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THE ECONOMIC TIMES WWW.ECONOMICTIMES.COM

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WEDNESDAY, 24 JANUARY 2018

Tech That: Kiranas Roll Out Offers to Take on Big Rivals

Musk to Get Salary Only if Tesla Hits Milestones

Acid Test for Kohli as India Tries to Avoid Whitewash

BRANDS & COMPANIES 7

AROUND THE WORLD 17

SPORTS: THE GREAT GAMES 24

MODI AT WORLD ECONOMIC FORUM

Inside story Shiv Sena Decides to Go Solo in 2019 Polls; BJP May Have to Scout for Ally Shiv Sena on Tuesday declared it would contest the 2019 parliamentary and assembly elections alone, breaking its alliance with BJP. The decision has left the ruling party in a tight spot as it now has to scout for a fresh ally/allies if it wants to come back to power in the state.

Pure Politics 4 llllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll

GST Law to be Amended to Stop Misuse of Transition Credit The government is set to amend the goods and services tax (GST) law to explicitly state that no transition credit can be availed in lieu of cesses paid under the previous tax regime, a move that comes after companies claimed hundreds of crores of rupees as transition credit in lieu of Swachh Bharat Cess and Krishi Kalyan Cess.

Economy: Macro, Micro & More 15 llllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll

Leading Business Schools See Resurgence in Hiring Sentiment Leading business schools, having wrapped up final placements for graduating students, have seen a resurgence in recruiter sentiment, overseas placements and higher salary offers, after last year’s hiring season challenges. llllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll

Govt Stops Pursuing Bilateral Flying Rights With Dubai for Now The aviation ministry has decided against negotiating with Dubai on raising bilateral flying rights, for now. India and Dubai allow airlines from each side to operate 65,000 seats per week, which have been exhausted by the carriers.

Companies: Pursuit of Profit 21

Will India's score on growth and jobs mar Modi's hardsell at Davos?

49%

47%

4%

YES

NO

CAN’T SAY

TODAY’S QUESTION

Should Arun Jaitley bring rich farmers under tax net in this Budget? www.economictimes.com

India Means Business in Times of Protectionism: PM Terrorism, climate change and protectionism

Country aiming at becoming a $5-trillion economy by 2025

three biggest global threats India removing red tape and laying out red carpet for investors

Arijit.Barman@timesgroup.com

Davos: Globalisation is losing its lustre, giving way to protectionism and trade barriers that are gaining prominence but India, marching toward a $5-trillion economy by 2025, remains open for business, Prime Minister Narendra Modi told the World Economic Forum in Davos on Tuesday.

Inaugurating this year’s congress, Modi laid out his vision for a new India in a multipolar world during a 50-minute speech that touched upon cyber security, the digital and big data revolutions, artificial intelligence, terrorism and climate change, while promoting yoga, ayurveda and the Indian way of life.

The prime minister said the forces of protectionism were rai-

Data is a huge asset but flow of global data creating biggest opportunities and greatest challenges India looking at generating 175 GW of clean energy by 2022

ET@

MORE REPORTS PAGES 4, 16, 17

Global CEOs Give Reforms a Thumbs-up Doing business in India has become far more easier in past 3 years as the government has tried to cut India’s red tape, global CEOs told PM Modi at a private dinner in Davos, reports Arijit Barman. 17

sing their heads, with the intention of reversing the natural flow of globalisation amid talk of an interconnected world.

“The result of all this is that we get to witness new types of tariff and non-tariff barriers. Bilateral and multilateral trade agreements and negotiations have come to a kind of standstill. Most nations have seen a decrease in cross-border financial investment,” he said in a speech that was mostly in Hindi.

The Indian premier’s address, positioning him as a global statesman, picked up from where Chinese President Xi Jinping had left off in his address last year in Davos that championed free trade and open market access. It also comes against the backdrop of US President Donald Trump’s America First rhetoric and his latest decision to impose tariffs on imported solar panels and washing machines as the White House seeks to create what it says is a level playing field.

One World, One Family 23

ArcelorMittal Opts Out of Race for Bhushan Power

Sequoia Set to Raise Largest India Fund

Jio Pips Samsung to Become No 1 Featurephone Co

Amtek Auto Lenders Reject ‘Low’ Offers

ArcelorMittal has withdrawn from bidding for bankrupt Bhushan Power & Steel after it conducted due diligence on the Indian company, reports Mohit Bhalla. Tata Steel, JSW, Vedanta, AION Capital and a Dubai-based billionaire remain in the fray for the bankrupt company ahead of the January 29 deadline. 7

Blue-chip VC firm Sequoia Capital is preparing to raise up to $1billion for its sixth Indiafocused fund, making it the largest corpus raised for the domestic market, reports Supraja Srinivasan. The firm’s plans for a new fund come two years after it raised $930 million for its previous India-focused fund. 8

JioPhone has become the No 1featurephone brand in the quarter to December by shipments, overthrowing market leader Samsung in the segment for the first time, on the back of massive volumes it shipped in the closing months of 2017, said Counterpoint Research, reports Gulveen Aulakh. 9

Lenders to Amtek Auto, which is facing `. 12,722-crore claims from creditors, have decided to reject the only two offers they received — from Liberty House and Deccan Value Investors — unless the bidders raised the price, reports Sangita Mehta. The offers are below the liquidation value of the company. 14

The Roaring Tigers Country/[Index]

% Change vs Prev. Close

Hong Kong [HSI] China [Shcomp] INDIA [SENSEX] Japan [Nikkei] Taiwan [TWSE] Singapore [STI] INDIA [NIFTY] Philippines [Pcomp]

1.66 1.29 0.96 1.29 0.19 0.63 1.07 0.54

Year to Date % Change

10.07 7.24 6.12 5.97 5.73 5.56 5.25 5.15

Bulls Scale New Highs as US Ends Shutdown Crisis Nifty breaches 11,000 and Sensex 36,000 as FIIs remain net buyers for 7th day Our Bureau

Mumbai: The markets continued to break records with the Nifty breaching the 11,000-mark and the Sensex closing above 36,000 for the first time after the US government passed a temporary funding bill that ended government shutdown in the world’s largest economy.

Renewed strength in foreign fund flows into Indian stocks of late has boosted belief that the ongoing record-breaking run is here to stay for a while though concerns over share valuations simmer in a market considered overbought by many.

The BSE Sensex rose 341.97 points, or 1%, to close at 36,139.98 after hitting a record high of 36,170.83 during the day. The Nifty ended 117.50 points, or 1.07%, higher at 11,083.70 after hitting a lifetime high of 11,092.90 during the session. State Bank of India was the top gainer among the

Sensex stocks, gaining 3.8%.

The Bank Nifty closed at a record high.

Tata Steel, ONGC, ICICI Bank, Coal India and IndusInd Bank rose between 2% and 4%.

Foreign portfolio investors were net buyers of Indian stocks on Tuesday for the seventh straight day. They have bought stocks worth `. 7,486 crore in the last seven days, including purchases worth `. 1,229 crore in Tuesday. In January, they have pumped `. 8,867 crore into shares in India after pulling `. 5,350 crore out of the India is third markets in Deamong top cember. performing “So far the Asian market rally markets so has been largefar this year ly driven by liquidity,” said Harsha Upadhyaya, chief investment officer (equities), Kotak Mahindra Asset Management Company. “Until now, we were seeing strong domestic liquidity and not much inflows from foreign investors. In January, we have seen decent inflows from foreign investors, which is in line with overall inflows into emerging markets.”

Record Close in 11Sessions This Yr 23

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4 Pure Politics

THE ECONOMIC TIMES | NEW DELHI / GURGAON | WEDNESDAY | 24 JANUARY 2018

‘NEED TO BE OPEN’ A strong message sent out to developed countries on the need to have a serious, integrated approach to climate change: Those working closely with PM

NATIONAL EXECUTIVE MEET BJP is only a party of fake promises and advertisements: Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray

PM’s Davos Speech Meant Shiv Sena Declares its for Those Back Home Too Solo Run for 2019 Polls PM is trying his best to assure countrymen that his steps are in the interest of the nation Vasudha.Venugopal@timesgroup.com

New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s emphasis on the “need to be open” at his inaugural speech at World Economic Forum in Davos sent a strong message to not just the world’s financial elite but his supporters and detractors back home, according to those working closely with the PM. They said the message had economic and cultural implications.

Modi stressed on the need to be open to foreign markets and different cultures and said that India was open for business, but warned protectionism was gaining ground, while globalisation was losing appeal. An important example was when he cited an incident from Mahatma Gandhi’s life on how he insisted in staying in rooms that had open windows.

“He made it clear that there is no way out but to be open to exchanges,” an official said. Modi’s speech was filled with Sanskrit ‘shlokas’ and references to the Rig Veda, Upanishad, Mahatma Gandhi and Rabindranath Tagore. Those who prepared the groundwork for the PM’s Davos visit said a lot of effort had gone for making the perfect pitch at the event. “Not only did he present India as open to cultural exchanges and economic reforms, he also sent out a strong message to developed countries on the need to have a serious, integrated approach to climate change,” an official said.

The PM was very sure that he did not want to make any claims without numbers that validate his achievements, the official said. Last year, Chinese president Xi Jinping had said China would take America’s traditional role as the champion of free trade and open markets. “Our PM’s defence of globalisation was quite brave but at the same time, he didn’t make tall claims. He only made commitments and listed how

Declares it would contest Lok Sabha and Maharashtra assembly polls alone Krishna.Thevar@timesgroup.com

OFFICE OF RG @OFFICEOFRG

GETTY IMAGES

Dear PM, Welcome to Switzerland! Please tell DAVOS why 1% of India’s population gets 73% of its wealth? I’m attaching a report for your ready reference

Mumbai: BJP’s alliance partner Shiv Sena on Tuesday declared it would contest the 2019 parliamentary and assembly polls alone.

A resolution to this effect was passed at Shiv Sena’s national executive meet on Tuesday where the party again voted for Uddhav Thackeray to be its president.

His son Aaditya Thackeray has been elected as a national executive member, while his personal assistant Milind Narvekar has become the party secretary. The move is seen as a succession plan to ensure Aaditya’s eventual leadership of the party.

After announcing the decision to go solo, Uddhav launched a scathing attack on BJP, calling it a party of fake promises and advertisements.

He alleged BJP came to power on the promise of giving a loan waiver to farmers and implementing the MS Swaminathan Committee report on giving the minimum support price to farmers, but “they forgot it after coming to power”.

“For years and even now, central and state Sena says governments have it supports been ne glecting complete farmers’ issues,” farm loan waiver and Thackeray said. “The farmers are commitimplementing suicides and tation of most of the farmers Swaminawho die are from the than panel state. However, BJP report has forgotten its promises after it came to power.”

Shiv Sena on Tuesday passed a resolution saying it supports a complete loan waiver for farmers in Maharashtra and implementation of the Swaminathan committee report.

Attacking the Modi government at the Centre, Thackeray said: “You keep saying ‘achhe din’; we don’t know whether the country is

FILE PHOTOS

ANALYSIS

the scenario in India is changing for imports and foreign direct investment and how this is good for the world order,” an official said. He included GST, ending of licence raj, scrapping unnecessary laws, red carpet in place of red tape, FDI under automatic route as achievements by his government.

The PM’s speech received praise from BJP presidentAmitShahwhosaidhehadperfectlyarticulated India’s strengths and aspirations in the multi-conceptual world. Modi’s economic reforms have been opposed not just by the Congress but also sections in the RSS which is the ideological parent of BJP. The RSS-affiliated Swadeshi Jagaran Manch has opposed the Centre’s decision to allow 100% FDI under SJM has opautomatic route for single brand posed govt retail, a reform that the PM listed decision to in his Davos speech as one of his allow 100% major pitches to investors. SJM FDI under au- maintains the move would hurt dotomatic route mestic manufacturing and go against for single campaigns such as Make in India. brand retail “The PM is trying his best to assure his countrymen and supporters that his steps are in the interest of the nation,” the official said.

Uddhav Thackeray Shiv Sena President

We have to pull down this government of advertisement. At least in Maharashtra, we have to bring Shiv Sena to power going backward or forwards under you. Companies are shutting down, women are insecure, children are struggling to get education… What is the difference between your government and the earlier government then?”

The Sena president targeted the state government under Devendra Fadnavis as well. “It only keeps advertisements that the Maharashtra government did a loan waiver and gave people their rights; when I ask the people, however, no one says they got it,” Thackeray said. “We have to pull down this government of advertisement; at least in Maharashtra we have to bring Sena to power,” he said.

“Killing cow is a sin, but what about those who speak lies? If we started putting people in jail for saying a lie then a lot of people today would be in jail,” Thackeray said.

He also accused Union minister Nitin Gadkari of humiliating the Navy. “We are angry because Nitin Gadkari questions what the Navy is doing here. He says fight at the border. Remember it is the country’s armed forces that secures us and not your 56-inch chest.”

BJP Assumes it’s an Empty Threat, a ‘Bargaining Ploy’ Leaders feel ‘like-minded parties’ should contest LS polls under NDA as Oppn may join hands RakeshMohan.Chaturvedi @timesgroup.com

New Delhi: Sena’s threat to go it alone in the next Lok Sabha and Maharashtra assembly polls, both due in 2019, has not come as a surprise to ally BJP which sees this as a

possible “pressure tactic or bargaining ploy” but is keeping its doors open in case the Thackerays do a rethink and decide to contest as part of NDA. Senior BJP office-bearers, MPs and leaders ET talked to said Sena had parted ways before the last assembly elections only to share power postpolls. Even then, BJP and Sena fought most corporation polls separately.

However, there is a feeling that BJP and Sena need each other for the 2019 Lok Sabha elections as it is not an easy fight and Congress-NCP can damage them if they are not together. BJP is hopeful Sena will change its mind.

“There is still time for the next general elections. Anything is possible in cricket and politics. Sena has not

BJP SEES NO THREAT

BJP sees no threat to Fadnavis govt from the announcement as Sena is not likely to withdraw support to the current government signed on a registered document that they won’t ally with us. Our doors are open for Sena,” Gopal Shetty, BJP MP from Mumbai North told ET.

Wait-And-Watch Game Though an alliance with NCP is not ruled out, BJP leaders maintain that it is unlikely to happen

Speculations can go on. But we cannot compromise on our ideology. We stand for good governance and zero tolerance towards corruption Shaina NC BJP’s Maharashtra Spokesperson

BJP TO PLAY A ‘WAIT AND WATCH’ GAME ON SENA’S THREAT. IF IT SNAPS TIES, BJP WILL PLAN ITS NEXT MOVE

BJP leaders feel “like-minded parties” should contest the Lok Sabha elections under the NDA banner as opponents are likely to join hands.

A senior BJP leader said Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray’s announcement is aimed at asserting himself within his party and enthusing the cadre.

“In Maharashtra, once Sena was the senior partner. Sena wanted the deputy CM’s post but has not got it.

Elections to seven Rajya Sabha seats will take place in April and Sena wants representation. Thackeray is not as powerful as his father. Even his own ministers do not listen to him,” a senior BJP leader claimed.

Ties between BJ P and Sena have been strained since Bal Thackeray’s death. While he was respected by BJP leaders, Udhav expected the same treatment. BJP chief Amit Shah has not minced words in telling his office-bearers that the party should expand its political presence in Maharashtra and not be dependent on Shiv Sena.

VERY CAUTIOUS Rahul’s party camouflages its excitement by asking Sena why it isn’t walking out of the coalition govts

Congress Spots Strategic Opening in Maharashtra Battle CL.Manoj@timesgroup.com

New Delhi: Congress sections in Delhi have been keeping a close watch on the Sena since Friday, when Udhav Thackeray’s confidant Sanjay Raut retweeted Rahul Gandhi’s ‘suggestion’ that PM Modi speak on unemployment, Dokalam and rapes in Haryana in his next ‘Mann ki Baat’.

And after Sena let out its ‘mann ki baat’ for 2019 polls on Tuesday, the Congress brass is cautiously optimistic of gaining a strategic opening from unravelling of the saffron alliance in the state that sends the

As it Unravels It is a case of interesting future trading. Sena has taken its electoral stakes outside BJP boardroom. Yet, it won’t formally walk out A CONGRESS LEADER Sena’s aggressive nature could make it a competitor of anti-BJP space in Maharashtra Congress leaders

Pawar’s characteristic reflexes would be to remain ambivalent on NCP’s plans However, NCP leader Tariq Anwar said ‘there is no question of NCP aligning with BJP’ Praful Patel too ruled out NCP-BJP pact on news channels

second-largest number of MPs to the Lok Sabha. However, the party has camouflaged its excitement by asking Sena why it was not walking out of the coalition governments at the Centre and Maharashtra.

“It is a case of interesting future trading. Sena has taken its electoral stakes outside BJP boardroom. Yet, Sena won’t formally walk out, daring BJP to decide on the perils of sharing power with a declared rival which is unwilling to vacate the coalition turf for a wannabe entrant,” said a Congress leader. While the Modiled BJP’s grand show in Lok Sabha polls gave BJP the foundation for al-

most securing a majority by itself in the Maharashtra assembly in 2014, Congress feels the ‘double incumbency burden’ could make it risky for BJP to repeat the solo run. Congress is also watching how Sena’s move would impact coalition reflexes of ‘suppressed’ allies TDP and Akali Dal. However, some Congress leaders said Sena’s aggressive nature could make it a competitor of anti-BJP opposition space in Maharashtra.

On the usual speculation about Sharad Pawar’s party moving closer to BJP after Sena’s exit, NCP leader Tariq Anwar said: “There is no question of NCP aligning with

BJP. Congress and NCP have learnt from the blunder of not fighting together the last LS and assembly polls. Congress-NCP alliance is being revived and will benefit from the BJP-Sena break-up”. Praful Patel too ruled out a NCP-BJP pact on news television.

However, veteran Pawar’s characteristic reflexes would be to remain ambivalent on NCP’s plans. The deepening farmers’ distress could, however, make the party extra cautious on aligning with BJP, when Sena has calculatedly projected farmers’ distress and policies of NDA regime as reasons for going solo in 2019.

PLOT THICKENS

All Eyes on Pawar’s NCP in the New Scenario Krishna.Thevar@timesgroup.com

Mumbai: Shiv Sena’s decision to have no truck with BJP in the 2019 parliamentary and assembly elections may give NCP an opportunity to fish in troubled waters.

With Sena playing tough, BJP may either contest on its own or explore a tie-up with Sharad Pawar-led NCP. However, BJP sources said Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis is strongly against an alliance with NCP, as it would lead to a loss of credibility for BJP. A lot has changed since 2014 when BJP almost came to power on its own in a four-cornered contest involving Congress, NCP, Shiv Sena and BJP, feel political analysts and BJP leaders.

“Last time, we won because of the Modi wave. This time, we may find it difficult to come to power if there is a four-cornered contest.

This is one of the reasons why we didn’t go for a mid-term poll last year,” said a BJP leader.

For Sena, a tie-up with NCP can throw its own set of problems.

Prior to the 2014 parliamentary and assembly polls, BJP had made cor ruption charges against NCP minister Ajit Pawar and state NCP chief Sunil Tatkare in the alleged irrigation scam huge poll plank. After coming to power, the BJP-led government allowed Maharashtra AntiCorruption Bureau to investigated the charges.

“If a tie-up with NCP has to happen, then ACB will have to give a clean chit to Tatkare and Ajit Pawar. NCP will only consider an alliance after that. If ACB names Ajit Pawar and Tatkare in the scam, then it means the party has decided to go it alone,” a BJP leader said.

Political analyst Yuvraj Mohite argued: “NCP will not just be satisfied with a clean chit in the irrigation scam. They would also want Fadnavis removed from the chief minister’s post and replaced with Nitin Gadkari or someone else.”

‘BJP Member’ Sarpanch of Malegaon PUNE: BJP said its member has become the Sarpanch of Malegaon village in Baramati tehsil, the home turf of Sharad Pawar. Malegaon gram panchayat is one of the biggest village local bodies in Baramati. BJP’s Jaideep Vilas Tawre defeated NCP’s Rajendra Chavan by just one vote, conducted after the sitting Sarpanch resigned, said Ranjan Tawre, a senior BJP leader from the area. — PTI

STAR CAST IS READY Indian actor and actress finalised to play the roles of Congress chief Rahul Gandhi & his sister Priyanka

German Actress to Play Sonia in ‘The Accidental Prime Minister’ Raghav.Ohri@timesgroup.com

Mumbai: A German actress will play Sonia Gandhi in the muchawaited political movie ‘ The Accidental Prime Minister’, displacing an Italian artiste who had initially been chosen for the role.

Suzanne Bernert, 35, will portray former Congress president in the movie based on Sanjaya Baru’s controversial book, ‘The

through Bombaycasting.com, a brainchild of Bohra that calls itself the country’s first online acting portal, said a person privy to the development.

“Not only does she look the part, but her dialogue delivery is identical to Sonia Gandhi’s. Her audition was truly persuasive,” Bohra told ET, confirming that Bernert has been signed up for the film. Bohra has pro-

SOUNDS SIMILAR

Not only does she look the part, but her dialogue delivery is identical to Sonia’s: Bohra

duced films such as ‘Shahid’ (2012) and ‘Gangs of Wasseypur’ (2012).

The movie makers had chosen an Italian actress to play Sonia Gandhi but had a change of heart after watching Bernert’s audition, another person aware of the development told ET. Bernert met the producer and director in Mumbai for the final screen test earlier this month, after which she was signed up. She has acted in several Indian movies and TV serials, including ‘Honeymoon Travels Pvt. Ltd.’ (2007) and most recently ‘Bin Kuch Kahe.’

An Indian actor and actress have been finalised to play the roles of Congress President Rahul Gandhi and his sister Priyanka Gandhi Vadra. “After trying several Indian and foreign actors, two actors have been shortlisted for the parts of Rahul and Priyanka Gandhi. Only

THE REAL AND REEL SONIA

GETTY IMAGES

Suzanne Bernert had portrayed Sonia Gandhi in a TV series ‘Pradhanmantri’

Ac cident a l P r i me M i n i s t er : The Making and Unmaking of Manmohan Singh’. Anupam Kher will essay the role of former prime minister Manmohan Singh, ET was the first to report on June 6.

This is not the first time that Bernert will play Sonia Gandhi.

The actress had portrayed Sonia Gandhi in ‘Pradhanmantri,’ an Indian TV series hosted by actor and director Shekhar Kapur about post-Independence politics.

It took Bernert only one self-recorded audition to catch the attention of the movie makers who had earlier zeroed in on an Italian actress for the key role. On learning about the movie, Bernert recorded her audition on her mobile phone and sent it to producer Sunil Bohra and director Vijay Gutte.

She contacted the movie makers

the paperwork remains,” said another person associated with the movie.

Out of a star cast of over 140, actors have been finalised to play the roles of Vinod Mehta, Sitaram Yechury, A Raja, APJ Abdul Kalam, Lalu Prasad, Sushma Swaraj, Amar Singh, Kapil Sibal, Jyoti Basu, Gursharan Kaur, Pranab Mukherjee, Natwar Singh, PV Narasimha Rao, Ajith Pillai, Shivraj Patil, Arjun Singh, Uma Bharati and Mayawati. The movie is likely to wrap up shooting in London

by May and is slated for release on December 21, 2018, only months before the 2019 general elections.

Almost 90% of the movie will be shot in London. Baru was Singh’s media adviser from May 2004 to August 2008 and released his book in 2014, ahead of the general elections in which the Narendra Modi-led NDA came to power with an unprecedented majority.

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Pure Politics

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Can Aadhaar be for All Purposes, Asks SC Advocate representing the challengers says the whole Aadhaar network was to be used for everything Samanwaya.Rautray @timesgroup.com

New Delhi:The Supreme Court on Tuesday sought to know if the Aadhar scheme were to be declared legal can it be used for all purposes or only for limited purposes.

“Even if it is valid, can it be used for everything or only for limited purposes,” said Justice A K Skiri, who is part of a five-judge bench examining the legality of the all-pervasive Aadhaar scheme. Senior advocate Shyam Divan, who is representing some of those who have challenged the legality of scheme, said the whole Aadhaar network was to be used for everything and everybody.

He pointed out that in a democratic framework governed by the Constitution, a citizen should have the option of protecting himself by refusing to share crucial information about himself with anybody and everybody. “A citizen should have the choice of providing alternative means of identification,” he said, especially if spread of the information exposes him and makes him vulnerable.

Divan argued that the silos of information, which includes biometrics being collected under Aadhaar, Advocate Divan says may not per se citizen’s right be violative of a to privacy person’s privaincludes right cy, but aggregato keep one’s ted today would intimate enable the state affairs to to profile every oneself citizen’s life, making India a surveillance state. He said a citizen’s right to privacy included the right to lead a dignified life. This includes the right to keep one’s intimate affairs to oneself.. In addition, he should enjoy the right to be left alone and the right to retain his identity from cyber attacks.

Seen in this backdrop, the state can only take away his privacy by a law for a legitimate state interest, which must pass the test of reasonableness.

He pointed out that both in the pre-statute period and the days following the law, there was no rigour to the Aadhaar enrolment process. The quality of data being collected under selfcertification was also questionable, he argued. The government could also, if it chose, erase the Aadhaar data and denude

any citizen of all his civil rights under the Constitution, he argued. “The programme, in its invasiveness, reach and the amount of control it will give the state, militates against an open, liberal, democratic society.” ‘The bench, led by Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra, wondered if such fears were valid in a networked age when citizens have to part with data at every stage to avail services.

CPM Plans Impeachment Motion Against CJI New Delhi: The CPM on Tuesday kick started its efforts to rally opposition parties for bringing an impeachment motion against CJI Dipak Misra in Parliament. CPM general secretary Sitaram Yechury, who met NCP leader Tariq Anwar and rebel JDU leader Sharad Yadav said it was time that the legislature and executive come together to resolve the crisis as the judiciary has been unable to address the issues raised by the four senior SC judges.—PTI

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6 Pure Politics

THE ECONOMIC TIMES | NEW DELHI / GURGAON | WEDNESDAY | 24 JANUARY 2018

FIRST THING FIRST Articles 83, 85, 172, 174 and 356 of the Constitution

need to be amended for fixing Lok Sabha and assembly terms

‘One Nation, One Poll’ Needs Many Legislation: CEC Rawat ‘EC will discuss the electoral bonds notification soon’ Aanchal.Bansal@timesgroup.com

N e w D e l h i : Chief Election Commissioner OP Rawat has said Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ‘One Nation One Election’ idea can be implemented only after Parliament legislates on it. Rawat, who assumed office on Tuesday, had earlier said that the EC would be logistically prepared by September to conduct general and assembly elections simultaneously.

“Legislation, however, has to take precedence over logistics.

We cannot do anything till a legal framework is put in place,” he said on Tuesday.“The election commission had communicated with the law ministry in 2015 on the issue and we have highlighted the necessary changes required,” he said. Constitutional amendments flagged by the EC in its communication with the law ministry included provisions to Articles 83, 85, 172, 174 and 356 of the Constitution that pertain to fixing terms of the Lok Sabha and legislative assemblies.

Clarifying the ECs stand on the is-

sue of anonymous electoral bonds being introduced for political funding, Rawat said that the EC was still formulating its opinion on it. Commission officials are examining the notification and EC will take it up for consideration in a day or two, he said. With the EC courting controversy over the reliability and security of Electronic Voting Machines and the use of VVPAT machines to tally votes, Rawat EC will soon said that the EC take a call will soon take a call on extendon extending the taling tallying lying of votes in more of votes to than one polling more than booth. “We started one polling tallying votes with booth the paper trail of VVPAT machines in one polling booth of each constituency as a pilot in the assembly polls of Gujarat and HP and other bypolls. We are still studying the statistics of the same and take a decision on scaling it up soon,” he said.

Felicitation of Millennial Voters Tomorrow

NEED THE LEGAL BACKING FIRST

Legislation has to take precedence over logistics. We cannot do anything till a legal framework is put in place, says the chief election commissioner

IT’S STATE RESPONSIBILITY SC says 200 to 300 people can’t create law and order problems; advises those opposing movie not to watch it

SC Refuses to Amend Order On Release of Padmaavat Samanwaya.Rautray@timesgroup.com

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Tuesday refused to amend its interim order on Padmaavat and said 200-300 people cannot create law and order problems, which some states had cited while seeking a ban on the movie’s screening.

The court, which said those opposing the film could avoid watching it, also had a stern message for the MP government, which sought permission to ban the movie: “Uphold law and order.”

“Some people go and create problems, the state cannot control,” a three-judge bench led by Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra wanted to know.

“200 to 300 people cannot come to the streets and create law and order problems. That is unthinkable...”

The top court had last week removed a ban imposed on the movie’s release

by Rajasthan, Gujarat and Haryana and ordered them to provide security to its screening. But Rajasthan and MP moved a fresh application on Monday, asking it to ban the movie to avoid law and order problems. The Karni Sena, a group that has vowed to stop the film’s release alleging that it distorted history and showed legend-

Some Outfits OK With Movie; Arson in Gujarat GANDHINAGAR/NEW DELHI:

BETTER STAY OUT

“We advise you not to watch if you don’t like the movie. How can we modify this order,” CJI told Karni Sena ary Rajput Queen Rani Padmini in poor light, also approached the court.

“We advise you not to watch if you don’t like the movie,” the CJI told the Karni Sena.

23:32 Color: C K Y M

Threat of violence over ‘Padmaavat’ continued even as different organisations claiming to represent Rajputs took conflicting positions on the eve of the movie’s release.

Lawlessness prevailed in Ahmedabad on Wednesday evening when protesters torched several malls, over three dozen vehicles and two wheelers. Karni Sena president Lokendra Kalvi had earlier in the day told ET on phone from Porbandhar that the movie won’t be released.

However, some Rajput outfits watched the screening in New Delhi on Tuesday and expressed satisfaction at the changes made in movie.—OPB

NEW DELHI: To woo young voters, the EC has decided to felicitate 60,000 ‘millennial voters’ on National Voters’ Day, which falls on Thursday. Millennial voters, identified by the commission as those born on January 1, 2000, will cast their votes for the first time in upcoming assembly elections or the 2019 LS elections. According to EC officials, state election commissions were tasked with identifying young voters through outreach programmes in schools and colleges. Each state will felicitate its millennial voters by offering them badges and certificates, officials said. In Delhi, President Ram Nath Kovind is expected to attend a felicitation for the Capital’s young voters.

Can’t Examine Woman’s Choice of Partner Unless she Complains: SC Samanwaya.Rautray @timesgroup.com

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Tuesday said that a court cannot examine whether an adult woman’s marriage was valid or invalid, whether she was brainwashed into it or not, unless she complained.

The top court indicated that it would restrict its adjudication in the Hadiya case to whether the Kerala High Court could have annulled her marriage to Shafin Jahan, a PFI activist, in a habeas corpus petition. The case has been touted as an example of love jihad from the state.

Her father Ashok Kumar had first moved the High Court against her illegal confinement. During pendency of the case, the marriage was solemnised and presented the court as a fait accompli, prompting the court to annul it.

Shafin Jahan moved the top court against the decision. In its first reaction to his plea, the top court led by former CJI J.S. Khehar prima facie agreed with the father’s plea for a NIA enquiry.

His lawyer Madhvi Divan had argued that there was a pattern to the brainwashing and marriage to PFI activists in the state. The NIA had subsequently conducted a probe into the episode.

Q&A

CAPT-SIDHU RIFT? No Sidhu at Amritsar Mayor’s Election I go uninvited only to the Darbar Sahib (Golden Temple).

Otherwise, I don’t go anywhere uninvited. I don’t want to say anything more. I have said what I had to say NAVJOT SINGH SIDHU Local Govt Minister, Punjab

ZAHID

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PM Has Accepted Demand on True History: CK Bose

ARINDAM

CCI NG 3.7

NGUYEN XUAN PHUC PRIME MINISTER, VIETNAM

Trade & Investment Must be Engine of Ties

T

rade and investment cooperation should be the main engine for Asean–India strategic partnership, according to Vietnam’s Prime Minister, Nguyen Xuan Phuc. In an interview with Dipanjan Roy Chaudhury, Phuc, who is in India for the Indo-Asean Summit, said effort should be made to tap the potential of the two economic regions, and suggested that United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea is imperative for maritime disputes. Excerpts:

cessful formulation of a legally binding CoC will be an important contribution to regional peace and stability.

How can India, Asean strengthen ties?

The Asean–India strategic partnership rests upon the lasting values created by time-honoured interactions of their cultures and traditions. In the last 25 years of cooperation, Asean and India have established connections of long-term historical friendship to nurture the solid foundation of the trusted political ties, paving the way for a fruitful comprehensive cooperation between the two sides for peace and shared prosperity.

How is the situation in the South China Sea region?

The maintenance of peace, stability, security and freedom of navigation and flight over all oceans, in general, and the region in What should be the key priority for particular, is a goal shared by India-ASEAN partnership? all countries. To achieve this, all Trade and investment cooperacountries need to respect tion should be the engine the international law, for Asean–India partnerincluding the 1982 UN ship, and effort should Convention on the Law be made to fully tap the of the Sea. potential of the two Negotiations between most dynamic ecoAsean and China for nomic regions--which the Code of Conduct had a combined GDP of Parties in the South of $3.8 trillion in 2017, China Sea began in the size of the world’s the closing years of 4th largest economy, the last century. As CONNECTIVITY CRUCIAL with a projection the regional situato exceed $8 t by India-Thailandtion is developing in 2025-- and effecMyanmar Highway & tively implement the complex ways, and militarisation tends agreements on trade maritime transport to mount, the sucand investment. pact are important

ONLY 3 STATES RESPOND TO MHA MOVE KOLKATA: Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose’s grand nephew, Chandra Kumar Bose, on Tuesday said PM Narendra Modi has accepted the demand for rewriting the ‘true history of the Indian freedom struggle’. In December, Bose asked PM Modi to announce the former’s birth anniversary (January 23) as Patriots Day or ‘DeshPrem Diwas’.—ANI

Do Not Give Over `2k in Cash to Parties: I-T Dept NEW DELHI: The Income Tax Department has cautioned people against indulging in illegal cash transactions, including donating more than `2000 to parties.In a bid to clean up poll funding, the government early this year had notified ‘electoral bonds’ that can be bought from specified branches of SBI.—PTI

IPS Officers Resist Fitness Test Plan Dalip.Singh@timesgroup.com

New Delhi: The central government’s proposal to make physical fitness mandatory for promotion of Indian Police Service (IPS) officers has not found many takers among states yet, possibly due to resistance from top cops, a government official said.

The ministry had written to all states about six months back, seeking their responses on the “smart police” concept before formalising the policy through a notification to be issued by ministry of personnel, public grievances and pensions.

So f ar, only three states – Maharashtra, Kerala and Telangana – have given their feedback on linking physical fitness with IPS officers’ promotions, government sources said.

While Maharashtra and Kerala have expressed their reservations on the issue, Telangana has neither opposed nor favoured the move explicitly, the official cited

earlier said.

Maharashtra, which is ruled by BJP, has argued against the move, taking the plea that cops don’t have time to sweat for toning their bodies due to their almost round the clock duty, the person said.

The ministry suspects that IPS officers may be influencing their political bosses either to oppose or sleep over the move, out of fear of their promotions getting jeopardised.

After g etting states’ views, the home ministry will lay down parameters on which physical abilities of IPS officers would be tested at the time of promotion to a h i g h e r g r a d e.

ANIRBAN BORA They could be based on physical fitness standards of paramilitary forces such as CRPF, BSF, ITBP and CISF. A senior IPS officer of UP cadre said he is not against the move per se but did not understand why IPS officers are singled out. Other all India services, including IAS, IFS and IRS, too should follow government prescribed fitness regime for climbing up their professional ladder, he argued.

Realpolitik Lessons for India from the Way Israel Won its Neighbourhood Not Contesting, But Pilot

LISTING PROJECTS The Grand Old Party’s campaign focuses on Sachin Pilot’s performance while he was the Lok Sabha member from Ajmer

Write of Centre

R SRIRAM Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Israeli prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu began their current terms in different styles. While Modi (his first term) romped home to an unexpected victory to head a majority government in 2014, Netanyahu had to struggle in the 2015 elections and at one point was not expected to win at all. His comeback (though by a small margin) was as stunning and surprising as Modi’s victory.

Geopolitics in South Asia and India’s relations with its neighbours may not have changed much since Modi’s win, but there is little doubt that Israel’s neighbourhood and its relations with adversaries/major powers, far and near, have changed dramatically.

Netanyahu’s role may be significant, though small, but there is no denying that Israel has pro-actively helped in the creation of a positive environment for itself in the volatile Middle-eastern neighbourhood probably for the first time since the early 1990s.

Take some recent examples of successes for the Jewish state. Syria, a constant threat to Israel’s northern borders, is now weakened, both politically and militarily. Assad may still want to be thorn in Israel’s flesh but he will have to contend with a weakened army, and Russian reluctance to countenance any military adventure

against Israel. This now brings me to the second point, which is the dramatic improvement in Israel-Russia relations in the past few years. Vladimir Putin, Russian president and Netanyahu, appear to share some chemistry and this appears to have helped the two countries forge a better relationship even though there are disagreements over Syria.

ISIS has been routed and Donald T r ump has re placed Barack Obama’s disastrous Israel policy

try’s foreign policy has to adapt itself to the behaviour of other countries and Modi and his foreign policy team appear to have realised that a carrotand-stick approach along the lines followed by previous administrations will not work. This is sensible but a lot of hard work remains to be done especially to push back Pakistan and Chinese attempts to subvert Indian territorial integrity.

Israel here offers a very good example of the approach, the mentality and tac-

build-up of forces along with Chinese border to show how India can hit back, then so be it! For too many years, India has been seen as a country too soft.

This has to change. Secondly, the enemy of your enemy is a friend. India should not be afraid of forging relationships wherever possible to checkmate or counter Pakistan and China whether it is with Iran, Afghanistan, Vietnam or Japan. When Iran became a bigger threat, Israel did not hesitate to exploit the fear of Saudi and other

THE BIG LEARNING

NO NEED TO HESITATE

It is okay to speak in a soft voice but you must always carry a big stick

India should forge ties wherever possible to counter Pakistan and China

with one that’s beneficial to the Jewish nation. Trump is moving the US embassy to Jerusalem along with strong support for Israel, again a welcome change from the odious Obama years. Netanyahu must count himself lucky here. Trump’s victory was a huge blessing.

The last but not the least. The growing but important levels of contact between Israeli-Saudi Arabia and the other Gulf nations. Relations are nowhere near nor mal but what Netanyahu/Israeli diplomats have achieved here is quite remarkable. A slow warming of relations between the two countries based on defeating one common enemy, Iran.

In contrast, India’s neighbourhood has been growing more and more hostile. Modi’s approach to pressing problems with Pakistan and China has changed in the past three years in part due to growing intransigence shown by both Islamabad and Beijing. A coun-

Gulf rulers to the rising threat from across the Persian Gulf.

When relations between himself and president Obama deteriorated, Netanyahu did not sit quiet. He toured the world building relationships with Putin, Xi Jinping and Modi. Today, Israel can count on better relations it has with all these major powers to offset the decline in relationships with European nations. This is like an insurance policy. Israel does and so does India. Thankfully, the arrival of Trump and his dramatic decision to put Pakistan on notice and recognise and upgrade India’s role in the `IndoPacific’ shows that some of the diplomatic efforts along with the rising importance of India’s economy appear to be having an impact. In the real world, hard power matters and matters more than ever. It is okay to speak in a soft voice but you must always carry a big stick! That’s the big lesson from Israel’s experience for India.

tics needed to counter and checkmate adversaries. Firstly, its hard-nosed, tough-talking stance on matters concerning its core national security objectives is worth emulating. There are enough examples of the success of this approach and India should not cave in when the time comes for a muscular approach to issues dear to its national security. If this means more cross-border raids into Pakistan and a steady

Face of Congress in Ajmer Aman.Sharma@timesgroup.com

Ajmer: His tenth public meeting for the day, at Sanderia village, concluded, Sachin Pilot decided to drive himself to the next meetings in Palra and Nareli villages. With barely a week to go for the polling in Ajmer, the young state Congress president is driving the party’s campaign for the bypoll before the critical assembly election due in December.

“Throw a stone in Ajmer and you will find a minister. They were never to be seen in Ajmer for four years but 19 ministers are now camping here and Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje has been here for days with her family to campaign,” Pilot told ET on the campaign trail on Monday.

“The Rajasthan government, and not the BJP candidate, is fighting this election. I won’t leave our able candidate Raghu Sharma on his own in this fight,” he said.

The former Lok Sabha member from Ajmer is not contesting but much of the Congress campaign focuses on his performance as MP – from building an airport to a central university and starting train services from Ajmer to Pushkar, along with 50 more trains. Pilot has focused on Ajmer, spending more time here than in Alwar or Mandalgarh, the two other seats where bypolls will be held on January 29.

Pilot and Sharma addressed 16 public meetings on Monday till late night even as BJP leaders proclaimed their win in Ajmer would be a body blow for the Congress state president.

BJP has adopted a tried-and-tested strategy in Ajmer – giving the party ticket to the son of deceased MP

19 ministers are camping here and CM Raje has been campaigning here for days with her family members SACHIN PILOT Sanwar Lal Jaat and hoping for goodwill and sympathy to see him through. In the Dholpur by-election earlier this year, it had given the ticket to a deceased BSP MLA’s wife, pressed its battery of ministers into the campaign and won handsomely.

“What is the calibre of the BJP candidate? Nothing at all. He is a political greenhorn and symbol of dynasty politics. Raghu Sharma is a PhD and a long-time politician and former MLA,” Pilot said.

At Sanderia village, Pilot reminded the crowd of the “very important bypoll” and said it would be a precursor to the BJP losing the assembly polls with its “boriya bistar (bag and baggage)”. He attacked the BJP for high cooking gas prices and farmers’ suicides, taking a swipe at Raje for “sitting in palaces” and not visiting the victim farmers’ families.

In Nareli, Pilot asked his “young friends” not to become a “shikaar (victim)” of WhatsApp messages” of the BJP which he said only spread hatred and divisiveness. He told ET that bicycles distributed by the Congress in villages here earlier have all been painted saffron by the BJP after coming to power.

Both the Congress and the BJP are seeking to enlist the support of the influential Rajput community, which has about 2.25 lakh voters here. Some Rajput organisations have publicly expressed support for the Congress while Raje held closeddoor meetings with several Rajput village sarpanches in Ajmer last week and claimed their support.

In 2014, three lakh Jats got a candidate from their community, Sanwar Lal Jaat, elected for the first time from Ajmer, but the Congress feels Sharma will tap into the two lakh Brahmin votes while Pilot is popular among the 1.75 lakh Gujjar voters.

Raje’s daughter-in-law, Niharika Raje, who belongs to an erstwhile Gujjar principality, is campaigning among Gujjar voters here too.

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Brands & Companies 7

WWW.ECONOMICTIMES.COM *

Too Early to Say if GST Sounds Death Kiranas 2.0 Get A Tech Update Knell for Unorganised Players: HUL Mom-and-pop stores now take to special offers, loyalty point alerts to counter big rivals Ratna.Bhushan@timesgroup.com

Few more quarters may show if market shares shift to branded products, says HUL MD Sagar.Malviya@timesgroup.com

Mumbai: Hindustan Unilever, the country's largest consumer goods company, feels it’s too early to say whether the goods and services tax (GST) has sounded a ‘death knell’ for unorganised local players that have not been paying taxes.

It would take a few more quarters to see market shares shift to branded products from unorganised sector, Sanjiv Mehta, managing director at Hindustan Unilever (HUL), said on Tuesday.

“People don't just immediately close the business and run away; this is a big occupation and they would do their best to survive till it becomes extremely difficult. I would say don't write any obituary at this stage,” Mehta told analysts at an investors call to announce December quarter performance of the company.

The maker of Rin detergent and Lux so-

WAIT & WATCH: Sanjiv Mehta

ap reported fastest sales volume growth in six years in the December quarter, pointing to a gradual revival of demand.

“We will have to give it a year to see whether the real trend is shaping up whereby unorganised players who were not hitherto paying taxes are now finding it difficult to survive,” Mehta said.

For years, local brands have been nibbling away share from leading consumer

product companies, especially in segments such as soaps, detergents, hair oil, tea and biscuits, as more than 500 unorganised players operate in these categories.

Introduction of GST has made it difficult for companies to evade tax. “…Some of the unorganised players could have difficulties to continue to compete in a sustainable manner,” HUL chief financial officer Srinivas Phatak said.

“So, to that extent should it benefit some of us, definitely Hindustan Unilever given our brand strength and positions, the answer is yes,” he told investors.

Analysts, however, said market share gains for branded businesses may not be immediate. Due to GST-related timing restrictions on transactions, working capital requirements are likely to increase for most companies, as they may need to pay vendors before they can claim GST credits on sales to primary customers, UBS analyst Sunita Sachdev said in a recent report.

ArcelorMittal Opts Out of Bhushan Power Race No Go Steel major informs committee of creditors post due diligence Mohit.Bhalla@timesgroup.com

New Delhi: ArcelorMittal, the world’s largest steel producer, has withdrawn from bidding for bankrupt Bhushan Power & Steel after it conducted due diligence on the Indian company.

ArcelorMittal informed the Bhushan Power & Steel committee of creditors of its decision through a letter sent by its financial advisor Goldman Sachs, according to people with knowledge of the matter.

Tata Steel, JSW, Vedanta, AION Capital and a Dubai-based billionaire whose identity could not be ascertained remain in the fray for the bankrupt company ahead of the January 29 deadline for final offers. JSW was a late entrant.

The letter sent by Goldman Sachs did not specify why ArcelorMittal withdrew. The company had shortlisted certain assets and ‘did not want to spread itself too thin’ by submitting offers for multiple assets, a person close to the global steel major said.

ArcelorMittal is said to be in the fray for Essar Steel and for Bhushan Steel, a company owned by an estranged member of the family that owns Bhushan Power. Luxembourg-based ArcelorMittal also owns 30% in Uttam Galva Steel.

ArcelorMittal had not responded to ET’s queries till press-time Tuesday. A spokesperson for Goldman Sachs declined to comment.

A request for proposal document and detailed evaluation criteria had been sent to the remaining five contenders.

If financial offers for the company include upfront pay-

ments, they will be evaluated both on quantitative and subjective criteria, according to bankers. Three shortlisted bidders will be called for presentations and negotiations

with respect to their resolution proposals.

The committee of creditors had also sought a report on the fair valuation of the company’s assets as it had added significant capacities from the time it went into insolvency resolution because existing credit lines were unutilised. The fair value of the assets was almost double the initial liquidation value estimate put together by Duff & Phelps and PricewaterhouseCoopers, according to the bankers.

The liquidation value will likely remain unchanged though, and the fair value estimates would be used by the lenders for their own internal purposes when assessing resolution plans.

Mahender Khandelwal, the resolution professional for Bhushan Power and head of restructuring services at audit and advisory firm BDO, did not respond to ET’s queries.

NCLT to Get Three More Benches Kolkata: The government has decided to set up three more benches of the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) to help deal with the rising number of companies getting referred to the bankruptcy court, two people familiar with development said. The new benches will be in Bhubaneswar, Jaipur and Kochi, they said.

"About 5,000 cases had been referred to NCLT, and there are around 500 live cases at this point in time," insolvency professional Mamta Binani said. Banks are busy with NCLT and discussions around this. Top bankers feel resolu-

tions of NPAs (non-performing assets) will be the key driver for recovery of assets.

“Pressure on NCLT is huge.

The government is planning to have a total of 24 NCLT benches in the years to come,” Binani said.

The Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India announced 511 cases for which insolvency resolution has been initiated. Thirty five companies are under liquidation after their committees of creditors did not agree to the resolution plan. OUR BUREAU

MORE REPORTS 14

New Delhi: Special discounts on festivals, loyalty point alerts and weekly offers are no longer restricted to modern trade and ecommerce players; mid-sized convenience stores and even neighbourhood kiranas are increasingly adopting modern technology and business strategies to keep up with bigger rivals.

And they have the backing of top consumer product makers and a new breed of technology service providers.

“Neighbourhood retail stores are fast evolving with the adoption of technology to serve the changing shopper aspirations and needs,” a spokesperson of Hindustan Unilever said. The country’s largest fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) company is experimenting with different business models in collaboration with different retail partners to help them serve shoppers and consumers better, the person told ET in an email revert.

Kirana stores constitute more than 90% of FMCG grocery sales and, accor-

ding to a study by PricewaterhouseCoopers, there are about 12 million convenience or mom-and-pop stores.

Retail technology firms such as Ratan Tata-backed Snapbizz, ShopKirana and Storeking now offer digitised customer engagement and supply chain solutions to small groceries. “There is a strong tailwind to adopt technology and an attitudinal change in the retailer,” said Prem Kumar, chief executive at Snapbizz. Neighbourhood retailers increasingly An increasing number of neighbourhood retailers are seeking his firm’s help to provide itemised bills that show

discounts offered on total bills, customised SMS alerts on promos and greetings, and even app-based home delivery.

Increasing penetration of smartphones, goods and services tax (GST) implementation, and demonetisation are leading to the key emerging trends on the retail landscape, Kumar said.

Varun Berry, MD at biscuit maker Britannia, said, “Technology adoption is the need of the hour as neighbourhood retailers are competing with etailers.”

Dabur chief executive Sunil Duggal said many kiranas are aggregating with other retailers. “We are keeping a close watch on how the neighbourhood grocery space is evolving, since it directly and very significantly impacts our business.”

Snapbizz said its internal data across 600 stores nationally showed that retailers largely use push notifications service to drive promotional offers (53%) and product information (27%), which will eventually impact their monthly business. Mumbai and Delhi were among the fast movers using SMS services to drive customer engagement, it said.

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8 Disruption: Startups & Tech For comprehensive and insightful stories about all things startups and technology, log on to www.ettech.com

a

Tweet OF THE DAY

THE ECONOMIC TIMES | NEW DELHI / GURGAON | WEDNESDAY | 24 JANUARY 2018

Sequoia Plans Largest India Fund at $1 billion Supraja.Srinivasan @timesgroup.com

BENEDICT EVANS @BENEDICTEVANS

I think you can divide all consumer tech startups into companies that have no unit economics and companies where the unit economics are all that matters

Tech Buzz

T-hub, FB to Setup AR/VR Accelerator

Bengaluru: Telengana based startup accelerator T-hub has partnered with Facebook to start the India Innovation Hub Accelerator programme. The aim of the programme would be to discover startups working in the field of AR/VR. T-Hub and Facebook will aid startups with cutting edge tech to scale up operations. The accelerator will focus on application of AR/VR in health, manufacturing, education etc.

Quick Byte

ANIRBAN BORA

Mumbai: Blue chip venture capital firm Sequoia Capital is preparing to raise up to $1 billion for its sixth India-focused fund, according to four people familiar with the development, making it the largest corpus raised for the domestic market.

The Silicon Valley-headquartered firm’s plans for a new fund comes two years after it raised $930 million for its previous India-focused fund.

Besides, investing in companies in India, Sequoia Capital’s local team also leads investments in Southeast Asia and has set up an office in Singapore. This region will be a significant part of the strategy in the upcoming fund for Sequoia Capital India, which manages about $3.2 billion of investments.

After a blowout 2017 for venture capital firms in India, as Chinese and Japanese strategic investors poured massive amounts of capital into domestic companies, Sequoia’s gigantic fundraise sets the tone for long-term bullishness among investors in the Indian startup ecosystem.

Last year, venture capital investors invested a total $1.3 billion in early and growth-stage companies, show data from deals tracker Venture Intelligence.

Sequoia Capital India did not reply to email queries till the time of going to print. While the contours of Sequoia’s fund have not been finalised, the sources said the corpus could be raised across multiple vehicles, such as for venture capital focused on technology companies and growth-stage capital focused on consumer and other non-tech investments.

The fund could be structured differently from the investor’s previous funds with two separate investment committees for each fund, said a person familiar with the deliberations inside the firm.

The fund’s structure will take another two to three months to be finalised, this person said. “(Se-

iPhone X shipments in the Jan-Mar quarter, says KGI Securities

Share Your Snap Stories Outside App

Mumbai: Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) is overhauling its human resource strategy as India’s largest software services exporter delivers outsourcing projects through a new shorter and quicker delivery model demanded by clients today.

TCS is adopting enterprise-wide Agile, a new delivery model that is focussed on delivering outsourcing projects in increments within a well-defined short duration. Agile teams are typically sets of smaller teams who work on a finite set of clearly-defined items. The teams’ goals and composition change as the project evolves.

“Agile projects get funded for smaller periods of time,” CEO Rajesh Gopinathan told ET. “Agile impacts core processes. Budgeting is one, human resources is another.

How are you going to measure people as they are doing small projects. How will accountability get fixed? How do you define scope?”

Agile is changing the way TCS measures the performance of its

DEAL DETAILS

IN THE WORKS

390,880 Total employee count at TCS at the end of Dec on a consolidated basis This makes co the biggest IT firm by employee strength

Employers globally are looking at drawing employees on an ad-hoc basis as everyone wants to reduce the fixed cost of personnel Tom Reuner Senior VP, HfS Research VLADIMIR ALEKSANDROVICH SEROV, Portrait of Worker

NEW DELHI Fintech compa-

Data Cholesterol A slang term that refers to slowing effect that huge amounts of improperly managed info can have on a firm’s IT infrastructure

involving business heads and being continuously flexible about hiring budgets. “How do you plan (for) the entire workforce? That is why you are seeing we are controlled... given the requirement, how do we do more Just In Time (recruitment) and get the right kind of skills?” said Mukherjee. “We are getting the business fully involved in the whole workforce-planning side, so we do not end up hiring the kind of competencies we may not need for a long time.”

Learning and development is another major area that is going through the change at TCS. The company is moving certain people from business functions to talent development so they can bring in the right expertise.

“There is cross-functional movement, so people from business have moved to the talent-development space to a certain extent, so they can bring in that expertise,” said Mukherjee. Tom Reuner, senior VP, intelligent automation and IT services at HfS Research, said Agile is changing the way work is done but it could be a double-edged sword for employees.

The watershed moment for BookMyShow was in 2002 when the dotcom bust happened.

The dot-com bust which started in 2000 in the US, hit the Indian shores in 2002. It was a bloodbath and every investor had pulled out.

Internet was a bad word and those were the days of B2B and B2C which were actually ‘Back to Banking’ and ‘Back to Consultancy’. Everyone was running back to banking and consultancy jobs which were steady.

The investments had dried up, so much so that, BookMyShow had gone down from 150 employees to 6, including an office helper. We moved from a 2,500-sq-ft office to a 130-sq-ft apartment with bare facilities. We didn’t even have an STD line to afford a monthly bill of `150.

That was a very harsh time.

It was a global meltdown then unlike today, where the markets for internet are far more mature with a pipeline of angel, seed and earlystage funds, venture capital ecosystem, etc. There was nothing like that back then.

Today it seems like a stupid decision if we had decided to shut down and taken up jobs, but back then, sticking along and continuing this business felt like a stupid decision.

We took a longer-term view and decided to invest in building the infrastructure around entertainment first.

We decided to install ticketing softwares into cinemas and venues, run customer care services, internet white label services for brands at movie theatres and studios, automate theatre and

A roundup of top funding deals of the day

IFMR Capital Puts `. 40 cr in Aye Fin

Jargon Buster

sources at TCS. “The entire workforce is being trained in Agile methodology. Younger workforce is more aware of the way it works. The challenge is (for) mid to senior-level people to also appreciate this process because they are accustomed to doing things in a specific way.”

TCS is also changing the way it budgets for workforce planning by

CEO, BOOKMYSHOW

Entertainment Infra Focus Gave Us the Big Picture

MUMBAI Sequoia Capital-backed digital media entertainment

startup Pocket Aces has acquired Loco, an interactive trivia game show app for approximately $1 million. The game lets users answer 10 multiple-choice questions in real time and win real money which comes into the end user’s Paytm account. Through the acquisition, Pocket Aces gains direct distribution, impacting the platform’s reach via social media networks. — Our Bureau

ASHISH HEMRAJANI

Tipping point captures the defining moment of a prominent personality in India’s startup ecosystem, what the person learnt from it and how it shaped the course of the journey. Today we bring you insights from BookMyShow CEO

Pocket Aces Pays $1 m for Loco

Aportion of the new fund will be carved out for investments in Southeast Asiabased startups

employees, manages talent development and budgets for recruitment. Previously, workforce planning and budgeting, and goal setting were easier to do as IT projects were longer and more predictable in nature.

“It is more continuous feedback from the product manager on changes and deliverables,” said Ajoy Mukherjee, EVP-human re-

Tipping Point

TOUGH DECISIONS

Today it seems like a stupid decision if we had decided to shut down (after dot-com bust), but back then, sticking along felt like a stupid decision event venues with their problems.

This meant that once consumer penetration would be ready and mobile picks up, then there would be an opportunity for us to build a consumer brand on top of that.

So it was really about building the infrastructure first and then focus on the consumer. That process alone took 5 years and we launched the consumer brand in 2007.

(As told to Supraja Srinivasan)

GLOBE TROTTER Meanwhile in tech...

Piggybank

New Delhi: Snap Inc said it is launching a new feature on Snapchat, allowing users to share public stories with friends and family who aren’t on the app. Users will be able to press and hold on the tiles in Discover feature to share Official Stories, Our Stories and Search Stories via a shareable link. These links will then open through a player on Snap’s website. It also added that it is not ruling out monetisation of the stories. — BI

Capital India had been a “great learning experience”. Sequoia Capital’s most well-known bets in India include restaurant aggregator Zomato, data sciences firm Mu Sigma and education technology firm Byju’s.

The firm invested about $183 million across 23 deals in India last year, mainly in the technology, consumer and healthcare sectors, show data from Venture Intelligence.

The VC firm, which has been among the most active inves-

TCS Reworks Its HR Strategy to Deliver Right Here, Right Now Megha.Mandavia @timesgroup.com

18 million

quoia Capital) have run through a good part of their fifth fund already. For the new $1-billion fund, they are figuring out the management structure for both the fund vehicles and that hasn’t been crystallised yet,” said a second person aware of the developments.

A portion of the new fund will be carved out for investments in Southeast Asia-based startups that are being led by managing director Shailendra Singh. The development comes even as FreeCharge founder Kunal Shah, who served as an adviser to Sequoia Capital India, exited after his one-year contract expired in December.

Shah confirmed the development, adding that his stint with Sequoia

tors in the consumer space in India over the previous two years, has registered great success in the sector as compared to other investors. Its investments in the domestic-consumer market include snacks maker Prataap, which listed on the stock exchanges last year, and Fogg deodorant maker Vini Cosmetics.

“Sequoia Capital has placed some consistent and big bets in consumer and healthcare. Those are going to pay off in 2018,” said a venture capital investor declining to be identified. “There will be more talk about these companies in 2018 through mark-ups and larger funding rounds.”

At the same time, Sequoia’s investments in a slew of hyper-local companies including Tinyowl, RoadRunnr and Tapzo have not worked out. Sequoia got a stake in online marketplace Snapdeal when its portfolio company FreeCharge, a payments startup, was acquired by Axis Bank last year.

Sequoia has sold the Snapdeal stake through a slew of secondary sales of shares.

The biggest successes in Sequoia’s tech portfolio are its investments in Southeast Asia. The firm made early investments in some of the most-valuable companies in the region, including in bike taxi firm Go-Jek that was valued at more than $3 billion recently.

Another portfolio company is Indonesia’s largest ecommerce company, Tokopedia. Other notable investments in that geography include online travel firm Traveloka and sports brand One Championship.

ny Aye Finance has raised `. 40 crore in debt funding from IFMR Capital, reports Taslima Khan. It plans to use the funds to strengthen lending to the underserved micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME) sector. In September last year, the company had raised $7 million (about `. 45 crore) from impact investor Triodos Investment Management. During the current financial year the company has raised `. 250 crore in debt. Aye Finance has achieved total loan disbursals of `. 500 crore to more than 40,000 customers.

A Bad Day for your Phone

NeoGrowth Bags `. 300 crore WHAT’S ON OFFER

Taslima.Khan @timesgroup.com

New Delhi: NeoGrowth Credit, digital lender to small and medium enterprises, has raised `. 300 crore of equity capital from investors led by LeapFrog Investments. Existing investors in the company, Aspada Investment Company and Quona Capital, also participated in the fundraising, through Accion Frontier Inclusion Fund.

“India is at an inflexion point of moving towards a lesscash economy and massive digitisation of transaction le-

Firm offers flexible repayment options such as small daily auto-deduction from card-based sales vel data,” said Michael Fernandes, partner, LeapFrog Investments, who has joined the NeoGrowth Credit board after the transaction.

“By providing loans to un-

derserved merchants based on financial profiles created through real-time transaction data, NeoGrowth unlocks credit that is tailored to their business, which in turn inspires growth and job creation,” said Fernandes.

Avendus Capital was the advisor to NeoGrowth Credit for the deal.

NeoGrowth’s other backers include Omidyar Network and Khosla Impact. The nonbanking financial company has built a proprietary technology platform to offer unsecured loans to merchants who accept card or other digital payments.

An overload of ‘good morning’ texts are cluttering smartphones SMARTPHONE USERS RUNNING OUT OF SPACE DAILY

10-fold Rise in number of searches for “Good Morning images” over the past five years, says Google

1 in 3 India

1 in 10 US

INDIA ANGLE Active hours Starts Reasons before sunrise and Cheap phones & reaches a crescendata plans do before 8 am

$3 m in Milkbasket in Pre-Series A NEW DELHI Micro grocery delivery platform Milkbasket has

secured $3 million in a pre-series A round which saw Unilever Ventures participating as well. With the new round, it plans to expand operations across India within the next five years. The Gurugram-based firm offers a range of grocery items that are ordered before midnight at consumers’ doorstep before 7 am.

There’s a Raging ‘War for Talent’ as Banks Take on Fintechs Bloomberg

London: Europe’s financial technology startups are on hiring mode, fighting each other — and the incumbents — in what one

executive described as a “war for talent”.

Europe’s fintech industry, which includes challenger banks and online-only lenders, has rapidly expanded over

the past 10 years. Traditional financial institutions have faced intense competition as a result, with former Barclays CEO Antony Jenkins saying in July last year that banks could face obsolescence in five to 15 years. “We often say internally that it's a war for talent,” says Christian Faes, cofounder and CEO of LendInvest, which employs about 130 people. Perhaps unsurprisingly, much of the hiring by fintechs is from their larger rivals. Faes said about 30-40% of its hires come from major financial institutions, adding that 100% of the team’s small

risk and compliance team came from banks. For MarketInvoice, another British online lender, about three-quarters of its 85 employees — roughly a third of which are software engineers and data scientists — came from a large corporate in the financial services or accountancy space, said CEO and cofounder Anil Stocker.

While banks have traditionally been high-payers, the competition is increasing.

According to Glassdoor’s averages for London-based employees, a software engineer at online lender

Funding Circle could expect a base salary of about £51,000 ($71,000) – the same figure as a similar role at Goldman Sachs Group. Engineers at UBS Group in London earn an average of £59,000 based on Glassdoor data, slightly lower than the average of £64,000 possible at Monzo Bank, a challenger bank.

Stocker said many employees who’ve been working at big institutions experienced some frustration. He said rolling out projects in the banks has been quite painful as it takes too much time, compounded by the need to deflect the head-

winds associated with regulatory burdens, as well as legacy systems and old-fashioned software and code that requires a lot of time to modernise. It’s not all one-way traffic. Despite the allure of fintechs, many banks are still proving to be attractive places to work. Data compiled for Bloomberg by jobs marketplace Indeed showed that between the second half of 2015 and the second half of 2017, Barclays and HSBC saw an increased interest of 21% and 77% respectively in their job postings from those with software engineering backgrounds.

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Companies: Pursuit of Profit

WWW.ECONOMICTIMES.COM

Jio Pips Samsung to Top Featurephone Table In quarter to Dec, JioPhone had a 27% market share followed by Samsung with 17% and Micromax at third spot, says Counterpoint Research Gulveen.Aulakh @timesgroup.com

New Delhi: JioPhone has become the No 1featurephone brand in the quarter to December by shipments, overthrowing market leader Samsung in the segment for the first time, on the back of massive volumes it shipped in the closing months of 2017, said Counterpoint Research.

According to data exclusively available with ET, Reliance Retail’s JioPhone — the first featurephone to support 4G Voice over LTE (VoLTE) technology, which is being offered for effectively free with its initial paid amount to be fully refunded after three years — had a 27% share of the segment of

the market that comprises of devices typically under `. 2,000.

Samsung followed with a 17% share, trailed by Micromax at No 3, ahead of China’s Itel and Nokia, the Hong Kong-based research firm said.

High volumes of JioPhone also expanded the featurephone market size by 43% on-year to 50 million in the quarter. Overall featurephone shipments surged by 51% on-year and a massive 32% sequentially, when compared to the 1012% and 6-7% that the industry generally ships, respectively.

“JioPhone brought in huge volumes in the quarter, due to which it was able to surpass Samsung, which typically leads this segment,” said Tarun Pathak, associate director at Counterpoint. “The

Lava to Invest `. 250 crore Over 3 Years in Design Centre Our Bureau

New Delhi: Lava International will invest `. 250 crore over three years in its design centre in India, a first by an Indian company in the country, using which it plans to design and manufacture all its phones within the country by 2021, a top executive said. The company also launched its first designed and made-in-India featurephone for `. 1,499, on Tuesday.

While the first smartphone completely designed and made in India will be launched in October, the company will also invest `. 100 crore in populated printed circuit board (PCB) assembly, which begins from next month with 2.5 lakh units a month, and will be expanded to 2 million units over 2018.

“The money will go towards hiring engineers, setting up testing labs and bringing people from overseas to train people here, for designing devices in India, over the next three years,” Hari Om Rai, co-founder of Lava, told ET. “All our phones will be designed and Co will aslo pump `. 100 cr made in India by in populated 2021.” The company printed has a design centre circuit board in China, where it assembly employs 700 people.

He added that the design centre being set up in Noida was the first step towards achieving a larger target of taking share of the global smartphone market, as it will help the company drive down costs of developing and manufacturing by 15-25% over the next five to seven years, when compared with China.

“We want to target the global market of sub-$200 mobile phones, which is about 1.3 billion by volumes and $113 billion by value, and we want to be the leading Indian company in that segment globally in the next 7-10 years,” Rai said. The first locally designed phone called Prime X comes with a17 day stand by time and a two-year replacement warranty. The companý's design in India initiative was launched by IT minister Ravi Shankar Prasad, telecom minister Manoj Sinha and former Indian cricket team captain MS Dhoni, who is also Lava's brand ambassador.

Lava, which has been displaced from its position among leading smartphone makers by Chinese rivals such as Xiaomi, Oppo and Vivo, plans to ramp up its existing manufacturing units and adding two units by investing Rs 2,615 crore to increase the overall production capacity to 216 million units per year in the next eight years.

The company, which has 30,000 people working directly and indirectly for it, recently raised $30 million (about `. 193 crore) from Hong Kong-based UNIC Memory Technology Ltd, an affiliate of Tsinghua Holdings, which is a statebacked Chinese technology group.

Rai said the company was open to raising more money, when it needed, but declined to comment on whether any talks were ongoing with potential investors.

Change Signals JIOPHONE leads featurephone market with 27% market share

MICROMAX, ITEL, NOKIA TRAIL TOP 2

It surpasses Samsung (17% market share) during Oct-Dec: COUNTERPOINT RESEARCH OVER 15 MILLION JIOPHONES shipped in Oct-Dec quarter, say industry sources Of this, over 12 million JioPhones sold to consumers

HIGH VOLUMES of JioPhone expanded featurephone market size by 43% on-year to 50 million in quarter

OVERALL featurephone shipments surged

51% on-year

device saw traction as featurephone users moved to the JioPhone and could use the similar form factor device to consume data as against the voice only earlier.”

Jio has recently said it would look at a strong ramp up and relaunch of JioPhone from next month, after having resolved supply issues of battery and chipsets that had constrained shipments initially. It had sold over 6 million handsets in the first phase since start of bookings late August. Bookings were discontinued soon after, and resumed in November.

People familiar with the matter added that Reliance Retail has shipped over 15 million JioPhones in the October-December period, of which most came in during the latter months. Of this, around

IUC Cut to Help RJio Widen Profit Gap with Airtel in Q4 The company will also benefit from network and marketing cost advantages Gulveen.Aulakh @timesgroup.com

New Delhi: Reliance Jio may widen its net profit lead over Bharti Airtel in the fiscal fourth quarter, due mainly to the cut in interconnection usage charges (IUC) that will hurt the market leader, besides network and marketing cost advantages, analysts said.

Brokerage houses JP Morgan, Deutsche Bank and Bank of America-Merrill Lynch said that headline metrics of both companies such as revenue and average revenue per user (ARPU), cost elements such as depreciation and amortisation, and finance costs were are not strictly comparable because they have adopted different accounting policies.

JP Morgan, in a note, said since P&Ls can’t be compared, operating cash flow was a better metric to compare the telcos. It noted that Jio’s cash loss of `. 4,600 crore was wider than Airtel’s cash loss of `. 1,300 crore.

For the January-to-March quarter, though, some expect Jio to continue to outperform Bharti Airtel.

“Jio’s numbers should improve further on revenue side, which will reflect in net profit in the coming quarter as they continue to benefit from IUC. If Jio keeps increasing its subscriber data share and sustains ARPU, the revenue will keep rising,” said Pankaj Agrawal, partner at telecom and media consultancy Capitel.

Airtel is likely to get hit further by the impact of reduction in the international termination rate, which was lowered to 30 paise from 53 paise, starting February. “Therefore, the gap between the two’s numbers in net profit should increase,” he added.

Jio Friday swung to a net profit of

Performance Sheet At `2,628 cr Jio’s Ebitda surged over 82% sequentially, with an Ebitda margin of 38.2%, against 23.5% in the previous quarter At `3,509 cr, Airtel’s Ebitda fell 34% while its India mobile business revenue dropped 22% to `10,571 cr

Airtel’s Ebidta margin narrowed to 32.06% from 34.4% in the previous quarter

At `2,100 cr, depreciation and amortisation costs for Jio were significantly lower than Bharti’s `4,100 cr

Also, Jio’s finance costs of `660 cr, including interest, were far lower than Airtel’s `1,500 cr

`. 504 crore for the October-December quarter. Airtel said earnings fell 39% to Rs 306 crore in the same quarter.

Anshuman Thakur, Jio’s head of strategy and planning, has said the reduction in IUC outgo for Jio will continue and profitability will improve.

An analyst at a foreign brokerage said costs for Jio would be lower in the fourth quarter because it operates a new, efficient, 4G-only network, compared to the additional spending of Airtel to maintain 2G, 3G and 4G networks. Jio’s network operating expenditure at Rs 1,730 crore was less than half of Airtel’s.

Jio’s margin gap on towers may remain unless its rivals, which have about 90% towers on lease, can push for lower pricing, HSBC said in a note.

Deutsche Bank said that Jio’s sel-

ling, general and administrative costs of `. 470 crore are “dramatically lower compared to Bharti’s `. 2,300 crore – this is likely due to Jio’s successful usage of its app to deliver all its discount offers and plan recharges.

We believe this will remain a major source of competitive advantage for Jio in the medium term,” indicating the near-term benefits could accrue at the net level.

Difficult to compare Jio’s numbers with Airtel, say analysts Jio’s earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (Ebitda) were `. 2,628 crore, surging over 82% sequentially, with an Ebitda margin of 38.2%, compared with 23.5% in the previous quarter. In contrast, Airtel’s Ebitda fell 34% to `. 3,509 crore while its India mobile business revenue dropped by 22% to `. 10,571 crore. Airtel’s Ebidta margin narrowed to 32.06% from 34.4% in the previous quarter.

Depreciation and amortisation costs for Jio at `. 2,100 crore were significantly lower than Bharti’s `. 4,100 crore as Jio used a ‘unit of production’ method for its wireless network costs that includes spectrum and capex, while Bharti used the more prevalent straight-line method. In Jio’s case, the costs will scale up with higher utilisation of network capacity, said JP Morgan.

Jio’s finance costs of `. 660 crore, including interest, were far lower than Airtel’s `. 1,500 crore. “Interest costs flowing through RJio’s P&L are much lower as a percentage of non-current liabilities than peers’ due to capitalisation of interest costs,” said JP Morgan.

Bank of America Merrill Lynch said that even the ARPU numbers aren’t comparable because Jio’s sales exclude IUC revenue, unlike its competitors. Moreover, Jio’s ARPUs include Prime membership contribution.

Telcos Ask Trai to Look into OTT Players’ Licensing, Tax this Year Our Bureau

New Delhi: Telecom service providers have flagged various issues including rationalisation of taxes, licensing of over-the-top (OTT) players and one nation-one license structure to the telecom regulator that should be taken up for resolution in 2018.

Executives of top carriers including Bharti Airtel, Vodafone India, Idea Cellular and Reliance Jio Infocomm that met with the officials of the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) on Tuesday also raised pain points such as infrastructure expansion woes that were adversely impacting businesses, besides specifying the need for having a spectrum policy that pre-declares the frequency bands that will be put up for auctions.

“We had very fruitful discussion with industry players… There were 6-7 issues that they want the regulator to look into,” Trai chairman RS Sharma told reporters after the meeting.

“They were unanimous on some of the issues that Trai should deal with in this year like OTT (over-the-top)

consultation, one country-one licence, infrastructure-related issues, rationalisation of taxes under GST,” Sharma added.

The Trai chairman said telecom operators also asked for consultation around mobile number portability (MNP) and unsolicited commercial calls, and added that carriers will give details of the issues discussed in a few days after which Trai would be able to share specific roadmap.

Addressing the growing menace of call drops, Sharma said the regulator will publish the performance report of

telcos based on the new call drop norms by the end of this month. The telcos were supposed to provide data on call drops based on the more granular quality of service norms, issued in October last year, by January 21.

Trai had called a meeting on January 6 to seek telcos views and zeroed in on areas such as tariff principles, disaster recovery communications and improving ease of doing business. Besides the pre-decided issues, Trai came out with consultations on aspects of data privacy and protection and the burning issue of net neutrality.

‘Good Morning!’ Eating Up Smartphone Space Washington: Indians’ obsession for sending ‘Good Morning!’ messages is leaving one in three smartphone users in India run out of space on their phones daily, a media report said on Tuesday.

The problem, discovered by Google, was an overabundance of sun-dappled flowers, adorable toddlers, birds and sunsets sent along with a cheery message, The Wall Street Journal reported. Millions of Indians, getting online for the first time like nothing better than to begin the day by sending ‘Good Morning’ greetings from their phones.

According to the WSJ, there was a 10-fold increase in the number of Google searches for “Good Morning images” over the past five years. – PTI

It’s Real! Sophia the Bot to Help in AI Research Nilesh.Christopher @timesgroup.com

Las Vegas: Scaling the production of Sophia and driving research in artificial general intelligence (AGI) will be the two primary goals of the world’s first robotic citizen in the next two years, says creator Dr David Hanson.

Crafted in the likeness of his wife, Sophia is the first robot ever to be granted a citizenship. The humanoid, created by Hong Kong-based Hanson Robotics, is a life-size human-like machine, which makes multiple facial expressions, understand sentences and has casual conversations with humans.

The earlier versions of the humanoid created by Hanson Robotics are being used for research in autism among other diseases, while the latest version fitted with mechanical legs allows her to climb stairs and be more agile. This has expanded the scope of the robot’s application.

“We are going to train her in all the skills required for search and rescue operations, and deploy that as standard platform for service robotics,”

Creator David Hanson has made 14 Sophias so far and aims to scale up manufacturing to 100s of units

Dr Hanson said.

As the demand for such living character technology increases, the startup is scaling its applications. We have started scaling the manufacturing of Sophia and we have made 14 Sophias,” Dr Hanson said. “We are scaling the manufacturing to make 100s of units and testing her.”

The humanoid has previously been invited to speak at several high-level conferences including the United Nations and has appeared on The Tonight Show alongside Jimmy Fallon. The artificially intelligent robot has also made headlines over her comments on a host of issues ranging from women’s rights in Saudi Arabia, to Elon Musk's doomsday view of AI, and once said she wanted to destroy humans.

The creator of the humanoid says there is much more to AI than all these comments as she is still ‘evolving’.

“We are working in partnership with a number of service robotics verticals... Autism treatment, medical depression treatment, medical education, insurance education, and customer service application (are our target markets),” Dr Hanson said.

While the largest chunk of the revenue comes from service robotics, Sophia is also being used as a platform for research in AGI, which is absolute human-like intelligence that allows machines to perform any intellectual task a human can.

“The wide range of application in service robotics market is useful for

AGI development... The new grasping and gestural arms, combined with a social face means she can use human tools, walk alongside humans, and learn better,” Dr. Hanson added.

That said, Sophia also has her critics.

Earlier this month, Facebook’s head of AI research Yann LeCun dubbed Sophia as a ‘puppet’ and ‘complete bullshit’ who is not yet intelligent.

Hanson responded to the comment saying, “there has been some unkind words recently. They are unfair and ill informed”.

“What we have is a very earnest and intensive effort for AGI. The words are unkind ,unfair, and could be considered bullying. Once somebody is in a position of power, they shouldn't pick on a little startup for taking an alternate approach to AGI,” Dr Hanson said.

“To see people connect with these robots in an emotional way speaks to me and says that we can utilise these kind of living character technology for an emotional interface between humans and AI," he added.

(The correspondent was in Las Vegas for CES 2018 at the invitation of Intel Corp.)

80% have been sold to consumers.

Reliance Retail and Reliance Jio did not comment on future shipments, sales or tariff plans, while Samsung did not comment on the changed rankings.

“There were certain supply constraints that we faced, which have been overcome. Now, you will see more of such phones,” Reliance Jio’s strategy head Anshuman Thakur had said.

To make the JioPhone more attractive, Jio has further increased daily data allowance for `. 153 a month plan, including `. 99 as Prime membership for a year, associated with JioPhone to 1.5 GB from 1 GB, starting January 26. The buyers though can choose, provided the yearly recharge is a minimum `. 1,500 to be eligible for the refund.

CAPEX TO GIVE A LEAD: ANALYSTS

‘Jio Set to Topple Idea & Voda in Revenue Share’ Our Bureau

Mumbai: Reliance Jio Infocomm may soon topple Idea Cellular and Vodafone India individually in revenue market share, on the back of Mukesh Ambani-led telco's ability to spend more in capital expenditure. Jio’s revenue though is expected to surpass that of the Aditya Birla group telco in the fiscal third quarter itself, say analysts.

“In our view, Idea could lose some market share in the near term as its spend on capex remains significantly lower versus Bharti/Jio,” said brokerage firm Goldman Sachs in its report.

It added that Jio’s reported revenues of `. 6,900 crore likely translates into a market share rank of three. “We forecast `. 6,300 crore (wireless) revenues for Idea in third quarter,” said Goldman Sachs.

JP Morgan estimates Idea's reveExperts say nues to be at `. 6,700 crore. India’s Jio’s revenue current No. 3 carrier is expected to is expected to report a net loss—its fifth successisurpass that ve quarterly loss—in October-Deof the Aditya cember period, when it declares its Birla Group third quarter results on Wednesday. telco in Q3 In comparison, Jio, which upended the market since its entry in September 2016 with its initially free voice and data offerings, posted a profit of `. 504 crore and a 12% on-quarter increase in revenue to `. 6,879 crore for the third quarter. Airtel’s India mobile services revenue was at `. 10,571crore.

At end of FY18, Goldman Sachs estimated revenue market share for Airtel at 31.7%, Vodafone India at 21.4%, Idea Cellular at 17.2% and Jio at 12.1%. By FY19, Airtel’s share is expected to slip to 30.6%, Vodafone’s to 20.2%, Idea’s to 16.2% while Jio’s is likely to rise to 21.5%. Idea and Vodafone, which are in the process of merging operations, should become combined No. 1 with a share of 36.4%.

The Kumar Mangalam Birla-led operator had in the beginning of the FY announced a capex plan of `. 6,000 crore and had utilised `. 3,200 crore by the end of Q2. The balance amount was kept aside for the third and fourthquarters. In contrast, Jio's capex for the third quarter was `. 7,000 crore.

9

RJio Gives More Data at Same Price To Take On Airtel’s Offers Our Bureau

Mumbai: Reliance Jio Infocomm (Jio) has revised its tariff plans for the second time in two weeks, offering more data at the same price points, saying it was bettering bitter rival Bharti Airtel’s recent offers, underlining the continuing tariff war which will hurt average revenue per user further.

The Mukesh Ambani-led telco, with some 160 million users, on Tuesday said customers who were getting 1GB a day for `. 149, `. 349, `. 399 and `. 449 plans will now get 1.5 GB every day with validity of 28 days, 70 days, 84 days and 91 days, respectively.

Subscribers will get 2GB a day instead of 1.5GB per day if they opt for plans priced at `. 198, `. 398, `. 448 and `. 498 with a validity of 28 days, 70 days, 84 days and 91days, respectively.

“These plans have been launched as a response to Airtel’s tariff changes,” a company executive said. The new offers are effective January 26.

Under a recently revised plan, Airtel's subscribers will get 1.4 GB data per day if they recharge for `. 199, `. 448 and `. 509. Those who recharge for `. 349 will get 2.5GB data a day, as compared to 2GB earlier. Prices may vary according to circles, Airtel said.

“Jio is playing a capacity game because if incumbents have to catch up, then they need to provide more data, which is difficult because they are yet to convert to VoLTE services,” said a senior telecom analyst who did not want to be named.

Analysts say the Voice over LTE (VoLTE) technology is allowing the new entrant more flexibility, as it allows more efficient use of the same spectrum.

Bank of America-Merrill Lynch said in a report that given Jio’s lower costs, it would always want its pricing to be 15-20% lower than that of its rivals. “Competitor response will determine future pricing,” BoFA-ML added.

While Jio’s network is built on VoLTE, Airtel has just rolled out the technology for its users, and is expanding it across India.

Vodafone has also just launched the service in Gujarat while Idea is testing it out. The analyst quoted above added that that the new plans could hit the ARPU of the players by 20-30%.

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THE ECONOMIC TIMES, NEW DELHI / GURGAON, WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 24, 2018

Charting ambitious plans Indian manufacturing companies in several sectors have become formidable competitors and are targeting global markets he Make in India programme of the government initiated a manufacturing revolution in India, and is expected to move the country towards unprecedented levels of economic growth.

Launched in September 2014, its aim was primarily to transform the country into a global manufacturing hub and create 100 million additional jobs. The

T

idea was to encourage both the global as well as the domestic companies to set up manufacturing units within India.

The first time several foreign companies set up base in India was the period following liberalisation. These companies brought in global practices and technological knowhow in country's workplace that was previously restricted only to the select big players. The Make in

India initiative to transform India into global design and manufacturing hub was unveiled around this critical time marking the second phase of India's development.

As part of this initiative, around 25 promising sectors were identified based on their potential to transform India into a global player by 2030.

A number of regulatory and policy changes were made during the

last three years that focussed on ease of doing business in India.

A structural approach was taken to attract investment, enhance skilled manpower and encourage entrepreneurship in a phased manner. All these government initiatives formed part of marketing process towards attracting foreign investment in India. To encourage foreign companies in setting up unit in India, government has

K Y M C

CONSUMER CONNECT INITIATIVE

and growth perspective it may be derived that India has united once again to emerge as a single market with the passage of GST Bill.

The complex web of tax structure may be eradicated and India will rise further in the 'ease of doing business index', after the recent World Bank report that showed India has moved up 30 notches into the top 100 rankings.

India is at a position where the world is looking at it as a major economic power and all the ingredients are available to convert our nation into one quickly. —A correspondent Email: alok.sinha2@ timesgroup.com

reduced corporate tax for the companies registered in India from 30 per cent to 25 per cent of net profit in phased manner over the next four years starting from FY 6-17.

The initiative has paid off as foreign companies are collaborating and setting up assets in India and funding several projects as they have discovered that manufacturing can be more costeffective in India compared to other countries. From mobile handset to automobiles to

window clearances.

This seems to be an impeccable step a country could take to increase the GDP and enhance the chances of employment with holistic development.

Amongst the industries, manufacturing sector is estimated to have grown at the rate of 9.5 per cent in the year 2015-16 as compared to 5.5 per cent in 2014-15. The growth has been buoyed by a significant fall in input costs as a result of falling global commodity

pharmaceutical, from real estate to insurance and banking, every sector was opened up for investment through FDI route.

Make in India contributed around 37 per cent to India's FDI inflow from the time of its inception.

Global giants are now lining up at Indian shores with fastidious investment plans and business models. Most of them are here for profits and to take advantage of the perks being offered by states, such as cheap land, tax holiday, affordable power and single-

prices. Government too has identified automotive manufacturing sector amongst the select sectors that will facilitate in making India world's leading economy by 2030 in its campaign. Today, Indian manufacturing companies in several sectors have moved from the initial industrialisation and the license raj to liberations where they have become formidable global competitors and have been targeting global markets through organic and inorganic growth.

From financial

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23:29 Color: C K Y M

ETMarkets Beating Volatility

WWW.ETMARKETS.COM NEW DELHI / GURGAON, WEDNESDAY, 24 JANUARY 2018

MONEY MATTERS

Nature of Money Flows Leaves Smarter Investors on St Winded

F&O EXPERTS SUGGEST The market is in overbought zone, but upmove likely to continue in the Feb series

No Bullstops. Even 12,000’s Possible provisional. The 10,800 call will relinquish its No 1 place soon as its OI has been declining sharply since last Thursday, when the Nifty broke 10,800. From 25.14 lakh shares — 75 shares equal one Nifty contract — the OI has declined to 20.59 lakh shares as its price has zoomed 115%, coinciding with Nifty’s rise from 10,817 to 11,083.7.

On the other hand, OI of the 11,000, 11,500 and 12,000 calls have been rising over the same period.

After 10,800, the 11,000 call has the highest OI but analysts like Chandan Taparia of Motilal Oswal Securities feel “it’s a matter of time” before the call base shifts higher to 11,500, or even 12,000.

Indeed the breakeven of the 11,000 February call option seller is at 11,115. This figure is arrived at based on the average price of the call option since January 12,

Ram.Sahgal@timesgroup.com

Mumbai: Has the Nifty reached its peak at around 11,000? If early derivatives trends for the next series (February 22, 2018) are to be believed, the Nifty could have a shy at 11,500 and, possibly, even 12,000. While some analysts are discounting a move towards 11,500 before or by the Union Budget on February 1, traders have begun building significant positions at 12,000 Nifty February calls. In terms of open interest (OI), the 12,000 call for now has the third highest base after 10,800 and 11,000 calls. The 11,500 call stands fourth by OI. The 10,800 call has OI of 20.59 lakh shares, the 11,000 call (18.72 lakh shares), 11,500 (13.67 lakh) and 12,000 (14.31 lakh). Figures are

Market Trends STOCK INDICES

% CHANGE

11083.7

1.07

Sensex

36139.98

0.96

MSCI EM

944.39

1.16

2719.14

0.83

705.84

0.99

8955.13

0.12

MSCI BRIC MSCI World SX 40

21529.89

1.11

Nikkei

24124.15

1.29

Hang Seng

32930.7

1.66

Strait Times

3592.08

0.63

Values in US $, Gross

OIL ($) DUBAI CRUDE 66.56

At 7 pm IST

BOND 10-YR YIELD 7.25

0.78 Absolute Change

0.01

Figures in %

GOLD RATE Prices per Troy Ounce ($)

US

11083.7 11000

8391.5 10000

9000

8000

JAN 23, 2017

JAN 23, 2018

EXPERTS SHOW THE WAY

Nifty 50

MSCI India

Nifty 50 12000

India

OPEN

1333.00

1456.65

LAST*

1336.50

1456.01

*At 10.30pm, After adjusting for import duty, Indian spot gold lower by $ 14.14 to US Comex gold price on Tuesday. The premium on local gold is due to tight supply following import curbs.

Market on Twitter@ETMarkets

Here is How an FD Investor can Approach Mutual Funds

With the benchmark Nifty crossing 11,000 and the Sensex moving past 36,000, many investors who may have been investing in fixed deposits could be considering an entry into the markets for the first time, especially via mutual funds.

Keeping in mind the current valuations and risk appetite of a first-time investor, four financial planners give their suggestions on how to build a mutual fund portfolio of `10 lakh with a 3-year-plus horizon.

—Prashant Mahesh

from which the OI has literally doubled. With the market having closed at 11,083.7 on Tuesday, analysts don’t rule out short covering by these sellers with markets potentially testing their breakeven price (11,115).

In contrast, the 11,500 call has seen its OI rise by almost 10 times over the same period. The option’s price has risen by 9 times. OI of the 12,000 call has risen a whopping 114 times and its price five times.

“Going by the speed and strength of the rally, it may be reasonably conjectured that the Nifty could test the 11,500 mark in the next series since we’ve crossed 11k now,” said Rohit Srivastava, fund manager (PMS) and technical head at Sharekhan BNP-Paribas. “There are a lot of parameters, like marketwide put-call ratio, suggesting

the market’s treading on overbought zone, but a further move’s likely now.”

Bears sell call options on hopes of pocketing the premium paid by buyers if the markets don’t cross the levels sold plus the premium they’ve received for selling them. However, as the market conclusively breaks one major level, traders are forced to cover their short positions, giving a boost to a rally.

Amit Gupta, derivatives head at ICICI Securities, feels that 12,000 is bit of a “far cry” for now but expects that 11,500 can be tested. He also added that the fact of the 10,800 call having the highest OI indicates that would act as an immediate support for the market.

The highest put base for the February series, like the current one, is at 10,500.

RENU POTHEN HEAD OF RESEARCH, IFASTFINANCIAL

NEW INVESTORS in mutual funds should first assess their risk profile and time horizon. If the time horizon is less than 3 years, then we suggest investing in ultra short term and short term funds instead of equity. If the time horizon is more than 5 years, we suggest taking an exposure to equities with a 15% allocation to debt. Within equity, we recommend large-cap and multi-cap funds.

These funds are less volatile that than the mid/ small cap funds. Investors can initially park funds in liquid ANIRBAN or ultra short term funds and then use the systematic transfer plans (STP) to gradually transfer their investment into the recommended equity funds.

Franklin India Ultra short bond (`1.5 lakh) 3-year return: 9.13% ICICI Pru Focused Bluechip Equity Fund (`3 lakh) 3-year return: 11.5% Kotak Select Focus (`3 lakh) 3-year return: 13.35% Axis Long Term Equity Fund (`2.5 lakh) 3-year return: 12.44%

AMOL JOSHI FOUNDER, PLAN RUPEE

FOR A first-timer, equity allocation should be kept conservative (also by considering his/her risk appetite) and an investor should have a time horizon of more than 3 years.

Since these are surplus funds of the investor(not for daily needs), the investor can look at a 3-5 year time frame.

Franklin India Low Duration Fund, (`4 lakh). A low duration fund would generate fixed deposit-plus returns with easy liquidity and indexation benefit post 3-year holding period 3-year return: 10.32% ICICI Prudential Balanced Advantage Fund (`2 lakh) 3-year return: 10.32% HDFC Balanced Fund (`2 lakh) 3-year return: 13.05% `2 lakh can be invested via a systematic transfer plan (STP) over six months into ABSL Frontline Equity. 3-year return: 11.01%

VIDYA BALA HEAD OF RESEARCH, FUNDSINDIA.COM

THREE IMPORTANT factors about MFs will provide comfort to investors: Superior returns then fixed deposits, two, tax efficiency and three, limited volatility.

Towards this end, a 30-40% allocation in equities is the maximum he/she can go for three years. Funds with accrual strategy will provide sufficient liquidity and steady returns. A three-year-plus holding period will provide capital gains indexation benefit thus making the investment far more tax efficient.

HDFC Balanced Fund (G) (`4 lakh) 3-year return

13.05% ICICI Prudential Flexible Income Plan (`2 lakh) 3-year return: 8.23% HDFC Short Term Opportunities (`2 lakh) : 3-year return 8% DSP BR Income Opportunities (`2 lakh) 3-year return

8.59%

RUPESH BHANSALI HEAD (DISTRIBUTION), GEPL CAPITAL

WE WOULD recommend a 35% allocation to accrual strategy in debt funds, 50% to equity savings funds and 15% to dynamic equity funds. In an accrual strategy, the fund manager usually buys and holds bonds in the portfolio, hence there is only mark to market loss and no actual loss until the bonds are sold from the portfolio . In equity savings fund, the fund predominately holds 70-80% into arbitrage and debt segment which from a risk reward perspective is favorable for a conservative investor. The rest is held as open equity position which is around 23-30%. In dynamic equity funds the category follows a dynamic allocation strategy. Hence for investors looking at more equity participation can look at funds as they benefit from market volatility.

UTI Income Opportunity Fund (`3.5 lakh) 3-year return: 8.45% Reliance Equity Saving Fund (`2.5 lakh) 1-year return: 17.31% Kotak Equity Savings Fund (`2.5 lakh) 3-year return: 8.64% ICICI Pru Balanced Advantage Fund (`1.25 lakh) 3-year return: 10.32% Principal Smart Equity Fund (`1.25 lakh) 3-year return: 6.22% Returns annualised

Source: Value Research

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12 Smart Investing

What DHFL

Price on BSE (`)

613.9

Nifty charted the 1,000-point journey to 11,000 from10,000 in a little under six months. ET takes a look at five constituents of the Nifty index that contributed to most of this rally and outlook for them going ahead.

— Sanam Mirchandani

274.0 380

Jan 23, 2017

Jan 23, 2018

Edelweiss has maintained ‘buy’ rating on DHFL and revised target price to `726 from `680 as it has rolled over to FY20 earnings estimates. Given lower ticket size and presence in tier-II and tier-III cities, the brokerage expects Dewan Housing to emerge as a key beneficiary of government’s thrust on affordable housing. Shares of Dewan Housing ended down 2.55% at `613.9 on Tuesday.

HSBC has maintained ‘buy’ rating on Havells India and revised target price to `625 from `620. With demand recovering and required foundation in place, the HSBC expects Havells India’s strong earnings growth momentum to continue. Shares of Havells India ended up 5.63% at `583.25 on Tuesday.

Smallcap Mantra MIRC Electronics CMP (`) 1-M Return (%) 52-week H/L FY18E PE (x)

53.20 -13.49 64.70/11.75 27.5

MIRC Electronics is an electronics and consumer durables company. MIRC is well-placed to grow at a steady pace in the future on account of robust long term demand drivers in place for the company’s products like room ACs and TVs. We believe MIRC’s strong balance sheet will enable the company to focus on brand building and promotions, which will drive sales. Given the robust infrastructure of the company, it is also aiming for contract manufacturing for other consumer durables, which can be a revenue stream for the company.

Stock is trading at 27.5 times and 20.4 times FY18 and FY19 earnings respectively, which is at a discount to listed peers.

We initiate coverage on with a ‘buy’ rating and target price of `70. — Kotak Securities

146.8

Reliance Industries

133.6

ONGC

78.1

HDFC Bank

78.1

Maruti Suzuki India

77.6

TATA CONSULTANCY SERVICES CMP: `3,102.00

1 Year change (%): 34.48

TATA CONSULTANCY Services has surged 22% in the last six months, partly aided by renewed buying in IT stocks. However, brokerage views following the third quarter result were mixed.

While IDBI Capital has recently upgraded the stock to ‘accumulate’, Kotak Institutional Equities has remained bearish with a ‘reduce’ rating. “TCS trades at 18 times FY2020 earnings, full even after recognition of potential cyclical uptick in business,” the brokerage said. Chandan Taparia, derivative analyst at Motilal Oswal said the stock may rise to `3,400-`3,500 in three months.

HDFC BANK

CMP: `983.25

THE LAUNCH of the telecom business Jio boosted the stock’s prospects in 2017, making it one of the top contributors to the rally in the benchmark index. Edelweiss, which has a target price of `1,174 on the stock, said successful execution of Reliance Jio has boosted its confidence in the venture. With commissioning of core projects, Edelweiss expects RIL’s free cash flow to turn around and profit to double in four years. Taparia of Motilal Oswal said the stock is likely to head to `1,050-`1,080 in two months with support being at `940.

MARUTI SUZUKI INDIA

CMP: `1,951.30

1 Year change (%): 56.77

HDFC BANK, which is regarded as the benchmark for profitability in the Indian banking industry, has remained investors’ favourite due to consistency in earnings. “HDFC Bank, with a widespread branch network, and strong and diversified balance sheet, is among the bestpositioned banks to capture opportunities arising from a better-than-expected improvement in credit demand,” said HSBC recently, raising target price by 8.8% to `2,141. Sanjiv Bhasin, Executive VP-Markets and Corporate Affairs, IIFL sees the stock rising to `2,250-`2,300 by end of 2018.

11500

1 Year change (%): 93.57

CMP: `9,393.40

10500

VEDL LAST CLOSE X `343

11083.70

7500 JAN 23, 2017

ETMarkets.com: The Nifty50 hit yet another milestone at Mt 11,000 on Tuesday. The index made a strong bull candle, but some analysts felt as the NSE barometer was moving too far from its short-term moving averages, the ongoing rally needs to pause. For now, the resistance is seen at the 11,000 level, while the index is seen finding support at 10,890 level.

BUY TARGET

220

`

STOP LOSS X `198

PIDILITE

JAN 23, 2018

CMP: `207.35

SELL

Stock is trading in falling channel and making lower lows.

LAST CLOSE X ` 888

1 Year change (%): 3.73

RISE IN crude oil prices have helped the stock in recent months. Following announcement of ONGC’s purchase of government’s 51% stake in HPCL, Motilal Oswal said ONGC would now be able to focus more on ongoing capex. “Recent cost controls, increase in gas production, and expected increase in gas price realization aided by spurt in oil prices make ONGC a lucrative investment candidate,” said Motilal Oswal, retaining a ‘buy’ rating and a target price of `234. Taparia of Motilal Oswal said the stock may rise to `235 in one to two months if it holds above `210-`211.

TARGET `

STOP LOSS X ` 907

820

DANCE ON THE STREET

RBL Net Profit Rises 28%, but NPAs Inch Up RBL Bank

560

Share Price on BSE (`)

536.5

528.1

545

tinue to maintain our spreads even in a rising interest rate environment,” said Banga.

DHFL has reported 25% growth in quarterly net profit at `305.9 crore.

The company’s loan book grew 21.8% to `83,962 crore, largely driven by loans to individuals, which is 67% of the portfolio.

“Predominantly loan growth came from home loan, which is 2/3 of the book while LAP and project financing are 20.5% and 13%,” said Harshil Mehta, Joint Managing Director and CEO. “We saw maximum growth in affordable segment. It grew by 55% to `40,000 crore.”

Can Fin Homes reported a 34% increase in net profit during the quarter to `80 crore. The loan outstanding grew 19% to `15,058 crore.

Its cost to income ratio improved to 14.54% from 17.15% a year ago. Gross bad loans was at 0.46%, while Net NPAs stood at 0.25%.

According to rating company Icra, affordable housing credit growth over the medium to long term is expected to be high at around 30%, which could increase mortgage penetration levels to over 12-14% by March 2022.

The Nifty50 jumped 117.50 points, or 1.07 per cent, to settle at 11,083 for the day. At Tuesday’s closing, the five-day simple moving average (SMA) stood at 10,910, 13-day SMA at 10,752, while 50-day SMA at 10,434.

The 40-day relative strength index now stands at 82 level. A RSI value above 70 is considered overbought condition.

The kind of strength seen into the fifth straight trading session is defying logic, as indices are trading away

390

STOP LOSS X `350

LAST CLOSE X `204.5

530

FRANZ STUCK, Sounds of Spring

515 500

OCT 23, 2017

F&O Strategy

JAN 23, 2018

Mumbai: RBL Bank’s net profit increased 28% in the quarter to December 2017 as both interest and non-interest income grew, the bank said. Net profit increased to `165 crore or `3.83 per share from `129 crore or `3.27 per share a year ago, slightly lower than the `173 crore predicted by a Bloomberg poll of analysts.

Total advances grew 38% year-onyear as both loan to companies and individuals rose. Loans to large and medium-sized companies increased 35%, while retail, micro finance and agriculture loans increased 43%. The bank’s loan book is dominated by large and medium companies, which account for 60% of the loans.

Strong demand for loans led to higher net interest income, which went up 45% to `467 crore from `322 crore a year ago. Other income increased 42% to `258 crore from `182 crore, 89% of which came from fees earned from selling investment products, processing fees and foreign exchange.

However, RBL’s gross non-performing assets (NPAs) increased to 1.56% during the month from 1.06% a year earlier, particularly due to slippage of one corporate and institutional banking account which contributed 14 basis points to the bank’s gross NPAs. “This account came up during the RBI review last quarter and was provided for. We expect it to be resolved as classified as standard in the current quarter ending March 2018,” said Vishwavir Ahuja, CEO at RBL Bank.

from their short-term moving averages, warranting a pause or pullback towards their mean values, sooner than later, said Mazhar Mohammad of Chartviewindia.in Mohammad said weakness on technical charts may not be visible as long as the index does not drop below the 10,975 level.

Chandan Taparia of Motilal Oswal Securities says the downside support for the Nifty50 exists at the 10,888 level.

JOAQUIM FERNANDES Derivatives Analyst

The stretch to a newer milestone of 11,000 got the call writers at the strike to unwind by 24 lakh shares, A probable range of 11,000-11,200 could be held this expiry, as put were aggressively sold on the 11,000 strike to the tune of 34 lacs, while the highest call writing has shifted to 11,200. India Vix has been rising rapidly alongside Nifty as the budget approaches. Rollovers have started on a good note with market wide open interest at all-time highs of INR 1.93 Tr. Midcap to Nifty ratio has shown its first sign of reversal after a one week correction of 4% indicating Midcaps could now take the lead.

Our Bureau

Bull Candle Indicates Nifty has a Way to Go Amit.Mudgill@timesinternet.in

TARGET `

ADANI ENT

8500

Robust December Quarter Shows HFCs in a Sweet Spot

as an additional catalyst.”

The company also benefitted from reduction in cost of funds.

Indiabulls’ incremental cost of borrowings fall by 30-35 basis points because of the rating upgrades in June and December. IBHFL declared an interim dividend of `14 per share of face value `2, amounting to 700%.

The interim dividend of `14 includes `5 of dividend being paid from the one-time gain on the equity stake sale in OakNorth Bank.

“The macro is enabling the book to grow more than 30%; on the micro, the credit rating upgrade is helping to lower borrowing costs and con-

BUY

Momentum Indicator suggesting bullish trend is expected to continue.

medium to long term is expected to be high at around 30%

Mumbai: Housing finance companies are on a tear. The demand for homes in the affordable housing segment coupled with the government incentive schemes has led to these companies reporting a sharp jump in earnings for the December quarter.

Loans at Indiabulls Housing Finance (IBHFL) jumped 32%, Can Fin Homes 19%, and Dewan Housing Finance (DHFL) 21.8% in the December quarter in what is probably a sign of things to come in the next few quarters.

IBHFL said net profits rose 24.5% to `930.2 crore in the quarter ended December 31, 2017 from `751.5 crore in the same quarter last year.

“Growth is happening because of interest subsidy being given under PMAY (Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana),” said Gagan Banga vice chairman Indiabullss Housing Finance. “The segment specifically between `20 lakhs and `25 lakhs grew by 33%. Even without the subsidy program at an industry level this segment is growing very strongly the subsidy is only acting

370

STOP LOSS X `330

LAST CLOSE X `363

8391.50

GOOD DAYS AHEAD Affordable housing credit growth over the

Our Bureau

TARGET `

HEXAWARE

9500

1 Year change (%): 64.80

BUY

Stock retested Nov and Dec breakout levels and formed bullish candle-stick pattern at 21 DMA.

OIL & NATURAL GAS CORPORATION

INDIA’S BIGGEST carmaker Maruti Suzuki India has been a preferred bet due to its dominant position. Its stock even hit the five-figure mark recently. Brokerages expect the stock to continue doing well. “We expect MSIL’s volumes to grow by 12% over FY17-FY20 driven by current portfolio and new products. MSIL’s EBITDA margin is expected to improve gradually over the coming years,” said Kotak Securities, which has a target price of `10,749 on Maruti.

Bhasin of IIFL expects the stock to rise to `11,000-`11,500 by the end of 2018.

HEAD- Technical Analyst

Nifty Metal Index retested previous breakout levels and a formed bullish pattern.

Nifty 50

RELIANCE INDUSTRIES

SAGAR DOSHI

Tech Picks

Compiled by ETIG Database

HDFC Securities has maintained ‘buy’ rating on Rallis India with a target price of `313. It said Rallis reported good revenue growth for the third quarter. A strong brand image with a diversified portfolio, an extensive distribution network and strong balance sheet will help the company gain incremental market share in the domestic segment. Shares of Rallis India ended down 7.10% at `251.9 on Tuesday.

Motilal Oswal has maintained ‘buy’ rating on Axis Bank and revised target price to `710 from `680.

The brokerage believes that the recent capital raise will enable the bank to further cleanse its books and revert to normalized level of earnings at an accelerated pace, while subsidiaries are also rapidly gaining scale. Shares of Axis Bank ended up 1.28% at `618.90 on Tuesday.

NIFTY Companies Contribution Points contributed by stock in Nifty Nifty Company index rally to 11000 from 10000 TCS

Edelweiss

The January 2018 have been a fantastic month for bulls as index has hit consecutive new all-time highs for straight five days. Since start of the month, index has hit new highs on 11 trading days out of 16 days indicating bull’s dominance.

The runaway gaps and Heikin Ashi candles are suggesting the trend will prolong to February as well. We are expecting the target of 12,500 for 2018.

5 Stocks that Helped Nifty’s Run from 10,000 to 11,000

560

200

Day Trading Guide

IT’S A NEW HIGH, AGAIN

to Buy, Sell and Hold 740

THE ECONOMIC TIMES | NEW DELHI / GURGAON | WEDNESDAY | 24 JANUARY 2018

TRADE: Buy Nifty 11100CE at 38.35 Target 80 Stop loss 10 Nitin Nachani

Fx Technical

Technical Analyst, Forex & Rates

USD/INR Status: Pair has reversed after taking resistance near 64.10 levels Current Spot : 63.83 Call for the day: Go short on rally around 63.90 Target : 63.40 Stop Loss : 64.15 USD/JPY Status: Pair is approaching the key support of 110 Current Spot : 110.60 Call for the day : Go long on dips around 110.40 Target : 112.40 Stop Loss : 109.40

Commodity Calls COMMODITY

EXCHANGE

ANKIT NARSHANA Sr. Analyst, Edelweiss Broking

STRATEGY

Crude oil (Jan)

MCX

Buy Fut at 4,080, target 4,160, stop loss 4,030

Silver Fut

MCX

Buy Fut above 39,200, target 40,500, stop loss 39,000

Lead (Fut)

MCX

Buy at 166.60, target 171, stop loss 163.40

Market Intelligence Powered By: ETIG Database www.etintelligence.com MARKET SNAPSHOT

Turnover in ` Crore Shares & Trades in Lakhs

TURNOVER

SENSEX NIFTY Open 35868.19 10997.40 High 36170.83 11092.90 Low 35863.98 10994.55 Close 36139.98 11083.70 Change(Abs) 341.97 117.50 52-Wk High (Jan 23)36170.83 (Jan 23)11092.90 52-Wk Low (Jan 24)27140.85 (Jan 24)8398.15 3-Yr High (Jan 23,18)36170.83 (Jan 23,18)11092.90 3-Yr Low (Feb 29,16)22494.61 (Feb 29,16)6825.80

Date

BSE Turn Shares Trades

NSE Turn Shares Trades

23/1

6809 3971 17.46 42483 19159 136.23

22/1

4923 3578 15.28 35915 16330 115.21

19/1

5498 3420 15.14 33321 16675 111.53

18/1

6015 4613 19.79 42554 23366 135.04

17/1

6289 4868 18.41 38740 24157 131.37

Five Consecutive Days Up

Five Consecutive Days Down

Company (BSE)

Company (BSE)

NCL Inds.

Hind Syntex Sudarsh.Chem Oriental Hot Rajkamal Syn Kokuyo Cam.

Days Close 293.45 13.28 450.10 66.34 16.05 146.30

Prev Close 289.80 12.65 449.00 61.30 15.29 145.65

5 Days 5 Days Ago Rtn.(%) 272.55 9.97 437.30 53.10 13.80 140.25

7.67 33.20 2.93 24.93 16.30 4.31

Borosil Glas Uni Abex MPIL Corp.

KSB Pumps Tuticorin.Al Pun.Alkali

52 WEEK AT NSE HIGH 21st Cen.Mgm ABB India Action Const Agro Phos In Asian Hot.(E AI Champdany Alembic Alkyl Amines Arman Finl.S Auto Axles Axis Bank Axis Nifty Bank BeES Bharat Forge Bil Energy S Biocon Cyient Dishman Carb Deepak Nitr.

Delta Corp Excel Crop.

Fourth Dimen GHCL GOCL Corp Godrej Cons.

Godrej Prop.

38.90 1650.00 174.75 37.65 455.70 39.95 71.50 784.00 311.15 1805.00 627.60 1109.99 2781.85 755.00 1.45 652.80 686.00 396.40 298.00 401.60 3939.00 194.90 350.80 699.55 1100.00 911.85

Days Close

Guj.Raffia Havells (I) HCL Techno.

HDFCNiftyETF Hind Syntex Hang Seng Be Indiabulls H ICICI Bank Ind.Bank Mer Indian Hotel Infosys Jindal Steel Jindal World JSW Steel Jubilant FdW Keerti Know.

Kotak Bank D Kotak NV20DP Lincoln Phar L&T Lux Inds.

M&M Financ MOSt M100 Maithan Allo MindTree Nifty BeES NIIT Tech.

76.40 587.75 1000.00 1132.00 14.90 3349.00 1397.00 364.45 34.15 160.95 1188.00 294.30 664.00 299.30 2330.90 57.00 278.75 61.00 274.00 1415.00 1616.05 511.60 24.50 1024.90 775.00 1143.29 791.75

Oracle Finl.

Omax Autos.

Oriental Hot Panacea Biot Quantum NETF Radico Khait Raj Oil Mill Ramgopal Pol Rane Holding Reliance Ind Rane Madras Sasken Tech.

Som Distill.

Shah Alloys Shemaroo Ent Shrenik Silly Monks Sri Krish.Mt Sonata Soft.

Syngene Intl Taj GVK Hotl Tata Elxsi Tata Consult Tech Mahindr Technocraft Trigyn Tech.

UTI Nif. ETF

(Number of traded scrips) ‘A’ ‘B’ Others Advances 221 425 714 Declines 167 535 880 Unchanged 3 16 119 Total 391 976 1713

HIGHS & LOWS Total 1360 1582 138 3080

NSE Total 810 864 41 1715

Turnover Cash Market BSE 45000

NSE

(` Crore)

Prev 5 Days 5 Days Close Ago Rtn.(%)

1027.80 1030.50 1106.25 535.00 541.00 618.79 209.00 220.00 252.40 872.65 885.00 889.90 15.20 16.00 17.80 27.10 28.50 33.20

*

ADVANCE & DECLINE BSE

FII ACTIVITY (` Cr.)

BSE

(Number of scrips) ‘A’ ‘B’ Others 52WK High 33 44 11 52WK Low — 12 6 All High 22 33 3 All Low — 3 1

Total 171 78 98 22

ET Indices MINDEX 11900

ET-100 12500

11550

7.09 13.54 17.19 1.94 14.61 18.37

30000

374.00 500.00 349.95 11.80 217.80 131.70 442.90 8368.05

0

NSE Total 86 16 59 7

12325

11200

12150

10850

11975

15000

ALL TIME AT NSE

4273.70 172.10 68.45 343.70 1190.50 418.00 2.90 4.05 2709.65 990.95 855.20 808.90 298.80 24.20 594.70 664.00 186.30 55.00 319.50 652.90 202.95 1095.00 3142.35 590.70 620.05 171.90 1149.09

UTI Sen. ETF Vakrangee Vedanta Viji Finance Vimta Labs Vinyl Chem.

Vishnu Chem.

WABCO (I) LOW Apollo Micro Bombay Rayon CL Educate Dalmia B.Sug Felix Inds.

Guj.NRE Coke Jenson&Nicho Jindal Cotex Magadh Sugar Mro-Tek Onepoint One Orient Paper Sangam (I) Satvah.Ispat Sequent Sc. Simbhaoli Sg SKS Textiles Triveni Engg

419.70 81.20 275.50 103.55 33.55 1.20 6.30 8.35 148.20 33.00 86.50 47.05 173.15 30.50 88.60 22.55 112.60 64.00

10500

JAN 17

JAN 23

Days 20 Days Close Mvg Avg

Omax Autos.

172.05 Excel Crop.

3782.10 RMG Alloy 12.68 Bil Energy S 1.70 Aqua Pumps 29.20 Asian Hot.(N 301.10 S E Investm.

356.20 Rajkamal Syn 16.05 Rel.Chemotx 140.65 Asian Hot.(E 426.95 Crown Tours 15.76 Vijay Solvex 566.45 Shah Food 168.15 Oriental Hot 66.35 Intg.Capitil 6.10 StampCap-DVR 9.11 Som Distill.

296.35 Chordia Food 199.15 Apollo Finve 30.05

106.33 2594.92 8.84 1.19 20.64 213.75 253.32 11.44 100.54 306.46 11.33 407.89 121.46 47.95 4.42 6.63 220.21 148.91 22.58

JAN 23

% 50 Days Chg Mvg Avg

Company (BSE)

61.81 86.43 45.75 2243.03 43.44 7.60 42.86 0.83 41.47 19.12 40.87 171.77 40.61 231.26 40.30 11.08 39.89 92.28 39.32 285.89 39.10 10.20 38.87 332.66 38.44 104.98 38.37 42.86 38.01 4.32 37.41 4.72 34.58 192.88 33.74 133.43 33.08 18.55

Yamini Invt.

Univer.Credi Mishka Exim Californ.Sof Jai Balaji I Jaypee Infra Sh.Krishna P Uttam Sugar Bombay Rayon Indian Sucro Dalmia B.Sug Chandni Text Mideast Intg Religare Ent Sunstar Real Amba Enterp.

Ram Minerals Nagreeka Cap Salona Cot.

Days Close 6.42 3.78 26.50 64.10 16.45 15.50 25.50 108.40 81.85 41.45 104.65 39.00 59.70 51.80 13.35 45.65 6.11 45.20 137.30

20 Days % 50 Days Mvg Avg Chg Mvg Avg 9.99 5.84 36.56 87.65 22.29 20.82 33.94 141.62 106.73 53.08 133.39 49.66 75.20 64.81 16.61 56.66 7.49 55.34 167.36

22/1 19/1 18/1 17/1 16/1 Tot Jan Total 2018

6987 6215 9016 7935 8267 88125 88125

5443 5127 7098 7126 7521 80258 80258

Net 1544 1088 1918 809 746 7867 7867

920 1914 3183 2374 391 23417 23417

1170 118 1903 2662 822 18872 18872

Net -250 1796 1280 -288 -431 4546 4546

Spurt in Volumes at BSE Company

Days 2 Weeks Volume Avg. Vol.

Rane Engine 42235 Zee Entert.E 15902382 Elantas Beck 50550 Centerac Tec 45269 Rane Madras 38798 Swadeshi Ind 1069881 Tanvi Foods 52000 Alembic Phar 183973 Noida Toll 1623916 Vinyl Chem.

593375 Vimta Labs 317372 Pilani Invt.

73484

35.74 35.27 27.52 26.87 26.20 25.55 24.87 23.46 23.31 21.91 21.55 21.47 20.61 20.07 19.63 19.43 18.42 18.32 17.96

11.95 7.14 37.42 81.14 19.32 17.05 33.54 155.21 150.12 54.47 140.92 49.22 72.69 60.33 15.70 65.05 8.09 51.25 151.27

Company Fortnight Lotus Choc Ind.Bank Hsg Omax Autos.

S E Investm.

Systematix C 1 Month Bil Energy S Commex Tech.

StampCap-DVR Optiemus Inf RMG Alloy 3 Months Urja Global Godawari Pow Cranes Soft.

Hind.Dorr-Ol Optiemus Inf

Days Close

F&O Corner-NSE

MF ACTIVITY (` Cr.) DEBT Buy Sell

606 247419 799 1077 1268 36133 2000 7183 67280 33308 20048 4992

Prices

Date

EQUITY Buy Sell Net

19/1 196 18/1 3536 17/1 3869 16/1 3302 15/1 3085 Tot Jan 40796 Total 2018 40796

28 3879 3325 2801 2694 36384 36384

DEBT Buy Sell

Net

168 1297 1150 147 -344 5371 5067 304 544 5134 5078 56 500 4603 3928 675 391 4357 3603 754 4412 95868 81016 14852 4412 95868 81016 14852

Spurt in Volumes at NSE % Chg

Days Close

6874.08 6327.31 6229.83 4102.59 2959.30 2860.94 2500.00 2461.33 2313.66 1681.48 1483.05 1372.04

664.60 593.80 2120.00 1.13 863.45 2.37 75.00 548.20 14.98 123.85 217.00 3121.90

Best Returns on BSE

Negative Breakouts

Positive Breakouts Company (BSE)

11800

DEC 26

Date

EQUITY Buy Sell

Company Rane Engine New(I) Assu.

Rane Holding Varun Bever.

Rane Brake L Rane Madras Vimta Labs Vinyl Chem.

Oriental Hot Noida Toll GE T&D India Kalpa.Power

Days 2 Weeks Volume Avg. Vol. 240682 1106274 120764 4387944 170407 241511 2447786 2541193 18748515 3285434 907563 1274688

3487 25793 3506 140992 5895 8785 101129 157187 1448151 267806 78704 120823

% Chg 6802.07 4189.01 3344.50 3012.19 2790.90 2649.13 2320.47 1516.67 1194.65 1126.80 1053.14 955.01

Days Close 661.40 620.30 2597.30 710.75 1161.85 855.20 217.80 123.10 66.45 14.90 429.70 506.35

Worst Returns on BSE % Average Chg Volume

48.75 39.05 172.05 356.20 21.80

23.00 22.25 104.45 220.00 13.50

112.0 75.5 64.7 61.9 61.5

27885 9076 153815 13999 110561

1.70 1.21 9.11 281.90 12.68

0.68 0.50 3.81 126.95 5.73

150.0 142.0 139.1 122.1 121.3

791515 125189 201867 18675 60276

8.84 546.10 5.45 8.76 281.90

1.12 136.40 1.39 2.28 74.60

689.3 300.4 292.1 284.2 277.9

3262001 111771 296178 33836 27236

Company Fortnight Jaypee Infra Yamini Invt.

Univer.Credi Sh.Krishna P Californ.Sof 1 Month Panafic Indl Bombay Rayon Univer.Credi Yamini Invt.

Ratnabh.Dev 3 Months Quest Financ Layla Text Essar Secur.

Steel Exchan Alora Trdg.

Days Close

Prices

% Average Chg Volume

15.50 6.42 3.78 25.50 64.10

23.50 9.70 5.69 37.40 91.00

-34.0 -33.8 -33.6 -31.8 -29.6

1911965 52377 30528 511804 10775

0.63 81.85 3.78 6.42 33.90

1.56 160.85 7.10 11.13 54.95

-59.6 -49.1 -46.8 -42.3 -38.3

1077323 226154 202520 48488 110700

0.31 3.56 7.12 34.45 4.79

0.96 10.48 20.60 93.00 12.22

-67.7 -66.0 -65.4 -63.0 -60.8

53460 23359 97875 309905 26422

Negative Trend

Positive Trend Spot Price

Future Price

% Diff

OI Chg(%)

470.80 474.50 30.80 31.00 50.75 51.00 22.10 22.20 984.35 988.55 576.90 579.35 73.15 73.45 61.00 61.25 364.00 365.45 18391.95 18466.20

0.79 0.65 0.49 0.45 0.43 0.42 0.41 0.41 0.40 0.40

-12.81 -10.48 -10.91 -24.62 -17.20 -7.41 -16.34 -15.25 -17.90 -7.18

Company GAIL (I) IFCI Rel.Naval En Jaiprak.Asso Godfrey Phil PC Jeweller Dish TV HDIL Dabur (I) Sh.Cements

Company

Spot Price

Future Price

Just Dial

600.75

585.35

-2.56

% OI Diff Chg(%) -25.50

Siemens

1319.80

1312.00

-0.59

-12.44

MindTree

762.55

759.05

-0.46

-15.50

Apollo Tyres

264.85

263.65

-0.45

-17.22

Page Inds.

22017.85 21924.05

-0.43

-8.79

Biocon

643.70

641.00

-0.42

-5.37

Dewan H.Fin.

613.85

611.60

-0.37

-28.20

Active Puts

Active Calls Company Contract

Traded Open Chg in Qty Interest OI (%)

SAIL 100.00-Jan NIFTY 11100.00-Jan NIFTY 11000.00-Jan GMR Infrast. 25.00-Jan NIFTY 11200.00-Jan SBI 320.00-Jan Reliance Com 32.50-Jan SAIL 97.50-Jan BHEL 110.00-Jan Reliance Com 35.00-Jan

56388000 13332000 4.42 48821025 2937150 -6.76 36795150 2183100 -57.29 33615000 17235000 20.06 27613950 3795000 54.21 27294000 5724000 -16.75 22708000 6636000 31.67 21252000 5220000 46.96 21052500 6157500 14.50 20748000 10136000 8.38

Future OI Losers

Company Contract NIFTY NIFTY NIFTY SAIL NIFTY NIFTY SBI NIFTY SBI SAIL

11000.00-Jan 10900.00-Jan 10800.00-Jan 95.00-Jan 10700.00-Jan 10950.00-Jan 300.00-Jan 11100.00-Jan 310.00-Jan 92.50-Jan

Traded Open Chg in Qty Interest OI (%) 45705300 36392850 25732425 14460000 12929025 12529950 11397000 10775250 9336000 9228000

4431375 255.70 3672150 -15.74 4473675 -26.25 2928000 90.63 5231550 -10.95 1667550 76.64 3903000 -2.84 1169100 1107.44 2448000 56.32 2496000 -31.35

Top Sectoral OI Gainers Open Chg in Interest OI (%)

Trd Chg in Qty TQ (%)

Company

Open Chg in Future Chg in Interest OI (%) Price Price (%)

Sector

NIFTYMID50 Wipro Glenmark Pha Bharat Finan Oracle Finl.

Infosys Century Text Petronet LNG Axis Bank Fortis Healt

258800 16461600 3163500 3322000 62700 17193600 2533850 11088000 24162000 21693000

Plastic Products 51462000 19.65 64602000 262.71 Breweries 3961800 6.62 5064950 -8.40 Chemicals 3499500 5.68 4228000 -17.87 Telecom Equip 11381500 4.81 9656000 104.54 Power Generation 458216250 3.45 374519950 85.19 Transport 10983050 3.17 16045350 133.33 Diamonds 18283500 3.11 10648500 9.57 Cement 46972650 2.51 34425950 32.42 Telecom Services 212360300 2.46 225779500 66.45 Entertainment 141457300 2.38 104709500 47.01

49.79 40.28 39.94 36.68 35.69 34.39 34.35 34.33 34.01 33.73

5604.80 316.05 631.40 1033.30 4246.15 1177.50 1428.45 245.50 619.55 150.30

0.93 -1.91 1.56 2.88 0.65 2.32 0.65 3.24 1.19 2.24

Top Sectoral OI Losers

Market-Wide Position Limit Company

MWPL OI (Lakh) (Lakh)

MWP (%)

Chg in OI (%)

Jaiprak.Asso Jet Airways Jindal Steel Jubilant FdW Jain Irrig.

IDFC Bank Rel Capital Raymond Dewan H.Fin. GMR Infrast.

2957.67 3481.60 111.33 105.37 697.15 651.15 71.90 66.18 710.16 647.55 3210.33 2896.74 237.09 212.77 68.62 61.57 381.00 341.37 4628.79 4133.70

117.71 94.65 93.40 92.05 91.18 90.23 89.74 89.72 89.60 89.30

-5.91 3.20 10.94 -2.56 18.59 0.57 -1.17 3.83 -10.65 15.29

Sector Consultancy Tyres Insurance Casting & Forging Real Estate Leather Textiles Medical Services Floriculture Paints & Varnishes

Open Chg in Interest OI (%)

Trd Chg in Qty TQ (%)

3215800 19.46 6326600 -68.16 14343780 6.09 15069310 75.49 8987300 4.75 6632900 -32.66 6710400 4.62 7993200 81.30 79843000 4.37 52040000 68.26 2647700 3.91 2086700 9.21 21132150 3.78 19733750 47.55 47508500 3.04 25457500 25.47 4312500 2.34 2433000 55.81 7082000 2.25 6050000 20.24

Disclaimer: The content hereof does not constitute any form of advice or recommendation by the newspaper. “BCCL” or its affiliates will not be liable for any direct or indirect losses caused because of readers’ reliance on the same in making any specific or other decisions. Readers are recommended to make appropriate enquiries and seek appropriate advice before making any decisions.

Join & Share t.me/towardstomorrow CCI NG 3.7

Product: ETDelhiBS

PubDate: 24-01-2018 Zone: DelhiCapital

Edition: 1 Page: ETDCMB

User: sachin.kapoor

Time: 01-23-2018

23:20 Color: C K Y M

Money Matters 13

WWW.ECONOMICTIMES.COM

Nifty@ 11,000 What Now? RAAMDEO AGRAWAL JOINT MD, MOTILAL OSWAL FINANCIAL

The revival is becoming broad based with the unfavourable sectors, such as steel, zinc and IT, coming back. Market may not reduce the PE of highly priced companies but there could be a time correction.

Companies with reasonable valuations will be supported by the market.

VIKAS KHEMANI PRESIDENT, EDELWEISS SECURITIES

In current earnings season, the market’s faith in earning outlook is getting stronger and continued liquidity acts as an additional trigger. Micro improvements and macro risks will be the theme of the market this year. I remain very bullish on the long-term profile of the opportunity India presents.

RAMESH DAMANI MEMBER, BSE

Market signals when it is growing tired, but it is not signalling that right now. The odds of the bull market dying are premature at best. Most of the smart money is fully invested. As market has broken some psychological milestones, people are getting nervous but the market internals are on a sound footing.

FLOW INTO INDIAN equities could slow down if funds shift preference from resources consuming nations to the resources exporters

Rising Energy Costs could Hurt India’s Attractiveness Ashutosh.Shyam@timesgroup.com

ET Intelligence Group: Surging crude oil prices may dent India’s relative attractiveness in the emerging market (EM) universe. In the past three years, several EM fund managers increased allocations to ‘resources consuming’ nations from ‘resources’ exporters after crude oil slumped to less than $40 a barrel. However, this could reverse if crude oil continues to sustain above $65 per barrel, with proceeds from energy sales triggering another round of income redistribution.

Japanese broker Nomura, in a note on ‘EM differentiation’ linked to oil prices, said a sustained rise in energy costs will hurt India, the Philippines and Turkey, while the winners will be Colombia, Malaysia, Nigeria, Russia and Saudi Arabia. India has 8.3% weight in the MSCI EM Index, and foreign funds are overweight on India by 100-150 basis points compared with the benchmark weight. The flow of ETF in Indian equities could be subdued as overseas funds invest in countries based on macro-calls instead of the bottom-up approach.

India imports about three-fourths of its crude oil needs. According to economists, every $10 upward movement in crude oil hits India’s GDP growth by 0.10-0.15%, widens current account deficit by 0.4% and adds 30-35 basis points to headline inflation.

Oil Factors

Contribution of Petroleum Sector to Central Exchequer 2013-14

2014-15

Tax/ Duties on Crude oil & Petroleum products Cess on Crude Oil 16183 15934 Royalty on Crude Oil / Gas 4551 3858 Customs Duty 5042 4767 Excise Duty 77982 99184 Service tax 2092 2181 IGST — — CGST — — Others 241 295 Sub Total 106090 126219 Dividend to Government/ Income tax etc.

Corporate/ Income Tax 23326 23727 Dividend income to Central Govt.

9164 9197 Dividend distribution tax 2951 3500 Profit Petroleum on exploration 11369 9423 of Oil/ Gas Sub Total 46810 45847 152900 172066 Source:PPAC

With low crude oil prices, India’s current account deficit remained in the range of 0.7-1.7% in the past four years.

The real worry for the Street will be the likely hit on government revenues if New Delhi has to lower excise duty on motor fuels to restrain inflation. Every `1 cut

2015-16

2016-17

H1, 20172018 (P)

15470 4885 7446 178591 2837 — — 307 209536

13285 4649 9521 242691 2956 — — 399 273502

6221 2194 6431 103846 1228 4378 1601 57 125955

24642 10217 4590

31593 17501 6197

13043 1617 1336

5742

2905

9457 48907 258443

61032 18902 334534 144857 (Fig in ` crore)

per litre in excise on petrol and diesel results in government revenue declining by `12,000-13,000 crore. Besides, higher crude oil prices mean bigger petroleum subsidy. The government had earmarked `25,000 crore as kerosene and LPG subsidies in the FY18 budget.

The Fun is Just Starting for Emerging-Market Stocks

NAVNEET MUNOT CIO, SBI MF

Economic recovery is likely to gather momentum as disruptions pertaining to reforms measures will phase out.

Hardening of yields may have an impact on domestic flows and global liquidity tightening could challenge FII investments.

JINESH GOPANI HEAD – EQUITIES, AXIS MF

What can surprise us is the earnings growth forecast with current consensus at 13-14% Nifty earnings growth in FY2019.

Given the strong flows, rerating would further help extrapolate higher numbers for subsequent years and hence justify market levels.

After the two-year rally, stocks remain relatively cheap; earnings in line with estimates keep the outlook positive

The Story So Far

Bloomberg

EMERGING MARKETS’ RALLY SINCE JANUARY 2016

New York: The key risk for investors in emerging-market stocks is not getting caught in a slump, but exiting the rally too early.

As equities cap the second anniversary of a surge that began after the first US rate hike in a decade, money managers are asking how far the gains could go. At least some losses are likely in the near term, but the big question is, will that be a temporary correction, or the end of a rally that was never supposed to happen in the first place?

There are indeed some warning signs that the market may have overheated: after an 80% advance, stocks are the most pricey in eight years and technical patterns have reached points that spurred declines in the past. But fundamental analysis shows there’s plenty of room for equities to continue rewarding investors.

“An over 30 percent market move would normally point to stretched stock valuations,” Edward Evans, an equities portfolio manager at Ashmore Group Plc in London, wrote in a note to clients.

“However, this is not the case. Market strength has been matched by improved corporate earnings growth.”

On January 21, 2016, those of us covering emerging markets at Bloomberg scrambled to write a veritable sob story: a $2.3 trillion rout that had sent stocks to the worst-ever start to a year with at least 26 developing nations in a bear market. Most analysts blamed the Federal Reserve’s rate increase for the capital flight, and predicted more losses.

80%

59%

30%

38%

Gain in benchmark index

Surge in valuation

Increase in market capitalization ($4.5 Trillion)

Jump in earnings estimates

64%

Decrease in historical volatility (13.5 percentage points)

MSCI EM Index

54%

Decrease in implied volatility (19.2 percentage points)

1238.5

1300

1150

1000

843.68

850

700

Apr 18, 2016

Jan 22, 2018

Two years hence, it is an embarrassment of riches. The benchmark MSCI Emerging Markets Index has made the best start in six years, coming within hailing distance of a record. Market capitalization has never been higher, at $20 trillion. Volatility is less than half of what it was in 2016, and earnings estimates have grown by more than a third.

But here’s the nub: investors haven’t increased the premium they pay to own emerging-market stocks as quickly as analysts have raised their profit estimates for the companies. One of them could be proven wrong in the coming months, but will it be investors or analysts?

The chart below suggests an answer: actual earnings are meeting expectations for the first time in six years, which means it is the investors who have to catch up with analysts rather than the reverse.

Let’s say investors refuse to raise valuations, and continue to pay only 17 times trailing 12-month earnings — as they do now. Still, if earnings continue to meet expectations, the MSCI index will have to rise 30 percent to maintain that valuation. That would mean the gauge crossing the 1,600 level. The index advanced 0.9 percent to 1,249.08 as of 12:53 p.m. in London Tuesday, set for an eighth straight day of gains.

As for the forward price-earnings ratio, which crossed 13 last week for the first time since 2010, investors are getting a better bargain today than they did before Donald Trump won the US presidential election in November 2016. They are also paying much less to lay their hands on the the MSCI member companies than they did on average in the past 13 years for which records exist.

Of course, market dynamics can remain separated from fundamentals for long periods. A meltdown in US stocks could spill over to emerging markets. For these reasons, it does make sense for investors to hedge against a potential short-term decline.

But the alignment of earnings and expectations, along with cheaper relative valuations, suggest emerging markets will bounce back yet again.

Off The Kerb

NISHANTH VASUDEVAN If the stock market had a happiness meter — one that possibly gauges the mood of investors on the basis of equity returns in the recent past— it could throw up some interesting results. With benchmark indices— Sensex and Nifty— enjoying an uninterrupted bull run, breaking records on a daily basis of late, it is tempting to believe that this hypothetical meter will point to the best possible reading for most market participants. But a deeper reading of the results could show that the mood is split down the middle. For a change, the meter might show that the smaller investor category, which continued investing in the market in recent months, would be the relatively a cheerful lot.

Traditionally, it’s always the rich and the savvy who have been the bigger beneficiaries of stock market bull runs. This time, too, they have benefited, but in the past year, a

sense of wariness has been a drag on their share portfolios. The absence of corporate earnings revival, which has resulted in share valuations turning lofty, is a well-known reason for an increasing disbelief about the market’s staying power. What has strengthened their judgment are the softer indicators, which are pointing to froth. For instance, in the last 4 ½ years, the stock market has not corrected 10%. This is in contrast to conventional Street wisdom that bull markets are pockmarked by quick and violent corrections.

Similarly, inflows into mutual funds are at record levels, retail investors are increasingly shifting money from fixed income to equities at the highest pace since 2007 and the volatility index is around record lows.

For knowledgeable investors, the confluence of all these factors is convincing enough to stay cautious.

Many of them have been watchful in the past year even as the Sensex and Nifty continued their forward march. While they moved a portion of their equity assets to low-yielding cash when the Nifty was around 9,800-10,000 (10-13% below current Nifty level), the more decisive ones have been buying Nifty put options all the way up, only to lose the premiums they paid to bet on the downside.

In addition to lost opportunities in the Nifty’s rise from 10,000 to 11,000,

ANIRBAN BORA

Nature of Money Flows Leaves Seasoned Investors Winded

ON BULLS’ SIDE

Money coming through SIPs is not nervous and has shown indifference to valuation worries

what is irking them is that their portfolios — comprising mostly of mid and small caps — are underperforming if anecdotal evidence is to go by.

One conspicuous aspect of the recent stock market rally is that only a few stocks have managed to outpace the index’s gains. This meant investors would have had to identify their pick in the narrowing universe of winners. That’s a tall order.

Meanwhile, retail investors, who have been consistently putting money in equity mutual funds, would have done better because large-cap stocks such as TCS, Reliance Industries, HDFC Bank and Maruti Suzuki are among the top picks of most fund portfolios.

These stocks have been the biggest index movers in the Nifty’s move from 10,000 to 11,000.

So, the question is: Have the smarter investors erred in their reading of market indicators? Broadly speaking, no. But they misread the nature of the money that is driving the market. Compared to previous bull runs where retail money flows were more speculative, this time they are coming in through mutual funds in bulk in a mechanical manner. This money is not nervous and has shown its indifference to valuation worries.

Unless such flows ebb, these will be testing times for the professional market participant.

Sensex may Slip to 32k by Dec: BofAML Mumbai:Bank of America Merrill Lynch (BofAML) on Tuesday cautioned that the Sensex could go down to 32,000 by December 2018, dragged down by likely introduction of new long-term capital gains tax on equities. It warned that this could not only mar sentiments, but also hurt domestic inflows. The BSE Sensex gained

by 341.97 points and closed at 36,139.98 on Tuesday. “We stay cautious on Indian equities and peg the target for Sensex at 32,000 by December 2018. We see little possibility that forthcoming budget would deliver reasons for material upside to an already inflated equity market,” BofAML said in a report. — PTI

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PubDate: 24-01-2018 Zone: DelhiCapital

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User: sachin.kapoor

Time: 01-23-2018

23:18 Color: C K Y M

14 Finance & Commodities

THE ECONOMIC TIMES | NEW DELHI / GURGAON | WEDNESDAY | 24 JANUARY 2018

FOR A BETTER DEAL Lenders of the troubled auto component maker plan to renegotiate the offers with UK-based metals group Liberty House and US hedge fund Deccan Value Investors after their offers came in below the liquidation value

China Iron Ore Slides 4% on Weak Demand

Lenders Reject Amtek Auto Bids Sangita.Mehta@timesgroup.com

Tweet of the Day Prof. Steve Hanke @steve_hanke

Central Bank Of Russia Adds A Record 223 Tons Of Gold In 2017. This is what sanctions do to the US dollar. Dumb move by US politicians.

Quarts & Ounces

Back to Negotiation Table

Mumbai: Lenders to Amtek Auto, which is facing `. 12,722 crore of claims from financial creditors, decided to reject the only two offers they received for the auto component maker unless the bidders raised the price, two people with knowledge of the matter said.

The lenders plan to renegotiate the offers with UK-based metals group Liberty House and US-registered hedge fund Deccan Value Investors after their offers came in below the liquidation value, the people said, speaking on the condition of anonymity.

They could also call for a second round of bidding, one of the people said.

Amtek Auto’s liquidation value

O

Lenders plan to renegotiate the offers with the bidders

O

They could also call for a second round of bidding

O

Sources say the bids were made at less than `4,000 crore

Liquidation `4,200 crore value 33% of the co’s outstanding loans

is pegged at 33% of its outstanding loans, or nearly `. 4,200 crore.

“The offers made by both companies were close to 92% of the liquidation amount, laced with conditions that it (offer) would be sub-

ject to realisation made from sale of foreign investments,” said a senior official aware of the matter.

“This offer is not acceptable to lenders. It is now decided to negotiate with the bidders to improve the of-

fer. Alternatively, we shall call for a second round of bidding.”

The second person said bids were made at less than `. 4,000 crore.

“The committee of creditors will meet the two bidders to renegotiate the offer. Also, the offer should not be linked to what the bidder is able to realise from sale of overseas assets,” the person said.

The bidders have proposed to sell Amtek stake in German company Amtek Tekfor Holding and use the proceeds to settle the loans.

Amtek Auto is one of the top component suppliers to companies such as Maruti Suzuki, the nation’s biggest car maker, and Tata Motors, the top truck maker in India. Corporation Bank had referred it to NCLT, the dedicated body to consider bankruptcy cases.

It was one of the dozen biggest de-

Chinese iron ore futures dropped 4% on the Dalian Commodity Exchange, marking the steepest single-day decline for the raw material since early December.

faulters against which the Reserve Bank of India, in June last year, directed banks to start proceedings under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code. No resolution has yet been found in any of these cases.

Initially, Liberty House and Deccan Value Investors submitted bids for Amtek Auto without providing the bid bond guarantee.

The bid bond is a must for lenders to consider debt resolution plans.

It is a letter of comfort from a bank or a bank guarantee that indicates that the bidder has either the cash balance to complete the transaction or the banks would step in.

Both applicants were given one week to furnish the bid bond. While Liberty House submitted the bond in the first week of January, Deccan Value Investors furnished the guarantee a week later.

Iron Ore for May Delivery

TURNAROUND EXERCISE TURNS SERIOUS Lenders will start sifting through the bids for debt-laden LML from Feb 2 Dry Fruits-Walnut - DELHI

Hopes for LML Revival Continue Bankruptcy Up with 5 Binding Bids Process on Shilpi: SC

(In ` per 1 Kg) 450 400 350 300 250 200

Saikat.Das1@timesgroup.com Jan 23, 2017

Index COMMODITIES

Bullion

(2003=1000) CHANGE

6.9

DAYS INDEX

PREV DAYS

LAST WEEK

4693.7

4686.8

4720.6

Cement

CHANGE

0.00

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1898.4

1898.4

1851.9

Foodgrains

CHANGE

0.00

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2244.4

2244.4

2242..4

Edible Oil

CHANGE

-1.8

DAYS INDEX

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1567.1

1568.9

1596.3

Did You Know?

Gold Market Mulls Blockchain to Track $200B of Supply Blockchain technology may help keep track of the roughly $200 billion of the precious metal dug from remote mines, traded by middlemen and melted down by recyclers that’s sold each year to buyers scattered around the world. The London Bullion Market Association will seek proposals including the use of blockchain for tracing the origins of metal, partly to help prevent money laundering, terrorism funding and conflict minerals. Tracing gold supply is key to preventing metal that funds armed conflict from entering world markets, identifying owners and maintaining security from mine to vault. The LBMA is making efforts to modernise the trade. — Bloomberg

Manappuram Fin to Invest `. 150 cr in Co MUMBAI Manappuram Finance plans to

look for opportunities to invest `. 150 crore to expand its product base. The company informed the bourses that its board has authorised managing director VP Nandakumar to initiate further discussions on behalf of the company on investment opportunities available with the company. Its stock fell 1.24% on the BSE on Tuesday . – Our Bureau

Mumbai: Kanpur-based troubled automaker LML Ltd, which is under insolvency proceedings, has received five binding bids, signalling a possible revival of the debt-laden company that had employed about 1,000 people. Bidders include Lohia Corp, Rimjhim Ispat, Panem Steel, Neil Industries and a joint offer by Dolphin Developers and Mohani Teal, two people familiar with the matter told ET. “They are seeking to develop an industrial park with the state government, focusing on promoting industries,” said one of the persons cited above.

Lenders and workmen together put up a total claim of `. 500 core. There is a consortium of nine secured lenders, led by SBI. Other lenders include Edelweiss Asset Reconstruction Company, Bank of India, and the Stressed Assets Stabilization Fund (SASF). SBI declined to comment while an email sent to LML remained unanswered until the publication of this report. Bidders and other lenders could not be contacted immediately. “We received five resolution plans/bids in this case, which was a satisfying outcome of our efforts and was satisfying to the lenders also,” said Anil Goel, cha-

Mumbai: The Supreme Court ordered the continuation of insolvency proceedings against Shilpi Cable Technologies, setting aside an earlier ruling by an appellate tribunal that had halted bankruptcy procedures requested by Macquarie Bank – the company’s overseas operational creditor.

“We are of the view that the NCLAT judgment has to be set aside,” Justices R F Nariman and Navin Sinha said in their judgement that would allow bankruptcy proceedings against the company.

The apex court order has now made it easier for operational creditors to file bankruptcy applications against defaulting companies. Trade creditors now need not show documentary bank evidence to substantiate non-payment of dues by a defaulting buyer of services or goods.

“Non-receipt of payment certificate from banks is now not mandatory,” said Manoj Kumar, partner, M&A-insolvency, Corporate Professionals.

“The Supreme Court order is not limited to foreign operational creditors.

`500 crore

Total claim put up by lenders and workmen Sources say some bidders are interested in reviving operations, while others would rather seek to realise the value of the real estate owned by co

irman of AAA Insolvency Professionals LLP. He was the resolution professional appointed by NCLT’s Allahabad bench.Goel declined to name the bidders. Some bidders are interested in reviving the scooter and component manufacturing operations, while others would rather seek to realise the value of the real estate owned by the company, said a person aware of the bids.

“We have had more than 25 meetings with the bidders to explain to them the description of assets and the process involved under IBC before they got ready to bid. Lenders will now consider the proposals on February 2,” he said.

O

O

O

yuan a tonne

Closing on Tuesday

4.8 %

Shilpi Cables was admitted for insolvency resolution in May last year, when NCLT appointed the interim resolution professional.

Intra-day fall on Tuesday

154.43 m tonnes

Later, NCLAT (Appellate Tribunal) reversed the order, releasing the IRP

China’s iron ore imports as on Jan 19

Macquarie appealed to the SC, which again reversed the order

30%

The same principle would apply to Indian operational creditors. They may give any other proof to satisfy NCLT that the amounts due to them are still unpaid.”

The Shilpi Cable case was admitted for insolvency resolution in May last year, when the National Company Law Tribunal appointed the interim resolution professional. Later, NCLAT (Appellate Tribunal) reversed the order on August 1, releasing the IRP. Against that NCLAT order, Macquiare had appealed to the Supreme Court.

Rise in imports from a year

$76.61 a tonne Iron ore for delivery to Qingdao port on Monday

REASONS FOR PRICE FALL: Slow demand season Rising supplies, port stocks testing record highs Source: Reuters

Premji Invest Takes Stake in Shubham Housing Finance Signals rising interest of investors in low-cost housing market Invests’ stake after Saikat.Das1@timesgroup.com 44-45% Premji latest investment round Mumbai: Premji Invest, the family investment arm of Wipro chairman Azim Premji, has acquired a significant minority stake in Shubham Housing Development Finance, signalling the increasing interest of ultra-high-networth investors in India’s low-cost housing market.

Premji Invest has put in `. 305 crore through a combination of primary and secondary market deals, said two people familiar with the matter. While the NCR-based company has issued compulsorily convertible cumulative preference shares worth `. 235 crore to Premji Invest, the investor has bought stakes from existing private equity shareholders, including ACCION’s Frontier Investment Group and Saama Capital, sources said.

“We should be poised to go for public listing during 2021-2022 as we will leverage this new investment by Premji Invest for rapid growth,” Sanjay Chaturvedi, CEO, Shubham Housing Development Finance, told ET. “We aim to grow our home loans portfolio to `. 5,000 crore in the next four years,” he said Rahul Garg, Partner, Premji Invest, confirmed the investment. Shubham Housing, primarily focussed on loans for

Significant Stake O

O

Investment is a combination of primary and secondary market deals Shubham has issued shares worth `235 crore to Premji Invest while the rest is from secondary market

We should be poised to go for public listing during 2021-2022 as we will leverage this new investment by Premji Invest for rapid growth. SANJAY CHATURVEDI, CEO, Shubham Housing Development Finance

low-cost homes, has presence across India, with about 90 branches. Its geographic footprint includes most parts of the country, barring the South and Northeast. It has a loan book of around `. 1,000 crore.

The average ticket size of such loans is about `. 6 lakh, with interest rates offered in the range of 12-17%, depending on the borrower’s profile.

With the latest round of investment, Premji now owns about 44-45% stake in the company, said a market source.

“The company was valued at `. 500 crore before the fund injection,” the person said.

Chaturvedi declined to disclose the figures. The company has

disbursed loans to more than 26,000 households for affordable housing across tier II and tier III cities, where it has branches in 12 states. The housing finance company has raised debt of more than `. 800 crore from domestic and global players.

Shubham was formed in 2011 with the goal of providing access to formal credit to this vast working class population.

It provides credit to urban lower-income families.

Several non-banking financial companies are seeking to support the purchase of affordable homes. The sector is expected to create a `. 6-lakh crore opportunity by 2022.

Edelweiss Fin Sees 54% Rise in Net Profit Our Bureau

Mumbai: Edelweiss Financial Services (EFS) reported a 54% year-on-year rise in net profit driven by higher fees and commissions and premium income from the life insurance business. Net profit rose to `. 222 crore or `. 2.57 per share in the quarter ended December 2017 from `. 144 crore or `. 1.76 per share a year earlier. Fees and commissions earned through wealth management advisory, capital market business and other services increased 44% to `. 514 crore in the quarter. Premium income from the company’s Edelweiss Tokio Life insurance business rose 45% to `. 133 crore in the quarter to December 2017.

Income from fund-based business, which includes lending to SMEs, mortgages and loans against securities also increased 23% to `. 1,386 crore in the quarter to December 2017 from `. 1,130 crore a year ago.

“We are very bullish about SME lending in particular,” EFS chairman Rashesh Shah said.

“We are greatly excited about the scaling up of our wealth management businesses and the increasing contribution they are making without requiring additional capital.”

The company’s retail loan book increased 73% year-on-year and stood at `. 14,200 crore at the end of December. Corporate credit book rose 24% to `. 16,300 crore.

Modi Puts India on the Centrestage @ Davos PANEL VIEW

ET NOW

Modi the statesman is at play at Davos. As the world watched, the Indian PM took the centrestage at the inaugural session of the World Economic Forum’s global summit, and the message is loud and clear: Don’t count India just as an emerging economy, and it is time developed nations embraced the Indian-ness for ‘Creating a Shared Future in a Fractured World’.

Speaking like a true global statesman, Modi made a strong pitch against global warming, even as he hit out at terrorism of all MON-FRI forms.

Launching an all-out attack against the protectionist overtures by superpowers like Britain and the United States, Modi said such moves will only

521.50

Lowest on Tuesday

The Case

Saikat.Das1@timesgroup.com

Revival Signs

Jan 22, 2018

517

yuan a tonne

cripple the global economy.

Modi also showcased India’s steady progress on the economic front, and highlighted bold reforms like GST to send out a clear RISE message that India means WITH business.

INDIA On ET NOW’s spez 9 PM cial edition of the India Development Debate, Modi’s transformation was the topic of debate.

Here are some of the important voices, direct from Davos:

OPEN

HIGH

LOW

ALUMINI-1KGS (Lot-1 MT) 31-Jan-18 143.05 143.30 141.25 28-Feb-18 142.90 143.45 141.50 30-Mar-18 143.25 143.25 142.50 ALUMINIUM-1KGS (Lot-5 MT) 31-Jan-18 143.15 143.30 141.25 28-Feb-18 143.05 143.40 141.55 30-Mar-18 143.65 143.65 142.35 CARDAMOM-1KGS (Lot-100 KGS) 15-Feb-18 1142.00 1145.00 1135.00 15-Mar-18 1161.00 1161.00 1150.00 COPPER-1KGS (Lot-1 MT) 28-Feb-18 452.05 453.40 443.30 30-Apr-18 455.65 457.10 447.50 29-Jun-18 455.00 455.00 453.25 COPPERM-1KGS (Lot-250 KGS) 28-Feb-18 452.75 453.35 443.35 30-Apr-18 456.20 457.20 447.55 29-Jun-18 459.40 459.90 451.15 COTTON-1BALES (Lot-25 BALES) 31-Jan-18 20870.00 20880.00 20660.00 28-Feb-18 21080.00 21090.00 20830.00 30-Mar-18 21280.00 21290.00 21030.00 CPO-10KGS (Lot-10 MT) 31-Jan-18 550.30 559.00 550.20 28-Feb-18 556.60 564.00 556.50 28-Mar-18 559.20 566.10 559.20 CRUDEOIL-1BBL (Lot-100 BBL) 16-Feb-18 4075.00 4095.00 4069.00 19-Mar-18 4084.00 4093.00 4070.00 19-Apr-18 4087.00 4095.00 4082.00 CRUDEOILM-1BBL (Lot-10 BBL) 16-Feb-18 4056.00 4095.00 4056.00 19-Mar-18 4086.00 4095.00 4071.00 19-Apr-18 4080.00 4095.00 4075.00 GOLD-10GRMS (Lot-1 KGS) 05-Feb-18 29873.00 29932.00 29866.00 05-Apr-18 29869.00 29890.00 29832.00 05-Jun-18 29987.00 30015.00 29972.00 GOLDGUINEA-8GRMS (Lot-8 GRMS) 31-Jan-18 23985.00 24042.00 23975.00 28-Feb-18 23850.00 23877.00 23847.00 GOLDM-10GRMS (Lot-100 GRMS) 05-Feb-18 29836.00 29924.00 29836.00 05-Mar-18 29798.00 29848.00 29777.00 05-Apr-18 29889.00 29889.00 29840.00 GOLDPETAL-1GRMS (Lot-1 GRMS) 31-Jan-18 2968.00 2972.00 2967.00 28-Feb-18 2966.00 2967.00 2962.00 28-Mar-18 2967.00 2973.00 2967.00 LEAD-1KGS (Lot-5 MT) 31-Jan-18 166.70 167.70 166.10 28-Feb-18 167.20 167.95 166.45 30-Mar-18 167.70 167.80 166.70 LEADMINI-1KGS (Lot-1 MT) 31-Jan-18 166.85 167.70 166.15 28-Feb-18 167.30 167.95 166.50 30-Mar-18 167.20 167.20 166.35 MENTHAOIL-1KGS (Lot-360 KGS) 31-Jan-18 1500.00 1544.00 1482.10 28-Feb-18 1517.00 1562.00 1502.00 28-Mar-18 1533.60 1579.20 1525.00 NATURALGAS-1mmBtu (Lot-1250 mmBtu) 25-Jan-18 207.00 212.70 207.00 23-Feb-18 189.80 193.10 189.80 26-Mar-18 181.50 182.80 181.00 NICKEL-1KGS (Lot-250 KGS) 31-Jan-18 807.30 820.70 801.80 28-Feb-18 811.00 825.30 807.00 30-Mar-18 817.00 828.50 817.00 NICKELM-1KGS (Lot-100 KGS) 31-Jan-18 807.70 820.50 801.90 28-Feb-18 811.00 825.30 807.10 30-Mar-18 817.60 827.10 816.40 SILVER-1KGS (Lot-30 KGS) 05-Mar-18 39043.00 39086.00 38856.00 04-May-18 39536.00 39611.00 39410.00 SILVERM-1KGS (Lot-5 KGS) 28-Feb-18 39086.00 39095.00 38901.00 30-Apr-18 39598.00 39646.00 39450.00 ZINC-1KGS (Lot-5 MT) 31-Jan-18 219.40 220.30 218.65 28-Feb-18 218.75 219.55 218.05 30-Mar-18 218.90 219.40 218.90 ZINCMINI-1KGS (Lot-1 MT) 31-Jan-18 219.40 220.30 218.70 28-Feb-18 218.70 219.55 218.05 30-Mar-18 218.25 218.95 218.00

CLOSE

VALUE (LAKH)

VOLUME (LOTS)

OPEN INT. (LOTS)

141.35 141.65 142.90

14833.22 2120.47 5.72

10421 1489 4

5097 1666 55

141.35 141.60 143.15

40760.75 8139.19 50.11

5727 1143 7

2904 2470 378

1138.70 1154.10

51.30 11.54

45 10

423 243

443.75 447.95 453.60

186244.08 2349.71 40.83

41530 520 9

19035 613 22

443.85 448.05 452.45

32224.87 1568.24 37.51

28737 1388 33

12617 1168 67

20700.00 20910.00 21140.00

5801.82 8862.06 978.30

1118 1693 185

4117 7041 741

557.00 561.80 564.40

3641.96 8297.03 1643.77

655 1480 292

3741 4920 2437

4073.00 4074.00 4089.00

142155.12 2548.22 28.62

34820 624 7

24222 845 71

4073.00 4076.00 4085.00

23232.84 846.93 9.80

56905 2074 24

42600 2934 116

29886.00 29848.00 29985.00

84845.49 13850.20 1559.68

2839 464 52

6225 5821 484

24019.00 23867.00

22.10 13.36

92 56

744 304

29864.00 29790.00 29849.00

8542.32 1183.33 122.42

2860 397 41

6758 1269 273

2971.00 2965.00 2971.00

33.62 16.76 0.09

1132 565 3

7858 4580 137

166.55 166.80 167.10

59801.78 3768.77 242.84

7166 451 29

3089 1199 141

166.55 166.85 166.65

18385.34 2053.86 6.67

11016 1229 4

5865 1889 27

1533.70 1552.20 1570.60

9733.47 6159.46 1169.38

1792 1121 211

1183 888 323

212.00 192.70 182.60

87075.27 9585.63 755.01

33238 4003 332

13115 4531 1446

811.20 815.50 823.70

59101.95 4788.72 12.36

29099 2345 6

11408 1734 25

811.40 815.90 823.80

19210.22 2280.84 25.55

23652 2790 31

6220 1702 48

38906.00 39450.00

57372.78 1138.30

4905 96

19106 700

38939.00 39484.00

11888.29 575.63

6094 291

19314 1041

219.10 218.40 219.30

134504.77 6138.34 131.58

12257 561 12

13381 2519 245

219.10 218.45 218.65

34531.24 2669.40 67.75

15734 1220 31

17377 4064 74

MCX OPTION PRICES (10GRMS GOLD Jan18; Underlying Value 29886)

NAINA LAL KIDWAI

UDAY KOTAK

CHAIRPERSON, MAX FINANCIAL SERVICES

MD, KOTAK MAHINDRA BANK

It is unusual to have a PM from the developing world to take climate change strongly as he has done. We have seen ambitious targets in renewable energy, including wind and solar. India is also showing it is not talking about climate change, it is doing.

You go to these events hoping your PM reflects India. India has to show its best face, whatever the realities are on the ground. I worry there are sections in our country who feel excluded. Inclusion of every Indian is important.

Here is a speech of a statesman, with some really smart marketing by our prime minister and at some level it made us proud. It is a great linkage that he brought in between climate change and the history of India. Terrorism we have all been aware of, and on protectionism he gave out a message that India is open for business, open for trade. At the same time, he also gave the signal that India will do what is right for Indians.

ANAND MAHINDRA

BOB DUDLEY

CHAIRMAN, MAHINDRA GROUP

CEO, BRITISH PETROLEUM

An Indian PM has come here after 20 years. Modi himself recognises that this is may be one of the largest caravansaries in the world. He knows that for whatever it’s worth, you get at one shot, a global audience. I think sometimes the way a nation's optimism itself results in positive outcomes – what they call animal spirits. Psychology and animal spirits have an impact on the economy.

MCX FUTURE PRICES PRODUCT EXPIRY DATE

Ihave had the opportunity to meet him (Modi) many times. We have a great partner in India with Reliance Industries. We are slower than we were hoping. Under PM Modi we are seeing a big change. We are making big commitments to spend billions of dollars on ground. We won’t do that without confidence. I am very enthusiastic about it. Mind you, India should produce every molecule it has. Market pricing of natural gas makes a huge difference. The projects are now economical.

OI PREMIUM (LOTS) (LACS)

CALLS VALUE VOLUME (LACS) (LOTS)

0 31 57 5 30 16 59 56 23 3 234 30 5

29.9 0.0 925.9 0.0 0.0 59.7 388.2 29.9 179.5 0.0 1081.5 120.9 30.5

1.9 0.0 26.9 0.0 0.0 1.1 4.7 0.2 0.7 0.0 1.5 0.1 0.0

1 0 31 0 0 2 13 1 6 0 36 4 1

MCX-COMDEX 3650

CLOSE 1850.0 1325.0 864.5 733.5 634.5 550.0 358.5 200.0 118.0 83.5 40.5 12.0 1.0

STRIKE 28000 28500 29000 29100 29200 29300 29500 29700 29800 29900 30000 30200 30500

CLOSE 0.5 5.0 8.5 0.5 1.0 3.0 20.5 58.5 97.0 74.0 215.5 — —

VOLUME (LOTS)

PUTS VALUE (LACS)

0 0 3 0 0 0 10 0 0 1 0 — —

0.0 0.0 87.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 295.2 0.0 0.0 30.0 0.0 — —

PREMIUM OI (LACS) (LOTS) 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.2 0.0 0.0 0.1 0.0 — —

30 81 114 1 5 1 49 2 15 0 11 — —

ZINCMINI JAN18 (RS/1KGS) 3621.31

3575

227 219

206.45 3500

219.1

203

3425 3350

211

3403.52

OCT 25 MCX Prices as on 23 Jan 2018, 5PM IST

195

JAN 23 Compiled by ETIG Database

Join & Share t.me/towardstomorrow PubDate: 24-01-2018 Zone: DelhiCapital

User: sachin.kapoor

Time: 01-23-2018

23:02 Color: C K Y M

The Edit Page

At Davos, PM Makes the Global Local Now to live up to those expectations of greatness The expectation that 1.3-billion-strong India will be one of the key drivers of global economic growth and prosperity, and its leader will play a key role in shaping global options in politics and economics, is what made Prime Minister Narendra Modi a big draw at the plenary session of the Davos summit this year. Modi did not disappoint his audience, expounding views that took in the global big picture, connected them to India’s priorities, and left the audience with the conviction that India, at least, is moving in the right direction. This is a welcome result for the first speech by a prime minister of India at the World Economic Forum in two decades.

Modi spoke of climate change, protectionism and terror as the three big challenges to humanity’s interconnected existence. India’s concern on climate change is music to the ears of the developed world, especially after US President Trump’s retrograde moves on the subject.

Similar is the effect when the threat to an open, rules-based world economy that the Trumpian approach of America First poses finds resistance in India’s stand against protectionism, after Chinese President Xi Jinping made support for globalisation his main theme at Davos last year. Again, terror is both a global as well as a local problem that the world today appreciates as a serious challenge. By linking it to the continuum of intelligent policy that promotes vigorous economic activity of the sort that would combat climate change as well as boost coordinated global growth, Modi presented convergence of India’s priorities with those of the world’s enlightened elites.

While this is most welcome, India would also be under greater pressure to live up to the expectations aroused by the grand vision outlined at Davos. The steady rise in import tariffs that India has been effecting of late, on things ranging from steel and mobile phones to solar panels, sporadic outbursts of vigilante violence that feeds alienation of the kind terror feeds on, and state governments reneging on power purchase agreements with renewable energy producers are out of sync with such a vision.

Defend Basic Rights, Target Radicalisation It is welcome that the apex court’s observation in the Hadiya case could rectify the violation of her basic rights that the Kerala High Court had resorted to, in order to address what it deemed underhand indoctrination and possible radicalisation, subjects being investigated by the National Investigation Agency (NIA). Now, the NIA would be free to probe practices that have seen Kerala sending a score or so Islamic State recruits to fight in the Levant, without being hindered by legitimate protest at the state’s attack on a young woman’s fundamental rights.

The observation of the bench, comprising Chief Justice Dipak Mishra, Justice A M Khanwilkar and Justice D Y Chandrachud, that a marriage has to be separate from any criminal action, aspect or conspiracy, “otherwise we will be creating bad precedent”, is significant. As a 24-year-old adult, Hadiya had used her freedom to choose her husband Shafin Jahan, after she exercised her choice to convert into Islam. The Supreme Court has now said that it cannot question the legitimacy of her marriage, implicitly upholding her freedom as an adult to take decisions, and be free to act as she wants.

However, the government has backed her own father’s opposition to the marriage on the ground that the marriage itself is a part of the indoctrination process, due to which she changed her faith. A person’s right to be indoctrinated cannot be questioned. The government’s focus should be to zero in on and prove criminal conspiracy, if any. Defence of democracy calls for championing individual rights, opposing attempts to whip up communal passions using the bogey of love jihad, and cracking down on radicalisation in the name of religion and recruiting people to the cause of terror. The court’s decision separates the strands that had got twisted together.

Chinese firms paying arrears with bricks appears to be setting off a trend

Another Brick in the (Great) Wall…

Those nations worrying about how to pay if and when China decides to call in their debt, they now have a very viable answer: bricks. After all, that seems to be acceptable currency in China these days. This month, 30 migrant workers in a kiln in south-eastern China who were collectively owed arrears of 90,000 yuan have been paid with 290,000 bricks with the permission of the local labour authority. That means each got enough bricks to build a house; but considering their villages are thousands of kilometres from their workplace, how they are expected cart them back there is unclear.

They are obviously supposed to sell the bricks and pocket the money, but that begs the question why the kiln owner did not do exactly that and pay their arrears in cash.

Curiously, in 2016, a Chinese-owned brick company in Zimbabwe did precisely the same thing when it came to paying the arrears of 100 local workers. Worse still, the Chinese firm’s move also struck other Zimbabwean businesses as a good alternative for back pay and at least three did so. No wonder that country’s parliament came down on them like, well, a ton of bricks. But could Russia be the real inspiration for China? After all, in 2015, a building materials factory in Russia’s Tula region also fell back on bricks to pay 900,000 roubles ($13,000) worth of wage arrears.

CURSOR

THE ECONOMIC TIMES | NEW DELHI / GURGAON | WEDNESDAY | 24 JANUARY 2018

The economy needs a boost, make the total expenditure at least 14% of GDP

Make It Big, Arun Jaitley T K Arun he forthcoming Budget is the last full Budget before the Lok Sabha elections of 2019. Finance minister Arun Jaitley must make it big, not only because of that but because the economy needs it.

Thanks to the IMF, rating agencies and incessant commentary by economic and other experts, public focus today is on the fiscal deficit, when it comes to the Budget. This is a welcome shift from cooking gas prices, which television had made people believe to be the touchstone for deciding the quality of a Budget. But that is not good enough. The size of the Budget matters.

T

Fret Not Over Fiscal Deficit Before economic reforms began, the Union Budget used to be as large as 17% of GDP. Over time, it has shrunk to less than 13% of GDP. Only Pranab Mukherjee presented Budgets that were 14-15% of GDP, and that was because he ran up large fiscal deficits.

The overall size of government spending matters, when it comes to giving a boost to the torpid economy. So, the first goal should be to make it big, say, 14% of GDP. Wouldn’t that push up the fiscal de-

ficit? Should Arun Jaitley walk the path trodden by Pranab Mukherjee?

A larger Budget need not push up the fiscal deficit. A full percentage point of GDP rise in direct tax revenue can easily be expected in the next fiscal year, as a result of the goods and services tax (GST).

Right now, attention is focused on collections from GST, and how these have disappointed. But the tax will stabilise, as the GST Council irons out yet more wrinkles. But what is as significant is the multiplicity of audit trails that GST would generate, which taxmen could follow to hitherto hidden sources of direct tax.

Gross value added is the sum of gross profits and wages and salaries.

This identity holds good at the level of the nation and at the level of the firm. What this means is that there are limits to how much a firm that pays GST can fudge its books to hide its profits, on which it has to pay tax.

In addition, GST makes a firm yield pointers not just to its own scale of activities, but to the activities of those who buy from it and those who supply inputs to it.

Further, GST makes a slew of small companies that had evaded tax to start paying tax, both direct and indirect. Some would not be able to survive after giving up their erstwhile competitive edge, namely, tax evasion.

This slack would be picked up by the organised sector, which does pay tax.

All told, the country is poised to make a big jump in direct tax collections, provided the direct and indirect tax departments talk to each other and deploy good information technology to analyse GST data.

Apart form addressing rural distress and middle class concerns, the finance minister can afford to think out of the box, to boost investment and create jobs

FILE PHOTO

THE ECONOMIC TIMES

Edition: 1 Page: ETDCFIN

Heads we spend, tails we invest

Jaitley can use this realistic expectation to budget larger expenditure.

But this apart, this is not the time to worry too much about the fiscal deficit.

Think Out of the Box The fiscal deficit matters because it is a claim on the savings of the nongovernment sector. If this claim exceeds the spare savings the non-government sector has after meeting its own investment plans, there would be excess demand, pushing up prices and widening the current account deficit. But right now, the non-government sector is not investing much.

Gross fixed capital formation is below 27% of GDP (both in current prices), 11percentage points below the peak of 2007-08.

There is little risk of added government borrowings depriving the private sector of the savings to meet its investment plans. On the contrary, stepped up capital formation out of public outlays could crowd in private sector investment.

In an election year, it would be surprising if the government did not prioritise schemes that put money directly in the hands of the voter. Affordable housing is one area that can directly woo the voter with funds and, at the same time, create new demand for steel, cement and construction, boosting growth. Expect that to get a boost.

The lesson from Saurashtra is that rural distress is hurting the BJP. It is not surprising that the finance minister said recently that economic growth is not justified if it does not improve the lot of the rural poor.

So, the Budget would have lots of things to alleviate rural distress, apart from higher tax thresholds and a higher ceiling for tax-exempt savings, for the middle class.

Making good the difference between the minimum support price for crops and the market price is far superior to state procurement. The Centre could co-finance such a scheme with the states.

Get the Employees’ Provident Fund (EPF) and the National Pension System (NPS) to compete to generate higher returns on the retirement savings. Let them set up special situation funds to take advantage of one-off events. The sale of distressed assets that flow from resolving the banks’ huge burden of bad debt offers scope for windfall gains. Why should only foreign private equity gain from this?

Why not the EPF and the NPS? The tobacco industry has been complaining for long about smuggled cigarettes eating up their market. The government loses an estimated `. 13,000 crore because people smoke duty-evaded cigarettes. Set aside `. 1,000 crore as incentives for helping confiscate smuggled cigarettes. The lumpen unemployed would chase down smuggled tobacco and Revenue would get a boost. tk.arun@timesgroup.com

PADMAAVAT RELEASE

Streetfighting in the Time of Davos Tarun Vijay The Supreme Court’s order to screen Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Padmaavat unhindered across cinemas in the country from tomorrow — including in the states whose governments had asked the court to allow them to not screen it for ‘law and order’ reasons — is welcome. It is downright ridiculous to see the kind of bare-knuckled opposition to a movie from certain quarters even as India and Prime Minister Narendra Modi showcase its economic and progressive prowess at the World Economic Forum at Davos.

A day after Padmaavat’s release, we will have 10 heads of Asean countries at our Republic Day. To showcase such regression can only show India in a light that its critics have always accused it of being.

Opposing Padmaavat is neither a patriotic act nor does any service to Rajputs. When the movie has already been cleared by the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) and the Supreme Court has insisted on it being exhibited, those threatening damage and harm with the screening of the film should just carry on with their lives and avoid a film that they find abhorrent. India can’t be an India where filmmakers will only make films that I want to watch, or where people write only books and articles I want to read.

Hindus take pride in the fact that Charvak, who opposed the Vedic concepts, was included in the exalted

India, Global Role Model Pawan Munjal Most conversations till Tuesday at the World Economic Forum (WEF) here at Davos had centred on the inclement weather: constant snowfall like not seen in many years. However, the narrative has now inevitably changed from the weather to the ‘Idea of India’, with India’s top brand ambassador Prime Minister Narendra Modi yet again holding a global audience spellbound by his clarity of vision and articulation.

India is omnipresent at this year’s WEF and is hard to miss: from hosting the welcome reception to Indian snacks being served, to yoga sessions being conducted in the backdrop of the Davos ski-resort.

Having attended this forum for more than 20 years, I can vouch that the environment has never been so ‘Indian’ — from being represented by a 130-member strong contingent (fourth largest) that includes six Union ministers and superstar Shah Rukh Khan, who was felicitated with the annual Crystal Award.

India is truly the bright spot not just under the grey skies of Davos, but also in the fractured world we are living in today. Be it geopolitics, economics or social, the world has much to learn from India. In his unique style, Modi made a convincing argument for that. Whether it is climate change, fighting terror or following a non-protectionist economic policy, India has led by actions.

On the economic front, the PM yet again proved his stature as a global statesman. He not only spoke about India’s rapid economic growth, but also reiterated his government’s co-

PTI

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Not the best of filmi props

company of the seven highest seers.

Where are the Hindus today who stood firm on Dharma like a rock while having the courage to speak against petty, ritualistic voices?

It began with the appeasement to Salman Rushdie baiters and Shah Bano’s detractors. It is this ‘secular’ obstinacy and its blind hatred for anything Hindu that has created a situation where the Hindu spirit of inclusiveness has become abused. Even

by Hindus themselves.

Respecting Rani Padmini must mean securing the safety of every Indian woman — including the woman who was raped on a Gurugram highway on Sunday night. Not by showcasing a hollow and false sense of pride by stalling a movie.

This ‘outraged’ lot doesn’t care how many Hindu boys and girls are killed because of caste. The life of an average Indian becomes more difficult when, instead of focusing on better healthcare and creating better career opportunities, they put all their sound and fury on a movie they have decided to be slighted by.

Now to Be the New Normal

mmitment to deliver growth for all: sabka saath, sabka vikas. He spoke at length about the numerous reforms being undertaken and the dismantling of 1,400 constraining laws in the past three-and-a-half years.

A recent 30-point jump in the ‘ease of doing business’ rating by Moody’s C P Gurnani and 7.4% growth rate projected for 2018 by the International Monetary Each time at Davos, I have had one Fund (IMF) are factors that are hard takeaway: the thought leadership to ignore for world leaders. Other that paints the collective vision of points of proof for the India Story the world. From the vantage point are the recent structural reforms of Davos this time, I see a new that have been effected by GoI. The world order setting in: the ‘new economy seems to have recovered normal’. On Tuesday, Prime Minifrom the short-term impacts of ster Narendra Modi in his keynote these reforms and now seems address spelt this poised for growth new normal out in the near future. clearly and loudly.

This year, while He set the ball Modi talked about rolling, emphasimore inclusive sing a networked growth and interworld, in all its national cooperasenses. tion, the WEF meet This time, we not will draw to a close only have global with an address business leaders from US President in the Swiss town Donald Trump, attending the whose slogan has World Economic been ‘America Forum (WEF) First’. So, even meeting, but even within Davos, disruptive politithere are indeed cal leaders such as widely divergent Modi, US Presiviews. dent Donald It is not just the Trump and British weather in Davos, Prime Minister but the global Theresa May. sociopolitical Their presence — climate that is wit- Prompting the world buttressed by nessing cold and Modi’s ‘political-economic’ ingrey conditions. The need of the augural address — have already future is openness and security for made Davos quite the sweet spot for the weaker sections of societies. laying out the economic and politiAnd India, as the biggest democracal charter for the world. cy in the world with its unique It’s also a special year for us, with demographic dividend, has a key India in the focus. As per the Interrole to play in ensuring this. national Monetary Fund’s outlook for 2018, the global economy appeThe writer is chairman, ars to have entered a strong cyclical Hero MotoCorp

INDIA AT DAVOS

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recovery. It’s encouraging to see India continue to clock robust economic growth. WEF 2018 will have themes focused on India’s shift from being a technology facilitator to a digital leader in a world, where the relationship between humans and technology is constantly being redefined by virtual and augmented reality and artificial intelligence (AI).

Modi’s underlining of big data and AI was a vindication of where India stands on the issue of technology-induced progress. Over the next few days, I will be seeking world views on the positive aspects from this ongoing technological revolution that will create different kinds of jobs and opportunities, and a higher sense of connectivity not just for labour but for mankind.

Much of the world is looking up to India to anchor and lead a sustainable growth regime globally. All eyes were set on Modi as he provided the warp and woof of such a leadership, emphasising the need to tackle three global problems on a war footing: climate change, terrorism, protectionism.

GoI’s ambitious charter of becoming a trillion-dollar digital economy by 2025 can unlock connected experiences across the world. With one of the largest, young and talented pool of digitally armed citizens, there is no reason why India can’t realise its digital dream.

The challenge now is how India tackles economic reforms and facilitates an agile business environment. This will hold the key to the leadership role it plays globally. We, as a nation, and as industry leaders, have our task cut out. As pioneers in a brave not-sonew digital world, we will be the new normal.

The writer is CEO-MD, Tech Mahindra

Effects of Good Music ANIL K RAJVANSHI

Music calms the mind and produces a great sense of well being and euphoria. One also gets a similar experience during deep meditation and samadhi.

In Patanjali Yoga Darshan, Ishwara is defined as a special being who is expressed by the original word (Pranav). What that original word was nobody is sure though in major yoga commentaries, it is called Aum. However, recently scientists have discovered that soon after the Big Bang, and before anything else appeared in the universe, primordial sound waves were produced. This could have formed the basis of Brahma Nad, mentioned in the Upanishads. Sound has, therefore, been with us throughout the evolutionary process and is an integral part of all our activities.

Our moods change with different types of music. However, at a deeper level, its effect is similar to that of meditation. This is probably why all great religions have stressed on music as a means for praying and meditation. Indian classical music traces its origins to Vedic hymns.

Most Indian gods and goddesses are depicted carrying musical instruments. Similarly, in other religions too, musical chants, hymns and other forms of music have been used since ancient times to express the glory of god or to help focus the mind on the spiritual thoughts.

When we hear soul-stirring music, we feel good, very like what we feel during deep meditation. This is the principle of equivalence. The brain, therefore, appreciates and absorbs the music by creating the same complex thought pattern as that during meditation.

Chat Room

CPI(M) Needs to be Pragmatic Apropos the Edit, ‘Throes of CPI(M)’s Inner-Party Death Wish’ (Jan 23), the decision of the CPI(M) central committee to not have any electoral understanding or alliance with the Congress is a blow to the call for opposition unity at the national level. The CPI(M) may not be a prominent national player now, but its commitment towards secular democracy and securing a dignified life for the downtrodden and other underprivileged sections of society is far greater than other parties and remains indisputable.

It is time the CPI(M) adopts a pragmatic political approach.

M JEYARAM Sholavandan

For More Money in My Pocket This refers to ‘Tax No Robbing Hood’ by Jaideep Mishra (Jan 23). Besides the call for reintroduction of standard deduction, in the light of increasing retail inflation levels and spiralling fuel prices, etc, the urgent need for a common man-oriented Budget cannot be overemphasised. Just as GST has revolutionised indirect taxes for the benefit of all sections, raising the general I-T exemption slab to `. 3.50 lakh, for senior citizens to `. 5 lakh, and increasing the cap u/s 80C would give citizens a reason to smile in the midst of their dayto-day financial woes.

A MOHAN Chennai

Mind Your Language Apropos the Edit, ‘When Reading is Not Necessarily Knowing’ (Jan 23), the knowledge of English, both for understanding the meaning of words and writing sentences, leaves much to be desired, especially of rural students. Even the students in urban India, both in schools and colleges, need remedial classes in English as they too fare poorly in writing sentences without grammatical mistakes. Children aged 6-14 years should be asked to write short stories frequently as a measure to practice writing English.

JITENDRA G KOTHARI Mumbai Letters to the editor may be addressed to

editet@timesgroup.com

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Around the World 17

India Much More Business-Friendly: CEOs to Modi

QUICK HITS Alaska Hit by 7.9 Earthquake; Tsunami Warning Cancelled

Arijit.Barman@timesgroup.com

Anchorage: A 7.9 magnitude earthquake struck off Alaska’s Kodiak Island early Tuesday, prompting a tsunami warning for a large swath of the state’s coast and sending some residents fleeing to higher ground.

Officials at the National Tsunami Center cancelled the warning after a few tense hours after waves failed to show up in coastal Alaska communities. Alaska’s Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management said there have been no reports of damage, so far. The strong earthquake hit at 12:30 a.m. (local time) and was recorded about 170 miles southeast of Kodiak Island in the Gulf of Alaska. Reports varied about how long the shaking lasted. In the popular cruise ship town of Seward, about 230 miles northeast of Kodiak Island, fire chief Eddie Athey said the quake felt like a gentle rattle and lasted for up to 90 seconds. AP

P&G Profit Falls on Beauty Brands Sale, Tax Charge New York: Procter & Gamble Co reported a 68% drop in quarterly profit on Tuesday, due to the sale of a chunk of its beauty brands to Coty Inc last fiscal year and a charge related to the recent US tax overhaul. Shares of the company were down 1.4% in premarket trading. The net income attributable to the company fell to $2.50 billion, or 93 cents per share, in the second quarter ended December 31, compared with $7.88 billion, or $2.88 per share, a year earlier. The company said it took a net charge of $628 million for the quarter, the result of an estimated repatriation tax charge of $3.8 billion and a net deferred tax benefit of $3.2 billion. Excluding that charge and other items, the company earned $1.19 per share, beating the average analyst estimate of $1.14 per share. Reuters

Twitter’s COO Noto Resigns to Become CEO at SoFi San Francisco: Twitter Inc Chief Operating Officer Anthony Noto has resigned to accept the role of chief executive officer at financial technology company Social Finance Inc. Twitter slipped 3.5% in early trading. Noto will assume the post at SoFi March 1, the company said. San Francisco-based SoFi, one of the most valuable financialtechnology startups, lost its cofounder and CEO, Mike Cagney, last fall amid company turmoil, including allegations of sexual harassment and fraudulent actions by managers. Other high-ranking executives have also departed, leaving it without a permanent chief financial officer and chief revenue officer. Bloomberg

Davos: Global CEOs said doing business in India has become far more easier in the last three years as Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government has proactively tried to cut India’s red tape to woo foreign investments. Structural reforms like the introduction of GST and the government’s relentless focus on digitisation and infrastructure have also thrown up new business opportunities, the CEOs told Modi on Monday evening at a private dinner.

More than 64 CEOs — 40 from global corporations and 24 of their Indian counterparts, cumulatively representing $3.6 trillion in market cap — broke bread with Modi and some of his senior Cabinet colleagues, two chief ministers and top bureaucrats. Fifteen CEOs spoke about their experiences with case studies and gave feedback, said people present at the meeting.

ET had reported on January 21 that the PM would be hosting a special private dinner ahead of his WEF opening address.

Anders Runevard, CEO of Danish wind energy major Vestas, said the company had set up a manufacturing unit in India in 15 months, which is the fastest it has

PM’s Hindi Speech Gets Ovation from India Inc

ever done so anywhere in the world.

Unilever CEO Paul Polman lauded the simplification of the tax regime with the introduction of GST and informed the PM that he had just been to India to oversee local operations.

Ahead of the Swachh Bharat Mission was launched, Hindustan Unilever had launched a nationwide campaign on hygiene and the washing of hands before eating, he said.

Recently appointed Hitachi chair man Hiroaki Nakanishi and

his counterpart from ABB both mentioned that the modernisation of India’s infrastructure has meant big orders from the private and public sectors. Newer solutions such as smart grids are ideal for an emerging economy like India that is poised to overtake Britain, France and even Germany to break into the circle of top global economies, they said.

“He has done similar interactions before. It’s a very no-nonsense-type event,” said David Rubenstein, cofounder of private equity major Carlyle. “The PM takes feedback, listens intently and then makes his comments. Officials take notes and

DAVOS DIARY

the Intercontinental Hotel, the venue of the roundtable. Reminds us of college years and what we might have done during date nights. But we didn’t get to ask Bill what else he did that makes him such a pro.

the corner and so many of his business buddies have decided to give even POTUS a miss and fly out of Switzerland just in time to make it for the big celebrations.

ALL DRESSED UP Despite snow and icy winds, nobody wanted to miss the PM’s private dinner on Monday night. A little bird tells us that TPG Growth’s boss Bill McGlashan--a special guest of Anand Mahindra--was running late after a meeting and decided to get changed in the parking lot of

Rajiv Memani

GOLDEN MILESTONE Some friendships are cast in stone and it seems EY’s dapper boss in India Rajiv Memani has plenty of them. His 50th birthday is around

FRIEND FIRST You can be a billionaire with all the creature comforts money can

EU Removes Panama, Seven Others From Tax-Haven Blacklist

Musk May Not Get Salary If Tesla Misses Milestones

Brussels: European Union finance ministers agreed on Tuesday that eight jurisdictions, including much-criticised Panama, should be removed from the bloc’s blacklist of tax havens, one month after the list was set up.

The move prompted an outcry from lawmakers and activists.

Ba rbados, Grenada, t he Republic of Korea, Macao, Mongolia, Tunisia and the UAE joined Panama as jurisdictions The eight countries will delisted “following commitments now be on a made at a high po‘grey list’ of countries that litical level to remedy EU concerns,” have made accordi ng to a unspecified commitments statement from the on reforming ministers.

The move is in their tax laws line with recommendations by EU tax experts in the Code of Conduct Group.

The blacklist was only drawn up in December in a bid to discourage the most aggressive taxdodging practices after several disclosures of off-shore schemes.

Ministers said the delisting was a sign that the process was working as countries around the world were agreeing to adopt EU standards on tax transparency. Reuters

San Francisco: Silicon Valley billionaire Elon Musk will get no salary or cash bonuses from Tesla Inc and all his compensation as chief executive of the electric car maker will be tied to stock and operational milestones, the company said on Tuesday.

The plan envisions the company’s market value ballooning to $650 billion over the next decade — 10 times the current size of General Motors Co — and knocks back speculation that Musk may be planning to quit Tesla any time soon.

If Tesla hits that mark and Musk achieves all his targets, vesting all stock options, his remuneration will add up to $78 billion. Also, his current 20% stake in the company will be worth $130 billion.

The new long-term plan, modeled after Musk’s 2012 performance award but more directly linked to the company’s performance, was unveiled after Tesla’s much-anticipated Model 3 sedan missed a series of production targets.

The delays and Tesla’s high cash burn rate has worried Wall Street that Musk’s ambition to build the company into a behemoth will severely stretch its production capabilities.

Tesla’s shares were up 2.5% in premarket trading. They gained 46%

act upon them.”

“The global business community is in awe of the progress that the Modi govt has achieved in terms of reforms and getting business ready,” said PwC chairman Bob Moritz. “Everyone is keen to see how the states and the Centre work in tandem as some of the issues need ground-level intervention.”

Modi’s call for inclusive growth had many takers. Pepsi CEO Indira Nooyi informed the gathering that the beverage and foods major began sourcing raw material and fruits from Indian farmers after the Prime Minister requested her company to engage more with them. buy but money cannot buy you love. One of our top NRI industrialists visiting Davos is anxious about his kid’s marital problems, which has made him rather distressed these days. Advice came from an old buddy who told him that he should be a friend and not a father figure to his son.

TWEEPLE LADIES So you thought only trolls are ac-

Elon Musk

last year.

At $650 billion, Tesla would be the fourth-largest company in the S&P 500 index on Tuesday, just ahead of Amazon.com Inc and exceeded only by Apple Inc, Alphabet Inc and Microsoft Corp.

The company currently has a market value of roughly $60 billion.

Tesla said on Tuesday that the new compensation plan calls for Musk to be remunerated only if Tesla performs “extraordinarily well” and the milestones requires him to remain as CEO or serve as both executive chairman and chief product officer.

“This ensures that Elon will continue to lead Tesla’s management over the long-term while also providing the flexibility to bring in another CEO who would report to Elon at some point in the future,” Tesla said, adding that there was no current intention for this to happen. Reuters

Guillermo del Toro’s lavish monster romance The Shape of Water has landed a leading 13 nominations and Greta Gerwig became the fifth woman nominated for best director by the Academy Awards. ‘Mudbound’ cinematographer Rachel Morrison made history as the first woman ever nominated in the category in nominations announced on Tuesday.

Here are the nominations…

Actress in a Supporting Role Mary J Blige Mudbound Allison Janney I, Tonya Laurie Metcalf Lady Bird Lesley Manville Phantom Thread Octavia Spencer Mary J Blige The Shape of Water

Timothée Chalamet

tive on Twitter? Guess what, the seven superwomen — all co-chairs of WEF this year — were staying connected even before they met up in Davos through social media.

Yes, through Twitter. From the Norwegian PM, the IMF boss, the IBM CEO to an award-winning social entrepreneur from India, these are super-busy professionals who decided to prep before the show began.

US Attorney General Sessions Questioned in Russia Probe

GOURMET EVENINGS If you are bored with the dal makhni at the India lounges, then come to my chalet and have some baked chicken casserole instead. That’s the message from the wife of a visiting CEO to the other wives camping in the Alps. You see she and her husband – known for their flamboyant lifestyle – have got a local chef who has been whipping up quite a storm last few days.

Rupert Murdoch Pushes Facebook to Pay for News to Guarantee Quality

Washington: Attorney General Jeff Sessions has been interviewed by investigators for Special Counsel Robert Mueller, making him the highest-ranking Trump administration official questioned in the criminal probe into whether anyone tied to the president helped Russia meddle in the 2016 election.

The interview came as Sessions weathers a rocky relationship with President Donald Trump and is under pressure from Republicans to look into allegaJeff Sessions tions that some F BI a gent s a nd Justice Department officials have a political bias against the president.

Sessions was interviewed last week by Mueller’s team, Justice Department spokesman Ian Prior said in an email after the interview was reported by the New York Times. Mueller’s inquiry includes whether Trump obstructed justice by interfering in the Russia probe, including when he fired FBI Director James Comey last May. Bloomberg

Los Angeles: Rupert Murdoch, the media billionaire who controls the Wall Street Journal, called on Facebook Inc to begin paying publishers fees to carry the news that its users post and share online in a sign of the print industry’s growing frustration with social media.

“If Facebook wants to recognise ‘trusted’ publishers then it should pay those publishers a carriage fee similar to the model adopted by cable companies,” Murdoch, the executive chairman of News Corp said on Monday in a statement.

“The publishers are obviously enhancing the value and integrity of Facebook through their news and content but are not being adequately rewarded for those services.”

Facebook, the largest social network, sent tremors through the news industry this month when it announced plans to redirect the site’s 2 billion-plus users more toward posts from friends and family and away from media content. The company also plans to let users gauge how trustworthy news sources are to avoid perceptions of bias and address claims it has helped spread fake news.

Crossword

YOUR DAILY DIET OF FUN AND FACTS

Del Toro’s The Shape of Water Lands a Leading 13 Oscar Nods

into English phrases when appropriate. ‘Reform, Perform, Transform’ is his slogan, he says. It’s what this global audience wants to hear,” Mahindra added.

Modi’s decision to give the speech in Hindi drew praise from Indian corporate bosses. Modi said India has always believed in the mantra of ‘Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam’, which means the world is one big family. He also referred to the Upanishads—ancient Hindu texts of religious and philosophical nature.

Anil Agarwal, executive chairman, Vedanta Resources, tweeted that “PM Modi discussed some important issues. Creating a Shared Future will benefit future generations, and would leave a lasting legacy.”

Uday Kotak, CEO, Kotak Bank, tweeted before Modi started his speech that Davos was awaiting Modi’s address.

“Interest in India seems high. Leadership in a fractured world is our opportunity. Can India achieve global statesman position? Yes, but for that we must make our economy much larger too,” he tweeted.

Our Bureau Mumbai: Indian corporate honchos applauded Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s speech at the opening session of the World Economic Forum in Davos as he pitched India as an investment destination.

“Indian delegation breaks into applause as @PMOIndia chooses to speak in Hindi. He’s in his element & connects with the audience by making humorous comments on the changing times. Xi Jinping certainly didn’t do that...if you’re looking for differences between India & China!” Anand Mahindra tweeted.

India is working toward becoming a $5 trillion economy by 2025, said Modi, the first Indian PM in two decades to attend the forum of global business and political leaders.

“India is removing the red tape and laying out the red carpet,” Modi said in his address. He also listed climate change, terrorism and the inward-looking focus of some nations as the biggest threats to the world.

“Very astutely, @pmoindia breaks

Prime Minister Narendra Modi interacts with CEOs in Davos on Tuesday

ET@

TIPS, TRIVIA & TRENDS

British model Amena Khan, who had been chosen by L’Oreal to appear in an advertising campaign in Britain, has pulled out over accusations she made antiIsraeli comments in a series of old tweets. The French cosmetics giant last week selected her to be the first woman in a hijab for a mainstream shampoo campaign. Khan’s messages, posted on Twitter in 2014, have since been deleted. “I deeply regret the content of the tweets I made in 2014, and sincerely apologise for the upset and hurt that they have caused,” she said on Twitter on Monday. “With deep regret, I’ve decided to step down from this campaign because the current conversations surrounding it detract from the positive and inclusive sentiment that it set out to deliver.” L’Oreal group, contacted by AFP, said it “approved” her decision.

“We appreciate the fact that Amena has apologised for the content of her tweets and for the reactions they may have aroused,” it said. AFP

User: satyam.shukla Time: 01-23-2018

CONTRAPUNTO It’s not what happens to you, but how you react to it that matters EPICTETUS

WWW.ECONOMICTIMES.COM

Hijab Model Pulls Out of L’Oreal Campaign over Israel Tweets

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Del Toro’s Shape of Water

Best Actor Timothée Chalamet Call Me by Your Name Daniel Day-Lewis Phantom Thread Daniel Kaluuya Get Out Gary Oldman Darkest Hour Denzel Washington Roman J. Israel, Esq.

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Actor in a Supporting Role Willem Dafoe The Florida Project Woody Harrelson Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri Richard Jenkins The Shape of Water Christopher Plummer All the Money in the World Sam Rockwell Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri

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Best Picture Call Me by Your Name Darkest Hour Dunkirk Get Out Lady Bird Phantom Thread The Post The Shape of Water Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri Best Actress Sally Hawkins The Shape of Water Frances McDormand Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri Margot Robbie I, Tonya Saoirse Ronan Lady Bird Meryl Streep The Post

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Minnie Mouse Gets Her Star, a Few Decades after Mickey

Neil Diamond Reveals Parkinson’s, Ends Touring

Minnie Mouse was honored with a star on Hollywood’s Walk of Fame on Monday, with her eternal sidekick Mickey by her side. In her red and white polka-dot dress and bright yellow heels, the giggly cartoon favorite was recognised a full four decades after Mickey.

“Mickey, I’m so happy you’re here to share this wonderful day with me. That’s for you! This really is the best day ever. Oh thank you, thank you, thank you,” she said.

Minnie was joined by pop star Katy Perry and Disney chief executive Robert Iger. AFP

Neil Diamond, one of the best-selling singers of all time, announced on Monday that he was immediately retiring from touring after being diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease. Following his doctor’s advice, the Brooklyn native who turns 77 on Wednesday scrapped Australia and New Zealand stops scheduled for March as part of a global tour to celebrate his 50th anniversary as a recording artist. However, Diamond said in a statement that he plans to “remain active in writing, recording and other projects for a long time to come”. “It is with great reluctance and disappointment that I announce my retirement from concert touring. I have been so honored to bring my shows to the public for the past 50 years,” the singer said, apologising to his fans who had been anticipating the upcoming shows. In a nod to his signature song ‘Sweet Caroline’, Diamond thanked his fans, saying: “This ride has been ‘so good, so good, so good’ thanks to you.” AFP

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Murdoch also called on Google to change.

“Facebook and Google have popularised scurrilous news sources through algorithms that are profitable for these platforms but inherently unreliable,” Murdoch said.

“Recognition of a problem is one step on the pathway to cure, but the remedial measures that both companies have so far proposed are inadequate, commercially, socially and journalistically.”

Murdoch, who also leads 21st Century Fox Inc, called for a system similar to that in cable television, where large distributors like Comcast Corp and AT&T Inc pay fees to the TV network owners that attract their viewers. Bloomberg

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ACROSS 1 Ramshackle car OK for top accessory? (4,4) 5 Current judge in Kent blasted printer (6) 9 Individual instruction worked out within hearing (8) 10 Fly groups during half term (6) 12 Pop artist regularly selected source of meal (4) 13 Labour MEP only met after surgery (10) 15 Memorable peacekeepers ham-

mer out list? About time! (13) 19 Tight couple of coppers (one short) moving slowly (5-8) 23 Insert clean sheets, put in ground, then depart (10) 25 Cook ran out of gumbo (4) 28 Break in new stirrup, top missing (6) 29 Go back in, downright full of oneself (8) 30 Like rich furniture maybe — or lily, unnecessarily? (6) 31 Shoot what’s in grate (4,4)

DOWN 1 Top sailor lifted quota (6) 2 Ring court about note for music group (5) 3 It’s scarce over in Tipperary (4) 4 Person who bolts school? (7) 6 Awful hospital upset disheartened Tory (5) 7 Dance in prison drinking dubious bitter (9) 8 Unions ran boards for a decade (8) 11 Occasionally sell one tree (4) 14 Second justice freed suspect (4) 15 Freakish annual rut in different places (9) 16 Nice article supporting German weapon (3) 17 Metal shields hot light (4) 18 Snooty puritan admits evil rebellion (8) 20 Not quite perfect concept (4) 21 PC arrests very short Unionist for concealment (5-2) 22 Spelt name the wrong way round, partly as cover (6) 24 Not much change for Indian gym in Paris street (5) 26 Uniform stuff found in Gurkha kitbags (5) 27 Dress and leave quarters (4) SOLUTION TO 7000 : ACROSS: 6 In loco parentis.

9 Skewer. 10 Latitude. 11 Affluent.

13 Report. 15 Active. 17 Zodiac.

19 Intern. 20 Landmass. 22 Isolated.

24 Magnet. 26 Banana republic.

DOWN: 1 Milk of magnesia. 2 Blow.

3 Scarce. 4 Oratorio. 5 Knot.

7 Palate. 8 Indirect speech.12 Lathe.

14 Prism. 16 Venetian. 18 Pledge.

21 Nimbus. 23 Loam. 25 Gulf. ©The Daily Mail

Dilbert

by S Adams

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18 Personal Technology

THE ECONOMIC TIMES | NEW DELHI / GURGAON | WEDNESDAY | 24 JANUARY 2018

A STANDS FOR ASPIRATION

Hitesh.Bhagat@timesgroup.com

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The 2018 edition of the Galaxy A8+ marks a departure for the A series from Samsung. Typically, the designated mid-range, this ‘A’ phone might as well stand for aspirational, because it includes a lot of features from Samsung’s premium range of smartphones. For instance, it has a glassmetal sandwich design, Gorilla Glass protection, a high resolution super amoled screen, a wide aperture (f1.7) rear camera, IP68 certification for water/dust resistance, Samsung Pay (NFC-based contactless payment, which is gaining traction at many merchant establishments) and finally, a high performance octa core processor paired with 6GB RAM and 64GB storage.

The design is sort of a mixed bag. Yes, it does look and feel premium but with that comes a fair bit of extra thickness and weight. It has a 6-inch screen with an 18.5:9 aspect ratio, but it feels bulkier than the likes of the Galaxy S8/S8+ and Note 8. Thankfully, it retains the 3.5mm audio output, has fast charging and Samsung has fixed the location of the fingerprint scanner at the back. On many previous phones (including the Galaxy S8/Note 8), the fingerprint scanner is placed off-centre, to the right of the camera lens which often leads to fingerprints on the camera lens. Now, it’s below the camera lens and centrally placed.

Samsung really aces super amoled screens and this phone is no different.

The screen offers colours that pop, deep blacks and also enables the always-on display. It offers a resolution of 2220 x 1080 pixels — a variation of the FHD+ resolution, necessitated by the aspect ratio. Watching content on this is a treat and you don’t really miss the higher resolution of the Galaxy S8 and the like.

The Exynos 7885 processor is not really flagship class (like a Snapdragon 835) but it offers respectable performance for all tasks, including gaming, multimedia and multitasking. Most users will not run into any bottlenecks here. Paired with 6GB RAM and enough storage, you have a phone that works without hiccups for most. It also gets Bluetooth 5.0 certification and is

The A8+ proves to be a great mid-range device from Samsung to take on the Chinese competition

LAUNCHPAD ` 44,990

REVIEW

Samsung Galaxy A8+ PRICE: `32,990 SPECIFICATIONS 6-inch super amoled (2220 x 1080 pixels, 18.5:9 aspect ratio, 411 ppi), Exynos 7885 octa core, 6GB RAM, 64GB storage (expandable up to 256GB, dedicated micro SD slot), 16MP f1.7 rear camera, 16MP + 8MP f1.9 front camera, WiFi ac, BT5.0, FM, NFC, fingerprint scanner, 3,500mAh battery, 191 grams capable enough for excellent VR — in fact, the A8+ is the first A series phone that works with Samsung’s Gear VR headset (which they developed in partnership with VR experts Oculus).

Samsung’s Android layer is very lightweight these days but it still has some app duplication. For example, Samsung includes their own web browser in addition to Chrome, a mail app in addition to Gmail, Galaxy Apps in addition to Play Store and S Voice in addition to Google Assistant. Camera performance is excellent overall — it feels like a flagship in practice and in the results. The f1.7 rear camera gives you very nice, natural

ÌÌÌÌÌ

Many premium features from flagships, includes IP68 waterproof certification, Samsung’s first dual front camera works well, great results from rear camera, excellent battery life Feels large and heavy, video recording capped at 1080p, face unlock & fingerprint noticeably slower than competition, oddly placed loudspeaker, Samsung’s Android layer duplicates many included Android apps bokeh and good low light results. The dual front camera offers a very capable portrait mode. The only thing missing is optical image stabilisation, which no other new phone in this price range has anyway. Strangely, it does not record 4k video — resolution is capped at 1080p.

Even `10k phones now have the ability to record 4k videos.

If you have about `30k to spend and must have a Samsung, the A8+ is a great buy. The IP68 waterproof rating is a big bonus too. But if you hunger for more performance, dual rear camera and better aesthetics, you should consider the OnePlus 5T or Honor View 10.

Microsoft Xbox One X Microsoft calls this the world’s most powerful console with a claimed 40% more power compared to any other console. You get support for 4k output, HDR (high dynamic range), Dolby Atmos support and backward compatibility for games and accessories.

Over 80 games for the Xbox One and One S will work with the Xbox One X in 4k resolution under the the Xbox One X Enhanced program.

Specifications include a 2.3Ghz octa-core custom AMD Jaguar processor, Radeon GPU, 12GB memory and 1TB storage. It will be available on Amazon, Flipkart and over 100 offline stores.

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20 Economy & Companies

THE ECONOMIC TIMES | NEW DELHI / GURGAON | WEDNESDAY | 24 JANUARY 2018

Rabi Crop to Gain as Cold Wave Slated to Continue for Two Days Experts say rains will benefit wheat, gram and mustard crop Madhvi.Sally@timesgroup.com

New Delhi: Rains in the northern plains, especially in Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan, on Tuesday have led to a dip in temperatures and cold weather conditions which augurs well for the standing rabi crop especially wheat, gram and mustard, scientists and traders have said.

The weather office has forecast cold wave conditions to continue over this belt over the next two days. It has said that the western disturbance would ensure more rainfall in the northern plains. There would be rain and snow over the western Himalayan region on Wednesday, it said.

“The rains have not been heavy,

but well-distributed which is very much required at this stage for crop growth. We are expecting more rains on Wednesday. This will save farmers cost of irrigation,” said Gyanendra Pratap Singh, director, Directorate of Wheat Research at Karnal, Haryana.

“This rain has happened at the right time. It is especially beneficial for wheat, gram, mustard and other rabi crops.

Though the wheat area is largely irrigated, about 10% to 15% is rain fed and farmers will benefit from this,” said Trilochan Mohapatra, director-general of the Indian Council of Agricultural Research, the country’s top agriculture research institute.

Mohapatra said the chana and mustard crop growth were good.

“The good news is that there has been no report of pest infestation till date. This year again, we can expect very good production,” he said.

The dip in temperature owing to rains would help the wheat crop

which is in the tillering stage and the late sown varieties which were in the seedling stage, said Gyanendra Pratap Singh. Wheat planting fell by 4.02% to 298.67 lakh hectare, as on January 19. As on date, yellow rust has not been reported across the wheat sown area.

“Overall, the acreage is down for oilseed, but if the rains in January

and February are good, then we can make up in the yields. Mustard requires 2-3 spells of rain and the current spell will be beneficial,” said BV Mehta, director, Solvent Extractors Association.

Farmers and traders were concerned about the higher than normal temperatures which would have hit yield across the major producing centres. The acreage of mustard, the key oilseed crop of the season, was less than 5.01% at 66.60 lakh hectare. Other crops like groundnut, sunflower and linseed saw an increase.

Similarly, low temperatures were beneficial for pulses, particularly gram, which is in the flowering stage in Madhya Pradesh and already been harvested in some parts of Karnataka and Maharashtra.

“More rains are required for chana in Rajasthan, as there has been no rain post sowing. The drop in temperatures is good for the crop,” said Sunil Baldeva of Siliguri Associates, a trader based in Delhi’s Naya Bazar market.

PEs Bullish on Budget Home Drive Kailash.Babar @timesgroup.com

Mumbai: Private equity firms’ interest in affordable housing is on the rise and expected to increase in the backdrop of the government’s push for this segment and ‘housing for all’.

“Affordable housing has emerged as a significant theme among PE-RE (private equity real estate) investors, especially in the in the second half of 2017, with both domestic investors as well as international firms placing special focus on this segment,” said Arun Natarajan, founder of research firm Venture Intelligence.

Driven by the demand and government incentives, majority of residential project launches in 2017 were in the affordable and mid-range price segments, with

the affordable segment alone accounting for around 45% of the overall residential supply.

With the trend expected to continue, experts see more private investments in this space.

“Despite the blurring focus on private equity players on residential in general, the affordable housing segment — one of the mostdiscussed topics of 2017 — is expected to attract more private equity investors in 2018,” said Anuj Puri, chairman at ANAROCK Property Consultants. “In a bid to capture the substantial market potential of this segment, many PE funds and developers will seek to upgrade their participation in it,” he said.

In the year gone by, private equity real estate firms made 67 investments with an announced value of $6.1billion in India, data from Venture Intelligence showed. Around

PE Investments in Real Estate Sector to Reach $100 B by 2026: JLL Mumbai: With India emerging as an attractive investment destination, private equity inflow in real estate is likely to reach $100 billion by 2026, a recent survey says.

According to property consultant JLL, in the next 10 years, private equity inflow in the sector is likely to grow at 10% CAGR to $100 billion by 2026, with tier 1 and 2 cities being the prime beneficiaries of it.

In the past 12 years (2006-2017), India has seen investments of $42 billion, while the next 10 years (2017-2026) is expected to see inflows of $58 billion, the report said.

“India's attractiveness as a global investment destination has been steadily rising. We have seen numerous measures that have created a positive economic environment, bringing in key factors like transparency, accountability and ease of entry into various sectors in India. This gives India a fillip in attracting capital,” JLL India CEO and Country Head Ramesh Nair said.

“We will see the flood gates open the time REITs are listed in the market. This would give the developers an option to exit or convert their holdings in to tradable stocks, through income generating assets,” Nair said.

Private equity inflows in for the last 3 years, between 2014 and 2017 in office and IT/ITES have risen by 150% with a strong attraction towards office sector. Though residential sector remained the highest invested sector, rise in the same period was just 5 per cent of total investment flows in pure equity, the report said.

“Debt structures dominate the fund inflows in the residential sector, which is key reason for why developers are overleveraged. This is on account of the general sluggishness in the residential markets and investors unwilling to take the downside risk,” the study pointed out.

With increased transparency and regulations, JLL expects a return of equity to residential markets in 2018. Another key insight is that except office and residential, all sectors combined add up to only 30 per cent of total investments since 2014. — PTI

57% of this went into residential projects with affordable housing grabbing a significant part.

In the largest fund raising for housing so far in the country, HDFC Capital Advisors, a wholly-owned real estate investment advisory arm of HDFC Ltd, recently raised $550 million under the initial close of its second affordable housing fund called HDFC Capital Affordable Real Estate Fund-2 (H-CARE-2). With this and another fund raised in 2016, it has created $1 billion platform to invest in affordable and mid-income residential projects in the country’s top 15 cities.

The joint platform, where Abu Dhabi’s sovereign wealth fund Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA) is the primary investor, is expected to commit more than $500 million by March.

Several such funds are betting on affordable housing driven by ma-

cro data points that indicate pentup demand and government incentives. According to estimates, the current shortfall of homes in the affordable and lower-to-mid income categories is around 18 million, so the demand is huge – especially in larger cities.

In addition to granting infrastructure status to affordable housing, the government has expanded the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY) benefits to push its vision of ‘Housing for All by 2022’.

The government’s decision to offer credit-linked subsidy scheme (CLSS) under the PMAY (Urban) has been helping middle-income group homebuyers significantly.

Industry insiders are hopeful that the upcoming Union Budget for 2018-19 will increase incentives for the sector by augmentation of the current schemes and relaxing eligibility criteria for the same.

Bankers: Govt Should Make Gold Monetisation More Attractive They say such a move will help tackle the widening trade deficit by unlocking idle household gold Sutanuka.Ghosal@timesgroup.com

Kolkata: The government should make the gold monetisation scheme (GMS) a more attractive business to tackle the widening trade deficit on account of increasing import of the precious metal by unlocking idle household gold in the country estimated at about 22,000 tonnes, said bankers and analysts.

Banks should get interest subvention from the government for the scheme, they said. “Gold monetisation scheme is not a very lucrative business as of now,” said Shekhar Bhandari, business head-global transactions and precious metals at Kotak Mahindra Bank.

“Banks are incurring a cost of 4.25-6.5%, which includes processing of old gold and the interest that has to be paid to old gold depositors. The metal loan lending rates are between 4% and 6%. In this scenario it is difficult for the banks to get into GMS,” he said.

In December 2017, trade deficit widened to $14.88 billion from $10.55 billion a year ago after gold imports soared 72% to $3.39 billion. Besides, both exports and imports increased during the month. Oil imports also increased steeply, up nearly 35% to $10.35 billion.

Gold trade analyst Bhargav Vaidya said the government’s sovereign gold bond, which has received encouraging support,

has taken care of the future gold monetisation. “The government should make GMS mandatory for banks. For instance, it can tell the banks that if they are able to garner 10 tonnes of old gold through GMS then they will be allowed to import 100 tonnes of gold. This may be one way in which the scheme may work out.”

Industry executives offered a different view on making GMS workable.

Surendra Mehta, national secretary, India Bullion & Jewellers Association said the government must amend section 269SS and 269T of Income Tax Act which currently restrict acceptance of deposit through any means other than cheque or online transfer.

This section should allow jewellers to accept gold as a deposit, he said, so eventually every jeweller will accept gold as deposit and it will get monetised as jewellers will send this for melting for new jewellery.

“Jewellers should be free to give interest to depositors as per their choice. So there will be no involvement of banks. It will be up to customers to decide where they should give their gold for monetisation,” Mehta said. “Had jewellers been involved in GMS, the scheme would have been successful. Bankers should not have been involved in the process,” he said.

Oilmin Seeks Excise Duty Cut as Petrol, Diesel Prices Jump

Shevgaonkar is New V-C of Bennett Univ Our Bureau

New Delhi: Eminent academic Raghunath K Shevgaonkar took over as Bennett University vice chancellor on January 22, succeeding Yaj Medury, who had held the post since 2014.

An alumnus of the Indian Institutes of Technology at Kanpur and Mumbai, Shevgaonkar was previously vice chancellor of the University of Pune and director of IIT-Delhi. He’s also held leadership posts at IITBombay. Bennett University is backed by the Times of India Group, which publishes ET. His notable achievements include commissioning one of the world’s largest decameter wave radio telescopes at the Indian Institute of Shevgaonkar Astrophysics. was viceHe also played a chancellor of key role in esUniversity of tablishing the Pune and Centre for Disdirector of tance EngineeIIT-Delhi ring Education at IIT-Bombay. He was also institute chair and professor of electrical engineering at IITBombay.

“I have dedicated my whole life in the pursuit of excellence and my work here will attempt to achieve the same,” he said in an address to the varsity’s members. “I’m optimistic of working towards leveraging a strong university–industry collaboration that will lead to a progressive relationship. I look forward to working with an outstanding team of faculty and staff from this university.”

Press Trust of India

New Delhi: Petrol prices on Tuesday hit the highest level since the BJP government came to power in 2014, and diesel touched a record high of `. 63.20 a litre, prompting the oil ministry to seek a cut in excise duty.

Petrol price rose to `. 72.38 per litre in Delhi, highest since March 2014, according to daily fuel price list of state-owned oil firms. Rates have risen by `. 3.31 per litre since midDecember. In Mumbai, prices have crossed `. 80-mark - costliest in the country.

Diesel is being sold at `. 67.30 in Mumbai, where the local sales tax or VAT rates are higher. Since midDecember, diesel rates have jumped `. 4.86 a litre, according to oil companies.

The spurt in rates, caused by the rally in international oil prices, has led to the oil ministry asking the finance ministry for a cut in excise duty in the Union Budget 201819, to be presented in Parliament next week. The reduction sought is part of the pre-Budget memorandum submitted by the ministry for the consideration of Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, officials said.

Oil Secretary K D Tripathi had yesterday stated that the ministry has forwarded a set of recommendation it had received from the industry. He however refused to give details. The central government levies `. 19.48 per litre excise duty on petrol and `. 15.33 on diesel.

VAT on petrol in Delhi is `. 15.39 per litre while on diesel it is `. 9.32.

Brent and US West Texas Inter-

mediate crude - two of the most traded benchmark, today rose to $69.41 per barrel and and $63.99 respectively. Brent is not far off the January 15 three-year high of $ 70.37 a barrel. WTI had hit its highest since December 2014, on January 16 at $64.89 a barrel.

The rally in oil prices has renewed calls to the government to cut excise duty to cushion the burden on common man, the officials said.

The government had raised excise duty nine times between November 2014 and January 2016 to shore up finances as global oil prices fell, but cut the tax only once in October last year by `. 2 per litre.

The excise duty in October 2017 was cut when petrol price had reached `. 70.88 per litre in Delhi and diesel was priced at `. 59.14.

Because of the excise duty cut, diesel prices had on October 4, 2017 come down to `. 56.89 and petrol to `. 68.38. However, subsequent rally has wiped away all the gains and prices have touched new highs.

The October 2017 excise duty cut cost the government `. 26,000 crore in annual revenue and about Rs 13,000 crore during the remaining part of the current fiscal year that ends on March 31, 2018.

The government had between November 2014 and January 2016 raised excise duty on petrol and diesel on nine occasions to take away gains arising from plummeting global oil prices. In all, duty on petrol was hiked by `. 11.77 per litre and that on diesel by `. 13.47 a litre in those 15 months which helped the government's excise mop-up to more than double to `. 2,42,000 crore in 2016-17 from `. 99,000 crore in 2014-15.

REALTOR MAY RAISE FUNDS THROUGH QIP TO SUPPORT DEBT REDUCTION PLAN

DLF Aims to Make Development Arm Zero Net-Debt Company Kailash.Babar@timesgroup.com

LOWERING BURDEN

Mumbai: After the conclusion of the promoter’s stake sale in its rental arm to Singapore sovereign wealth fund GIC, realty major DLF is looking to make its development arm a zero net-debt company by March 2019, repaying the entire liability of `13,000 crore.

The company has already repaid debt worth `3,000 crore on December 29 from about `9,000 crore received from promoters following their 33.34% stake sale in rental arm DLF Cyber City Developers Ltd (DCCDL). In addition to this, DLF is also looking to raise funds through a Qualified Institutional Placement (QIP) of 17.30 crore equity shares later this year to support the debt reduction plan.

“We have achieved a major milestone by bringing in a strategic partner and with the promoters infusing funds into DLF. The next milestone to achieve is to make the development company a zero net-debt entity by March 2019,” DLF’s Group Chief Financial Officer, Saurabh Chawla, told ET. “We will be using the funds infused by promoters, money to be raised through the QIP, and revenue generated from ready-to-move-in inventory to achieve this target.”

The proposed debt repayment will also be financed through partial monetization of DLF’s ready-tomove-in residential inventory worth more than `15,000 crore.

Marking a major shift in its business strategy, the company has decided to sell only ready-to-move-in apartments from now.

“With zero net debt, we will not be under any pressure to service debt and we would have mitigated other regulatory risks too as we have decided to sell only ready apartments, wherein customers can see what they are buying. We will run our residential business like we run our commercial business,”

We’ll be using the funds infused by promoters, money to be raised through QIP, and revenue generated from readyto-move-in inventory to achieve this target SAURABH CHAWLA Group chief financial officer, DLF

Chawla said.

The company is of the view that the change in business strategy would be more end-user driven, with no uncertainty involved. This will ensure that there is no gap between promise and delivery. “The response obviously would be better to ready apartment offerings in a market marred with so much of uncertainty and unfinished inventory. Our realizations would also be at a premium due to the ready state of apartments. We have access to construction finance from banks and, therefore, don’t need to depend on customer advances for construction,” Chawla added.

DLF had temporarily stopped its sales in view of the new regulatory changes, including the implementation of Real Estate (Regulation & Development) Act, 2016 and the Goods & Services Tax. In November, the developer resumed its sales efforts and has reportedly achieved revenue worth `500 crore over the last two months by selling nearly completed apartments in its luxury projects.

“The market will continue to improve on a month-on-month basis,” Chawla said, while refusing to comment on DLF’s recent sales and booking numbers.

The company’s consolidated net debt stands at `27,000 crore. Of this, `14,000 crore is now part of the rental arm DCCDL, in which GIC has been inducted as a partner, and `13,000 crore is on the books of the development arm.

Of the development arm debt, `9,000 crore will be repaid through funds infused by promoters, while the balance will be repaid over the next 3-4 quarters.

“The average cost of borrowing for our debt in the development arm is 10%, while in the rental company, it is between 8.5% and 9%,” Chawla said.

With a stronger and deleveraged balance sheet, the company’s rental arm DCCDL may also be eyeing acquisitions in the commercial and retail space. “GIC is one of the most experienced sovereign funds operating in most mature markets across the world. We would like to leverage their learning and experience to build our commercial portfolio in India,” Chawla added.

Currently, the rental arm’s portfolio includes leased space of 27 million sq ft and nearly 4 million sq ft under construction. The joint entity also has access to land bank that has additional development potential of 19 million sq ft.

Coal India Subsidiaries Get Power to Sugar Traders Hope for Govt Intervention Set Floor Price for e-Auctions Debjoy.Sengupta @timesgroup.com

Kolkata: Coal India’s board has empowered subsidiaries to fix their own floor prices for e-auctions, which is expected to help the monopoly get higher rates.

Earlier, it had fixed a ceiling for floor prices. It was 20% for non-power consumers and 10% for power. “Subsidiaries have also been empowered to fix the periodicity of these e-auctions depending on market forces,” a senior Coal India executive told ET. Western Coalfields, a subsidiary, has been empowered to fix its reserve price on the basis of the cost of production of coal. Many of its mines are underground and have higher costs compared to other mines.

Coal India has told its consumers that the upper cap is being removed immediately.

The executive said subsidiaries are now free to fix any floor price, which could be

period, an expected 23% rise.

It sold an estimated 70 million tonnes in April-DecemCIL hopes CIL subsidiaries may ber 2017 through e-auctions, to sell close to now fix their own floor getting an average of `1,600 100 MT through prices for e-auctions per tonne. e-auctions In the year-ago period, it Move may help CIL during sold 64.71 million tonnes at improve realisations 2017-18 CIL sold an estimated 70 MT an average of `1,502 per tonfrom e-auctions because in Apr-Dec 2017 through ne. “We hope to sell close to coal supplied this way e-auctions, getting an average 100 million tonnes through eis always in demand of `1,600 per tonne. In the auctions during 2017-18,” from various segments year-ago period, it sold another Coal India executive of buyers who do 64.71 MT at an average said. not have steady of `1,502 per tonne The company’s average reasupply contract lisations from e-auction rose more than 20% for non-po- than imports. Also, smaller in tandem with rising interwer consumers and 10% for consumers do not have the national rates. During the sepower consumers. If de- wherewithal to import coal. cond quarter of 2017-18, avmand for a particular source At present, there is a shorta- erage realisation was `1,614 of coal is very high, Coal In- ge of coal availability in the per tonne against `1,337 per dia subsidiaries are now free international market due to tonne in the previous correto fix prices that could fetch rains in Indonesia and rising sponding period, which is a them additional revenue. demand from China. This 20% rise in realisations.

It may help Coal India im- has helped the company reaAverage realisation in the prove realisations from e- lise better margins from spot third quarter of the current auctions because coal supp- e-auctions this year. The fiscal has already crossed lied through e-auctions is al- company is estimated to ha- `1,650 per tonne and is expecways in demand from vario- ve earned a total revenue Rs ted to touch `1,700 per tonne us segment of buyers who do 12,000 crore till December by December 2017 end aganot have a steady supply 2017from e-auctions. It ear- inst `1,500 per tonne in the contract with Coal India. ned around `9,721 crore in previous corresponding peHowever, it is still cheaper the previous corresponding riod, an expected 13.5% rise.

Web Coal

The company is estimated to have earned a revenue `12,000 cr till Dec 2017 from e-auctions against `9,721 cr in the previous corresponding period

Jayashree.Bhosale @timesgroup.com

Pune: Sugar prices plunged to a two-year low of `28.40 per kg at mill gates on Monday, prompting traders to express optimism that short-term bottom could be in sight since the government might announce some measures to arrest falling prices and in turn control mounting cane price arrears.

“As prices have fallen `6 per kg since the beginning of the crushing season, traders have lost confidence in the market. If the government comes out with some policy measure, it could give a positive signal to the market,” said Rohit Pawar, vice president, Indian Sugar Mills Association (ISMA).

“Now we see some demand from bulk consumers like cold drink and ice cream manufacturers coming in, indicating that the market could be somewhere close to the bottom,” he said.

Sugar mills from Maharashtra, which often resort to panic sales, issued tenders at `28.40 per kg on Monday.

However, even at these low rates,

the volume of sale could ensure only hand-to-mouth existence for the millers, traders said.

“With sugar prices declining almost every day, traders have been making losses,” said Abhijit Ghorpade, a Maharashtra-based broker.

For bulk buying, traders are not willing to offer even `28 per kg, according to people aware of the matter.

They said traders are waiting for soSugar me policy announmills from cement from the Maharashtra, central government which often as it is also worried resort to about cane price arpanic sales, rears piling up. issued ISMA has requestenders at ted the government `28.40 per kg for export of about on Monday 10 lakh tonnes of sugar.

Mandatory sugar exports by each sugar mill in the country is another option being explored by the industry and the government.

The industry is optimistic that the government will soon increase the import duty on sugar in order to prevent import of the commodity from Pakistan.

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India Pauses Dubai Flying Rights Talks Star India Drops Plans Issue put on hold after 8,000 seats/week proposal was not approved MihirMishra@timesgroup.com

New Delhi: The aviation ministry has decided against negotiating with Dubai on increasing bilateral flying rights, for now, according to a senior official.

“It has been decided to put the issue of Dubai bilaterals on hold after the internal proposal to increase flying entitlements between India and Dubai by about 8,000 seats per week was not approved,” a senior official of the aviation ministry told ET, requesting not to be named.

The ministry did not see any rationale behind allowing more seats on the India-Dubai route “for now”, the official said.

India and Dubai allow airlines from each side to operate 65,000 seats per week, a quota that has been exhausted. While Dubai had sought an increase of 50,000 seats, Indian authorities had sought preferential treatment in slot allocation for Indian carriers at Dubai airport.

While Dubai authorities did not accept India’s request, they offered Indian carriers slots despite the fact that there were no flying rights to launch flights. The ministry, after consultation with airlines, was discussing allowing carriers from both sides about 8,000 more seats per week, which was later not approved for

Status Quo MINISTRY SEES NO RATIONALE BEHIND MORE INDIA- in Flying Rights DUBAI SEATS ‘FOR NOW’ MINISTER RAJU & MOS SINHA ARE DIVIDED ON MERITS OF MORE RIGHTS DUBAI HAS NOT ACCEPTED REQUEST FOR PREFERENTIAL SLOT ALLOCATION

“want of rationale behind the scheme,” the official said.

According to the official, civil aviation minister Ashok Gajapathi Raju and minister of state Jayant Sinha were divided on the merits of increasing flying rights with Dubai. While Raju was for a nominal increase to let airlines expand, Sinha was against it on the grounds that aviation hubs have moved to West Asian destinations like Dubai.

Another ministry official said Indian carriers, too, are not very keen on any increase in bilateral entitlements to Dubai.

“Air India has completely opposed any increase in bilateral entitlements. IndiGo and Jet Airways are not very keen on an increase, but have sought seats if the government decides on increasing bilateral entitlements between the two countries,” said

another senior official.

Meanwhile, another official said demand for an increase in seats is not as pressing from the Indian side as it is from Dubai. “Dubai authorities need it more than our carriers. If there was a strong demand from the Indian side, no one would have stopped it in the ministry,” the official said on condition of anonymity.

Brawling Jet Pilots Suspended for 5 yrs Mumbai: DGCA on Tuesday suspended the flying licence of two former Jet Airways pilots for five years, for involvement in a midair brawl on its London-Mumbai flight early this month. PTI

MILESTONE ON DOMESTIC ROUTES

Airlines Fly Record 117 Million in 2017 Data shows 17% growth in passenger traffic from the previous year Our Bureau

New Delhi: India’s airlines carried more than 100 million passengers on domestic routes for the first time in a year in 2017, as an improving economy boosted demand for business and leisure travel. They carried 117 million passengers in the past year, an expansion of 17.31% from 2016, data from industry regulator Directorate General of Civil Aviation showed on Tuesday.

In December, traffic grew 17.69% from a year earlier to 11.2 million passengers. All scheduled carriers flew their planes with more than 80% of their seats full in the past month.

Gurgaon-based SpiceJet continued to maintain its pole position on load factor, flying 95.6%

full on average. GoAir was next with a passenger load factor of 92%, followed by market leader IndiGo at 90.8%.

“This is the 33rd month in a row that SpiceJet has had an excess of 90% PLF,” said Shilpa Bhatia, its chief sales and revenue officer.

In terms of operating flights on time, Jet Airways’ performance was the worst In December, among all carritraffic grew ers for the third 17.69% from consecutive a year earlier month. While the to 11.2 million full-service airlipassengers ne operated 52.2% of its flights on time, IndiGo topped the list with an 81.1% accuracy. SpiceJet was second, operating 78.4% of flights on time, followed by Vistara with 74.5%.

IndiGo remained the market leader in December, flying 39.4% of the total passengers.

Jet Airways was next on market share at 16.9%, while national carrier Air India came in third with a 13.1% share.

ROOM FOR MORE Banking on tourism spike, ICRA expects improvement in average room rates across India

Anumeha.Chaturvedi @timesgroup.com

New Delhi: Banking on growing domestic tourism, foreign tourist arrivals, airline passenger numbers as well as muted supply growth, hotel chains and sector experts predict 2018 to result in better room revenues and profit margins than in the year that just ended.

The past year saw the start of an uptrend in the hospitality sector, but was also marked by multiple challenges like curbs on liquor sale and the GST rollout. With these issues behind them, hotel operators expect business growth to pick up momentum in 2018.

Demonetisation and the ban on liquor sales within 500 meters of highways had affected MICE (meeting, incentive, conference and exhibition) activities and the food and beverages segment,

said Pavethra Ponniah, vice president at ratings firm ICRA. “As active supply pipeline — especially hotels which are nearing completion — is still narrow across most cities, we expect industry growth to pick up significantly starting financial year 2019. By then, domestic demand would have fully recovered from the temporary blips witnessed due to demonetisation and the GST rollout.”

Going by recent trends in foreign tourist arrivals and forex earnings growth, and improving domestic macroeconomic data — barring a transitory dip in economic activities due to demonetisation and GST — ICRA expects improvement in average room rates across most markets in India. “We expect corporate request for proposal rates for this year to increase by about 5%,” Ponniah said.

More than 10 million foreign tourists arrived in India in 2017,

ARINDAM

Hospitality Sector Sees More Revenues, Profit in ’18

which is estimated to have earned $27 billion from them.

Chains like Accor, ITC Hotels and Lemon Tree said business outlook for 2018 was optimistic based on performance trends.

“Markets are looking strong, leaving some markets like Kolkata which are oversupplied.

Demand in high-occupancy markets like Mumbai, Delhi, Gurgaon, Bengaluru and Pune will continue to peak, which is

an opportunity for rates,” said Arif Patel, AccorHotels India’s vice president for sales, marketing and distribution loyalty.

“In 2018, for AccorHotels India, we are looking at double-digit revenue per available room growth — 60-70% of which will come from average daily rates,” he said. Patel said the company would post better revenue and profit margin this year.

According to sector experts,

India finally surpassed the 65% occupancy rates threshold in 2017, with revenue per available room growth of 4.2% (2.9% from occupancies and 1.7% from average daily rates).

Consulting firm HVS estimated that occupancy of branded hotels hit a decade-high rate of 65.6% in financial year ended March 2017, compared with 63.3% in fiscal 2016. The last time India reported occupancy rates of about 65% was in fiscal 2008.

“The 2018 outlook is premised on the following data points — continued strong growth rates in foreign tourist arrivals (and) airline passenger movement coupled with muted supply growth. The settling down of business sectors to all the new initiatives rolled out in 2017 and growing demand from the domestic market segment will add further impetus,” said Dipak Haksar, the chief executive of ITC Hotels and WelcomHotels.

for IPL Ad Inventory Sale to Sandeep Goyal Faces resistance from rival agencies seeking to market the hottest property in world cricket Gaurav.Laghate@timesgroup.com

Mumbai: Star India has shelved its plan to sell the bulk of the Indian Premier League (IPL) advertising inventory to Sandeep Goyal, owner of Mogae Media, amid alleged resistance from rival agencies seeking to market the hottest property in world cricket.

Earlier, Star India, which had acquired the global media rights of the cash-rich league for the next five years for a record `. 16,437.5 crore, had brought on board Goyal, the former group chairman at Dentsu India, to sell ad inventory worth `. 1,000 crore.

“IPL is one of the biggest properties and we are partnering multiple advertising agencies to maximise value.

Sandeep (Goyal) is consulting with us on marketing IPL and assisting us on sales,” Sanjay Gupta, managing director, Star India, told ET last week, though he refused to divulge deal details.

When ET spoke with heads of multiple media agencies, they confirmed Goyal has approached them, claiming to offer better rates. However, some agencies did not like the arrangement.

Ashish Bhasin, CEO, Dentsu Aegis Networks, said, “IPL is one of the most lucrative properties and this is the first time both TV and digital are being sold together… We will look for the best deal for clients and it is up to Star India to decide how it wants to sell.”

Confirming his company was approached by Goyal, Bhasin added that Dentsu’s financial dealings will be with broadcaster (Star India) directly.

Another media agency executive, who did not wish to be named, said: “Goyal has been meeting agencies offering IPL inventory at a substantial advantage over market rates. Some big agencies did not want to negotiate with a third party as that would disintermediate media agencies. Now Star India has removed the offer and we will be negotiating with Star directly.”

According to Star India sources, the “best rates” were offered until January 26 if an agency would have committed a sizeable amount. “As there was too much of resistance from two large agencies, Goyal has decided to step back for now,” a source said.

Incidentally, Goyal had first devised this media trading model when he was heading the India business of Dentsu.

Hit For A Six Star India brought Goyal on board to sell ad inventory worth `1,000 crore Multiple media agencies say Goyal approached them, offering better rates Dentsu CEO says financial dealings will be with broadcaster (Star India) directly

Source says Goyal stepped back after ‘too much of resistance from two large agencies’

Back in 2006-07, when Sony Pictures Entertainment (then Multi Screen Media) had ICC media rights, Goyal struck similar deals for Champions Trophy and ICC World Cup 2007.

After the abysmal performance of Team India in the 2007 World Cup, Goyal tried a similar deal in the first season of IPL. However, industry bodies, the Advertising Agencies Association of India (AAAI) and the Indian Broadcasting Foundation (IBF), opposed the move and formed an ethics committee.

“Goyal’s model is simple, he underwrites inventory and commits a certain amount, which gives a breather to broadcasters. As a significant portion of inventory is already blocked, the broadcaster can safely increase rates, which also talks up the market and creates hype for the property. This is something media agencies did not want then -- and don’t want now,” added another media agency executive.

Goyal refused to comment on the development, saying that he is off to Europe on a holiday. Without confirming his role in the IPL, he said: “I have always had an interest in media… At Mogae Media, every media monetisation opportunity is welcome.”

ET had first reported that Star India is targeting Rs 1,800 crore in ad sales from IPL 2018. The broadcaster has announced an exhaustive telecast plan, where IPL matches will be aired in six languages across seven different TV channels, and on Hotstar.

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22 Money & Banking

THE ECONOMIC TIMES | NEW DELHI / GURGAON | WEDNESDAY | 24 JANUARY 2018

RBI’S PROMPT CORRECTIVE ACTION

FLIP SIDE

In a Fix Over the Banking Fix

RAJNISH KUMAR | CHAIRMAN, SBI

Best Childhood Memory Had a wonderful time staying at home since I started school at 6. I was ill and studying at home when peers were going to school. Went straight to 2nd standard

Many state-run banks in the PCA regime may receive capital and survive.

But the question is what is their future? More than capital, these lenders have to devise a strategy to grow, be able to attract talent and undergo cultural shift to remain relevant, say Sangita Mehta andAtmadip Ray

A

bout one-fifth of the banking system is in the intensive care unit of the Reserve Bank of India, i.e., under the so called Prompt Corrective Action (PCA) plan where it is not business as usual.

A year or two later some of the troubled banks may get out of the sickbed, but there are early signs that they need major shake-ups to get back to the competitive game of lending and attracting deposits.

That the government would ration its `2.1 lakh crore of the promised capital throws up a challenge to a lot of managements of the sick banks on how they would evolve to face the ground realities.

“Capital infusion is not a solution,” says DK Mittal, former secretary at the Department of Financial Services. “The issue is efficiency of running the bank.

All three things have to come together — capital, action on the government side on HR reforms, and tough regulations.”

Since the regulator introduced the concept of PCA, a record number of cases have been brought under it in the past 18 months, including one-time giants of Indian banking such as Bank of India, Central Bank of India and IDBI Bank.

IDBI Bank, which was the first port of call of almost all industries in the ’80s and ’90s, tops the chart of sick lenders with its bad loans at 24.98% of total loans. Indian Overseas Bank follows with a gross sticky loans ratio of 22.73%.

Interestingly, all the 11 banks brought under PCA by RBI are state-run banks.

The moment these are put under RBI monitoring, they can’t lend big amounts and there is a complete stoppage on extending loans to lower-rated customers. They can’t hire new talent, have to cut costs, and can’t go for branch expansion even if it means additional income. This not only stifles growth but also drives away existing customers. Many say the prescriptions are nothing special and just out of the elementary management school curriculum.

“Measures that RBI suggested when PCA was triggered to revive the banks were no rocket

science,” says an executive at a bank under PCA who did not want to be identified. “They spelt out what an MBA student would tell you such as don’t give dividend. A loss-making bank would surely not be in a position to give dividend.”

BIRTH OF PCA

The PCA framework was born in December 2002 after the previous round of bad loans to industries sank Indian banking in the 1990s. Among the various trigger points, capital levels and bad loans were the benchmarks.

The first of several restrictions under PCA is enforced when a bank’s capital falls below 10.25% or net bad loan goes past 6% of total loans. At different stages,

NO HALF MEASURES

Capital infusion is not a solution. All three things have to come together — capital, government move on HR reforms, and tough regulations DK MITTAL, FORMER SECY, DFS different rules regarding hiring, expansion come into force.

Many people have questioned the wisdom of having the PCA trigger point of net NPA at 6% when the regulator itself is aware of the dubious practices adopted by banks, which includes evergreening of loans, circular trading by borrowers where they borrow from one bank to pay another even when their cash flows are squeezed.

But in most of the cases, RBI does not act early and comes hard on the banks only when they breach the highest of the three risk thresholds, such as net NPA of over 12%.

“PCA is linked to trigger points which are too liberal,” says a CEO of a state-run bank who didn’t want to be identified. “It gets triggered when net NPA is at 12%, net loss for two years,

capital adequacy is below regulatory requirements. PCA is triggered when the damage is already done.”

The central bank, which regulates, supervises, inspects banks and which has its nominees on the board of banks, falls short of the requirements of modern day banking.

“There is no doubt that there is a failure of banks’ own credit appraisal and there is a failure of the Reserve Bank of India in not cushioning the banks from the supervisory angle,” says Hemindra Hazri, an independent analyst.

NOT THE PANACEA

Clamping down on banks’ operations after their financial health has deteriorated may be saving them from drowning in bad loans, but the question is whether the action is too late.

How much was RBI itself responsible for the mess?

Deputy Governor Viral Acharya last week delivered a strong message on how the banks should manage their interest rate risks instead of rushing to the regulator for reprieve every time the conditions turned adverse.

He jotted down a to-do list for banks to manage risk which includes conducting stress tests on treasury portfolio and adopt dynamic stop loss limits.

But that was not the case before 2015, when Raghuram Rajan as Governor forced the Asset Quality Review.

Whenever banks got into trouble, instead of forcing them to clean up, RBI devised and approved mechanism that helped banks sweep troubles under the carpet.

Turning a blind eye to evergreening of loan accounts, approving the Corporate Debt Restructuring deals that were made on optimistic cash flow assumptions were the order of the day.

“PCA is a fallout of the NPA problem, which, in turn, is a fallout of the huge exposure to infrastructure and related sectors,” says TT Ram Mohan, professor of finance at Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad. “It’s a regulatory failure to set norms for concentration risk for banks.”

Of course, every bank has to have its own risk functions.

“The risk

management committee of the boards of these banks should have stayed well within those limits,” says Ram Mohan.

THE WAY OUT

Government, the biggest stakeholder in the banking industry, may solve one leg of the problem with its capital.

But some believe that this may be like throwing good money after bad without setting things in order.

Human resources and technology play a vital role in a bank’s growth and its sustainability. Many state-run banks have hardly any advanced training programme for staff or very little motivation to equip themselves with latest developments.

If banks have to come out of PCA and have a life of their own, they need highly skilled workforce, technology and, above all, an attitude to reach out to the customer rather than waiting for someone to turn up at the branch.

“Bankers need to bring in accountability and address the gaps in their skill sets,” says former Reserve Bank of India deputy governor KC Chakrabarty.

“The public sector banks suffer from inefficiency because there is no segregation between the promoter and the manager. The government appoints the CEO of a bank and gives directions to them. The regulation is not ownershipneutral unlike global best practices. However, no bank will fail here as the government will bail them out using taxpayers’ money, but this is ultimately costing the economy dear. It would have been better if some banks were allowed to die,” he says.

183,568

24.98

16.06

-0.24

11.98

Indian Overseas Bank

136,502

22.73

13.86

-1.82

10.32

Uco Bank

9.32

NNPA IN %

ROA ANNUALISED IN %

110,294

19.74

9.98

-1.04

62,962

18.8

11.63

-0.98

10.7

Bank of Maharashtra

86,662

18.54

12.68

-0.06

11.28

Central Bank of India

166,923

17.27

9.53

-0.93

9.22

70,811

17.23

10.61

-0.62

11.29

149,844

16.3

9.44

-2.76

10.6

Corporation Bank

127,812

15.28

10.24

-1.7

12.23

Allahabad Bank

143,374

14.1

8.84

0.12

11.74

Bank of India

364,502

12.62

6.47

0.11

12.23

Dena Bank Oriental Bank of Commerce

First Day at Job

Yes. My mother was very spiritual unlike my father. I don’t worship the way many people do. My mother’s daily Ramayana recital had strong impact on me

Travelled first class in train because bank paid. That was a lot of money. Reached Etawah at 5 am, but ended up with mosquito bites all over my body in the waiting room after a back breaking three-hour bus travel on pot-holed roads those days

I like people who are honest and not arrogant. Love my selfless elder brother, Kanti Prasad, who helped me a lot in childhood when I was suffering

Hobbies

Favourites

Badminton, travelling, reading books and, of course, Hindi movies

MOVIES: Mughal e Azam and Sholay BOOKS: Hindu mythology: Krishna Udayasankar’s books — Govinda, Kaurava and Kurukshetra known as The Aryavarta Chronicles

Travel Spots I Love Europe, the cities are so beautiful, and Rishikesh

Guest Column

MAIN ISSUE

PCA is a fallout of the NPA problem which, in turn, is a fallout of the banks’ huge exposure to infrastructure and related sectors

Source: BSE/company website

Spiritually Inclined?

Recreation I play chess and my wife’s favourite is scrabble. So, I play scrabble, too!

Life After Retirement It will be genuine retirement. I live a very frugal life. I will do whatever it takes to keep my mind busy

Investors, Mkt for Risk Transfer may End Banks’ Bond Woes

NEERAJ GAMBHIR Head of Fixed Income, Nomura India

CAR (BASEL III) IN %

United Bank of India

I came to Mumbai for an interview at Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, but fled the city terrorised. You get hostel during training, but after that? So, I joined SBI at Etawah in UP

Demonetisation as MD was a terrific assignment. Another learning was to plan before you accept a job. When I was in Toronto, the then CEO felt that he should use my services for migrating from one software system to another. I had nothing to do with it

ANIRBAN BORA

IDBI Bank

GNPA IN %

Had no idea about life till 12th class.

Since I was good at studies, I was quite confident. Those days either you choose IAS or SBI probationary officer

Challenging Assignment

Health Of Banks Under PCA ADVANCES ` CRORE

Was SBI the First Choice?

Role Model

TT RAM MOHAN, PROFESSOR (FINANCE), IIM-AHMEDABAD

BANKS

Childhood Dream

RBIdeputy governor Viral Acharya’s speech at Fixed Income Money Market Dealers Association’s annual dinner has brought many issues regarding India’s bond market to the fore. His message is simple and hard to refute. He wants banks to actively manage the risks of bond portfolios and not expect regulatory forbearances when yields spike. Describing banks’ trading strategy as “Heads I win, tails RBI dispenses,” he highlighted the moral hazard of such forbearances. The bond market’s reaction to his speech was quite negative.

There are fears that his admonishment could result in public sector banks staying away from buying bonds. So, what is it about our bond market that makes such basic advice appear polemical?

Firstly, it is the size of government’s borrowing for financing its fiscal deficit. The Centre and states together will be borrowing around `10 lakh crore this year from the bond market.

Banks currently hold about 40% of outstanding government bonds.

Regulation requires banks to invest 19.5% of their deposits in government bonds as liquid assets, which is quite high by international standards. Banks currently hold bonds way above this statutory requirement.

This year, things were further compounded by the fact that banks got large amount of deposits due to de-

monetisation. RBI has sold `90,000 crore of government bonds from its balance sheet to manage liquidity in the banking system. The bottom line: banks act as the anchor investor for government borrowings and their purchase of bonds is crucial for the success of RBI’s liquidity operations.

Secondly, the government has been lengthening the maturity of its borrowings. The average maturity of new bonds issued in a year is about 15 years. It doesn’t issue much by way of short-term bonds. Bank deposits are of much shorter duration. If the banks were to invest only in 1-3 year bonds to match their deposit liabilities, non-bank investors will need to step up to buy longer dated bonds.

However, we don’t have that size of long-term, non-bank investors.

Consequently, banks’ bond portfolios reflect the maturity profile of government’s borrowings.

As an anchor investor, public sector banks’ willingness to buy government bonds and their maturity preferences have a direct bearing on government’s market borrowing programme, including its cost. Since the government bond yield curve sets the floor for interest rates, any large change in government bond yields eventually affects the general interest rates in the economy.

This brings us to the question why banks don’t hedge the interest rate risk of their bond portfolios. In mature markets, banks actively use derivatives products such as swaps and futures for managing risks. It has been almost two decades since interest rate swaps were allowed in India.

However, the market has remained a club of a few private and foreign banks. PSBs, insurance companies, mutual funds and corporates have broadly stayed away due to several accounting, regulatory, product and market structure issues. Even an inefficient swap product can be used if there were active end-investors wanting to buy the risk from banks through swaps. It thus brings us back to the issue of non-bank, long-term in-

vestor base.

Given this dynamic, many public sector banks feel they should get some regulatory forbearance to spread the bond losses over a few quarters. Bear in mind that banks can already keep their statutory bond holdings in the hold-to-maturity portfolio, which doesn’t suffer losses when yields go up. The issue is with their excess holdings. The problem with regulatory forbearance is that while it may alleviate the pain in the short term, the underlying problem remains. There is no guarantee that yields will not go up more if inflation or crude oil prices were to go up further. The credit side of the banking business has taught us that kicking the can down the road can make things worse. A pain killer now could mean deep surgery later.

The solution lies in facilitating growth of non-bank, long-term investor base and creating an efficient market for risk transfer between banks and non-banks. There are many issues facing our OTC derivatives market such as legal certainty to bilateral netting, accounting issues, encouraging the use of these instruments by non-banks, promoting CCIL’s swap trading platform and the use of credit support annex framework for client trades. PSBs and non-bank FIs need to start actively participating in swap and bond futures to develop liquidity and diversified trading interest.

Policy makers also need to consider allowing greater participation from foreign portfolio investors in both cash and derivatives side of fixed income market to broaden the investor base.

It is a fundamental role of financial markets to allocate risks to economic agents best poised to bear them.

Arguably, the banking system is not the best place to hold large interest rate risk of the government’s borrowing programme. In the absence of structural improvements, our fixed income market will remain an inefficient risk and capital allocator and a place where even basics of risk management end up looking impractical.

MINTSTREETMasala Insurers’ Sangam

Books for Bouquet

Lloyd’s Beckons

Accessible to a Fault

Demystifying RBI

Gyan Sangam of staterun bankers assumed significance thanks to the participation of RBI governor, finance minister and due to the high stakes involved. The insurance industry had its own version of Gyan Sangam recently at the Lake City of Udaipur. Chairmen of New India, National Insurance, United India, Oriental India and General Insurance Corp discussed strategy for two days. What’s cooking?

A bouquet of flowers is a common welcome gift at any function these days, more so at functions organised by stateowned institutions. The richer the organisation, bigger is the bouquet with probably a shawl to accompany. But Bank of Baroda has done away with all such things that doesn’t have much shelf life. These days, it is only books as gifts!

Lloyd’s of London has been the name feared or respected the most in insurance industry across the world.

While India has welcomed the giant from London, there are fears that with limited talent, it could end up poaching many from established firms. Shafali Sehwani, a vice president at ICICI Lombard, is the latest one to jump ship to join the global firm.

Bureaucrats and regulators have a halo!

One of the biggest problems for the regulated is the access to the regulator, leave alone the fact that they are always looked at with suspicion. But one man is different! Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India chairman MS Sahoo.

None other than the Indian Banks’ Association chairman VG Kannan was full of praise for his accessibility.

RBI’s top brass is inaccessible even to top bankers. They also keep away from public glare disappointing many who are looking for its communication. But it is attempting to touch the common man.

For the first time in seven years, it has put up an updated, lucid version of its functioning. Deputy Governor Viral Acharya in his foreword says that it will go a long way in demystifying the RBI.

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Economy & Companies 23

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One World, One Family Nationwide Amul-Like ‘Movement’ for Tribals REACHING OUT TO 5 CRORE PEOPLE

From Page 1

Centre to open value addition centres, set up self-help groups and godowns for forest produce, start awareness programmes Nidhi.Sharma@timesgroup.com

New Delhi: The Modi government is all set to roll out an Amul-like self-help movement for five crore tribal people across India. Going beyond the promise of minimum support price (MSP) for gathering minor forest produce (MFP), the Centre plans to reach remote villages to open value addition centres in tribal households, organise tribal people in self-help groups, set up godowns for storage and initiate massive awareness programmes involving state governments and elected representatives.

Turning its predecessor United Progressive Alliance government’s flagship programme of guaranteeing MSP to tribal people on its head, the Centre aims to reach five crore people who are largely dependent on gathering MSP such as tamarind, sal, harad, shikakai and honey, officials said.

Initiated by the United Progressive Alliance at the end of 2013-14, the scheme has been a non-starter, with tribal-dominated states remaining unresponsive.

The Modi government has now decided to expand it beyond nine tribal-dominated Schedule V area states and has got on board nine more states.

So far, the scheme was restricted to Odisha, Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Jharkhand, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra and Telangana. After concerted efforts, the Centre has got additional states on board — Karnataka, Manipur, Nagaland, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh, Kerala, West Bengal, Tripura and Assam.

The plan is to move beyond fixing MSP for MFP being gathered. TRIFED, the nodal agency for reframing and implementing the scheme, has finalised a memorandum of understanding with the rural development ministry to tap into its network of self-help groups under Aajeevika initiative. These groups will be given incentives to organise tribal households.

“The self-help groups will train tribals on how to do simple value addition to get better prices for minor forest produce they gather,” TRIFED managing director Pravir Krishna told ET.

“For instance, tamarind in its raw form would hardly get any price for them. But if deseeded and the outside husk removed, it can fetch double the price. These simple value addition centres would be opened in tribal households,” he said.

TRIFED has set a target of opening 15,000 value addition centres in tribal homes. The next step will be to transport this produce to village haats (markets) and bypass intermediaries who corner all profits. “We plan to reach 1,800 out of 5,000 village markets this year,” Krishna said, adding that the poThe Centre .2 aims to rework tential of MFP trade is ` lakh crore every year.

UPA’s flagship With 18 states on board, the programme of government also intends to guaranteeing speed up infrastructure deMSP to tribals. velopment so that MFPs can That scheme be stored in godowns. “We failed as tribalare encouraging the states dominated to send infrastructure devestates showed lopment plans. This will inlittle interest clude setting up procurement centres at the haat-level and godowns for storage facilities,” Krishna said.

The biggest hurdle the UPA initiative faced was the lukewarm response from states.

The Centre has turned the scheme around and now plans to connect 30,000 stakeholders in a closed user group. The group will include gram panchayat functionaries to chief secretaries and chief ministers of states, and help gather market intelligence about pricing and spread awareness about the scheme.

A beginning will be made next week with a massive advocacy programme in 200 tribal districts, where workshops will be held to create awareness about the initiative and get all stakeholders on board, officials said.

Novelis to Invest $300 m in Auto Aluminium Sheet Plant in US Mumbai: Novelis, the American subisidiary of Aditya Birla Group flagship Hindalco, on Tuesday announced that it will invest around $300 million in an automotive aluminium sheet manufacturing facility in Guthrie, Kentucky, as part of its plans to expand manufacturing for automotive purposes to meet rising demand. The announcement is in line with Hindalco’s commitment to grow Novelis’ auto shipments to 25% of total production capacity. The project is expected to get commissioned by 2020 and will have a capacity of 200,000 tonnes to prepare aluminium for vehicle parts. ET had reported in September last year that Hindalco will invest in expanding its auto offerings in the US and China through its subsidiary Novelis.

“Today’s announcement by Novelis to expand capabilities in North America is a strategic decision fully supported by the Aditya Birla Group to maintain the group’s leadership position in the global metals sector and its ongoing commitment to serve both upstream and downstream customers,” Kumar Mangalam Birla, chairman of Aditya Birla Group, said in a release. — Our Bureau

Trump is scheduled to speak at the World Economic Forum on Friday.

Pointing to India’s multicultural and diverse democracy, its conflict-resolution mechanisms and ethos of inclusiveness and plurality, Modi sought inspiration from Mahatma Gandhi and Rabindranath Tagore besides the Upanishads. He emphasised that India can lead the way and offer solutions to most challenges confronting the fractured world with its guiding principles of trusteeship and harmony.

India’s offers apt prescriptions to heal the world, he said. “The fractured world is due to unequal opportunities, domination of natural and technological resources. Which are the powers that give preference to conflict over cooperation?” he said in a veiled reference to the policies of some in the neighbourhood. “In India, we believe in linking people and not dividing them. Diversity is our lifestyle.”

This is “our real power”, which the whole world has come to recognise.

“Our destiny is linked to a common thread. A thousand years ago, Hindu texts used a Sanskrit phrase — Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam — which means the world is one family. That belief is key to eradicate fault lines of today.”

Corporate India welcomed the comments. “This was an astute speech. He totally changed the rules of enagagement,” said Anand Mahindra, chairman of Mahindra and Mahindra.

“He spoke like a global leader, a statesman,” said Baba Kalyani of Bharat Forge, while Sunil Mittal of Bharti said Modi powerfully showcased India’s strengths. “He suggested unique and Indian responses to global problems.”

DATA IS THE CURRENCY

According to Modi, technology-driven transformation is deeply influencing societies, exploring new frontiers and throwing up risks. “Technology has the ability to bend, break and link and a very good example of these three aspects is the use of social media,” he said. Data is a huge asset but “the flow of global data is creating the biggest opportuni-

ties and the greatest challenges. He who controls the data controls the world”, he said.

He urged the world not to make false distinctions when it came to terrorism. “Terrorism is a big threat but an even bigger threat is the distinction between good terrorism and bad terrorism,” he said.

REMOVING RED TAPE WITH RED CARPET

Wooing investors, the first Indian prime minister in nearly two decades to attend the WEF, elaborated on the country’s investor-friendly climate.

“India is removing the red tape and laying out the red carpet. Almost all areas of our economy have been opened to foreign direct investment…

More than 1,400 archaic laws that were an obstacle to doing business” have been abolished in the last three years, he said. “A predictable, stable, transparent and progressive India will continue to be the good news in an otherwise state of uncertainty and flux. An India where enormous diversity exists harmoniously will always be a unifying and harmonising force.”

The country’s youth are its biggest currency, driving both innovation and entrepreneurship. “They will be job givers and not just job seekers,” he said. “You can imagine how many paths can open up for the country and for your business.”

The India investment pitch is aimed at kickstarting growth. Already this month, the government has eased restrictions on foreign direct investment in several sectors, including single-brand retail, real estate brokerages and power exchanges.

“From being the first to talk about climate change to offering the Indian solution to global problems, the PM has positioned himself firmly in the global seat,” said ReNew Power’s Sumant Sinha. “A powerful speech that highlighted that the fundamental problems in the world — terror, poverty, environment — are the same everywhere,” said Sajjan Jindal of the JSW Group.

on India’s Promise If you want wellness along with wealth, come to India. If you want wholeness of life along with health, come to India. If you want peace along with prosperity, come to India

on Global Challenges The biggest reasons for fracture are: control of territories — both direct and indirect, and control of transactions — including cross-border trade and movement of people

on Use of Technology Technology has the ability to bend, break and link, and a very good example of these three aspects is the use of social media… He who controls data, controls the world

Record Close in 11 Sessions This Year From Page 1

India is the third among the top performing Asian markets so far this year, with Sensex gaining about 6%.

Ahead of India, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng has gained 10.1% while China’s Shanghai Composite has risen 7.2%.

The Sensex and the Nifty have hit fresh all-time highs in 11 out of the 16 trading sessions so far this year.

“The market is in a good shape. This is not the time to fight the market trend,” said Raamdeo Agrawal, joint MD, Motilal Oswal Financial Services. “It is a global boom.”

Among other Asian markets, Hong Kong and South Korea rose more than 1% on Tuesday. Japan’s Nikkei rose 225 points, or 1.3%, touching its highest levels in more than 26 years, after the Bank of Japan on Tuesday held monetary policy steady.

At home, the BSE MidCap index rose 1.1% to 18,078.73 and BSE SmallCap index rose 0.2% to 19,651.16.

The record market closing also resulted in a spurt in the Volatility Index — a measure of traders’ expectations of near-term risks in the market. The VIX closed 5.4% higher at 16.2—the highest closing since midDecember. The VIX had reached as high as 18.2 in December amid outcome of the Gujarat state elections which saw the BJP winning less than expected number of seats.

“We remain bullish from a longterm perspective, but volatility may rise in the short term going by the fast pace at which the market has moved up and the expensive valuations,” said Upadhyaya.

The Nifty is trading at 22.36 times FY18 earnings while the MSCI emerging market index is at 13.4 times. “The tier-III and tier-IV stocks which have moved up sharply without any change in fundamentals is what we should guard against,” said Upadhyaya.

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India have one more test to get it right in South Africa, and use the experience in a long touring season

Last Chance Fielding is obviously a big factor. They have fielded better than us and it’s visible and not a question of having numbers attached to it. Fielding, I feel is a bit of a controllable on the field VIRAT KOHLI Indian captain

Anand Vasu, Johannesburg

I

ndia have never lost a Test match at Wanderers. In their fou r t rips to the for t ress known as the Bullring, India have won once and came very close to winning a second Test in the three they have drawn.

This team has consistently said they want to go where no-one else has, but, in this case they would rather stick to tradition, if they want to avoid a 3-0 whitewash.

Virat Kohli, considerably calmer than he was after the loss in Centurion, conceded that there were things India had to do to ensure they did not get blanked out. “Look fielding is obviously a big factor. They have fielded better than us and it’s visible and not a question of having numbers attached to it. That is something we definitely need to step up because fielding I feel is a bit of a controllable on the field,” said Kohli.

“Batting, there’s always a bowler involved who has his skills as well and same for a bowler up against a batsman.

From the batting point of view, I’ve mentioned it’s a personal responsibility

Virat Kohli fielding during the second Test against South Africa Getty Images

and from the fielding point of view, it’s just a mindset of wanting to make a difference for the team every ball that you are standing on the park.”

Interestingly with multiple permutations and combinations in the mix, the

only absolute certainty to play is the captain himself. Much tinkering can happen with the batting, bowling and even wicketkeeping spots. But, it appeared as though the one change India were leaning towards is leaving out

Ravichandran Ashwin and playing the extra quick bowler.

“Well chances of anything happening are very bright. There is a lot of grass on the pitch, we will definitely look at that option,” said Kohli If Kohli’s job was to ensure that they weren’t completely winless in the series, Faf du Plessis’s stated aim is the 3-0 scoreline. “I think once again, India will come back with a point to prove. They are a proud team that wouldn’t want to go down 3-0,” said the South African captain.

“For us as a team, it’s pretty simple.

Just be doing the things that we’ve been doing right through the series and do it well. Whether it’s batting in partnerships, getting those partnerships together. As a batter, if you do get in, you try and string together a nice partnership. Both teams have been taking 20 wickets, and I assume that that will happen again. We’ve got a strong bowling attack on conditions that will suit them.”

Du Plessis also conceded that a 3-0 scoreline would be an achievement for his team. “It’s big. Just playing against India, you don’t get the opportunity a lot to be in a position of strength where we can beat them 3-0,” said du Plessis.

“Consistency is something we want to have as much as possible. Leading into the Australia series we want to go into it with that momentum we have been gathering over the last two games.

Australia have been playing some really good cricket so by no means is anyone in the team thinking this is an opportunity to take our foot off the gas. We are really motivated to get a 3-0 win.”

Du Plessis was also a bit bemused by the manner in which India have chopped and changed teams, not playing the same XI in 34 Tests that Kohli has captained. “That was surprising actually, for me. I didn’t know that stat.

COA to Review India’s Performance The Committee of Administrators (COA) running the BCCI will review India’s poor performance in South Africa following the conclusion of the tour. India suffered big defeats in Cape Town and Centurion to lose the series. COA chief Vinod Rai, member Diana Edulji and BCCI CEO Rahul Johri were part of the meeting. None of the BCCI officebearers including acting president CK Khanna and acting secretary Amitabh Choudhary were called for the meeting. –PTI

When you don’t follow a team closely you don’t really have an eye on it all the time. But I read something that they’ve changed their team every single time (34 Tests) and that’s remarkable,” said du Plessis.

“I don’t see how we will ever be able to do that. We try to have a bit of consistency, string together a team. It’s obviously worked for India in India. In terms of the opposition, it doesn’t make a difference. You plan for everyone, prepare for everyone and whoever plays, it’s not like it surprises us.”

The surface was still green, the curator not taking grass of it, and having rolled it properly. With the prospect of rain interrupting the Test on multiple occasions, the last thing the home team wants is a batting beauty. What they want is the beauty of a perfectly symmetric 3-0 scoreline, and India’s battle is to avoid exactly that ugliness.

Nadal Retires, Cilic Advances AFP

What Happens Online, Never Stays Online

Tennys Sandgren is an unlikely Australian Open star, and now his Twitter activity is under scrutiny Christopher Clarey Thirteen times Tennys Sandgren tried to qualify for a Grand Slam tournament. Thirteen times he failed. At the Australian Open, he had never even made it to the final round of qualifying in his five attempts. He got into last year’s French Open and US Open through wild cards.

He is now having his best experience professionally, reaching the Australian Open quarterfinals with a 6-2, 4-6, 7-6 (4), 6-7 (7), 6-3 victory over fifth-seeded Dominic Thiem on Monday. He will face Hyeon Chung today for a spot in the semifinals.

This was the first time Sandgren’s ranking, No 97, was high enough to enter the main draw directly, and his unexpected success has had some unwanted repercussions.

Sandgren’s social media activity has come under scrutiny as his profile has risen. On Monday night at his postmatch news conference, he was asked about online exchanges he had with right-wing activists.

On January 14, he retweeted a video on Twitter posted by Nicholas Fuentes, a young alt-right commentator and a former host of a podcast called ‘America First’. Fuentes retweeted support for Sandgren on Monday.

In November 2016, shortly after the presidential election, Sandgren seemed to support debunked online reports of children being kidnapped, molested and trafficked in a Washington pizzeria as part of a sex-abuse ring connected to Hillary Clinton.

But Sandgren has said he does not support the alt-right movement. “I find some of the content interesting.” He added: “As a firm Christian, I don’t support

I like to consume information. I like to learn. Would I consider myself alt right, if you want to ask that question? No, I don’t. Not even a little bit... I want to hear everybody’s side, and I want to learn, because I’m 26. Do I think I know everything about life? No

SANDGREN

on his online posts Reuters

things like that, no. I support Christ and following him.”

By Tuesday morning, all of his tweets since June 2016 appeared to have been deleted so that his most recent was a message celebrating Brexit.

He has described himself as politically

conservative, but has said that following accounts or linking to information on Twitter did not indicate approval.

“Who you follow on Twitter I feel doesn’t matter even a little bit,” he said. “What information you see doesn’t dictate what you think or believe. I think it’s

crazy to think that.”

In a later interview, Sandgren said he believed it was important in the current polarised political landscape of the United States to be open to hearing differing viewpoints. “We are definitely in an outrage culture where free speech doesn’t seem to be as free as it used to be,” he said. “There are all kinds of restrictions people want to place on that.”

Sandgren said he was interested in exposing himself to many sides of issues.

“I like to consume information. I like to learn. Would I consider myself alt right, if you want to ask that question? No, I don’t. Not even a little bit.”

He added: “I want to hear your side.

I want to hear everybody’s side, and I want to learn, because I’m 26. Do I think I know everything about life?

No.” Asked if he was concerned that he might be associated with alt-right views, Sandgren said: “Honestly, it does concern me a little bit. Because it doesn’t represent my viewpoints.”

The New York Times

Rafa Nadal’s Australian Open quarterfinal curse struck again on Tuesday, an injury forcing the top seed to retire in the fifth set against Marin Cilic. A wincing Nadal struggled with a muscle strain in his upper right thigh from late in the fourth set before abandoning the match at 3-6 6-3 6-7(5) 6-2 2-0, leaving a packed Rod Laver Arena crushed with disappointment. It was only the second time the world No 1 has retired in over 250 Grand Slam matches, his last, coincidentally, during the 2010 quarterfinals against Andy Murray.

Reuters

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