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Financial Express April 18, 2019 How Mukesh Ambani’s deal with Saudi Aramco would help RIL; top brokerages explain Even as the giant deal between Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Industries and world’s most profitable firm Saudi Aramco continues to hog limelight, analysts say that the potential deal will help RIL in de-risking and de-leveraging. The possible deal with Saudi Aramco could derisk RIL’s energy business in the long-term and could accelerate its deleveraging plans in the near term. Even as the giant pact between Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Industries and world’s most profitable firm Saudi Aramco continues to hog limelight, analysts say that the potential deal will help RIL in de-risking and de-leveraging. According to global firm HSBC, the possible deal could derisk RIL’s energy business in the long-term and could accelerate its deleveraging plans in the near term. HSBC has retained a ‘Buy’ rating on the shares with a target price of Rs 1,500. Reliance Industries

Business Standard April 18, 2019 Cyber-security researcher Rajshekhar Rajaharia claims that user data 'including name, email, mobile number, gender, dob, address, photo, company, occupation & other details' are publicly accessile. Data breach incidences in India were the second highest globally in 2018, according to a report by digital security firm Gemalto An Economic Times report on Thursday quoted Rajaharia as saying that the company has not been able to fix the breach. He told ET that the breach did not affect a newer, revamped version of the website. In a Facebook post, the cybersecurity expert claimed that the attack put at risk data of users who called JustDial's customer care number '88888 88888'. Inc42 quoted a senior JustDial executive on Monday as saying that the company is investigating the alledged loopholes in its database and that the company's systems are foolproof. Justdial, a company that provides local search

The Economic Times By Archana Chaudhary April 18, 2019 The RBI made a surprise U-turn on monetary policy this year under new Governor Shaktikanta Das after food prices fell.  India’s new government should review the central bank’s inflation goals, including whether consumer prices or the underlying core measure is the appropriate target to use to determine interest rates, an economic adviser to the current prime minister said.  Speaking in his personal capacity, and not as a member of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Economic Advisory Council, Rathin Roy said the Reserve Bank of India’s inflation target should be relooked at after the elections, given that the current mandate expires at the end of March 2021. The RBI’s goal is to keep inflation at 4 percent over the medium term.  We need to decide what sort of macroeconomic framework we want going forward,” said Roy, who is director of the National Institute of Public Finance and Policy in New Delhi. Those discuss

The Business Standard April 18, 2019 Food insecurity can also cause children to experience hunger, under nutrition, and micro nutrient deficiencies. This can lead children to have problems with concentration and memory Children who experience food insecurity might also feel irritability and shame. This could impact negatively on their interactions with their parents, teachers and peers There has been an impressive expansion in school enrolment in India since the early 2000s. Despite this, India is in the midst of a “learning crisis”, with improvements in learning lagging behind increases in enrolment. Worldwide, India also has one of the highest rates of child under nutrition and household food insecurity – that is, inadequate or inconsistent access to enough safe and nutritious food to sustain a healthy life. Both of these issues have negative implications for the long-term health, well-being and productivity of young people, as well as for the economy more broadly

Economic Times April 18, 2019 India has a dangerous addiction to imported crude, and it should be wary of getting too cozy with its dealer.  t’s funny how friendly someone gets when they’re trying to sell you something.  Saudi Arabian Oil Co. is doing its best to make nice with one of its biggest customers. With the ink barely dry on the takeover of 70 percent of the country’s chemical giant Saudi Basic Industries Corp. and the issuance of its first-ever corporate bond, Aramco is looking to buy a stake in the world’s biggest oil refinery.  Indian billionaire Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Industries Ltd. is seeking to sell as much as a quarter of its refining business for at least $10 billion and is entertaining offers from Aramco and Abu Dhabi National Oil Co., people with knowledge of the matter told Bloomberg News this week.  That represents quite a prize. Reliance’s Jamnagar refinery is about twice the size of the biggest U.S. plant, Aramco-owned Port Arthur, and is so massive

The Caravan April 06, 2019 Shortly before midnight on 17 March, Rizwan Pandit, a 29-year-old school principal and resident of Awantipora, a town around thirty-five kilometres south of Srinagar, was picked up from his house by security officials accompanied by the local police. Two days later, the Jammu and Kashmir police issued a statement announcing that Rizwan had “died in police custody” and that he had been taken into custody in connection with a “terror case.” The police have since revealed little information about the circumstances surrounding his detention and subsequent death, but they posthumously registered a case against him for “trying to escape from custody.” According to news reports, a preliminary post mortem report states that “profuse bleeding resulting from multiple injuries” could have caused his death. Rizwan was a known sympathiser of an Islamist organisation called the Jama’at-e-Islami Jammu and Kashmir, of which his father, Asadullah Pandit, is a member.

the Business Line April 16,2019 Sankara Narayanan and Karnam Sekar are well-positioned to set the ball rolling for a fresh amalgamation, say banking experts Having successfully piloted the merger of Vijaya Bank and Dena Bank with Bank of Baroda, will the erstwhile chiefs of the merged banks, moved recently by the government to helm Canara Bank and as a Whole-Time Director in Indian Overseas Bank, respectively, take a stab at another merger in the public sector banking space? Banking industry experts feel this is within the realm of possibility as both top bankers are unlikely to face any difficulty in replicating their learning from putting through a complex merger. Putting two and two together, the experts say that RA Sankara Narayanan, MD and CEO of Canara Bank (chief of erstwhile Vijaya Bank) and Karnam Sekar, Officer on Special Duty and Whole-Time Director in Indian Overseas Bank (chief of erstwhile Dena Bank), may be asked to explore another merger involving thei

The Wire April 15, 2019 Initial findings of the investigation into 'IT Grids Pvt Ltd' have added fuel to the long-standing suspicion that state data hubs are being wrongly exploited.  A fresh first information report (FIR) has been registered by the Cyberabad police, on the back of a complaint by the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) against ‘IT Grids Pvt Ltd’ for allegedly illegally storing and using Aadhaar data. IT Grids, a company that does work for the Telugu Desam Party (TDP), has been in the eye of the storm over the last month. The firm came under the radar of investigation agencies after a complaint by YSR Congress party against a mobile app run by the TDP called ‘Seva Mitra’. After a series of raids by the Cyberabad Police on the office of IT Grids in Madhapur, forensic investigations were conducted on material seized part of the raids. The Telangana State Forensic Science Laboratory (TSFSL) has in its initial probe concluded that th

The Economic times April 17, 2019 Th IL&FS group has a total debt of Rs 94,216 crore. The appellate tribunal bench said it would pass its order on RBI’s plea on April 29.  Banks must reflect defaults of Infrastructure Leasing & Financial Services Group companies as non-performing assets in their accounts, the Reserve Bank of India said in a submission to the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal, seeking a modification of its previous order.  NCLAT had in February prohibited banks from recognising any IL&FS group accounts as non-performing assets without first seeking approval from the tribunal.  RBI counsel Gopal Jain on Tuesday said allowing banks to recognise NPAs in their accounts would not impede the resolution process for the IL&FS group. “There is a criteria by which after 90 days (of default) they have to reflect it (NPA) in their books of accounts,” Jain said. “This circular has been upheld in the Supreme Court.”  The IL&FS g

News 18 April 17, 2019 The report states that women are much worse affected than men because they have higher unemployment rates as well as lower labour force participation rates. ndia’s unemployment reached its highest at 6 per cent in 2018, double of what it was in the decade between 2000 and 2010. According to a report by Azim Premji University's Centre for Sustainable Employment, 50 lakh people lost their jobs after Narendra Modi’s demonetisation exercise in November 2016. The report also states that the unemployment rate in the country had been steadily on the rise in the last decade, and hit its worst levels after 2016. The 'State of Working India 2019' report on employment and labour states that unemployment is highest among the 20-24 years age-group, a great cause for concern as this represents the young workforce. This is true for all segments, urban men and women, rural men and women. Release of the report, in the middle of the Lok Sabha elec

The Indian Express April 18, 2019 ED has alleged that Watali was the conduit through which Pakistan and Pakistan-based terror groups funded separatists leaders in Kashmir in order to foment trouble in the Valley. This is the second attachment that ED has made of Watali’s properties in the case. Last month, the agency had attached a property worth over Rs 1 crore belonging to Watali in Gurgaon. The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has attached properties worth over Rs 6 crore belonging to Kashmiri businessman Zahoor Ahmed Watali in connection with a case of terror funding. ED has alleged that Watali was the conduit through which Pakistan and Pakistan-based terror groups funded separatists leaders in Kashmir in order to foment trouble in the Valley. “ED has attached property worth Rs 6.19 crore belonging to Zahoor Ahmad Shah Watali and his family members under Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002, in the ongoing investigations in terror financing case against

The Indian Express April 18, 2019 The constraints in the financial system have further worsened the monetary tightness. As growth continues to slow and inflation stays below the target, interest rates may keep falling, but likely not fast enough to revive growth quickly. To get one of the largest economies in the world to maintain a seven to eight per cent growth pace requires effort, in the form of continuous reforms. With election results expected in about five weeks, the discourse must now move to the reforms or just administrative steps that are imperative to stem the steady decline in momentum we have seen recently in India, and hopefully reverse it. Growth expectations for the current year have already fallen from 7.4 per cent to 7 per cent, and are likely to slip further. The current slowdown is baffling to many. Unlike in the 2011 to 2014 period, there are no smoking guns: There is no crisis with the currency that warrants a sharp slowdown in domestic demand,

The Business Line April 18, 2019 By ASHWINI PHADNIS How has the Indian aviation sector fared over the last five years? Ashwini Phadnis takes a look at the hits and misses The five years of the Modi government saw a lot of attention focused on the civil aviation space. The period saw the domestic aviation market witnessing double-digit growth for 52 months in a row, there were some big-ticket announcements like the UDAN scheme, and there was the passenger charter meant to give more power to the flying public. On the flip side, aviation infrastructure, especially air traffic management, did not keep pace with air traffic demand and towards the end of Modi’s term, all the private airlines were in the red, with there being uncertainty about Jet Airways’ future. Given these developments, and now that the country is in the process of electing a new government, FlightPlan looks at aviation during the five years of the NDA government. According to Diogenis Papiomy

The Business Line March 28, 2019 Major producers Indonesia and Malaysia would do well to engage more with large importers India and China The palm oil sector is currently facing a double whammy — softening prices in the wake of rising production and inventory, and concerted attack from West-based environmentalists for large-scale deforestation. Recently, the European Commission (EC) concluded that palm oil as a transport fuel must be phased out as the commodity’s cultivation is seen causing excessive deforestation. In many countries, including Europe, palm oil is converted into bio-diesel and blended with mineral diesel in an attempt to promote renewable fuel as an alternative to mineral oil. The European Union is now set to decide whether or not to accept and act upon the EC’s findings. This latest development in Europe is widely seen as posing a daunting challenge for two of the principal producers of palm oil — Indonesia and Malaysia. Some 30 years ago, pal