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 The Indian Express, Anjali Marar, September 21, 2017 A laboratory to test the quality of drinking water will soon be set up in Pune. The project has been funded by the World Bank (WB) and is part of a capacity-building programme initiated by the Maharashtra government. The WB officials, who are currently touring the state to review several ongoing projects, are in talks with various government agencies to understand the current requirements. Groundwater Survey and Development Agency (GSDA) will be managing the functioning of the new laboratory. The Pune lab, which is likely to be be set up at Wadgaon Dhayari, will function as a centralised system to co-ordinate with over 30 labs to be established under the programme. GSDA officials said while 26 labs will operate at district levels, six regional labs — each at Pune, Mumbai, Nashik, Aurangabad, Nagpur and Konkan region — will coordinate on a regional scale. Of these, locations for setting up four labs have bee...

Economic Times, Sukhbir Siwach, September 21, 2017 The Dera Sacha Sauda has Rs 74.96 crore in 473 accounts in multiple banks. Of this, its chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh has Rs 7.72 crore in 12 accounts in his name, while his “adopted daughter” Honeypreet has over Rs 1 crore in six bank accounts. The maximum bank balance, just under Rs 50 crore, is held in 20 accounts in the name of Hakikat Entertainment, Ram Rahim’s film production unit. These are among the details of 504 bank accounts held by the Dera and its various bodies, compiled by the Haryana government. While 473 are savings and term deposit accounts, the remaining are loan accounts. The Punjab and Haryana High Court had ordered both the Haryana and Punjab governments to evaluate the Dera’s movable and immovable assets after the violence on August 25 following Ram Rahim’s conviction. The court had warned the Dera that the cost of damage to public property would be recovered from its assets. The state government has al...

Financial Express, September 21, 2017 French utility giant Engie said on Wednesday it has partnered with Dubai-based Abraaj Group to build more than 1,000 MW of wind power projects in India. According to industry estimates, this would require investment of around Rs 6,000 crore. This would be Abraaj’s second investment in the clean energy sector in India. In 2015, Abraaj had partnered with the Aditya Birla Group to build a 1 GW solar energy platform. It also has a majority stake in a 50 MW wind power project in Pakistan. It has invested over $1 billion in 10 projects globally. Engie currently has about 800 MW of solar projects in various stages of developments across India. The group is the largest independent electricity producer in the world with 112.7 GW of installed capacity, of which 20% is from renewables. To achieve the target of 60,000 MW of wind energy by 2022, the country needs to add more than 6,000 MW of wind generation capacity annually on an average. Currently, the ...

Financial Express, Vikas Srivastava, September 21, 2017 Even as the government tries to bring prices of essential medical equipment such as stents and knee caps to make them affordable, Suneeta Reddy, managing director of Apollo Hospitals, in an interview with Vikas Srivastava said it is high time the government allows flexibility in pricing for high-end customers to prevent flight of forex and talent from India. Excerpts: Medical tourism in India lags south-east Asia. How is Apollo looking at the opportunity? At present, 15% of our total revenue comes from medical tourism. The margin is higher since foreign patients have capacity to pay. However, there is a strong case for India to build on this, since countries such as Thailand and the UK have outpriced themselves. We are 1/10th of the clinical outcomes, which is key, and we have GCI-accredited hospitals. So clearly, the value proposition is highest for India. The only market we have lost is Pakistan. But beyond that, we ...

The Economic Times, Prabha Raghavan, September 20, 2017 Some drugs used in the treatment of cancer, hepatitis B, tuberculosis, measles and malaria are expected to get cheaper as the country’s drug pricing watchdog has limited their maximum prices.  The National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA) on Wednesday said it has fixed and revised the ceiling prices of 39 drug formulations.  The move is expected to slash prices of some of these drugs, like Hepatitis B immunoglobulin, by as much as 20%, a senior government told ET on condition of anonymity.  TB drugs like rifabutin, chemotherapy medicines actinomycin D and ifosfamide, migraine medication sumatriptan, measles vaccine and Serum Institute’s anti-rabies drug (rMAb) also figure in NPPA’s latest price control notification.  The latest notification brings the tally of essential medicines under price control to 821 under the National List of Essential Medicines (NLEM), according to a tweet by...

Economic Times, September 20, 2017 India said today it is collaborating with Russia to build the Roppur nuclear power  plant in Bangladesh, the first initiative under a Indo-Russia deal to undertake  atomic energy projects in third countries.  This will also be India's first atomic energy venture abroad. "We are collaborating with our Russian and Bangladeshi partners on establishing   Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant in Bangladesh," Atomic Energy Commission chairman Sekhar  Basu said at the 61st general conference of the global nuclear watchdog International  Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). Basu's remarks are significant given that the Indian nuclear establishment for years  has not been able to grow, internationally, due to sanctions imposed on New Delhi  post the 1974 Pokhran tests.  It was, however, not clear what kind of "collaboration" India was doing since it is  not a member of the Nuclear Suppliers Group-- a 48 member group...

 The Economic Times, September 21, 2017, Ruchika Chitravanshi There are some prominent names among the thousands of directors of defaulting companies disqualified by the government.  Malayalam film star Mohanlal, former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Omar Abdullah, Maharashtra sales tax commissioner Rajeev Jalota and leading consultant Rama Bijapurkar are among those in the list released by the corporate affairs ministry.  The directors have been disqualified under Section 164 (2)(A) of the Companies Act. Entities named by the government include state government-owned firms such as MIDC Infrastructure Projects Ltd, of which Jalota is named a director, and Jammu and Kashmir State Power, where Abdullah is said to be on the board.  According to an earlier order, directors who have been disqualified for holding posts in companies that failed to submit financial returns for three years in a row will not be eligible for reappointment as board members in...

The Hindu, September 20, 2017, TCA Sharad Raghavan A “large part” of the ₹65,000 crore of transitional credit claims received by the government under the Goods and Services Tax regime are ineligible for refunds, a senior Finance Ministry official told The Hindu, adding that the investigation of all such claims is under way. Firms can claim transitional credits for inputs bought and taxes paid before GST rollout. The official pointed out that even where claims were accepted, refunds would be done in a staggered manner over months, and not as a single lump sum. He explained that this was because the accumulated credit was more than what could be claimed on manufacturing output in a single month. “The investigation and audit of these [₹65,000 crore worth of] transitional credit claims are under way, but we have already found that a large amount of them are not eligible for refunds,” the senior official said on condition of anonymity as the audit was still on. “We are...

Businessline, September 20, 2017  After a year or more of due-diligence, the RBI has notified that peer-to-peer (P2P) lending platforms need to be regulated and treated on par with non-banking financial companies (NBFCs). In a notification, the RBI has pressed the need for regulation of this segment, which is fairly nascent in India with only 10-12 small players. While the final guidelines are still awaited, P2P lending platforms such as LenDen Club, Faircent, Qbera, Lendbox, Rupaiya Exchange and Monexo are a relieved lot. The players, had themselves, been asking the apex bank for regulations that would help bring credibility and trust into the business. Bhavin Patel, co-founder of LenDenClub, said that the move will bring a lot of legal clarity wherein the platform will have the rights to take legal action against defaulters. Most of these borrowers are small businesses with no credit history. Mukesh Bubna, founder of Monexo, which launched its operations in India last year,...

Business Line, Septmber 20, 2017, V Rishi Kumar Incessant rains in some parts of the southern States, and deficit rains in other areas, resulted in inconsistent agriculture spread and crop damage in certain locations.Due to excess rains in some parts of Kerala, there have been instances of crop damage. However, in Karnataka and Telangana, the cropped area has come down due to deficit rain. Telangana received deficit rainfall of 9 per cent at 602.6 mm against the normal 663.6 mm as of September 18.The State is a witness to 90 per cent of normal acreage at 38.77 lakh hectares against normal coverage of 43.24 lakh hectares (lh). Crop cultivation Cultivation of crops such as horsegram, bajra, ragi, castor and chillies is lower than the average coverage of last year. Paddy, maize, redgram, greengram, blackgram and turmeric are in the range of 76 to 100 per cent of the normal coverage. Cotton has seen more than 100 per cent coverage, but the coverage is low due to deficit rainfall. A N...

THE TIMES OF INDIA, SEPTEMBER 21, 2017 Mindful of the heightened risk of cyber fraud on account of growth in digital transactions post-demonetisation, the Centre is contemplating a standard protocol for e-wallet companies on how to prevent and fight online financial fraud. The finance ministry has also been asked to look at a possible Digital Payments Act to regulate the entire gamut of e-payments. The measures to tighten the anti-cyber fraud regime were reviewed at a high-level meeting chaired by home minister Rajnath Singh here on Tuesday. The meeting analysed the trends relating to online financial transactions, which as per RBI data grew from 255 crore in 2013-14 to 998 crore in 2016-17 and are expected to rise further to 2,500 crore in 2017-18, and discussed how to handle the higher risk of cyber fraud in view of fast-expanding digital payment regime. According to a senior home ministry officer, while the average daily online financial transactions in November 2016, when dem...

September 21, 2017 ET Bureau Reliance Industries (RIL) is keeping its options open to significantly expand its giant Jamnagar refinery in the long run depending on fuel demand, but it has not taken any investment decision for such a project, according to industry sources and an agency report. Jamnagar already has a capacity to process 60 million tonne of crude oil a year, making it the biggest refining complex in the world. The company can expand this capacity to 100 million tonne a year by 2030 at an estimated cost of $10 billion, Reuters reported, citing two sources that the news agency did not identify. RIL mentioned the possible expansion in a presentation on energy scenarios up to 2030 made to India’s Centre for High Technology (CHT), the agency reported, citing sources who had seen the presentation. CHT is a body under the oil ministry and works in the field of oil refining, handling storage and storage. It is also involved in the performance review of refineries. The spo...

September 20, 2017 The Hindu On the same day that the International Labour Organisation (ILO) released new global estimates of modern slavery, a group of over 40 activists and academics from different parts of the world have released a 25-point signed statement urging India to ensure a more effective implementation of labour law protections to eliminate modern slavery and forced labour in line with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Noting that “dominant international discourses on modern slavery do not adequately reflect the extreme exploitation and precarious nature of employment in India today”, the statement said “an undue emphasis on sensationalist accounts of modern slavery deny the widespread prevalence of economic exploitation, even now based on social customs, cultural traditions and hereditary obligations, and obfuscate the continuum between extreme and ‘everyday’ forms of such exploitation.” “A multi-pronged strategy that responds to the needs of all affected ...

September 20, 2017 Business Line Mahindra & Mahindra is expanding its base in Turkey, the fourth largest tractor market in the world, by acquiring Erkunt Group's tractor manufacturing and foundry businesses for $127 million (about ₹816 crore). M&M said it will acquire 100 per cent of the share capital of Erkunt Traktor Sanayii A.S for $76 million and at least 80 per cent of Erkunt Sanayi A.s, which is the foundry business for an estimated enterprise value of $47 million.  “Turkey is a very important market in our globalisation journey and we wish to participate in its entire agri-mechanisation landscape. “The acquisition of Erkunt will enable Mahindra to expand its footprint in the world’s fourth largest tractor market," said Pawan Goenka, Managing Director, Mahindra & Mahindra. The Erkunt Foundry, in which Mahindra got 80 per cent of the share capital, operates in the casting and machining sector. It has the capability to manufacture engine blocks, cylinde...

September 19, 2017 PTI In a move that may result in lower call charges, telecom regulator TRAI on Tuesday slashed the rate paid by an operator for termination of mobile call on a rival network to 6 paise from the current 14 paise a minute. The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) said the new call termination charge will be applicable from October 1, 2017, and will be completely eliminated from January 1, 2020. The cut in the charge runs contrary to the demands made by established operators, including Bharti Airtel, which wanted the termination rate to be raised and benchmarked against the actual cost. The latest entrant Reliance Jio, on the other hand, had been seeking waiving of the charge, saying it will benefit consumers. "On the basis of comments received from stakeholders, in writing or during the open house discussion or during the workshop, the Authority has prescribed revised domestic mobile termination charges through these regulations," TRAI said ...

September 20, 2017 The Hindu Rotavirus vaccination was rolled out in Tiruvannamalai district on Tuesday. The vaccination, which will be available as part of the routine immunisation schedule from Wednesday, will be administered to a total of 33,931 children. According to R. Meera, Deputy Director of Health Services, Tiruvannamalai, the rotavirus vaccination, which is given in the form of drops, will be administered to children at the sixth, 10th and 14th week after birth. “They will receive the drops in three doses along with the pentavalent vaccination. Five drops will be administered for each dose,” she said. The World Health Organisation had recommended that rotavirus vaccination should be made part of the national immunisation schedule in all countries to bring diarrhoea under control. Accordingly, the vaccination was being rolled out in Tamil Nadu, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Assam and Tripura in September. Starting Wednesday, 22,627 children in Tiruvannamalai health unit d...

September 20, 2017 Indrani Bagchii Amid allegations of "ethnic cleansing" in Myanmar in the wake of the mass exodus of Rohingya Muslims, state counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi has said that her government "does not fear international scrutiny" and is making every effort to restore peace and normalcy. "We condemn all human rights violations. We are committed to peace and [the] rule of law. The security forces have been advised to adhere to [the] code of conduct; to exercise all measures to avoid collateral damage. We feel deeply for the suffering of all people who have been caught in the conflict," Suu Kyi said in an address in the Myanmarese capital Naypyitaw on Tuesday. Suu Kyi spoke in English, indicating the speech was mainly meant for international consumption. "If you are interested in joining us in our endeavours, please let us know," she told foreign diplomats gathered for her speech. "We can arrange for you to visit these areas an...

September 20, 2017 ENS Economic Bureau The Prime Minister’s Office has asked the finance ministry to hold discussions with key ministries and stitch together a comprehensive presentation on ways to create massive jobs and stimulate economic growth that hit a three-year trough in Q1FY18. Sources said that a meeting to take stock of the economy by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday, in which finance minister Arun Jaitley and top officials of his ministry were to take part, has now been postponed by a few days. The finance ministry will prepare the roadmap on government revenue and spending, based on consultations with the ministries, including the railways and transport and highways. Given the limited fiscal space available, the government intends to adopt a targeted spending method for which identifying key sectoral issues are important, said a source. To pacify upset consumers, the government may also look at direct fiscal interventions such as lowering taxes on petroleum ...

September 20, 2017 ET Bureau Two Adani Power companies managed to secure a shade over one third of the total coal auctioned by Coal India under the Shakti scheme by offering discounts ranging between 1paise per unit and 3 paise per unit over their existing tariffs. Others in the race were GMR’s power arm GVK Power, Inland Power, Lalitpur Power, ACB India, KSK Mahanadi Power and Sai Lilagar Power. They were among the 10 companies, including Adani, that collectively managed to secure 27 million tonnes of coal supply contract for 25 years on committing to generate power at discounts ranging between 4 paise per unit and 1paise per unit over their existing tariffs. Adani Power Maharashtra and Adani Power Rajasthan together secured supplies of 9.9 million tonnes of coal. The grade they have been allocated ranged from G6 and G13. It would be supplied from South Eastern Coalfields’ Korba, Mand Raigarh, and Korea Rewa mines, Mahanadi Coalfields’ Ib Valley, Basundhara and Talcher mines a...

September 20, 2017 Prabha Raghavan In a move to bring more clarity on which medicines can be sold without prescriptions, a committee of the apex drug regulator has decided to create a category for over-the-counter medicines. If approved by the advisory board on drugs, India would finally define OTC drugs and possibly curb the sale of some that should not be sold without prescriptions. At the same time, health activists feel the move may not have much impact unless the regulations to discourage the harmful medicines without prescriptions are strengthened and enforced. The Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO) is expected to amend rules on drugs and cosmetics to include a separate schedule for OTC drugs. Its drugs consultative committee (DCC), at a meeting on Monday, approved the creation of a category which would include medicines for minor illnesses like fevers, colds and certain types of allergies, an official present at the meeting said. “In principle, (DCC) has...

September 19, 2017 PTI India-born Sriram Krishnan, a former top executive from Facebook and Snap, has been hired by Twitter as its senior director of product. Krishnan will be joining Twitter from October 2 where he will be responsible for a lot of the core features inside the main app, internally referred to as “Bluebird,” including timeline, direct messaging and search, technology news website Recode reported.      I'm going to be joining Twitter and become a part of #theflock to work with the fantastic product team there.     — Sriram Krishnan (@sriramk) September 19, 2017 A well-known product executive around Silicon Valley, Krishnan has primarily focused on ad technology. Now he is taking on a consumer product role, the report said. “So... excited to have you Sriram! Welcome home,” tweeted Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey late last night. Krishnan left Facebook in February 2016 to help lead advertising efforts at Snapchat’s parent company Snap. H...