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MoneyControl The formulation of the new policy has been under consideration for some time now. In 2016, then textiles minister Santosh Gangwar had said the new policy will envisage creation of additional 35 million jobs. The textiles ministry has sought suggestions for formulating the much-awaited new National Textile Policy for the next 10 years, which will envisage positioning India as a fully integrated, globally-competitive manufacturing and exporting hub. The policy will entail the strategy and action plan for the country's textile and apparel sector. Last month, Textiles Minister Smriti Irani said in the Rajya Sabha that the Centre is considering formulation of the National Textiles Policy after consultations with states. The formulation of the new policy has been under consideration for some time now. In 2016, then textiles minister Santosh Gangwar had said the new policy will envisage creation of additional 35 million jobs. The existing National Textile P

Hindustan Times The law officer did not provide a reason for this but said UIDAI is withdrawing the tender floated by it in May 2018 for setting up a social media monitoring hub. The Unique Identification Agency of India has dropped a contentious and controversial plan to set up a social media monitoring hub, Attorney General of India KK Venugopal informed the Supreme Court on Tuesday. The law officer did not provide a reason for this but said UIDAI is withdrawing the tender floated by it in May 2018 for setting up a social media monitoring hub. “It may be noted that UIDAI neither has no plans to revive the same tender nor is floating a similar tender again,” he said during a petition by All India Trinamool Congress Member of Parliament Mahua Moitra challenging the plan. UIDAI, in May 2018, floated a tender for hiring an agency for social media management services through Central Public Procurement (CPP) portal, but put the process on hold after Moitra filed a Public Inte

Business Line Radheshyam Jadhav 53% of cadastral maps are digitised: Rural Development Ministry About 90 per cent of villages in India have computerised the Records of Right (RoR), the basic primary record that shows land rights and property transactions. About 53 per cent of cadastral maps showing the boundaries and ownership of land parcels have been digitised, the Ministry of Rural Development told the Rajya Sabha on December 13. The Centre, through the Digital lndia Land Records Modernisation Programme (DILRMP), is providing financial assistance to the States for the computerisation of land records. “Till date, the computerisation of RoR has been completed in 5,91,221 (90 per cent) villages out of 6,55,959 villages across the country, and 66,60,226 (53 per cent) cadastral maps have been digitised out of 1,24,92,526 cadastral maps,” the Ministry stated. Along with some States in the North East, Kerala (43.24 per cent) and Jammu and Kashmir (9.32 per cent) are lag

Money Control Press Trust of India The LIFt scheme was launched by the NHB in August 2019 with a corpus of Rs 30,000 crore to infuse liquidity in the housing finance system. The National Housing Bank has revised its Rs 30,000 crore liquidity infusion facility (LIFt) scheme to encourage housing finance companies to avail refinance funds. Under the revised LIFt scheme, exposure cap of Rs 750 crore per HFC and exposure ceiling of 50 per cent of individual housing loan (IHL) have been removed, the NHB said in a statement. The maximum exposure revised to 30 per cent of HFC's net owned fund (NOF) or 50 per cent of NHB's NOF, whichever is lower, it said.  The LIFt scheme was launched by the NHB in August 2019 with a corpus of Rs 30,000 crore to infuse liquidity in the housing finance system. The special liquidity window is available to HFCs till June 2020. The NHB said that the timeline for creation of IHL portfolio of the HFCs increased from three months to six mo

Business Line Reuters S&P 500 touches fresh high; financial index closes at record. Wall Street's major indexes inched higher on Tuesday, extending their record-setting rally, as strong housing and manufacturing data bolstered investors' confidence in the U.S. economy. The benchmark S&P 500 hit a record high for a fourth straight session, building on its 27% gain this year, which has been driven by progress toward a U.S.-China trade agreement, a dovish Federal Reserve and upbeat economic indicators. U.S. housing starts increased more than expected in November, and building permits rose that month to the highest level since May 2007. Data from the Federal Reserve also showed manufacturing output picked up more than expected in November, as the end of a strike at General Motors Co boosted automobile production. Most of the data is showing that the global economy is stabilizing and the U.S. economy is on a solid footing,” said Keith Lerner, chief market

Hindustan Times Reazul H Laskar China pushed for a meeting of the UN Security Council behind closed doors – the second such effort since an earlier meet on the Kashmir issue on August 16. France and other permanent members of the UN Security Council on Tuesday thwarted an effort by China, acting on behalf of Pakistan, to discuss the situation in Kashmir, people familiar with the matter said on condition of anonymity. China pushed for a meeting of the UN Security Council behind closed doors — the second such effort since an earlier meet on the Kashmir issue on August 16. At that time, China’s attempt to have an open and formal meeting of the Security Council was rebuffed by members of the body, which agreed to hold only “closed consultations”. The people cited above said France and other permanent members of the Security Council conveyed to China the body was the not the best forum to discuss the Kashmir issue, which ought to be handled bilaterally by India and Pakista

Business Line New report says e-comm can boost firm productivity, diversification of production and exports. E-commerce can become a driver of growth across South Asia and boost trade among the region’s countries, but its potential remains largely untapped, says a new World Bank report. This report,  Unleashing E-Commerce for South Asian Integration , notes that although e-commerce has grown significantly in South Asia, online sales accounted for a mere 1.6 per cent and 0.7 per cent of total retail sales in India and Bangladesh, compared to 15 per cent in China and around 14 per cent globally. Increasing the use of e-commerce by consumers and firms in South Asia could potentially help boost competition and firm productivity, and encourage diversification of production and exports, the report added. Like the European Union’s Digital Single market proposal, South Asia could aspire to have a regionally integrated Business-to-Consumer (B2C) e-commerce market, the report sug

The Indian Express ENS Economic Bureau “Fiscal prudence is important, but growth should take precedence,” the official, who did not wish to be named, said, adding that growth will be the priority. With economic growth rate slowing down and revenue targets looking out of reach, the government has indicated that it’s focus would rather be on reviving growth than fiscal prudence, a hint that it could overshoot this year’s fiscal deficit target of 3.3 per cent of GDP, a senior Finance Ministry official said on Wednesday.  “Fiscal prudence is important, but growth should take precedence,” the official, who did not wish to be named, said, adding that growth will be the priority. The government is looking at how much space it has within the Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management (FRBM) Act for a possible fiscal slippage, the official added. The NK Singh committee on FRBM had proposed an escape clause wherein the fiscal deficit could be marginally relaxed by up to 50 bas

The Indian Express ENS Economic Bureau Tata Global Beverages plunged 4.14 per cent, Tata Coffee fell 3.67 per cent and Tata Motors dropped 3.05 per cent on the BSE. The  impact of the reinstatement of Cyrus Mistry as Tata Sons Chairman , the holding company of the Tata empire, by the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) was felt on the stock market, with shares of various Tata group companies falling up to 4 per cent on Wednesday. Corporate and market watchers expressed doubts whether Mistry will be allowed to function smoothly even if he returns to Tata Sons as Chairman, as the Tata Trusts — which holds 66 per cent stake in Tata Sons — is controlled by Ratan Tata who was instrumental in ousting Mistry from the top position. Tata Global Beverages plunged 4.14 per cent, Tata Coffee fell 3.67 per cent and Tata Motors dropped 3.05 per cent on the BSE. Tata Motors was the top loser in the BSE Sensex pack. Indian Hotels Company — which operates Taj group of

The Hindu Press Trust of India The top American diplomat was responding to a question on the protests in India after the passage of the Citizenship Amendment Act. The United States honours Indian democracy as they have a robust debate inside the country on the issues like citizenship and religious freedom, a top American diplomat said on Wednesday. “We care deeply and always will about protecting minorities and religious rights everywhere. We honour Indian democracy as they have a robust debate on the issue that you raised,” Mr. Pompeo told reporters at a news conference here at the conclusion of the 2+2 ministerial talks. Mr. Pompeo along with the Defense Secretary Mark Esper on Wednesday hosted their Indian counterparts External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and Defense Minister Rajnath Singh for the talks. The top American diplomat was responding to a question on the protests by a section of society in India after the passage of the Citizenship Amendment Act,

Business Line Rutam Vora Farmers covered under pilot SKY Scheme get more money from selling power than farm produce Farmers in Gujarat are reaping a rich harvest from their solar power installations, quite literally doubling their incomes. Babubhai Patel, a farmer in Vahelal village of Dahegam, about 40 km from Ahmedabad, has a reason to look for a bright future in farming. A dill seed or castor seed grower, Patel has now become a power producer, earning at least double what he earned from his produce last year. Babubhai cultivated dill seed (a spice used as an ingredient in different food preparations) on about 15 acres of his land and got a total crop of 24 quintal at the rate of  ₹ 5,250 per quintal. “What I earned from solar power generation within the first four months of installation is very promising. If the trend continues then not only will my installation cost be recovered but I will have more money on hand than I got from my crop,” said Patel showing his 71.5

The Indian Express R K Vij In February 2006, Ramanna led the NMDC magazine attack in Kirandul, Dantewada, in which eight CISF personnel were killed and 19 tonnes of explosives were looted. Ramanna, also known as Narendra and Ravulla Srinivas, the central committee (CC) member of the CPI (Maoist) and secretary of Dandakaranya Special Zonal Committee (DKSZC),  died recently of acute diabetes   and high blood pressure. When Ramanna took over the reins of the DKSZC from CC member Kosa alias Kadari Satyanarayan in 2011, the “people’s liberation guerrilla army” (PLGA) was already a strong force. This wasn’t due to the capabilities of Kosa or Ramanna per se — rather, the ground was prepared by the Salwa Judum movement that had risen against the Maoists in the Kutru area of Bijapur in June 2005. The Maoists succeeded in brainwashing a section of local people who were opposed to the Salwa Judum, into joining them. From 2005-10, Maoist recruitments peaked, and they strength

Firstpost Press Trust of India Subramanian, who was Modi government's first chief economic adviser but quit in August last year, in new paper co-authored with the former head of the International Monetary Fund's India office Josh Felman said India is facing a 'Four Balance Sheet' challenge. India is facing a "Great Slowdown" with its economy headed for intensive care unit primarily due to a "second wave" of the twin balance sheet crisis at banks, former Chief Economic Adviser Arvind Subramanian has said. Subramanian, who was Modi government's first chief economic adviser but quit in August last year, in new paper co-authored with the former head of the International Monetary Fund's India office Josh Felman said India is facing a "Four Balance Sheet" challenge -- comprising banks, infrastructure, plus NBFCs and real estate companies -- and is trapped in an adverse interest growth dynamic. "Clearly, this is not

Business Standard Abhijit Lele India Resurgence Fund invests in distressed assets by purchasing existing debt and equity securities. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board  will invest $225 million in India Resurgence Fund (IndiaRF), a distressed asset buyout platform. CPPIB, through its wholly-owned subsidiary CPPIB Credit Investments Inc, will infuse money into the fund, which was set up by Piramal Enterprises and Bain Capital Credit. IndiaRF invests in distressed assets by purchasing existing debt and equity securities either through bankruptcy courts or directly from lenders. The fund also has option to invest money through newly-issued securities. John Graham, Senior Managing Director & Global Head of CPPIB Credit Investments, said the investment in IndiaRF represents an increase in credit commitments in India and that they are targeting attractive risk-adjusted returns in the sizeable Indian distressed credit space. The partnership with a strong loc