Equity schemes see cuts in H1CY20 as investors book losses, exit portfolios

The correction in the markets has taken a toll on equity portfolios of mutual fund (MF) investors, with such funds losing 11-15 per cent in the first half of the calendar year 2020.
Large-cap funds — the largest equity category — have failed to meet investors’ expectations with negative returns of around 13 per cent over this period.

MF distributors say they have seen investors booking losses and exiting portfolios.
ALSO READ: Relief for pharma firms as govt starts clearing API imports from China
“Investors, who are worried over their cash flows and were chasing returns, are now looking at pulling out their investments,” said Ritesh Sheth, co-founder of Tejas Consultancy.
So far this year, large-cap funds have seen deeper value erosion than mid- and small-caps. The data from Value Research shows that mid-cap funds have declined 9.6 per cent year-to-date (YTD), while small-cap funds have fallen 11.26 per cent.
Though there has been some recovery in recent months, advisors say investors should be cautious.
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“Within equity, investors should maintain a calibrated approach. Large-cap funds should be kept at 60 per cent of the overall portfolio, with the remaining exposure in mid- and small-cap funds. Here, too, small-cap exposure should be kept lowest,” said Amol Joshi, founder of Plan Rupee Investment Services.
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Experts say market volatility will likely persist as the economic outlook remains uncertain. The India Vix, a volatility gauge, has seen a seven-fold spike in the current calendar year.
Experts say investors should also brace for sharp corrections as corporate earnings are unlikely to improve in the near term.
“June seems to be a washout quarter on a YoY (year-on-year) basis. The September quarter is likely to be weak as well. In December, we could see flat to slightly positive earnings performance. But if lockdown is tightened again, recovery would also get pushed,” said Deepak Jasani, head of retail research at HDFC Securities.
Equity schemes have seen heavy redemptions in the current year — they stood at Rs 62,413 crore from such schemes (data available till May) on a YTD basis.
Rising redemptions can also be gauged from the slowdown in the flows coming through systematic investment plans (SIPs). Since peaking in March, the SIP book has contracted 6 per cent. In May, contributions to MFs through SIPs stood at Rs 8,123 crore.

Carlyle Group to acquire 25% stake in Airtel's Data Centre business

The Carlyle Group on Wednesday announced that it will invest $235 million for approximately 25 per cent stake in Nxtra Data Ltd, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Bharti Airtel engaged in the data centre business.
The post-money enterprise valuation of Nxtra is approximately $1.2 billion and Carlyle will hold a stake of approximately 25% in the business upon completion of the transaction, with Airtel continuing to hold the remaining stake of approximately 75%, Bharti Airtel said in a statement.
The transaction is subject to the necessary regulatory approvals, including approval from the Competition Commission of India.
Headquartered in New Delhi, Nxtra offers secure data centre services to leading Indian and global enterprises, hyperscalers, start-ups, SMEs and governments. Nxtra’s nation-wide portfolio of 10 large data centres and more than 120 edge data centres provides customers with co-location services, cloud infrastructure, managed hosting, data backup, disaster recovery, and remote infrastructure management.

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"Rapid digitisation has opened up a massive growth opportunity for data centres in India and we plan to accelerate our investments to become a major player in this segment. We are delighted to have Carlyle as a strategic partner in this exciting journey, particularly given their experience in this industry, and look forward to working with them," said Gopal Vittal, MD & CEO (India and South Asia), Bharti Airtel.
Neeraj Bharadwaj, Managing Director of the Carlyle Asia Partners advisory team, said, “India is set to become one of the largest markets in the world for digital services. Airtel, with its proven track record of solid execution and customer focus, is well positioned to leverage the potential growth of data centres in India. We look forward to collaborating with Airtel to unlock the full potential of Nxtra.”

US-based Carlyle has prior experience in data centre ownership through investments in Coresite in the US and Itconic in Spain.
Nxtra, which is building multiple large data centres across India, will use the proceeds from the deal to scale up its infrastructure, the companies said.
India is seeing a surge in demand for data centres as more businesses choose cloud computing, and consumer demand for digital services such as smartphone entertainment continues to grow, they added.
Cloud and entertainment services represent the next revenue frontier for traditional telecom carriers like Airtel, as voice and data rates in India remain among the cheapest in the world.
Airtel's local rival Jio, controlled by billionaire Mukesh Ambani, has a cloud tie-up with Microsoft, under which it will build data centers hosted on Microsoft's Azure cloud.

Vodafone Idea loss grows to Rs 11,742 cr, says survival depends on SC order

Vodafone Idea has said that its ability to continue as a going concern depends on the Supreme Court giving it a favourable verdict in the adjusted gross revenue (AGR) matter.
The telecom company, which is estimated to have AGR-related dues of more than Rs 46,000 crore, posted a pre-tax loss of Rs 11,742 crore in fourth quarter FY 2020 due to one-off expenses. The result was announced late Tuesday night.

It has sought 20 years to clear the dues and said its survival depends the court verdict and successful negotiations with lenders. Vodafone Idea breached debt covenants as on March end, limiting its ability to generate fresh funds to settle its dues.
"We continue to actively engage with the government to provide relief on various industry related concerns," the company said in its result statement.
The company reported flat revenue growth on a year on year basis. On a sequential basis, revenue rose 6 per cent to Rs 11754 crore due to tariff hike. The company's subscriber base declined to 291 million in fourth quarter from 304 million in the previous quarter while average revenue per user improved to Rs 121 from Rs 109 in the same period.
“Our focus on rapid network integration, as well as 4G coverage and capacity expansion, has further improved customer experience. We thus continue to lead the league tables on 4G data download speeds across several states, metros and large cities. We have achieved our full opex merger synergy target. Despite the nationwide lockdown since March due to COVID-19, our teams across all circles continue to work effectively in these difficult times with support of the local authorities, to ensure seamless connectivity for our customers," said the company's managing director, Ravinder Takkar, in a statement.

Essar group places bid for Brazil's Petrobras refinery in Bahia: Report

Indian conglomerate Essar Group made a binding offer to Brazil's Petroleo Brasileiro SA to buy the country's second largest oil refinery, two people with knowledge of the matter said on Tuesday.
Petrobras, as Brazil's state-controlled oil producer is known, has received at least two offers for the 323,000 barrels per day Landulpho Alves refinery in Bahia, known as Rlam. The other is from Abu Dhabi's Mubadala Investment Company .

If Essar's bid is successful, it would mark the group's debut in Brazil. Essar has invested roughly $28 billion in assets in energy, infrastructure, mining and services, according to the company's website. It is still unclear if the third pre-qualified group, China's Sinopec, has also delivered a bid.
In a recent note to clients, analysts from Bradesco BBI valued the RLAM refinery, based in the northeastern Brazilian state of Bahia, at $2.5 billion.
According to Petrobras' asset sale rules, the top bidder must enter into an extended round of negotiations, usually lasting several weeks, to finalize contract terms. Depending on the outcome, it may require a final round of bidding which could potentially change the result of the competition, a third source said.
Petrobras declined to comment. Essar did not immediately reply a Reuters request.

BookMyShow checks in to India's crowded streaming party with live events

In the streaming video rush comes a new creature this week: BookMyShow (BMS) Online is a streaming platform for live events. Sunburn Home Festival, the virtual edition of Asia’s biggest electronic dance music festival, is among the first events it will stream live on July 10-11. You can pay Rs 99 for a day or Rs 199 for both days.
BMS Online also conducts a virtual musical talent discovery show with Kailash Kher as judge. The finalé will be streamed live on July 7. Other upcoming events include the India shows of Doncaster (South Yorkshire) band Bang Bang Romeo and London-based band Electric Enemy. There are theatre workshops with veterans like Puneet Issar, Rohini Hattangadi, Rakesh Bedi, and Anant Mahadevan. These are among the first of many concerts, events, and workshops lined up by India’s largest ticketing portal in its bid to ride out the pandemic storm.
In a normal year, BMS sells 200 million tickets of movies, plays, and other events. “We have always been the de-facto place for consumers to discover out-of-home,” says Albert Almeida, chief operating officer, BMS.
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To stay connected with its user base during the lockdown, BMS began “delivering content and experiences at home”, says Almeida. It facilitated the discovery, registration, and reach for over 750 events, such as Live From HQ (music, comedy, spoken word), Theatre Live (drama, monologues, theatre, reading), Vodafone #RechargeForGood (music), among others. Close to 4 million people saw these events in the first month of the lockdown, claims the firm. Currently close to half a million viewers log into these virtual events every week. Note that all of these were free. “We saw great affinity for comedy, music, international artistes, and upskilling through master classes,” says Almeida.
Armed with these insights, BMS started moving some of these events to pay in the latter part of June. Now about two-thirds all such events are behind paywall. With BMS Online, everything is pay.
Why stream
BMS makes a bulk of its undisclosed revenue from the estimated 8-10 per cent it gets on ticket sales. “With the pandemic, we hit pause,” says Almeida.
There are no ticket sales happening and no clarity on when full-scale production, release, and exhibition of films, plays or other events will happen. Even when things open up, people might be reluctant to step out, say experts. This means the next six to 12 months, “offer a window of opportunity for live events to be delivered home. The venue changes to BMS. We can serve everyone from Gujarat and Bengaluru to Kanyakumari”, says Almeida.
The pricing depends on the genre, audience, value-additions, et al. For instance, a Naseeruddin Shah play could be streamed live from the National Centre for the Performing Arts in Mumbai for say Rs 100 each. This might attract thousands of enthusiasts. Of these, 25 could be platinum tickets for say Rs 1,000 each. These would give viewers the privilege of participating in a post-performance question-and-answer session with Shah. The price point could begin at Rs 50 and could go up to a few thousands for some categories.

ALSO READ: Online streaming traffic sees 55% overall surge amid lockdown, says report
Will this put BMS in conflict with films or theatrical firms? “We are working with theatres to digitise plays. We are collaborating with live event firms to put together events. The content is coming from those partners,” says Almeida. He also points out that BMS has been the co-producer on several large events, such as Ed Sheeran concert and the Disney musical, Aladdin.
Roughly 40 per cent of its revenue comes from advertising and live events, the rest is commission on ticketing. “We are building this (the streaming business) not just for the intervening period but for later as well,” says Almeida.

Relief for pharma firms as govt starts clearing API imports from China

Easing restrictions on imports from China, the Customs department has decided to clear pharma raw material shipments from that country. Consignments of 11 top importers, including LG, Samsung, Toyota, Honda, and Siemens, will also be allowed entry, relieving them of the 100 per cent inspection rule.
This comes after a week of economic disruption caused by introducing stringent scrutiny, resulting in shipments originating in China getting held up at Indian ports.
After representations from industry bodies, the government on Tuesday cleared imports of active pharma ingredients (APIs) from China. Besides, the top importers falling within the Tier 3 category of the Authorised Economic Operator (AEO) programme were given exemption from stringent scrutiny.
“Imports of APIs and shipments from AEO T3 importers have been exempt from the 100 per cent check. The Indian pharma industry is heavily dependent on API imports from China and they were facing a huge shortage of raw material. Besides, the tier 3 AEOs are the top importers who meet the highest level of compliance, so they have been given the relaxation,” said a government official.
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He said these shipments would get moving from Wednesday. Over 60 per cent of APIs used in India come from China. On June 22, Customs officials in Chennai and Vizag were asked to put all shipments from China on hold until further orders. This was done on the basis of intelligence inputs about “illegal imports of narcotics”.

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Informal instructions were given to all ports and airports to do 100 per cent physical checks of shipments originating in China. Bilateral trade between China and India was worth $88 billion in FY19, with a deficit of $53.5 billion in China’s favour.
India is also heavily dependent on China for intermediates and key starting material (KSM) for making drugs. This dependence has grown over the years as local manufacturers have moved to high-margin products (after they could not expand freely due to pollution norms) and Chinese APIs are 30 per cent cheaper than domestic stuff.
The country mostly imports APIs and intermediates for vitamins (like Vitamin C), common antibiotics, and metformin (diabetes) from China. The government has now drawn up a plan to reduce dependence on the country by incentivising the local production of APIs through production-linked incentives (PLI) of up to Rs 10 crore. The government has identified 41 products (molecules), covering 53 crucial APIs, for which India is dependent on China. Almost 80 per cent of the 41 are intermediates. In 2016, the Customs department had launched the Authorised Economic Operator, or AEO, scheme. It is a voluntary programme, under which an importer gets preferential treatment from Customs for being compliant with supply-chain security standards. AEOs get benefits like fast-tracking shipments, deferred payments, exemption from issuing guarantees, and preferential treatment from Customs.
They are classified into three categories — T1, T2, and T3 — with T3 representing the highest level of compliance. Of the more than 3,000 AEOs, only 11 are in the T3 category. Meanwhile, the government is planning to curtail imports of at least 300 non-essential items from China, either through duty hikes and imposing non-tariff barriers.

California accuses Cisco of caste discrimination against Indian employee

California regulators sued Cisco Systems Inc on Tuesday, accusing it of discriminating against an Indian-American employee and allowing him to be harassed by two managers because he was from a lower Indian caste than them.
U.S. employment law does not specifically bar caste-based discrimination, but California's Department of Fair Employment and Housing contends in the lawsuit that the Hindu faith's lingering caste system is based on protected classes such as religion.

The lawsuit, filed in federal court in San Jose, does not name the alleged victim. It states he has been a principal engineer at Cisco's San Jose headquarters since October 2015 and that he was born at the bottom of caste hierarchy as a Dalit, once called "untouchables."
Like other large Silicon Valley employers, Cisco's workforce includes thousands of Indian immigrants, most of whom were born Brahmins or other high castes.
Former Cisco engineering managers Sundar Iyer and Ramana Kompella also are defendants in the lawsuit, which accuses them of harassment for internally enforcing the caste hierarchy.
Cisco spokeswoman Robyn Blum said the network gear maker followed its process to investigate employee concerns in this case and would "vigorously defend itself" against the lawsuit.
"Cisco is committed to an inclusive workplace for all," she said. "We were fully in compliance with all laws as well as our own policies."
Iyer and Kompella did not immediately respond to requests for comment. It was not immediately known if the two have retained attorneys.
The civil rights group Equality Labs in a 2018 report cited in the lawsuit found that 67% of Dalits surveyed felt treated unfairly at their U.S. workplaces.
At Cisco, the unnamed employee reported Iyer to human resources in November 2016 for outing him as a Dalit to colleagues. Iyer allegedly retaliated, but Cisco determined caste discrimination was not illegal and issues continued through 2018, the lawsuit states.
Cisco reassigned and isolated the employee, rejected a raise and opportunities that would have led to one and denied two promotions, according to the lawsuit.
Hindus traditionally grouped people into four major castes based on ancestry, and Dalits in India still struggle with access to education and jobs 65 years after India banned caste-based discrimination.

Two dead, four hospitalised after gas leakage at a Visakhapatnam firm

Two workers have died and four hospitalised following leakage of Benzimidazole gas at Sainor Life Sciences Pvt Ltd in Visakhapatnam.
"Two persons who died were workers and were present at the leakage site. Gas has not spread anywhere else," Uday Kumar, Inspector, Parwada Police Station, told ANI.

The two victims have been identified as Narendra and Gowri Shankar, while another four persons are being treated at the King George Hospital. The condition of one of the hospitalised persons is reported to be critical. The local administration and police officials visited the scene to look into the mishap. The initial reports suggest technical issues behind the mishap.
Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy enquired about the accident due to gas leakage.
Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister's Office (CMO) in a statement said that accident occurred due to leakage at 11.30 PM on Monday night. The factory was shut down immediately as a precautionary measure.
"The accident is confined to a department in which there is a reactor. There is no need to panic. The district collector has ordered an inquiry into the matter," read the statement. Chief Minister has ordered to provide the best medical treatment to those in the hospital.
As many as 12 people, including a minor, were killed when styrene vapours leaked from the LG Polymers plant on May 7, while several hundred fell ill after inhaling the poisonous chemical at R Venkatapuram near Visakhapatnam.
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China passes national security law in turning point for Hong Kong

China’s parliament passed national security legislation for Hong Kong on Tuesday, setting the stage for the most radical changes to the former British colony’s way of life since it returned to Chinese rule 23 years ago.
State media is expected to publish details of the law - which comes in response to last year’s often-violent pro-democracy protests in the city and aims to tackle subversion, terrorism, separatism and collusion with foreign forces - later on Tuesday.

Amid fears the legislation will crush the global financial hub’s rights and freedoms, and reports that the heaviest penalty under it would be life imprisonment, prominent pro-democracy activist Joshua Wong said he would quit his Demosisto group.
“It marks the end of Hong Kong that the world knew before,” Wong said on Twitter. The legislation pushes Beijing further along a collision course with the United States, Britain and other Western governments, which have said it erodes the high degree of autonomy the city was granted at its July 1, 1997, handover.
The United States began eliminating Hong Kong’s special status under U.S. law on Monday, halting defence exports and restricting the territory’s access to high-technology products.
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Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam, speaking at her regular weekly news conference, said it was not appropriate for her to comment on the legislation as the meeting in Beijing was still going on, but she threw a jibe at the United States.
“No sort of sanctioning action will ever scare us,” Lam said.
Lau Siu-kai, vice-president of a think-tank under the Beijing cabinet’s Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office, told Reuters the law was passed unanimously with 162 votes. It is expected to come into force imminently.
The editor-in-chief of the Global Times, a tabloid published by the People’s Daily, the official newspaper of China’s ruling Communist Party, said on Twitter the heaviest penalty under the law was life imprisonment, without providing details.
Authorities in Beijing and Hong Kong have repeatedly said the legislation is aimed at a few “troublemakers” and will not affect rights and freedoms, nor investor interests.
‘OVERPOWERING’
The legislation may get an early test with activists and pro-democracy politicians saying they would defy a police ban, amid coronavirus restrictions, on a rally on the anniversary of the July 1 handover.
At last year’s demonstration, which came amid a series of pro-democracy protests, a crowd stormed and vandalised the city’s legislature.
“We will never accept the passing of the law, even though it is so overpowering,” said Democratic Party chairman Wu Chi-wai.
It is not clear if attending the unauthorised rally would constitute a national security crime if the law came into force by then.
A majority in Hong Kong opposes the legislation, a poll conducted for Reuters this month showed, but support for the protest movement has slipped, now getting the backing of a slim majority.
This month, China’s official Xinhua news agency unveiled some of the law’s provisions, including that it would supersede existing Hong Kong legislation and that interpretation powers belong to China’s parliament top committee.
Beijing is expected to set up a national security office in Hong Kong for the first time and could also exercise jurisdiction on certain cases.
Judges for security cases are expected to be appointed by the city’s chief executive. Senior judges now allocate rosters up through Hong Kong’s independent judicial system.
It is not known which specific activities are to be made illegal, how precisely they are defined or what punishment they carry.
Hong Kong is one of many developing conflicts between China and the United States, on top of trade, the South China Sea and the coronavirus pandemic.
Britain has said the security law would violate China’s international obligations and its handover agreement.
A Japanese official said that if the law had been passed, it was “regrettable”.
Democratically ruled and Chinese-claimed Taiwan said it “strongly condemns” the legislation and its president, Tsai Ing-wen, said she was very disappointed.
The European Union has said it could take China to the International Court of Justice in The Hague over it.
China has hit back at the outcry, denouncing “interference” in its internal affairs.

China voices strong concern over India's ban on 59 apps with Chinese links

A day after India banned 59 apps with Chinese links for engaging in activities which are "prejudicial to sovereignty and integrity" of the country, China on Tuesday voiced strong concern over the move, and said the Indian government has the responsibility to uphold the "legitimate and legal rights" of international investors.
India on Monday banned 59 apps with Chinese links, including the hugely popular TikTok and UC Browser, for engaging in "activities which are prejudicial to sovereignty and integrity of India, defence of India, security of state and public order".

The ban also comes in the backdrop of the current stand-off along the Line of Actual control in eastern Ladakh with Chinese troops.
Reacting to India's ban of the Chinese apps at a Chinese Foreign Ministry briefing here, spokesman Zhao Lijian said, China is strongly concerned about the relevant notice issued by the Indian side. We are checking and verifying the situation.
"I want to stress that the Chinese government always asks the Chinese businesses to abide by international rules, local laws and regulations in their business cooperation with foreign countries," he said.
The Indian government has the responsibility to uphold the legitimate and legal rights of the international investors including the Chinese ones, he added.
India's Information Technology Ministry said on Monday that it has invoked its power under section 69A of the IT Act and rules, and has decided to block 59 apps in view of information available that they are "engaged in activities which are prejudicial to sovereignty and integrity of India, defence of India, security of state and public order".
The move will "safeguard the interests of crores of Indian mobile and internet users. This decision is a targeted move to ensure safety and sovereignty of Indian cyberspace", the ministry said in a statement.
The Chinese foreign ministry spokesman said the practical cooperation between China and India is actually mutually beneficial and win-win.
Such pattern has been artificially undermined and it is not in the interest of the Indian side, Zhao added.
The list of apps that have been banned by India also include Helo, Likee, Cam Scanner, Vigo Video, Mi Video Call Xiaomi, Clash of Kings as well as e-commerce platforms Club Factory and Shein.
The IT ministry statement also said that it has received many complaints from various sources, including several reports about misuse of some mobile apps available on Android and iOS platforms for "stealing and surreptitiously transmitting users' data in an unauthorised manner to servers which have locations outside India".
"The compilation of these data, its mining and profiling by elements hostile to national security and defence of India, which ultimately impinges upon the sovereignty and integrity of India, is a matter of very deep and immediate concern which requires emergency measures," the statement said.

Govt eases air travel norms for persons recovered from coronavirus

The Civil Aviation Ministry has tweaked a rule to enable persons recovered from coronavirus to travel by air.
As per earlier norms issued on May 21 passengers had to submit a declaration that they have not tested positive for Covid-19 in last two months.
This clause has now been changed to three weeks. "Covid-19 recovered persons fulfilling this condition will be allowed to travel upon showing a Covid-19 recovered/discharged certificate from any institution dealing with Covid-19 subject," joint secretary Usha Padhee said in an office memorandum today.
Domestic air travel resumed on May 25 and around 1.9 million passengers have flown till now. The ministry said the rule was being updated so that cured people don't face hardship in travelling by flights.

Covid-19 crisis: Bharat Biotech's vaccine gets nod for human trials

Bharat Biotech’s Covid vaccine candidate Covaxin is set to undergo human clinical trials in July. It was developed at the firm’s Genome Valley plant in Hyderabad, in collaboration with the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR).
On Monday, the Hyderabad-based firm said the Drug Controller General of India gave the green light for phase-1 and phase-2 human clinical trials of the indigenously developed drug, following submission of results generated from pre-clinical (animal) studies. These were meant to demonstrate safety and immune response.

The SARS-CoV-2 strain was isolated at National Institute of Virology (Pune), an institute under the ICMR, and transferred to Bharat Biotech. Bharat Biotech has a biosafety level-3 plant in Hyderabad. These type of plants are appropriate for work involving microbes, which could cause serious and potentially lethal diseases, through the inhalation route.
Krishna Ella, chairman and managing director of Bharat Biotech, said: “We are proud to announce Covaxin, India’s first indigenous vaccine for Covid-19. The collaboration with ICMR and NIV was instrumental. The proactive support and guidance from CDSCO has enabled approvals to this project. Our R&D and manufacturing teams worked tirelessly to deploy our proprietary technologies towards this platform.”
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Bharat Biotech had manufactured the H1N1 vaccine during the swine flu outbreak. The company has more than 140 global patents and a portfolio of over 16 vaccines.
Ahmedabad-based Cadila Healthcare was the first among Indian players to announce a vaccine candidate — it had also started pre-clinical studies.
Pune-based Serum Institute and Delhi-based Panacea Biotec, too, are leading candidates from India to develop a Covid-19 vaccine.

Ladakh standoff: India-China to hold third round of Lt Gen talks today

Indian and Chinese militaries will hold another round of Lt General-level talks on Tuesday in an attempt to de-escalate tension in eastern Ladakh and finalise modalities for disengagement of troops from the sensitive region, government sources said.
It will be the third round of Lt General-level talks and it will take place in Chushul sector on the Indian side of Line of Actual Control. The meeting is scheduled to start at 10:30 AM, the sources said.

The first two meetings had taken place at Moldo on the Chinese side of the LAC.
In the second round of talks on June 22, the two sides arrived at a "mutual consensus" to "disengage" from all the friction points in eastern Ladakh.
On Tuesday, the two sides are expected to deliberate on the implementation of an agreement arrived at the first round of the Lt General talks on June 6, the sources said.
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The Indian delegation at the talks will be headed by 14 Corps Commander Lt Gen Harinder Singh while the Chinese side is likely to be led by the Commander of the Tibet Military District.
The tension between the two sides escalated after the Galwan Valley clashes on June 15 that left 20 Indian soldiers dead.
The Chinese soldiers used stones, nail-studded sticks, iron rods and clubs in carrying out brutal attacks on Indian soldiers after they protested the erection of a surveillance post by China on the Indian side of the Line of Actual Control in Galwan.
After the clashes, the two sides held at least three rounds of Major-General level talks to explore ways to bring down tension between the two sides.

Unlock 2.0 opens a small window; PM to address the nation at 4 pm today

The Centre on Monday issued guidelines for “unlock 2.0”, but the rapid increase in Covid-19 cases in several parts of the country meant it stopped short of reopening schools, colleges, and coaching institutions.
International air travel and metro rail services will also continue to remain shut at least till July 31, and large congregations stay banned. Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra decided to extend the lockdown in several parts of the states until July 31.

“Unlock 2.0” will come into force on Wednesday, July 1. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is slated to address the nation at 4pm on Tuesday.
The fresh guidelines, issued by Union Home Secretary Ajay Bhalla, stated domestic flights and train services, already allowed, would be further expanded in a calibrated manner.
Under the fresh guidelines, night curfew has been relaxed. Night curfew will now be from 10 pm to 5 am, instead of 9 pm to 5 am. Shops have been allowed to have, space permitting, more than five people at a time.
“Unlock 1” guidelines, issued on May 30, had ordered reopening religious places, malls, hotels, and restaurants from June 8. It had also stated the decision on reopening schools and other educational institutions would be taken in July after feedback from parents and other stakeholders.
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However, the Centre has decided against reopening schools, colleges, and coaching institutions until July 31. In an exception, training institutes run by the Centre and state governments will reopen on July 15.
Cinema halls, gymnasiums, swimming pools, entertainment parks, theatres, assembly halls, and similar places will continue to remain shut.
Social, political, cultural, religious, and other large congregations will also remain prohibited.
As for containment zones, only essential activities will be allowed at least until July 31. The guidelines stated that states and Union Territories can prohibit certain activities outside containment zones based on their assessment. However, state
governments cannot ban inter-state and intra-state movements of people and goods.
The fresh guidelines said the dates for resuming the remaining prohibited activities would be decided later.
In Maharashtra, the Uddhav Thackeray-led government on Monday announced the ongoing lockdown in the state would be extended till July 31. In view of the increasing cases, the government said restrictions on non-essential activities and movement of people would be re-imposed in Covid-19 hotspots.
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“Concerned District Collectors and Commissioners of the Municipal Corporations in the state may enforce certain measures and necessary restrictions in specified local areas on the permitted non-essential activities and movement of persons to control the pandemic,” the state government said. It said unrestricted movement would be allowed for attending offices and in emergencies.
Essential shops remaining open, e-commerce activities for essential and non-essential items, operational industrial units, and home delivery of food will be allowed.

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In Tamil Nadu, Chennai, Madurai, and surrounding areas will continue to be under intense lockdown till July 5 and the current relaxations and curbs will be in force till July 31 for the rest of Tamil Nadu, the government said.
“Total lockdown will continue in Chennai, Madurai and surrounding areas till July 5. From July 6 to July 31, Chennai will revert to pre June 19 relaxed lockdown. From July 6, Madurai will revert to pre June 24 relaxed lockdown,” said the state government in its order.
After announcing relaxation as part of Unlock 1 across the state from June 1, the Tamil Nadu government had re-imposed intense lockdown in Chennai, Chengelpet, Tiruvallur, and Kancheepuram.
Assam has also announced “total lockdown” in Guwahati from Monday for the next two weeks after an increase in Covid-19 patients.
Punjab has continues to have a partial lockdown over weekends.

Digital strike: India bans 59 Chinese mobile apps on security threat

India has banned 59 Chinese mobile apps, including the popular SHAREit, TikTok, UC Browser, and SHEIN, citing them to be a security threat. The government invoked its powers under Section 69A of the Information Technology Act and relevant provisions under IT Rules 2009 to block these apps, the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) said on Monday.
The move did not come as a surprise as it comes in the backdrop of stand-off along the Line of Actual control in Ladakh with Chinese troops. Other popular apps on the ban list include Club Factory, Helo, and CamScanner. The ministry said it had received complaints about the misuse of some mobile apps available on the Android and iOS platforms “for stealing and surreptitiously transmitting user data” in an unauthorised manner to servers located outside India. The Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre and the Home Ministry, who had had earlier sent an exhaustive recommendation on the apps to be blocked, were consulted on this issue, the MeitY statement said.
ALSO READ: PM to address the nation at 4 pm today amid Covid-19, India-China row
“The government believes these are data-mining apps that compromise the user’s data and national security,” said Salman Waris, managing partner at New Delhi-based specialist technology law firm TechLegis Advocates & Solicitors. “The next move could be the Department of Telecom asking internet service providers to block IP addresses and access to these apps.”
Waris said the sentiment could hamper the flow of Chinese capital into Indian start-ups. The government had in April amended the foreign direct investment (FDI) policy, saying that an entity of a country, which shared a land border with India, can only invest through the government route.

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Blaise Fernandes, director, Gateway House, said there were essentially four types of Chinese apps in India — economic, service oriented, vanity, and strategic. “The Digital India story is globally tracked. Baidu, Alibaba, and Tencent are part of the digital ‘Silk Route’ of China. The ban of the 59 Chinese apps in India will negatively impact the valuations of these apps and their respective promoters,” Fernandes said. The official referred to the upcoming IPO of TikTok and said: “Almost 30 per cent of its user base comes from India. This (ban) will impact TikTok’s valuations negatively.”
However, most home-grown start-ups and Confederation of All India Traders welcomed the move. The CAIT said it was a “big support” to its “Boycott Chinese Goods” campaign. Berges Malu, director (public policy) at ShareChat, a social media start-up, said: “This is a welcome move against platforms that have had serious privacy, cyber-security and national security risks.”

Delhi will not have 500k cases by July, Sisodia's remark created fear: Shah

Union Home Minister Amit Shah said that remarks made by Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia in early June about the national capital reaching 550,000 Covid-19 cases by the end of July had created "fear" among people and he expressed confidence that the stage will not be reached.
He also said that there was no community transmission of the disease in the national capital.

In an interview with ANI that was limited to the Centre and Delhi Government's efforts to curb the spread of the Coronavirus in the nation's capital, Home Minister Amit Shah said a series of steps had been taken to contain the virus and multi-agency meetings had been held to improve coordination at various levels.
"Around the second week of June, Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia said that by July 31 there will be 550,000 persons infected with the virus. He said that there will be no place left, no beds left and the situation will be difficult. This created a lot of fear in the minds of people in Delhi. His estimate was based on figures. I do not want to go into whether estimate was right or wrong. But a situation of fear arose and some people started mulling an exodus (out of Delhi)," said Amit Shah.
"Till June 15, there will be 44,000 Covid-19 cases and we would need 6,600 beds. We would hit one lakh cases and would require 15,000 beds by June 30. There will be around 225,000 cases till July 15 and Covid-19 cases will reach around 550,000 by July 31," Sisodia had said after a meeting of the state disaster management authority chaired by Delhi Lieutenant Governor Anil Baijal in early June.
Amit Shah disagreed with the prediction made by the Delhi Deputy CM."I can say now with confidence that situation of 550,000 cases will not come on July 31," he added.
Answering a query about the need of coordination meeting called by him on June 14 which was attended by Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, LG Anil Baijal and Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan and some experts, Shah said normally it is the duty of the Delhi government regarding coordination and improving the systems.
"But after remarks of Manish ji, I felt that the central government should not stay idle. Modi ji has accountability towards the country. PM also told me that the Home Ministry should take initiative to move forward and help the Delhi government. We are helping Delhi government but for coordination, central government called a meeting," he said.
"We will be in good condition (By July 31st) because we have laid stress on preventive steps including more tests and contact tracing," he added.
When asked about the difference of opinion between the Centre and Delhi Government on announcing whether 'Community Spread' of the Coronavirus had begun in Delhi, Amit Shah said that Delhi had not reached that state yet and if and when that stage would come, the Central government would not hesitate in making the announcement.
"I have talked to three senior-most officials - Dr Paul (from Niti Aayog), IMCR chief Dr Bhargava and Dr Guleria (AIIMS New Delhi Director). This situation has not come to Delhi. Such situation appeared because of the total tests done, earlier 30 per cent turned out to be positive and that was happening because tests were done at the last moment. Now that we have started doing 20,000 tests on average, this condition is not there. I have held technical discussions on this...today this situation is not there in Delhi. There is no need to fear," he said.
ALSO READ: Delhi govt's alarm bell: 550,000 Covid cases by July-end, says Deputy CM

Delhi's Health Minister Satyendra Jain said earlier in the month that the onus was on the Centre to declare Community transmission. "There is transmission in the community. But whether it is community transmission or not can be declared by the Centre only," said Jain.
In his interview to ANI, Home Minister Amit Shah also referred to Delhi government's decision about hospitals reserving COVID-19 beds only for residents of the national capital and said it was reversed.
The Home Minister said even he is from outside Delhi. "Where will I go, if something happens to me. Delhi is the capital of the country. And people from different states stay here, come and go," he said, adding that a lot of people from neighbouring states stay in Delhi.
Amit Shah also struck a placatory tone in his interview and said that there was coordination between the Centre and the State in tackling Covid in Delhi. "There is coordination...Arvind Kejriwal is always kept in the loop. Decisions are taken by involving him also," added Shah.
He said shortcomings came to attention in the meetings he held about the Covid situation in Delhi and it was decided that every house in containment zone in Delhi will be surveyed by June 30. The minister said that testing was also ramped up.
The decisions announced after June 14 meeting called by the Home Minister included increasing testing three-fold in six days, providing 500 converted rail coaches to add 8,000 beds and steps for the availability of 60 per cent coronavirus beds in private hospitals at lower rates.

Rajasthan cops charge Ramdev, Patanjali MD with cheating for Covid-19 drug

The Rajasthan Police on Saturday lodged an FIR against yoga guru Ramdev for allegedly launching an Ayurvedic drug for treating Covid-19 without regulatory approval, a senior officer said.
Four others MD of Ramdev-promoted Patanjali Ayurved Acharya Balkrishna; Director of National Institute of Medical Sciences and Research (NIMS), Jaipur, B S Tomar; his son Anurag Tomar; and senior scientist Anurag Varshney have also been named in the FIR, he said.

Haridwar-based Patanjali Ayurved on Tuesday launched "Coronil", claiming it can cure COVID-19. It said the drug, when taken with another Patanjali product, had cured all coronavirus positive patients who took part in a trial within seven days.
The trial, it said, was conducted in association with the NIMS, a Jaipur-based private institute.
Hours after the launch of the drug, the AYUSH ministry asked Patanjali Ayurved to provide details on the research leading up to it and its composition, telling the company to stop advertising it till the issue is examined.
Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) Ashok Gupta said a case has been registered against Ramdev and four others at the Jyoti Nagar police station in Jaipur on the basis of a complaint lodged by an advocate, Balram Jakhad.
He said multiple complaints were received against Ramdev at various police stations.
The five have been booked under Section 420 (cheating) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), and the Drugs and Magic Remedies (Objectionable Advertisements) Act, according to police.
Complainant Jakhad said a press conference was organised in Haridwar wherein the accused claimed to have developed a medicine to treat coronavirus. The medicine has not been approved by the AYUSH ministry.
On Thursday, Patanjali Ayurved had claimed that it had complied with all legalities.
The licence for the drug was obtained on the basis of the traditional knowledge and experience related to the medicinal virtues of Ashwagandha, Giloy and Tulsi, Patanjali spokesperson S K Tijarawala had said.
No illegal claim has been made on the label of the medicine, he had said.

Emami shares slip 6% as March quarter profit more than halves

Shares of Emami slipped 6 per cent to Rs 207 on the BSE on Monday after the company reported disappointing set of numbers for the quarter ended March 2020 (Q4FY20), impacted severely by the Covid-19 pandemic.
The personal products company’s profit before tax before exceptional items (PBT) declined by 70 per cent year on year (y-o-y) to Rs 25.37 crore in Q4FY20, from Rs 84.77 crore in Q4FY19. Profit after tax during the quarter under review more-than-halved to Rs 23.36 crore from Rs 56.15 crore.

The company’s net sales decreased 17.7 per cent y-o-y at Rs 522.8 crore. Ebitda (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization) margins contracted sharply by 563 bps y-o-y to 18.8 per cent from 24.4 per cent in the year-ago quarter.
The management said the business environment that was already facing challenges from weak consumption trends and liquidity concerns was further impacted severely by the Covid-19 pandemic. The pandemic and the lockdown led to a sharp decline in consumption due to rising unemployment and a significant drop in demand from low-income groups.
The pandemic also led the consumer shift towards more essential items like food, groceries and hygiene products thereby affecting the sale of the Company’s niche and discretionary line of products. All these developments arising out of an unprecedented and extraordinary environment that prevailed across the globe, impacted the Company’s performance significantly in Q4FY20, it said.
While the company has already forayed into hand sanitizer, soaps and hand washes under the Boroplus brand and few other products in health care under Zandu, the company is aggressively pushing to launch more products in both personal hygiene and healthcare categories in the next one-two months. This apart, as the current situation is gradually improving to reach normalcy, the management feels that the demand for discretionary products could quickly come back to normal.

Oil falls in second straight session as virus lockdown cools demand

Oil prices fell for a second straight session on Monday as coronavirus cases rose in the United States and other places, leading countries to resume partial lockdowns that could hurt fuel demand.
Brent crude dropped 66 cents, or 1.6%, to $40.36 a barrel by 1150 GMT while U.S. crude was at $37.86, down 63 cents, or 1.6%.

Brent crude is set to end June with three consecutive monthly gains as OPEC+ supply cuts and as oil demand improved after countries across the globe eased lockdown measures.
However, global coronavirus cases exceeded 10 million on Sunday as India and Brazil battled outbreaks of over 10,000 cases daily. New outbreaks are reported in countries including China, New Zealand and Australia, prompting governments to impose restrictions again.
"The market continues to fret about the recovery in demand as authorities reviewed reopening strategies," ANZ analysts said, referring to the three most populous U.S. states - Texas, Florida and California.
Despite efforts by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and their allies including Russia to reduce supplies, crude inventories in the United States, the world's largest oil producer and consumer, have hit all-time highs.
"There is also a risk that gains in prices recently could see some U.S. shale producers restart wells," ANZ said.
Even as higher oil prices prompt some producers to resume drilling, the number of operating oil and natural gas rigs dropped to a record low last week.
U.S. shale oil pioneer Chesapeake Energy Corp filed for bankruptcy protection on Sunday as it bowed to heavy debts and the impact of coronavirus outbreak on energy markets.

IDBI Bank gains 5%, hits 52-week high on plan to sell stake in insurance JV

Shares of IDBI Bank were frozen in 5 per cent upper circuit at Rs 41.75 on the BSE on Monday after the bank said its board has approved a plan to offload 27 per cent stake in IDBI Federal Life Insurance at a combined value of Rs 595 crore.
IDBI Bank has 48 per cent stake in IDBI Federal Life Insurance, which started operations in 2008. Federal Bank and its Dutch partner Ageas Insurance International NV have 26 per cent stake, each.

“The board of directors, at its meeting held on Friday, June 26, 2020, has approved to sell IDBI Bank’s stake in IDBI Federal Life Insurance Company to the extent of 23 per cent to Ageas and 4 per cent to Federal Bank at a combined value of about Rs 595 crore,” IDBI Bank said in a regulatory filing.
The stake sale is subject to all regulatory approvals to be taken by all related parties and agreements which are yet to be finalised, it said.
The stock was trading at its fresh 52-week high, after surpassing its previous high of Rs 40.90 touched on November 25, 2019. Till 09:29 am, a combined around 29 million equity shares had changed hands and there were pending buy orders for 1.9 million shares on the NSE and BSE. In comparison, the S&P BSE was down 0.86 per cent at 34,870 levels.
In the last one month, the stock has zoomed 106 per cent from the level of Rs 20.30, against 7.5 per cent rise in the benchmark index in the same period. The bank had reported profit in the March quarter of FY20 (Q4FY20) after reporting losses for 13 straight quarters.
The lender posted a profit before tax (PBT) of Rs 289.66 crore for the fourth quarter ended March 2020 on a healthy rise in net interest income and a sharp drop in provisions and contingencies. The bank had posted a loss before tax of Rs 7,136 90 crore in quarter ended March 2019 (Q4FY19).
The asset quality of bank, which is under Prompt Corrective Action (PCA), showed an improvement in slippage during the fourth quarter. The gross non-performing Assets (GNPAs) stood at 27.53 per cent in Q4FY20 as against 27.47 per cent in Q4FY19. While the gross NPAs stood at 28.72 per cent at end of December 2019 (Q3FY20), net NPAs declined to 4.19 per cent in March 2020 from 10.11 per cent in March 2019.

ITC gains 4% after March quarter results; most brokerages maintain 'buy'

Shares of ITC, the diversified conglomerate, gained as much as 4 per cent to Rs 203 apiece on the BSE on Monday after the company on Friday reported a 7.75 per cent drop in its profit before tax (PBT) at Rs 4,743.47 crore for the quarter ended March 31. The fall in PBT was due to a sharp decline in consumption, especially in rural areas due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
The company posted a 4.93 per cent decline in its revenue from operations at Rs 12,560.64 crore during the quarter.

ITC's net profit, however, rose 9.18 per cent to Rs 3,926.72 crore, owing to tax adjustments following the reduction in corporate tax rates last year. CLICK HERE TO READ FULL REPORT
At 09:25 am, the stock was trading over 1.7 per cent higher at Rs 198.50. In comparison, the benchmark S&P BSE Sensex was ruling 0.9 per cent lower at 34,854 levels.
The company informed that the board has recommended dividend of Rs 10.15 per share for the for the year ended March 31, 2020. Total cash outflow in this regard will be Rs 12,476.61 crores.
ITC said that in the initial stages, the pandemic had a significant impact on its hotels, education, and stationery products businesses as it coincided with the peak period and the onset of the school season, which were closed owing to the pandemic.
What brokerages say
ICICI Securities notes that though cigarette sales have returned to the previous levels on a daily sales basis by mid-June after the lockdown was slowly lifted in most states, it believes ITC would have lost 40-45 days of sales in Q1FY21. "FMCG business saw a 2.8 per cent sales dip during the quarter with supply chain & manufacturing disruption in the last 10-15 days of March 2020. However, the business is likely to witness sharp growth in Q1FY21 given most of the product portfolio consists of essentials (packaged food & soaps)," it said in a result review report issued on June 27.
The growth in packaged foods is likely to be a silver lining in FY21E, the brokerage added. It has maintained "BUY" rating on the stock with the target price of Rs 250.
Global brokerage Jefferies has also maintained "BUY" rating on the stock with the target price of Rs 240. The brokerage expects ITC's FMCG business will do well while Hotels, paperboard and Agri segments would be under pressure. Cigarette business is on-course to hit pre-Covid-19 levels, although Q1FY21 can be a washout, it said.
Analysts at Prabhudas Lilladher expect a tepid recovery in Hotels business for the next couple of quarters with losses in 1H due to low occupancy and higher fixed cost business.
"We believe ITC would be one of the key beneficiaries of an uptick in FMCG demand and is inching towards double-digit EBIDTA margins over the next 2-3 years. ITC trades at 14.4xFY22 earnings per share (EPS), nearly 60 per cent discount to our coverage universe with a 5 per cent dividend yield (80% payout), and 8.9 per cent PBT CAGR over FY20-22.
It maintains a "BUY" with a target price of Rs 251 on sum of the parts analysis (SOTP) (valuing cigarette business at 15xFY22 EPS).
Edelweiss Securities, on the other hand, has a "Hold" rating on the stock with the target price of Rs 220. "While the cigarette opportunity in India remains attractive given per capita consumption at 1/18th of China’s, investing modalities have changed with Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) assuming a more significant role," the brokerage said in its ratings rationale.

Investors bullish on gold amid strong fundamentals, weak global economy

Gold price is likely to gain at least 12 per cent this calendar year on intermittent demand from institutional investors and safe haven buying from retail consumers, especially in the US where presidential elections are due in November.
Trading currently at Rs 48,041 per 10g after hitting a record high of Rs 48,380 per 10g on June 24, gold price in India is forecast to set a new record of Rs 54,000 per 10g in Indian markets by the end of this calendar year. The upsurge in the rupee value of gold would follow similar a move in its prices in global markets.
Gold has proved to be a safe bet against a slowing global economy due to the increasing number of coronavirus (Covid-19) cases and geopolitical tensions with China. Gold has proved to be the only asset class in these uncertain times to offer 23 per cent returns in the first half of calendar 2020 and a staggering 41.6 per cent in the last one year. Since its level of Rs 27,840 per 10g in January 2017, gold investors have become richer by 72.6 per cent.
“Fundamentals are currently in favour of gold prices. The Donald Trump administration in the US would try to capture citizen’s eyeballs with lots of luring pictures to revive the country’s economy which has been severely hit because of Covid-19 pandemic. The US financial markets might see fresh announcements to bring the economy back on track which may keep the dollar under pressure and support gold. Apart from that geopolitical tensions between China and the rest of the world also favour gold to hedge against economic downturn. Thus, we see gold prices touching Rs 54,000 per 10g with sharp volatility by the end of calendar 2020,” said Padmanabhan, managing director, NAC Jewellers, a Chennai based jewellery retailer.
Among other fundamentals, rising unemployment rates across the world is a major cause of worry. Despite falling imports into India and China, gold prices are moving up due to high investment and consumer demand in the US. A Metal Focus report suggests gold supply to remain lower by 5 per cent this year. Metal Focus, a London headquartered research firm, said gold price for 2020 would average $1700 per ounce against the first half average price of $ 1661.
ALSO READ: Non-life insurers to offer standard Covid covers to consumers from July 10
In international markets, gold prices reported a gain of 16.7 per cent in the first half of calendar 2020. Gold price in the London spot market is currently quoting at $1771.3 an oz, a rise of phenomenal 47.6 per cent since October 2018 and 25.7 per cent in one year.
The jump in gold prices in the rupee value was sharper than in dollar prices due to the 8.6 per cent depreciation in the Indian currency during the last one year. On Friday, the rupee closed at 75.6 against a dollar compared to 69.2 against a dollar, a year ago.

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Meanwhile, in a major worry for the global economy, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has forecast the world and Indian economy to contract by 4.9 per cent and 4.5 per cent, respectively, in calendar 2020 due to the lockdown aimed at curbing the spread of the Covid-19 pandemic. This has taken a toll on crude oil prices, which have contracted by 40 per cent since January this year.
Prithviraj Kothari, managing director, RiddiSiddhi Bullion, one of India’s largest bullion dealers, said, “Gold pries would remain highly volatile in the next six months as mining companies would start increasing supply to take advantage of high prices and hedging in the world markets to ensure returns.” He is, however, fundamentally bullish on gold.
Kothari suggests that consumers buy gold at any price available as the yellow metal is the only source with earn high long-term returns.
“Gold prices kept a firm trading range despite a rally in equity indices. The worries over record virus cases in the US and other parts of the world have kept risk premium high in gold prices. The US Federal Reserve’s new capital rules will put a cap on bank dividend payments as well as halting share repurchases until the end of the year, which also supported gold prices to trade firm,” said Tapan Patel, senior analyst (Commodities), HDFC Securities.
Silver prices also moved in positive territory and offered 28 per cent returns in one year. Silver prices are likely to move in tandem with gold in the future.

J-K: Three terrorists killed in encounter with security forces in Anantnag

Three terrorists were killed in an encounter with security forces at Khulchohar area of Anantnag, Jammu and Kashmir Police said on Monday.
"Their identities are being ascertained. The search operation is underway," Kashmir Zone Police said in a tweet.

The security forces launched a cordon and search operation at Khul Chohar in the south Kashmir district following information about the presence of militants in the area, a police official said.
The operation turned into an encounter after the militants fired upon a search party of the forces, who retaliated. The gunfight is going on and further details are awaited, the police said.
Kashmir Zone Police
@KashmirPolice
#Khulchoharencountercocludes: 03 #unidentified #terrorists killed. Identication being ascertained. Search going on. Further details shall follow. @JmuKmrPolice https://twitter.com/KashmirPolice/status/1277375568267247616 …
Kashmir Zone Police
@KashmirPolice
#Encounter has started at #Khulchohar area of #Anantnag. JKP and security forces are on the job. Further details shall follow. @JmuKmrPolice
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5:28 AM - Jun 29, 2020
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Police and security forces are present at the spot. Further details shall follow, said the Kashmir Zone Police.
Earlier on June 26, three terrorists were killed in an encounter in Tral by security forces. The encounter took place after security forces received input from Jammu and Kashmir Police about the presence of unidentified terrorists in Chewa Ullar village.

France says no link between origin of Covid-19, China's Wuhan lab

France has recently announced that it does not have information to corroborate a possible link between the origin of the novel coronavirus and the Wuhan Institute of Virology.
"As regards the origin of the virus, the Ministry of Europe and Foreign Affairs has no information to date to corroborate a possible link between the origin of the coronavirus and the work of the Institute of Virology in Wuhan," said the ministry when addressing the Senate earlier this month, Xinhua news agency reported on Sunday.

France has supported a resolution brought up by the European Union to the World Health Assembly in May, which requested the World Health Organisation (WHO) to continue its work, in close collaboration with the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE) and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, to identify the zoonotic source of the virus and the mechanisms of transmission to the human population, said the ministry in a letter answering a question by the upper house of the parliament.
"At this stage, France's priority is to continue the international fight against the pandemic, and to consolidate multilateralism," it added. "With this priority objective, the French Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs has talked several times with his Chinese counterpart."

Bihar cancels 2 bridge companies contracts for having Chinese partners

The contracts of two out of the four contractors who were selected for the construction of a new bridge parallel to Mahatma Gandhi Setu have been cancelled as they had Chinese partners, said Bihar Minister Nand Kishore Yadav.
The contractors were asked to change their partners before the cancellation of the contracts, but they couldn't.

"Seven contractors had applied out of which three were disqualified and out of the remaining four, two had Chinese companies as partners, so we asked them to change their partners but they couldn't, so we cancelled their tender. We have called for applications again on June 27, for which the last date is July 29," said Nand Kishore Yadav.
"It is an important bridge, and if the participation of foreign countries increases, it can be harmful. This decision was made after a lot of thinking and that's why we have retendered," he added.

Diesel car models see downhill trend as gap between prices of fuels narrows

Sales of diesel models for passenger vehicle makers are continuing the downhill trend as car buyers in India increasingly veer towards gasoline- driven models following a narrowing price gap between the two fuels. Analysts expect the ratio between petrol and diesel to get skewed further in favour of petrol.
A deregulation in prices of diesel from October 2014 has led to structural reduction in the price gap of diesel and petrol. The gap narrowed from a historic high of Rs32 per liter in June 12 (pre-deregulation) and Rs21/liter in July 2015 (post-deregulation) to an average Rs7/liter in FY20, according to a recent Motilal Oswal research report.

“With the double whammy of increase in initial cost of ownership for BS6 diesel vehicles as well as no material pricing advantage of diesel, it could further lead to a reduction in share of diesel vehicles. Under BSVI, at current diesel prices, payback period would be 8.5-9.5 years to recover the higher initial cost of ownership,” wrote Jinesh Gandhi and Vipul Agrawal in the 24 June report.
Tarun Garg, director sales and marketing at Hyundai Motor India remains unruffled with the narrowing gap. “It’s not the fuel price alone that determines the purchasing decision. A superior torque and fuel efficiency are big drivers,” said Garg, citing the healthy booking trends the company has seen for its diesel models.
Bookings for the diesel variants of its Creta, Venue and Verna models have seen a month on month increase. While Creta bookings have touched 59 per cent in June from 53 per cent in May, Venue has increased from 32 to 37 and Verna from 28 to 32 per cent in the same period, said Garg. He also attributes the uptick in bookings to a pent up demand for BSVI diesel models.
ALSO READ: Diesel crosses Rs 80-mark in Delhi for first time; petrol up by 16 paise
Several carmakers, including car market leader Maruti Suzuki India pulled the plug on diesel models citing higher costs for BSVI variants leaving buyers with limited options.
Shashank Srivastav, executive director at Maruti Suzuki said with the reducing gap, he expects diesel model share shrink further. The economic logic for buying a diesel car no longer exists.” The maintenance costs for diesel car is higher than diesel and one will take longer to recover the initial costs, he said.
chartGarg, his peer at Hyundai, disagrees, pointing out that a superior fuel efficiency of 30 per cent which diesel cars offer makes them a lot more viable than gasoline even with the reduced price gap.
The minimum difference between a BSVI diesel and petrol variant is Rs120,000. Share of diesel as percentage in overall car sales has come down to 17 per cent in March quarter from 20 per cent in whole of Fy20, he said.
Meanwhile, most of the other manufacturers have seen share of diesel dwindle. Tata Motors which had predominant diesel portfolio till recently has seen sales of its Nexon diesel taper off year-on-year to 20 per cent in June from 30 per cent last year, said an official at the company. None of the other models of Tata Motors have both diesel and petrol.
Veejay Nakra, chief executive officer, automotive division at Mahindra and Mahindra said, “While Delhi has traditionally been petrol driven market, it is too early to comment on the petrol-diesel mix for the rest of India.”
The company hasn’t seen any impact on the sales mix since for larger SUVs and the demand still continues to be predominantly diesel-driven. The only exception being the XUV300, for which gasoline variants now account for half of total sales. Going ahead, Mahindra has plans to launch an entire range of petrol engines, he said.
Kia Motors, the latest entrant in the market too has seen its sales of its Seltos come down month on month. It has come down to 40 per cent in May from 55 per cent in March, said a company spokesperson.

Shifting US forces to counter China threat to India, Southeast Asia: Pompeo

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said that the Chinese threat to India and Southeast Asian nations is one of the reasons America is reducing its troop presence in Europe and deploying them to other places.
Pompeo made the remarks in response to a question at the Brussels Forum that he had addressed virtually.

When asked why the US had reduced the number of troops in Germany, Pompeo said that if US troops were no longer there, it was because they were being moved to other places. He said the actions of the ruling Chinese Communist Party meant there were threats to India, threats to Vietnam, threats to Malaysia, Indonesia and the South China Sea challenge."
"We are going to make sure the US military is postured appropriately to meet the challenges," he said.
Last week Pompeo criticised the Chinese Army for "escalating" the border tension with India and militarising the strategic South China Sea. He also described the ruling Communist Party of China (CPC) as a "rogue actor."
ALSO READ: Coronavirus LIVE: India cases rise to 491,170; global tally past 9.7 mn
In a scathing attack on the Chinese government, Pompeo said that the Communist Party of China wants to undo all the progress the free world has made through institutions like the NATO and adopt a new set of rules and norms that accommodate Beijing.
"The PLA (People's Liberation Army) has escalated border tensions with India, the world's most populous democracy. It's militarising the South China Sea and illegally claiming more territory there, threatening vital sea lanes," Pompeo said, a day after he expressed deep condolences to India on the death of 20 soldiers in violent clashes with the PLA troops at the Galwan Valley in Ladakh on June 15.
An army convoy moves along the Srinagar-Leh highway on Wednesday, after Indian soldiers had a violent standoff with Chinese troops in eastern Ladakh file photo:ptiAn army convoy moves along the Srinagar-Leh highway on Wednesday, after Indian soldiers had a violent standoff with Chinese troops in eastern Ladakh file photo:pti
Earlier, Pompeo said that the behaviour of CCP is fundamentally putting the American people's security at risk and stressed that the Donald Trump administration is the first in decades to take this threat seriously.
The top US diplomat lashed out at China for making "empty promises" during last week's China-Africa summit and said that Chinese President Xi Jinping "failed to promise real transparency and accountability" for Beijing's role in "unleashing" the deadly coronavirus, which has infected over nine million people and claimed more than 400,000 lives globally.
He also said that Xi was not "putting lives front and centre" when the CCP "hid the truth" about Covid-19 from the world until it was too late.
Xi Jinping, Boycott Chinese productsA man belonging to a group called Sadbhavana Manch wears a mask imprinted with Chinese President's photo during a demonstration in Bhopal calling for the boycott of Chinese products. Photo: PTI
The CCP has broken multiple international commitments, including those to the WHO, WTO, UN, and people of Hong Kong, he alleged. He also referred to the CCP's predatory economic practices, such as trying to force nations to do business with Huawei, which he said was an arm of the Chinese Communist Party's surveillance state.
The Chinese Communist Party is also in violations of European sovereignty, including its browbeating of companies like HSBC.
The United States is not forcing Europe to choose between the free world or China's authoritarian vision. China is making that choice between freedom and democracy, he said.
Acknowledging that the US was slow to recognise the reality of the rising authoritarian regime and the implications it had on the free society, he said Europe too was slow.

EPFO may slash interest rate over falling returns, slow cash flow: Report

The Employees' Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) is likely to reduce the interest rate declared for FY20 over falling return on investments and slow cash flow, the Economic Times reported. The interest rate currently stands at 8.5 per cent.
The move, if implemented, will lower the payout on retirement savings of over 60 million EPFO subscribers. The Finance, Investment and Audit Committee (FIAC) is likely to meet to assess the ability to pay the declared interest.

Meanwhile, the 8.5 per cent interest rate, which was declared in March this year is yet to be approved by the Finance Ministry following which the Labour Ministry will notify the changes.
It is to be noted that the government has announced several measures to help employees hit by the Covid-19 crisis. It had lowered the basic pay for employees from 12 per cent to 10 per cent for a period of three months.
ALSO READ: EPFO records 133,000 new enrolments in April amid Covid-19 lockdown
In April and May, the EPFO said it had settled 3.61 million claims amounting to Rs 11,540 crore. Of this, nearly half or 1.55 million claims, amounting to Rs 4,580 crore, were related to the recently introduced Covid-19 advance. The Covid-19 advance has been a great help to EPFO members during these difficult times, especially for the members with monthly wages of less than Rs 15,000. Respecting the social distancing norms at the workplace, EPFO worked with less than 50 per cent staff during the lockdown.
Meanwhile, net employment generation recorded at 133,000 during April 2020 in the formal sector - impacted by Covid-19-induced lockdown, according to the latest EPFO payroll data. The provisional payroll data released by the EPFO last month had earlier showed that the net new enrollments dipped to 572,000 in March this year compared to 10.21 lakh in February 2020. The net new enrollments with the EPFO hovers around 700,000 every month on an average.
However, during 2019-20, the number of net new subscribers rose to 78.58 lakh compared to 61.12 lakh recorded by Employees' Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) during 2018-19, showed the latest payroll data.

One-time loan recast for India Inc may come up at Friday's RBI board meet

A one-time restructuring of loans for India Inc may figure in discussions at the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI’s) central board meeting on Friday — the first since the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic.
While the central bank has not decided its position on the merit of such a scheme in the current situation, the affidavits to be filed in the Supreme Court by the Centre, the RBI, and the Indian Banks’ Association with regard to the loan moratorium scheme may have a bearing.

A relaxation in the delinquency period for classification of non-performing assets (NPAs) to 180 days from the current 90 days had found mention in internal meetings of the finance ministry as well, a source said.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said on Thursday that a one-time loan restructuring facility for non-MSMEs (medium, small and micro enterprises) was under active consideration. “An intense engagement is on with the RBI to come up with such a scheme. There is a lot of stress now,” she said at a webinar organised by the Chennai International Centre.
ALSO READ: Govt, RBI measures have slowed down contraction in economy: NCAER
The need for such a loan restructuring has gained urgency after the central bank last month said the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) growth would be in negative territory in FY21. The International Monetary Fund expects India’s GDP to contract by 4.5 per cent this financial year.
chart
The RBI had allowed a one-time loan restructuring scheme for India Inc in the aftermath of the 2008 financial crisis. The banking regulator’s August 27, 2008 circular allowed for the restoration of standard asset classification to accounts that had turned NPAs during the restructuring approval process, provided that the restructuring package was implemented within 90 days from the date of receipt of application by the bank taking it up. The two conditions imposed were that the restructuring could not be repeated and that the dues to the bank were fully secured.
What is now being speculated is that a new scheme may have to be suitably tweaked as the ground realities are completely different as no business can go to the pre-Covid levels anytime soon. Therefore, the 2008 circular’s stance that no account is to be taken up for restructuring by banks unless financial viability is established, and there is a reasonable certainty of repayment from the borrower, may not be practical in the current context.
ALSO READ: MSMEs may need massive restructuring post moratorium, says industry
It had further held that accounts not considered viable should not be restructured and banks should accelerate the recovery measures in respect of such accounts. Any restructuring done without looking into cash flows of the borrower and assessing the viability of the projects or activity financed by banks would be treated as an attempt at evergreening a weak credit facility and would invite supervisory concern and action.
In 2008, there was no Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code. As of today, there are several cases where a resolution plan is in place. Some of them were crafted just a few months ago, and a one-time restructuring may include reworking these plans as well.

One-time loan recast for India Inc may come up at Friday's RBI board meet

A one-time restructuring of loans for India Inc may figure in discussions at the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI’s) central board meeting on Friday — the first since the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic.
While the central bank has not decided its position on the merit of such a scheme in the current situation, the affidavits to be filed in the Supreme Court by the Centre, the RBI, and the Indian Banks’ Association with regard to the loan moratorium scheme may have a bearing.

A relaxation in the delinquency period for classification of non-performing assets (NPAs) to 180 days from the current 90 days had found mention in internal meetings of the finance ministry as well, a source said.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said on Thursday that a one-time loan restructuring facility for non-MSMEs (medium, small and micro enterprises) was under active consideration. “An intense engagement is on with the RBI to come up with such a scheme. There is a lot of stress now,” she said at a webinar organised by the Chennai International Centre.
ALSO READ: Govt, RBI measures have slowed down contraction in economy: NCAER
The need for such a loan restructuring has gained urgency after the central bank last month said the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) growth would be in negative territory in FY21. The International Monetary Fund expects India’s GDP to contract by 4.5 per cent this financial year.
chart
The RBI had allowed a one-time loan restructuring scheme for India Inc in the aftermath of the 2008 financial crisis. The banking regulator’s August 27, 2008 circular allowed for the restoration of standard asset classification to accounts that had turned NPAs during the restructuring approval process, provided that the restructuring package was implemented within 90 days from the date of receipt of application by the bank taking it up. The two conditions imposed were that the restructuring could not be repeated and that the dues to the bank were fully secured.
What is now being speculated is that a new scheme may have to be suitably tweaked as the ground realities are completely different as no business can go to the pre-Covid levels anytime soon. Therefore, the 2008 circular’s stance that no account is to be taken up for restructuring by banks unless financial viability is established, and there is a reasonable certainty of repayment from the borrower, may not be practical in the current context.
ALSO READ: MSMEs may need massive restructuring post moratorium, says industry
It had further held that accounts not considered viable should not be restructured and banks should accelerate the recovery measures in respect of such accounts. Any restructuring done without looking into cash flows of the borrower and assessing the viability of the projects or activity financed by banks would be treated as an attempt at evergreening a weak credit facility and would invite supervisory concern and action.
In 2008, there was no Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code. As of today, there are several cases where a resolution plan is in place. Some of them were crafted just a few months ago, and a one-time restructuring may include reworking these plans as well.

One-time loan recast for India Inc may come up at Friday's RBI board meet

A one-time restructuring of loans for India Inc may figure in discussions at the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI’s) central board meeting on Friday — the first since the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic.
While the central bank has not decided its position on the merit of such a scheme in the current situation, the affidavits to be filed in the Supreme Court by the Centre, the RBI, and the Indian Banks’ Association with regard to the loan moratorium scheme may have a bearing.

A relaxation in the delinquency period for classification of non-performing assets (NPAs) to 180 days from the current 90 days had found mention in internal meetings of the finance ministry as well, a source said.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said on Thursday that a one-time loan restructuring facility for non-MSMEs (medium, small and micro enterprises) was under active consideration. “An intense engagement is on with the RBI to come up with such a scheme. There is a lot of stress now,” she said at a webinar organised by the Chennai International Centre.
ALSO READ: Govt, RBI measures have slowed down contraction in economy: NCAER
The need for such a loan restructuring has gained urgency after the central bank last month said the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) growth would be in negative territory in FY21. The International Monetary Fund expects India’s GDP to contract by 4.5 per cent this financial year.
chart
The RBI had allowed a one-time loan restructuring scheme for India Inc in the aftermath of the 2008 financial crisis. The banking regulator’s August 27, 2008 circular allowed for the restoration of standard asset classification to accounts that had turned NPAs during the restructuring approval process, provided that the restructuring package was implemented within 90 days from the date of receipt of application by the bank taking it up. The two conditions imposed were that the restructuring could not be repeated and that the dues to the bank were fully secured.
What is now being speculated is that a new scheme may have to be suitably tweaked as the ground realities are completely different as no business can go to the pre-Covid levels anytime soon. Therefore, the 2008 circular’s stance that no account is to be taken up for restructuring by banks unless financial viability is established, and there is a reasonable certainty of repayment from the borrower, may not be practical in the current context.
ALSO READ: MSMEs may need massive restructuring post moratorium, says industry
It had further held that accounts not considered viable should not be restructured and banks should accelerate the recovery measures in respect of such accounts. Any restructuring done without looking into cash flows of the borrower and assessing the viability of the projects or activity financed by banks would be treated as an attempt at evergreening a weak credit facility and would invite supervisory concern and action.
In 2008, there was no Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code. As of today, there are several cases where a resolution plan is in place. Some of them were crafted just a few months ago, and a one-time restructuring may include reworking these plans as well.

Diesel crosses Rs 80-mark in Delhi for first time; petrol up by 16 paise

Price of diesel has crossed Rs 80 mark for the first time in Delhi. On Thursday, the price of diesel in the city was reported to be Rs 80.02 a litre, up 14 paise, while that of petrol increased by 16 paise to Rs 79.92 a litre.
The price of diesel continued to be higher in the city for a second straight day on Thursday. This was for as 19th day in a row that fuel prices saw no downward trend in India. In Mumbai, the price of petrol touched Rs 86.7 a litre and diesel went up to Rs 78.34 a litre. In Kolkata, the prices were at Rs 81.61 a litre and Rs 75.18 a litre, respectively. During the time of lockdown, oil marketing companies did not revise the prices for 83 days in a row and started revising it upward only from June 8 onwards.

A major reason for diesel being dearer than Petrol in Delhi was an increase in value-added tax (VAT) levied on diesel by the state government in May 2020. The state had increased the VAT on diesel from 16.75 per cent to 30 per cent and on diesel from 27 per cent to 30 per cent. This hike in VAT resulted in rates going up by Rs 1.67 per litre for petrol and a record Rs 7.10 for diesel on a single day. On Wednesday, Sanjiv Singh, chairman of Indian Oil Corporation, also blamed higher VAT for the rising diesel prices in Delhi.
Interestingly, the Centre too was not far behind in increasing the excise duty on petrol and diesel. On March 14, excise duty on both petrol and diesel were increased by Rs 3 a litre each. Later, on May 5, the Centre again raised the duty by Rs 10 a litre on petrol and Rs 13 a litre on diesel, the steepest duty hike in the history of the fuel. Singh had clarified that around 70 per cent of the fuel prices comes in the form of taxes and the company only deals with 30 per cent base price, that is benchmarked to the international product prices. Based on the last available data of June 16, the base price on petrol was a mere Rs 22.11 a litre, while that of diesel was Rs 22.93 a litre.
Traditionally, taxes on diesel were kept low by governments due to its impact on the economic and agricultural activities due to higher consumption. Based on data available with Business Standard, consumption od diesel increased 125 per cent from a mere 36.6 million tonne (MT) in 2002-03 to 82.6 MT in 2019-20. The prices, on the other hand, increased over three-fold to Rs 80.02 a litre on Thursday (June 26, 2020) from a mere Rs 19.08 a litre on June 26, 2003. In May 2014, before the Narendra Modi government took charge, diesel prices were seen at Rs 56.71 a litre.

Covid-19 impact: IMF projects Indian economy to contract by 4.5% in FY21

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has warned that the Indian economy faces an even deeper downturn than what it had projected in April as the country grapples with the Covid-19 pandemic. It has projected a sharp contraction of 4.5 per cent in FY21, a steep drop from its April forecast of a 1.9 per cent expansion, calling it a "historic low" for India.
In fact, India faced the sharpest cut in the outlook — a 6.4-percentage point revision due to a more severe fallout of the pandemic than anticipated. In comparison, emerging markets (EMs) and developing countries saw a 2-percentage point reduction in outlook, while the global outlook was cut by 1.9 percentage points.
The silver lining, however, is that the country is expected to bounce back in FY22 with a 6 per cent growth rate, the IMF said in its latest World Economic Outlook titled A Crisis like No Other, An Uncertain Outlook. However, it is lower than even the ASEAN-5 average of 6.2 per cent estimated for 2021 by the agency.
China is estimated to post 1 per cent growth in 2020 and revive to 8.2 per cent in 2021, retaining the fastest-growing economy tag for the third straight year.
“We are projecting a sharp contraction of 4.5 per cent. Given the unprecedented nature of this crisis, as is the case for almost all countries, this projected contraction is a historic low,” IMF Chief Economist Gita Gopinath said after releasing the WEO update. According to the IMF’s record, this is the lowest ever for India since 1961.
However, according to the back-series data released by the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI), taking 2011-12 as base, the economy shrunk by 5.2 per cent in 1979-80.
The Indian economy grew by 4.2 per cent in 2019-20. The global output is seen shrinking 4.9 per cent, and EMs by 3 per cent. “For the first time, all regions are projected to experience negative growth in 2020,” said the IMF.
“The Covid-19 pandemic pushed economies into a Great Lockdown, which helped contain the virus and save lives, but also triggered the worst recession since the Great Depression,” Gopinath said.
ALSO READ: IMF projects global economy to shrink by 4.9% this year over Covid-19
With the updated forecast, the IMF joins other international agencies in projecting negative growth for India in the current fiscal. Last week, the Asian Development Bank also scaled down India’s growth forecast to -4 per cent from a 4 per cent expansion. The IMF’s WEO said that in 2021, global economy was projected to grow at 5.4 per cent. “The pandemic has had a more negative impact on activity in the first half of 2020, with recovery projected to be more gradual than expected,” said the IMF. It further pointed out that economies struggling to control infection rates would see lengthier lockdowns, inflicting additional toll on economic activity.
“Over 75 per cent of countries are now reopening at the same time as the pandemic is intensifying in many emerging markets and developing economies. Several countries have started to recover. However, in the absence of a medical solution, the strength of the recovery is highly uncertain and the impact on sectors and countries uneven," added Gopinath.

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It, however, cautioned that similar to April 2020’s WEO projections, there was pervasive uncertainty around this forecast. “The forecast depends on the depth of the contraction in the second quarter of 2020 (for which complete data are not yet available) as well as the magnitude and persistence of the adverse shock.”
With lockdowns in different countries now easing, the IMF said fiscal policies would have to balance the need to protect people, stabilise demand, and facilitate recovery. It emphasised public investment to accelerate recovery and expanded social safety net spending to protect the most vulnerable.
ALSO READ: Coronavirus LIVE: With 3,788 fresh cases, Delhi's tally crosses 70,000-mark
“India has unveiled liquidity support (4.5 per cent of GDP) through loans and guarantees for businesses and farmers, and equity injections into financial institutions and electricity sector,” the report mentioned.
It said that where the fiscal space was limited, countries needed to reorient revenue and spending to increase and incentivise productive investment.
“Making some provisions (for example, relaxing eligibility) of social protection programmes to be more long-lasting, could enhance automatic stabilisers and help tackle rising poverty and inequality. All measures should be embedded in a medium-term fiscal framework and transparently managed and recorded to mitigate fiscal risks, including loans and guarantees that do not have an immediate effect on government debt and deficits,” it said.
It warned that global public debt could reach an all-time high, exceeding 101 per cent of GDP in FY21 — a surge of 19 percentage points from a last year.
According to reports, several economists have projected India’s debt-to-GDP-ratio to increase to as high as 90 per cent in FY21, from the 70 per cent at present. The IMF said countries with elevated debt levels could constrain the scope of further fiscal support, poising an important medium-term challenge.
“To ensure that economies are well prepared to counter further shocks, policymakers should consider strengthening mechanisms for automatic, timely, and temporary support in downturns,” it said.

Draft e-commerce policy soon, to be stricter on data norms and discount

The government is set to release the second draft of the proposed e-commerce policy soon, which would focus on domestic traders and have more scrutiny on predatory pricing, multiple people in the know said.
While no decision has been taken on the deadline for the final policy, sources said Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) Secretary Guruprasad Mohapatra is set to hold a review with his team in the next few days to take stock of the draft policy and submit it to the commerce minister.
Sources add that the DPIIT is planning its own set of recommendations on data localisation and non-personal data, independent of those laid out in the Personal Data Protection Bill 2019. “Data localisation remains a big concern and despite there being broad government norms on the issue, it would have to be tailor fit for the e-commerce sector,” an official said.
Pricing — a prime complaint of domestic retailers — is set to be the focus, with the government considering an annual review of discounts given by e-marketplaces.
ALSO READ: E-commerce firms ready to comply on 'country of origin' after DPIIT meeting
The initial draft of the policy had proposed a sunset clause for predatory pricing that included zero-payment offers, flash sales and unlimited offers. It had also sought to define these practices and set fixed norms for each but despite multiple inter-ministerial consultations, work on this front has moved slowly. Officials say the new policy will definitely put a cap on pricing and penalties will be outlined for transgressors. Information about pricing may also need to be submitted in advance.
The new policy could make it difficult for a lot of e-commerce firms to continue with their current business models, which many allege are distorting market dynamics.
chartCrucially, the new draft seeks not to incentivise foreign investment in the sectors, instead pushing to reward small retailers that put their goods on the digital arena. The government is also keen to work on a scheme to help traders migrate and integrate their businesses on digital platforms, sources said. As a result, the Confederation of All India Traders is set to be invited to all official stakeholder consultations which have so far included only online players.
The last time a draft of the policy went public was in February 2019 when it faced heat from companies and civil society alike. While Indian businesses argued the interests of domestic businesses were not protected sufficiently, consumer groups said it was heavily tilted in favour of players such as Ola, MakeMytrip and Paytm (all funded by marquee foreign investors), rather than consumers and small businesses.
One of the most contentious issues in the draft was that of potential custom duties on electronic transmissions.
Currently, there is a temporary moratorium on putting custom duties on electronic transmissions which is enforced by the World Trade Organization. But the government had earlier said India reserves the right to tax online retail.
Now, sources say the government is unlikely to change its earlier position on the issue.