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Money Control   Last Updated : Nov 19, 2020 05:35 PM IST |  Source:  PTI According to this year’s data, North Korea, Turkmenistan, South Sudan, Venezuela and Eritrea present the highest commercial bribery risk, while Denmark, Norway, Finland, Sweden and New Zealand present the lowest. In 2019, India’s rank stood 78th position with a score of 48, while in 2020 the country is ranked 77 with a score of 45, the data showed. India is at 77th position with a score of 45 in a global list that measures business bribery risks of 2020. The list by TRACE, an anti-bribery standard-setting organisation, measures business bribery risk in 194 countries, territories, and autonomous and semi-autonomous regions. According to this year’s data, North Korea, Turkmenistan, South Sudan, Venezuela and Eritrea present the highest commercial bribery risk, while Denmark, Norway, Finland, Sweden and New Zealand present the lowest. In 2019, India’s rank stood 78th position with a score of 48, while i...

  Moneycontrol.com   Last Updated : Nov 19, 2020 08:35 PM IST  The Indian Army is carrying out "pinpoint strikes" on suspected terror launchpads inside Pakistan-occupied Kashmir in response to Pakistani military's unrelenting efforts to push maximum number of terrorists into India before the onset of harsh winters, said sources on November 19. Indian Army Director General of Military Operations Lt Gen Paramjit Singh on November 19 denied the reports of Indian Army carrying out strikes at Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK). "Reports of Indian Army's action in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) across the Line of Control are fake," the Indian army director told  ANI . The statement from the director came after the sources in the security establishment said the Indian Army was carrying out "pinpoint strikes" on suspected terror launchpads inside PoK in response to Pakistani military's unrelenting efforts to push maximum number of terrorists into India b...

The Print  by  ANIRBAN NAG   Dated: 19 November, 2020  Mumbai : India will be worst-affected among the world’s major economies even after the pandemic wanes, with output 12% below pre-virus levels through the middle of the decade, according to Oxford Economics. Balance sheet stress that had been building before the coronavirus outbreak will probably worsen, Priyanka Kishore, head of economics for South Asia and South-East Asia, wrote in the report. She projects potential growth for India at 4.5% over the next five years, lower than 6.5% before the virus. “It’s likely that headwinds already hampering growth prior to 2020 — such as stressed corporate balance sheets, elevated non-performing assets of banks, the fallout in non-bank financial companies, and labor market weakness -– will worsen,” she said. “The resulting long-term scars, probably among the worst globally, would push India’s trend growth substantially lower from pre-Covid levels.” The contraction hasn’t det...

The Indian Express   Written by  George Mathew  | Mumbai    Updated: November 18, 2020 7:16:20 am The Reserve Bank of India imposed a 30-day moratorium Tuesday on struggling  Lakshmi Vilas Bank  Ltd (LVB), superseded its board of directors and announced a draft scheme for the amalgamation of the bank with DBS Bank India, a subsidiary of DBS of Singapore, in the wake of “serious deterioration in the financial position of the bank”. The RBI also restricted withdrawals by depositors at Rs 25,000 from savings and current accounts, and expenditure on any item at Rs 50,000 per month. DEPOSITORS FACE THE BRUNT The last two years have seen a string of mishaps beginning with IL&FS in 2018, PMC a year later, Yes Bank in March 2020 and LVB now. Every time a bank fails, it dents the confidence of depositors, who are at once slapped with restrictions on withdrawals. The central bank said the financial position of Chennai-based Lakshmi Vilas Bank, which has a ne...

 The Indian Express Written by  Shubhajit Roy  | New Delhi |  Dated: November 18, 2020 11:15:43 am In their first conversation since the results of the US election earlier this month, US President-elect Joe Biden called Prime Minister  Narendra Modi  Tuesday night, during which the PM congratulated Biden and reiterated New Delhi’s commitment to the Indo-US strategic partnership and discussed their “shared priorities and concerns”. After the phone call, Modi tweeted, “Spoke to US President-elect @JoeBiden on phone to congratulate him. We reiterated our firm commitment to the Indo-US strategic partnership and discussed our shared priorities and concerns —  Covid-19   pandemic , climate change, and cooperation in the Indo-Pacific Region.” “I also conveyed warm congratulations for VP-elect @KamalaHarris. Her success is a matter of great pride and inspiration for members of the vibrant Indian-American community, who are a tremendous source of strength ...

The Telegrapha Online Dated: Thursday, 19 November 2020   Malaysia’s flagship budget carrier AirAsia Group Bhd has given its strongest indication to date that it could exit India, saying on Tuesday it was reviewing its investment in a joint venture airline there. The group said in a statement that its operations in India, like those of its now-shuttered Japan business, have been draining cash and adding to the group’s financial stress. “Cost containment and reducing cash burn remain key priorities evident by the recent closure of AirAsia Japan and an ongoing review of our investment in AirAsia India,” it said. AirAsia shut operations in Japan, the smallest of its foreign offshoots, last month. The airline owns 49 per cent of AirAsia India, a joint venture with Tata Sons. According to a media report last month, Tata Sons’ parent is in discussions to buy AirAsia Group’s stake. Group chief executive officer Tony Fernandes told Reuters in September that the group intends to consolidate...

The Telegraph Thursday, 19 November 2020     Pfizer Inc and its group companies filed a petition in a US court against Aurobindo Pharma and Dr Reddy’s Laboratories alleging that the Indian drug makers were planning separately to come out with generic versions of its blockbuster multi-billion dollar drug Ibrance (palbociclib) before the expiration of its patent. Pfizer filed the possible patent infringement case against Aurobindo Pharma in the United States District Court for the District of Delaware and Dr Reddy’s in the New Jersey court. Palbociclib is used to treat certain types of breast cancer. Ibrance clocked nearly $5 billion in revenues globally, including $3.25 billion in the US in 2019. In March 2019, several generic companies had filed abbreviated new drug applications with the USFDA to market generic versions of Ibrance.  Ref: https://www.telegraphindia.com/business/pfizer-to-sue-indian-drug-duo/cid/1797784

Indian Express   By:  Express News Service  | New Delhi  Dated: N ovember 17, 2020 11:45:02 am      Prime Minister   Narendra Modi   will take part in the 12th BRICS summit to be hosted by Russia on Tuesday, where he will once again share a platform with Chinese President Xi Jinping. The two leaders shared a virtual platform on November 10 at the  Shanghai Cooperation Organisation  (SCO) summit, where Modi had said that all member nations of the SCO should respect each others’ sovereignty and territorial integrity. Indian and Chinese soldiers are locked in a border standoff in eastern Ladakh for the last six months. The Ministry of External Affairs said on Monday that at the invitation of Russian President Vladimir Putin, Modi will be attending the 12th BRICS summit hosted by Russia. The theme will be ‘Global Stability, Shared Security and Innovative Growth’. During the 12th summit, held in the backdrop of the 75th anniversary of th...

 Indian Express Written by  Kamaldeep Singh Brar Dated:   November 16, 2020       More than two years after Chief Minister Amarinder Singh handed over a dossier to Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau containing ‘evidence’ against nine Sikh men from that country who “had been abetting terrorism” in Punjab, the state police have failed to prove charges against at least one of them. Those named in the dossier included Hardeep Singh Nijjar, Malkiat Singh Fauji, Gurjit Singh Cheema, Gurpreet Singh Lande and Gurjinder Singh Pannu. They were accused of involved in recruiting terrorists, terror funding, procuring and supplying weapons and explosives, and even arranging to train recruits in handling firearms. Among these, Cheema’s name had first emerged after the Border Security Force arrested two  Nihang  Sikhs – Maan Singh and Sher Singh – from near the India-Pakistan border in Amritsar on May 21, 2017. As per the an FIR lodged at the Ramdas...

Indian Express  Written by  Prabha Raghavan  | New Delhi |  Dated: November 16, 2020       India, as an original negotiating participant of the   Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership   ( RCEP ), has the option of joining the agreement without having to wait 18 months as stipulated for new members in the terms of the mega trade pact. RCEP signatory states said they plan to commence negotiations with India once it submits a request of its intention to join the pact “in writing”, and it may participate in meetings as an observer prior to its accession. While India had been involved in RCEP negotiations since 2013, it  walked out  of the pact last year citing “significant outstanding issues” that were unresolved by the deadline to enter the agreement. Key issues for India were related to safeguarding the country against China, another RCEP member. Concerns included “inadequate” protection against surges in imports — a major ...