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THE INDIAN EXPRESS December 13, 2018 The Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) in its board meeting on Wednesday allowed mutual funds to create segregated portfolios or ‘side-pocket’ facility based on credit events with respect to debt and money market instruments subject to various safeguards. Sebi also said that it will come out with a consultation paper on uniform valuation methodology for pricing of corporate bonds. “Creating Segregated Portfolio may be optional for mutual funds, but approval of trustees is necessary for activating such a portfolio. Creation of Segregated Portfolio is a mechanism to separate distressed, illiquid assets from other more liquid assets in a mutual fund portfolio to deal with a situation arising due to a credit event. With a Segregated Portfolio, investors who may take the hit when the credit event happens shall get the upside of future recovery, if any,” said Sebi in a statement. The board has also noted the recommendations of M...

THE INDIAN EXPRESS December 13, 2018 Mallya has claimed that he left the country on March 6, 2016, to raise funds with European entities to make a ‘one-time settlement’ with the consortium of banks. THE ENFORCEMENT Directorate on Wednesday questioned fugitive businessman Vijay Mallya’s claim that he had left India to attend a meeting in March 2016. While Mallya has claimed that he left the country on March 6, 2016, to raise funds with European entities to make a ‘one-time settlement’ with the consortium of banks which had given loans to Kingfisher Airlines, the ED countered the claim by stating that he had left with a ‘huge cargo’. “They have nothing to show that he went for the meeting. Have they shown diaries to show any meeting took place? Who goes to attend a meeting with 300 bags?” ED counsel, DP Singh submitted before the court. Singh further said Mallya was not ‘willing to return’ to India. “The extradition process is proof enough that he is not willing to return. He i...

THE INDIAN EXPRESS December 13, 2018 Rahul Tripathi Governor Malik last month dissolved the Assembly, citing the “impossibility of forming a stable government by the coming together of political parties with opposing political ideologies”. Jammu and Kashmir is likely to come under President’s rule on December 20 — after 28 years — with Governor Satya Pal Malik set to recommend Centre’s rule in his report to the Ministry of Home Affairs, officials said. The state, which has been under Governor’s rule since the BJP pulled out of the alliance with the Mehbooba Mufti-led PDP in June, was placed under Governor’s rule for the first time in 1977 with Malik’s tenure being the ninth. Unlike other states, the process of imposing President’s rule in J&K is more nuanced where the Governor rules for the first six months. Government officials told The Indian Express that they will soon seek approval from the Union cabinet for President’s rule in the Valley and it has to be rati...

THE INDIAN EXPRESS December 13, 2018 At a press conference here, their first at the Katowice meeting, the four countries warned that "backsliding" on the principles agreed to in the Paris Agreement would not be accepted. India, China, Brazil and South Africa, together known as the BASIC group of countries, and a powerful negotiating bloc, today said that while negotiating the rule book of the Paris Agreement, there were attempts by the developed countries to go back on the principles already agreed to in that agreement. At a press conference here, their first at the Katowice meeting, the four countries warned that “backsliding” on the principles agreed to in the Paris Agreement would not be accepted. “What has raised the alarm bells are some of the comments made in the negotiating rooms that seem to push for equal treatment (of developed and developing countries) instead of differentiated treatment (as mandated for these negotiations). That would represent...

THE INDIAN EXPRESS December 12, 2018    M Venkaiah Naidu   M Venkaiah Naidu December 13 is a day to pay homage to those who were martyred, and to remind ourselves of the need for a united resolve against a common enemy. As we mark the supreme sacrifice by our security personnel and others in the diabolical attack on this day 17 years ago on the Indian Parliament, the temple of our vibrant democracy and the symbol of people’s aspirations, we not only have to strengthen our resolve to make every inch of our motherland a safer place, we also need to step up our diplomatic efforts to combat the ever-growing global menace of terrorism. We have to build stronger coalitions against this scourge that is afflicting humanity. No words of commendation or praise are enough to describe the valiant manner in which our security personnel laid down their lives to protect the lives of parliamentarians and the institution of Parliament. Only 18 days ago, we paid tribute t...

THE INDIAN EXPRESS December 12, 2018 Vietnam was ranked No. 1 among seven emerging Asian countries as manufacturing destinations by Natixis SA, which looked at demographics, wages, rankings in doing business, and manufacturing as a share of total foreign direct investment. In the race to lure companies looking for alternative sites amid the US-China trade war, Vietnam wields a slew of advantages over its rivals. Vietnam was ranked No. 1 among seven emerging Asian countries as manufacturing destinations by Natixis SA, which looked at demographics, wages and electricity costs, rankings in doing business and logistics, and manufacturing as a share of total foreign direct investment. “Vietnam is poised to capture some of China’s global market share in labour-intensive manufacturing,” said Trinh Nguyen, a senior economist at Natixis in Hong Kong. “It’s the clear winner from the trade war.” Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc is taking advantage of trade tensions to boost...

THE ECONOMIC TIMES December 12, 2018 Arjit Berman Six months ago, Tata Steel NSE 0.14 % shocked everyone with an aggressive play for Bhushan SteelNSE 9.01 %. A second smaller acquisition followed. ET travels to ground zero in Odisha and Jharkhand to see whether India’s largest conglomerate has an iron grip in the east.  How many times have you seen a $5-billion takeover get wrapped up within 72 hours flat? More importantly, how many times have you seen India’s oldest and largest business conglomerate work and deliver on such a timeline?  As you read this, the Tata finance team is busy negotiating with banks to raise $700 million of external commercial borrowings (ECB). This will refinance short-term loans raised to pay off Bhushan’s lenders as part of the Tata ‘fit for future’ programme that aims to bring down $1 billion of leverage in the next 12 months. It has already prepaid Rs 2,000 crore of the Rs 35,200-crore acquisition bill within six months of the ta...

THE ECONOMIC TIMES December 12, 2018 India is far from being perfect on global competitiveness and is saddled in the "middle class" of the rankings, World Economic Forum (WEF) founder and executive chairman Klaus Schwab said Wednesday.  "It's far from being perfect. I also think the very important indicator is that how long it takes to create business and you have some places today where it takes half a day. India is still in the middle class here," he added.  Schwab, who is in the financial capital ahead of the WEF's annual meeting in the Swiss resort town of Davos, was replying to a question on how the country fares on the ease of doing business front.  The country has moved eight places to be at 58 among 140 countries in WEF's global competitiveness rankings, while it has climbed much sharply to 77th in World Bank's ease of doing business ranking, from being 144th a few years ago.  Schwab said the country should work toward...

THE HINDU Decembere 12, 2018 Mira Srinivasan Sri Lankan President Sirisena has said he will not work with him A majority of Sri Lankan parliamentarians — including 14 from the opposition Tamil National Alliance (TNA) — on Wednesday voted for ousted Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe as their preferred candidate to serve in the post. The motion moved by Sajith Premadasa, deputy leader of Mr. Wickremesinghe’s United National Party (UNP), sought to demonstrate the support that the deposed leader has in the House. President stubborn It is unlikely that the trust vote — passed with the support of 117 MPs in the 225-member House — will help end the island’s political impasse, especially coming a week after President Maithripala Sirisena declared that he would not appoint Mr. Wickremesinghe as Prime Minister, “even if all 225 legislators” back him. Mr. Sirisena’s refusal to work with Mr. Wickremesinghe is at the heart of the political crisis gripping Sri Lanka f...

THE ECONOMIC TIMES December 12, 2018 India is set to increase its public health spending to 2.5 per cent of its gross domestic product (GDP) by 2025, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Wednesday, asserting that women, children and the youth will continue to remain at the heart of every policy, programme and initiative of the government.  Addressing the 2018 Partners' Forum here, Modi said the high out-of-pocket expenditure incurred by families to avail medical care in India worried his government and to address the issue, it launched the Ayushman Bharat Yojana, which has a two-fold strategy.  At the event, Modi said the government is set to increase its spending on public health to 2.5 per cent of the GDP.  As of now, the country spends 1.15 per cent of the GDP on health.  "This will mean an actual increase of 345 per cent over the current share, in just eight years.We will continue to work for the betterment of people. Women, children and...