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Outlook, June 17, 2019 I spent a few days in Srinagar this week, going there after a couple of years. I think it is important that readers know a little about what is going on there because it is disturbing. It is always strange to visit that state because the reality of Kashmir and its people hits you in the face when you are actually there. When you are away, you can get carried away by whatever narrative is spun on our news channels. The first thing that one notices is how little has changed in Srinagar. The vast changes in the landscapes of Indian cities over the last 15 years are absent here. There are no multiplexes, not a single cinema hall and no malls. The restaurants look the same as they did two or three decades ago and though the traffic has increased, there is very little other visual sign of change or economic progress. Since the government in Delhi constantly cuts off the mobile services, there is no app-based economy in Srinagar. No Uber or Ola or the other th

The Quint, June 17, 2019 Harried bankers Monday, 17 June, decided against an outright sale of Jet Airways to the lone bidder, instead voted to send it for bankruptcy to recover their Rs 8,000 crore dues. The once largest private sector airline, started over 25 years ago by airline-ticketing-agent-turned-entrepreneur Naresh Goyal, stopped flying on 17 April after it ran out of cash and the unpaid lessors took away most of its 100-odd operational airplanes. The nascent bankruptcy process has been fraught with inordinate delays with only a fraction of the cases have been resolved within the timeline, while the asset in on the books of the once the largest airliner are just fraction of its dues which run into over Rs 36,000 crore. After a meeting of the 26 lenders on Monday, SBI in a statement said, "after due deliberations, the lenders have decided to seek resolution for Jet Airways under the bankruptcy code since only a conditional bid was received". The sta

Deccan Herald, June 17, 2019 Two top American lawmakers have moved legislation in the Senate, seeking key amendment in the country's Arms Control Export Act to bring India at par with the US' NATO allies, Israel, Australia, New Zealand and South Korea, when it comes to the sale of high-tech military items. The necessary amendment to the US Arms Control Act has been moved by Senators Mark Warner from the  Democratic Party and John Cornyn from the Republican Party,  which if enacted will further institutionalise the recent designation of India as a major defence partner of the US. The move by Cornyn and Warner comes after India and the US signed the COMCASA (Communications, Compatibility and Security Agreement) last year. The two countries are also in advance discussion to sign another foundational agreement of the BECA (Basic Exchange Cooperation Agreement). It also comes ahead of President Donald Trump's scheduled meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi

Hindustan Times, June 17, 2019 After Myanmar Army captured and prosecuted at least 38 Indian insurgents, including those belonging to NSCN(K) in military operations last month, Naypyidaw and New Delhi have decided not to allow armed militant groups inimical to either country to operate along the shared boundary, according to people familiar with the matter. Coordinated by national security adviser (NSA) Ajit Doval and director general military operations (DGMO) Lt Gen Anil Chauhan, India and Myanmar have conducted two synergised operations against insurgents on either side of the border under Operation Sunrise. The first phase began in February and the second in mid-May, with both armies deploying liaison officers in the operations room for full transparency, the people cited above said on condition of anonymity. The groups targeted included anti-India outfits such as NSCN(K), ULFA, NDFB and PLA, as well as anti-Myanmar entities including in Arakan and other insurgents in

Deccan Herald, 16 Jun, 2019 Jammu and Kashmir Police inspector Arshad Ahmed Khan, who suffered injuries on Wednesday's terrorist attack in Anantnag, died at the premier AIIMS here on Sunday, officials said. Forty-year-old Khan was flown to Delhi earlier in the day after his condition deteriorated. Five CRPF personnel were killed in the terror attack, in which alone Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) terrorist targeted a patrol team of the paramilitary force. Khan, the SHO of Saddar Police station in Anantnag, reached the site soon after. The moment he stepped out of his official bulletproof vehicle, along with his service rifle, a barrage of bullets were fired by the terrorist. One ricocheted from the butt of his service rifle and hit his liver and duodenum, the officials said. He was admitted to the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) this afternoon, but died soon after, they added. Link: https://m.dailyhunt.in/news/india/english/deccan+herald-epaper-d

First Post, PTI, June 17, 2019 Digital payments provider Mobikwik is aiming to be profitable next fiscal and is looking to onboard an investor who will help it go public in the next three years, a top official has said. The 2009-incorporated company is planning to report its first quarterly profit in March, and will be profitable from a full year perspective from FY21. "We are looking for an investor who will help the company go for an initial public offering (IPO) in three years," co-founder and chief executive Bipin Preet Singh told PTI  in Mumbai.  Singh said he is in talks with multiple players but refused to share more details including to specify whether it will be a strategic or a financial investor. Mobikwik already counts Sequoia Capital, Bajaj Finance and South African firm Net 1 UEPS Technologies among its major shareholders.  The company, whose competitors include deep-pocketed and aggressive players like the Alibaba-backed Paytm, had doubled revenue

Firstpost, June 17, 2019 Months after it failed to sell Panaya,  Bengaluru-based  Infosys has now reportedly begun to invest in the Israel-based automation software company, a media report said. According to  The Economic Times , in the last three months, Infosys appointed a new CEO at Panaya and is now looking to hire a slew of people in the US. Citing a person familiar with the development, the newspaper said currently Panaya's revenue is small because there was a hangover. However, Infosys has not set a goal to grow the business, the person said. In January this year, Infosys had dropped plans to sell Panaya and two other subsidiaries Skava and Kallidus after it failed to find any potential buyers. In April 2018, Infosys had announced its plan to sell Panaya—the Israeli firm whose acquisition became a contentious issue between the founders and the erstwhile management led by Vishal Sikka—along with Kallidus and Skava. Infosys had recognised additional depreciation an

Firstpost, June 17, 2019 The Narendra Modi government 2.0, which will present its first full budget on 5 July, is likely to provide Rs 30,000 crore to help the state-owned banks meet their minimum regulatory capital requirement. That appears to be a conservative estimate. The capital requirement will go up further if one takes into account the additional capital needs of banks under prompt corrective action (PCA) and in the event of mergers like the just concluded three-way merger of BoB, Dena and Vijaya Bank, where the government had to spend an additional Rs 5,000 crore to enhance the capital base of the merged entity. To put things in perspective, the government has been infusing large sums over the years to keep these banks afloat. Last fiscal year, the government made record capital infusion of Rs 1,06,000 crore in the public sector banks. It was enhanced from the earlier provision of Rs 65,000 crore in December 2018. This helped some of the state-run banks to come out of th

Firspotst, Jun 17, 2019 Intelligence officials in New Delhi are pushing back against claims that Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence Directorate has begun sharing warnings on terrorist attacks in Kashmir with New Delhi, saying that a warning of a bombing in south Kashmir’s Awantipora last week was made through an anonymous call to the Indian High Commission in Islamabad, not a government communication. "There was no ISI warning," a senior official in RAW familiar with the case said. “There was just an anonymous phone call made to the High Commission, which offered no detail on the possible perpetrators of the purported attack or its timing." Representational image. Reuters News that the ISI may have shared terrorism-related intelligence was read by some analysts as a sign Pakistan is reaching out to New Delhi in an effort to defuse tensions, amidst a slew of measures which include the shutting down of jihadist offices in Pakistan-administered Kashmir’s M