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 Hindustan Times December 22, 2020 Govt to set a high bar for PSUs The government, which is trying to rein in its fiscal deficit, wants state-run firms to focus on improving market capitalisation and dividend payouts from the 2021/22 fiscal year, starting April, as well as ramping up the sale of non-core assets, the officials said. India plans to set tough financial targets for state-run firms to try to improve their valuations ahead of a push by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to privatise some companies, according to a draft government document and officials. The government, which is trying to rein in its fiscal deficit, wants state-run firms to focus on improving market capitalisation and dividend payouts from the 2021/22 fiscal year, starting April, as well as ramping up the sale of non-core assets, the officials said. State-run companies have traditionally largely targeted raising output and increasing revenues, rather than improving efficiency and valuations, contributing to years o

 Hindustan Times December 23, 2020 Lack of rupee reserves and domestic production curb Iran’s record Indian sugar export Tehran continued using its rupees to import critical goods from India and after 19 months of no oil sales, the Islamic Republic’s rupee reserves are depleted. This year, the quantity is expected to be significantly lower, which will weigh on overall prices and deny India a premium customer India will be unable to count on Iran, one of its most important sugar customers, for its upcoming export drive as an increase in Iranian production and Tehran’s shortage of rupees limit buying. New Dehli agreed last week to subsidise up to 6 million tonnes of sugar exports this season to try to cut surplus stocks and support local prices. In the 2019/20 season, ended September 30, Iran imported a record 1.14 million tonnes of sugar from India, accounting for some 20% of the country’s sugar exports, Indian customs data shows. This year, the amount is expected to be significantly lo

 Hindustan Times December 23, 2020 Wistron violence: Lessons for Indian manufacturing On December 18, a report quoted government officials as saying that the violence was not planned and “it was a sudden outburst” driven by the fact that the five-six staffing firms were exploiting “the workers by not paying or defaulting on salary payments”. On December 12, workers turned violent at Wistron Corporation’s Apple iPhone plant in Karnataka’s Kolar district. Initial reports suggested planned violence by the workers and estimated losses to be as high as Rs 430 crore. As more details came in, the picture changed. Not only have the estimated losses been significantly lowered (to a range of Rs 20-50 crore), it has emerged that the workers had a genuine reason to be unhappy. On December 18, a report quoted government officials as saying that the violence was not planned and “it was a sudden outburst” driven by the fact that the five-six staffing firms were exploiting “the workers by not paying o

 Hindustan Times December 23, 2020 Coronavirus reaches end of earth as first outbreak hits Antarctica Chile’s armed forces said at least 36 people had been infected at its Bernardo O’Higgins base, including 26 army personnel and 10 civilian contractors conducting maintenance at the base. The coronavirus has landed in Antarctica, the last continent previously free from Covid-19, Chile’s military said this week, as health and army officials scrambled to clear out and quarantine staff from a remote research station surrounded by ocean and icebergs. Chile’s armed forces said at least 36 people had been infected at its Bernardo O’Higgins base, including 26 army personnel and 10 civilian contractors conducting maintenance at the base. The permanently staffed research station, operated by Chile’s army, lies near the tip of a peninsula in northernmost Antarctica, overlooking a bay often dotted with icebergs. Base personnel “are already properly isolated and constantly monitored” by health auth

 Hindustan Times December 23, 2020 Lawmakers urge US govt to further tighten restrictions on China’s SMIC The lawmakers are concerned because the restrictions apply only to technology “uniquely” required to produce semiconductors at 10 nanometers and below. The administration “seems to be allowing SMIC access to nearly all semiconductor manufacturing equipment,” they wrote. Two key Republican lawmakers on Tuesday urged the Trump administration to strengthen new rules adopted Friday aimed at preventing China’s biggest chipmaker SMIC from getting access to advanced US technology. Senator Marco Rubio and Representative Michael McCaul said the Entity List designation by the US Commerce Department was not strict enough and should be rewritten to close “dangerous loopholes that would allow nearly all sales to SMIC to continue without restriction and support the (Chinese Communist Party’s) stated goal of military preeminence.” The letter said they were concerned that without changes the rules

 Hindustan Times  December 23, 2020 NIA probing Khalistani funding for protests against India overseas According to the case registered last week, Khalistani elements based in India are also receiving funds through non-governmental organisations (NGOs), the people added, requesting anonymity. The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has registered a case to investigate alleged funding of Khalistani terrorist groups abroad for organising on-ground campaigns, and demonstrations outside Indian missions in the UK, the US, Canada, Germany and other countries, people familiar with the development said. According to the case registered last week, Khalistani elements based in India are also receiving funds through non-governmental organisations (NGOs), the people added, requesting anonymity. The agency has named as accused US-based Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, UK- based Paramjit Singh Pamma and Canada resident Hardeep Singh Nijjar who, under the banner of Sikhs for Justice (SFJ), are collecting fun

 Hindustan Times  December 23, 2020 Power ministry notifies rules for consumer rights The statement said implementation of the rules shall ensure that new electricity connections, refunds, and other services are given in a time-bound manner The Union power ministry has notified rules to ensure the rights of consumers and to mandate standards of service such as round-the-clock electricity supply. The rules also provide for penalties for power distribution firms in case they do not maintain mandated standards of services. “The Ministry of Power has promulgated rules laying down the rights of consumers... These Rules emanate from the conviction that the power systems exist to serve the consumers and the consumers have rights,” the ministry said in a statement on Monday when the Electricity (Rights of Consumers) Rules were notified. “ Distribution Companies across the country are monopolies – whether government or private – and the consumer has no alternative - therefore it was necessary t

 Hindustan Times December 22, 2020 US’ Legion of Merit award for QUAD architects sends multiple messages US President Donald Trump’s decision to award his partners in India, Japan and Australia is seen to underline that it was during his time at the White House that these relationships were taken to a different level. US President Donald Trump has mainstreamed the QUAD by awarding its original architects Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison with the prestigious Legion of Merit. The US had last awarded Legion of Merit to late Amir of Kuwait Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmed Al-Jaber Al-Sabah on September 18, 2020 as the senior most Royal in the Middle-East for bridging divides in the restive region. “The Legion of Merit basically mainstreams the QUAD dialogue from an experimental stage and towards institutionalisation of the security architecture. The world has now realised that the real father of QUAD is China,

 Outlook The News Scroll December 23, 2020 Washington, Dec 22 (PTI) A Democratic American lawmaker on Tuesday urged the Indian government to provide safety to the protesting farmers as he hailed the recent offers of dialogue and a proposal from India''s Supreme Court to set up mediation. India has called the remarks by foreign leaders and politicians on protests by farmers as "ill-informed" and "unwarranted", asserting that the matter pertains to the internal affairs of a democratic country. "We have seen some ill-informed comments…relating to farmers in India. Such comments are unwarranted, especially when pertaining to the internal affairs of a democratic country," External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Anurag Srivastava said early this month. "I call on India’s government to demonstrate its commitment to democratic norms by guaranteeing protesters’ safety and by treating them with respect. Democracy demands this much," Congressman Davi

 The Indian Express December 23, 2020 For India, despite a rising China, this is a favourable geopolitical moment which it must seize The world wants India to succeed because it is regarded as a benign power wedded to a rule-based order. India can leverage this propitious moment to encourage a significant flow of capital, technology and knowledge to accelerate its own  modernization The year ends with a sigh of relief and anticipated redemption. Scientists the world over have delivered with unprecedented speed a set of vaccines which may deliver us, in time, from the scourge of  COVID-19 . This news comes appropriately on the eve of Christmas and the turn of the year, traditionally an occasion of renewal, and rekindled hopes for a better year ahead. These sentiments will be more intense, more deeply felt than in recent years with lives having been rudely disrupted, relationships made distant and tinged with yearning and a pall of uncertainty and sense of future dread sweeping across th

 The Indian Express December 23, 2020 Rajnath talks defense ties with Japan counterpart The conversation, another sign of deepening defence ties between both the countries, comes in the backdrop of the continuing military standoff with China in eastern Ladakh. DEFENCE MINISTER Rajnath Singh on Tuesday held a telephonic conversation with his Japanese counterpart Kishi Nobuo during which both leaders discussed defence cooperation between the two countries and opposed any attempts to change status quo through coercion in the region – in a veiled reference to China. They also discussed the Malabar naval exercise, which concluded in November, and for the first time since 2007 saw participation of all four members of the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue – India, Japan, US and Australia. The conversation, another sign of deepening defence ties between both the countries, comes in the backdrop of the continuing military standoff with China in eastern Ladakh. Japan’s Defence Ministry said in its