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Showing posts from November 11, 2019

Doubling farm income: Maharashtra farmers find winning combo in fish and paddy

Financial Express Dated: November 11, 2019 Farmers in Maharashtra have found a winning combination to not only raise their income but also scale it up to double. In a state where paddy cultivation takes the mainstage and options are extremely confined for second crop, farmers have realized that cultivating fishes in their flooded fields and nearby ponds can better their incomes with a comparatively small investment, The Indian Express reported. “It was the local agriculture officer (at that time) who suggested that I try farming fish in the paddy field,” Dulichand Patle, a farmer from the Bihiriya village of Gondia, told the newspaper. Originally a paddy grower, Dulichand Patle has managed to get a profit of Rs 3 lakh in just nine months from Rs 1 lakh investment on fingerlings (12-15 cm long fishes which are released as seeds for rearing).  Paddy is an important crop in the six districts of Maharashtra’s Nagpur and crops grown in these districts amount to about 50% of th

MSME account books go digital; over 50% transactions recorded using apps by small businesses

Financial Express Dated: November 11, 2019 Technology for MSMEs:  Small and medium enterprises (SME) are gradually switching to digital book-keeping apps to record their business transactions. Over 50 per cent of all transactions are recorded using book-keeping apps by a significant number of SMEs, according to an SME survey by management consulting firm RedSeer conducted in August this year. SMEs used two undisclosed book-keeping apps to record 43 per cent and 48 per cent transactions respectively. The survey, however, didn’t mention the number of SMEs surveyed. While poor access to finance and credit along with technology talent are the major challenges for small businesses, they often tend to burn out due to various reasons including lack of proper financial planning and internal accounting. The survey also revealed 67 per cent and 48 per cent small businesses using the two book-keeping apps respectively. “New age bookkeeping apps are seeing daily usage amongst large chu

Vulnerable sections likely to bear brunt of global warming

Hindustan Times Dated: November 11, 2019 By Anonna Datt An increase in the global temperature of more than 1.5 degree Celsius over the pre-industrial levels will put the world at risk of severe heatwaves, heavy rainfall, frequent extreme weather events such as cyclones, and rising sea levels. And, it will be the world’s poor who will bear the brunt, experts have warned. A special report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change released in October last year urges countries across the world to take steps to drastically reduce emissions to maintain the temperatures within the 1.5 degree Celsius threshold also states: “Populations at disproportionately higher risk of adverse consequences with global warming of 1.5°C and beyond include disadvantaged and vulnerable populations, some indigenous peoples, and local communities dependent on agricultural or coastal livelihoods.” The average annual temperature on Earth has gone up by 1°Celsius as compared to levels before

Stock markets momentum likely to be intact, Asian shares gain

live mint Dated: November 11, 2019 By Nasrin Sultana Mumbai:  Stock markets may continue to keep their momentum intact on Monday following firm global cues. Last week markets consolidated, barring Friday when investors rushed to sell shares due to concerns after rating agency Moody's lowered  India's outlook . Asian shares edged higher on Monday after US President Donald Trump said over the weekend that  trade talks  with China were moving along "very nicely", though uncertainty remained over whether a deal would be signed this year. Japan's Nikkei was up 0.2% to inch closer to a recent 13-month high. Australian shares rose 0.5% to a two-week high while South Korea's KOSPI was off 0.2%. That left MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan firmer at 534.63, testing a recent six-month peak. Trump told reporters on Saturday that talks with China had moved more slowly than he would have liked, but added that Beijing wanted a d

3 Chinese Banks Sue Anil Ambani For Defaulting on $680 Mn Loan

The Quint Dated: November 10, 2019 Chairman of Reliance Communications, Anil Ambani, is being sued by three Chinese banks for defaulting on a loan of $680 million. The Industrial & Commercial Bank of China Ltd, China Development Bank and the Export-Import Bank of China were the three banks that agreed to a loan of $925.2 million to Reliance Communications Ltd, Ambani’s firm in 2012. According to the ICBC’s lawyer Bankim Thanki, the loan was provided on the condition that Ambani provides a personal guarantee, reported  Economic Times . While some payments were made by the company, it defaulted in February 2017. Anil Ambani said he agreed to give a non-binding personal comfort letter but never gave a guarantee tied to his personal assets. ICBC “failed and continues to fail, to distinguish between Mr. Ambani on the one hand, and the company to whom the loans were being extended...on the other.” Robert Howe, Anil Ambani’s Lawyer   In the winter

No one came forward to claim a dozen Swiss accounts linked to Indians

Business Standard Dated: November 11, 2019 No claimants have come forward for about a dozen dormant  Swiss bank accounts  linked to Indians, leaving the funds lying in these accounts at the risk of getting transferred to the Switzerland government. The Swiss government began making details of dormant accounts public in 2015 to allow their claimants submit necessary proof to get access to those funds, which included at least 10 accounts linked to Indians. These included some accounts linked to Indian residents and nationals from the British rule era, but ironically not a single dormant account linked to an Indian has been successfully claimed in the last six years, as per the records available with the Swiss authorities. The claim period for some of these accounts would expire next month, while a few others can still be claimed till the end of 2020. Incidentally, some of the accounts linked to Pakistan residents have have been claimed since then, as is the case wit

Indian economy currently facing challenges, says Nirmala Sitharaman

Money Control Dated November 10, 2019 Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on November 10 unveiled a book on global finance, and said it suggests solution for challenges that the world and Indian economy is currently facing. Launching the book titled 'The Rise of Finance: Causes, Consequences and Cure', she said it will help "understand the current economic situation facing both the world and Indian economy". The book is co-authored by V Anantha Nageswaran and Gulzar Natarajan. Nageswaran is dean of IFMR Graduate School of Business at Krea University. Natarajan is senior managing director at Global Innovation Fund. "As a textbook, I am sure it will become very popular and more importantly, this will be a book that is very relevant to those of us, sitting on the policy making table. Secondly, its relevance and the timing of the launch of the book in India. We are currently facing a challenging time," the minister said. She said it has com

Dharmendra Pradhan to explore steel exports possibilities to West Asia during UAE visit

Business line  Dated November 10, 2019 Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister Dharmendra Pradhan to attend Abu Dhabi International Petroleum Exhibition & Conference India is going to explore the possibility of exporting steel to Middle Eastern countries during Petroleum & Natural Gas and Steel Minister Dharmendra Pradhan’s visit to Abu Dhabi this week. Pradhan will be accompanied by an official and business delegation, and will be visiting United Arab Emirates (UAE) from November 10 - 12, 2019. He has been invited by the UAE Minister of State and CEO, ADNOC, Sultan Ahmad Al Jaber, to participate in the Abu Dhabi International Petroleum Exhibition & Conference (ADIPEC). Pradhan and Jaber, will be jointly inaugurating the India Pavilions set up by Federation of Indian Petroleum Industry (FIPI), Directorate General of Hydrocarbons (DGH), and Confederation of Indian Industry (CII). An official statement said that Pradhan will also meet his counterparts from vario

India, 16 others complain to WTO about EU’s residue limits for pesticides

Business Line November 10, 2019 The complainants allege that the bloc was disregarding scientific evidence India and sixteen other countries such as Brazil, Colombia, Argentina and the US have complained at the World Trade Organisation (WTO) against the EU decision to amend its policy on the maximum residue levels (MRLs) for a wide range of pesticides mainly used in the cultivation of citrus fruit and bananas. The countries raised the matter at the meeting of the WTO Committee on Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) measures on November 7-8 in Geneva and underlined that the new requirements were not backed by science. “The seventeen countries that raised their voices against the lowered MRL levels by the EU alleged that the bloc was following a precautionary stance in taking its decisions and was disregarding scientific evidence presented by relevant international organisations recognized by the SPS Agreement,” a Geneva-based trade official told  BusinessLine . The seven

New oil field found with over 50 bn barrels, says Iran president Hassan Rouhani

Hindustan Times November 10, 2019 Iran has discovered a new oil field in the country’s south with an estimated 50 billion barrels of crude oil, its president said Sunday, a find that could boost the country’s proven reserves by a third as it struggles to sell energy abroad over US sanctions. The announcement by Hassan Rouhani comes as Iran faces crushing American sanctions after the US pulled out of its nuclear deal with world powers last year. Rouhani made the announcement Sunday in a speech in the desert city of Yazd. He said the field was located in Iran’s southern Khuzestan province, home to its crucial oil industry. That 50 billion barrels would be added to Iran’s proven reserves of some 150 billion. Proven reserves are those that are commercially feasible to extract. The new oil field could become Iran’s second-largest field after one containing 65 billion barrels in Ahvaz. Reference   https://www.hindustantimes.com/world-news/new-oil-field-found-with-ov

Chhattisgarh CM forms panel to probe WhatsApp privacy breach

Hindustan Times, November 11, 2019 by: Ritesh Mishra Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel has formed a probe panel to investigate phone hacking complaints of Chhattisgarh-based right activists and also to look into a presentation Israeli cyber intelligence company NSO Group, which has been blamed for snooping, had made to top police officers in the state in 2017, according to an order issued in this regard. Chhattisgarh’s principal secretary (home) Subrat Sahu would head the panel, which was formed on Saturday. The panel will also include Raipur’s inspector general Anand Chhabra and state public relations department director, Taran Prakash Sinha. The panel has been asked to submit its report in one month. “We have received complaints that phones were hacked in Chhattisgarh with the help of a software…,’’ the order said. Several rights activists, lawyers, and journalists on October 1 said that they had been identified as targets of phone hack aimed at snooping on them. It came a