General Affairs
Air Force To Celebrate Its 86th Anniversary Today
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The Indian Air Force (IAF) will celebrate its 86th anniversary tomorrow, highlighting the "untiring efforts and supreme sacrifices" made by its personnel, the Defence Ministry said today.
"In keeping with the tradition, the IAF will hold a grand parade-cum-investiture ceremony at the Air Force Station at Hindon (Ghaziabad in Uttar Pradesh). Air Chief Marshal BS Dhanoa, Chief of the Air Staff, will review the parade," it said in a statement.
The parade will be followed by an air display and acrobatics by the Air Force's various aircraft, including Jaguar, Bison, MiG-29, Mirage-2000 and SU-30 MKI fighter jets and Rudra helicopters.
"After the parade, all visitors will also get an opportunity to witness static display of aircraft, weapon, radar and missiles systems of the Indian Air Force," the Ministry added.
The Indian Air Force came into force in 1932 as the Royal Indian Air Force under then British rule. The name was changed to Indian Air Force in 1950.
The IAF has technologically evolved and grown in strength over these years to thwart any threat to the nation.
It is committed to safeguarding the Indian skies and has played a key role in providing assistance to the people during natural calamities.
"In keeping with the tradition, the IAF will hold a grand parade-cum-investiture ceremony at the Air Force Station at Hindon (Ghaziabad in Uttar Pradesh). Air Chief Marshal BS Dhanoa, Chief of the Air Staff, will review the parade," it said in a statement.
The parade will be followed by an air display and acrobatics by the Air Force's various aircraft, including Jaguar, Bison, MiG-29, Mirage-2000 and SU-30 MKI fighter jets and Rudra helicopters.
"After the parade, all visitors will also get an opportunity to witness static display of aircraft, weapon, radar and missiles systems of the Indian Air Force," the Ministry added.
The Indian Air Force came into force in 1932 as the Royal Indian Air Force under then British rule. The name was changed to Indian Air Force in 1950.
The IAF has technologically evolved and grown in strength over these years to thwart any threat to the nation.
It is committed to safeguarding the Indian skies and has played a key role in providing assistance to the people during natural calamities.
India, Japan Begin Bilateral Maritime Exercises In Visakhapatnam
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JIMEX-18, a bilateral maritime exercise between India and Japan, began in Visakhapatnam on Sunday. Japanese Maritime Self Defence Force (JMSDF) ships Kaga, an Izumo-class helicopter destroyer, and Inazuma, a guided missile destroyer, arrived here to mark the commencement of JIMEX.
The Japanese ships would be participating in the third edition of JIMEX under the command of Rear Admiral Tatsuya Fukada, commander of Escort Flotilla-4 (CCF-4).
The Indian Navy would be represented by three indigenously-designed warships and a fleet tanker. The participating ships are INS Satpura, a multi-purpose stealth frigate, INS Kadmatt, an anti-submarine warfare corvette, missile corvette and INS Shakti, the fleet tanker.
In addition, one submarine, P8I long range maritime patrol aircraft and a number of integral helicopters would be participating in the exercise, the Navy said.
The nine-day event is aimed at enhancing inter-operability, improving understanding and imbibing the best practices of each other, a Navy release said.
The Indian ships would be commanded by Rear Admiral Dinesh K Tripathi, Flag Officer Commanding, Eastern Fleet.
JIMEX-18 will comprise a harbour phase and a sea phase of four days each.
The harbour phase of the exercise, scheduled from October 7 to 10, would include professional and social interactions between ships' crews, sports fixtures and operational planning for the sea phase.
The sea phase would include anti-submarine warfare exercises, visit, board, search and seizure (VBSS) drills, gun firings, cross deck helo operations and coordinated operations in anti-submarine and anti-air threat scenarios.
The last edition of JIMEX was held in December 2013 off the Chennai coast.
The conduct of JIMEX-18 after five years is indicative of an upswing in the Indo-Japanese defence relations and the continued efforts of both governments to work closely to enhance safety and security of the global commons in keeping with 'rule-based order,' the Navy said.
The ships of the two Navies have been working in close coordination in anti-piracy operations in the Gulf of Aden (GoA) for the past few years.
JMSDF has been a regular participant in the Malabar series of exercises between Indian and US Navies.
JMSDF ships participated in the recently concluded MALABAR-18 off Guam (along with Indian and US Navy units) in the Pacific Ocean in June and biennial multilateral exercise RIMPAC-18 off Hawaii, USA, the Navy release added.
The Japanese ships would be participating in the third edition of JIMEX under the command of Rear Admiral Tatsuya Fukada, commander of Escort Flotilla-4 (CCF-4).
The Indian Navy would be represented by three indigenously-designed warships and a fleet tanker. The participating ships are INS Satpura, a multi-purpose stealth frigate, INS Kadmatt, an anti-submarine warfare corvette, missile corvette and INS Shakti, the fleet tanker.
In addition, one submarine, P8I long range maritime patrol aircraft and a number of integral helicopters would be participating in the exercise, the Navy said.
The nine-day event is aimed at enhancing inter-operability, improving understanding and imbibing the best practices of each other, a Navy release said.
The Indian ships would be commanded by Rear Admiral Dinesh K Tripathi, Flag Officer Commanding, Eastern Fleet.
JIMEX-18 will comprise a harbour phase and a sea phase of four days each.
The harbour phase of the exercise, scheduled from October 7 to 10, would include professional and social interactions between ships' crews, sports fixtures and operational planning for the sea phase.
The sea phase would include anti-submarine warfare exercises, visit, board, search and seizure (VBSS) drills, gun firings, cross deck helo operations and coordinated operations in anti-submarine and anti-air threat scenarios.
The last edition of JIMEX was held in December 2013 off the Chennai coast.
The conduct of JIMEX-18 after five years is indicative of an upswing in the Indo-Japanese defence relations and the continued efforts of both governments to work closely to enhance safety and security of the global commons in keeping with 'rule-based order,' the Navy said.
The ships of the two Navies have been working in close coordination in anti-piracy operations in the Gulf of Aden (GoA) for the past few years.
JMSDF has been a regular participant in the Malabar series of exercises between Indian and US Navies.
JMSDF ships participated in the recently concluded MALABAR-18 off Guam (along with Indian and US Navy units) in the Pacific Ocean in June and biennial multilateral exercise RIMPAC-18 off Hawaii, USA, the Navy release added.
Ahead Of Jammu And Kashmir Polls, Voters "Clueless" About Candidates
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Ahead of the first phase of urban local body polls that begin in Jammu and Kashmir tomorrow, many voters in Srinagar are "clueless" about the exercise and the candidates they are supposed to vote for. Most of them do not even know when to vote.
Shoaib Ahmad, resident of an uptown Srinagar locality said people in his ward did not know who the poll candidates were. "Ask anyone here if they know who the candidates are. Everyone will tell you, they have no idea," he said. Mr Ahamd added that the government was only interested in "showing" that elections were being held.
The situation in Kashmir does not allow candidates to campaign freely, there is a threat to their lives. While separatists have called for a boycott of the polls, terrorists have threatened to target people taking part in these elections, a police officer said.
"We have no idea who is contesting from our ward. There has been no campaign or door-to-door canvassing by anyone so far. Even the government has not put the details of the candidates on the election commission website. There are simply no details anywhere. Only the candidate would know that he is contesting. Perhaps, even their family does not, such is the secrecy," a Ganderbal resident said.
Apart from secrecy surrounding candidates, people do not know when to vote.
"People are clueless about the date of voting. The government should have advertised in newspapers with poll details on a phase-basis. Most of the people here do not know their ward numbers. Nothing like this has ever happened," another resident said.
A senior Congress leader said the atmosphere in the state was not conducive for polls, but the party decided to contest after the Centre "forced" the elections on the people. "This is the most low profile election in the history of the state. We have not seen anything like this. The atmosphere was not conducive for the polls, but it was thrust on us by the Centre," he said.
The Congress leader said the secrecy maintained by the administration over the whole process has cast a shadow over the exercise. "We have received complaints of people not knowing who is in the fray. See, the candidates have been taken to secure locations and virtually put under house arrest," he said.
Shoaib Ahmad, resident of an uptown Srinagar locality said people in his ward did not know who the poll candidates were. "Ask anyone here if they know who the candidates are. Everyone will tell you, they have no idea," he said. Mr Ahamd added that the government was only interested in "showing" that elections were being held.
The situation in Kashmir does not allow candidates to campaign freely, there is a threat to their lives. While separatists have called for a boycott of the polls, terrorists have threatened to target people taking part in these elections, a police officer said.
"We have no idea who is contesting from our ward. There has been no campaign or door-to-door canvassing by anyone so far. Even the government has not put the details of the candidates on the election commission website. There are simply no details anywhere. Only the candidate would know that he is contesting. Perhaps, even their family does not, such is the secrecy," a Ganderbal resident said.
Apart from secrecy surrounding candidates, people do not know when to vote.
"People are clueless about the date of voting. The government should have advertised in newspapers with poll details on a phase-basis. Most of the people here do not know their ward numbers. Nothing like this has ever happened," another resident said.
A senior Congress leader said the atmosphere in the state was not conducive for polls, but the party decided to contest after the Centre "forced" the elections on the people. "This is the most low profile election in the history of the state. We have not seen anything like this. The atmosphere was not conducive for the polls, but it was thrust on us by the Centre," he said.
The Congress leader said the secrecy maintained by the administration over the whole process has cast a shadow over the exercise. "We have received complaints of people not knowing who is in the fray. See, the candidates have been taken to secure locations and virtually put under house arrest," he said.
Number Of Deaths In Indonesia Earthquake, Tsunami Rises To 1,944
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The number of deaths from multiple strong earthquakes and a tsunami in Indonesia's central Sulawesi province jumped to 1,944 today, military and disaster agency officials said.
A spokesman for the Joint Task Force for Central Sulawesi province said a total of 2,549 people were still in hospitals for medical treatment after the disasters hit the province on September 28, reports Xinhua news agency.
The number of people who were missing or believed to be buried under the debris were 683 and 152 respectively, he said.
The National Disaster Management Agency said most bodies were retrieved from Palu, the provincial capital, followed by the districts of Donggala, Sigi, Parigi Mountong and a district of Pasang Kayu in nearby West Sulawesi province.
"The search for the victims is expected to be completed on Thursday," an official said.
The quakes and tsunami have forced a total of 62,359 Indonesians to flee their homes and take shelter in makeshift tents and under tarpaulins at 147 evacuation centres, he added.
Powerful and shallow quakes of 6.0, 7.4 and 6.1 magnitude that triggered a tsunami devastated the province on September 28, with the hardest-hit area in Palu and adjoining Donggala district.
The tsunami, which followed the quakes with the height of 0.5 to 3 meters, ravaged coastal areas near the Talisa beach in Palu and Donggala district, according to the meteorology and geophysics agency.
A spokesman for the Joint Task Force for Central Sulawesi province said a total of 2,549 people were still in hospitals for medical treatment after the disasters hit the province on September 28, reports Xinhua news agency.
The number of people who were missing or believed to be buried under the debris were 683 and 152 respectively, he said.
The National Disaster Management Agency said most bodies were retrieved from Palu, the provincial capital, followed by the districts of Donggala, Sigi, Parigi Mountong and a district of Pasang Kayu in nearby West Sulawesi province.
"The search for the victims is expected to be completed on Thursday," an official said.
The quakes and tsunami have forced a total of 62,359 Indonesians to flee their homes and take shelter in makeshift tents and under tarpaulins at 147 evacuation centres, he added.
Powerful and shallow quakes of 6.0, 7.4 and 6.1 magnitude that triggered a tsunami devastated the province on September 28, with the hardest-hit area in Palu and adjoining Donggala district.
The tsunami, which followed the quakes with the height of 0.5 to 3 meters, ravaged coastal areas near the Talisa beach in Palu and Donggala district, according to the meteorology and geophysics agency.
Rahul Gandhi Doesn't Know Difference Between Wheat And Paddy: Minister
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Union Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat today refused to comment on Congress chief Rahul Gandhi's statement that farmers in BJP-ruled states like Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan were in distress.
Taking a dig at Rahul Gandhi, the Union Minister of State for Agriculture said that it would "not be appropriate" to comment on the statement of a person "who doesn't know the difference between wheat and paddy crops".
Mr Shekhawat was replying to a query on Mr Gandhi's allegation about agrarian distress in several parts of the country.
"I am a farmer, an agriculturists' leader and their representative in the Central government. So I know the condition of the agricultural sector better," he told reporters on the sidelines of a function in Indore.
"It would not be appropriate to comment on the statements of a person who doesn't know the difference between wheat and paddy crops, who doesn't know the difference between a lamb and the offspring of a goat," the minister added.
The minister claimed that farmers were getting the right price for their produce and this had strengthened the agricultural sector.
Speaking on the October 2 police action on protesting farmers marching towards Delhi, the minister said that the government would fulfil their legitimate demands but added that farmers were being "instigated" to reap political benefit in view of the upcoming Assembly polls.
Farmers marching towards Delhi as part of the Bharatiya Kisan Union's (BKU) protest call over demands ranging from farm loan waiver to reduction in fuel prices were stopped at the Delhi-Uttar Pradesh border on October 2 with police using water cannons to disperse them.
Mr Shekhawat stated that the government was trying to increase the export of soyabean and other agricultural products seeing an opportunity in the ongoing US-China trade tussle.
"In view of the ongoing China-US trade war, there is a huge opportunity for agrarian economies like India. So our government is making efforts to promote the export of agriculture based products," he said.
Mr Shekhawat said previous Congress governments betrayed farmers as well as those in the food processing industry.
This, he claimed, had led to an increased dependence on import of edible oil. "To reduce this dependence, our government increased the import duty on edible oil four times. We also increased the minimum support price of oilseeds so that farmers get the right price of their produce and more farmers get attracted to such crops," he said.
Taking a dig at Rahul Gandhi, the Union Minister of State for Agriculture said that it would "not be appropriate" to comment on the statement of a person "who doesn't know the difference between wheat and paddy crops".
Mr Shekhawat was replying to a query on Mr Gandhi's allegation about agrarian distress in several parts of the country.
"I am a farmer, an agriculturists' leader and their representative in the Central government. So I know the condition of the agricultural sector better," he told reporters on the sidelines of a function in Indore.
"It would not be appropriate to comment on the statements of a person who doesn't know the difference between wheat and paddy crops, who doesn't know the difference between a lamb and the offspring of a goat," the minister added.
The minister claimed that farmers were getting the right price for their produce and this had strengthened the agricultural sector.
Speaking on the October 2 police action on protesting farmers marching towards Delhi, the minister said that the government would fulfil their legitimate demands but added that farmers were being "instigated" to reap political benefit in view of the upcoming Assembly polls.
Farmers marching towards Delhi as part of the Bharatiya Kisan Union's (BKU) protest call over demands ranging from farm loan waiver to reduction in fuel prices were stopped at the Delhi-Uttar Pradesh border on October 2 with police using water cannons to disperse them.
Mr Shekhawat stated that the government was trying to increase the export of soyabean and other agricultural products seeing an opportunity in the ongoing US-China trade tussle.
"In view of the ongoing China-US trade war, there is a huge opportunity for agrarian economies like India. So our government is making efforts to promote the export of agriculture based products," he said.
Mr Shekhawat said previous Congress governments betrayed farmers as well as those in the food processing industry.
This, he claimed, had led to an increased dependence on import of edible oil. "To reduce this dependence, our government increased the import duty on edible oil four times. We also increased the minimum support price of oilseeds so that farmers get the right price of their produce and more farmers get attracted to such crops," he said.
Business Affairs
US, China to hold key talks on Monday to reduce trade, military tensions
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China and the United States are set to hold high-level talks in Beijing on Monday to reduce the spiralling trade and military tensions between the world's two largest economies.
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is scheduled to hold talks with top Chinese leaders and officials in a bid to halt the ongoing trade war in which both countries slapped additional tariffs on billions of dollars of their exports.
Announcing Pompeo's visit, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying last week said that China and the US would exchange views on bilateral ties and regional and international issues of common concern.
US Defence Secretary Jim Mattis too was due to visit but it was cancelled which China said was at the behest of Washington.
The news of cancellation of his visit came after US allegations that Chinese naval ship conducted unsafe manoeuvres near its destroyer Decatur when it passed through the islands off the disputed South China Sea to assert freedom of navigation.
China claims almost all of the South China Sea. Vietnam, Philippines, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan have counter claims.
Pompeo's visit was expected to provide an opportunity to both sides to lower the tensions between them. Besides slapping additional tariffs on Chinese exports, US has also imposed sanctions on a Chinese military unit for securing Russian weapon systems like S-400 missiles and Su-35 fighters.
Also, ahead of the visit both the countries had heated exchanges.
US Vice President Mike Pence Thursday accused China of interfering in US internal affairs and elections policies.
Pence said China wants a "different American President" and is using more "proactive and coercive" methods to interfere in America's domestic policies and politics.
China has refuted Pence's allegation terming them as "malicious slander".
Reacting to Pence's allegations, Hua on Friday said, "the relevant speech made unwarranted accusations against China's domestic and foreign policies and slandered China by claiming that China meddles in US internal affairs and elections".
"It is very ridiculous for the US side to stigmatise its normal exchanges and cooperation with China as China interfering in its internal affairs and elections," she said.
Significantly ahead of Pompeo's visit, Chinese Ambassador to Washington Cui Tiankai said China wants to end the trade war with the US, but that the US position keeps changing "so we don't know exactly what the US would want as priorities".
"We are ready to make a deal. We are ready to make some compromise, but it needs the goodwill from both sides," Cui said in an interview on Wednesday with America's National Public Radio, official Chinese media reported on Friday.
"We want to solve it through negotiation and consultation between the two sides. But in order for the negotiation, the consultation to succeed, we do need goodwill and good faith from both sides," Cui said.
"We offered to reduce the trade deficit of the US States, for instance. And we also presented a very good proposal to the US side about the further reform and opening up in China, some of the so-called structural issues," he said.
"We are ready to work on the issues. Then I think more than once we had some tentative agreement between the two working teams. Then just overnight the tentative agreement was rejected and the demand from US changed. So this is very confusing, and this is making things very difficult," he said.
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is scheduled to hold talks with top Chinese leaders and officials in a bid to halt the ongoing trade war in which both countries slapped additional tariffs on billions of dollars of their exports.
Announcing Pompeo's visit, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying last week said that China and the US would exchange views on bilateral ties and regional and international issues of common concern.
US Defence Secretary Jim Mattis too was due to visit but it was cancelled which China said was at the behest of Washington.
The news of cancellation of his visit came after US allegations that Chinese naval ship conducted unsafe manoeuvres near its destroyer Decatur when it passed through the islands off the disputed South China Sea to assert freedom of navigation.
China claims almost all of the South China Sea. Vietnam, Philippines, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan have counter claims.
Pompeo's visit was expected to provide an opportunity to both sides to lower the tensions between them. Besides slapping additional tariffs on Chinese exports, US has also imposed sanctions on a Chinese military unit for securing Russian weapon systems like S-400 missiles and Su-35 fighters.
Also, ahead of the visit both the countries had heated exchanges.
US Vice President Mike Pence Thursday accused China of interfering in US internal affairs and elections policies.
Pence said China wants a "different American President" and is using more "proactive and coercive" methods to interfere in America's domestic policies and politics.
China has refuted Pence's allegation terming them as "malicious slander".
Reacting to Pence's allegations, Hua on Friday said, "the relevant speech made unwarranted accusations against China's domestic and foreign policies and slandered China by claiming that China meddles in US internal affairs and elections".
"It is very ridiculous for the US side to stigmatise its normal exchanges and cooperation with China as China interfering in its internal affairs and elections," she said.
Significantly ahead of Pompeo's visit, Chinese Ambassador to Washington Cui Tiankai said China wants to end the trade war with the US, but that the US position keeps changing "so we don't know exactly what the US would want as priorities".
"We are ready to make a deal. We are ready to make some compromise, but it needs the goodwill from both sides," Cui said in an interview on Wednesday with America's National Public Radio, official Chinese media reported on Friday.
"We want to solve it through negotiation and consultation between the two sides. But in order for the negotiation, the consultation to succeed, we do need goodwill and good faith from both sides," Cui said.
"We offered to reduce the trade deficit of the US States, for instance. And we also presented a very good proposal to the US side about the further reform and opening up in China, some of the so-called structural issues," he said.
"We are ready to work on the issues. Then I think more than once we had some tentative agreement between the two working teams. Then just overnight the tentative agreement was rejected and the demand from US changed. So this is very confusing, and this is making things very difficult," he said.
Falling rupee impact: FPIs pull out Rs 9,300 crore in just 4 sessions
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Foreign investors have pulled out over Rs 9,300 crore ($1.3 billion) from the Indian capital markets in the last four trading sessions on unabated fall in rupee and rise in crude oil price.
The latest withdrawal comes following a net outflow of over Rs 21,000 crore from the capital markets (both equity and debt) last month. Prior to that, they had put in a net amount of Rs 7,400 crore in July-August.
According to the latest depository data, foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) withdrew a net sum of Rs 7,094 crore from equities during October 1-5, and Rs 2,261 crore from the debt market, taking the total to Rs 9,355 crore ($1.3 billion).
FPIs have been net sellers almost throughout this calendar year except a couple of months. However, the swiftness of the exit in October thus far has shaken the market, experts said.
"Rise in oil prices and US treasury yields and a tightening of global dollar liquidity are the key reasons for the FPI selling as they have induced high volatility in currency, bond and equity markets.
"One must however remember that this is a global phenomena across emerging markets and not limited to India alone. Of course, the impact of rise in oil prices is higher for India as it imports most of its oil requirements. The matter was further exacerbated by the IL&FS default and the rout in NBFC debt papers," said Alok Agarwala, Senior Vice President and Head Investment Analytics at Bajaj Capital.
Making a similar point, Vidya Bala, Head of Mutual Fund Research at FundsIndia, said rising rates in the US, strengthening dollar and higher US earnings have been triggers for money moving out of India and other emerging markets to the US.
"While these have been the primary factors for the pullout, locally, rising oil price and oil marketing companies absorbing price cuts, the recent spate of management-related issues in banks and tightening liquidity in NBFCs have been immediate triggers," she added.
She further said the volatility can be expected to continue for other reasons too, like US sanctions on Iran which take effect in November. Iran is a major source of crude oil for India.
"India also has some key state elections coming up, which could provide cues to FPIs for next year's central elections," Bala added.
So far this year, FPIs have pulled out over Rs 20,000 crore from equities and more than Rs 50,000 crore from the debt markets.
The latest withdrawal comes following a net outflow of over Rs 21,000 crore from the capital markets (both equity and debt) last month. Prior to that, they had put in a net amount of Rs 7,400 crore in July-August.
According to the latest depository data, foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) withdrew a net sum of Rs 7,094 crore from equities during October 1-5, and Rs 2,261 crore from the debt market, taking the total to Rs 9,355 crore ($1.3 billion).
FPIs have been net sellers almost throughout this calendar year except a couple of months. However, the swiftness of the exit in October thus far has shaken the market, experts said.
"Rise in oil prices and US treasury yields and a tightening of global dollar liquidity are the key reasons for the FPI selling as they have induced high volatility in currency, bond and equity markets.
"One must however remember that this is a global phenomena across emerging markets and not limited to India alone. Of course, the impact of rise in oil prices is higher for India as it imports most of its oil requirements. The matter was further exacerbated by the IL&FS default and the rout in NBFC debt papers," said Alok Agarwala, Senior Vice President and Head Investment Analytics at Bajaj Capital.
Making a similar point, Vidya Bala, Head of Mutual Fund Research at FundsIndia, said rising rates in the US, strengthening dollar and higher US earnings have been triggers for money moving out of India and other emerging markets to the US.
"While these have been the primary factors for the pullout, locally, rising oil price and oil marketing companies absorbing price cuts, the recent spate of management-related issues in banks and tightening liquidity in NBFCs have been immediate triggers," she added.
She further said the volatility can be expected to continue for other reasons too, like US sanctions on Iran which take effect in November. Iran is a major source of crude oil for India.
"India also has some key state elections coming up, which could provide cues to FPIs for next year's central elections," Bala added.
So far this year, FPIs have pulled out over Rs 20,000 crore from equities and more than Rs 50,000 crore from the debt markets.
Petrol, diesel prices rise to three-week high
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Within a day of the one-off excise duty cut and PSUs subsidising fuel, petrol and diesel prices are on the rise again and have hit a three week high.
Petrol and diesel prices were cut by a minimum Rs 2.50 on October 5 when the government's only second cut in excise duty of Rs 1.50 per litre and state-owned fuel retailers providing a Re 1 per litre subsidy came into effect. In BJP-ruled states, the reduction was higher as they matched the cut with a similar reduction local sales tax or VAT.
But the prices were on the rise from the very next day. Petrol price was hiked by 18 paise a litre on October 6 and 14 paise on Sunday, according to daily price notification issued by state-owned oil firms.
Petrol, which in Delhi was cut to Rs 81.50 on October 5, on Sunday costs Rs 81.82.
Similarly, diesel rates are hiked by 29 paise a litre each on October 6 and Sunday. It costs Rs 73.53 per litre in Delhi, up from Rs 72.95 on October 5, according to the oil firms.
Delhi, which did not cut VAT on fuel, still has the cheapest fuel in all metros and bulk of state capital as it levies lower taxes. Mumbai despite reducing VAT on petrol still has the highest priced fuel.
Petrol in Mumbai sells for Rs 87.29 a litre on Sunday and diesel is priced at Rs 77.06.
Petrol prices had hit an all-time high of Rs 84 per litre in Delhi and Rs 91.34 in Mumbai on October 4. Diesel rates too had peaked to Rs 75.45 a litre in Delhi and Rs 80.10 in Mumbai. Following the twin decision, they fell to Rs 81.50 per litre of petrol in Delhi and Rs 86.97 in Mumbai.
Diesel rates fell to Rs 72.95 in Delhi and Rs 77.45 in Mumbai on October 5.
On Sunday, the rates hit a three-week high.
Private retailers like Nayara Energy, formerly known as Essar Oil, too are matching PSU rates by subsidising fuel by Re 1 a litre.
After the Centre cut excise duty by Rs 1.50 per litre and asked PSU oil firms to subsidise fuel by Re 1, Maharashtra and Gujarat governments were among the first to announce a matching Rs 2.50 cut.
They were later joined by Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Tripura, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Haryana Assam, Uttarakhand, Goa and Arunachal Pradesh with similar moves. Jammu and Kashmir, which is under governor's rule, too reduced tax on the two fuel.
Maharashtra, however, reduced VAT only on petrol and not on diesel.
Even before the excise duty cut, Rajasthan, West Bengal, Karnataka, Kerala and Andhra Pradesh had last month reduced VAT to cushion consumers for a spate of price increases.
The reduction in excise duty, only the second in four years of BJP-led NDA rule, will dent central government revenues by Rs 10,500 crore and was aimed at cooling retail prices that had shot up to an all-time high.
The BJP-government at the Centre had raised excise duty on petrol by Rs 11.77 a litre and that on diesel by Rs 13.47 a litre in nine installments between November 2014 and January 2016 to shore up finances as global oil prices fell, but then cut the tax just once in October last year by Rs 2 a litre.
Prior to Friday's cut, petrol price had risen by Rs 6.86 a litre and diesel by Rs 6.73 since mid-August - the most in any six-week duration after the daily price revision was introduced in mid-June last year.
Industry sources said for state-owned fuel retailers absorbing Re 1 per litre price would mean a Rs 9,000 crore hit on profits on an annualised basis. For the remainder of current fiscal, it would be Rs 4,500 crore, with IOC's share being roughly half and the rest is split equally between HPCL and BPCL.
Almost half of the fuel price is made up of taxes. The Centre, prior to the excise duty cur, levied a total of Rs 19.48 per litre of excise duty on petrol and Rs 15.33 per litre on diesel. On top of this, states levy value-added tax (VAT).
The hike in duties in 2014-16 had led to excise collections from petro goods rising from Rs 99,184 crore in 2014-15 to Rs 2,29,019 crore in 2017-18. States saw their VAT revenue rise from Rs 1,37,157 crore in 2014-15 to Rs 1,84,091 crore in 2017-18.
Petrol and diesel prices were cut by a minimum Rs 2.50 on October 5 when the government's only second cut in excise duty of Rs 1.50 per litre and state-owned fuel retailers providing a Re 1 per litre subsidy came into effect. In BJP-ruled states, the reduction was higher as they matched the cut with a similar reduction local sales tax or VAT.
But the prices were on the rise from the very next day. Petrol price was hiked by 18 paise a litre on October 6 and 14 paise on Sunday, according to daily price notification issued by state-owned oil firms.
Petrol, which in Delhi was cut to Rs 81.50 on October 5, on Sunday costs Rs 81.82.
Similarly, diesel rates are hiked by 29 paise a litre each on October 6 and Sunday. It costs Rs 73.53 per litre in Delhi, up from Rs 72.95 on October 5, according to the oil firms.
Delhi, which did not cut VAT on fuel, still has the cheapest fuel in all metros and bulk of state capital as it levies lower taxes. Mumbai despite reducing VAT on petrol still has the highest priced fuel.
Petrol in Mumbai sells for Rs 87.29 a litre on Sunday and diesel is priced at Rs 77.06.
Petrol prices had hit an all-time high of Rs 84 per litre in Delhi and Rs 91.34 in Mumbai on October 4. Diesel rates too had peaked to Rs 75.45 a litre in Delhi and Rs 80.10 in Mumbai. Following the twin decision, they fell to Rs 81.50 per litre of petrol in Delhi and Rs 86.97 in Mumbai.
Diesel rates fell to Rs 72.95 in Delhi and Rs 77.45 in Mumbai on October 5.
On Sunday, the rates hit a three-week high.
Private retailers like Nayara Energy, formerly known as Essar Oil, too are matching PSU rates by subsidising fuel by Re 1 a litre.
After the Centre cut excise duty by Rs 1.50 per litre and asked PSU oil firms to subsidise fuel by Re 1, Maharashtra and Gujarat governments were among the first to announce a matching Rs 2.50 cut.
They were later joined by Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Tripura, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Haryana Assam, Uttarakhand, Goa and Arunachal Pradesh with similar moves. Jammu and Kashmir, which is under governor's rule, too reduced tax on the two fuel.
Maharashtra, however, reduced VAT only on petrol and not on diesel.
Even before the excise duty cut, Rajasthan, West Bengal, Karnataka, Kerala and Andhra Pradesh had last month reduced VAT to cushion consumers for a spate of price increases.
The reduction in excise duty, only the second in four years of BJP-led NDA rule, will dent central government revenues by Rs 10,500 crore and was aimed at cooling retail prices that had shot up to an all-time high.
The BJP-government at the Centre had raised excise duty on petrol by Rs 11.77 a litre and that on diesel by Rs 13.47 a litre in nine installments between November 2014 and January 2016 to shore up finances as global oil prices fell, but then cut the tax just once in October last year by Rs 2 a litre.
Prior to Friday's cut, petrol price had risen by Rs 6.86 a litre and diesel by Rs 6.73 since mid-August - the most in any six-week duration after the daily price revision was introduced in mid-June last year.
Industry sources said for state-owned fuel retailers absorbing Re 1 per litre price would mean a Rs 9,000 crore hit on profits on an annualised basis. For the remainder of current fiscal, it would be Rs 4,500 crore, with IOC's share being roughly half and the rest is split equally between HPCL and BPCL.
Almost half of the fuel price is made up of taxes. The Centre, prior to the excise duty cur, levied a total of Rs 19.48 per litre of excise duty on petrol and Rs 15.33 per litre on diesel. On top of this, states levy value-added tax (VAT).
The hike in duties in 2014-16 had led to excise collections from petro goods rising from Rs 99,184 crore in 2014-15 to Rs 2,29,019 crore in 2017-18. States saw their VAT revenue rise from Rs 1,37,157 crore in 2014-15 to Rs 1,84,091 crore in 2017-18.
Tech Mahindra expects 30-40% growth in cyber security business
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IT company Tech Mahindra expects its cyber security business to grow in the range of 30-40 per cent, at least for the next three years, according to a senior company official.
"We are doing a very humble start even if we grow 30-40 per annum in our business of security. It is fair estimate of what we can put on ground," Rajiv Singh, Senior VP & Global Head of cyber security unit of Tech Mahindra, told PTI.
He was replying to query on growth and business opportunity that company sees in cyber security business.
Singh said that the growth is expected in cyber security division of Tech Mahindra every year over a period of next three years.
"You have to look at the CAGR , that can only go up when you have strong alliances. When I am talking about growth, I am talking about accelerating in next 3 years. (In) next 3 years, (it) has to be accelerated," he added.
The company recently signed partnership pact with security arm of Israel government-run Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) to provide and develop technical security solution for utility firms and critical infrastructure.
Under the partnership, Tech Mahindra plans to develop internal capability to handle cyber security solution and further train people to grow business.
"We want to first focus on that there is right level of capability to handle cyber security challenge. We will focus on skilling. We may start, let's say with about 100 people internally and then they will go out and train the trainers," Singh said.
According to a IAI representative, global cyber security market is growing 14-18 per cent per annum and cyber security is now allocated 10-15 per cent of total IT budget of a company.
Globally, the cyber security business opportunity is likely to grow to $96 billion in next four years from around $20 billion annual opportunity at present.
Singh said that company is focusing on Indian market to start with, and then look at business from the US, UK, Europe and Asia Pacific region from Tech Mahindra perspective.
"Customers for us are in all verticals. We will be specifically looking at critical infrastructure, cyber police, defence forces and then look at IoT market. When I say IoT (internet of things) I am looking at US because lot of technology firms come from there which have created huge platform," he added.
"We are doing a very humble start even if we grow 30-40 per annum in our business of security. It is fair estimate of what we can put on ground," Rajiv Singh, Senior VP & Global Head of cyber security unit of Tech Mahindra, told PTI.
He was replying to query on growth and business opportunity that company sees in cyber security business.
Singh said that the growth is expected in cyber security division of Tech Mahindra every year over a period of next three years.
"You have to look at the CAGR , that can only go up when you have strong alliances. When I am talking about growth, I am talking about accelerating in next 3 years. (In) next 3 years, (it) has to be accelerated," he added.
The company recently signed partnership pact with security arm of Israel government-run Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) to provide and develop technical security solution for utility firms and critical infrastructure.
Under the partnership, Tech Mahindra plans to develop internal capability to handle cyber security solution and further train people to grow business.
"We want to first focus on that there is right level of capability to handle cyber security challenge. We will focus on skilling. We may start, let's say with about 100 people internally and then they will go out and train the trainers," Singh said.
According to a IAI representative, global cyber security market is growing 14-18 per cent per annum and cyber security is now allocated 10-15 per cent of total IT budget of a company.
Globally, the cyber security business opportunity is likely to grow to $96 billion in next four years from around $20 billion annual opportunity at present.
Singh said that company is focusing on Indian market to start with, and then look at business from the US, UK, Europe and Asia Pacific region from Tech Mahindra perspective.
"Customers for us are in all verticals. We will be specifically looking at critical infrastructure, cyber police, defence forces and then look at IoT market. When I say IoT (internet of things) I am looking at US because lot of technology firms come from there which have created huge platform," he added.
IIP, inflation, rupee to drive equity markets this week
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Macroeconomic data, movement of the rupee and trend in global crude oil prices would be crucial for the stock markets this week, say experts.
After back-to-back hikes since June, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) kept interest rates unchanged Friday, surprising markets that had expected a rate hike to support the tumbling rupee and combat inflationary pressures from high oil prices.
"The equity market outlook has taken a beating given degradation in the quality of debt, redemption and heightened risk averseness by investors.
"Trend is likely to be negative at least in the near-term till the financial market stabilises. Key data like bond yield, INR, oil prices, liquidity and equity valuation has to normalise which may take some more time," said Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Financial Services.
"The lingering concerns seems to be around crude oil prices, global interest rates and the ongoing global developments on the trade front. Given the status quo, we expect short term rates to ease while long term yields may trade range bound.
"The macro needs monitoring and INR and crude oil prices could be leading the way for markets going forward," said Lakshmi Iyer, CIO (Debt) and Head of Products, Kotak Mahindra Asset Management Company.
Stock markets took a beating last week over rupee woes and crude oil prices. The BSE Sensex lost a whopping 1,850.15 points over the week to close at 34,376.99 on Friday.
"On economic data front, this week the International Monetary Fund will present its latest World Economic Outlook as it opens its annual meeting with the World Bank in Bali, Indonesia. US September inflation data is due on Thursday.
"In India, data like IIP for August and CPI for September month will be announced this Friday," said V K Sharma, Head PCG and Capital Market Strategy, HDFC Securities.
"Markets have witnessed selling across the board. Even the good quality stocks were battered in line with general markets.
"However, the current fall was in isolation with global developed markets which give a ray of hope that soon a bounce will emerge as valuations have corrected a lot across the board. We think markets will calm down once corporate results start pouring in and given the oversold state of market, sharp rallies can be expected," said Jimeet Modi, Founder and CEO, SAMCO Securities and StockNote.
The Indian rupee crashed below the 74-level against the US dollar for the first time ever Friday.
"Rupee was caught off guard and weakened beyond 74, after RBI surprised markets by keeping rates unchanged. Given the rising oil and trade tensions, traders will bet on exports going up, to curb further weakening in the currency," said Anand James, Chief Market Strategist, Geojit Financial Services.
After back-to-back hikes since June, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) kept interest rates unchanged Friday, surprising markets that had expected a rate hike to support the tumbling rupee and combat inflationary pressures from high oil prices.
"The equity market outlook has taken a beating given degradation in the quality of debt, redemption and heightened risk averseness by investors.
"Trend is likely to be negative at least in the near-term till the financial market stabilises. Key data like bond yield, INR, oil prices, liquidity and equity valuation has to normalise which may take some more time," said Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Financial Services.
"The lingering concerns seems to be around crude oil prices, global interest rates and the ongoing global developments on the trade front. Given the status quo, we expect short term rates to ease while long term yields may trade range bound.
"The macro needs monitoring and INR and crude oil prices could be leading the way for markets going forward," said Lakshmi Iyer, CIO (Debt) and Head of Products, Kotak Mahindra Asset Management Company.
Stock markets took a beating last week over rupee woes and crude oil prices. The BSE Sensex lost a whopping 1,850.15 points over the week to close at 34,376.99 on Friday.
"On economic data front, this week the International Monetary Fund will present its latest World Economic Outlook as it opens its annual meeting with the World Bank in Bali, Indonesia. US September inflation data is due on Thursday.
"In India, data like IIP for August and CPI for September month will be announced this Friday," said V K Sharma, Head PCG and Capital Market Strategy, HDFC Securities.
"Markets have witnessed selling across the board. Even the good quality stocks were battered in line with general markets.
"However, the current fall was in isolation with global developed markets which give a ray of hope that soon a bounce will emerge as valuations have corrected a lot across the board. We think markets will calm down once corporate results start pouring in and given the oversold state of market, sharp rallies can be expected," said Jimeet Modi, Founder and CEO, SAMCO Securities and StockNote.
The Indian rupee crashed below the 74-level against the US dollar for the first time ever Friday.
"Rupee was caught off guard and weakened beyond 74, after RBI surprised markets by keeping rates unchanged. Given the rising oil and trade tensions, traders will bet on exports going up, to curb further weakening in the currency," said Anand James, Chief Market Strategist, Geojit Financial Services.
General Awareness
Swachh Survekshan Grameen Awards 2018
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What to study?
For Prelims: SSG Survey- criteria, rankings.
For Mains: SSG- significance.
Context: Prime Minister Narendra Modi recently conferred Swachh Survekshan Grameen Awards 2018 to top ranked states and districts. The rankings were based on the National Swachh Survekshan Grameen 2018 of the Union Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation.
Haryana was ranked as best State.
Satara District of Maharashtra was ranked as best district.
Uttar Pradesh was rewarded for maximum citizens’ participation.
Zonal Ranking – Top States:
Northern: Haryana.
Southern: Andhra Pradesh.
Eastern: Chhattisgarh.
Western: Gujarat.
North-East: Sikkim.
Union Territories: Dadar & Nagar Haveli.
Zonal Ranking – Top Districts:
Northern: Rewari (Haryana).
Southern: Peddapalli (Telangana).
Eastern: Surajpur (Chhattisgarh).
Western: Satara (Maharashtra).
North-East: Tawang (Arunachal Pradesh).
About Swachh Survekshan Grameen:
SSG is a rural cleanliness survey to rank all states and districts on basis of qualitative and quantitative evaluation.
The objective of SSG 2018 is to undertake ranking of states and districts on basis of their performance attained on key quantitative and qualitative Swachh Bharat Mission-Grameen (SBM-G) parameters. The rankings will be based on taking into account set of comprehensive cleanliness parameters.
The criteria of SSG-2018 include survey of public places, citizens’ perspective of cleanliness, their recommendations and data from SBM-G. As part of it, more than 6000 villages in 698 districts across India were covered. It covered nearly 30,000 public places namely schools, anganwadis, public health centres, haat/bazaars/religious places in these villages.
Weightage:
The SSG 2018 will assign 65% weightage to findings and outcome and 35% to service level parameters to be obtained from Integrated Management Information System (IMIS) of the MDWS.
The weights to different elements of SSG are direct observation of sanitation in public places (30%), citizen’s feedback on sanitation parameters (35%), service level progress on sanitation progress in the country as per SBMG-MIS (35%).
Survey:
The SSG 2018 was conducted by independent survey agency in all districts from 1st to 31st August 2018. It will also take feedback from over 50 lakh citizens on SBM related issues through direct interaction as well as online feedback.
What to study?
For Prelims: SSG Survey- criteria, rankings.
For Mains: SSG- significance.
Context: Prime Minister Narendra Modi recently conferred Swachh Survekshan Grameen Awards 2018 to top ranked states and districts. The rankings were based on the National Swachh Survekshan Grameen 2018 of the Union Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation.
Haryana was ranked as best State.
Satara District of Maharashtra was ranked as best district.
Uttar Pradesh was rewarded for maximum citizens’ participation.
Zonal Ranking – Top States:
Northern: Haryana.
Southern: Andhra Pradesh.
Eastern: Chhattisgarh.
Western: Gujarat.
North-East: Sikkim.
Union Territories: Dadar & Nagar Haveli.
Zonal Ranking – Top Districts:
Northern: Rewari (Haryana).
Southern: Peddapalli (Telangana).
Eastern: Surajpur (Chhattisgarh).
Western: Satara (Maharashtra).
North-East: Tawang (Arunachal Pradesh).
About Swachh Survekshan Grameen:
SSG is a rural cleanliness survey to rank all states and districts on basis of qualitative and quantitative evaluation.
The objective of SSG 2018 is to undertake ranking of states and districts on basis of their performance attained on key quantitative and qualitative Swachh Bharat Mission-Grameen (SBM-G) parameters. The rankings will be based on taking into account set of comprehensive cleanliness parameters.
The criteria of SSG-2018 include survey of public places, citizens’ perspective of cleanliness, their recommendations and data from SBM-G. As part of it, more than 6000 villages in 698 districts across India were covered. It covered nearly 30,000 public places namely schools, anganwadis, public health centres, haat/bazaars/religious places in these villages.
Weightage:
The SSG 2018 will assign 65% weightage to findings and outcome and 35% to service level parameters to be obtained from Integrated Management Information System (IMIS) of the MDWS.
The weights to different elements of SSG are direct observation of sanitation in public places (30%), citizen’s feedback on sanitation parameters (35%), service level progress on sanitation progress in the country as per SBMG-MIS (35%).
Survey:
The SSG 2018 was conducted by independent survey agency in all districts from 1st to 31st August 2018. It will also take feedback from over 50 lakh citizens on SBM related issues through direct interaction as well as online feedback.
For Prelims: SSG Survey- criteria, rankings.
For Mains: SSG- significance.
Context: Prime Minister Narendra Modi recently conferred Swachh Survekshan Grameen Awards 2018 to top ranked states and districts. The rankings were based on the National Swachh Survekshan Grameen 2018 of the Union Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation.
Haryana was ranked as best State.
Satara District of Maharashtra was ranked as best district.
Uttar Pradesh was rewarded for maximum citizens’ participation.
Zonal Ranking – Top States:
Northern: Haryana.
Southern: Andhra Pradesh.
Eastern: Chhattisgarh.
Western: Gujarat.
North-East: Sikkim.
Union Territories: Dadar & Nagar Haveli.
Zonal Ranking – Top Districts:
Northern: Rewari (Haryana).
Southern: Peddapalli (Telangana).
Eastern: Surajpur (Chhattisgarh).
Western: Satara (Maharashtra).
North-East: Tawang (Arunachal Pradesh).
About Swachh Survekshan Grameen:
SSG is a rural cleanliness survey to rank all states and districts on basis of qualitative and quantitative evaluation.
The objective of SSG 2018 is to undertake ranking of states and districts on basis of their performance attained on key quantitative and qualitative Swachh Bharat Mission-Grameen (SBM-G) parameters. The rankings will be based on taking into account set of comprehensive cleanliness parameters.
The criteria of SSG-2018 include survey of public places, citizens’ perspective of cleanliness, their recommendations and data from SBM-G. As part of it, more than 6000 villages in 698 districts across India were covered. It covered nearly 30,000 public places namely schools, anganwadis, public health centres, haat/bazaars/religious places in these villages.
Weightage:
The SSG 2018 will assign 65% weightage to findings and outcome and 35% to service level parameters to be obtained from Integrated Management Information System (IMIS) of the MDWS.
The weights to different elements of SSG are direct observation of sanitation in public places (30%), citizen’s feedback on sanitation parameters (35%), service level progress on sanitation progress in the country as per SBMG-MIS (35%).
Survey:
The SSG 2018 was conducted by independent survey agency in all districts from 1st to 31st August 2018. It will also take feedback from over 50 lakh citizens on SBM related issues through direct interaction as well as online feedback.
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