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The Economic Times, Amit Malviya & Kishore Desai,  September 29, 2017 Before 2014, petroleum and oil sector finances were dangerously unsustainable. Subsidies were paid with oil bonds that were kept off the books. This artificially kept the fiscal deficit optics manageable and postponed due payments to the future. Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs) suffered massive losses as they were not able to cover their operational expenses and had to partially carry the burden of fuel subsidy.  So, OMCs’ profits were more often than not negatively impacted. They did not have enough funds for capital expenditure due to reduced revenues. The deregulation of diesel in October 2014 was a landmark step that went a long way in addressing the systemic defects plaguing the sector.  GoI also raised duties on petroleum fuel at the time of a global slump in crude prices. As a result, it could stock up public coffers without impacting the common man’s budget. As a consequ...

The Economic Times, September 28, 2017 CAIRO: The Islamic State group has released what it says is a new audio recording of its top leader, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, indicating he may still be alive.  The recording was released by the IS-run al-Furqan outlet today and the voice sounded like previous recordings of the reclusive leader, who has only appeared in public once. The last purported audio message from al-Baghdadi was released in November.  Russian officials said in June there was a "high probability" that al-Baghdadi died in a Russian airstrike on the outskirts of the Syrian city of Raqqa, the de facto capital of the extremist group. But US officials later said they believed he was still alive.  IS has suffered a number of major setbacks in Iraq and Syria in recent months.  Link:  http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/defence/islamic-state-releases-purported-audio-message-from-top-leader-abu-bakr-al-baghdadi/articleshow/60...

The Economic Times, Dinesh Narayanan, Ruchika Chitravanshi, September 29, 2017 NEW DELHI: The government's bid to clean up corporate India may spread panic in some boardrooms. The National Stock Exchange has asked about 200 companies listed on it to consider whether directors disqualified by the Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA) should continue on their boards.  Most of these are small, often defunct, private companies but many of them share directors with some top firms. The digital signatures of these directors have been deactivated.  "They cannot sign or upload any documents using that signature. The exercise has been linked to their unique director identification number,'' a senior official said.  Pawan Goenka of Mahindra and MahindraBSE 1.10 %, S Narayan of Apollo TyresBSE 1.52 % and DaburBSE -0.53 %, Vinod Kumar Dasari of Ashok LeylandBSE 3.42 %, S Sridhar of DCB Bank and GV Krishna of Hindustan PetroleumBSE 3.14 % Corp. are some of the ...

Business Line, Venkatesh Ganesh, September 28, 2017 LinkedIn India has forayed into the blue-collar jobs marketplace as it sees a huge pent up demand in this segment. The networking technology provider is eyeing this segment with an intent to look at the 100-million urban workforce doing jobs ranging from plumbers, bartenders, masons, amongst others. “We are looking to expand beyond skilling the knowledge worker,” said Akshay Kothari, Country Manager. He added that as a part of this strategy, LinkedIn has partnered with IL&FS Skills Development, to help upskill the blue-collar workers and job seekers in the country and improve their employability at a time when hiring amongst corporates is looking bleak. As a part of this initiative, IL&FS Skills will continue to design and provide skilling modules and training and LinkedIn will help the participants find a job, like a matchmaker. “With technology we can identify for example, where contractors can get labour for speci...

The Indian Express, Divya A, September 29, 2017 The export of vegetables and other perishable items to Pakistan through the Attari-Wagah checkpost is facing an unexpected hurdle — quarantine. According to official estimates, as many as 200-250 trucks laden with vegetables and soyabean would take this land route daily. But for the past few months, officials and traders say, that number has come down to less than 100. “All clearances and formalities are carried out at Attari on the Indian side according to procedure, but once the perishable goods cross over to Pakistan, they are being held up at the quarantine department and not allowed to go further into the market,” a senior Customs official posted at Attari told The Indian Express. Officials at Attari say that for some months now, the export of tomatoes, poultry and vegetables has declined drastically, while cotton is let through. Quarantine inspection is part of the standard operating procedure in the export of perishable...

The Indian Express, September 29, 2017 The Reserve Bank of India has increased foreign portfolio investors’ investment limits in central and state government securities by an aggregate Rs 14,200 crore for the October-December period. The RBI also increased limits for investment by FPIs for the December quarter by Rs 8,000 crore in Central government securities and by Rs 6,200 crore in state development loans, the central bank said. Accordingly, the aggregate FPI limits have gone up to Rs 289,300 crore from the earlier Rs 275,100 crore. After the expansion the total investments permissible in G-secs will now stand at Rs 250,000 crore, while the same for state governments will be Rs 39,300 crore, it said. The G-secs limits include a cap of Rs 189,700 crore in general securities, up from Rs 187,700 crore earlier, and Rs 60,300 crore in long term securities, up from the earlier Rs 54,300 crore. For the state development loans, the general limits are Rs 30,000 crore and Rs 9,300 c...