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THE HINDU Vishwanath Kulkarni and Rahul Wadke May 22, 2018 Ask any farmer in Vidarbha about herbicide tolerant (HT) cotton and the reply one gets is that he’s heard about people growing it secretly but is not aware of who’s actually doing it. The situation appears to be no different in Telangana and Karnataka. And just weeks ahead of the kharif planting season, the unapproved HT cottonseeds are back in circulation in States such as Maharashtra and Telangana. What’s unfolding now is a perfect policy and governance mess. States have seemingly stepped up their vigil against the illegal seeds, amidst demand from a section of farmers that the Centre approve the HT cotton for commercial cultivation. The regulator — the Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee (GEAC) — has not approved the sale and distribution of HT cottonseeds. Farmers are taking to HT cotton in the belief that it brings down their costs of cultivation. By spraying herbicide — glyphosate, which kills the ...

ENS Economic Bureau, The Indian Express, May 22, 2018 Tata Steel’s acquisition of debt-trapped Bhushan Steel – the biggest so far under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC) framework – will cut non-performing assets (NPAs) of public-sector banks (PSBs) by about Rs 35,000 crore, financial services secretary Rajeev Kumar said on Monday. “Reduction of NPAs in individual PSBs ranges from about Rs 500 crore to over Rs 10,000 crore,” Kumar said in a tweet. The acquisition will result in a write-back of Rs 7,500 crore of loans by public banks, which were earlier classified as bad debts, he said. Tata Steel, through its subsidiary, completed acquisition of a 72.65 per cent stake in Bhushan Steel last week after emerging as the winning bidder. Interim finance minister Piyush Goyal had then tweeted that “lenders recovered almost entire principal loan of Bhushan Steel through Rs 36,400 crore transparent bid by Tata Steel and also got 12 per cent stake in the company” and tha...

THE HINDU JASPREET SINGH May 22, 2018 Since IoT is being tested ‘live’, it may not be foolproof with respect to security, privacy and sheer failure. By 2020, there will be more than 20 billion devices connected to the Internet of Things (IoT), according to Gartner — that’s roughly 2.5 devices for every single person on the planet. And that’s just the beginning of what is swiftly becoming an explosion in connectivity, which could result in virtually every household item and all industrial electronic equipment being capable of exchanging data with other devices. We already rely on IoT on a daily basis, but this ecosystem will become even more indispensable in the future. Not only will it enhance quality of life for individuals — allowing us to control our homes with just a swipe on our smartphones, for example — it will allow companies to create new business models and to be more proactive in how they maintain their assets and equipment. And, in India, which suffers...

Shubhajit Roy, New Delhi, The Indian Express, May 22, 2018 In a significant move to attract talent and investment, the United Arab Emirates has announced a slew of radical changes, including 10-year visas for specialists working in medicine, science, research and technical fields. The UAE will now allow foreign companies to own 100 per cent of their business and students will be able to secure 5-year visas. ‘Exceptional’ graduates can stay for 10 years. These are massive changes for the country with potentially far-reaching consequences, at a time when major developed countries like the US are putting up barriers in visas and immigration policy. If these policies are implemented, Indians and Indian businesses will be key beneficiaries. At 2.8 million individuals, Indians are the largest expatriate community in the UAE. Professionally qualified personnel constitute at least 15 to 20 per cent of the community, followed by 20 per cent white-collar non-professionals (clerical...

The Economics Times May 21, 2018 The Trump administration won’t impose tariffs on Chinese products for now, after the two nations made progress on trade issues during two days of talks, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said.  “We’re putting the trade war on hold. So right now, we have agreed to put the tariffs on hold while we try to execute the framework,” Mnuchin said on “Fox News Sunday.”  President Donald Trump has threatened to impose tariffs on as much as $150 billion in Chinese imports to punish Beijing for allegedly violating American intellectual property and unfair trade practices. China vowed to retaliate with tariffs on everything from soybeans to airplanes.  Mnuchin’s remarks will be a relief to investors, who had feared the world’s two biggest economies were on the brink of an all-out trade conflict. The International Monetary Fund has warned that a global trade war would undermine the broadest global upswing in years.  Asian st...

The Economics Times Prabha Raghavan May 21, 2018 NEW DELHI: Ranbaxy whistleblower Dinesh Thakur has petitioned the Prime Minister's Office, seeking a commission to investigate the manner in which several potentially irrational medicines have been approved and marketed in India.  The move follows lack of action by the health ministry on its commitments to a parliamentary standing committee to resolve issues flagged with approvals of four drugs for specific indications without scientific evidence, according to him.  The Drug Controller General of India, the country's apex drug regulator, has in the past approved medicines for treating certain diseases "despite an absence of any clinical data to justify these approvals", Thakur stated in his petition dated May 7, a copy of which was viewed by ET.  Thakur has asked the PMO to direct the appointment of a commission of inquiry to investigate the manner in which DCGI and state authorities have granted ...

Express News Service, The Indian Express, May 22, 2018 The CBI on Monday filed its first chargesheet against Kanpur-based pen manufacturer Rotomac Global Pvt Ltd in an alleged bank loan fraud worth Rs 3,690 crore. The chargesheet has been filed against the company, its owner Vikram Kothari, his son Rahul and three bank officials, said sources. The first chargesheet has been filed in connection with an alleged loan default of Rs 456.63 crore towards Bank of Baroda, which is part of the total default of Rs 3,690 crore in loans availed from a consortium of seven banks, sources said. Vikram, the company’s Chairman and Managing Director, and Rahul, the director, are in jail since they were arrested on February 22. Who is Vikram Kothari? The CBI filed the chargesheet at a special court in Lucknow after a three-month probe. Besides the company and its owners, the agency has chargesheeted then AGM of Bank of Baroda S K Upadhyay, then Senior Manager Om Prakash Kapoor, and then...

C. Raja Mohan, The Indian Express, May 22, 2018 As Prime Minister Narendra Modi enters the last year of his tenure and prepares for the 2019 elections, there are no signs of a slowdown on the external front. Whether it was the quick dash to Sochi in Russia to meet President Vladimir Putin this week or the lakeside pow-vow with China’s leader Xi Jinping last month, the surprising recent re-engagement with North Korea or the planned expansion of India’s strategic partnership with Indonesia later this month, India’s diplomacy has entered a very intensive phase. Some of it has to do with the current uncertain international environment that is throwing up new opportunities as well as fresh challenges for Delhi. India’s ability to respond effectively to the new international and regional uncertainty is constrained, however, by Delhi’s institutional and policy weaknesses especially in the domains of commerce and defence. The current turbulence in the international and regional envir...

THE INDIAN EXPRESS May 21, 2018 The auto and FMCG staples packs seem to be back on track after the disruptions from demonetisation and GST. India Inc has put up a satisfactory show so far in the Q4FY18 earnings season with elevated commodity prices helping producers but hurting users. Most companies have reported numbers in line with expectations and while there have been no big disappointments there haven’t been any big surprises either. The results must be read in the context of a favourable base effect —Q4FY17 was the first full quarter post-demonetisation. The auto and FMCG staples packs seem to be back on track after the disruptions from demonetisation and GST. Hindustan Unilever reported a strong set of numbers with the volumes up 11 per cent y-o-y. However, the infrastructure sector could take a while to recover which is why neither the top line rise nor the earnings growth is much better than it was in the December 2017 quarter. Management commentary, which ...

THE INDIAN EXPRESS PRANAV MUKUL May 21, 2018 Managing director of French engineering company Egis’s Indian unit, says that while a delay in projects due to the aforementioned roadblocks may not be a huge problem for the government, it renders the investment unviable for a private party. Plummeting oil prices over the last four years may have prompted the Centre to ramp up its expenditure on infrastructure but fundamental problems including land acquisition issues, scepticism from financial institutions towards funding projects and lack of skilled enough labour have kept investment from private players at bay, Ashish Tandon, managing director of French engineering company Egis’s Indian unit, tells Pranav Mukul in an interview. He adds that while a delay in projects due to the aforementioned roadblocks may not be a huge problem for the government, it renders the investment unviable for a private party. Excerpts: What are the key concerns being faced by the infrastructur...