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THE ECONOMIC TIMES December 10, 2018 NEW DELHI: The commerce and industry ministry has floated a draft to amend the existing patent rules with a view to further streamline examination of applications.  The draft rules will amend the Patents Rules, 2003, the department of industrial policy and promotion (DIPP), under the ministry, said in a notification Monday.  The department has sought views of stakeholders on the draft rules till January.  It has suggested amendment in the rules pertaining to expedite examination of applications, opposition proceedings to grant of patent, and fees for international application.  The draft rules have suggested removal of the transmittal fee for international application (for e-patent cooperation treaty filing) for startups and small entities.  "The draft rules to further amend the Patents Rules, 2003 which the central government proposes to make...and notice is hereby given that the said draft rules ...

THE INDIAN EXPRESS DECEMBER 10, 2011 DHARMAKIRTI JOSHI, ADISH VERMA The missing piece in India’s GDP growth story — investments — has made a slow but firm comeback. What’s more, our analysis shows it is the states and extra budgetary resources of the public sector units (PSUs), and not the Centre’s budgeted outlay, that are driving this comeback. First, the overall figures. Fixed investments grew 12.3 per cent on average in real terms in the past three quarters, compared with 5.3 per cent in the previous three. Overall investment ratio (share of gross fixed capital formation in GDP) rose to 31.4 per cent in fiscal 2018 from 31.1 per cent in fiscal 2017 and 30.3 per cent in fiscal 2016. That remains below the 34 per cent plus achieved in fiscals 2012 and 2013. A standard policy response in times of slowing investments — as India and other emerging countries have shown in recent years — is to boost public investments. When these are geared towards infrastructure creatio...

THE INDIAN EXPRESS December 11, 2018 Deeptiman Tiwary Chief Magistrate Emma Arbuthnot of the Westminster Magistrates’ Court ordered the extradition, saying there was “no evidence which allowed me to find that if extradited, Dr Mallya was at real risk of suffering a flagrant denial of justice”. London : F1 Force India team boss Vijay Mallya arrives for a hearing for his extradition case at Westminster Magistrates Court in London, Monday, Dec. 10, 2018. (Source: AP/PTI) Raising Indian government hopes of bringing home fugitive businessman Vijay Mallya, a UK court Monday ordered his extradition to India to stand trial on the charges brought by the CBI and Enforcement Directorate. He has 14 days to appeal the order in a higher court. The 62-year-old, owner of the defunct Kingfisher Airlines, is wanted for wilful default of over Rs 9,000 crore of loans from different Indian banks. Chief Magistrate Emma Arbuthnot of the Westminster Magistrates’ Court ordered the extra...

THE INDIAN EXPRESS DECEMBER 11, 2018 ENS ECONOMIC BUREAU Former Chief Economic Adviser Arvind Subramanian on Sunday warned that the Indian economy is headed for a growth “slowdown” due to tight financial conditions, stressed agricultural sector and slower exports amid softening global growth conditions. Subramanian, while speaking at the Delhi launch of his book ‘Of Counsel: The Challenges of the Modi-Jaitley Economy’, also said that given the political calendars, it would be ambitious to expect huge reforms to perk up the economy at this stage. For the 2019 general elections, Subramanian said all major political parties’ manifesto are expected to have some promise related to Universal Basic Income (UBI), an idea promulgated by him earlier in Economic Survey 2016-17. The former CEA also urged his newly-appointed successor Krishnamurthy Subramanian, to look at CEA’s role as “not just narrow sitting in North Block” but much more than that. “We have to brace ourselves fo...

THE INDIAN EXPRESS December 11, 2018 Sandeep Singh, Sunny Verma The sudden resignation of RBI Governor Urjit Patel after a prolonged faceoff with the government has raised some concerns within India Inc with at least two corporate chieftains terming it as “unfortunate” and seeking a quick replacement with a credible face. Naushad Forbes, co-chairman, Forbes Marshall and former CII president, said, “It is unfortunate and it comes across as a consequence of his disagreement with the government. It is important to see that a new Governor is appointed quickly and that the candidate is respectable and is seen to be independent.” Sunil Kant Munjal, chairman, Hero Enterprise, said the resignation raises anxiety and questions. “RBI, as an institution, is the caretaker of the banking system and overall economy and any disruption at the institution will have an impact even though temporary. Questions will be asked on why it happened now.” He further added, “markets globally ar...

THE INDIAN EXPRESS DECEMBER 10, 2018 TIRTHA CHATTERJEE, ASHOK GULATI Thousands of farmers from different parts of India marched to Delhi on November 29-30 to register their protest against the Narendra Modi government’s perceived apathy and neglect of farmers’ demands. They were basically demanding three things: One, debate in Parliament to discuss farm distress; two, one-time loan waiver; and three, raising minimum support prices (MSPs) to 50 per cent above comprehensive cost (Cost C2) of production, and making MSPs legally binding on private traders — that is, if any trader buys below MSP, he should be put in prison for, say, three years. Although the march was organised by the All India Kisan Sangharsh Coordination Committee, several Opposition parties of different hues came together to endorse these demands. The state assembly election results on December 11 will influence how far these demands are taken seriously by the government. Here, we look at the rationality an...

THE INDIAN EXPRESS December 11, 2018 Amitabh Sinha Saudi Arabia was forced to come out with a rare statement, clarifying its stand, after it came under attack from scientists and non-governmental organisations for having blocked a proposal to endorse the recent 1.5-degree report by the Inter-governmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). Saudi Arabia said it appreciated the efforts of the IPCC in coming out with the report, but claimed there were “gaps” in the science related to 1.50-degree target, and that “further research” was required to address these gaps. The IPCC, a global body of scientists that does periodic reviews of scientific literature to make projections about the earth’s future climate, was asked by the climate change conference in Paris in 2015 to produce a special report to assess the feasibility of keeping global average temperatures from rising beyond 1.5 degree Celsius from pre-industrial times. The IPCC had delivered that report in November. It said that ...

THE INDIAN EXPRESS DECEMBER 11, 2018 MAN AMAN SINGH CHHINA Former RAW chief A S Dulat Sunday asserted that Pakistan’s role in the issue of Jammu and Kashmir is “hugely exaggerated” and that the problem can only be solved by engaging the Kashmiris and talking to them. Dulat, who had served in Jammu and Kashmir during his service in the Intelligence Bureau, was at Military Literature Festival, during which he made the comments while taking part in a discussion on ‘Kashmir Quandary: Diagnosis and Remedy’. Stating that the Army has always done a “first class job in Kashmir”, Dulat said the problem cannot be solved by force or military. “It is not a military problem. The one person who understood it was (former Prime Minister Atal Bihari) Vajpayee and his way is the only way. We have to engage and talk. We hugely exaggerate the role of Pakistan,” he said. Taking part in the discussion moderated by former GOC 15 Corps, Lt Gen (retd) Ata Hasnain, Dulat dismissed an asser...

THE HINDU December 11, 2018 The Huawei Chief Financial Officer will have to wait at least more day to see if she will be released on bail in a case that has raised U.S.-China tensions and complicated efforts to resolve a trade dispute that has roiled financial markets and threatened global economic growth. Meng Wanzhou was detained at the request of the U.S. during a layover at the Vancouver airport December 1 — the same day that Presidents Donald Trump and Xi Jinping of China agreed to a 90-day cease-fire in the trade dispute that threatens to disrupt global commerce. The U.S. has accused Huawei of using a Hong Kong shell company to sell equipment to Iran in violation of U.S. sanctions. It also says Ms. Meng and Huawei misled banks about the company’s business dealings in Iran. After a second day long session, Justice William Ehrcke said the bail hearing would continue on Tuesday. In urging the court to reject Ms. Meng’s bail request, prosecutor John Gibb-Carsley...

THE INDIAN EXPRESS DECEMBER 11, 2018 EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE A CBI team, led by Joint Director S Sai Manohar, left for London on Sunday to attend a hearing in the extradition case of embattled liquor baron Vijay Mallya. Special Director Rakesh Asthana earlier represented the CBI in these proceedings. However, the No 2 officer of the agency has been divested of his official duty by the government in the wake of his battle with Director Alok Verma. Manohar, as the chief of the Special Investigation Team, will thus represent CBI, sources said. Two officials of the ED are also accompanying the CBI officer, sources said. Manohar is part of the SIT earlier headed by Asthana. Mallya faces a case of loan default to the tune of Rs 9,000 crore, besides allegations of money laundering and diversion of loan funds for purposes other than they were meant for. He is in self-imposed exile in London. Indian agencies are seeking to extradite him. The case will be heard by Westminster ...

THE HINDU DECEMBER 10, 2018 Chinese law requires that all places of worship register and submit to government oversight, but some churches have declined to register, for various reasons.  Police have detained dozens of churchgoers and leaders of one of China's most prominent Protestant “house” churches, congregation members and activists said, in the latest government action against unregistered religious groups. Teams of police and state security officials in the southwestern city of Chengdu came to the homes of leaders and members of the Early Rain Covenant Church late on Sunday and detained them, according to church announcements sent to members and passed to Reuters by churchgoers and activists. China's constitution guarantees religious freedom, but since President Xi Jinping took office six years ago, the government has tightened restrictions on religions seen as a challenge to the authority of the ruling Communist Party. Chinese law requires that all place...

THE HINDU DECEMBER 9, 2018 PTI Bioplastics — often promoted as a climate-friendly alternative to petroleum-based plastics — may lead to an increase in greenhouse gas emissions, according to a study. The study from the University of Bonn in Germany, published in the journal Environmental Research Letters, suggests that shifting to plant-based plastics could have less positive effects than expected. An increased consumption of bioplastics in the following years is likely to generate increased greenhouse gas emissions from cropland expansion on a global scale. Plastics are usually made from petroleum, with the associated impacts in terms of fossil fuel depletion but also climate change. It is estimated that by 2050, plastics could already be responsible for 15% of the global CO2 emissions. Bioplastics, on the other hand, are in principle climate-neutral since they are based on renewable raw materials such as maize, wheat or sugar cane. These plants get the CO...

Economic Times December 10, 2018 Vivian Nereim, Sarah Algethami and Alaa Shahine   Saudi Arabia is reviewing its policy of imposing fees on expatriate workers after rising costs inflicted economic pain and contributed to an exodus of foreigners, according to four people familiar with the matter.  While it’s unlikely the fees will be canceled altogether, a ministerial committee is looking at modifying or restructuring them, one of the people said. A decision is expected within weeks, two of the people said. They all spoke on condition of anonymity because the information isn’t public yet.  Announced in 2016 as part of a drive to increase non-oil government revenue — a key goal of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s economic transformation plan — the fees have been unpopular with business owners in a country accustomed to cheaper foreign labour. Partly as a result, hundreds of thousands of foreigners have left the kingdom, hitting the already-struggling econ...

THE EXPRESS TRIBUNE December 11, 2018 ISLAMABAD: In order to increase foreign exchange reserves, the government plans to strengthen banking channels to convince Pakistani expatriates to send remittances through legal means, and ultimately discourage other means of transmission. Currently, more than $15 billion are being remitted through the Hundi system, which is the main impediment to the growth of gross domestic product (GDP). Pakistani expatriates remitted around $7.419 billion to Pakistan during the first quarter of this fiscal year. The government’s vision can only come true if there is an increase in remittances through easy and expatriate-friendly banking channels. “Every year overseas Pakistanis send over $20 billion through the proper channel, while over $15 billion are being sent through hundi system in the country,” Special Assistant to Prime Minister on Overseas Pakistanis Syed Zulfikar Abbas Bukhari told APP. The department was taking various measures to ...

NDTV NEWS December 9, 2018 Drawing the link between demonetisation and GDP numbers, former Chief Economic Advisor Arvind Subramanian has said the puzzle thrown up by the note ban has a dual aspect - whether its impact as seen in the GDP (gross domestic product) numbers reflects a resilient economy, and whether the growth figures pose questions about the official data collection process itself. Speaking on his new book, titled 'Of Counsel: The Challenges of the Modi-Jaitley Economy', Mr Subramanian said he is drawing attention to "the big puzzle" of 86 per cent reduction in cash after the notes ban leading to a "much less" impact on the economy. In an interaction with news agency IANS, Mr Subramanian, currently teaching at Harvard Kennedy School, and here for the launch of his book, referred to the chapter 'The Two Puzzles of Demonetisation -- Political and Economic'. "Through my new book, I am drawing attention to the puzzle, the...