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The Indian Express January 21, 2018 Security was tightened in Bihar’s Bodh Gaya on Saturday after a low-intensity bomb exploded hours after the Dalai Lama finished a sermon on Friday. Soon after, security personnel had found two “live bombs”, one barely 100 metres from the Tibetan Monastery, where the religious guru has been staying since January 2. The Dalai Lama is on a visit to Bodh Gaya until February 2. While intelligence sources confirmed the blast, the administration maintained there had been no explosion. “Let us make it clear that there was no breach of security. Two bombs were recovered and both were found outside the premises of the temple and the Mahabodhi Society,” said Gaya District Magistrate Abhishek Kumar Singh. Sources in the Bihar Police and intelligence agencies said the idea behind the low-intensity blast was to create panic, rather than cause damage, at a time when about 10,000 people, many from other countries, have gathered at Bodh Gaya. They said th

Financial Express January 22, 2018 Cryptocurrencies, led by bitcoin, today are most topical but also the least understood. The reason is most attempts, howsoever sincerely attempted, end up in highlighting technical aspects and, in the process, lose focus on substance. The end result: while over a thousand cryptocurrencies exist globally today, there is still no clarity with regard to their status. Arguments against these “currencies” have generally revolved around three elements. On closer look, however, none of them stands the test of logic.  First, cryptocurrencies are not backed by any central bank or the government. It is indeed a myth that all “currencies” must necessarily be backed by central banks and governments. Take gold, silver, platinum or diamonds, for instance. These are not backed by any bank or government and yet, for centuries, have been accepted as “valuable” and, thus, are “currencies”. So much so that the central banks use them as “assets” backing their issue

The Hindu January 22, 2018 Donald Trump’s attempt to rework the commercial-strategic equation spells an opportunity for India In a joint press conference with Norwegian Prime Minister Erna Solberg at the White House earlier this month, U.S. President Donald Trump made up the name of a non-existent fighter plane, “F-52,” while lauding the F-35 fighter sale in a new defence deal with America’s NATO ally. While the gaffe yielded a heavy round of Twitter humour at the expense of Mr. Trump, what has not been adequately noticed is the significance of weapons sales in his diplomatic pitch throughout. He has been an aggressive salesman for American defence manufacturers during his foreign tours and to visiting heads of foreign countries in his first year in office. Promoting the sale of U.S. arms could soon become a key result area for the country’s embassies around the world, according to a Reuters report earlier this month. Arms supply has been a key tool of U.S. strategy for years

Dawn Jan 21, 2018 The Asian Development Bank (ADB) will assist Pakistan to realise the potential of economic corridor development with a view to boost industrial productivity, exports and job creation and thereby contribute to sustained, increased and equitable economic growth. The technical assistance is part of the Pakistan Economic Corridors Programme (PECP) financed by the Department for International Development (DFID) of the United Kingdom and jointly delivered by ADB and DFID to promote regional trade and connectivity. Funding for the technical assistance will be provided by British government. Outcome of the assistance will be economic corridor development policy and operational framework in line with best practice strategic policy framework fo, r improving trade competitiveness. Besides feasibility studies and analytical tools will be developed to make Pakistan economic corridor development hub. The key focus of the technical assistance will be to study the

Money Control.com Jan 20, 2018 State-owned Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) will pay Rs 36,915 crore for a 51.11 percent stake in Hindustan Petroleum Corporation (HPCL), the former said in a filing to stock exchanges. ONGC will pay Rs 473.97 per share and will complete the acquisition of government's stake in HPCL by January end. A purchase by ONGC provides the government an opportunity to offload its stake in HPCL without a huge dilution in control, as the government holds a majority stake in ONGC too. The deal was a part of the government's effort to create an integrated energy behemoth and also to meet the hefty Rs 72,500-crore disinvestment target it had budgeted for this fiscal. However, the deal has been delayed repeatedly over the past year due to obstacles in getting clearances, and due to valuation concerns and lack of money with ONGC to execute the deal. Divestments so far this year have garnered Rs 53,800 crore for the government and w

The Economic Times January 21, 2018 The Reserve Bank has called for putting in place an online trading platform on the lines of the system in the US, to sell distressed assets to ensure more transparency and better price-discovery. Deputy governor Viral Acharya has opined that such an online trading platform can help create a thriving market for selling bad loans, which is plaguing the domestic banking system, and asked all the stakeholders to come together to develop such a mechanism. The banking system is saddled with over Rs 10 trillion of bad loans, which is over 10.2 per cent system wide, as of the September 2017 quarter. Following a massive spike in stressed assets, the RBI has since last June identified as many as 40 largest stressed accounts and have asked banks to send them to various debt recovery tribunals. These 40 accounts, which include Essar Steel, Bhushan Steel, Bhushan Power, Amtek Auto, Videocon Industries and JP Infra among others, constitute as much as 4

The Hindu  Jan 22, 2018 A pluralistic and integrated medical system remains a solution worth exploring A contentious element of the National Medical Commission (NMC) Bill 2017 — an attempt to revamp the medical education system in India to ensure an adequate supply of quality medical professionals — has been Section 49, Subsection 4 that proposes a joint sitting of the Commission, the Central Council of Homoeopathy and the Central Council of Indian Medicine. This sitting, referred to in Subsection 1, may “decide on approving specific bridge course that may be introduced for the practitioners of Homoeopathy and of Indian Systems of Medicine to enable them to prescribe such modern medicines at such level as may be prescribed.” Missing the reality The debates around this issue have been ranging from writing-off the ability of Ayurveda, yoga and naturopathy, Unani, Siddha and homoeopathy (AYUSH) practitioners to cross-practise to highlighting current restrictions on all

The Economic Times  Jan 21, 2018 Private sector banks are split on the speculation that government may remove the cap on foreign holding in them, with some welcoming it while others clearly not enthused by the proposed reform measure.  "I think you have to make up your mind whether banking is intrinsic to an economy or not. If it is intrinsic to an economy, do you want all earnings out of something which is intrinsic to the economy to be exported?" asked Kotak Mahindra BankBSE 1.36 % joint managing director Dipak Gupta.  "Banking, whether you like it or not, is sort of a bellwether for how directionally an economy moves. Hence, it is not appropriate to have 100 per cent foreign owned banks," he argued.  However, Rana Kapoor of Yes BankBSE 1.32 % took an entirely contrasting view and wholeheartedly welcomed the move.  "I think it's a good step. There are already two to three banks who are very close to the present cap of 74 per cent.

Economic Times January 19, 2018 Amid spiralling stock prices, dodgy operators are impersonating brokers, clients and figuring out ways to access cell phone networks in reaching out to gullible investors.  Acting hand in glove with employees of SMS gateway firms, these fraudsters send bulk messages to rig up penny stocks and even use specialised software to spoof mobile numbers and defraud small investors.  Despite efforts, telecom companies, brokers, cyber security experts as well as security experts as well as Telecom Regulatory Authority of India seem helpless in ending the menace.  Unfortunately, many times, such messages happen beyond registered telemarketers. Consumers can complain on DND (do not disturb) 2.0 and we will be able to stop them immediately. That is the only way," said RS Sharma, chairman, Trai. However, individuals continue to receive stock tip messages even after registering for DND service.  In bulk SMS, sender identity is captured in

Press Trust of India Jan 20, 2018 A federal court in the US today imposed a USD 5 million civil penalty on the North America subsidiary of India's Dr Reddy Laboratories for distributing prescription drugs in blister packs that were not child resistant, the Department of Justice said. "Dr Reddy’s failed to ensure that children were protected from potentially harmful prescription drugs," said Acting Assistant Attorney General Chad A Readler of the Justice Department's Civil Division. The court in New Jersey imposed the fine after a complaint that Dr Reddy Laboratories (DRL) failed to comply with the Poison Prevention Packaging Act (PPPA) and the Consumer Product Safety Act (CPSA). "Child-resistant packaging is a critical safety measure put in place to protect our country's children,” said CPSC Acting Chairman Ann Marie Buerkle. In addition to the USD 5 million civil penalty, the consent decree generally enjoins DRL from distributing househ

Business Line January 19, 2018 It brings little cheer that the World Economic Forum (WEF) ranked India among the Top 30 on a global manufacturing index. India would not have been ranked so had it not been for its sheer market size as the fifth largest in the world. The irony is that India is behind smaller countries like Czech Republic and Austria, both smaller than Gujarat in size, for example. When 'Make in India' was launched, there was a slogan and a vision. But this emotional connect now needs to be backed by a policy. A start was made with the Public Procurement Order by the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion. What is needed now is implementation of measures to achieve the vision. So far, 'Make in India' appears to be a song that's been marketed without all the lyrics penned in. And that rings starkly true when it comes to medical devices. To sell a product, its quality and performance specifications claimed by the seller n

The Hindu  Jan 21, 2018 The two-day visit of the UN Security Council’s sanctions monitoring team will begin on Thursday. Amid mounting global pressure on Pakistan to act against Mumbai attack mastermind Hafiz Saeed and entities linked to him, a UN Security Council team will visit the country this week for an assessment of Islamabad’s compliance with the world body’s sanctions regime. The two-day visit of the UN Security Council’s sanctions monitoring team will begin on Thursday. “The monitoring team of the UNSC 1267 Sanctions Committee will be here on January 25 and 26,” a senior Pakistani official was quoted as saying by Dawn. The UN monitoring team’s visit is taking place amid increasing pressure on Pakistan from the U.S. and India with respect to the inadequate implementation of the sanctions on Saeed and entities linked to him. However, Pakistani officials, insist that the trip is a routine visit. Saeed was listed under UN Security Council Resolution

Business Line January 21, 2018 India will overtake China to be the fastest growing large economy in 2018 and the country’s equity market will become the fifth largest in the world. According to a Sanctum Wealth Management report, when the rest of the world offers low growth and insufficient structural change, India, by contrast, is seen as a reforming economy with the prospects of strong long-term growth. “India will become the fastest growing large economy in the world, eclipsing China. Indian equity market will jump to become the fifth largest in the world,” the report noted. At a time when developed economies are cheering 2-3 per cent growth, India is focused on breaching 7.5 per cent. Moreover, India also benefits from a favourable contrast to other emerging markets. On the other hand, China is downshifting to a slower pace of growth. “Prospective returns for equities are much higher than the 6-8 per cent that one can expect from fixed income,” it noted. However, if