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LIVEMINT July 03, 2020 India on Thursday approved the purchase of 33 Russian fighter jets and upgrades to 59 war planes at a cost of ₹18,148 crore amid rising tensions with China and about two weeks after the deadliest border clash in more than four decades between the two Asian nations. The order includes 21 MiG-29s that would be purchased directly from Russia and a dozen Sukhoi Su-30MKIs that would be produced under licence by state-run Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL). In addition, 59 MiG-29 jets would be upgraded in Russia, the defence ministry said in a statement. The approval by the ministry’s defence acquisition council came on a day Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke to Russian President Vladimir Putin. The Russian President reiterated his commitment to “further strengthen the special and privileged strategic partnership between the two countries in all spheres", an Indian foreign ministry statement said. The statement did not say whether the two leaders dis

The Telegraph July 03, 2020 Union IT minister Ravi Shankar Prasad on Thursday described the ban on 59 Chinese apps as a “digital strike” — thereby becoming the first minister to articulate the real intent of the government to use economic sanctions to extract revenge for the outbreak of hostilities in the Galwan Valley in which 20 Indian troops lost their lives. Prasad was addressing a virtual BJP rally in Bengal, where the assembly polls are to be held in April next, with the polls in Bihar due in October. “We won’t compromise on the issue of data security and national integration. India knows how to protect its borders and also knows how to carry out a digital strike,” the minister said. Meanwhile, a government panel set up to inquire into the data sharing practices of the 59 Chinese apps have formally approved the interim ban on the apps. Representatives of the banned apps will be called before the committee over the next one week to explain their stand, official

The Telegraph July 03, 2020 The department of telecommunications (DoT) is expected to float a fresh tender to upgrade BSNL’s network after an eight-member panel finalises its recommendations on the terms of the bidding process that will exclude Chinese companies such as ZTE which had won the upgradation contract last year. Reports suggest that there will be an attempt to foist a 40 per cent local sourcing norm in the contract which could skew the pitch for Ericsson and Nokia. The attempt is to cap the price of upgradation; fears had been expressed that the upgradation by the two European majors would lead to a surge in the price. BSNL has cancelled its Rs 8,697-crore 4G tender floated in March. Though the PSU did not give any reason, the cancellation is speculated to be a result of the standoff between Indian and China in Ladakh. BSNL had initially proposed existing ZTE as a technically and commercially viable option alongside Finnish giant Nokia. However, the DoT had e

The Wire July 03, 2020 Bangalore: July 2 turned out to be an unexpectedly tumultuous day for the Indian medical community. Director general of the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) Balram Bhargava sent a letter to various institutions around the country asking them to begin human clinical trials for a COVID-19 vaccine named COVAXIN, to be manufactured by Hyderabad-based drugmaker Bharat Biotech (BB). BB had announced on June 29 via a press release that it had received permission from the Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) to begin these trials, as well as touted a claim that COVAXIN was India’s first indigenous COVID-19 vaccine. In his July 2 letter, Dr Bhargava urged the institutions – specifically, 13 hospitals and research centres around the country – to begin enrolling participants for the clinical trial no later than July 7, and to have the vaccine ready for “public health use”, which presumably means use by doctors, by August 15. This was by all st

LIVE MINT July 02, 2020 NEW DELHI : The Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) believe they have enough technological capability to find replacements for Chinese mobile apps, and the recent policy disruption will create demand motivating the startup ecosystems to fill the vacuum. The premier technology schools said the IIT system is too brilliant from education and innovation point of view, and the recent policy move by the government will create a conducive environment for Indian tech applications. They believe it’s neither the ability nor capability, but funds and marketing which will be crucial. “We must support and promote safe aps. But is not a talent or capability issue for us. While technology capability is a just 20% of the entire exercise. The rest 80% in comprises issues like funding, marketing, branding and policy issues," said IIT Delhi director V Ramagopal Rao. “During the ongoing crisis we have made several products including an ICMR approved co

LIVEMINT July 03, 2020 MUMBAI: Deepak Parekh, a doyen of India's banking and finance sector, has again suggested that the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) should permit a one-time debt recast of developer loans. In his letter to shareholders, the hairman of Housing Development Finance Corporation (HDFC) said this has been a long-standing request and a measure implemented in the past to revive the sector. “If developers do not have cashflows due to a slowdown in sales or delay in receiving requisite building approvals, they can neither complete the existing projects nor can they service their loans," he said. According to Parekh, even if a lender is willing to help the project stay viable, any modification in the terms of the loan, including additional funding is construed to be a non-performing loan under the current regulatory norms. “Allowing for a restructuring of these loans and categorising them as standard assets will facilitate last mile funding for

LIVEMINT July 03, 2020 Moody's Investors Service has rated Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), Infosys and Reliance Industries above the sovereign due to their strong financials and significant global earnings. Moody's said the stable outlooks on Genpact and UPL Corporation, in contrast to the negative outlook on India's Baa3, rating reflect that they can maintain their current ratings if the sovereign was downgraded to Ba1. Two other companies' ratings are capped at the same level as the sovereign rating. Oil and Natural Gas Corporation's and Petronet LNG's credit quality is also stronger than the sovereign's. But their ratings are capped at Baa3 because of their strong links with the government or other government-owned entities. Investment-grade IT companies' global operations and minimal reliance on domestic funding allow them to be rated up to two notches above the sovereign. TCS and Infosys are rated two notches above the soverei

India Today July 03, 2020 The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) and Bharat Biotech International Limited (BBIL) have come together to step up efforts for a possible vaccine for the novel coronavirus. Bharat Biotech and ICMR could now launch the indigenous vaccine Covaxin by August 15 for the public. ICMR expects to launch the Covid vaccine by August 15 after completion of clinical trials. To step up these efforts, ICMR has written to all stockholders to treat it as top priority. ICMR has developed the indigenous Covid-19 vaccine (BBV152 COVID vaccine) partnered with BBIL. The ICMR has selected 12 institutes for clinical trial of the country's first indigenous Covid-19 vaccine, an official had said on Thursday. In a letter to the selected institute where the clinical trial is to be done, the ICMR also informed that it is envisaged to launch the vaccine for public health use latest by August 15, 2020 after completion of all clinical trials, news agency

The Print  July 02, 2020 New Delhi: Days after banning 59 Chinese apps, New Delhi Thursday said international firms operating in India in the digital and internet space have to follow the country’s rules and regulations, including those pertaining to data security and privacy of individual data. Anurag Srivastava, spokesperson, Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), said while the country has adopted an open regime when it comes to inviting foreign direct investments (FDIs), global companies have to follow the country’s rules and regulations. “The world’s largest software and internet applications companies are present in India. Naturally, while operating in India, they have to abide by our rules and regulations issued by the relevant ministries and departments, including those pertaining to data security and privacy of individual data,” Srivastava said during a media briefing. “India has one of the most open regimes in the world for attracting Foreign Direct Investm

Live Mint July 02, 2020 As a tense India-China military standoff along their border is set to complete two months later this week, voices of support seem to be growing in favour of New Delhi. US secretary of state Mike Pompeo on Wednesday backed India’s move to ban 59 Chinese mobile apps on national security grounds, saying that New Delhi’s steps were to safeguard its security. Only last week, he had announced a “rebalance" of US troops to Asia, citing China’s aggressive posturing in the South China Sea and East China Sea besides the moves against India along the border. Japanese ships joined those of the Indian navy over the weekend for an exercise. Also on Wednesday, Australia announced $270 billion in military spending over the next decade, mainly to meet challenges in its immediate neighbourhood and the Indo-Pacific region. That these countries are members of the “Quadrilateral"—that comprises India, the US, Australia and Japan—comes as no surprise.

LiveMint July 02, 2020 Within the broader manufacturing space, speciality chemicals is one of the few bright spots, which has witnessed strong growth both in the domestic market, as well as on the export side Topics chemicals Mumbai: India's speciality chemicals companies are catching the fancy of private equity investors amid robust growth in the industry over the last few years and as the country's chemicals businesses find favour with global firms looking to de-risk their supply chains from China. In the past 10 days, two private equity investors have struck deals in the speciality chemicals space, highlighting this interest. On Tuesday, Baroda-based specialty aroma chemicals company Best Value Chem (BVC) said Premji Invest, the investment arm of billionaire Azim Premji, will acquire a controlling stake in the company. While last week, Convergent Finance, an investment advisor to Infinity Investment Management, said that it is picking up a minority st

The Tribune July 02, 2020 Sandeep Dikshit India’s partner countries in the UN Security Council stymied an attempt to mention India in a condolence message about the Karachi stock exchange, but were unable to place China and WHO at the centre of a resolution calling for a ceasefire in some civil wars which will not be applicable to counter-insurgency operations in Kashmir and Central India. The two developments--a resolution on ceasefire/ WHO and a statement on Karachi--have seen a tug of war between the US and other countries. Germany’s UN Ambassador Christoph Heusgen, the UNSC president for July, said the UNSC’s ceasefire resolution was “a sign for hope for all people currently living in conflict zones around the world”. It does not apply to military operations against Al-Qaida, ISIS and other UN-proscribed terror outfits such as Lashkar-eTaiba and Jaish-e-Mohamed. The diplomatic support by the US to India, which essentially amounted to a one-day delay in issuing

The Tribune July 01, 2020 The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) shared a list of 324 Indian prisoners in Pakistan including 270 fishermen and 54 civil prisoners with the Indian High Commission in Islamabad on Wednesday. "This step is consistent with the provisions of the Consular Access Agreement between Pakistan and India, signed on 21 May 2008, under which both countries are required to exchange lists of prisoners in each other’s custody twice a year, on 1st January and 1st July, respectively," a press release issued by the Foreign Office (FO) stated. The communique maintained that the Indian government also simultaneously shared a list of 362 Pakistani prisoners in India including 265 civil prisoners and 97 fishermen with High Commission for Pakistan New Delhi. "The Pakistan Government has been calling for early release and repatriation of 15 civil prisoners and 47 fishermen to Pakistan who have completed their sentences and whose nationality has bee

The Tribune July 02, 2020 ISLAMABAD: Pakistan on Wednesday shared its deep concerns with the United States over the use of Afghan soil by the banned Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) and the role of India behind the recent terrorist attack, targeting the Pakistan Stock Exchange in Karachi. The concerns were conveyed to the US President’s pointman on Afghan peace Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad, who visited Islamabad as part of ongoing efforts to advance the peace process in the neighbouring country. His visit came just days after four terrorist, belonging to BLA tried to storm the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) building. They were gunned down by the security forces before they could achieve their objectives. The BLA was quick to take the responsibility while preliminary investigations suggested that terrorists were in touch with their handlers in Afghanistan. Although, official readout did not say, sources revealed that in his meeting with Khalilzad, Foreign Minister S