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Live Mint January 09, 2020 The manufacturing of the country's first indigenous aircraft carrier Vikrant is currently under phase three which involves setting to work of machinery and other equipment and it is likely to be commissioned by early 2021, sources said on Wednesday. The nearly 40,000-tonne carrier is being built at the Cochin Shipyard Limited (CSL) in Kochi. "Currently, phase three of the construction of Vikrant is under progress, which involves setting to work of machinery and equipment, like power generation and propulsion machinery. The carrier is likely to be commissioned by early 2021," a source told PTI. The third phase of construction will go on till acceptance of harbour and sea trials, sources added. Aviation trials would also take a year or so after that, they said. Navy Chief Admiral Karambir Singh on December 3 had said that Vikrant will be fully operational by 2022 and it will have a fleet of MiG-29K aircraft. The first indigenou...

The Hindu January 08, 2020 The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs has approved a Capital Grant as the Viability Gap Funding to Indradhanush Gas Grid Ltd for setting up the North East Natural Gas Pipeline Grid. This viability gap funding would be capped at 60 per cent of the estimated cost of  ₹ 9,265 crore (including interest during construction) for the project. “The quantum of VGF would be capped at 60 per cent of the estimated project cost and would not be linked with upward capital cost variation,” an official statement said. "A total of   ₹ 5,559 crore has been earmarked as VGF. As per the plan, a 1,656-km gas pipeline grid would connect the eight states of the North-Eastern region, namely, Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Sikkim and Tripura,” Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas, Dharmendra Pradhan said. Indradhanush Gas Grid Ltd (IGGL) is a joint venture company of five central public sector enterprises, namely IndianOi...

Live Mint January 09, 2020 Paytm (One 97 Communications Ltd) has spent nearly  ₹ 14,500 crore to convince Indians to substitute digital payments for cash. For a few months after demonetization in November 2016, it seemed like the company was on the cusp of victory. But now, Paytm is in danger of having its lunch eaten by newer payment apps, even as cash remains the preferred choice of payments for most Indians. Though digital payments are still expected to grow to $1 trillion by 2023 compared with $200 billion in 2018, according to a 2018 Credit Suisse report, digital wallets, where Paytm has established a monopoly, may soon become obsolete. Growth in digital payments is now being led by the Unified Payments Interface (UPI) platform. Dozens of large companies and small startups from Reliance Industries to Facebook to Razorpay are launching UPI-based products. Two newer payment apps, in particular, are threatening to topple Paytm. For many months now, Walmart-owned Pho...

Business Standard January 08, 2020 Navies of China and Pakistan, holding nine-day exercises in the  Arabian Sea  to enhance their all-weather strategic partnership, have for the first-time deployed submarines, providing a rare major exposure to the Chinese navy in the region. The  Arabian Sea  region is strategically important for India as major ports including Kandla, Okha , Mumbai, Nhava Sheva (Navi Mumbai), Mormugo, New Mangalore, and Kochi are located there. The joint maritime exercises began on Monday in the North Arabian Sea, regarded strategically significant for China which is now developing Pakistan's deep water Gwadar port there. Gwadar is being connected through the over USD 60 billion China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) to China's Xinjiang province, providing a key land route to China to access the warm waters of  Arabian Sea.  India has objected to China over the CPEC as it is being laid through the Pakistan-occu...

The Telegraph January 08, 2020 Oil prices rose and stocks fell as Asian markets began trading on Wednesday, following the news that Iran had launched missiles at US forces based in Iraq. The markets’ concerns eased later in the day as Iran hinted that it would not take hostilities further and President Donald Trump suggested the damage from the attack was limited, raising hopes of a restrained conflict in a region critical to world oil supplies. Mohammad Javad Zarif, Iran’s foreign minister, said in a tweet that the nation had “concluded proportionate measures in self-defense.” The statement followed two missile attacks on bases in Iraq housing US forces in response to the killing last week of Gen. Qassem Soleimani. In his own tweet shortly after, Trump suggested that damages and casualties sustained by US forces were minimal, although the assessment was ongoing. “All is well!” he said on Twitter. The world’s most broadly watched measure of oil prices, which briefly sur...

Hindustan Times January 08, 2020 Facebook and eBay have promised to better identify, probe and respond to fake and misleading reviews, Britain’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) said on Wednesday after pressing the online platforms to tackle the issue. Customer reviews have become an integral part of online shopping on several websites and apps but the regulator has expressed concerns that  some comments may not be genuine . Facebook  has removed 188 groups and disabled 24 user accounts whilst eBay has permanently banned 140 users since the summer, according to the CMA. The CMA has also found examples via photo-posting app Instagram which owner Facebook has promised to investigate. “Millions of people base their shopping decisions on reviews, and if these are misleading or untrue, then shoppers could end up being misled into buying something that isn’t right for them – leaving businesses who play by the rules missing out,” said CMA Chief Executive Andrea...

Hindustan Times January 09, 2020 A group of at least 15 foreign envoys from different regions will be taken to Jammu and Kashmir on Thursday to see the government’s efforts to restore normalcy in the region, people familiar with developments said on Wednesday. The two-day visit is being organised following requests from Delhi-based envoys to visit Kashmir after the government’s decision last August to revoke Jammu and Kashmir’s special status and split the state into two union territories, the people cited above said. The envoys will be drawn from different regions and diplomats from the Middle East, Africa and Latin America are expected to be part of the first such group to be taken to Kashmir, the people said. The final tally could increase as confirmations were awaited from some countries till late on Wednesday. Envoys from European Union (EU) won’t be part of the group and they will make a trip to Jammu and Kashmir at a later date, said a person who declined to be nam...

Business Standard  January 09, 2020 The United States told the  United Nations  on Wednesday that the killing of Iranian commander Qassem Soleimani was self-defense and vowed to take additional action "as necessary" in the  Middle East  to protect US personnel and interests. In a letter to the UN Security Council, US Ambassador Kelly Craft said the United States also stands "ready to engage without preconditions in serious negotiations with Iran, with the goal of preventing further endangerment of  international  peace and security or escalation by the Iranian regime." The killing of Soleimani in Baghdad on Friday was justified under Article 51 of the UN Charter, wrote Craft in the letter seen by Reuters, adding "the United States is prepared to take additional actions in the region as necessary to continue to protect US personnel and interests." Under Article 51, countries are required to "immediately report" to the 15-...

                     Hindustan Times                       January 09, 2020 Iran struck back at the United States early on Wednesday for killing its most powerful military commander, firing a barrage of ballistic missiles at two Iraqi military bases that house American troops in what was initially feared to become an escalation of the conflict. But the two sides stepped back with US President Donald Trump indicating his country would not launch a further military response. Speaking from the White House, Trump said no American troops were harmed and damages were minimal after the Iranian strikes, which leaders in Tehran said was a “tight slap” for the United States amid rising domestic anger. Trump also announced new economic sanctions against Iran and vowed, once again, to prevent it from acquiring nuclear weapons. He did not offer any specifics of the “additional p...

Hindustan Times January 09, 2020 The Union Cabinet on Wednesday approved opening up of coal mining and further disinvestments, apart from deciding that the Centre will shoulder 60% of the expense for the North East Gas Grid project. It also extended the validity period of mining lease clearances ending in 2020 by two years. In an attempt to attract investments in coal mining, the Cabinet approved the promulgation of Mineral Laws (Amendment) Ordinance 2020. The ordinance allows coal mining by any company present in sectors other than steel and power, and does away with the captive end-use criteria. While the move will help create an efficient energy market, usher in competition and reduce coal imports, it may also bring an end to state-run Coal India Ltd’s (CIL) monopoly. Despite having the world’s fourth largest coal reserves, India imported 235 million tonnes (mt) of coal last year, of which 135 mt valued at ₹171,000 crore could have been met from domestic reserves, coal...

The Hindu January 08, 2020 E-commerce has increased price transparency and price competition in the country, a new report released by Competition Commission of India (CCI) has said. This report titled ‘Market Study on E-commerce in India: Key Findings and Observations’ highlighted that e-commerce is gaining importance across the sectors in India. The search and compare functionalities of online platforms have lowered search cost for consumers and have provided them with a wide array of alternatives to choose from, the study revealed. For businesses, e-commerce has helped expand market participation by aiding innovative business models, the study said. The share of online distribution and its relative importance vis-à-vis traditional channels varies significantly across products. This divergence constrains construction of a unified competition narrative and points to the need for product-specific assessment of market and competition dynamics. The CCI had in April 201...