General Affairs
"What Kind Of Pollution Control Are You Doing?" Supreme Court Asks Centre
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The Supreme Court on Wednesday questioned the centre why most of the pollution under control (PUC) centres in Delhi were either not working or were to be closed down and observed "what kind of pollution control are you doing".
A bench of justices Madan B Lokur and Deepak Gupta asked this to the centre after perusing a status report filed by the government.
Additional Solicitor General (ASG) A N S Nadkarni, appearing for the centre, told the court that meetings were held on comprehensive action plan (CAP) which was aimed at tackling air pollution in Delhi-national capital region (NCR).
"What is the use of all this? How many pollution under control (PUC) centres are there in Delhi," the bench asked the ASG, who said there were about 200 PUC centres in Delhi.
"Out of 200, around 170 PUC centres are not working. What kind of pollution control are you doing," the bench asked.
Advocate Aparajita Singh, who is assisting the court as an amicus curiae in the air pollution matter, said the whole idea of the CAP was to treat entire NCR as one and the implementation of this action plan was the "biggest nightmare".
She said the Environment Pollution Control Authority (EPCA) could sit with the authorities and tell the court about the roadblocks in the implementation of CAP.
The ASG then told the court that he would come up with a better updated status report within three weeks.
"You identify the problems and then see how to deal with them. You have closed down so many PUC centres. What is the alternative you have," the bench told the ASG.
During the hearing, the bench also dealt with the issue of traffic bottlenecks in Delhi and also on decongestion of police stations here.
ASG Pinky Anand, appearing for the Delhi Police, said that as per the top court's order, they had identified 165 tasks in 30 congested traffic corridors under 'B' category and 105 tasks in 18 such corridors in 'C' category for ensuring smooth flow of traffic in the national capital.
She said a policy on decongestion of police stations in Delhi by removing seized and impounded materials and vehicles was formulated and it would be circulated.
The bench noted that in its earlier affidavit, the police had said they had identified 350 tasks for decongesting 28 "highly congested (traffic) corridors" in Delhi which fell under category 'A'.
The ASG told the court that with regard to 58 tasks, they have not received any timeline from the agencies involved in the work.
The bench directed the police to apprise it about the status as on December 31 with regard to tasks identified under categories 'B' and 'C'.
It said the issue would taken up for hearing in January.
The police also told the court that as far as appointment of district 'nazir' (record keeper of a malkhana) in each revenue district was concerned, a letter was written to the Principal Secretary (Home) of the Delhi government with a request to expedite the process.
Meanwhile, the counsel representing the Delhi High Court told the court that district 'nazir' were there in all the 11 districts in the judicial side.
The bench also dealt with the issue of having a centralised registry in trial courts to handle miscellaneous matters filed by the police for disposal of seized vehicles and other materials lying at the police stations.
The high court's counsel said that centralised registry was already there in district courts and perhaps the police was not using the same.
However, the ASG said that she would verify this.
The counsel appearing for Delhi government told the court that they want space for constructing building for having 'nazarat' branch for keeping materials which have been seized in judicial proceedings in each districts.
He said that within two months, they would find space for constructing a building in this regard.
"The idea was that the disposal of seized items should be as quick as possible. This is just passing the buck that unless you give me space, I will not do anything," the bench said.
"You have to find solutions and not create problems. Your idea is to create problems," the bench told Delhi government's counsel, adding, "Please tell whosoever is instructing you that either they should be serious or they should leave it".
The bench asked the Delhi government to file within two weeks a status report along with an affidavit in this regard.
The court then referred to the affidavit filed by police and asked the ASG, "How much seized liquor you have got? It (affidavit) says that over eight lakh litres of liquor is seized and kept by the police."
The bench then asked why the seized liquors not be destroyed, if it was not required for any other purpose.
The ASG told the court that the liquor had to be kept as case property.
The bench said that offence related to seizure of liquor was mostly compoundable and these could be compounded.
The bench also referred that as per police, there were around 40,000 seized vehicles and asked if any application was moved in the trial court by police for their disposal.
The top court was hearing a matter relating to air pollution in Delhi-NCR.
A bench of justices Madan B Lokur and Deepak Gupta asked this to the centre after perusing a status report filed by the government.
Additional Solicitor General (ASG) A N S Nadkarni, appearing for the centre, told the court that meetings were held on comprehensive action plan (CAP) which was aimed at tackling air pollution in Delhi-national capital region (NCR).
"What is the use of all this? How many pollution under control (PUC) centres are there in Delhi," the bench asked the ASG, who said there were about 200 PUC centres in Delhi.
"Out of 200, around 170 PUC centres are not working. What kind of pollution control are you doing," the bench asked.
Advocate Aparajita Singh, who is assisting the court as an amicus curiae in the air pollution matter, said the whole idea of the CAP was to treat entire NCR as one and the implementation of this action plan was the "biggest nightmare".
She said the Environment Pollution Control Authority (EPCA) could sit with the authorities and tell the court about the roadblocks in the implementation of CAP.
The ASG then told the court that he would come up with a better updated status report within three weeks.
"You identify the problems and then see how to deal with them. You have closed down so many PUC centres. What is the alternative you have," the bench told the ASG.
During the hearing, the bench also dealt with the issue of traffic bottlenecks in Delhi and also on decongestion of police stations here.
ASG Pinky Anand, appearing for the Delhi Police, said that as per the top court's order, they had identified 165 tasks in 30 congested traffic corridors under 'B' category and 105 tasks in 18 such corridors in 'C' category for ensuring smooth flow of traffic in the national capital.
She said a policy on decongestion of police stations in Delhi by removing seized and impounded materials and vehicles was formulated and it would be circulated.
The bench noted that in its earlier affidavit, the police had said they had identified 350 tasks for decongesting 28 "highly congested (traffic) corridors" in Delhi which fell under category 'A'.
The ASG told the court that with regard to 58 tasks, they have not received any timeline from the agencies involved in the work.
The bench directed the police to apprise it about the status as on December 31 with regard to tasks identified under categories 'B' and 'C'.
It said the issue would taken up for hearing in January.
The police also told the court that as far as appointment of district 'nazir' (record keeper of a malkhana) in each revenue district was concerned, a letter was written to the Principal Secretary (Home) of the Delhi government with a request to expedite the process.
Meanwhile, the counsel representing the Delhi High Court told the court that district 'nazir' were there in all the 11 districts in the judicial side.
The bench also dealt with the issue of having a centralised registry in trial courts to handle miscellaneous matters filed by the police for disposal of seized vehicles and other materials lying at the police stations.
The high court's counsel said that centralised registry was already there in district courts and perhaps the police was not using the same.
However, the ASG said that she would verify this.
The counsel appearing for Delhi government told the court that they want space for constructing building for having 'nazarat' branch for keeping materials which have been seized in judicial proceedings in each districts.
He said that within two months, they would find space for constructing a building in this regard.
"The idea was that the disposal of seized items should be as quick as possible. This is just passing the buck that unless you give me space, I will not do anything," the bench said.
"You have to find solutions and not create problems. Your idea is to create problems," the bench told Delhi government's counsel, adding, "Please tell whosoever is instructing you that either they should be serious or they should leave it".
The bench asked the Delhi government to file within two weeks a status report along with an affidavit in this regard.
The court then referred to the affidavit filed by police and asked the ASG, "How much seized liquor you have got? It (affidavit) says that over eight lakh litres of liquor is seized and kept by the police."
The bench then asked why the seized liquors not be destroyed, if it was not required for any other purpose.
The ASG told the court that the liquor had to be kept as case property.
The bench said that offence related to seizure of liquor was mostly compoundable and these could be compounded.
The bench also referred that as per police, there were around 40,000 seized vehicles and asked if any application was moved in the trial court by police for their disposal.
The top court was hearing a matter relating to air pollution in Delhi-NCR.
Srinagar City Records Lowest Voting In Any Election, Turnout Data Shows
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Srinagar city on Wednesday recorded the lowest ever voter turnout in any election with less than 100 people casting their votes in nine out of the 19 wards of the Srinagar Municipal Corporation or SMC in the second phase of the ongoing urban local bodies polls in Jammu and Kashmir.
As per the state poll panel figures, a meagre 2.3 per cent of the 1.78 lakh city voters stepped out to cast their votes.
It was the lowest voter turnout in any election in Srinagar city.
In the Lok Sabha bypolls for Srinagar parliamentary constituency in April 2017, the voter turnout was marginally higher than 7 per cent.
In the second phase of municipal polls on Wednesday, two wards -- Syed Ali Akbar and Tankipora -- recorded less than 10 votes.
Only eight of the 10,371 voters cast their votes in Tankipora while nine out of 7,784 voters exercised their franchise in Syed Ali Akbar ward.
The last of the nine votes in Syed Ali Akbar ward was cast before 8 am while in Tankipora the last vote was cast just before voting was to end at 4 pm.
SD Colony, Aloochibagh, Ziyarat Batamaloo, Karan Nagar, Nundreshi Colony, Basant Bagh and Fateh Kadal wards all recorded less than 100 votes while four other wards recorded less than 150 votes.
On the contrary, people at Lawaypora and Zainakot wards waited in long queues outside the polling stations to exercise their franchise.
In Lawaypora, over 15 per cent of the 6,385 electorate exercised their franchise while 864 of the 12,754 cast their votes at Zainakot.
Mujgund recorded 4.5 per cent polling while Solina registered over 6.3 per cent turn out.
The urban local bodies polls are being conducted in Jammu and Kashmir after a gap of 13 years.
As per the state poll panel figures, a meagre 2.3 per cent of the 1.78 lakh city voters stepped out to cast their votes.
It was the lowest voter turnout in any election in Srinagar city.
In the Lok Sabha bypolls for Srinagar parliamentary constituency in April 2017, the voter turnout was marginally higher than 7 per cent.
In the second phase of municipal polls on Wednesday, two wards -- Syed Ali Akbar and Tankipora -- recorded less than 10 votes.
Only eight of the 10,371 voters cast their votes in Tankipora while nine out of 7,784 voters exercised their franchise in Syed Ali Akbar ward.
The last of the nine votes in Syed Ali Akbar ward was cast before 8 am while in Tankipora the last vote was cast just before voting was to end at 4 pm.
SD Colony, Aloochibagh, Ziyarat Batamaloo, Karan Nagar, Nundreshi Colony, Basant Bagh and Fateh Kadal wards all recorded less than 100 votes while four other wards recorded less than 150 votes.
On the contrary, people at Lawaypora and Zainakot wards waited in long queues outside the polling stations to exercise their franchise.
In Lawaypora, over 15 per cent of the 6,385 electorate exercised their franchise while 864 of the 12,754 cast their votes at Zainakot.
Mujgund recorded 4.5 per cent polling while Solina registered over 6.3 per cent turn out.
The urban local bodies polls are being conducted in Jammu and Kashmir after a gap of 13 years.
KCR, Rahul Gandhi Pursue "Break In India" Politics, Says Amit Shah
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Pitching for a change of government in Telangana, BJP president Amit Shah on Wednesday said neither the ruling TRS nor the main opposition Congress can give a push to development in the southern state.
He said if voted to power after the Lok Sabha elections next year, the government under Prime Minister Narendra Modi will ensure "not a single infiltrator" was left in the country.
"Telangana's development is not possible either under KCR (K Chandrasekhar Rao) family or Rahul baba. They are into break-in-India while Modi ji pursues the policy of make-in-India," Mr Shah said at a rally in Karimnagar, 165 km from Hyderabad.
The BJP is looking to win in Telangana alone for the first time after the Telegu Desam Party broke away from the NDA recently.
The BJP president said the Congress's support base is shrinking drastically, and it is incapable of becoming an alternative to the TRS.
"Is Congress an alternative to the TRS? The Congress under Rahul Gandhi's leadership has not been able to win state elections. Today, if you want to see the Congress, you will have to use magnifying glasses," Mr Shah said.
The Telangana Rashtra Samithi has had failed to keep promises it made to the people of Telangana, Mr Shah said.
"KCR made 150 promises before the 2014 assembly polls but fulfilled not one. He promised he will make a dalit the chief minister but did not honour it. Dalit of Telangana is not on his list. His son (minister KT Ramarao) or daughter (parliamentarian K Kavitha) will be made the chief minister," Amit Shah said.
The BJP chief also raked up the issue of the National Register of Citizens (NRC) in Assam, and said if voted to power again, the Modi government will push every infiltrator out of the country.
"Bring the Modi government again in 2019... Let there be no infiltrator in the country. The Bharatiya Janata Party government will make sure that not a single infiltrator is left," he said.
He said if voted to power after the Lok Sabha elections next year, the government under Prime Minister Narendra Modi will ensure "not a single infiltrator" was left in the country.
"Telangana's development is not possible either under KCR (K Chandrasekhar Rao) family or Rahul baba. They are into break-in-India while Modi ji pursues the policy of make-in-India," Mr Shah said at a rally in Karimnagar, 165 km from Hyderabad.
The BJP is looking to win in Telangana alone for the first time after the Telegu Desam Party broke away from the NDA recently.
The BJP president said the Congress's support base is shrinking drastically, and it is incapable of becoming an alternative to the TRS.
"Is Congress an alternative to the TRS? The Congress under Rahul Gandhi's leadership has not been able to win state elections. Today, if you want to see the Congress, you will have to use magnifying glasses," Mr Shah said.
The Telangana Rashtra Samithi has had failed to keep promises it made to the people of Telangana, Mr Shah said.
"KCR made 150 promises before the 2014 assembly polls but fulfilled not one. He promised he will make a dalit the chief minister but did not honour it. Dalit of Telangana is not on his list. His son (minister KT Ramarao) or daughter (parliamentarian K Kavitha) will be made the chief minister," Amit Shah said.
The BJP chief also raked up the issue of the National Register of Citizens (NRC) in Assam, and said if voted to power again, the Modi government will push every infiltrator out of the country.
"Bring the Modi government again in 2019... Let there be no infiltrator in the country. The Bharatiya Janata Party government will make sure that not a single infiltrator is left," he said.
More Lions Test Positive For Highly Contagious Virus After 23 Gir Deaths
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At least 21 more lions have tested positive for a highly contagious virus that has been blamed for recent lion deaths, in Gujarat's Gir forest.
Tests on samples of 27 lions living at the Gir sanctuary in the state showed 21 of them were positive for the Canine Distemper Virus (CDV), the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) said in a note dated on Tuesday. It was posted on the agency's website on Wednesday.
This follows earlier tests that revealed at least five of 23 lion deaths at Gir over the past three weeks were due to the virus.
"This indicates active disease transmission among the Gir lions," the ICMR said.
Roughly 600 lions live in the 850-square-mile expanse of the Gir sanctuary, a popular tourist attraction in Gujarat.
The Supreme Court ordered in 2013 that some of the lions to be moved out of the sanctuary after wildlife experts for years advocated for such a move - called 'translocation' - to protect the lions against calamities like disease outbreaks.
The ICMR called on the government last week to take immediate steps to place the lions in two or three different sanctuaries to save them from extinction.
"Since CDV is transmitted by airborne route as well as infected body secretions, healthy lions from Gir Forest may be shifted to an alternate suitable location," the agency said in its latest press release.
But the Gujarat government has refused to part with any of the lions, saying they would not be safe anywhere but inside the state.
DT Vasavada, the chief conservator of forests at Gir, said today he had not received the ICMR press release, and there was no plan to move any lions. "We are monitoring the health of the lions," he said, adding that vaccinations were ongoing.
A spokesman at the Gujarat chief minister's office referred queries to the state forest minister, who did not answer calls seeking comment on Wednesday.
"At one level it is too late to try and separate the healthy and uninfected lions," Ravi Chellam, a wildlife expert and member of a government panel formed move some of the lions. "Given that CDV is airborne, it is very likely that the entire population would have been exposed but not infected."
A government-appointed committee of experts has been working on determining the cause of the deaths, Vasavada said.
Tests on samples of 27 lions living at the Gir sanctuary in the state showed 21 of them were positive for the Canine Distemper Virus (CDV), the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) said in a note dated on Tuesday. It was posted on the agency's website on Wednesday.
This follows earlier tests that revealed at least five of 23 lion deaths at Gir over the past three weeks were due to the virus.
"This indicates active disease transmission among the Gir lions," the ICMR said.
Roughly 600 lions live in the 850-square-mile expanse of the Gir sanctuary, a popular tourist attraction in Gujarat.
The Supreme Court ordered in 2013 that some of the lions to be moved out of the sanctuary after wildlife experts for years advocated for such a move - called 'translocation' - to protect the lions against calamities like disease outbreaks.
The ICMR called on the government last week to take immediate steps to place the lions in two or three different sanctuaries to save them from extinction.
"Since CDV is transmitted by airborne route as well as infected body secretions, healthy lions from Gir Forest may be shifted to an alternate suitable location," the agency said in its latest press release.
But the Gujarat government has refused to part with any of the lions, saying they would not be safe anywhere but inside the state.
DT Vasavada, the chief conservator of forests at Gir, said today he had not received the ICMR press release, and there was no plan to move any lions. "We are monitoring the health of the lions," he said, adding that vaccinations were ongoing.
A spokesman at the Gujarat chief minister's office referred queries to the state forest minister, who did not answer calls seeking comment on Wednesday.
"At one level it is too late to try and separate the healthy and uninfected lions," Ravi Chellam, a wildlife expert and member of a government panel formed move some of the lions. "Given that CDV is airborne, it is very likely that the entire population would have been exposed but not infected."
A government-appointed committee of experts has been working on determining the cause of the deaths, Vasavada said.
With 20,000 Villages Running Out Of Water, Maharashtra Staring At Drought
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Maharashtra is staring at a drought again, after two years, with 20,000 villages reportedly running out of water. Around 200 talukas are facing water scarcity and the government will submit a report on whether to declare a drought or not by October 31, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said today.
The 200 talukas have received less than 75 per cent rainfall, Devendra Fadnavis said. He said that the state government, under the leadership of senior ministers Chandrakant Patil and Diwakar Raote, will assess the situation in these talukas.
"Each minister may have to visit three or four tehsils and submit reports to the state government. The state will then take a decision over declaring drought, by October 31," Mr Fadnavis said.
The Maharashtra chief minister said that ministers have been asked to take stock of water storage in the state's dams and reservoirs and prepare a report, adding that a report on the prevailing situation is being compiled for the centre.
Because of the erratic monsoon in Maharashtra, farmers in the state are distressed, state transport minister Diwakar Raote told NDTV. "There are drought symptoms and the state government will have to prepare accordingly. The condition will get graver going forward," he said.
Demand for water tankers has started to come, the minister told NDTV. Aurangabad is already using 156 water tankers and Latur has been using 22 tankers, he said.
Senior ministers from the government also warned of power shortage in the state due to the water crisis that is expected in the upcoming months.
Maharashtra last faced a drought situation in 2015, following which a train filled with water had to be sent to Latur.
The 200 talukas have received less than 75 per cent rainfall, Devendra Fadnavis said. He said that the state government, under the leadership of senior ministers Chandrakant Patil and Diwakar Raote, will assess the situation in these talukas.
"Each minister may have to visit three or four tehsils and submit reports to the state government. The state will then take a decision over declaring drought, by October 31," Mr Fadnavis said.
The Maharashtra chief minister said that ministers have been asked to take stock of water storage in the state's dams and reservoirs and prepare a report, adding that a report on the prevailing situation is being compiled for the centre.
Because of the erratic monsoon in Maharashtra, farmers in the state are distressed, state transport minister Diwakar Raote told NDTV. "There are drought symptoms and the state government will have to prepare accordingly. The condition will get graver going forward," he said.
Demand for water tankers has started to come, the minister told NDTV. Aurangabad is already using 156 water tankers and Latur has been using 22 tankers, he said.
Senior ministers from the government also warned of power shortage in the state due to the water crisis that is expected in the upcoming months.
Maharashtra last faced a drought situation in 2015, following which a train filled with water had to be sent to Latur.
Business Affairs
Saudi Arabia to supply extra oil cargoes to India in Nov as Iran sanctions loom
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Saudi Arabia, the world's biggest oil exporter, will supply Indian buyers with an additional 4 million barrels of crude oil in November, several sources familiar with the matter said on Wednesday.
The extra cargoes indicate a willingness by Saudi Arabia to increase crude supply to make up the shortfall once sanctions by the United States on oil exports from Iran, the third-largest producer in the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), start up on Nov. 4.
India is Iran's top oil client after China, though several refiners have indicated they will stop taking Iranian barrels because of the sanctions.
Reliance Industries Ltd, Hindustan Petroleum Corp, Bharat Petroleum Corp and Mangalore Refinery Petrochemicals Ltd are seeking an additional 1 million barrels each in November from Saudi Arabia, the sources said.
Three of the companies did not immediately reply to an email from Reuters seeking comment. MRPL replied "no comments" when contacted by email.
State-owned oil producer Saudi Aramco was not immediately available for comment.
Given their dependence on Iranian oil supplies, the Indian refiners are concerned about the loss of Iranian crude once the sanctions start and are seeking exemptions. Refiners in the country have placed orders to buy 9 million barrels from Iran in November.
One of the reasons for the additional demand for Saudi oil is that the crude arbitrage from the United States is shut so the Indian buyers have to turn to Middle Eastern barrels, said one of the sources.
India, the world's third biggest oil importer, is grappling with a combination of rising oil prices and falling local currency, which makes imports of dollar-denominated oil more expensive. Retail prices for gasoline and diesel fuel in India are at record highs and the government has cut its excise tax on fuel to ease some of the pain for consumers.
Indian Oil Minister Dharmendra Pradhan said on Monday that he spoke with Saudi Energy Minister Khalid al-Falih last week and reminded him that OPEC and other major oil producers had promised to raise their output at a meeting in June.
India imports an average of 25 million barrels per month from Saudi Arabia.
Reuters last week reported that Russia and Saudi Arabia, the world's two biggest oil producers, struck a private deal in September to raise output to cool rising prices and had informed the United States about the decision.
The extra cargoes indicate a willingness by Saudi Arabia to increase crude supply to make up the shortfall once sanctions by the United States on oil exports from Iran, the third-largest producer in the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), start up on Nov. 4.
India is Iran's top oil client after China, though several refiners have indicated they will stop taking Iranian barrels because of the sanctions.
Reliance Industries Ltd, Hindustan Petroleum Corp, Bharat Petroleum Corp and Mangalore Refinery Petrochemicals Ltd are seeking an additional 1 million barrels each in November from Saudi Arabia, the sources said.
Three of the companies did not immediately reply to an email from Reuters seeking comment. MRPL replied "no comments" when contacted by email.
State-owned oil producer Saudi Aramco was not immediately available for comment.
Given their dependence on Iranian oil supplies, the Indian refiners are concerned about the loss of Iranian crude once the sanctions start and are seeking exemptions. Refiners in the country have placed orders to buy 9 million barrels from Iran in November.
One of the reasons for the additional demand for Saudi oil is that the crude arbitrage from the United States is shut so the Indian buyers have to turn to Middle Eastern barrels, said one of the sources.
India, the world's third biggest oil importer, is grappling with a combination of rising oil prices and falling local currency, which makes imports of dollar-denominated oil more expensive. Retail prices for gasoline and diesel fuel in India are at record highs and the government has cut its excise tax on fuel to ease some of the pain for consumers.
Indian Oil Minister Dharmendra Pradhan said on Monday that he spoke with Saudi Energy Minister Khalid al-Falih last week and reminded him that OPEC and other major oil producers had promised to raise their output at a meeting in June.
India imports an average of 25 million barrels per month from Saudi Arabia.
Reuters last week reported that Russia and Saudi Arabia, the world's two biggest oil producers, struck a private deal in September to raise output to cool rising prices and had informed the United States about the decision.
Tata Steel VP Sunil Bhaskaran to be new Air Asia India boss: report
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No-frills carrier AirAsia India, which has been facing headwinds in the country for quite a few years now, may finally be getting a new chief. Sources in the know told The Economic Times that Sunil Bhaskaran, currently the vice-president of corporate services at Tata Steel, was hand-picked as the new head of AirAsia India by Tata Sons' chairman N. Chandrasekaran, and a formal announcement is expected this week, perhaps even today.
The chief's office had been lying vacant since Amar Abrol resigned from the position in May citing personal reasons, and reportedly moved back to the airline's headquarters in Malaysia to work on other projects. JetBlue executive Eash Sundaram was subsequently offered the role, but he declined.
"Sunil has been working closely with the government and that would come handy in a regulated sector like aviation that is facing tremendous headwinds at the moment. He would have his hands full," an old associate told the daily. Bhaskaran, currently based in Jamshedpur, is also the chairman of the board at Jusco and Jamshedpur Football Club.
AirAsia India is a joint venture between Tata Sons Ltd and Malaysia's AirAsia Berhad. Since its inception, the four-year-old airline had been run by CEOs chosen by the management of AirAsia Berhad, including its Group CEO Tony Fernandes, who was booked by the CBI in May for allegedly bribing government officials to secure the international flying license back when the 5/20 rule was in place.
The rule, which came into effect in 2004, mandated airlines to have five years of experience as well as a minimum 20 aircraft-fleet to be eligible to fly on international routes. In 2016, this rule was partially eased to allow domestic airlines to fly overseas provided they deploy 20 planes or 20% of their total capacity for domestic operations, which benefited AirAsia India and Vistara, both partly owned by the Tata Group. The CBI alleged that payments to the tune of Rs 12.28 crore were remitted to India to lobby with public servants to tweak government policies during the UPA rule.
The airline was already being probed on the basis of the claims made by ousted Tata Group chairman Cyrus Mistry. The latter had alleged that fraudulent transactions of Rs 22 crore, involving non-existent entities in India and Singapore, were carried out in AirAsia India. Moreover, two years ago, a Deloitte Touche investigation had unearthed irregularities in the financial transactions of about Rs 22 crore involving the airline's former CEO Mittu Chandilya.
The buzz about Bhaskaran's appointment comes even as whispers of a wider leadership reshuffle in AirAsia India are getting louder. Citing sources the daily added that there is a possibility that the airline's chairman, S. Ramadorai, may also step down soon.
The chief's office had been lying vacant since Amar Abrol resigned from the position in May citing personal reasons, and reportedly moved back to the airline's headquarters in Malaysia to work on other projects. JetBlue executive Eash Sundaram was subsequently offered the role, but he declined.
"Sunil has been working closely with the government and that would come handy in a regulated sector like aviation that is facing tremendous headwinds at the moment. He would have his hands full," an old associate told the daily. Bhaskaran, currently based in Jamshedpur, is also the chairman of the board at Jusco and Jamshedpur Football Club.
AirAsia India is a joint venture between Tata Sons Ltd and Malaysia's AirAsia Berhad. Since its inception, the four-year-old airline had been run by CEOs chosen by the management of AirAsia Berhad, including its Group CEO Tony Fernandes, who was booked by the CBI in May for allegedly bribing government officials to secure the international flying license back when the 5/20 rule was in place.
The rule, which came into effect in 2004, mandated airlines to have five years of experience as well as a minimum 20 aircraft-fleet to be eligible to fly on international routes. In 2016, this rule was partially eased to allow domestic airlines to fly overseas provided they deploy 20 planes or 20% of their total capacity for domestic operations, which benefited AirAsia India and Vistara, both partly owned by the Tata Group. The CBI alleged that payments to the tune of Rs 12.28 crore were remitted to India to lobby with public servants to tweak government policies during the UPA rule.
The airline was already being probed on the basis of the claims made by ousted Tata Group chairman Cyrus Mistry. The latter had alleged that fraudulent transactions of Rs 22 crore, involving non-existent entities in India and Singapore, were carried out in AirAsia India. Moreover, two years ago, a Deloitte Touche investigation had unearthed irregularities in the financial transactions of about Rs 22 crore involving the airline's former CEO Mittu Chandilya.
The buzz about Bhaskaran's appointment comes even as whispers of a wider leadership reshuffle in AirAsia India are getting louder. Citing sources the daily added that there is a possibility that the airline's chairman, S. Ramadorai, may also step down soon.
India to be world's 11 wealthiest nation by 2022, says report
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By 2022, India will be the world's 11th wealthiest nation, ahead of countries such as Switzerland, Hong Kong, the Netherlands and Taiwan. The report by Boston Consulting Group (BCG) also predicts that India's personal wealth will grow to $5 trillion by 2022, up from $3 trillion in 2017. Last year, India had ranked 15th globally in terms of total personal wealth.
The US continues to top the wealth chart, with its total personal wealth expected to mushroom from $80 trillion in 2017 to $100 trillion in the next four years. China ranked second, with a total personal wealth of $21 trillion, which the report sees more than doubling to $43 trillion in the same time frame.
According to the report, the pace of India's personal financial wealth accumulation is actually going to accelerate from a CAGR of 12% between 2012 and 2017 to a 13% CAGR till 2022. This makes India the only nation apart from China to have a double digit CAGR for personal wealth, Fortune India reported.
BCG further noted that India is set to constitute the second largest pool of wealth among the emerging markets in the coming years, second only to China. It is already the fifth-largest Asian market in number of affluent, high net worth (HNWI) and ultra-high net worth individuals (UHNWI), numbering 87,000 and 4,000, respectively, in 2017. In addition, the country boasted 322,000 "affluents", or those with wealth up to $1 million. This is reportedly the first time that BCG has released figures for these categories.
HNWI are defined as people boasting private wealth to the tune of between $1 million and $20 million, while the UHNWI category applies to richer folks. According to Ashish Garg, partner and director at BCG, India, the UHNWI category posted the fastest rate of growth.
Of course, this burgeoning pie spells massive opportunities for wealth managers. The report observed that nearly 70% of the country's personal financial wealth would be accessible to wealth managers as investable wealth in 2022, up from 67% last year. This includes listed equity, bonds, investment funds, currency and deposits, and other smaller asset classes. On the other hand, the 30% non-investable wealth includes life insurance and pensions, unlisted equity and other equity.
Quoting Anna Zakrzewski, partner and director, BCG Zurich, the publication reported that the investable wealth in India makes it an attractive market for banks to swoop in and offer wealth management and investment advisory services, especially to their HNI clients. However, according to both executives, Indian banks are not doing enough to tap this space.
"Most of the products that banks offer in this space end up looking similar. There is a need to diversify and offer more customised products to clients," said Garg, adding that there is enough scope in this space for both banks and non-bank players to thrive. According to Zakrzewski, though Indian banks have access to a wealth of data in terms of behaviour, investments, life cycles and more, they are using "just 25-30%" of this information. If the domestic players can find a way to leverage this data, they will emerge as winners on the revenue, market share and client satisfaction fronts, she added.
The BCG report also estimated that around 6% of India's private wealth is currently held offshore.
The US continues to top the wealth chart, with its total personal wealth expected to mushroom from $80 trillion in 2017 to $100 trillion in the next four years. China ranked second, with a total personal wealth of $21 trillion, which the report sees more than doubling to $43 trillion in the same time frame.
According to the report, the pace of India's personal financial wealth accumulation is actually going to accelerate from a CAGR of 12% between 2012 and 2017 to a 13% CAGR till 2022. This makes India the only nation apart from China to have a double digit CAGR for personal wealth, Fortune India reported.
BCG further noted that India is set to constitute the second largest pool of wealth among the emerging markets in the coming years, second only to China. It is already the fifth-largest Asian market in number of affluent, high net worth (HNWI) and ultra-high net worth individuals (UHNWI), numbering 87,000 and 4,000, respectively, in 2017. In addition, the country boasted 322,000 "affluents", or those with wealth up to $1 million. This is reportedly the first time that BCG has released figures for these categories.
HNWI are defined as people boasting private wealth to the tune of between $1 million and $20 million, while the UHNWI category applies to richer folks. According to Ashish Garg, partner and director at BCG, India, the UHNWI category posted the fastest rate of growth.
Of course, this burgeoning pie spells massive opportunities for wealth managers. The report observed that nearly 70% of the country's personal financial wealth would be accessible to wealth managers as investable wealth in 2022, up from 67% last year. This includes listed equity, bonds, investment funds, currency and deposits, and other smaller asset classes. On the other hand, the 30% non-investable wealth includes life insurance and pensions, unlisted equity and other equity.
Quoting Anna Zakrzewski, partner and director, BCG Zurich, the publication reported that the investable wealth in India makes it an attractive market for banks to swoop in and offer wealth management and investment advisory services, especially to their HNI clients. However, according to both executives, Indian banks are not doing enough to tap this space.
"Most of the products that banks offer in this space end up looking similar. There is a need to diversify and offer more customised products to clients," said Garg, adding that there is enough scope in this space for both banks and non-bank players to thrive. According to Zakrzewski, though Indian banks have access to a wealth of data in terms of behaviour, investments, life cycles and more, they are using "just 25-30%" of this information. If the domestic players can find a way to leverage this data, they will emerge as winners on the revenue, market share and client satisfaction fronts, she added.
The BCG report also estimated that around 6% of India's private wealth is currently held offshore.
Wipro Infrastructure Engineering gears up for next leap, looks for inorganic growth
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Wipro Infrastructure Engineering, in just four years since Wipro began building it, seems to be gearing up for the next leap ahead. Consider this: In just Additive Manufacturing, which happens to be one of its five major areas of focus - the others being hydraulics, water treatment, aerospace, automation solutions - the company has not only added some 7 to 8 new customers in India over the past six months, taking the total number to 25, but is also actively looking at foraying into markets outside India.
Speaking to Business Today, Pratik Kumar, CEO, Wipro Infrastructure Engineering says: In additive manufacturing, we have expanded our customer footprint in India and feel it is time for us to also look beyond India and get a foothold in some of the more prominent markets in additive manufacturing such as Europe and the US.
Elaborating on the options, he says, "We are planning to build our sales presence as well as make a foray into Europe or US markets, using the inorganic growth route. Even if these are not large scale companies, considering this to be an emerging area, we are hopeful that in the next nine to 12 months, we should be able to get into overseas markets as well." Explaining why it makes sense to seek a foothold outside India, he says, "because there is a larger market out there and it is more mature." There is apparently a lot for all players along the value chain - be it the manufacturers or service providers like Wipro Infrastructure.
Foray Into Industrial Automation Solutions
What also seems to be exciting people at Wipro Infrastructure is its new baby - its latest foray into industrial automation. In just six months into the business, it is taking serious strides. G Sundararaman, company's senior vice president and head, automation solutions says, the automation solutions space is highly fragmented with niche solution providers and there are few reputed, organised corporate players offering an integrated suite of offerings in the automation space, which is a good reason Wipro wants to make a dent here. Ask the goal-oriented Pratik Kumar on the target here and he says, "We want to emerge as one among the top players in the next three years." On the key attraction at the moment for it in India, he says, is the fact that productivity is still low in the country and labour costs are constantly going up.
The company is building a partnership ecosystem for automation products with automation product companies like Mitsubishi and others. And then, as this space requires, follow it up by binding the products to an ecosystem and to deliver the overall solution. The end goal being apparently to help industry improve efficiency, productivity and ensure cost reduction. It is looking to include some players from the pharmaceutical sector, auto and auto- ancillary players apart from the FMCG space. In just about six months, efforts have gone into putting in place a core team, bringing experts from the industry, establishing the partnership eco-system. It has already announced one with Mitsubishi but apparently is in dialogue with others though Pratik Kumar would not name anyone. Plus, it has been holding multiple pilots for several organisations. To get an early head start here, Kumar says, the company is open to the idea of taking the inorganic growth route.
Wipro Infrastructure, which has targets to attain half a billion dollar business in a year from now, is perhaps a company to watch from the Wipro fold.
Speaking to Business Today, Pratik Kumar, CEO, Wipro Infrastructure Engineering says: In additive manufacturing, we have expanded our customer footprint in India and feel it is time for us to also look beyond India and get a foothold in some of the more prominent markets in additive manufacturing such as Europe and the US.
Elaborating on the options, he says, "We are planning to build our sales presence as well as make a foray into Europe or US markets, using the inorganic growth route. Even if these are not large scale companies, considering this to be an emerging area, we are hopeful that in the next nine to 12 months, we should be able to get into overseas markets as well." Explaining why it makes sense to seek a foothold outside India, he says, "because there is a larger market out there and it is more mature." There is apparently a lot for all players along the value chain - be it the manufacturers or service providers like Wipro Infrastructure.
Foray Into Industrial Automation Solutions
What also seems to be exciting people at Wipro Infrastructure is its new baby - its latest foray into industrial automation. In just six months into the business, it is taking serious strides. G Sundararaman, company's senior vice president and head, automation solutions says, the automation solutions space is highly fragmented with niche solution providers and there are few reputed, organised corporate players offering an integrated suite of offerings in the automation space, which is a good reason Wipro wants to make a dent here. Ask the goal-oriented Pratik Kumar on the target here and he says, "We want to emerge as one among the top players in the next three years." On the key attraction at the moment for it in India, he says, is the fact that productivity is still low in the country and labour costs are constantly going up.
The company is building a partnership ecosystem for automation products with automation product companies like Mitsubishi and others. And then, as this space requires, follow it up by binding the products to an ecosystem and to deliver the overall solution. The end goal being apparently to help industry improve efficiency, productivity and ensure cost reduction. It is looking to include some players from the pharmaceutical sector, auto and auto- ancillary players apart from the FMCG space. In just about six months, efforts have gone into putting in place a core team, bringing experts from the industry, establishing the partnership eco-system. It has already announced one with Mitsubishi but apparently is in dialogue with others though Pratik Kumar would not name anyone. Plus, it has been holding multiple pilots for several organisations. To get an early head start here, Kumar says, the company is open to the idea of taking the inorganic growth route.
Wipro Infrastructure, which has targets to attain half a billion dollar business in a year from now, is perhaps a company to watch from the Wipro fold.
Sensex closes 461 points higher, Nifty rises to 10,460; banking, consumer durable stocks lead gains
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The Sensex and Nifty closed over 1% higher in trade today amid gains in banking, auto, consumer durables and NBFC stocks.
While the Sensex rose 461 points or 1.35% to 34,760, Nifty ended 1.54% or 159 points higher at 10,460 level.
Top Sensex gainers were Axis Bank (6.62%), SBI (5.88%) and Maruti (4.77%).
Infosys (2.38%), TCS (2.27%) and Sun Pharma (1.12%) were top Sensex losers.
The BSE midcap index rose 4.23% or 579 points higher to 14,282.
The small cpap index too gained 3.67% or 495 points to 13,997 level.
Banking stocks led the gains with BSE bankex rising 968 points or 3.53% to 28,381 level.
Bank Nifty too closed 794 points or 3.24% higher to 25,321 level.
RBI's decision to inject Rs 12,000 crore liquidity into the system through purchase of government bonds on October 11 to meet the festival season demand for funds pushed banking stocks higher in trade today.
"There has been a considerable meltdown in the past 10-15 days and it's natural to see some bounce after that... There are rumours about NBFC space being addressed.
The news about SBI buying assets may have helped," said Dhananjay Sinha, head-institutional research, Emkay Global Financial Services.
Consumer durables stocks too rose with their BSE index rising 3.77% or 675 points to 18,580 level.
On the other hand, IT stocks closed lower with the BSE IT index falling 1.52% or 230 points to 14,891 level due to a rise in Indian rupee.
Market breadth was positive with 2060 stocks closing higher compared to 606 stocks falling on the BSE.
Global stocks
Global shares were mixed in muted trading on Wednesday amid continuing worries about trade tensions and slowing global economic growth.
France's CAC 40 shed 0.5 percent in early trading to 5,292.91, while Germany's DAX fell nearly 0.3 percent at 11,943.71.
Britain's FTSE 100 edged down nearly 0.2 percent to 7,224.29. US shares were set to drift lower with Dow futures down 0.1 percent at 26,456.
S&P 500 futures were also down 0.1 percent at 2,885.
Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 added 0.2 percent to finish at 23,506.04, while Australia's S&P/ASX 200 inched up 0.1 percent to 6,049.80. South Korea's Kospi lost 1.1 percent to 2,228.61.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng added 0.2 percent to 26,225.19, while the Shanghai Composite gained nearly 0.2 percent to 2,725.84.
The S&P 500 ended down 4.09 points, or 0.1 percent, at 2,880.34. The Dow Jones industrial average fell 56.21, or 0.2 percent, to 26,430.57, and the Nasdaq composite added 2.07, or less than 0.1 percent, to 7,738.02.
While the Sensex rose 461 points or 1.35% to 34,760, Nifty ended 1.54% or 159 points higher at 10,460 level.
Top Sensex gainers were Axis Bank (6.62%), SBI (5.88%) and Maruti (4.77%).
Infosys (2.38%), TCS (2.27%) and Sun Pharma (1.12%) were top Sensex losers.
The BSE midcap index rose 4.23% or 579 points higher to 14,282.
The small cpap index too gained 3.67% or 495 points to 13,997 level.
Banking stocks led the gains with BSE bankex rising 968 points or 3.53% to 28,381 level.
Bank Nifty too closed 794 points or 3.24% higher to 25,321 level.
RBI's decision to inject Rs 12,000 crore liquidity into the system through purchase of government bonds on October 11 to meet the festival season demand for funds pushed banking stocks higher in trade today.
"There has been a considerable meltdown in the past 10-15 days and it's natural to see some bounce after that... There are rumours about NBFC space being addressed.
The news about SBI buying assets may have helped," said Dhananjay Sinha, head-institutional research, Emkay Global Financial Services.
Consumer durables stocks too rose with their BSE index rising 3.77% or 675 points to 18,580 level.
On the other hand, IT stocks closed lower with the BSE IT index falling 1.52% or 230 points to 14,891 level due to a rise in Indian rupee.
Market breadth was positive with 2060 stocks closing higher compared to 606 stocks falling on the BSE.
Global stocks
Global shares were mixed in muted trading on Wednesday amid continuing worries about trade tensions and slowing global economic growth.
France's CAC 40 shed 0.5 percent in early trading to 5,292.91, while Germany's DAX fell nearly 0.3 percent at 11,943.71.
Britain's FTSE 100 edged down nearly 0.2 percent to 7,224.29. US shares were set to drift lower with Dow futures down 0.1 percent at 26,456.
S&P 500 futures were also down 0.1 percent at 2,885.
Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 added 0.2 percent to finish at 23,506.04, while Australia's S&P/ASX 200 inched up 0.1 percent to 6,049.80. South Korea's Kospi lost 1.1 percent to 2,228.61.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng added 0.2 percent to 26,225.19, while the Shanghai Composite gained nearly 0.2 percent to 2,725.84.
The S&P 500 ended down 4.09 points, or 0.1 percent, at 2,880.34. The Dow Jones industrial average fell 56.21, or 0.2 percent, to 26,430.57, and the Nasdaq composite added 2.07, or less than 0.1 percent, to 7,738.02.
General Awareness
Chhotu ram
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What to study?
For Prelims and Mains: About Chhotu Ram and his contributions.
Context: A 64-foot-tall statue of peasant leader Sir Chhotu Ram has been unveiled at his native village Sampla in Haryana’s Rohtak district.
About Sir Chhotu Ram:
Sir Chhotu Ram, who was born on November 24, 1881, was regarded as a messiah of peasants and was instrumental in empowering farmers in pre-Independence era and getting pro-farmers law enacted. He had fought for farmers’ rights during the British rule.
On political front, he was a co-founder of the National Unionist Party which ruled all the time Panjab Province in per-Independent India and kept Congress and Muslim League at bay.
Chhotu Ram was awarded the title of ‘Rao Bahadur’. He was knighted in 1937 and was popularly known as Deen Bandhu.
His legacy has been evoked by the formation of a new party, the National Unionist Zamindara Party by guar farmers in Rajasthan in 2013.
What to study?
For Prelims and Mains: About Chhotu Ram and his contributions.
Context: A 64-foot-tall statue of peasant leader Sir Chhotu Ram has been unveiled at his native village Sampla in Haryana’s Rohtak district.
About Sir Chhotu Ram:
Sir Chhotu Ram, who was born on November 24, 1881, was regarded as a messiah of peasants and was instrumental in empowering farmers in pre-Independence era and getting pro-farmers law enacted. He had fought for farmers’ rights during the British rule.
On political front, he was a co-founder of the National Unionist Party which ruled all the time Panjab Province in per-Independent India and kept Congress and Muslim League at bay.
Chhotu Ram was awarded the title of ‘Rao Bahadur’. He was knighted in 1937 and was popularly known as Deen Bandhu.
His legacy has been evoked by the formation of a new party, the National Unionist Zamindara Party by guar farmers in Rajasthan in 2013.
For Prelims and Mains: About Chhotu Ram and his contributions.
Context: A 64-foot-tall statue of peasant leader Sir Chhotu Ram has been unveiled at his native village Sampla in Haryana’s Rohtak district.
About Sir Chhotu Ram:
Sir Chhotu Ram, who was born on November 24, 1881, was regarded as a messiah of peasants and was instrumental in empowering farmers in pre-Independence era and getting pro-farmers law enacted. He had fought for farmers’ rights during the British rule.
On political front, he was a co-founder of the National Unionist Party which ruled all the time Panjab Province in per-Independent India and kept Congress and Muslim League at bay.
Chhotu Ram was awarded the title of ‘Rao Bahadur’. He was knighted in 1937 and was popularly known as Deen Bandhu.
His legacy has been evoked by the formation of a new party, the National Unionist Zamindara Party by guar farmers in Rajasthan in 2013.
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