Fortis reports consolidated net loss of Rs 191 million for Dec quarter

Fortis Healthcare on Thursday reported a consolidated net loss of Rs 191 million for the quarter ended December 2017 against a profit of Rs 4.5 billion year-ago periods.
The company also reported its September quarter net loss at Rs 236.1 million after it had sought a 15-day extension to declare earnings for the second and third quarter of the current financial year citing statutory auditors' inability to complete the audit before the stipulated board meeting.
Although the company presented its earnings report, the auditor to Fortis Healthcare, Deloitte Haskins & Sells LLP, said it had not performed an audit.
It said the interim results have been reviewed by other auditors whose report has been furnished to them by the management.
"Because of the significance of the matters... relating to the ongoing investigations... we were not able to obtain sufficient appropriate evidence to form a conclusion on the statement," it added.
The results of Fortis Healthcare come amid controversy and scrutiny of the company's finances over alleged regulatory lapses in transfer of funds to some promoter-linked firms.
In an early morning regulatory filing, the company presented its earnings for the second and third quarter of the ongoing fiscal.
Total income during the December quarter stood at Rs 11.6 billion.
It was Rs 11.9 billion in the same quarter previous fiscal.
For the quarter ended September 2017, income was reported at Rs 12.3 billion.
Meanwhile, shares of the company were trading flat at Rs 159.75 apiece on BSE.
Fortis Healthcare landed into trouble after a media report claiming that the company's promoters, Malvinder Mohan Singh and Shivinder Mohan Singh, took at least USD 78 million (about Rs 5 billion at current exchange rate) out of the publicly-traded hospital company they control without board approval about a year ago.
The company said its wholly-owned arm Fortis Hospitals had deployed funds to the tune of Rs 4 billion as secured short-term investments to group firms of its promoters.
The move attracted regulatory scrutiny as Sebi began examining the issues following resignation of the two promoters from the board.
The company said the loans are adequately secured and repayment has since commenced as per agreed payment schedule.
The company's statutory auditor said Sebi is conducting an investigation in respect of secured short-term investment of Rs 4.7 billion made by the wholly-owned subsidiary of the parent, and pending completion of the investigation, it is unable to "conclude on effects, if any of the outcome of the same on the financial results, state of affairs, cash flows, and operations of the group".

MARKETS LIVE: Sensex range-bound, Nifty hovers around 10,500; metals gain

The benchmark indices were trading in a range on Thursday morning taking cues from robust domestic economic data and weakness in key Asian markets.The benchmark indices were trading in a range on Thursday morning taking cues from robust domestic economic data and weakness in key Asian markets.
In the domestic market, economic growth recovered to a five-quarter high of 7.2 per cent during October-December, backed by strong manufacturing and investment activity as the disruption caused by the goods and services tax (GST) bottomed out. The robust third-quarter performance led to a marginal upward revision in the second advance estimate for 2017-18 to 6.6 per cent from 6.5 per cent in the first estimate, though it was still lower than the 6.75 per cent projected by the Economic Survey. The data came after the markets ended on Wednesday.
In the global markets, Asian stocks skidded on Thursday after comments from the Federal Reserve’s new chief rekindled fears about the pace of US monetary tightening this year, sending Wall Street tumbling for its worst performance in two years and lifting the dollar.
Fed Chairman Jerome Powell, in his first public appearance as head of the US central bank, vowed on Tuesday to prevent the economy from overheating while sticking with a plan to gradually raise interest rates.
That was enough to send investors out of stocks, with MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan down 0.35 per cent, while Japan’s Nikkei dropped 0.85 per cent.
The losses came amid a broad selloff on Wall Street, where the Dow and S&P 500 capped their worst months since January 2016 overnight.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 177.61 points, or 0.7 per cent, to 25,232.42, the S&P 500 lost 9.95 points, or 0.36 per cent, to 2,734.33 and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 7.84 points, or 0.11 per cent, to 7,322.51.
(with Reuters inputs)CATCH ALL THE LIVE UPDATES10:35 AMDolat Capital on BPCL
Bharat Petroleum Corporation (BPCL)’s results were in-line with our estimates on revenues and below our estimates on profitability front. Revenues increased 13% YoY due to higher crude throughput. EBITDA was lower than our estimates owing to lower GRM and lower marketing profits as compared to inventory gain in Q2FY18. Net Profit was below our estimates primarily driven by other income (down 9.1% QoQ).
With crude prices having an upward trajectory, scope of marketing margins is limited. However, it can benefit from expansion in refining capacity. Recommend Accumulate with a target price of Rs 525.
10:33 AMDolat Capital on Ramco Cements
The revenue CAGR of 14.2% over FY18E-20E, to drive operating and Net earnings CAGR by 15.9% and 20% during the same period. At the current levels, the stock is trading at 14.8x/12.3x, FY19E/20E EV/EBITDA. Currently, we have an ACCUMULATE rating with target price of Rs 817/share10:31 AMNomura on GDP numbers
GDP growth rose above expectations to 7.2% y-o-y in Q4 from an upwardly revised 6.5% in Q3 – driven by stellar growth in investment, although growth in private consumption demand moderated. GVA growth rose to 6.7% from 6.2% in Q3, because of a pickup in agriculture (4.1% from 2.7%) and non-agriculture GVA growth (7.3% from 6.7%). Overall, the data are a positive surprise and confirm a cyclical recovery. However, we find aspects of the sectoral data puzzling, especially the sharp pick-up in agriculture.
GDP, growth, Indian economy Photo: Shutterstock10:31 AMNear-term sales pressure for Bayer CropScience but growth may rise in FY19
The Bayer CropScience stock was down 17 per cent over the last month on weak December-quarter (Q3) results, sales growth lagging peers and expensive stock valuations. The crop protection and seeds company recorded a 28 per cent fall in sales over the year-ago period in Q3, making it the third quarter in the last four quarters to witness a decline in revenues. READ MORE10:30 AMStocks in news
Tata Power – The validity of PPA between BEST and TPC-G has been extended for one year from 1st April 2018 for revised quantum of 676MW.
Reliance Power approves QIP of 2000cr and amount will be used to reduce debt of the Company
Moil update: MOIL has increased prices of Ferro grade Manganese Ore and chemical grade by about 10% on the prices prevailing on 01.01.2018. The prices of Fines has been increased by about 5% on the prices prevailing since 01.01.2018. source: BSE announcement.
Indiabulls Real Estate Ltd. to acquire Farallon’s stake in Singapore trust
Canara Bank alleges Rs 500cr fraud by Kolkata based computer firm
Fortis Healthcare Auditor raises three red flags. Lenders invoked more shares; founders’ stake reduced to 0.7% from 3%.
HCL Infosystems arm to sell HCL MEA FZE share to Axis Investment for 4.12 million UAE dirhams.
Idea Cellular will launch VoLTE services in select markets starting March 1.
NR Agarwal Industries mulls setting up a new 500 TD Kraft paper unit.
Dynamatic Technologies board approved plan for demerger of auto division.
PG Electroplast has commissioned the UF Toilet Seat manufacturing facility. This UF toilet seat facility is one of its kind in India and the technology and knowhow for the facility has been imported by the company.
V-Mart Retail opened two fashion stores one in the state of Uttar Pradesh and one in the state of Bihar. With this the tally of stores in Uttar Pradesh in 54 fashion stores and 17 composite stores and in Bihar is 31 fashion stores and 5 composite stores.
Cadila Healthcare has received the final approval from USFDA to market Dexmedetomidine Hydrochloride Injection 200 mcg (base)/2 mL (100 mcg (base)/ mL single-dose vials.
Granules India said that USFDA has issued an Establishment Inspection Report (EIR) for Granules Pharmaceuticals Inc's facility, a wholly foreign subsidiary of the company located in Chantilly, Virginia.
Dilip Bildcon was declared L1 in 3 Hybrid Projects Valued at Rs.5390cr by NHAI Positive
(Source: Nirmal Bang report)10:27 AMEdelweiss on Cochin Shipyard
We initiate coverage on Cochin Shipyard (CSL) with ‘BUY’ anchored by: a) its proven track record & capability to undertake complex/large ship building mandates; b) strategic business initiatives to drive 29% revenue CAGR in high-margin ship repairs business providing margin stability in a highly cyclical industry; and c) combination of nomination & competitive orders (6x revenue visibility) from Navy helping sustain superior growth / profitability (18/17% growth in sales/EBITDA over FY17-20E). Our INR660 target price (24% upside) is based on EV/EBITDA of 12x (FY20E), in line with global peers. Customer & project concentration risk and government policies are some of the key risks.
10:26 AMMARKET COMMENT: Technical View In line with expectations, Nifty slipped from mentioned resistance of 10630 to almost 10450 levels. We mentioned, “As long as it sustains below 10630 levels it is likely to remain under pressure & slip back till 10520 & can be followed by 10450 levels”, this happened. Support is seen at 10450-10430 zone & as long as this holds, it can bounce back till 10570 / 10630 zone where strong resistance is seen. Pullback towards 10600-10620 can be a selling opportunity. Cluster of Fibonacci retracements along with 50 days SMA makes 10600-10630 zone a strong resistance. Weak if closes below 10430 levels Source: Pragnesh Jain, AVP Technical Research - Institutional Equities, Systematix Group10:18 AMAshoka Buildcon gains as JV emerges highest bidder for TOT project
Shares of Ashok Buildcon surged 7% to Rs 235 on the BSE in early morning trade after the joint venture (JV) between the company and Macquarie has emerged as the highest bidder for the first batch of toll-operate-transfer (TOT) projects from National Highways Authority of India (NHAI). The venture bid Rs 96.8 billion for the NHAI project. READ MORE10:04 AMMarket Check
 S&P BSE Sensex 34,170.01 Up -0.04% Nifty 50 10,492.05 Up -0.01% S&P BSE 200 4,590.84 Up -0.02% Nifty 500 9,261.90 Up 0.00% S&P BSE Mid-Cap 16,552.56 Up -0.06% S&P BSE Small-Cap 18,184.85 Up 0.31%09:49 AMCanara Bank alleges Rs 5 bn fraud by Kolkata-based R P Infosystems
Canara Bank, after authorisation by a consortium of lenders, has made a complaint to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) against a Kolkata-based computer assembler-integrator, R P Infosystems, alleging a Rs 5.15 billion fraud. READ MORE09:40 AMNifty Metal index up nearly 1%
09:37 AMBSE Smallcap: Venkey's, Ashoka Buildcon among top gainers, Gitanjali top loser
09:26 AMBSE Midcap: Dalmia Bharat, Endurance Technologies among top gainers, Vakrangee top loser
09:20 AMSectoral Trend
09:19 AMTop Sensex gainers and losers
09:17 AMMarkets at open
At 9:17 am, the S&P BSE Sensex was trading at 34,236, up 52 points while the broader Nifty50 index was ruling at 10,515, up 22 points
09:03 AMMarkets at pre-open
Index Current Pt. Change % Change S&P BSE SENSEX 34,199.86 +15.82 +0.05 S&P BSE SENSEX 50 10,969.05 +9.53 +0.09 S&P BSE SENSEX Next 50 33,926.45 +35.35 +0.10 S&P BSE 100 10,874.69 +9.74 +0.09 S&P BSE Bharat 22 Index 3,601.83 +5.28 +0.15(Source: BSE)08:58 AMQ3 numbers suggest GDP growth is on the right path, finally
India regained its status as the world's fastest growing major economy in the October-December quarter, surpassing China for the first time. Asia's third-largest economy grew 7.2% in the December quarter, its fastest in five quarters. In this Business Standard Special, Madan Sabnavis analyses if the worst is behind Indian economy. READ MORE08:49 AMHG Infra Engineering IPO subscribed 5 times
The Rs 4.6-billion initial public offering (IPO) of HG Infra Engineering saw nearly 5 times demand the shares on offer. The qualified institutional buyer (QIB) segment of the issue was subscribed 8.4 times, high networth individual (HNI) portion was subscribed nearly five times, while retail investor quota saw nearly 3 times subscription. HG Infra is a construction firm with a focus on road projects. The price band for the IPO is Rs 263 to Rs 270 per share. READ MORE08:46 AMJan core sector growth sharply rises to 6.7%; cement, refinery output zoom
Eight infrastructure sectors grew a faster pace of 6.7 per cent in January against 3.4 per cent in the year-ago month as petroleum refinery and cement output zoomed while steel power and coal production improved. READ MORE08:40 AMTop stocks to trade
BUY MOTHERSON SUMICMP: Rs 330TARGET: Rs 360STOP LOSS: Rs 312
The stock has made a lower bottom formation pattern in the daily chart and has indicated a revival with potential and strength to rise further upto 360 levels. The RSI has been on the rise and so also the MACD is showing a positive move upward to indicate a positive bias. With good volume participation witnessed, we recommend a buy in this stock for an upside target of 360 keeping a stop loss of 312. CLICK HERE FOR MORE08:36 AMNifty outlook by Prabhudas Lilladher for the day
Nifty has once again made a top at 10,630 as mentioned earlier and as of now, we anticipate it to move in a range-bound zone of 10,650 and 10,270. Banking stocks seem to be under pressure for the domestic issues and may witness some more downside in the coming days. The support for the day is seen at 10,430 while resistance is seen at 10,550.08:31 AMIndia regains status of fastest-growing economy, GDP grows 7.2% in Oct-Dec
Economic growth recovered to a five-quarter high of 7.2 per cent during October-December, backed by strong manufacturing and investment activity as the disruption caused by the goods and services tax (GST) bottomed out. The robust third-quarter performance led to a marginal upward revision in the second advance estimate for 2017-18 to 6.6 per cent from 6.5 per cent in the first estimate, though it was still lower than the 6.75 per cent projected by the Economic Survey. READ MORE08:29 AMMarkets on Wednesday
 S&P BSE Sensex 34,184.04 Up -0.47% Nifty 50 10,492.85 Up -0.58% S&P BSE 200 4,591.54 Up -0.43% Nifty 500 9,261.90 Up -0.43% S&P BSE Mid-Cap 16,562.59 Up -0.23% S&P BSE Small-Cap 18,127.93 Up 0.21%08:28 AMCREDIT SUISSE ON BRITANNIA We value Britannia at 45x Mar-2020 earnings, in-line with our target multiple for HUL and Nestlé and at a 10-15% premium to other larger Indian domestic FMCG companies like GCPL, Dabur and Marico. We initiate with Outperform and a target price of Rs5,500. Key risks include: (1) Rise in competitive intensity from Parle or ITC and (2) a sharp spike in input costs such as sugar, milk, palm oil and flour.08:26 AMCOMMENT: Radhika Rao, India Economist, DBS Bank on GDP numbers Improvement was broad-based, with a pick up in most production/investment demand indicators. Under GVA, agri and non-agri activities have both picked pace. Besides base effects, Better construction and agri sectoral performance bodes well for employment creation prospects. Looking ahead, the likelihood of higher rural incomes (on higher MSPs) and pre-election spending is likely to be supportive of FY19 numbers. Encouraging growth numbers will help take some pressure of other weaker macro-indicators, particularly a wider CAD, fiscal and inflation outlook.  For the debt markets, however, relief might be short-lived as a strong growth picture lowers the bar for the RBI to shift from a neutral to a hawkish gear, should inflation prove sticky beyond June. 08:25 AMEMKAY GLOBAL ON GDP Q3FY18 GDP growth gained momentum as it stood at 7.2% yoy while GVA also recovered to a growth of 6.7% (our expectation was 6.7% for both GVA and GDP). The GDP figure indicates that there has been significant improvement in investment and Construction activity in Q3FY18, which can partly be attributable to demonetisation in base quarter. However, it is still perplexing as the projects completed (as per CMIE) declined by 2.7% yoy, with no marked improvement in private investment activity and state governments capital spending has declined by ~10% yoy.  Fiscal deficit till Jan’18 has exceeded 3.5% of GDP, but if government slows down its spending drive, growth is likely to plummet. Hence, we believe the government is likely to cut down on its capital spending in Q4. Also, we believe that nominal GDP is understated and is likely to be higher at 10.5% yoy in FY18 (9.8% according to CSO) on rising commodity prices. ​08:25 AMWall Street
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 177.61 points, or 0.7%, to 25,232.42, the S&P 500 lost 9.95 points, or 0.36%, to 2,734.33 and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 7.84 points, or 0.11%, to 7,322.51.
08:24 AMAsian markets slip Asian stocks skidded on Thursday after comments from the Federal Reserve's new chief rekindled fears about the pace of US monetary tightening this year, sending Wall Street tumbling for its worst performance in two years and lifting the dollar CLICK HERE FOR MORE08:23 AMToday's picks: From L&T to Zee, hot stocks to watch on Thursday Nifty Current: 10,492 (fut: 10,520), Target: NA Stop-long positions at 10,450. Stop-short positions at 10,575. Big moves could go till 10,400, 10,625. A long 10,400p (96), short 10,300p (70) could gain 10-15 if the support at 10,450 is tested. But there could be a rebound ahead of the long weekend READ MORE

WhatsApp refuses to share user-specific data with Sebi

Instant messaging platform WhatsApp has declined to share user-specific data with the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi), citing its privacy policy.
The market regulator had written to WhatsApp, seeking information on the origin of messages that allegedly contained unpublished price-sensitive information of listed companies, sources said. The information is crucial for Sebi’s investigation into the leakage of financial data at blue-chip companies.
Under current regulations, WhatsApp is not obliged to provide the information to Sebi. The regulator could pursue the matter by moving court against WhatsApp, experts said. However, such a move could be sensitive since it might amount to an infringement of personal space.
An email sent to Sebi seeking comments remained unanswered. WhatsApp declined to comment on the matter. According to Sebi’s insider trading rules, mere possession of unpublished price sensitive information does not amount to wrongdoing, but trading on the basis of it amounts to a serious violation. As a result, the regulator will need substantial evidence to nail those who could have benefited.
“The root source of information can be very effective in zeroing down on the culprits. However, based on the response received from WhatsApp, it is clear that the social media firm is not keen to oblige.
Globally, there have been several cases where social media platforms have declined to share user-specific information with government agencies. These have often resulted in bitter legal battles,” a source privy to the development said.
Another key concern for WhatsApp seems to be the fact that sharing data with Sebi could set a precedent. If the market regulator manages to get the information from WhatsApp through court intervention, other government agencies could file similar cases.
This is not the first instance when Sebi has gone outside its ambit to seek specific information. In 2014, it had sought call records and tower location data of individuals from telecom service providers. The Indian Council of Investors (ICI) filed a public litigation against Sebi challenging the regulator’s power to seek such information. The Bombay High Court delivered a judgment in favour of the market regulator.
“Under Section 11 of the Sebi Act, 1992, Sebi has wide powers to protect the interests of investors in the securities market. Sebi has the same powers as those vested in a civil court under the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908, in respect of matters such as discovery and production of books of account and other documents. In the Sahara case, the Supreme Court has upheld that measures to be adopted by Sebi in carrying out its obligations are couched in open-ended terms, with no pre-arranged limits,” said Yogesh Chande, partner at law firm Shradul Amarchand Mangaldas.

Karti Chidambaram in custody, to appear in court today: Top 10 developments

Karti Chidambaram, businessman and former finance minister P Chidambaram's son, will be produced before the Patiala House Court on Thursday in connection with the so-called INX Media money-laundering case. Karti had been arrested by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) at the Chennai airport on Wednesday morning and taken into custody by a team of CBI officers on his return from the United Kingdom. He was produced before a Delhi court, which sent him to CBI custody for one day.
Karti Chidambaram's remand will last until 12.30 pm on Thursday when a regular CBI court will hear the probe agency. The central probe agency had sought a 15-day remand for his custodial interrogation.
He will be produced before a CBI court on Thursday, All India Radio News has reported.
The CBI justified Karti's arrest by taking the ground of his non-cooperation and frequent foreign visits. CBI Prosecutor V K Sharma told the court that Karti had been repeatedly travelling abroad, which "confirmed apprehensions" that he would flee the country.
Further, the agency argued that one of the grounds for arresting Karti was the recorded statement of Indrani Mukerjea, former director of INX Media (P) Ltd.
Opposition Congress described Karti's arrest as vendetta and a diversionary tactic by the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Karti, for his part, said the "whole exercise" was meant to "politically target" his father.
Opposing the CBI's arguments in court, senior advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi, appearing for Karti Chidambaram, said it was a "bizarre" case. Singhvi argued that there were no grounds for the arrest.
Here are the top 10 developments around Karti Chidambaram's arrest and the INX Media money-laundering case:
1) Karti to be produced before Delhi Court: Karti Chidambaram will be produced before the Patiala House Court on Thursday in connection with the INX Media money-laundering case, according to news agency ANI. All India Radio News, however, reported that he would be produced before a CBI court on Thursday.
View image on Twitter
View image on Twitter

All India Radio News
✔
@airnewsalerts
#KartiChidambaram arrested in INX Media case to be produced before a #CBI court today.
7:22 AM - Mar 1, 2018
22
See All India Radio News's other Tweets
Twitter Ads info and privacy
The Patiala House Court will also hear the bail plea of S Bhaskararaman, Karti's chartered accountant (CA), in connection with the same case. The CA had filed a bail plea before a Delhi Court on Wednesday.
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) had arrested S Bhaskararaman from a hotel in Delhi on February 16. Subsequently, a Delhi court had sent Bhaskararaman to 14 days of judicial custody on February 26.
2) Mukerjeas allege P Chidambaram asked them to help in Karti's business: Officials said that Karti was arrested by the CBI on the basis of confessional statements of INX Media Limited directors Peter and Indrani Mukerjea, alleging that they paid $700,000 to him on the instructions of his father P Chidamabaram. This alleged payment served as a quid pro quo for an FIPB clearance.
According to officials, the Mukerjeas' statements were recorded by the ED, which is probing the money-laundering angle in the case. The CBI had only recorded Indrani's statement before a magistrate as per section 164 of the CrPC.
Peter and Indrani had alleged that they met the then Finance Minister P Chidambaram at his North Block office, seeking clearance for foreign investments in their media company after the Income Tax department detected irregularities in these instances, in 2007.
Quoting from the Mukerjeas' statements, officials said that the elder Chidambaram had asked them to "help the business of his son and make foreign remittances for the purpose".
ALSO READ: Paid Karti $700,000 through foreign subsidiaries, claim Indrani and Peter
The couple also admitted that they subsequently met Karti at a five-star hotel in Delhi, where he allegedly made a demand of $1 million, the officials said. They added that this was reiterated by Indrani before the magistrate as well.
According to the officials, Indrani confirmed in her statement to the CBI and ED that a payment of $700,000 ($7 lakh) was made to the bank accounts of overseas firms linked to Karti.
Peter and Indrani, facing trial for allegedly killing their daughter Sheena Bora, had said in their statement that Karti "suggested" to them the names of firms such as Chess Management and Advantage Strategic for the payments.
As part of the alleged quid pro quo, INX Media had made a payment of over Rs 996,000 (Rs 9.96 lakh) to Advantage Strategic Consulting Private Limited (ASCPL), a firm allegedly controlled by Karti, by a cheque issued on July 15, 2008, the officials said. While the invoice issued by ASCPL claimed that the service rendered by it to INX Media was management consultancy, the "ledger extract" sent by the latter to the probe agencies showed that the payment was made for replying "towards FIPB notification and clarification", they added.
The ED, they said, had seized four invoices of $700,000 ($7 lakh) -- drawn by ASCPL, its Singapore subsidiary, another linked company identified as NorthStar Software Solutions Pvt Ltd, and Geben Trading Ltd -- after it recently raided the offices of Karti and his chartered accountant, Bhaskararaman.
During the raids, the ED had also recovered "digital evidence" and invoices raised on INX Media Limited, sources said. They added that ASCPL had also received payments "on behalf" of Karti in other cases, where money was paid in "proximity to approvals given by the Ministry of Finance", including from Aircel Televentures Limited for an FIPB approval for the sale of its shares in Aircel Limited to Maxis in March 2006.
ALSO READ: No interference from govt in Karti Chidambram's case: Ravi Shankar Prasad
3) Karti's remand to end at 12:30 pm today: On Wednesday, Karti Chidambaram was arrested by the CBI from Chennai airport on his return from the UK.
He was remanded to one-day custody of the CBI by a Delhi court later in the evening.
Karti's arrest came nine months after the CBI registered a first information report (FIR) against him on charges of criminal conspiracy, cheating, accepting gratification by corrupt or illegal means, influencing public servants, and criminal misconduct.
CBI officials took Karti to Delhi in the afternoon after his arrest in Chennai. He was taken to the CBI headquarters and then produced before a Duty Magistrate.
In Delhi, Metropolitan Magistrate Sumit Anand granted the remand till 12.30 pm on Thursday when a regular CBI court will hear the agency that sought a 15-day remand of Karti for detailed questioning.
The CBI counsel told the Duty Magistrate that they needed his custodial interrogation since he was not cooperating with the probe and was going abroad frequently.
View image on TwitterView image on Twitter

ANI
✔
@ANI
Karti Chidambaram being taken to Delhi's Patiala House Court, he was taken into custody by CBI, earlier today, in connection with the INX media case.
2:22 PM - Feb 28, 2018
139
36 people are talking about this
Twitter Ads info and privacy
4) CBI says Karti could be tampering with evidence: On Wednesday, the CBI justified Karti's arrest in the INX Media case in a Delhi court by taking the ground of his non-cooperation and frequent foreign visits.
Seeking 15-day custody of Karti, the CBI prosecutors contended before Duty Magistrate Anand that he had not cooperated in the investigation. They also contended that Karti had been repeatedly travelling abroad, which they said "confirmed the apprehensions of his tampering with the evidence lying abroad against him and others in the form of secret note received from the Ministry of Finance".
5) Karti not a 'Hindustan Leaver': After the CBI counsel told the duty magistrate that the probe agency needed Karti's custodial interrogation since he was not cooperating with the probe and was going abroad frequently, senior counsel Abhishek Manu Singhvi rejected the CBI's claim.
Click here to read how CBI justified Karti Chidambaram's arrest
Singhvi said both charges against his client, Karti, were false. He said that Karti had appeared before the CBI and ED for 30-40 hours and cooperated.
Singhvi said after August 28 last year, the CBI had never issued summons and, whenever Karti went abroad, he took the court's permission. He also rejected the charge of possible evidence tampering by Karti, saying that this was a 10-year-old case based on documents and that there was no question of tampering.
Singhvi described Karti's arrest as "malafide". The senior counsel jocularly remarked that Karti was not a "Hindustan Leaver, but Hindustan Returner" for which he got the reward of being arrested at the airport.
The defence counsel also said that Karti was ready for any condition, like the surrender of his passport and remaining within the city, apart from marking daily attendance.

ANI
✔
@ANI
Abhishek Manu Singhvi tells Court that it is most bizarre case against #KartiChidambaram by CBI. The arrest is motivated. He hasn't been given a single summon in last 6 months & allegations made by CBI that he is not cooperating, when no summon has been issued after August 2017.
5:37 PM - Feb 28, 2018
409
232 people are talking about this
Twitter Ads info and privacy

Abhishek Singhvi
✔
@DrAMSinghvi
Sitting in CBI designated court, room 4 at patiala Hs since 2 pm 2oppose Karti C remand but CBI not produced him yet. Hope they r not waiting for a late evening hearing. Why the delay? They landed frm chennai at 120 pm. No cause for this xcept to go to duty magis post 430 pm.
4:23 PM - Feb 28, 2018
436
336 people are talking about this
Twitter Ads info and privacy
6) P Chidambaram rushes back from England to support Karti: When he heard of his son Karti's arrest, Congress leader and former Union finance minister Palaniappan Chidambaram cancelled his engagements in England and returned to Delhi immediately after arriving at London’s Heathrow airport on Wednesday morning.
Among the elder Chidambaram's engagements was a debate at the high profile Oxford Union on the motion "This House Regrets the Partition of India" on Thursday evening.
Chidambaram looked "extremely distraught", according to an observer. This was soon after he came to know about Karti's detention. Subsequently, he decided to rush back home on the first available flight to support his son.
ALSO READ: Karti sent to one-day CBI custody in INX Media case
7) Karti says govt targeting his father through him: On Wednesday, Karti signed the arrest memo by writing on it that all the allegations made against him were meant to target his father, P Chidambaram.
"This whole exercise is to politically target my father," Karti wrote on the arrest memo, before signing it. The memo of arrest was placed before Duty Magistrate Anand, before whom Karti was produced after he was flown to Delhi from Chennai.
On his way to the courtroom, Karti told media persons that the allegations made against him by the CBI were "politically motivated". He added that he would be "vindicated" in court.
Karti said his arrest was an act of political vendetta by the Modi government. "Absolutely, political vendetta," he said, expressing confidence that he will eventually be vindicated.
8) Congress says this is 'vindictive politics': On Wednesday, the Congress criticised Karti's arrest as evidence of the Modi government's "vindictive politics". The Opposition party described it as an attempt to "distract attention and divert the narrative" from the government's failures in taking action against the likes of Lalit Modi, Nirav Modi, and Vijay Mallya.
At a Congress briefing, party spokesperson Randeep Singh Surjewala called the arrest the "political persecution of P Chidambaram by a puppet CBI acting to serve the political agenda of its political masters and to mask the culture of colossal corruption and cronyism flourishing under the government".
9) BJP says evidence will speak for itself: Law and Justice Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad, briefing the media after a Cabinet meeting, said the CBI would explain the details of the case, and that the government did not wish to interfere. "I will only make one observation that... the nature of the evidence available against the offender must speak for itself," he said.
BJP General Secretary Ram Madhav said that if the government was vindictive, Karti's arrest would have taken place in the first year of the Modi government. For his part, BJP Rajya Sabha member Subramanian Swamy lauded the CBI for the arrest.
10) P Chidambaram might have seen this coming: The elder Chidambaram had filed a petition in the Supreme Court last week, apprehending the "continued harassment" of his family and himself. In the petition, Chidambaram had said that being the Union finance minister then, he had granted FIPB approvals in the INX Media case and the Aircel-Maxis case in the "normal course of official business".
Further, the former finance minister said that in the discharge of his functions, he had "never allowed any member of his family, including his son, or any other person to interfere with or influence the conduct of official business".
He said that the CBI and the ED could not "harass" Karti and others by issuing repeated summons to them as they were not connected with the FIPB approval.

India regains status of fastest-growing economy, GDP grows 7.2% in Oct-Dec

Economic growth recovered to a five-quarter high of 7.2 per cent during October-December, backed by strong manufacturing and investment activity as the disruption caused by the goods and services tax (GST) bottomed out. The robust third-quarter performance led to a marginal upward revision in the second advance estimate for 2017-18 to 6.6 per cent from 6.5 per cent in the first estimate, though it was still lower than the 6.75 per cent projected by the Economic Survey.
Gross domestic product (GDP) growth has been revised up to 6.5 per cent for the second quarter against 6.3 per cent estimated earlier. Growth stood at 6.8 per cent for the third quarter of 2016-17, which was the period of demonetisation. India overtook China’s 6.8 per cent growth in October-December after a three-quarter gap, regaining its status as the world’s fastest-growing major economy.
Bibek Debroy, chairman, Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister (EAC-PM), said India was on the right path to surpass China’s growth rate.
Radhika Rao, India economist, DBS Bank, echoed similar views. “India’s growth outpaced its regional peers, including China, in the last quarter of 2017. The improvement was broad-based, with a pick-up in most production, investment and demand indicators.”
Investment activity, as reflected by gross fixed capital formation (GFCF), posted 12 per cent growth, its highest in several quarters, compared to 6.9 per cent in the previous quarter.
“The double-digit growth of capital goods, a sharp rise in the capital spending of the government, and a modest pick-up in the capital spending of the state governments in Q3 FY2018 are likely to have contributed to the 12 per cent expansion in the GFCF,” said Aditi Nayar, principal economist, ICRA.
However, since the value of new investment projects and completed projects contracted in the third quarter, it might be premature to conclude that a broad-based revival in investment activity had commenced, she said.
Debroy said the revival in economic growth reflected the results of economic reforms undertaken by the government. “Growth will pick up more in the upcoming quarter, driven by the government’s commitment to implement structural reforms,” he said.
Gross value added (GVA), which is a summation of agriculture, industry and services, grew 6.7 per cent in the third quarter of 2017-18 as against 6.2 per cent in the second quarter. GVA is expected to rise to 6.4 per cent for the entire fiscal year in the second advance estimates from 6.1 per cent earlier.
The difference between GVA and GDP is indirect tax collections, which are now estimated to grow 9.6 per cent for 2017-18 compared to 10.9 per cent earlier.
This corresponds to declining GST collection numbers, after the first three months of the roll-out added over Rs 900 billion to the exchequer.
The manufacturing sector grew 8.1 per cent during Q3 as against 6.9 per cent in Q2, suggesting that companies had adjusted well to the GST. However, the manufacturing data for the first quarter was revised downwards by the CSO, showing a contraction of 1.8 per cent, indicating the hit to companies preparing for the GST transition.
“… manufacturing GVA growth recorded a substantial sequential improvement supported by restocking of inventories after the festive season, a catch-up effect after the muted volume growth in the first half and the healthy growth of corporate earnings in that quarter,” Nayar said.
Mining activity contracted by 0.1 per cent in Q3, in contrast to 7.1 per cent growth in the previous quarter.
The government’s final consumption expenditure grew 6.1 per cent in Q3, up from 2.9 per cent in Q2. It is expected to grow 19.6 per cent in Q4, which may aggravate the fiscal situation.
Even the government-backed public expenditure, defence and other services grew 7.2 per cent, lower than 10.6 per cent growth in the third quarter of the previous fiscal year, due to front-loading of expenditure following the early passage of the Budget for the current fiscal year.
Private final consumption expenditure growth, an indication of domestic demand, fell to 5.6 per cent in Q3 from 6.6 per cent in Q2.
The Economic Survey for 2016-17 had forecast GDP to grow 6.75- 7.5 per cent in the current financial year, but the Survey for 2017-18 revised it down to 6.75 per cent.
The services sector as a whole expanded by 7.5 per cent compared to 6.6 per cent growth in the previous quarter, on account of a sharp improvement in construction activity. Construction sector growth recovered to 6.8 per cent in Q3 as against 2.8 per cent in the previous quarter and 1.5 per cent in Q1.
Agriculture growth rose to 4.1 per cent in Q3 from 2.7 per cent each in the first and the second quarters.
“Better construction and agri sectoral performance bodes well for employment creation prospects. Higher rural incomes (on higher MSPs) and pre-election spending are likely to be supportive of FY19 numbers,” said Rao of DBS Bank.

Amazon launches Prime Music service in India, to take on Gaana, Wynk

US online retail giant Amazon has launched its Prime Music subscription service in India as it pushes to capture a larger chunk of the fast-growing content streaming market in the country.
The service will be available to customers who subscribe to its Prime programme in India at no additional cost and can be accessed via apps on Android, iOS, the web and on Amazon's Fire TV Stick and Echo devices. Customers of Amazon's Echo devices have got a taste of Prime Music since their launch here, but now it is being rolled out to everyone.
Anticipating the challenge, India's largest music streaming service Gaana has raised $115 million from Chinese Internet giant Tencent and parent company Times Group, according to a report in the Economic Times today.
Amazon will take on other streaming services such as Gaana, Wynk and even Apple Music in India. The service is paid owing to the annual Rs 999 subscription cost for Prime, but is being perceived as one of the most economical options considering it includes access to Prime Video as well as free expedited deliveries for products they buy on Amazon.
The move to launch Prime Music will also deliver a blow to rival Netflix, which has already been eclipsed by Amazon in the number of subscribers for its video streaming service. Analysts tracking the space however refrain from sharing exact membership statistics. In the run up to this launch, Amazon has partnered with several of the biggest music labels in India such as T-Series, Zee Music, etc.
Amazon announced the launch of the service in a press release on Wednesday, a few hours after it went live for users in the country.
The app’s listing on the Play Store reads that the service will offer music across 12 languages - English, Hindi, Punjabi, Tamil, Telugu, Marathi, Bengali, Malayalam, Kannada, Bhojpuri, Gujarati and Rajasthani.
It isn’t known how large the spread of music on Prime Music will be in India yet. In the US, Amazon offers access to two million songs as part of its Prime programme, but charges an extra $8 per month for users to get access to its entire inventory of 40 million songs through its Music Unlimited service.
Going forward, one can expect Amazon to sign exclusivity deals with labels and movie producers in India, similar to what is being seen in the US and Europe with large music streaming services Spotify and Apple. However, Amazon is the only global player in this space to be adapting itself to local tastes in music and content.
While Apple had taken the lead among global music streaming services entering India, the company has failed to localise content even though it dropped its subscription rates here to the lowest in the world. The company charges under $2 per month for its Apple Music subscription, while charging $9.99 for the same service in the US.
Google too has launched its Play Music subscription service in India at Rs 99 per month but has failed to localise and market the product widely. Even globally, Google’s Play Music service doesn’t hold a candle against rivals Spotify and Apple Music or even Amazon Music.

Low-cost home loans face high risk of loan default; Maha tops list: Report

Even as government policies give huge thrust to affordable housing, data reveals elevated risks in the segment for lenders because of a higher propensity among the borrowers to default.
As against 1.96 per cent of overall home loans not repaid for over 90 days, the same for loans under Rs 2.9 million, classified as affordable housing, was 2.33 per cent as of November 2017, a report by domestic rating agency Crif Highmark said today.
In case of home loans under Rs 1 million, where the average ticket size is Rs 800,000, the 90-day overdue loan repayments stand at 4 per cent, twice that of the industry average, it added.
At Rs 7.79 trillion, affordable housing accounts for 50 per cent of the overall home loans of Rs 15.8 trillion.
As more banks take refuge in the sector considered more resilient in times of piling non-performing assets, the banking system's home loans outstanding has increased 13.6 per cent since April alone.
As the government seeks to meet its target of housing for all by 2022, a slew of sops have been given to the affordable housing sector, including inclusion in the mandatory priority sector lending by giving the sector an infrastructure status, introduction of tax benefits under section 80-IA of the Income-Tax Act, concessions on long-term capital gains tax provisions, etc.
Foreign banks are the most affected in the sub-Rs-1 million category with bad loans of 16.20 per cent.
Even though MNC lenders account for a small portion of the overall outstanding, they have the highest stress among all on the housing finance side at 8.42 per cent, it said.
The 90-day overdue for the overall housing finance segment stood at 1.36 per cent for March 2016, and has been rising since then, at 1.89 per cent in June 2017, and at 1.96 per cent in September 2017.
New Delhi, Uttar Pradesh and Tamil Nadu are the pockets with highest stress in the housing finance sector, while the affordable housing stress is higher in the Kolkata, Chennai and Ghaziabad markets, it said.
The largest housing loan market is Maharashtra, accounting for 23 per cent of the overall Rs 15.78 trillion outstanding, the agency said.
Even as public sector banks and dedicated housing finance companies dominate with a 40 per cent share each, the latter is experiencing a faster growth, it said.
Housing finance companies are more stronger in the large ticket premium segment, while the state-run banks have a dominance in the affordable housing sector with a 59 per cent share of the loans.
During the past three years, state-run lenders' share in new home loan disbursals has decreased by 10 per cent, while that of housing finance firms has risen by 12 per cent.
From an average ticket size perspective, New Delhi leads among the states with average loan size of Rs 4 million, the data showed.

CBI arrests PNB Brady House branch's internal auditor in $2-billion fraud

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Wednesday arrested an internal auditor of a Punjab National Bank branch that is at the heart of a $2 billion alleged fraud, a police spokesman said.

The arrested auditor M K Sharma was "allegedly responsible for auditing the systems and practices" of the bank's Brady House branch in Mumbai and report deficiencies to zonal audit office, the spokesman said.
ALSO READ: Use blockchain technology to prevent PNB like scam: Foreign data expert
Sharma will be produced in a Mumbai court on Thursday.

Investigation, legal expenses towards FCPA violation costs Cognizant $63 mn

Nasdaq-listed IT services company Cognizant has said that the investigation and legal expenses towards the alleged violation of the US Foreign Corrupt Practice Act (FCPA) towards improper payments made in India has cost the company total $63 million so far in calendar 2016 and 2017.
In September 2016, the Cognizant had voluntarily disclosed before the US Department of Justice and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) that the company was investigating payments related to company-owned facilities in India that were possibly made improperly and in violation of FCPA and other applicable laws. The disclosure was also followed by the exit of the then president Gordon Coburn, widely seen as a fallout of the investigation.
In its annual filing with US market regulator Securities and Exchange Commission on Wednesday, Cognizant said it was expecting to incur more expenses towards the investigation and lawsuits related to the investigation. “In 2017, we incurred $36 million in costs related to the FCPA investigation and related lawsuits in addition to the $27 million we incurred in 2016. We expect to continue to incur expenses related to these matters in 2018,” it said.
The expenses towards the investigation and associated expenses are also proving to be a costly affair for the company given that so far it has identified only around $6 million in payments made between 2009 and 2016 which could be improper.
“The outcome of the putative class action litigation, derivative lawsuit, or any other litigation is necessarily uncertain.
We could be forced to expend significant resources in the defence of these lawsuits or future ones, and we may not prevail,” the company added in the statutory regulatory filing.
The company said that it is fully cooperating with the US Department of Justice and SEC in the investigation process which is being conducted under the oversight of the Audit Committee with the assistance of outside counsel.
We had approximately 260,000 employees at the end of 2017, with approximately 50,400 in North America, approximately 13,800 in Europe and approximately 195,800 in various other locations throughout the rest of world, including 180,000 in India. We are not a party to any significant collective bargaining agreements. We consider our relations with our employees to be good.
Teaneck-headquartered Cognizant employs 260,000 people globally of which a vast majority of 180,000 are located across its different centres in India.

Jan core sector growth sharply rises to 6.7%; cement, refinery output zoom

Eight infrastructure sectors grew a faster pace of 6.7 per cent in January against 3.4 per cent in the year-ago month as petroleum refinery and cement output zoomed while steel power and coal production improved.
The eight core sectors -- coal, crude oil, natural gas, refinery products, fertilisers, steel, cement and electricity -- had grew by 4.2 per cent in December and 7.4 per cent in November this financial year.
Petroleum refinery production spurted 11 per cent in January against a flat output in the year-ago month.
Cement output jumped 20.7 per cent in the month against 13.3 per cent contraction in the year-ago period.
Electricity generation growth also fast paced to 8.2 per cent in January against 5.2 per cent in January 2017.
Coal sector output improved by 3 per cent and steel production by 3.7 per cent in January 2018.
Crude oil production however dropped 3.2 per cent, fertilisers by 1.6 per cent and natural gas by 1 per cent in the month under review.
Cumulatively, the growth in the eight core sectors during April-January this financial year slowed to 4.3 per cent as against 5.1 per cent in the same period last financial year.
The growth in key sectors will have implications for the Index of Industrial Production (IIP) as these eight segments account for about 41 per cent of the total factory output.

Advantage Congress or BJP? Making sense of MP, Odisha by-election results

On the face of it, results to the three assembly by-elections, two in Madhya Pradesh and one in Odisha, announced on Wednesday, weren’t good news for the Congress.
But a closer look suggests the results were also a jolt to the preparations of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) for the Madhya Pradesh assembly polls, scheduled for late November, and Odisha assembly polls, which are slated to take place simultaneously with the Lok Sabha elections in April-May, 2019.
The results of the Madhya Pradesh by-elections also underlined the importance of the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), which had polled substantial votes in these two seats in 2013. As the Mayawati-led party usually does, the BSP didn’t field candidates in the by-elections. The Aam Aadmi Party is also likely to field candidates in the upcoming assembly polls.
In Madhya Pradesh, the Congress just about managed to retain the Mungaoli assembly seat. It won the Kolaras seat a bit more comfortably.
In Odisha, the Congress not only lost the Bijepur assembly seat to the ruling Biju Janata Dal (BJD), but its candidate was a poor third. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) candidate came in second, reinforcing the trend in Odisha politics of the BJP replacing the Congress as the main opposition party in the state.
The BJD’s victory margin of 41,933 votes over the BJP candidate was comprehensive, and indicates the continuing popularity of the Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik. The election campaign was marred by a shoe throwing incident on Patnaik, which evoked much sympathy for the leader.
In Madhya Pradesh, the Congress won the Mungaoli assembly seat by a slim margin of 2,124 votes. In the 2013 assembly elections, the Congress candidate had polled 50.74 per cent votes and won with a margin of 20,719 votes over his BJP rival.
In the bypoll, Congress’s Brajendra Singh Yadav got 70,808 votes while the BJP candidate, Baisahab Yadav, bagged 68,684.
In 2013, the Congress candidate had polled 70,520 votes and BJP’s 49,801, with the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) candidate having polled 12,063 votes.
In Kolaras assembly constituency, the Congress candidate won by 8,083 votes. In 2013, the Congress candidate had defeated the BJP’s by a margin of nearly 25,000 votes. In Kolaras, the BSP candidate had got 23,920 votes in 2013. The BSP didn’t contest the by-elections.
Both Kolaras and Mungaoli are primarily rural constituencies. In the run up to the by-elections, Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan had reached out to the farmers. He had also spent several days campaigning in the two seats. The Congress win in the two seats could bolster Scindia’s claim to be declared the chief ministerial face of his party for the assembly elections later this year.
The Congress party is trying to reach out to the BSP for an electoral understanding for the Madhya Pradesh assembly election.

Bank guarantee limit for pulses & oilseeds for Nafed doubled to Rs 190 bn

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) today approved a proposal to double the guarantee to Rs 190 billion to cooperative Nafed to help it obtain credit from banks for procurement of pulses and oilseeds at the support price.
The CCEA also approved the government guarantee up to Rs 450 million to the Small Farmers Agri-Business Consortium (SFAC) for meeting its existing liability and settlement of extant claims, an official statement said.
"These government guarantees are provided for a period of five years i.e. till 2021-22 by Government of India and with waiver of 1 per cent government guarantee fee," the statement said.
The government guarantee to Nafed has been doubled to Rs 190 billion from Rs 95 billion for undertaking procurement of pulses and oilseeds under the Price Support Scheme (PSS), it said.
In view of fall in prices of pulses and oilseeds below the MSP, the provision of government guarantee will help in protecting the farmers from making distress sales during the peak arrival period and to provide remunerative prices, it added.

India added one new billionaire each week in 2017, says Hurun report

Despite a slowing economy and demonetization, India added 56 new billionaires in 2017 with a total of 170 Indians making it to the Richie Rich club with a wealth of over $1 billion or more. As per the Hurun Global Rich List, China topped the list with 819 billionaires almost 5 times more than India’s, and United States with 571 billionaires.Despite a slowing economy and demonetization, India added 56 new billionaires in 2017 with a total of 170 Indians making it to the Richie Rich club with a wealth of over $1 billion or more. As per the Hurun Global Rich List, China topped the list with 819 billionaires almost 5 times more than India’s, and United States with 571 billionaires.With a wealth of $45 billion, Mukesh Ambani topped the India rich list and also made it to the top 20 rich list in the world. The India list also saw almost one-third of the rich list replaced by new billionaires as many businesses failed due to cancellations of mines, infighting among promoters and sale of businesses by the local entrepreneurs.China also scored well with more women billionaires making it to the list. As against China's 163 women billionaires, India had only 14 with Savitri Jindal of the Jindal family topping the list. “Story of wealth creation in India talks about the story or modern businesses and new competition dynamics in India. India is now the third largest billionaire creating country in the world. When India’s GDP touches $ 6 trillion by 2022, we expect the number of billionaires to at least double from the current number,” said Anas Rahman Junaid, Managing Director and Chief Researcher, Hurun Report India.Jeff Bezos, 54, shot up to world number one for the first time after Amazon stock rose 70 per cent in 2017. Last year, online marketer, Amazon reported a revenue of US $177 billion and net profit of US$3 billion.The biggest gainer in the India rich list was 62-year old, Radhakishan Damani, Chairman of Avenue Supermarts (operator of D-Mart brand of super stores) with a 445 per cent increase in his wealth. Damani was followed by Acharya Balakrishna (45) of Patanjali Ayurved with a wealth increase of 224 per cent. Another good performer was Kishore Biyani of Future Retail who re-entered the list following the merger of Future Retail and Bharti Retail which created the biggest supermarket chain with a turnover of Rs 150 billion.
The company’s subsequent relisting resulted in significant wealth creation for Biyani, Hurun said here today.India also saw three self-made billionaires under 40 years of age with Vijay Shekhar Sharma of PayTM making it to the list, followed by Divyank Turakhia of Media. Net and Shraddha Agarwal (32) of Outcome Health joining him. With a wealth of Rs 609 billion each, Cyrus Mistry and Shapoor Mistry are the richest new entrants as their father Pallonji Mistry divided his empire equally between his two sons. The Mistry brothers would be second richest Indian family after Ambani if their wealth is taken into account jointly.Among thewealth-creatingg sectors, the top-performer was pharmaceutical industry with 20 billionaires out of 170 billionaires from India, followed by technology, media and telecom and automobile/auto components sectors. Other industries that had a good year include consumer products and conglomerate. The pharmaceuticals, FMCG, conglomerate and automobile & components added six new billionaires each to this year wealth.The Hurun Global Rich List 2018 ranked 2,694 billionaires from 68 countries and from 2,157 companies. The total wealth of billionaires increased by a staggering 31 per cent to US$10.5 trillion, equivalent to 13.2 per cent of global GDP, and almost double the 7 per cent of global GDP six years ago. “Never has so much wealth been concentrated in the hands of so few,” Founder of Hurun Global Rich List, Rupert Hoogewerf said.“A boom in China, a weak dollar and a 26 per cent hike in Nasdaq have led to a surge in dollar billionaires across the world. The US dollar depreciated against all currencies. Global economic growth was at 3 per cent last year, the fastest rate since 2011 and a significant acceleration compared with 2.4 per cent the previous year,” he said.
Hurun Global India Rich List 2018 India Rank Global Rank Name Net Worth INR Bn.1 19 Mukesh Ambani 28662 65 Lakshmi N Mittal 11763 87 Dilip Shanghvi 9624 98 Shiv Nadar 9175 98 Gautam Adani 8626 127 Cyrus Poonawalla 7817 127 Azim Premji 7778 127 Acharya Balakrishna 7659 150 Uday Kotak 69910 150 Savitri Jindal & Family 681

Aircel files for bankruptcy, says faced trouble after entry of a new player

Aircel has become the latest victim in the highly-competitive telecom market in the country with the operator along with its units Aircel Cellular and Dishnet Wireless filing for bankruptcy in the National Companies Law Tribunal (NCLT), Mumbai after its lenders and shareholders failed to reach a consensus with respect to the restructuring of its debt.
Aircel, majority owned by Malaysia-based Maxis Communications, said it has been facing troubled times in a highly financially stressed industry, owing to intense competition following the disruptive entry of a new player, legal and regulatory challenges, high level of unsustainable debt and increased losses.

With the entry of Reliance Jio in September 2016, most of the telecom operators have seen their profitability plunge to new lows. The market has now consolidated to 4 private players along with state-run BSNL and MTNL and soon there will be 3 as Vodafone and Idea Cellular are merging together. Intense competition and low tariffs have forced the Indian telecom sector to consolidate in a bid to survive.
The sector, which a few years ago, had around a dozen mobile operators, has been now reduced to a few big players as the smaller telcos have either merged or shut shop. The first major setback for the sector came in 2012 when Supreme Court cancelled 122 telecom licences. Another disruption came in September 2016 with the launch of services by Reliance Jio. The dirt cheap tariffs of Jio forced other telcos to match pricing leading to drop in profitability.
Getting a sense about the financial condition of telecom players after Jio's entry, Airtel got Telenor and Tata Teleservices virtually free of cost.
Reliance Communications (RCom) was forced to shut its wireless business whereas its assets have been bought by Jio.
Aircel said it has filed an application under Section 10 of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016 for undertaking Corporate Insolvency Resolution Process (CIRP). Aircel has a debt to the tune of Rs 190 billion which include deferred spectrum payments. The company said in 2016, it embarked upon a merger of its wireless business with RCom but on account of various issues and hurdles faced, the merger did not succeed and ultimately lapsed in September 2017.
As per sources, the fate of Aircel was sealed after Ananda Krishnan-led Maxis Communications decided not to infuse more funds in the company. The situation was further compounded after Supreme Court in January this year barred Aircel from selling or leasing its assets in a broader corruption case.
"Post detailed discussions with the financial lenders and shareholders, the company could not reach consensus with respect to the restructuring of its debt and funding. Despite these discussions and the invoking of a Strategic Debt Restructuring scheme in January 2018 pursuant to the then guideline of the Reserve Bank of India, no agreement could be reached," Aircel said in a statement.
It further added under the current circumstances, especially after the February 12 RBI guidelines, the company believes resolution process under the code is an appropriate recourse.
As per rules, Aircel will be placed under a court-appointed insolvency resolution professional, who will get 180 days that can be extended by another 90 days to work out a repayment plan. If no plan is agreed during the 270 day period, the company will be declared bankrupt and will be liquidated.
Aircel emphasized that CIRP is not a proceeding for liquidation, rather is a process to find a best possible resolution for the current situation and that would be in the best interest of everyone (vendors, distributors, employees, etc.) to protect and preserve the value of the company and manage the operations.
Aircel further said it requests continued services from the suppliers and partners for the ongoing business of the company.

Govt announces Rs 50 bn fund to jumpstart growth in 12 key services sectors

The government on Wednesday announced a dedicated fund to the tune of Rs 50 billion to support sustained growth in 12 key services sectors apart from initiating reforms to make them more competitive and export-oriented.
The decision to identify 12 specific sub-sectors such as Information Technology and IT-enabled Services, Tourism and Hospitality Services, Medical Value Travel, Transport and Logistics Services, among others, as 'Champion Services' was taken by the Cabinet on Wednesday.
Contributing heavily to the national GDP, exports and job creation, reforms in the services sector had been ordered by the Prime Ministers office. Sectoral action plans will be identified by the Commerce Ministry along with other private stakeholders, a senior official said.
"Embedded services are a substantial part of ‘Goods’ as well. Thus, a competitive service sector will add to the competitiveness of the manufacturing sector", Commerce and Industry Minister Suresh Prabhu tweeted. He added that services trade surplus has been financing more than half of India's merchandise trade.
Services growth has been crucial in aiding overall growth in the country.
Till the global financial crisis of 2008, India’s services exports was registering a good growth for almost a decade and the Compounded Annual Growth Rate for the sector stood at 21.6 per cent during 1994-95 to 2004-05. However, it later fell to an 11.9 per cent growth during 2005-06 to 2014-15, according to the India Brand Equity Foundation.
Post-2015, the government has banked on transportation and business services to nudge the sector into the growth charts and the sector grew by 5.7 per cent in 2016-17. In 2016-17, software services exports, which account for 45.2 per cent of total services, declined by 0.7 per cent due to a challenging global business environment and pricing pressure on traditional services.
In 2016-17, services grew at 7.7 per cent as compared to overall growth of 6.6 per cent, Commerce and Industry Minister Suresh Prabhu said.
In January, the sector grew at the fastest pace in three months, led by a recovery in new orders that prompted companies to sharply increase hiring, according to the Purchasing Managers Index, published by the Nikkei / IHS Markit. The Index rose to 51.7 in January from December’s 50.9. The 50 mark separates growth from contraction.

Nirav Modi refuses to join CBI investigations in PNB scam case: Officials

Diamantaire Nirav Modi has refused to join CBI investigation in the Punjab National Bank (PNB) scam case, officials said today.
Modi was asked to appear before the agency in connection with its probe in the over USD two billion alleged fraud perpetrated in the PNB.
He was summoned through email but he refused to join the investigation saying he has "business abroad", the officials said.
The CBI today directed him to contact the embassy of India in a country where he is staying so that his travel to India can be arranged, they said.

India's Q3FY18 GDP growth rises to five-quarter high of 7.2%

The Indian economy grew at five-quarter high of 7.2% in the October-December period reflecting overall recovery due to good show by agriculture, manufacturing, construction and certain services.
The economy is expected to grow at 6.6% in the current fiscal ending March 31, as per the second advanced estimates of the Central Statistics Office (CSO), compared to 7.1% in 2016-17.
The earlier estimate was 6.5%.
The growth for the second quarter (July-September) has been revised upwards to 6.5%, from 6.3% estimated earlier by the CSO.
The previous high was recorded at 7.5% in the July-September quarter of 2016-17.
The CSO said that the real GDP or Gross Domestic Product (GDP) at constant (2011-12) prices in 2017-18 is likely to be Rs 130.04 lakh crore, as against the first revised estimate for 2016-17 of Rs 121.96 lakh crore, released on January 31.
The growth in GDP during 2017-18 is estimated at 6.6% as compared to the growth rate of 7.1 percent in 2016-17, it added.
The gross valued added (GVA) for manufacturing in the quarter under review grew at 8.9% higher than 6.9% in the previous quarter.
Similarly, the farm sector GVA grew at 4.1% compared to 2.7% in the previous quarter. The construction sector recorded a growth of 6.8%, higher than 2.8% in previous quarter.
The services segment including financial services grew at rate of 6.7% up from 6.4% in previous quarter.
ALSO READ
FY18 GVA growth likely to be 6.7%, gradual recovery on cards: Nomura
GDP growth hits 3-year low of 5.7%, slowest under Modi govt
HDFC Bank pegs GDP growth at 7.3% in FY19 on rural push, consumption surge
FY17 GDP growth retained at 7.1% and GVA growth revised sharply to 7.1%
Cash ban, GST to cool GDP growth to 4-year low at 6.7%, shows poll

"All three sectors - agriculture, industry and services - have accelerated in the third quarter. "Importantly GST disruption is seen waning as borne out by manufacturing sector growth at 8.1% in October-December vs 6.2% in July-September. Construction, government services and agriculture have led the growth in the December quarter. Broadly, the numbers are in line with our estimation for full year GDP at 6.7%. We have added the risk of a rate hike sometime between June to August 2018 following the recent monetary policy minutes, hinging on the inflation trajectory, and the GDP numbers reinstate our views," said Shubhada Rao, chief economist, YES Bank.
"Settling down of GST reforms will boost growth in FY 19. RBI has to balance between growth and inflation.
The recently released minutes of the MPC's last policy meeting showed growing concerns of embers over continued inflationary risks arising from high food and crude prices. High bad loans and reported fraud in the banking system have already happened. Right measures to eradicate such incidences in future and finding NPA resolution is the path ahead. There are concerns of rising fiscal deficit and possibility of interest rates rising further. While all other things seem to be in place, paucity of rainfall can be major risk in next one year. Creating jobs for the younger generation will lead to annual growth rate above 8%," said Anita Gandhi, whole time director, Arihant Capital Markets.

India to grow 7.6% in calendar year 2018 amid note ban disruption: Moody's

Moody's Investors Service on Wednesday estimated that India will grow 7.6 per cent in calendar year 2018 and 7.5 per cent in 2019, amid signs of economic recovery from impact of demonetisation and GST.
"There are some signs that the Indian economy is starting to recover from the soft growth patch attributed to the negative impact of the demonetisation undertaken in 2016 and disruption related to last years rollout of the Goods and Service Tax," it said.
The Budget for 2018-19 includes some measures that could stabilise the rural economy that was disproportionately hit by the demonetization policy and is yet to recover, it said.
"As we have said before, the bank recapitalisation plan should also help credit growth over time, thereby supporting growth," Moody's said.

Lending rate hike coming? SBI raises term deposit rates across maturities

State Bank of India (SBI) on Wednesday raised retail deposit rates by 10 to 50 basis points across various maturity baskets, a move that may have to be followed by the banking system.
One basis point is a hundredth of a percentage point.
In an announcement on its website, the country’s largest bank said, effective Wednesday, 7- 45-day deposits will earn an annual interest rate of 5.75 per cent, from 5.25 per cent earlier. Deposits for one year will now earn 6.40 per cent, against 6.25 per cent earlier, while those maturing between two years and 10 years will earn 6.50 per cent, compared with 6 per cent earlier.
Senior citizens will, accordingly, earn 7 per cent on their deposits, up from 6.50 per cent earlier.
“The proposed rates of interest shall be made applicable to fresh deposits and renewals of maturing deposits,” SBI said in its notification.
SBI has also raised its interest on bulk deposits above Rs 10 million.
A deposit rate hike is usually followed by a lending rate hike. This indicates that the interest in the economy has moved up even as the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) in February kept its policy rates unchanged for the third time.

Karti Chidambaram arrest: Cong sees vendetta, BJP law; top 10 developments

Former Finance Minister P Chidambaram's son and businessman Karti Chidambaram was on Wednesday arrested by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in Chennai in connection with the so-called INX Media money-laundering case. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) reacted to the development by saying that no one should consider themselves as being above the law of the country.
According to Karti Chidambaram's PRO, he was detained at the Chennai Airport. After the necessary formalities were completed, 46-year-old Karti was put on a domestic flight to the national capital, where he would be produced before a designated court later in the afternoon.
The case relates to the approval given by the Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) for the receipt of funds by INX Media which took place while Karti's father, P Chidambaram, was the Union finance minister. CBI has alleged that the Foreign Exchange Management Act (Fema) was violated. The Chidambarams, however, have denied all charges made against them.
The Congress has called Karti's arrest a "vendetta" and a "diversionary tactic". The BJP, for its part, has said that this is the law.
Here are the top 10 developments around Karti Chidambaram and the INX Media case:
1) CBI to use Indrani Mukerjea's confession: CBI sources told news agencies that the probe agency will inform the court about Indrani Mukerjea's alleged confession that in 2007, the Mukerjea couple took help of Chess Management Service once their application for FIPB clearance of Rs 3.05 billion (Rs 305 crore) was rejected. The sources added that the FIPB allowed only Rs 50 million (Rs 5 crore) clearance.
The CBI sources added that once Chess Management was hired and rules were made for Karti's 'services'. Further, Karti's management company was paid Rs 1 million (Rs 10 lakh). This, according to the sources, would be the focus of the remand application.

ANI
✔
@ANI
CBI will inform Court about Indrani Mukerjea's alleged confession that in '07, the couple took help of Chess Management Service once their application for FIPB clearance of Rs 305Cr was rejected. FIPB allowed only Rs 5 Cr clearance : CBI Sources #KartiChidambram
1:08 PM - Feb 28, 2018
53
34 people are talking about this
Twitter Ads info and privacy
53m
ANI
✔
@ANI
CBI will inform Court about Indrani Mukerjea's alleged confession that in '07, the couple took help of Chess Management Service once their application for FIPB clearance of Rs 305Cr was rejected. FIPB allowed only Rs 5 Cr clearance : CBI Sources #KartiChidambram

ANI
✔
@ANI
Once Chess Management was hired, rules were made for his 'services', Karti management company was paid Rs 10 lakh. This will be the focus of remand application: CBI Sources
1:08 PM - Feb 28, 2018
43
24 people are talking about this
Twitter Ads info and privacy
2) BJP says this is law, not a vendetta: Reacting to Karti Chidambaram being taken into CBI custody, BJP’s Sambit Patra said this was about the law, and not vendetta. "I believe no one should consider oneself above the law of country. If corrupt are being jailed and law is taking its own course, I see no reason why any political party should cry vendetta," Patra said.
View image on Twitter
View image on Twitter

ANI
✔
@ANI
I believe no one should consider oneself above the law of country. If corrupt are being jailed & law is taking its own course, I see no reason why any political party should cry vendetta.This is law,not vendetta: Sambit Patra, BJP on Karti Chidambaram being taken into CBI custody
11:39 AM - Feb 28, 2018
329
166 people are talking about this
Twitter Ads info and privacy
3) Detained at the airport: On Wednesday morning, Karti Chidambaram was detained by the CBI in connection with the INX Media case. According to news agency PTI, officials said that Karti was arrested at the Chennai airport at around eight in the morning when he returned from the United Kingdom.
3h
ANI
✔
@ANI
Karti Chidambaram at Chennai Airport, he was taken into custody by CBI over INX media case. pic.twitter.com/tyOf2Spfnb

ANI
✔
@ANI
#UPDATE: INX Media Case: CBI team, along with Karti Chidambaram, leaves for Delhi from Chennai.
11:02 AM - Feb 28, 2018
47
17 people are talking about this
Twitter Ads info and privacy
View image on Twitter
View image on Twitter

ANI
✔
@ANI
Karti Chidambaram at Chennai Airport, he was taken into custody by CBI over INX media case.
10:51 AM - Feb 28, 2018
176
88 people are talking about this
Twitter Ads info and privacy
4) 'Congress won't be deterred': Reacting to Karti Chidambaram being taken into custody by the CBI, Congress leader Randeep Surjewala said the party would not be deterred by unleashing of a vendetta against P Chidambaram and his family. "We will continue to bring out the truth," Surjewala added.
View image on Twitter
View image on Twitter

ANI
✔
@ANI
Congress will not be deterred by unleashing of vendetta against P.Chidambaram & his family, we will continue to bring out the truth: Randeep Surjewala, Congress on Karti Chidambaram being taken in custody by CBI
9:47 AM - Feb 28, 2018
174
210 people are talking about this
Twitter Ads info and privacy
Senior lawyer Prashant Bhushan said while the CBI might have evidence against Karti, there was "no justification" to arrest him during investigation, without a chargesheet being filed, as there was no danger he would flee the country.

Prashant Bhushan
✔
@pbhushan1
Though CBI may have evidence against Karti Chidambaram, yet there's no justification to arrest him during investigation, without a charge sheet, since there is no danger of his fleeing the country. This show, while big fish like NiMo, MehulBhai &Mallya are allowed to loot & scoot
11:26 AM - Feb 28, 2018
1,522
1,042 people are talking about this
Twitter Ads info and privacy

Ashok Gehlot
✔
@ashokgehlot51
Mr Karti Chidambaram was arrested when he landed at Chennai airport, he was not trying to escape from India like Nirav Modi then arresting him on his arrival at airport is funny. Karti Chidambaram was cooperating the CBI, the CBI could have summoned him.
9:59 AM - Feb 28, 2018
584
336 people are talking about this
Twitter Ads info and privacy
5) Karti's CA remanded to 14-day judicial custody: On Monday, Delhi's Patiala House court had sent S Bhaskaran, Karti's chartered accountant (CA), to 14-day judicial custody in connection with the INX Media case.
According to agency reports, Special judge N K Malhotra had sent the CA to Tihar Jail after he was produced from the custody of the Enforcement Directorate (ED), whose special public prosecutor Nitesh Rana had sought three more days of custodial interrogation. Bhaskararaman had been arrested from a five-star hotel in the heart of the national capital on February 16.
ALSO READ: INX Media PMLA case: Karti Chidambaram appears before ED for questioning
Earlier, the probe agency had claimed that during the course of its investigation, it found that Bhaskararaman, who is a qualified CA, had been assisting Karti in managing his "ill-gotten wealth", both in India and abroad.
The agency had said that the investigation required the presence of Bhaskararaman for collecting vital evidence and other information within his special knowledge and exclusive domain.
6) P Chidambaram approached SC: On February 24, it was reported that senior Congress leader P Chidambaram had approached the Supreme Court seeking the protection of his fundamental rights, including the right to privacy. The senior Chidambaram took the step amid summons to his son Karti and raids by the CBI and the ED in connection with the Aircel-Maxis and INX Media cases.
The senior Chidambaram claimed in his plea that as part of a "political vendetta", the CBI and the ED had made "vexatious" searches and issued repeated summons in these cases.
7) Karti was under ED scanner, too: On February 23, it was reported that the Supreme Court refused to interfere with the summons issued by the ED against Karti in the INX Media case. The apex court had asked him to appear before it on March 1.
Refusing to interfere with the ED's summons, the Bench of Chief Justice Dipak Misra, Justice Amitava Roy, and Justice D Y Chandrachud had, however, adjourned the hearing until March 6. The Bench had permitted Karti to make a representation to the ED seeking more time to appear before it.
Earlier, Karti had been questioned by the ED, which had summoned him on February 2, after which he had informed the agency that he would be unable to depose as he had an interlocutory application pending in the Supreme Court in this case, says reports.
ALSO READ: Aircel- Maxis case: ED raids Karti Chidambaram's premises in Delhi, Chennai
8) Raids and hours of grilling: On February 16, it was reported that the ED carried out fresh searches against people allegedly linked to Karti in connection with the INX Media case.
Officials had told news agencies that the raids were conducted at three premises in Chennai under provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), the anti-money laundering law. The officials added that the searches were carried out against people allegedly linked to Karti.
On February 15, the ED had questioned Karti for over 10 hours in Delhi.
ALSO READ: Aircel-Maxis case: Karti Chidambaram moves SC against CBI summon
9) The CBI case: The CBI had filed an FIR on May 15 last year, alleging irregularities in the FIPB clearance to INX Media for receiving funds from abroad to the tune of Rs 3.05 billion (Rs 305 crore) in 2007, when senior Chidambaram was the Union finance minister.
It is alleged that Karti received funds to the tune of Rs 1 million (Rs 10 lakh) in the case, they said.
The CBI is also probing the alleged irregularities in grant of FIPB clearance to the Aircel-Maxis deal in 2006.
10) The ED case: The ED had registered a money laundering case against Karti and others in May of 2017. It registered an Enforcement Case Information Report (ECIR), the probe agency's equivalent of a police FIR, against the accused who were also named in a CBI complaint, including Karti, INX Media, and its directors -- Peter and Indrani Mukerjea.
The ECIR was lodged under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act. The central probe agency has been probing the alleged "proceeds of crime" generated in this case.
It was the ED that had provided information about the alleged illegal payments made by INX Media, based on which the CBI had filed its FIR.
The ED has alleged that INX Media, deliberately and in violation of the conditions of the approval, made a downstream investment of 26 per cent in the capital of INX News Pvt Ltd without specific approval of FIPB. This included indirect foreign investment by some foreign investors. This generated Rs 3.05 billion (Rs 305 crore) foreign direct investment in INX Media Pvt Ltd against the approved foreign inflow of Rs 46.2 million (Rs 4.62 crore).
The ED further alleged that INX Media entered into a criminal conspiracy with Karti to wriggle out of the situation without any punitive action.
Moreover, the agency alleged that the finance ministry's FIPB unit had not only granted an illegal approval but also misinformed the Income Tax Department's investigation wing.

India factory growth slows to 4-month low as rising prices dent demand: PMI

Growth in India's factory activity slowed to a four-month low in February as new orders eased and weighed on output after manufacturers raised prices at the fastest pace in a year, a business survey showed on Wednesday.
That suggests retail inflation could continue to pick up over coming months, pressuring the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to raise interest rates despite concerns that tighter policy could weigh on economic growth.

The Nikkei Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index, compiled by IHS Markit, fell to 52.1 in February from January's 52.4 and was below the 52.8 expected in a Reuters poll.
But it held above the 50 mark that separates growth from contraction for the seventh consecutive month.
"Cost inflation accelerated to the sharpest since February 2017, adding to expectations that inflationary risks will continue over the coming months," Aashna Dodhia, an economist at IHS Markit, said in a release.
The minutes of the February RBI meeting released last week showed policymakers were increasingly worried about accelerating inflation.
"The economic recovery is also at a nascent stage and calls for a cautious approach at this juncture," RBI Governor Urijit Patel was quoted as saying.
While retail inflation eased in January from a 17-month high in the prior month, price rises are still above the RBI's medium-term target of 4 percent on rising energy costs and expectations for an increase in rural spending by the government.
The latest PMI data suggests risks for inflation remain on the upside.
"Amid a stronger oil price forecast and growing fiscal risks, IHS Markit upgraded its CPI forecast to 5.2 percent for fiscal year 2017/2018," Dodhia said.
The new orders sub-index, an indicator of domestic and export demand, fell to 52.3, its lowest since October.
That is well below the long-run mean average of 57.1 for orders and marked the second consecutive month it has fallen.
Export order growth, while pulling back slightly, was still solid.
While firms remained quite optimistic about future output, the survey's findings suggested the world's seventh-largest economy has not completely overcome the disruptions to demand from a ban of high-value currency notes in November 2016 and the implementation of a goods and services tax (GST) on July 1.
Although companies raised hiring at a modest pace in February in response to greater production requirements, optimism about future output slipped to three-month low.
India's economy is expected to have grown at its fastest pace - 6.9 percent - for a year in the last quarter of 2017, a separate Reuters poll showed. The data will be released later on Wednesday.
In the same period, manufacturing activity registered its highest average quarterly growth rate since the fourth quarter of 2014.
(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

INX Media case: CBI detains Karti Chidambaram for manipulating tax probe

Former finance minister P Chidambaram's son and businessman Karti Chidambaram was detained by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in Chennai on Wednesday in connection with the INX money laundering case. It was alleged that he violated the Foreign Exchange Management Act.
Chidambaram was detained at Chennai Airport while he was returning from a foreign trip, according to his public relations officer. A few weeks ago, Karti's chartered accountant S Bhaskararaman had been arrested from a hotel in Delhi.
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) had earlier claimed that during the course of investigation, it was revealed that Bhaskararaman had been assisting Karti Chidambaram to manage his "ill-gotten wealth" in India and abroad.
The case relates to the approval granted by Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) in 2007 for receipt of funds by INX Media during P Chidambaram's tenure as the Union finance minister.
CBI alleged Karti Chidambaram received money from INX Media for using his influence to manipulate a tax probe against the firm for violating FEMA by receiving investments from Mauritius.
CBI also seized vouchers of Rs 1 million (Rs 10 lakh) allegedly paid for the services.
The central probe agency had registered the case against Karti Chidambaram and others in May last year.
Last week, Karti Chidambaram moved the Supreme Court (SC) seeking a stay on ED summons against him in the INX Media case. However, the apex court did not grant a stay.
He was also questioned by the ED, which had summoned him on February 2. Karti had, however, said he would be unable to depose as he had an interlocutory application pending in the SC, say reports.
ED had alleged that INX Media violated norms by making a downstream investment of 26 per cent in INX News Private Limited's capital without specific approval of FIPB. These included indirect investment by foreign investors, besides generating Rs 3 billion (Rs 305 crore) foreign direct investment in INX Media against the approved foreign inflow of Rs 46 million (Rs 4.62 crore).
To wriggle out of the situation without any punitive action, INX Media entered into a criminal conspiracy with Karti Chidambaram, the ED said.
The FIPB unit of the finance ministry had not only granted illegal approval but also misinformed the investigation wing of Income Tax Department, ED added.

Porsche to launch electric vehicle in India in early 2020

Luxury car maker Porsche, part of the Volkswagen group, will launch an electric vehicle (EV) in India at the beginning of 2020, a company official said.
Porsche, which started operations on India in 2012, has so far been selling fully imported cars here as the company does have any manufacturing or assembly units outside its home country Germany.
"We will launch a fully electric car in India in the beginning of 2020," director of Porsche India Pavan Shetty told PTI.
The India launch will follow the global launch in the last quarter of 2019, he said, adding that the prototype was showcased at the Frankfurt motor show in 2015.
"This is a part of the Mission-E of the company," Shetty said.
In 2016, the company sold 401 units in India, which went up to 434 cars in 2017 (Jan-Dec).
"We are expecting a stable growth in the country as it is difficult to judge the external conditions like exchange rate fluctuations," he said.
Shetty said post Goods and Services Tax (GST), effective tax rates had gone up for some of its models while for the others, it remained the same.
In the luxury segment, which also includes the super luxury brands, Porsche has a market share between 1.2 and 1.5 per cent, he said.
The company will launch a new SUV model -- Cayenne E3 -- in the third quarter of the current year, he said.
Porsche had introduced models like Cayenne, Macan, Panamera, 718 series, Cayman, Boxstar, and the flagship 911 in India.
The company has eight service centres and six dealer outlets in the country.

HAL, ICICI Securities among several firms lining up Rs 250-bn public offers

The IPO lane seems to get busier as over two dozen companies have lined up initial share sale plans worth Rs 250 billion in the coming months, largely to fund their expansion projects and working capital requirements.
Hindustan Aeronautics, ICICI Securities, Barbeque-Nation Hospitality and Flemingo Travel Retail are among the names that plan to launch share-sale offers in the coming months.
Most of these companies plan to utilise initial public offer (IPO) proceeds for business expansion as well as working capital requirements, as per the draft papers filed with capital markets regulator Sebi.
Besides, some of the firms believe the listing of equity shares on bourses will enhance their brand name and provide liquidity to existing shareholders.
Barbeque-Nation Hospitality, ICICI Securities, Bharat Dynamics and Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency -- have secured Sebi's go-ahead this year to float their public offers.
In addition, 20 companies including RITES, Mishra Dhatu Nigam Ltd, Bandhan Bank, IndoStar Capital Finance, Nazara Technologies and Route Mobile are awaiting the regulator's approval to float IPOs.
Together, these companies are expected to raise nearly Rs 250 billion, merchant banking sources said.
Moreover, five companies, including Newgen Software Technologies and Amber Enterprises India, have already hit the capital markets
According to experts, the IPO market will continue to see hectic activity as over a dozen firms are awaiting Sebi's nod to launch their public issues.
Besides, higher valuation of secondary market would attract investors towards IPOs.
The year 2017 saw 36 companies collectively raising over Rs 670 billion through their respective IPOs, making it the best year. The previous high being in 2010 when Rs 375.35 billion was garnered, almost half the amount.
Experts said that proactive regulatory environment coupled with uplifted investor sentiment has helped the IPO market.

Liberty House to approach NCLT on Bhushan Power bid rejection by creditors

The Sanjeev Gupta-led Liberty House will file a petition with the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) on Monday against the rejection of its bid to acquire debt-ridden Bhushan Power & Steel, which owes about Rs 450 billion to its lenders.
“We submitted the resolution plan 45 days before the completion of the 270-day deadline. So, the bid should have been accepted,” sources at Liberty House said.
“The petition is most likely to be heard on Monday itself,” a source said.
Parliament had passed the insolvency law in 2016 to hold corporate defaulters accountable and assist banks in recovering their dues.
Once cases are admitted by the NCLT, lenders to the companies are required to set up a committee for insolvency resolution within 180 days, which can be extended to 270 days after which the borrowing entity will be liquidated.
A source said when Liberty House had sent its resolution plan earlier this month, the bids submitted were not officially opened for Bhushan Power, hence the late submission.
UK-based Liberty House has shown interest in companies undergoing insolvency resolution in order to have a stronger presence in India. The company had submitted a revised bid for Amtek Auto on February 9.
Liberty House, worth $6.8 billion, has had its eyes set on the difficult but promising Indian market for quite some time now.
For Bhushan Power, Tata Steel is the strongest competitor to Liberty House. Tata Steel has bid aggressively for the asset.
The Committee of Creditors rejected Liberty House’s resolution plan on the grounds that the bid was submitted after the deadline.
“Our bid is higher and better. Should not this process be carried out in the best interests of the public and have optimum recovery rather than sticking to timelines and procedures,” a source said.

After SC order, IndiGo to shift flights in Delhi airport

Budget carrier IndiGo on Saturday said it would comply with the Supreme Court’s order and shift some of its flights from one terminal to another at Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International airport in the coming weeks.
On Friday, the apex court rejected IndiGo’s plea challenging a Delhi High Court order to shift its operations partially from Terminal 1 (T1) of the IGI Airport here to Terminal 2 (T2).
The SC has given IndiGo and SpiceJet time till March 3 to approach airport operator Delhi International Airport Limited (DIAL) for suggesting which of their flights can be shifted from T1 to T2.
“IndiGo deferentially accepts the decision of the apex court and shall implement the order in the coming weeks, in close coordination with Delhi International Airport Limited,” the airline said in a statement today.
The top court also laid out the timeline for shifting of operations.
It said that after the airlines share details of flights that can be relocated, DIAL will have to take a decision between seven to ten days.
Following this, DIAL will inform IndiGo, which will have to comply with the same within 10 days.