Happy Media

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...