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The Indian Express June 18, 2018 The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Friday allowed banks to spread their provisions against bond losses in the June quarter over up to four quarters on account of rising yields and declining prices of bonds. The rising yields resulted in a notional loss to the banks on a mark to market (MTM) basis for which a corresponding provision had to be made. This is an extension of a similar dispensation offered by the central bank in the March quarter. The yield on the 10-year benchmark government security has risen 56 basis points (bps) between April 1 and June 15. While extending the dispensation on provisioning, the RBI pointed out that banks have had inadequate time to build the investment fluctuation reserve (IFR) mandated by it. The central bank prompted banks that utilise the dispensation to make suitable disclosures in their notes to accounts or quarterly results. They must disclose the provisions made for depreciation of the investment portfo...

The Indian Express June 18, 2018 The first United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Report on the Situation of Human Rights in Kashmir makes no bones about the fact that it deals mainly with the Indian administered side of the troubled state. The reason for this one-sided view focus on the Indian side is also spelt out: “The quantity and quality of information available on Indian-Administered Kashmir contrasts significantly to Pakistan-Administered Kashmir. Despite challenges, NGOs, human rights defenders and journalists are able to operate in the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir …(while) Restrictions on the freedoms of expression, opinion, peaceful assembly and association in Azad Jammu and Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan have limited the ability of observers… to assess the human rights situation there.” Col Anil Athale, a war historian and columnist based in Pune, says that “the mosques and mullahs are playing a major role in causing this problem. Islamophobia ...

The Indian Express June 18, 2018 Ten days before he arrives in India, New Delhi has sought a clarification from Seychelles President Danny Faure on his June 4 statement that the development of a military base on Assumption Island by India “will not move forward”, sources told The Indian Express. Indian diplomats in Seychelles are trying to find out the intent and meaning of Faure’s statement, made at a live press conference in Victoria. The Seychelles News Agency had quoted him as saying, “In next year’s budget, we will put funds for us to build a coast guard facility on Assumption ourselves. It is important for us to ensure that we have a military post in this area.” Sources said that while Seychelles funding its own coast guard facility was not an issue, India is hoping it would not be kept out of a project, envisaged as a 20-year agreement, that it sees as crucial to its strategic interests — particularly given China’s growing influence in the area. The Assumption Is...

The Hindu June 16, 2018 Indian agriculture needs to stop being “obsessed” with the land productivity and instead start worrying about water productivity, says a report released by the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) this week. Titled Water Productivity Mapping of Major Indian Crops, the report is part of a research project with ICRIER, mapping a water atlas for ten major crops — rice, wheat, maize, red gram or tur, chickpea or channa, sugarcane, cotton, groundnut, rapeseed-mustard and potato. These together occupy more than 60% of the country’s gross cropped area. Given that Indian agriculture uses almost 80% of all the country’s water resources, which are increasingly under stress, changing the objective of agriculture development to increasing productivity per unit of water, especially irrigation water, is crucial, says the report. Water guzzlers The most stark differences between land and water productivity are seen in rice and su...

The Indian Express June 18, 2018 AS PART of preparations for the 2+2 dialogue between the foreign and defence ministers of India and the US in Washington next month, a team of specialists from the Pentagon will be meeting their counterparts on the Indian side in Delhi from Monday to negotiate the text of a “foundational” military communications agreement. Official sources told The Indian Express that the US team, which will include lawyers, and policy and technical experts, is scheduled to meet the Indian experts from Monday to Wednesday. They said that the US officials will try and address Indian observations on the draft Communications Compatibility and Security Agreement (COMCASA) submitted earlier. The resumption of talks on COMCASA signals a breakthrough in the Indian stance. After signing a military logistics agreement with the US in 2016, the Indian government was not keen on signing the two other “foundational” agreements — COMCASA and Basic Exchange and Coopera...

Dailyhunt June 17, 2018 On 8 November 2016,Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced the "demonetisation" of high-value currency notes. When it became clear the ex ante goals of reducing corruption and black money were unlikely to succeed, attention shifted to a range of possible ex post facto rationales for the move. Numerous commentators, including the two of us, argued that one such goal would be to push the economy towards greater formalisation, and, relatedly, to push the financial sector towards greater digitisation and a reduced reliance on cash. This broad rationale was then quickly picked up by the Modi government and its supporters. Now that sufficient time has elapsed, it is possible to bring data to bear on the specific question: Has demonetisation succeeded in making India a "less cash" society? To our regret, as we both had hoped the answer would be in the affirmative, the answer is clearly "no". The chart above tells the tale. I...

The Economic Times June 16, 2018 Bitcoin edged lower on Friday and headed toward its worst week since March, as investors shrugged off a regulatory victory for virtual currencies and focused on a string of negative news, including cyber heists.  he largest cryptocurrency fell 1.8 percent to $6,536 as of 11:10 a.m. in New York. Ether also slipped on Friday, giving back much of Thursday’s 10 percent jump that followed a statement by the top U.S. markets regulator that transactions involving the world’s second-biggest token aren’t subject to federal securities rules.  Even as the 10 largest, most liquid coins on Friday drifted lower, the group is still down 15 percent for the week, with the industry fighting the perception that long-time investors are taking advantage of days with positive news to sell peer-to-peer money.  Questions swirled this week about whether the world’s biggest cryptocurrency was manipulated during last year’s record price surge aft...

The Economic Times June 18, 2018 The ICICI BankNSE 3.72 % group is discussing a reshuffle of its top management that may see its life insurance venture’s CEO Sandeep Bakhshi becoming interim chief at ICICI Bank, said four people familiar with the matter.  This comes amid investigations into ICICI Bank chief executive Chanda Kochhar’s alleged violation of the lender’s code of conduct. The rearrangement is being contemplated by the board as BN Srikrishna, a retired Supreme Court judge, investigates the role of Kochhar, Supreme Court judge, investigates the role of Kochhar, who is likely to be on leave until the investigation is complete, said the people cited above.  To be sure, the board is yet to sign off on the decision to make the changes, they said. “There have been discussions on having the seniormost, Bakhshi, as the officiating CEO, but the board is yet to sign off on this,’’ said one of the persons cited above.  “Someone from the bank may also m...

The Economic Times June 18, 2018 The Justice BN Srikrishna-led committee on data protection is likely to recommend that Internet companies such as Google and Facebook store data of Indians within the country but with riders that may restrict the mandate to sensitive personal information.  A majority of the 10-member panel has expressed the view that given the current sensitivity around data globally, it will be in the best interests of the country to ask multinationals to ensure that key data of residents remains in India, people familiar with the discussions told ET. They also said that there have been voices of dissent with a few members of the committee advocating free flow of data to retain the competitive advantage of India’s $135-billion software exports industry.  ‘SOME EXEMPTIONS LIKELY’  The Indian IT industry processes the personal data of European and American nationals by way of business with their global clients.  The committee ...

The Asian Age June 18, 2018 Investigating agencies are likely to register a fresh case against fugitive diamond merchant Nirav Modi in connection with using multiple passports. Sources said it was surprising that Modi managed to travel to different countries despite his passport being revoked proves that he has been using multiple Indian passports. Sources claimed that intelligence agencies suspect that Modi has at least six such passport, two of which have been active. Of these two passports while one had Modi’s full name, the other one had only his first name with a 40-month UK visa which had been used for traveling to different countries. Indian authorities have revoked both passports now. Interpol has also been informed of the same but since there is no uniform protocol both passports could not be blocked by different countries due to which Modi has managed to travel so far. Both CBI and ED have attached the passport revocation order in its appeal to the Interpo...

The Economic Times June 17, 2018 With a massive haze of dust enveloping Delhi and the pollution levels dropping to "severe" category, a green body has urged the Environment Ministry to speed up rolling out its National Clean Air Programme, which proposes multiple strategies to combat air pollution.  Greenpeace India said air pollution is a "silent and invisible killer" and a national health emergency, asserting that big polluters must be held accountable for the menace.  The air pollution situation in Delhi remained "severe" for the fifth day on Saturday, but authorities expressed hope that the air quality would improve after pollutants begin to disperse. The pollution level had dipped to "severe plus" category at on one point on Saturday but the situation was gradually improving, the Centre-run System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting and Research institute (SAFAR) said.  "Air pollution is prevalent all year rou...

The Indian Express June 18, 2018 An altercation between a Punjabi woman and Khasi bus driver on May 31 in Shillong’s Punjabi Lane, followed by rumours on social media about the death of a minor Khasi boy, triggered four days of intense clashes and curfew in the city. Khasi protesters threw stones and petrol bombs at security personnel after being prevented from entering the Punjabi settlement adjacent to Bara Bazaar, Shillong’s commercial hub. A demand to move the residents of Punjabi Lane out of the city’s prime commercial area has been hanging fire for at least three decades now. Mobile Internet services — suspended at the height of the tensions — were restored on June 13, but cut off again in many areas for 48 hours starting Saturday. Night curfew continues in the city. While there have been no fresh clashes, tensions between the Khasis and Punjabis continue to simmer just beneath the surface. What is the genesis of this situation, and where is it headed? Who are the...

The Indian Express Monday 18, 2018 “India has really opened my eyes,” Mahesh Maskey, Nepal’s former ambassador to China, quotes K P Oli as saying during a briefing he had with the prime minister when Nepal faced a scarcity of essential goods because of India’s blockade. In an article, Maskey recalls how Oli, disappointed over his failure to mend ties with India soon after Nepal promulgated its constitution in September 2015, chose to explore the expansion of transit and multi-dimensional relations with China. In March 2016, Prime Minister Oli visited Beijing and signed a framework of understanding. Four months later, Oli stepped down after the Communist Party of Nepal-Maoist Centre withdrew support. However, his neighbourhood diplomacy during the blockade months helped Oli win the elections in December. Subsequently, the CPN-Maoist Centre and Oli’s Communist Party of Nepal-Unified Marxist Leninist came together to form the Communist Party of Nepal, an exercise China unoffic...