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The Economic Times December 29, 2017  NEW DELHI McDonald's India (MIPL) said that it has not been able to verify if the McDonald's restaurants operated by Connaught Plaza Restaurants (CPRL) in North and East India are complying with applicable standards of the firm or not, adding that these restaurants need to be closed immediately.  Vikram Bakshi, CPRL's managing director, alleged that the American fast food giant seemingly has "double standards" when it comes to food safety and supplies for "third world countries like ours", compared with developed nations.  "Food quality and safety are affected by all facets of the supply chain, from raw material sourcing and production to manufacturing to restaurant handling and preparation. Transportation and storage are critical links in the process. The unknown distribution centre is not approved to supply within the McDonald's system," MIPL said in response to recent reports about ...

The Hindu December 28, 2017 A Tibetan film-maker jailed in  China  for making a film about the Olympics and Tibet has escaped from China and arrived in the United States, according to an activist group which campaigned for his release. Dhondup Wangchen was jailed for six years in late 2009 in the western province of Qinghai after he made a documentary in which ordinary Tibetans praised the Dalai Lama and complained about how their culture had been trampled upon. The film,  Leaving Fear Behind , features a series of interviews with Tibetans who talk about how they still love their exiled spiritual leader and thought the 2008 Beijing Olympics would do little to improve their lives. In a statement late on Wednesday Beijing time, the group ‘Filming for Tibet’ said Dhondup Wangchen had arrived in San Francisco that same day. “After many years, this is the first time I’m enjoying the feeling of safety and freedom,” the group quoted him as saying. “I would like t...

The Indian Express Jay Mazoomdaar December 29, 2017 On October 16, the National Green Tribunal asked the Union Environment Ministry to set up a “neutral” panel to objectively consider conflicting recommendations that have stalled the 2,000-MW Subansiri Lower Hydroelectric Project on the Arunachal Pradesh-Assam border and come up with an “independent opinion” in three months. The NGT said this was the only way to break the six-year logjam that has stalled a project vital to the “national interest.” Conceived as the country’s largest hydel project, Subansiri lower dam construction began in 2005 and over Rs 6,000 crore was already spent by NHPC Ltd before work was suspended due to local opposition in 2011. On November 27, the Environment Ministry set up a three-member panel with experts who — or their organisations — have all backed NHPC’s positions on the project in the past: Prabhas Pande, I D Gupta and P M Scott. On October 16, the National Green Tribunal asked the Un...

The Economic Times December 29, 2017 In a sweeping reform, the market regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) on Thursday approved convergence of stock and commodity bourse from October 2018. The move will allow bourses like the NSE and BSE to launch commodity products on their platforms.  According to market experts the convergence will help an individual to have one account to trade in all asset classes.  However, the highly anticipated rules on default disclosures were deferred by the market regulator.  According to market reports, Sebi in its board meet today was expected to mandate all the listed entities to start disclosing the first instance of a loan default to a bank or financial institution within one working day. The regulation would have tightened the noose around loan defaulters.  The market regulator now will hold further talks on the norms.  In another key decision, the regulator said that rating agencies cann...

The Indian Express December 29, 2017 The annual police chiefs’ conference which was pushed back because of the Gujarat elections last month will be held from January 6 to 8 in Tekanpur, near Gwalior. Illegal migrants, Kashmir and the role of Pakistan-based terror groups such as the Lashkar-e-Taiba and the Jaish-e-Mohammad will be high on the agenda, said officials of the Home Ministry. They said cases of inter-community marriages in Kerala are likely to be taken up for discussion during the conference in the wake of the National Investigation Agency claiming before the Supreme Court that the case of Akhila, who converted to Islam and married a Muslim man, is not an “isolated incident”. The agency has told the court that it had detected a “pattern” emerging in Kerala. The conference was earlier scheduled for December 1-3. It was held back because the busy schedule of Prime Minister Narendra Modi during the Gujarat elections campaign would not permit him to present at th...

The Indian Express December 29, 2017 Sebi on Thursday capped the cross-shareholding in mutual funds to 10 per cent to avoid “potential conflict of interest” and strengthen the “governance structure” of mutual funds. The regulator said that a sponsor of a mutual fund, its associates, group company and its asset management company will be restricted from holding 10 percent or more stake in a rival Asset management Company (AMC). It said that such entities will be barred from having a representation on the board of another mutual fund house. Sebi chairman, Ajay Tyagi said that the regulator will give a year to such entities to comply with the new Sebi rules. “We have 40 plus mutual funds so any sponsor of one fund if they have substantial holding in another fund or a board position, that may have a conflict of interest,” said Tyagi after the Sebi board meet in Mumbai. The new measure will impact the shareholding of UTI Asset Management Company, as four of its promoters...

The Times of India  Bharti Jain  December 29, 2017 The Indian security establishment is taking the threat issued by the al-Qaida in Indian Subcontinent (AQIS) in a recent video very seriously, as it specifically asks 'jihadi' fighters to target the Indian Army outside its "small, secure area of Kashmir" by striking in cities like Delhi, Kolkata and Bengaluru. "The specific call by AQIS spokesperson Usama Mahmoud, a Pakistani, asking Kashmiri 'fighters' and Muslims across the subcontinent to target the Army in Delhi, Kolkata and Bengaluru so that it 'comes to its senses' is reminiscent of Indian Mujahideen's modus operandi of sending out warning letters and e-mails just before terror blasts in various Indian cities. So all necessary precautions are being taken," an intelligence official told TOI. Mansoor Asghar Peerbhoy, head of the Indian Mujahideen's media cell and a former employee of Yahoo, used to issue warning l...