Happy Media

The Hindu-Business Line, Nayanima Basu        October 17, 2017 What happened to Tibet, can happen to India: Leader of Tibet’s govt-in-exile Lobsang Sangay, President of Central Tibetan Administration and Leader of the Tibetan Government-in-exile, believes that China’s expansionist policy is engulfing all its neighbours, just as what happened to Tibet. In an interview with BusinessLine, he said the Tibetan movement had become more relevant now than ever. Excerpts: Are you increasingly finding that the Tibetan movement is getting sidelined with changing global dynamics? Generally, at the level of governments there is a bit of hesitation because of the increasing influence and reach of the Chinese government. At the people level, there is growing interest because they want to understand what real China is. China wants to be number one today. And to become number one, it has to be responsible and accountable. To understand China, you must know Tibet. ...

The Economic Times, Bikash Singh October 17, 2017, Arunachal Pradesh Organisations in Siang in Arunachal Pradesh have opposed setting up of the 10,000 MW power project over Siang River.  Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Pema Khandu along with his state cabinet colleagues recently attended a presentation by NITI Aayog on proposed Multipurpose River Valley Project for Siang River.  CEO NITI Aayog, Amitabh Kant urged on the need to make the project viable and feasible for the people of Arunachal Pradesh. The proposed project is estimated to be 300 metre high dam with power generation capacity of 10000MW. Being a multipurpose project, it will moderate flood and erosion providing relief in downstream river reaches of Arunachal and Assam.  Siang Indigenous Farmers’ Forum (SIFF) has opposed the project and stated NITI Aayog has decided to merge Stage I and Stage II of the power project over river Siang, which will submerge over 100 villages and affect la...

The Times of India, TNN& Agencies                       October 18, 2017, Washington United States President Donald Trump has promised to bring the cost of prescription drugs in the country "way down" and let other countries pay more for these medicines. If effected, Trump's new policy on prescription drugs, dicussed with his cabinet at the White House on Monday, could have grave implications for India. The US has long had a grouse with India over its patent regime for pharmaceuticals. The Indian law sets the bar higher than most countries, including US, for which medicines deserve patents, allowing people to gain access to generic options sooner. India's regulatory system, which has efficiently delivered a pipeline of affordable and adapted generic medicines such as those used in the treatment of HIV, hepatitis C, TB and cancer, is also under the lens of US government. Trump told members of his cabinet that...

The Times of India October 14, 2017, Washington India is on a "very good wicket" on privacy in this age of digital technology, architect of the Aadhaar scheme Nandan Nilekani has said, expressing confidence that the government's unique-identity number plan would be able to successfully pass the test of privacy. Aadhaar card scheme, which has enrolled more than 1 billion people, was launched by the previous UPA government, and has been supported by the current government. Addressing an audience at an event organised by the Center for Global Development on the sidelines of the annual meeting of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank, Nilekani said, "I think India is on a very good wicket on privacy". Thanks to Aadhaar many activists went to the Supreme Court and they claimed that it was a privacy violation, said the 62-year-old non-executive chairman of Infosys -- India's second largest software services firm. That challenge...

Business Standard,  October 17, 2017 When a naturally fiery orator like Narendra Modi turns to something as dull as PowerPoint to explain himself, you know he has a problem. That’s what Mr. Modi did recently in an hourlong address to an institute for company secretaries, amid growing doubts about the Indian prime minister’s vaunted skills as an economic administrator. Mr. Modi’s performance was characteristically confident, but also oddly bristly. He attacked critics who “take pleasure in spreading pessimism” as forcefully as he defended his government’s economic record. Drawing from the Mahabharata, Mr. Modi likened naysayers to a character known for constantly running down one of the ancient epic’s heroic figures. The speech came after a triple-barreled assault on the government by eminences associated with Mr. Modi’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party. Their onslaught began last month with Subramanian Swamy, a Harvard-trained economist and senior BJP leader. In ...

Financial Express October 17, 2017, New Delhi The National Investment and Infrastructure Fund (NIIF) on Monday signed an agreement with a wholly-owned subsidiary of Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA) for an investment of $1 billion, sealing the first major deal since it was set up close to two years ago. As part of the pact, ADIA will become the first institutional investor in NIIF’s Master Fund and a shareholder in the NIIF’s investment management company. Six domestic institutional investors — HDFC Standard Life Insurance Company, HDFC Asset Management Company, Housing Development Finance Corporation, ICICI Bank, Kotak Mahindra Old Mutual Life Insurance and Axis Bank — will also join the NIIF Master Fund along with ADIA and the government, the finance ministry said in a statement. The deal follows an earlier memorandum of understanding (MoU) between the finance ministry and the UAE government to mobilise long-term investment into NIIF. India had also signed MoUs with Qatar...

The Economic Times, Yogima Seth October 17, 2017, New Delhi The government has drafted an ambitious Rs 1.2 lakh crore plan to provide universal social security coverage for the poorest fifth of the country as part of a bigger scheme that’s being planned for all individuals.  This broader programme envisages three categories — the poorest 20%, who will get a government payout; those who subscribe on their own and formal sector workers who will need to set aside a fixed proportion of income toward the scheme.  The labour ministry, which has drawn up the proposal, will soon send it to the finance ministry for vetting and funding with the intent of rolling it out next year as a compulsory scheme that could well form a key welfare platform ahead of the next general election. The scheme will have two tiers. The first of these comprises mandatory pension, insurance (both death and disability) and maternity coveragescheme and the second, optional medical, sickness a...

The Hindu, Kallol Bhattacherjee October 16, 2017 Urging India to respect reciprocal privileges, diplomats posted in New Delhi have complained to the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) that the new GST regime altered the tax-exempt status of the foreign missions. The change of status and other issues were addressed at a workshop organised by the MEA recently, even as the ambassadors complained that the GST regime threatened the confidential nature of diplomacy. “Pre-GST, diplomats based in India were entitled to tax-exemption at the point of purchase of goods. Post-GST tax exemption status is altered as now missions have to pay tax first and claim it later from the Government of India. This process increases office work and multiplies avoidable expenditure,” said Ambassador of Mali Niankoro Yeah Samake, who explained that the tax exempt status of diplomatic missions is part of the reciprocal system that Indian missions enjoy abroad. Ambassador Samake explained that t...

Business Line, Palak Shah October 16, 2017, Mumbai The DCB Bank counter is being probed by market regulator SEBI for alleged insider trading and front running. Source close to the regulator told BusinessLine that the probe is primarily linked to the period around October 2015 when DCB Bank shares had suffered a severe crash. During the second quarter results in October 2015, DCB announced an ambitious target for branch expansion to 300 from around 150 in the coming years and even said it would double its employee headcount to over 5,000 from 3,700. But to the surprise of many, the bank proactively issued a warning that such an aggressive expansion plan would affect its ROA (return of assets) and profitability. Soon after the announcement, DCB shares hit the lower circuit of 20 per cent. From around ₹140 at the start of October, DCB shares had crashed to ₹80 by the end of the month without any meaningful broader market move. The share price had nearly doubled to ₹150 i...

The Economic Times, Himanshi Dhawan October 16, 2017 ,New Delhi NEW DELHI: More than 80% of New Delhi's tap water is contaminated by plastic microfibres, new research has shown. This is the third highest contamination rate in the world after the US (New York and Washington DC) and Beirut, Lebanon. These findings are part of a study conducted after testing 150 samples of tap water collected by news website Orb Media from five continents.  Though many in Delhi's well-off circles do not use tap water for drinking, large swathes of the capital's population have no access to safe drinking water.  Research found the US had the highest contamination at 94%. Plastic fibres were found in samples taken from various sites, including the Congress buildings and Trump Tower in New York. Beirut was marginally behind at 93% followed by India at 82%. European nations, including UK, Germany and France, had the lowest contamination rate of 72%.  These microscopic fragm...