with religion and it is a holistic science embodying the basic principle of organic, interconnectedness of different facets of life," he said.
"It is unfortunate that some people attribute religious overtones to this ancient scientific system," he added.
He emphasised that yoga should become a part and parcel of people's daily routine to combat modern-day health problems, both physical and mental.
"There is also a misconception that yoga is only a sort of physical exercise meant to help the fitness of an individual... It is a holistic system where the mind and body act in unison and get completely rejuvenated as physical postures, breathing exercises and meditation help in overall well-being of an individual," he said.
Governor's Rule Will Change Situation In Jammu And Kashmir: Mahesh Sharma
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The situation in Jammu and Kashmir will improve under Governor's rule, Union minister Mahesh Sharma said today.
In 2014, the BJP had made arrangements to form a government with the PDP because of the political situation in Jammu and Kashmir and for the benefit of the state, he said.
The Minister of State for Culture and Tourism was speaking to reporters on the sidelines of an International Yoga Day event in Kolkata.
"We kept it (alliance) for three years, but now with the present political situation having changed, the time has come for such a rule (Governor's rule). A rule where the might of the state can take on terrorists with the help of the people," he said.
The minister said, "With the imposition of Governor's rule, the situation in the state will change for the better, and the change is already apparent with the security forces and police working with more confidence now."
The impact of the change will be felt soon, Mr Sharma said.
The state was brought under the Governor's rule yesterday, after the BJP withdrew support to the PDP-led government the day before.
Without naming any country, Mr Sharma said, "the entire world knows the role of a country in Kashmir. That country now stands isolated in the entire world."
On militant activities in Kashmir, he said "We'll free Kashmir of terrorism and win back the misguided section who happens to be our own countrymen," he said, describing Kashmir as the "Pride of India".
BJP national secretary Kailash Vijayvargiya, who also attended the Yoga event, said, the BJP-PDP alliance in J-K was built on a common minimum programme, but could not last.
In 2014, the BJP had made arrangements to form a government with the PDP because of the political situation in Jammu and Kashmir and for the benefit of the state, he said.
The Minister of State for Culture and Tourism was speaking to reporters on the sidelines of an International Yoga Day event in Kolkata.
"We kept it (alliance) for three years, but now with the present political situation having changed, the time has come for such a rule (Governor's rule). A rule where the might of the state can take on terrorists with the help of the people," he said.
The minister said, "With the imposition of Governor's rule, the situation in the state will change for the better, and the change is already apparent with the security forces and police working with more confidence now."
The impact of the change will be felt soon, Mr Sharma said.
The state was brought under the Governor's rule yesterday, after the BJP withdrew support to the PDP-led government the day before.
Without naming any country, Mr Sharma said, "the entire world knows the role of a country in Kashmir. That country now stands isolated in the entire world."
On militant activities in Kashmir, he said "We'll free Kashmir of terrorism and win back the misguided section who happens to be our own countrymen," he said, describing Kashmir as the "Pride of India".
BJP national secretary Kailash Vijayvargiya, who also attended the Yoga event, said, the BJP-PDP alliance in J-K was built on a common minimum programme, but could not last.
With Snipers, Radars, NSG Commandos Reach Kashmir For Anti-Terror Ops
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There was no need for an "official proclamation to love hockey", Union Minister Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore said, reacting to Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik's letter to make the game India's national sport.
"For loving sports and hockey, we do not need official proclamation. (Like) now (that) it is (our) national sport so let us start loving it. Even in terms of facilities, hockey is one of the priority sports of our country," Mr Rathore was quoted by news agency ANI.
Mr Patnaik, 71, whose state will host the Hockey World Cup this year, had written a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, urging him to officially recognise hockey as the national sport of India.
Mr Patnaik, who heads the Biju Janata Dal, said that he was shocked to learn that hockey -which is considered as our national game--has never been officially notified.
"As you know Sir, the next World Cup Hockey will be held in Odisha in November this year. While reviewing the preparations, I was surprised and shocked to know that what is popularly known as the National Game - Hockey, has in fact never been notified as our National Game," Mr Patnaik pointed out in his letter.
Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore, who is Union Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports, however added that he would leave this up to the people who love Hockey to decide whether they would want it to be declared a national sport officially or they would continue to love it even if it remains unofficial.
In his letter, Mr Patnaik noted that the game is hugely popular "across different strata of society and regions" and "cutting across the rural urban divide".
"In the tribal areas of Odisha, Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh, hockey is a way of life. In fact, in a first of its kind, the state of Odisha is sponsoring the national hockey team for the next five years," he wrote.
Odisha will be hosting the Men's Hockey World Cup scheduled to be held in November-December this year.
While hockey enjoys the status of the unofficial national game of India, it has never been officially declared such.
"For loving sports and hockey, we do not need official proclamation. (Like) now (that) it is (our) national sport so let us start loving it. Even in terms of facilities, hockey is one of the priority sports of our country," Mr Rathore was quoted by news agency ANI.
Mr Patnaik, 71, whose state will host the Hockey World Cup this year, had written a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, urging him to officially recognise hockey as the national sport of India.
Mr Patnaik, who heads the Biju Janata Dal, said that he was shocked to learn that hockey -which is considered as our national game--has never been officially notified.
"As you know Sir, the next World Cup Hockey will be held in Odisha in November this year. While reviewing the preparations, I was surprised and shocked to know that what is popularly known as the National Game - Hockey, has in fact never been notified as our National Game," Mr Patnaik pointed out in his letter.
Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore, who is Union Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports, however added that he would leave this up to the people who love Hockey to decide whether they would want it to be declared a national sport officially or they would continue to love it even if it remains unofficial.
In his letter, Mr Patnaik noted that the game is hugely popular "across different strata of society and regions" and "cutting across the rural urban divide".
"In the tribal areas of Odisha, Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh, hockey is a way of life. In fact, in a first of its kind, the state of Odisha is sponsoring the national hockey team for the next five years," he wrote.
Odisha will be hosting the Men's Hockey World Cup scheduled to be held in November-December this year.
While hockey enjoys the status of the unofficial national game of India, it has never been officially declared such.
NASA's Curiosity Rover Captured Martian Duststorm. Here's How It Looks
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With NASA engineers yet to make contact with the Opportunity Mars rover due to a massive storm on the Red Planet, scientists are pinning their hopes on learning more about Martian duststorms from images captured by the Curiosity probe.
As of Tuesday morning, the Martian dust storm had grown in size and was officially a "planet-encircling" (or "global") dust event, NASA said in a statement on Wednesday.
Though Curiosity is on the other side of Mars from Opportunity, dust has steadily increased over it, more than doubling over the weekend, NASA said.
The US space agency said the Curiosity Rover this month used its mast camera, or mastcam, to snap photos of the intensifying haziness of the surface of Mars caused by the massive dust storm.
For NASA's human scientists watching from the ground, Curiosity offers an unprecedented window to answer some questions. One of the biggest: Why do some Martian duststorms last for months and grow massive, while others stay small and last only a week?
nasa images of mars
Images from mast camera depicting change in colour of light on Martian surface since duststorm
"We don't have any good idea," said Scott Guzewich, an atmospheric scientist at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland.
Curiosity, he pointed out, plus a fleet of spacecraft in the orbit of Mars, will allow scientists for the first time to collect a wealth of dust information both from the surface and from space.
The last storm of global magnitude that enveloped Mars was in 2007, five years before Curiosity landed there.
The current storm has starkly increased dust at Gale Crater, where the Curiosity rover is studying the storm's effects from the surface.
But it poses little risk to the Curiosity rover, said Curiosity's engineers at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California.
However, there was still no signal from the Opportunity rover, although a recent analysis of the rover's long-term survivability in Mars' extreme cold suggests Opportunity's electronics and batteries can stay warm enough to function.
Regardless, the project does not expect to hear from Opportunity until the skies begin to clear over the rover.
The duststorm is comparable in scale to a similar storm observed by Viking I in 1977, but not as big as the 2007 storm that Opportunity previously weathered.
As of Tuesday morning, the Martian dust storm had grown in size and was officially a "planet-encircling" (or "global") dust event, NASA said in a statement on Wednesday.
Though Curiosity is on the other side of Mars from Opportunity, dust has steadily increased over it, more than doubling over the weekend, NASA said.
The US space agency said the Curiosity Rover this month used its mast camera, or mastcam, to snap photos of the intensifying haziness of the surface of Mars caused by the massive dust storm.
For NASA's human scientists watching from the ground, Curiosity offers an unprecedented window to answer some questions. One of the biggest: Why do some Martian duststorms last for months and grow massive, while others stay small and last only a week?
nasa images of mars
Images from mast camera depicting change in colour of light on Martian surface since duststorm
"We don't have any good idea," said Scott Guzewich, an atmospheric scientist at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland.
Curiosity, he pointed out, plus a fleet of spacecraft in the orbit of Mars, will allow scientists for the first time to collect a wealth of dust information both from the surface and from space.
The last storm of global magnitude that enveloped Mars was in 2007, five years before Curiosity landed there.
The current storm has starkly increased dust at Gale Crater, where the Curiosity rover is studying the storm's effects from the surface.
But it poses little risk to the Curiosity rover, said Curiosity's engineers at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California.
However, there was still no signal from the Opportunity rover, although a recent analysis of the rover's long-term survivability in Mars' extreme cold suggests Opportunity's electronics and batteries can stay warm enough to function.
Regardless, the project does not expect to hear from Opportunity until the skies begin to clear over the rover.
The duststorm is comparable in scale to a similar storm observed by Viking I in 1977, but not as big as the 2007 storm that Opportunity previously weathered.
Business Affairs
Sebi initiates enforcement actions in NSE co-location case
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Markets regulator Sebi today said it has initiated enforcement actions against various entities in the National Stock Exchange co-location case.
The watchdog has been probing the alleged lapses in high-frequency trading offered through the NSE's co-location facility.
"We have received the NSE investigation report in the co-location case... we have completed the examination of the investigation report... have initiated enforcement actions," Sebi Chairman Ajay Tyagi said.
According to him, in the coming few days, the enforcement actions which have been initiated are likely to be completed against various entities which are involved.
He was speaking to reporters after the Sebi's board meeting here.
The regulator was probing allegations that some brokers had unfair access to NSE's high frequency trading systems.
About the CBI registering a case against a Sebi official in the matter, Tyagi said various investigating agencies have their own jurisdiction and domain. "So I really won't be able to comment on that," he noted.
Tyagi also said that Sebi's investigation has nothing to do with the NSE's proposed initial public offer.
In March, the NSE said Sebi had returned its consent application in the case due to the ongoing investigation.
The exchange's Rs 10,000-crore IPO has been delayed because of the probe and the regulator had earlier issued show-cause notices to several individuals and the exchange while also probing the role of some brokers.
The watchdog has been probing the alleged lapses in high-frequency trading offered through the NSE's co-location facility.
"We have received the NSE investigation report in the co-location case... we have completed the examination of the investigation report... have initiated enforcement actions," Sebi Chairman Ajay Tyagi said.
According to him, in the coming few days, the enforcement actions which have been initiated are likely to be completed against various entities which are involved.
He was speaking to reporters after the Sebi's board meeting here.
The regulator was probing allegations that some brokers had unfair access to NSE's high frequency trading systems.
About the CBI registering a case against a Sebi official in the matter, Tyagi said various investigating agencies have their own jurisdiction and domain. "So I really won't be able to comment on that," he noted.
Tyagi also said that Sebi's investigation has nothing to do with the NSE's proposed initial public offer.
In March, the NSE said Sebi had returned its consent application in the case due to the ongoing investigation.
The exchange's Rs 10,000-crore IPO has been delayed because of the probe and the regulator had earlier issued show-cause notices to several individuals and the exchange while also probing the role of some brokers.
Finance ministry, I-T Dept assure prompt action in Panama Papers 2.0
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The Income Tax department has promised prompt investigation into the fresh series of cases pertaining to Panama Papers. This time it's being called Panama Papers: The Aftermath. The Ministry of Finance tweeted that the fresh cases are being looked into by law enforcement agencies under the aegis of Multi Agency Group (MAG). The MAG has already been constituted for facilitating coordinated and speedy investigation, it said.
The CBDT will also compare disclosures made by the alleged persons in the annual returns of income filed, particularly in the foreign assets (FA) schedule, foreign remittance details. The CBDT will also follow up with the preliminary probe with relevant queries.
In April 2016 the first panama paper leaks, the government constituted the MAG, headed by Chairman, Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) as its convener. The MAG had representatives of the Income Tax Department, Enforcement Directorate (ED), Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) and Reserve Bank of India (RBI).
Panama Papers: The Aftermath comprises more than 1.2 million fresh documents, out of which at least 12,000 of them are linked to Indians. The daily Indian Express, along with International Consortium of Investigative Journalists and German newspaper Suddeutsche Zeitung, investigated this second batch in the course of which Panamanian law firm, Mossack Fonseca, the epicentre of the 2016 Panama Papers confirmed the existence of several customers who had denied any links as well as unmasked new clients in a bargain.
According to the daily, among the names that did not figure in the 2016 leak are Ajay Bijli, owner of PVR cinemas, as well as members of his family and Kavin Bharti Mittal, CEO of Hike Messenger and son of Sunil Mittal. Another new name is Jalaj Ashwin Dani, son of Asian Paints promoter Ashwin Dani. Famous names from outside India include football superstar Lionel Messi, Argentina's President Mauricio Macri's family and shell companies owned by iconic French jeweller Pierre Cartier.
On the status of cases under the first batch of leaks, Ministry of Finance said in a statement: "In the 74 cases found actionable, invasive actions were taken in 62 cases with searches conducted in 50 cases, and surveys in 12 cases leading to detection of undisclosed foreign investments of about Rs.1140 crore (approx). In 16 cases criminal prosecution complaints have been filed in jurisdictional courts which are at various stages of hearing. In 32 cases notices under section 10 of the Black Money Act have been issued."
The actionanle cases have been effectively addressed, the Ministry further stated. "Government would like to assure that the fresh series of Panama Papers information would also be effectively addressed within a reasonable time frame," it said.
The CBDT will also compare disclosures made by the alleged persons in the annual returns of income filed, particularly in the foreign assets (FA) schedule, foreign remittance details. The CBDT will also follow up with the preliminary probe with relevant queries.
In April 2016 the first panama paper leaks, the government constituted the MAG, headed by Chairman, Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) as its convener. The MAG had representatives of the Income Tax Department, Enforcement Directorate (ED), Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) and Reserve Bank of India (RBI).
Panama Papers: The Aftermath comprises more than 1.2 million fresh documents, out of which at least 12,000 of them are linked to Indians. The daily Indian Express, along with International Consortium of Investigative Journalists and German newspaper Suddeutsche Zeitung, investigated this second batch in the course of which Panamanian law firm, Mossack Fonseca, the epicentre of the 2016 Panama Papers confirmed the existence of several customers who had denied any links as well as unmasked new clients in a bargain.
According to the daily, among the names that did not figure in the 2016 leak are Ajay Bijli, owner of PVR cinemas, as well as members of his family and Kavin Bharti Mittal, CEO of Hike Messenger and son of Sunil Mittal. Another new name is Jalaj Ashwin Dani, son of Asian Paints promoter Ashwin Dani. Famous names from outside India include football superstar Lionel Messi, Argentina's President Mauricio Macri's family and shell companies owned by iconic French jeweller Pierre Cartier.
On the status of cases under the first batch of leaks, Ministry of Finance said in a statement: "In the 74 cases found actionable, invasive actions were taken in 62 cases with searches conducted in 50 cases, and surveys in 12 cases leading to detection of undisclosed foreign investments of about Rs.1140 crore (approx). In 16 cases criminal prosecution complaints have been filed in jurisdictional courts which are at various stages of hearing. In 32 cases notices under section 10 of the Black Money Act have been issued."
The actionanle cases have been effectively addressed, the Ministry further stated. "Government would like to assure that the fresh series of Panama Papers information would also be effectively addressed within a reasonable time frame," it said.
Swiggy raises $210 million in fresh funding from Naspers, DST Global
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In its biggest funding round ever, Bengaluru-based food-ordering app Swiggy raised $210 million from its existing and new investors. Existing backers, South Africa's Naspers Ltd and Russia's DST Global are among the investors in their latest round. Chinese firm, Meituan-Dianping that had participated in Swiggy's last round was also amongst the investors this time. With the latest round, Swiggy has raised total capital of $466 million. In February this year, Swiggy was valued at $700 million which is expected to leap to $1.2 billion after this round. In that case, Swiggy would become one of the fastest companies to join the Unicorn club - an honorary tag given to start-ups valued at over $1 billion.
Run by Bundl Technologies Pvt Ltd, Swiggy will use the funds to ramp up its supply network as well as to foray into new markets. In a statement, Swiggy said, "The company will also double its technology headcount to build for robust operations, deep personalization and connected supply chain systems."
Swiggy is looking at stiff competition in the online food delivery segment from its prime rival, Gurugram-based Zomato, the relatively new UberEats and Ola-owned FoodPanda. Beefing up the war chest, Zomato, too, raised $200 million earlier this year from Chinese giant Alibaba's payment affiliate Ant Financial. Zomato is currently valued at $1.1 billion.
In a statement, Swiggy CEO Sriharsha Majety said, "We're thrilled to have grown the online food delivery market in India at an exponential rate, always keeping our consumers at the helm. With this investment, we will continue to widen Swiggy's offerings, along with bolstering our capabilities and plugging the gaps in the on-demand delivery ecosystem. Continual trust from globally reputed investors strengthens our core objective of enriching the lives of our consumers and partners by making our services more convenient and hassle-free."
Sriharsha Majety, an IIM Calcutta and BITS Pilani alumnus, along with Nandan Reddy, an MSc from BITS Pilani and Rahul Jamini, an alumnus of IIT Kharagpur founded Swiggy in 2014. While many of its competitors like TinyOwl have been shut down or sold, Swiggy continued to flourish till this day when it has caught up with Zomato.
Swiggy has more than 35,000 restaurant partners on its catalogues and a massive delivery fleet of over 40,000 across 15 cities including Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Kolkata and Hyderabad.
Run by Bundl Technologies Pvt Ltd, Swiggy will use the funds to ramp up its supply network as well as to foray into new markets. In a statement, Swiggy said, "The company will also double its technology headcount to build for robust operations, deep personalization and connected supply chain systems."
Swiggy is looking at stiff competition in the online food delivery segment from its prime rival, Gurugram-based Zomato, the relatively new UberEats and Ola-owned FoodPanda. Beefing up the war chest, Zomato, too, raised $200 million earlier this year from Chinese giant Alibaba's payment affiliate Ant Financial. Zomato is currently valued at $1.1 billion.
In a statement, Swiggy CEO Sriharsha Majety said, "We're thrilled to have grown the online food delivery market in India at an exponential rate, always keeping our consumers at the helm. With this investment, we will continue to widen Swiggy's offerings, along with bolstering our capabilities and plugging the gaps in the on-demand delivery ecosystem. Continual trust from globally reputed investors strengthens our core objective of enriching the lives of our consumers and partners by making our services more convenient and hassle-free."
Sriharsha Majety, an IIM Calcutta and BITS Pilani alumnus, along with Nandan Reddy, an MSc from BITS Pilani and Rahul Jamini, an alumnus of IIT Kharagpur founded Swiggy in 2014. While many of its competitors like TinyOwl have been shut down or sold, Swiggy continued to flourish till this day when it has caught up with Zomato.
Swiggy has more than 35,000 restaurant partners on its catalogues and a massive delivery fleet of over 40,000 across 15 cities including Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Kolkata and Hyderabad.
Sensex falls 115 pts on profit-booking; RIL scales new high
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The Sensex trimmed early gains to close 115 points lower at 35,432 on losses in healthcare, capital goods, metal and auto stocks. ICICI Bank (1.47%), Reliance Industries (1.22%) and HDFC (0.35%) were the top Sensex gainers. M&M (2.11%), ONGC (1.90%) and PowerGrid (1.88%) were the top Sensex losers.
The 30-share Sensex, which rose over 131 points in morning trade and hit the session's high of 35,678, quickly lost momentum and slumped to hit the day's low of 35,396. It finally ended 114.94 points, or 0.32 per cent lower at 35,432.
The Sensex rose 260 points in the previous session.
The broader NSE Nifty moved between 10,809 and 10,725, before finishing 30 points, or 0.29 per cent down at 10,741.
Unabated capital outflows by foreign funds and weakening rupee too weighed on the sentiment, brokers said.
Bucking the trend, Reliance Industries continued its upward trajectory, spurting 1.09 per cent to a fresh closing high of Rs 1,031.
BSE Midcaps and small caps indexes closed 0.53% and 0.79% lower, respectively.
Most Asian and European markets traded lower on uncertainty surrounding trade relations between the US and China.
VK Sharma, head private client group and capital market strategy at HDFC Securities said, "Trade war worries between China and USA is clouding the sentiment in global markets. The worry is that if tariffs continue to rise, it could slow down the global growth and investor confidence. However, the saving grace is that many issues like this either don't end up happening, or they don't happen in the worst-case scenario. A lot of what we've seen is just rhetoric.
Nifty consolidated around 10,750 mark for the day. Midcap and small cap indices erased yesterday's gains and closed lower by 0.5% and 1%. PSU banks, Pharmaceuticals and Metals stocks bore the brunt of selling.
The OPEC meets tomorrow in Vienna. Crude oil prices are correcting in expectation of increase of supply of 1 million barrels. If this increase in production is announced, it will be positive for Indian market.
For Nifty , 10,700 continues to be a good support and 10,900 as resistance. We expect markets are likely to honour the low of 10,700 mark."
Market breadth was negative with 830 stocks closing in the green compared with 1,764 ending in the red.
Meanwhile, on a net basis, foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) sold shares worth Rs 1,442.61 crore, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs) bought equities worth Rs 1,473.65 crore yesterday, provisional data showed.
Global Markets
Frances CAC 40 was almost unchanged at percent at 5,372.70 in early trading. Britain's FTSE 100 rose by 0.3 percent to 7,652.80, but Germany's DAX shed 0.3 percent to 12,679.00. U.S. shares were set to drift higher with Dow futures edging up less than 0.1 percent to 24671 and S&P 500 futures up 0.1 percent to 2775.6.
Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 index finished up 0.6 percent at 22,693.04, and Australia's S&P/ASX 200 climbed 1.0 percent to 6,232.10. South Korea's Kospi dropped 1.0 percent to 2,339.95. Hong Kong's Hang Seng and the Shanghai Composite also fell, Hong Kong by 1.4 percent to 29,296.05 and Shanghai by 1.4 percent to 2,875.81.
Markets have been on edge with the U.S. and China announcing tariffs on each other's imports and threatening more. After a global drop on Tuesday, markets rebounded Wednesday and remain stable as the sting of President Donald Trump's tariff threats fade.
The 30-share Sensex, which rose over 131 points in morning trade and hit the session's high of 35,678, quickly lost momentum and slumped to hit the day's low of 35,396. It finally ended 114.94 points, or 0.32 per cent lower at 35,432.
The Sensex rose 260 points in the previous session.
The broader NSE Nifty moved between 10,809 and 10,725, before finishing 30 points, or 0.29 per cent down at 10,741.
Unabated capital outflows by foreign funds and weakening rupee too weighed on the sentiment, brokers said.
Bucking the trend, Reliance Industries continued its upward trajectory, spurting 1.09 per cent to a fresh closing high of Rs 1,031.
BSE Midcaps and small caps indexes closed 0.53% and 0.79% lower, respectively.
Most Asian and European markets traded lower on uncertainty surrounding trade relations between the US and China.
VK Sharma, head private client group and capital market strategy at HDFC Securities said, "Trade war worries between China and USA is clouding the sentiment in global markets. The worry is that if tariffs continue to rise, it could slow down the global growth and investor confidence. However, the saving grace is that many issues like this either don't end up happening, or they don't happen in the worst-case scenario. A lot of what we've seen is just rhetoric.
Nifty consolidated around 10,750 mark for the day. Midcap and small cap indices erased yesterday's gains and closed lower by 0.5% and 1%. PSU banks, Pharmaceuticals and Metals stocks bore the brunt of selling.
The OPEC meets tomorrow in Vienna. Crude oil prices are correcting in expectation of increase of supply of 1 million barrels. If this increase in production is announced, it will be positive for Indian market.
For Nifty , 10,700 continues to be a good support and 10,900 as resistance. We expect markets are likely to honour the low of 10,700 mark."
Market breadth was negative with 830 stocks closing in the green compared with 1,764 ending in the red.
Meanwhile, on a net basis, foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) sold shares worth Rs 1,442.61 crore, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs) bought equities worth Rs 1,473.65 crore yesterday, provisional data showed.
Global Markets
Frances CAC 40 was almost unchanged at percent at 5,372.70 in early trading. Britain's FTSE 100 rose by 0.3 percent to 7,652.80, but Germany's DAX shed 0.3 percent to 12,679.00. U.S. shares were set to drift higher with Dow futures edging up less than 0.1 percent to 24671 and S&P 500 futures up 0.1 percent to 2775.6.
Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 index finished up 0.6 percent at 22,693.04, and Australia's S&P/ASX 200 climbed 1.0 percent to 6,232.10. South Korea's Kospi dropped 1.0 percent to 2,339.95. Hong Kong's Hang Seng and the Shanghai Composite also fell, Hong Kong by 1.4 percent to 29,296.05 and Shanghai by 1.4 percent to 2,875.81.
Markets have been on edge with the U.S. and China announcing tariffs on each other's imports and threatening more. After a global drop on Tuesday, markets rebounded Wednesday and remain stable as the sting of President Donald Trump's tariff threats fade.
PNB claims that RBI's e-mail on preventing frauds was not received: Report
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After facing harsh criticism for systemic lapses in bank's functioning that eventually led to over Rs 13,000 crore fraud by Nirav Modi and co., the Punjab National Bank (PNB) has claimed that it did not receive an important e-mail on preventing bank frauds which was sent by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). According to a Business Standard report, the directive, issued on November 30, 2016, mandated all commercial banks in the country to strengthen their risk control mechanisms to ward off banking frauds.
Earlier this month, the RBI, while answering tough questions before a Parliamentary Standing Committee on Finance, held PNB responsible for understanding and managing risks involved while issuing letters of undertaking (LoUs). The PNB-Nirav Modi scam is being investigated by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), which contends that, if only PNB had adhered to RBIs dictats, the scam could have been avoided.
In November 2016, as reported in the Business Standard, RBI sent out an email titled 'Cyber security controls - frauds related to trade finance transactions - misuse of SWIFT' to all commercial banks. Through the circular, RBI shed light on the inefficiencies of the Society for Worldwide Inter-bank Financial Telecommunication (SWIFT) mechanism, which is a global communication medium for banks. The inadequacies were uncovered as a result of a survey conducted by RBI of all commercial banks in early 2016. The email also obligated banks to strengthen their SWIFT mechanisms, the report said.
Of all the banks which were expected to receive the email, only PNB has come out and denied its receipt. PNB, however, admits the acceptance of an email containing a password to open the November 2016 circular. The entire scenario puts forth a couple of baffling questions. Firstly, why didn't RBI examine whether or not PNB received the circular until the scam broke out in January 2018? Secondly, if PNB had received an email containing a password to the circular, why didn't it enquire about the circular?
What makes the situation more perplexing is, even if PNB claims that it did not receive the November 2016 circular, the RBI had issued two circulars in August 2016 containing certain control measures, which were also not implemented by PNB.
In May 2018, the CBI filed two separate charge-sheets against Usha Ananthasubramanian, former chief executive of PNB, KV Brahmaji Rao and Sanjiv Sharan, incumbent executive directors of PNB, and Nehal Ahad, general manager - international operations. It claims these people boosted the scam through their acts and omissions.
Earlier this month, the RBI, while answering tough questions before a Parliamentary Standing Committee on Finance, held PNB responsible for understanding and managing risks involved while issuing letters of undertaking (LoUs). The PNB-Nirav Modi scam is being investigated by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), which contends that, if only PNB had adhered to RBIs dictats, the scam could have been avoided.
In November 2016, as reported in the Business Standard, RBI sent out an email titled 'Cyber security controls - frauds related to trade finance transactions - misuse of SWIFT' to all commercial banks. Through the circular, RBI shed light on the inefficiencies of the Society for Worldwide Inter-bank Financial Telecommunication (SWIFT) mechanism, which is a global communication medium for banks. The inadequacies were uncovered as a result of a survey conducted by RBI of all commercial banks in early 2016. The email also obligated banks to strengthen their SWIFT mechanisms, the report said.
Of all the banks which were expected to receive the email, only PNB has come out and denied its receipt. PNB, however, admits the acceptance of an email containing a password to open the November 2016 circular. The entire scenario puts forth a couple of baffling questions. Firstly, why didn't RBI examine whether or not PNB received the circular until the scam broke out in January 2018? Secondly, if PNB had received an email containing a password to the circular, why didn't it enquire about the circular?
What makes the situation more perplexing is, even if PNB claims that it did not receive the November 2016 circular, the RBI had issued two circulars in August 2016 containing certain control measures, which were also not implemented by PNB.
In May 2018, the CBI filed two separate charge-sheets against Usha Ananthasubramanian, former chief executive of PNB, KV Brahmaji Rao and Sanjiv Sharan, incumbent executive directors of PNB, and Nehal Ahad, general manager - international operations. It claims these people boosted the scam through their acts and omissions.
General Awareness
India Smart Cities Awards
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Context: Nine awards have been announced under the India Smart Cities Awards.
What are Smart Cities Awards?
India Smart Cities Award were launched on 25 June 2017 with an objective to reward cities, projects and innovative ideas, promoting sustainable development in cities.
Eligible Participants were Smart Cities only, where respective ULBs / Smart City SPVs were to submit proposals.
There are 3 categories of awards- Project Award, Innovative Idea Award and City Award.
Winners:
The city award is being given to Surat for showing great momentum in implementation of projects especially in the categories of urban environment, transport and mobility and sustainable integrated development.
The Innovative Idea award is being given to a project/idea particularly remarkable for its innovative, bottom-up and transformative approach towards achievement of sustainable integrated development. Joint winners in this category are Bhopal for their Integrated Command and Control Centre (ICCC) and Ahmedabad for Safe and Secure Ahmedabad (SASA) Project.
The Project awards are being given to most innovative and successful projects in seven categories that have been completed by April 1, 2018.
The Projects selected are:
PMC Care from Pune under ‘Governance’ category.
Smart Place Making from Pune under ‘Built Environment’.
Smart Class rooms from NDMC and Jabalpur, Smart Campus from Visakhapatnam, Lighthouse from Pune under ‘Social Aspects’ category.
B Nest Incubation Centre from Bhopal and Conservation of Rajasthan School of Arts from Jaipur under ‘Culture and Economy’ category.
Public Bike Sharing from Bhopal, Pune, Coimbatore and Waste to Energy Plant in Jabalpur under ‘Urban environment’ category.
Integrated Transit Management System (TMS) from Ahmedabad and Surat under ‘Transport and Mobility’ category.
Smart Water Management through SCADA from Ahmedabad under ‘Water and Sanitation’ category.
What’s important?
For Prelims and Mains: Smart Cities Mission and Smart Cities awards- features and significance.
Context: Nine awards have been announced under the India Smart Cities Awards.
What are Smart Cities Awards?
India Smart Cities Award were launched on 25 June 2017 with an objective to reward cities, projects and innovative ideas, promoting sustainable development in cities.
Eligible Participants were Smart Cities only, where respective ULBs / Smart City SPVs were to submit proposals.
There are 3 categories of awards- Project Award, Innovative Idea Award and City Award.
Winners:
The city award is being given to Surat for showing great momentum in implementation of projects especially in the categories of urban environment, transport and mobility and sustainable integrated development.
The Innovative Idea award is being given to a project/idea particularly remarkable for its innovative, bottom-up and transformative approach towards achievement of sustainable integrated development. Joint winners in this category are Bhopal for their Integrated Command and Control Centre (ICCC) and Ahmedabad for Safe and Secure Ahmedabad (SASA) Project.
The Project awards are being given to most innovative and successful projects in seven categories that have been completed by April 1, 2018.
The Projects selected are:
PMC Care from Pune under ‘Governance’ category.
Smart Place Making from Pune under ‘Built Environment’.
Smart Class rooms from NDMC and Jabalpur, Smart Campus from Visakhapatnam, Lighthouse from Pune under ‘Social Aspects’ category.
B Nest Incubation Centre from Bhopal and Conservation of Rajasthan School of Arts from Jaipur under ‘Culture and Economy’ category.
Public Bike Sharing from Bhopal, Pune, Coimbatore and Waste to Energy Plant in Jabalpur under ‘Urban environment’ category.
Integrated Transit Management System (TMS) from Ahmedabad and Surat under ‘Transport and Mobility’ category.
Smart Water Management through SCADA from Ahmedabad under ‘Water and Sanitation’ category.
What’s important?
For Prelims and Mains: Smart Cities Mission and Smart Cities awards- features and significance.
What are Smart Cities Awards?
India Smart Cities Award were launched on 25 June 2017 with an objective to reward cities, projects and innovative ideas, promoting sustainable development in cities.
Eligible Participants were Smart Cities only, where respective ULBs / Smart City SPVs were to submit proposals.
There are 3 categories of awards- Project Award, Innovative Idea Award and City Award.
Winners:
The city award is being given to Surat for showing great momentum in implementation of projects especially in the categories of urban environment, transport and mobility and sustainable integrated development.
The Innovative Idea award is being given to a project/idea particularly remarkable for its innovative, bottom-up and transformative approach towards achievement of sustainable integrated development. Joint winners in this category are Bhopal for their Integrated Command and Control Centre (ICCC) and Ahmedabad for Safe and Secure Ahmedabad (SASA) Project.
The Project awards are being given to most innovative and successful projects in seven categories that have been completed by April 1, 2018.
The Projects selected are:
PMC Care from Pune under ‘Governance’ category.
Smart Place Making from Pune under ‘Built Environment’.
Smart Class rooms from NDMC and Jabalpur, Smart Campus from Visakhapatnam, Lighthouse from Pune under ‘Social Aspects’ category.
B Nest Incubation Centre from Bhopal and Conservation of Rajasthan School of Arts from Jaipur under ‘Culture and Economy’ category.
Public Bike Sharing from Bhopal, Pune, Coimbatore and Waste to Energy Plant in Jabalpur under ‘Urban environment’ category.
Integrated Transit Management System (TMS) from Ahmedabad and Surat under ‘Transport and Mobility’ category.
Smart Water Management through SCADA from Ahmedabad under ‘Water and Sanitation’ category.
What’s important?
For Prelims and Mains: Smart Cities Mission and Smart Cities awards- features and significance.
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