www.spoindia.org Vol. III | Issue 06 | April 2018 | Rs. 50
Modi, Xi aims at improving bilateral relations
Who is at Fault?
Chanda Kochhar MD & CEO, ICICI Bank
24pg
20pg
Shikha Sharma CEO, Axis Bank
4 Years of Modi Government: Success story (coming issue)
www.spoindia.org April 2018 | 1
2 | April 2018 www.spoindia.org
INTERNATIONAL AGENDA | 18 Editor-in-Chief: Deepak Kumar Sahu Executive Editor: S Mohini Ratna Assistant Editor: Samrita Baruah Copy Editor: C. M. Dutta Art Director: Rakesh Kumar Network Administrator: Ashok Kumar Singh Manager-IT: Subhash Mohanta Manager-SEO: Bidyadhar Behera BUSINESS: Vice President: Prasanna Rout General Manager: Ashok Ranjan Dash Marketing Manager: Dipendra Kumar
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“We have to address cross-border terrorism” - Raksha Mantri’s address in China NEWS 6 - 16
SPO ANALYSIS
INTERNATIONAL AGENDA
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“We have to address crossborder terrorism” - Raksha Mantri’s address in China
Indian companies to get benefited from Atal New India Challenges
TECH TALK
LEAD STORY
32
20
INTERVIEW
Chanda vs Shikha Who is at Fault!!!
34 COVER STORY 24
Modi, Xi aims at improving bilateral relations
IN FOCUS 26
Niira Radia to bring a revolution into the Hospital Industry
Machine Learning helping doctors to generate precise and Faster Prescriptions
ROUND ABOUT 35
An Open letter to My Esteemed Readers
CYBER - LAW 36
SPO ANALYSIS
Mobile Hacking Incident
Most companies are not ready for EU GDPR Legislation
All payments favouring:
Kalinga Digital Media Pvt. Ltd. © All rights are reserved. No part of this magazine may be reproduced or copied in any form or by any means without the prior written permission of the publisher. (2015) * All disputes are subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of competent courts and forums in Delhi only.
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MTNL to wind up soon
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Lack of right advisory services in Cyber Space How to protect the digital duniya? India has emerged as the fastest growing major economy in the world as per the Central Statistics Organisation (CSO) and International Monetary Fund (IMF). It is expected to be one of the top three economic powers of the world over the next 10-15 years, backed by its strong democracy and partnerships. India’s GDP is estimated to have increased 6.6 per cent in 2017-18 and is expected to grow 7.3 per cent in 2018-19. India has retained its position as the third largest start-up base in the world with over 4,750 technology start-ups, and about 1,400 new start-ups being founded in 2016. India's foreign exchange reserves were US$ 422.53 billion in the week up to March 23, 2018, according to data from the RBI and the decision of Government to invest Rs 2.11 trillion (US$ 32.9 billion) to recapitalise public sector banks over the next two years. It is definitely a welcome statement. Cyber hackers are increasingly opportunistic and they are increasingly targeting industrial control systems and networks bypassing traditional defences by continually engineering new methods of attack. Even sophisticated cyber security programs are being thwarted, often by targeting weak links in the chain, including vendors and employees. Due to its advanced economies and important geopolitical positioning, Europe is a prime target for these attacks. The most important and need of the hour is on how to protect the infrastructure and various important establishments in the country, which are the backbone. With the growth of Internet-related technology, companies have accumulated troves of personal data. Business procedures have typically been focused on aggregating broad categories of data gleaned from consumers. Cyber threat environment is intensifying dramatically. Hopefully, the GDPR will change the European Data protection laws. As this law applies not only to EU organisations – whether commercial business, charity or public authority – that collect, store or process the personal data of individuals residing in the EU, even if they are not EU citizens, but also to the Service providers (data processors) that process data on behalf of an organisation that come under the remit of the GDPR and will have specific compliance obligations. An example might be a company that processes your payroll or a Cloud provider that offers data storage. The most important thing is that the social media has to function under the regulated environment by every other government and it should vary from country to country by law and should not be one thumb rule. It is growing day by day as the awareness increases with their strong Market development funds(MDFs) and everyone is talking about enhancing the digital lifestyle. After so much of noise on social media sites on using database for commercial usage, which every company does to monetize, Facebook has reported first quarter revenue of $11.96 billion, up 49 per cent from last year. This is despite the fallout from a scandal that saw data from 87 million of its users shared with Cambridge Analytica. At the same time, there has been recent growth in cyber security budgets by every companies going digital; there is a sense of importance for ensuring business continuity amidst the persistence and growing sophistication of cyber threats, and 92 per cent of organisations have increased their budget for cyber security in this financial year. According to the PwC survey, 68 percent of U.S.-based companies expect to spend $1 million to $10 million to meet GDPR requirements. Another 9 percent are expected to spend more than $10 million. As we approach the May 25 deadline, those expectations might have been on the high side and those organisations in non-compliance may face heavy fines. The GDPR’s requirements could result in an increase in business for larger OEMs.
Deepak Kumar Sahu Publisher & Editor-in-Chief 4 | April 2018 www.spoindia.org
Windows 10 Pro means business.
“PACKS PLENTY OF OOMPH” - LAPTOP
Forged from carbon fiber ® the ThinkPad X1 Carbon is incredibly thin and immensely powerful.
Call us at 1800 3000 9990 or e-mail us at corpsales@lenovo.com
© Lenovo 2017. All rights reserved. Lenovo, the Lenovo logo are trademarks or registered trademarks of Lenovo. Microsoft and Windows are registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the U.S. and other countries or both.
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NEWS/GOVT.
National Foreign Trade Directory DAC Approves Capital Acquisition released Proposals worth Rs 3,687 Crore Giriraj Singh, Minister of State (independent Charge) for Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises (MSME), Government of India and MSME Secretary, Dr. Arun Kumar Panda, have released a directory to facilitate the exporters during the recently concluded International SME Convention2018 in New Delhi. The directory provides information about export-import offices of policy makers, regulators, facilitators and all export promotion councils, commodity boards, development authorities, trade & industry organisations, MSMEs which have been set up, approved or sponsored by Government of India. The Minister said that the directory will be useful for exporters, importers, traders, manufacturers, MSMEs, authorised economic operators, export import management students, new IEC holders and all those involved in export trade. The directory has been published by International Trade Consultants, New Delhi.
The Defence Acquisition Council (DAC), chaired by the Raksha Mantri Nirmala Sitharaman, approved the Capital Acquisition Proposals valued at over Rs 3,687 crore. In a boost to indigenisation and in realisation of India's growing technological prowess, the DAC approved procurement of Defence Research and Development Organisation’s (DRDO’s) designed and developed NAG Missile System (NAMIS) at the cost of Rs 524 crore. The system includes a third generation Anti-Tank Guided Missile, the NAG, along with the Missile Carrier Vehicle (NAMICA). The NAG missile is a third generation anti-tank guided missile, which has top attack capabilities that can effectively engage and destroy all known enemy tanks during day and night. This will give a quantum boost to the Army's capability against enemy armour. The DAC also approved procurement of thirteen 127 mm calibre guns for the Navy.
NDMA conducts Mock Exercise on Bio-Disasters at Patna airport
Concerted Water Conservation thrust under MGNREGS
A five-day training programme, aimed at enhancing the preparedness of Airport Emergency Handlers (AEHs) to respond to CBRN emergencies at the airports, concluded at the Lok Nayak Jayaprakash Airport in Patna. The training programme was conducted in collaboration with the Airports Authority of India (AAI) and Institute of Nuclear Medicine & Allied Sciences (INMAS). C B R N emerg encies pertain to threats emanating due to Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear material. During the training, NDMA jointly with the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) also conducted its first-ever full-scale Biological Management Emergency Exercise. The exercise was based on a suspected Ebola outbreak scenario. "Biological emergencies are extremely complicated to handle and require utmost expertise not only in handling the victims but also in screening them before they escape out in community," said Dr. Saurabh Dalal, NDMA.
6 | April 2018 www.spoindia.org
With near universal geo-tagging of assets and payment of wages and materials through the Electronic Fund Management System (EFMS), a transparent Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) has made concerted efforts to create durable assets. The thrust has been on Natural Resource Management (NRM), both on community and individual beneficiary lands of small and marginal farmers. Due to these concerted efforts, 143 lakh hectares have benefitted through Water Conservation efforts under MGNREGS over the last 3 years. T h i s includes constr uction of over 11 lakh farm ponds in the last 2 years, large scale Water Conservation Schemes and vermi composting pits. National evaluation by Institute of Economic Growth, New Delhi and assessment of individual beneficiary schemes for livelihood by Council for Social Development have indicated improvements in productivity, acreage, incomes and water table through MGNREGS works.
NEWS/GOVT.
Rajnath Singh chairs meeting of Island Development Agency
The Union Home Minister, Rajnath Singh, chaired the third meeting of the Island Development Agency (IDA) in Delhi. The Island Development Agency reviewed the progress made towards preparation of Development Plans for identified Islands (four in A&N Islands i.e. Smith, Ross, Long, Avis and five in Lakshadweep i.e. Minicoy, Bangaram, T hinnakara, Cheriyam, Suheli). For these Islands, Final Site Suitability Reports have been prepared, Carrying Capacity determined and Environmental zoning carried out to ensure sustainable development. CEO, NITI Aayog made detailed presentation giving details of actions taken in pursuance to decisions taken in earlier meetings. The Union Home Minister expressed satisfaction at the progress made since its last meeting held on November 8, 2017 when directions were given to identify additional Islands for sustainable development and also accord priority to key infrastructure projects.
Swachh Bharat Mission launches GOBAR-DHAN
Union Minister for Drinking Water and Sanitation, Sushri Uma Bharti, has launched the GOBAR (Galvanizing Organic Bio-Agro Resources) DHAN scheme at the National Dairy Research Institute (NDRI) Auditorium, Karnal in the presence of the Chief Minister of Haryana, Manohar Lal Khattar. The scheme aims to positively impact village cleanliness and generate wealth and energy from cattle and organic waste. The scheme also aims at creating new rural livelihood oppor tunities and enhancing income for farmers and other rural people. The GOBAR-DHAN scheme, with its focus on keeping villages clean, increasing the income of rural households, and generation of energy from cattle waste, is an important element of this ODF-plus strategy. The scheme envisages the implementation of 700 bio-gas units in different states of the country in 2018-19.
MSMEs will play a key role in employment generation- Suresh Prabhu
The first International SME Convention – 2018 is being convened inNew Delhi. Union Minister of Commerce & Industry and Civil Aviation, Suresh Prabhuwas the Chief Guest at theinaugural function. Speaking on this occasion, the Minister congratulated Minister Giriraj Singh for taking leadership in holding this International SME Convention for the first time, in which more than 30 countries are participating. He said that the world is debating strategies to revive global growth, but there are challenges like the rising gap between rich and poor within a country and also between rich and poor countries along with issues likeclimate change and jobless growth. He emphasised that Micro,Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) will play key rolesin solving these problems. MSMEs will reduce gap between rich and poor as they are agents of inclusive growth. Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises will help in reducing Green House Gas emissions as they are generally closer to markets leading to reduced carbon footprints.
Cabinet approves restructured National Bamboo Mission
The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs chaired by the Prime Minister, Narendra Modi has approvedthe centrally sponsored scheme of National Bamboo Mission (NBM) under National Mission for Sustainable Agriculture (NMSA) during remaining period of Fourteenth Finance Commission (2018-19 & 2019-20). The Mission would ensure holistic development of the bamboo sector by addressing complete value chain and
establishing effective linkage of producers (farmers) with industry. CCEA has also approved Empowerment of Executive Committee for formulation of guidelines of the NBM and to make the changes therein, including cost norms for various interventions from time-to-time as per the felt needs and specific recommendations of States, with the approval of Union Minister for Agriculture & Farmers Welfare. www.spoindia.org April 2018 | 7
CSR/CORPORATE
Conserve India hosts a Clean Yamuna drive on Earth Day
Conserve India, an NGO endeavouring to manage urban wastes, held a ‘Clean Yamuna of plastic waste campaign’ on the Earth Day, dated April 21st. The Clean Yamuna drive was also supported by the Earth Day Network. Po k e r B a a z i has joined them in this initiative. The portal that is flanked by thousands of poker enthusiasts every day hosted a 5 LAC guaranteed poker tournament online on April 20th, raising INR 90,000 as the entry fees. PokerBaazi further matched the entry fees to donate INR 180,000 for the Clean Yamuna Campaign by Conserve India. Yamuna River, often helmed as Delhi’s lifeline, has been gasping for life under the weight of virtually no aquatic life, over 20 drains pouring untreated sewage and piles of plastic dumps."
Xerox and PrintReleaf to help customers reach sustainability goals
Xerox managed print services (MPS) customers will have the opportunity to contribute to the reforestation of global forests through Xerox’s new partnership with PrintReleaf. Based on a theme of “you print one, we will plant one,” PrintReleaf leverages paper usage reporting and equates the number of trees needed to reforest that usage on an equivalent basis in geographic areas of need.
Uber rolls out free medical check-ups for over 4.5 lakh driver partners
Uber has marked the 29th National Road Safety Week by announcing a slew of initiatives for driver partners, to spread road safety awareness. Reiterating its commitment to the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, Uber will conduct free medical and eye check-ups for over 4.5 lakh driver partners over the next 6 months inline with this year’s theme of ‘Sadak Suraksha – Jeevan Raksha.’ Speaking on the launch of its initiative, Shri Nitin Gadkari, Hon’ble Minister for Road Transport & Highways pointed out, “Ensuring road safety is a key priority for the government and we are committed to reducing fatal road accidents by 50 percent by 2020. The endeavour to make our roads safer has to be a collaborative multi-pronged initiative that needs joint action from policymakers, civic authorities, companies such as Uber and commuters in general.”
Belkin contributing to Mother Earth
Ahead of the International Earth Day, Belkin has shared its concerns over the inefficient waste management scenario of India which is resulting in an alarming rise of solid waste generation per capita. Incepted in 1983, Belkin is well known for creating products that make people’s lives better, ENVIRONMENTAL INITIATIVES easier and more fulfilling. It is one of the most active 25% tech- companies in the world to participate and carry LEAD WITH LEED out activations related to CERTIFICATION HAPPY COMMUTES sustainability of the planet Earth and preservation of its resources. The environmental THINK GLOBALLY initiatives undertaken by Belkin RESOURCE CENTER since 2009 have resulted in 25% reduction of Greenhouse emissions. Moreover, Belkin has immensely contributed in the reduction of electricity consumption worldwide. With 518 solar panels installed on the building rooftop and 50 energy efficient motion sensor lights, Belkin has reduced 37% electricity consumption in all its offices worldwide. REDUCTION OF GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS SINCE 2009
20,562
acres of pine forest annual carbon sequestration
452,418
tree seedlings grown for 10 years
40,417
barrels of oil — that’s almost 2 million gallons of gasoline*
*These statistics were calculated using the Greenhouse Gas Equivalencies Calculator by the EPA.
GOLD
LEED (Leadership in Energy & Environment Design) gold certification. What else is Belkin doing to achieve this?
518
solar panels on the building rooftop
14
EV car charging stations
50
motion sensor lights
COMPOSTABLE
Belkin helps employees cut down on their commuting carbon footprint by providing van pools and connecting commuters for carpooling opportunities. There’s even a number of incentives to promote going green.
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Rideshare subsidies and preferential parking
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Cash incentives for using public transportation
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Free EV chargers onsite for employees (Playa Vista HQ)
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Cash incentives to participate in carpooling,
cutlery and to-go containers in the Belkin café
congestion during peak commuting hours
Global initiatives have helped Belkin reduce our carbon footprint on a much larger scale.
Find ways you can reduce your carbon footprint. Click below.
37%
reduction in worldwide electricity consumption
“From our Green World Alliance program to the Xerox Print Awareness Tool, we have long been known for our dedication to sustainability,” said Wendi Latko, vice president, Environment, Health, Safety & Sustainability, Xerox. “With PrintReleaf, now we’re able to take that commitment one step further by empowering our MPS customers with an industry certified service that will accelerate and promote their efforts as stewards of the environment.” 8 | April 2018 www.spoindia.org
5%
less waste to landfills
5%
less water consumption
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In the United States and Europe Belkin subscribes to a regulatory mandate called WEEE to recycle electronic waste
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Using packaging with recyclable PET trays when possible allows consumers to recycle their Belkin packaging
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Registered as a producer with the state’s environmental agencies in many European countries, Belkin reports how much paper and plastic packaging (UK: http://npwd.environment-agency.gov.uk )
© 2018 Belkin International, Inc. | www.belkin.com
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Ecowise Recycling Service
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Simple Smart Steps
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Green e-waste Recyclers
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We-recycle E-waste Management
CSR/CORPORATE
Oxxy addresses gender inequality Sankara Eye Hospital, Bangalore International Gender Equality Day and Oxxy Girl Child Development Program were launched on 16th April 2018 at Vigyan organize workshop on Autism Bhawan in New Delhi, India in the presence of representatives from different countries like Brazil, United Kingdom, Slovenia, Pakistan, Guyana, Ethiopia, Republic of Korea, Maldives etc.; professionals from multinational companies like Alibaba, Amazon, Microsoft, PwC, Pepsi and members from org anisations like World Parliament & WFIT. T h e launching of “International G e n d e r Equality Day” and “Oxxy Girl Child Development Program” and a daylong conference held at Vigyan Bhawan demonstrated through concrete evidences and data the pervasive nature of discrimination against all women and girls everywhere. Discussions were held on topics like Equal Economic Opportunities, Gender Mainstreaming, Reservation for Women and Violence Against Women.
Sankara Eye Hospital, in association with Young Indians, CII organized an “Interactive Workshop for Caregivers of Children with Autism Spectrum” atSankara Eye Hospital Auditorium, Varthur Main Road, Bengaluru. The workshop saw 65 teachers and parents of Children with Autism Spectrum benefit from insights on education, dental hygiene to being able to overcome stress and create a safe environment for their children to achieve their potential. “Recognizing the need for multidisciplinary care and the advances in understanding of Autism, the interactive session has been curated with Young Indians Bangalore and Hiral Divyansh, Occupational Therapist to bring together Special Educator, Medical Clown, Psychologist, Dentist, Speech Therapist and Occupational Therapist,” said Dr. Kaushik Murali, President, Medical Administration, Quality & Academic, Sankara Eye Hospital Bengaluru.
Cash Suvidha to disburse loans worth $5-6 million in rural India
Ambuja Cement positioned among top companies in global CDP ranking
Cash Suvidha, a trade name of Usha Financial Services has announced its partnership with rural digitisation and commerce optimisation platform, StoreKing. This technology-enabled distribution platform is connecting small towns and villages across the country to a range of products and services, all via an app. Through this partnership, Cash Suvidha has successfully disbursed loans worth Rs 1 crore in just one month. Going forward, the company plans to extend loans worth
Rs 30-40Crore to over 2500 retailers per year. With its strong network of 47,000 stores across 10 states, StoreKing has been enabling retailers to sell more products and services to the walk-in customers and now, with this strategic tie up, the two companies aim to bring access to financial services in the nooks and corners of the country.
Ambuja Cements has set yet another benchmark in sustainable development with being ranked at No.2 in the world in the latest sector research report by the internationally renowned, non-profit organization, the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP). This report features 13 of the world’s largest publicly-listed cement companies which account for 15% of the total global cement production on their business readiness for a low carbon economy transition. With this ranking, Ambuja Cement emerged as the company showing a high level of preparedness for low-carbon transition, competing with other global and Indian companies. Ambuja Cement, which was part of the CDP’s cement sector research for 2017, achieved this special feat in line with its vision to be the most sustainable and competitive company in the industry; and performed exceedingly well in key parameters of ‘Climate Governance & Strategy’ as well as ‘Transition Risks’. www.spoindia.org April 2018 | 9
CSR/PSU
Hindi Seminar on Swachhatha Campaign organized at RINL
NHPC provides Ambulances to B.K. Civil Hospital
KIOCL celebrates Swachhta Pakhwada
Standing Committee on Defence visits MDL
A National Hindi Seminar on ‘Role of Science & Technology in Swachhatha Campaign’ was organized at Management Development Centre, Ukkunagaram. Town Official Language Implementation Committee (TOLIC- Undertaking), Visakhapatnam in association with RINL, AAI & LIC organized the conference in which 32 Technical papers on various aspects of cleanliness campaign were presented. Shri VV Venug opal Rao, Director (Finance), RINL while inaugurating the seminar, stressed the need for Swachhatha in every facet of mankind’s activity be it in society or industry. He also lauded the efforts of TOLIC (Undertaking) in organizing the seminar on a topical subject and that too in Hindi, thus, serving the dual purpose. He released an E-book viz. ‘SWACHHATHA’ containing the articles of delegates on this occasion. Shri G Prakash Reddy, Vizag Airport Director graced the occasion and appreciated RINL for conducting the program of national importance.
KIOCL Limited is putting all its efforts in realizing the Dreams of 'Swacch Bharat Mission' and in the continuance of the same, Swachhta Pakhwada (Fortnight) was observed from 15th March 2018 to 30th March 2018. The Company has organized various cleaning programmes in and around the Company during this period. At its corporate office, Bengaluru, Shri MV Subba Rao, inaugurated the Swachhta Pakhwada Campaign. The Pledge was administered to the employees. A special awareness drive was
conducted for the vendors of Madiwala Market. Cleanliness drives were also arranged. The market vendors have been forced to use the stipulated area for them. A Special Class on health and Hygiene was conducted for the adolescent girls of the Government High School Madiwala on the 31st March at the closing ceremony. Shri MV Subba Rao, CMD and Directors distributed Hygienic Kits to the girl students of the School. 10 | April 2018 www.spoindia.org
Under its Corporate Social Responsibility Programme, NHPC Limited has provided five ambulances to B.K. Civil Hospital, Faridabad on 13th April 2018. Shri Manohar Lal, Hon’ble Chief Minister of Haryana flagged off these ambulances. Shri Balraj Joshi, Chairman and Managing Director, NHPC handed over the key to Dr. Gulshan Arora, Civil Surgeon, Faridabad. From NHPC, Shri Ratish Kumar, Director (Projects); Shri N. K. Jain, Director (Personnel) and Shri M. K. Mittal, Director (Finance) were also present on the occasion. N H P C has been undertaking several commendable CSR programs in the vicinity of Corporate Office, Faridabad and also across all its Power Station and Projects across the country. NHPC is an Indian Hydropower generation company that was incorporated in the year 1975 with an authorised capital of Rs. 2000 million and with an objective to plan, promote and organise an integrated and efficient development of hydroelectric power in all aspects.
The Standing Committee on Defence visited the country’s premier warship building yard, Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Limited, on 21 April 2018. A warm welcome was extended to the Committee by Cmde Rakesh Anand, Chairman & Managing Director, MDL and thereafter they were taken around the yard showcasing the warship and submarine production facilities, modernisation projects and other state-of-the-art infrastructure. Shri Thupstan Chhewang, Officiating Chairman of the Committee stated that, 'We, the member of the Parliamentary Committee on Defence compliment the CMD & Directors of MDL for their achievement in raising a world class, modern and state of the art facility for building Warships and Submarines.' The committee was extremely impressed with the facilities and professionalism of the workforce at MDL.
CSR/PSU
Secretary General OPEC takes a ‘Pilgrimage Tour’ to Indian Oil’s Digboi Refinery
An OPEC delegation led by Secretary General HE Mohammad Sanusi Barkindo visited Indian Oil’s AOD Digboi Refinery recently, which is the oldest operating refinery in the world. The OPEC delegation was given a guided tour of the Digboi Centenary Museum with a detailed brief about the incredible facts that led to the discovery of oil in the remote corner of India in the late 19th century. The delegates went around the refinery, which included pit-stops at the 1928 vintage Wax Moulding Shed and the historic 'Still' used to treat crude oil. When asked about his visit to Digboi, Dr. Barkindo said that Digboi was a name he had heard many times since his student days. “And now a dream is fulfilled finally as I have the distinct honour and privilege to visit the birthplace of the oil industry that fuelled the current civilization and will continue to do so in the foreseeable future,” he said. “I congratulate the management of Indian Oil, Digboi and the Government of India for preserving this prized history.”
Bhubaneswar Town Official Language Implementation Committee meeting held at NALCO
The 8th half-yearly meeting of Bhubaneswar Town Official Language Implementation Committee was organized at NALCO’s Corporate Office. Dr. Tapan Kumar Chand, CMD, NALCO, presided over the meeting. In his address, Dr. Chand, expressed his pleasure for the special programs that were organised by the members to increase the use of Hindi in day to day official correspondence. Terming Hindi as a source for National Integrity, he stressed on increasing sales of products through releasing the advertisement in Hindi. Dr. Chand informed about NALCO’s Hindi Mobile App ‘NALCO NISARG' that is developed for disseminating company’s CSR activities. On this occasion, the 4th issue of Hindi E-magazine ‘Ananta’ was released in the meeting, in which the interesting literary creation by the employees of CPSUs and highlights of special programs organised were published.
Foundation stone of NBCC built IIT Delhi Technopark POWERGRID Vishram Sadan laid inaugurated at Kundli IIT Delhi Technopark built by NBCC Limited, was inaugurated at IGIMS at Kundli in Sonepat by Haryana Chief Minister Shri Manohar Lal Shri R.K. Singh, Hon’ble Union Minister of State (IC) Power and New & Renewable Energy laid the foundation stone of POWERGRID Vishram Sadan at Indira Gandhi Institute of Medical Sciences (IGIMS), Patna recently in the presence of Shri Mangal Pandey, Hon’ble Health Minister, Bihar; Shri Pratyay Amrit, Principal Secretary, Power (Bihar); Shri I.S. Jha CMD, POWERGRID and other senior officials from POWERGRID and IGIMS. This project is part of the Corporate Social Responsibility of the Company. POWERGRID Vishram Sadan will have 5 floors and with a capacity of 224 beds, it will also include facilities for the dining area, canteen, water cooler, grocery stores etc. The value of this project is about Rs. 15 Crore. About 3000 patients are treated per day at various departments including 27 super-speciality departments of the hospital. The hospital is providing super speciality facilities and health care at cheapest rates. Patients and their relatives coming from the State of Bihar/ neighbouring States, and Countries like Nepal, Sikkim, Bhutan, etc. for treatment will benefit from POWERGRID Vishram Sadan immensely.
Khattar and Minister of State for Human Resource Development Dr. Satya Pal Singh in presence of Haryana’s Education Minister Shri Ram Bilas Sharma. This extended campus of IIT Delhi has been built at a cost of Rs. 177 Crore and is spread over 10 acres with a built-up area of 33,200 square metres. It is equipped with ITenabled services, a 466-seater auditorium, a five-storey residential block, a four-storey academic block and basement parking with a capacity of 365 cars. “The establishment heralds another new chapter in country's march towards attaining greater achievements in science and technology,” said NBCC Chairman and Managing Director Dr. Anoop Kumar Mittal. “The extended campus has been created as a modern gurukul which will enable IIT Delhi to enhance teaching-learning and pedagogical research activities,” he added. www.spoindia.org April 2018 | 11
NEWS/URBAN DEVELOPMENT
Tech giants showing interest in setting up smart city centres
Global technology giants, including Cisco, IBM, and Bosch, are showing keen interest to participate in setting up of smart city centres or integrated command and control system under the Centre's flagship programme Smart City Mission, a senior official said today. According to the housing and urban affairs ministry official,
Mumbai Development Plan 2034 focuses on affordable homes and job creation
HP and Siemens are working to set up such a centre in Bhopal, while Bosch, Cisco, Efkon and Rolta are participating in the development of a 'smart' centre in Varanasi. Honeywell's expertise would be used for Bhubaneswar, while Schneider, Cisco and HP would help in setting up of such a centre in Naya Raipur, the official said.
The Mumbai Development Plan (DP) for 2034 speaks about creating 1 million affordable houses and 8 million jobs in the city. The DP envisages creating theatres, museums, parks, playgrounds, theme gardens, old age homes and shelters for the homeless. However, with BMC’s development plans have had a very dismal record of completion, this might be just in papers. Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation Commissioner Ajoy Mehta h i m s e l f admitted that only 20% of what the 1991 Development Plan had envisaged could be achieved. In plain terms, all the talk of creating 1 million affordable homes and 8 million jobs is likely to remain on paper because execution has been poor. Moreover, the city’s public infrastructure has always failed to keep pace with the demands of a growing population. And with the latest Development Plan—a blueprint for land use over the next two decades—the pattern appears set to continue.
UP tops the PMAY-G scheme with more 7 lakhs units constructed
IGBC green cities rates Amaravati as ‘Platinum’ city
Uttar Pradesh topped the list of all states in the country under the centre’s flagship scheme Pradhan Mantri Awas YojanaGramin (PMAY-G). More than seven lakh dwelling units were constructed in UP last year. Addressing a press conference at media centre in Lucknow, Mahendra Singh, Minister of State (I/C) Rural Development, said, “UP achieved 85% of its target by constructing 7,71,073 houses in one year to claim the top position while the national average in the implementation of this scheme for poor in rural areas has been just 34%. Moreover, the 7, 71,073 houses were constructed in just nine months.” Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh claimed the second and third positions with 47% and 45%, respectively. PM Narendra Modi had launched the scheme on November 20, 2016. The states were asked to achieve the consolidated targets for 2016-17 and 2017-18 in the last financial year. 12 | April 2018 www.spoindia.org
Amaravati, the capital of Andhra Pradesh has been designated as the ‘Platinum’ city by Indian Green Building Council (IGBC) green cities rating. It is for the first time in the country that an entire city has been given a ‘platinum’ rating.
The IGBC has given the rating on the basis of the parameters including; city planning, heat mitigation, green building, public space and regions under green cover, environmental monitoring and others. A city is given a platinum rating if its score is between 76 and above, on whole Amaravati scored 78 out of 100 points. The ‘platinum’ is the highest rating a city can obtain as per a new category.
April 2018 55 www.spoindia.org April 2018 | 13
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NEWS/DIGITAL INDIA
AIBEA asks RBI to come up with Internet shutdowns costing the mechanism to protect consumers economy approximately $678.4 The banking industry has requested the RBI to come up with a mechanism to protect consumers from unauthorised million transactions following the increase in use of payments through the digital mode. The All India Bank Employees' Association (AIBEA), representing public and private sector banks, has presented a memorandum to the Reserve Bank of India Governor and Finance Ministry in this regard. In the memorandum submitted recently, AIBEA General Secretary C H Venkatachalam alleged that the Centre was pushing customers to take to digital transactions,but banks do not adopt global test practices to protect them. "We feel that the increased use of digital payments post the demonetisation drive (by the Centre), it is necessary to have in place a mechanism or system to protect customers from unauthorised banking transactions", he said. A master circular by the apex bank on unauthorised banking transactions would have a huge impact on protecting customers from frauds, he said.
With the government ordering frequent internet shutdowns, approximately $3.04 billion has been lost due to interrupted economic activity as India faced around 16,315 hours of internet shutdown during 2012-2017, a report released by Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations (ICRIER) said. The report also states that as of September 2017, India with 54 shutdowns had topped the list of 30 countries that witnessed shutdowns in the preceding 21 months. In 2017, the number of internet shutdowns in India more than doubled from 2016, while the total hours of shutdown increased by only 20% and there have been 12,615 hours of mobile internet shutdowns in India costing the economy approximately $2.37 billion during the period 2012 to 2017 and around 3,700 hours of mobile and fixed line internet shutdowns costing the economy approximately $678.4 million during the same period.
Digital universities to soon offer higher education
IT ministry to assess the volume of e-waste in the country
As part of its Digital India programme, the government has started the process of formulating a policy for digital universities across the country. Once formulated, such universities will be set up to enable people to access high-level education at their convenience. These universities will be given accreditation and courses will also be recognised by the government, a senior official from the ministry of IT and electronics told DNA Money on condition of anonymity. In India, online education mainly for schools has been gaining steam over the last many years with many private players venturing into this segment. Even ministry of IT has started providing e-learning courses in some schools in villages where there is internet connectivity. Besides, many state governments have started smart classes to impart education. A draft proposal for digital universities is already in the works by the ministry of human resources and development and has been circulated for inter-ministerial views, the official said. The structure and course content of the digital universities will be at par with global standards. 14 | April 2018 www.spoindia.org
With serious challenges emerging from growing e-waste in the country, the Union Ministry of Electronics and IT plans to undertake an assessment of the inventory of e-waste across states apart from creating awareness campaigns around it. "We need to create awareness of the environmental, social and economic aspects of e-waste. The channelization of the e-waste for proper recycling and establishing a system of accountability in e-waste management will happen only through effective awareness," a senior official from the ministry said. Besides, a study on the total inventory of e-waste would also be undertaken to devise a long-term strategy. The biggest challenge is the recycling of e-waste in non-formal units by unscientific, unhealthy and non-environmental friendly methods, the official said.
NEWS/NGO
Vodafone Foundation empowers 360 youth under its Saksham project
Reliance Foundation to minimize malnutrition in children
Hailing from a traditional farmer’s family, 19 year-old Sarika rose above her limitation to follow her passion for sports. The National level Kabaddi player injured herself during a training session and lost all hopes. A young 20 year old Rajkumar was a school dropout and lacked employability skills while his brother and father struggled to meet the bare minimum requirements. His mother was chronically ill and needed a fair amount every month for her medical expenses. Sarita and Rajkumar along with 358 more youth were part of a unique project titled ‘Saksham’ run by the Vodafone Foundation that offered dedicated vocational training as well as sustainable livelihood options to underprivileged youth and that too within their own vicinity. Today Sarita is a working with a local newspaper and earning her living after successfully completing ITES course through Sakhsham. Rajkumar was enrolled in Mobile repairing course and today is earning his livelihood working in a store.
To tackle the malaise of malnutrition among children of Maharashtra, a tripartite Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) has been signed between the Rajmata Jijau Mother-Child Health Nutrition Mission (RJMCHNM), Department of Women and Child Development (DWCD) and Reliance Foundation (RF). This MoU, earlier signed in 2015, was renewed in the presence of Hon. Minister of Rural Development, Smt. PankajaMunde and Sh. Jagannatha Kumar, CEO, Reliance Foundation. The endeavor strengthens the Government of India’s agenda of Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) 2 in the National Action Plan for Children 2016 that targets improved nutrition as a key outcome. RF has been helping communities set up small kitchen or backyard gardens, known as Reliance Nutrition Gardens (RNGs). These are scientifically-developed, low cost, organic kitchen gardens that use a multi-tier cropping system to accommodate a variety of fruits and vegetables that helps improve health and nutritional parameters among farmer families across villages in India.
Akshaya Patra with Infosys Foundation inaugurates a centralized kitchen in Telangana
Maharashtra NGO invites people to upload photos of animal mishaps
The Akshaya Patra Foundation, in partnership with Infosys Foundation has inaugurated a high-tech mega centralized kitchen at Kandi, Sangareddy, in the state of Telangana. I n f o s y s Foundation has covered the entire cost of constructing this state-of-theart centralized kitchen by providing a grant of INR 18.50 Crore. The kitchen, which is spread across 64,438 sq. ft., will provide midday meals to over 1, 00,000 school children a day in the region. The inauguration was attended by Shri.KadiyamSrihari, Hon’ble Deputy Chief Minister & Education Minister, Telangana and SudhaMurty, Chairperson, Infosys Foundation. The event was held in the presence of Shri. Chanchalapathi Dasa, Vice Chairman, The Akshaya Patra Foundation and Shri. SatyaGaura Chandra Dasa, President, Akshaya Patra – Telangana and Andhra Pradesh.
AN NGO has launched a website where people can upload photos and information about animals getting into mishaps on roads, railway lines and irrigation canals. The NGO, Wildlife Conservation Trust (WCT), says this data will help authorities enact measures at the most accident-prone spots along such infrastructure to save wildlife. The website is http://www. roadkills.in. According to Milind Parivakkam, wildlife biologist from WCT, the Roadkills app can be downloaded from Google Play or from the website http://www.roadkills.in. “Roads and railway lines have claimed the lives of 16 tigers, over 150 wild animals and many other rare, endangered wild carnivores and herbivores. Scant data is available about the mortality of many of them," he said.
www.spoindia.org April 2018 | 15
MOBILITY
Nokia unveils three smartphones, Nokia phones shop
Huawei announces the P20 and P20 Pro Smartphones
Ajey Mehta, Vice-President India, HMD Global, said, “2017 has been an instrumental year for us – we set up our business operations in the country and launched a portfolio of devices that received overwhelming response from the consumers. Today, we are taking the next significant step forward with the launch of three new Nokia Android smartphones. In 2018, we will continue to strengthen our presence in the country. I am delighted to announce the launch of our exclusive online Nokia phones shop for selling Nokia devices and accessories. We will further our commitment to India by deepening our presence in offline as well as online channels.”
Says Richard Yu, Chief Executive Officer, Huawei Consumer Business Group. “The HUAWEI P20 Series builds on the legacy of our collaboration with Leica. With a breakthrough triple camera on the HUAWEI P20 Pro, an advanced dual camera on the HUAWEI P20, and powerful artificial intelligence on both, today’s most vibrant consumers can capture and share the brilliance of the world around them.”
Vivo brings new addition to its Y series, unveils Y71 Smartphone
Ziox Mobiles introduces Z99 feature phone at Rs. 1643/-
H
MD Global, the home of Nokia phone, has announced the availability of the Nokia 8 Sirocco, Nokia 7 plus and new Nokia 6 for the Indian market. These new Android One Nokia smartphones were introduced at the Mobile World Congress in February earlier this year. In addition to the launch of three new Nokia smartphones, HMD Global has also announced the launch of Nokia phones shop – an online shop for all Nokia devices and accessories in the country.
V
ivo has launched the Vivo Y71 with 18:9 FullView Display and super narrow bezels, which provides an impressive screento-body ratio of 84.4%. Priced at Rs.10,990, the smartphone will be available in Gold and Matte Black colour across all offline stores from 14th April, 2018 and will also be available online on the Vivo E-store, flipkart.com, amazon.in and paytmmall.com from 16th April, 2018.
Commenting on the announcement, Kenny Zheng, CMO, Vivo India, said, “Vivo has always crafted its products keeping consumers preference at the core. With the launch of Y71, we are releasing a smartphone which is large on display and performance, and is coupled with enhanced
camera capabilities.” The new Y71 offers 18:9 FullView Display with super narrow bezels which enhances the viewing experience for consumers. Designed with a new high polymer nano-blasting technique, the smartphone feels more ergonomic. 16 | April 2018 www.spoindia.org
H
uawei Consumer Business Group has unveiled the HUAWEI P20 and HUAWEI P20 Pro. The HUAWEI P20 Pro features the world’s first Leica triple camera and both devices include unprecedented AI advances, combining technology and art to bring to life a groundbreaking smartphone experience.
Z
iox Mobiles has announced to extend its product portfolio with yet another feature phone, Z99 with the very exclusive inbuilt loud Box speakers, powerful battery and stylish looks - a complete package.
Modest and sleek appealing, it features a 3000mAh battery and comes with inbuilt box speakers & has a bright display screen of 2.4 inches along with textured back finish and a bright torch on the uppermost dimension. The phone sports a dual sim phone comes with internet & Bluetooth connectivity option. For entertainment and music, the dual Sim device comes with loud wireless FM Radio with recording and inbuilt games. With SOS features, Wireless FM, and Speed Dial, the phone comes with multi-language support feature that allows users to command any language and connect in any language in just a blink of an eye.
Your needs are demanding.
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www.spoindia.org April 2018 | 17
INTERNATIONAL AGENDA
“We have to address cross-border terrorism” - Raksha Mantri’s address in China India participatedat the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Defence Ministers Meeting for the first time. The 15th SCO Defence Ministers Meeting was held at Beijing in China. Speaking at the meeting, Raksha Mantri (Defence Minister)Nirmala Sitharaman highlighted India’s keen interest in developing an expanded partnership with the broader Eurasian region. In doing so, India has sought to build on her long-standing ties of deep mutual trust and confidence with Russia, vibrant historical and cultural linkages with countries of Central Asia and closer development partnership with China and to further enhance and deepen ties with all the member countries for mutual benefit. External Affairs SushmaSwaraj and Defence Nirmala Sitharaman were Beijing on April 24 to attend
Minister Minister both in different
18 | April 2018 www.spoindia.org
meetings of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) and interact with their counterparts from the member states. The eight-member SCO, in which India was a latest entrant along with Pakistan, is due to hold its summit in the Chinese city of Qingdao in June. Prime Minister Narendra Modi also attended the summit and held talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping. The SCO comprised of China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, India and Pakistan. Nirmala Sitharaman stated that in the days ahead, India will work with the SCO partners to energize and revitalize the age-old ties of affinity with the countries of the region. She sought a forward looking partnership based on robust dialogue and concrete initiatives to enhance the economic, trade and cultural cooperation as well as mutually beneficial interactions on defence and
security matters. She has called for SCO members to work towards enhancing greater communication among member countries within the region as well as in the broader international context. This is essential for progressive trends towards stability and peace to reassert itself and to arrest the current drift in ties between major powers and to address any possible implications for the region. Nirmala Sitharaman said that many problems that confront the region, such as climate change, cyber security, narcotics trafficking or violent transnational crime require solutions based on cooperative frameworks that involve all countries and stakeholders. This is particularly necessary to address the persistent threat of cross-border terrorism and extremism. Sitharaman stated that international
terrorism is today the most serious threat to our peaceful societies. Terrorism threatens to derail our developmental aspirations and create sustained instability, both within our countries and across national borders. She called upon the member countries to closely coordinate and adopt a policy of zero tolerance towards terrorism. She contended that arguments of political convenience to provide an alibi for terrorist groups or organisations that support terrorism through material support or otherwise are no longer tolerable. Indeed, as the world has now realized, there are no good terrorists. India, she stressed, will continue to engage strongly with the SCO-Regional Anti-Terrorism Structure based in Tashkent in this regard. In this context, she said that we must also work towards the goal of a stable, secure and peaceful Afghanistan. She strongly condemned yet another tragic terrorist attack in Kabul, recently. “The SCO must adopt an uncompromising approach towards the persisting threat of terrorism in Afghanistan, as it is essential to advance peace and prosperity in the region. India is committed to doing it all can assist Afghanistan in its quest to regain stability and reconstruct its economy and polity. This includes cooperation in building capacities and capabilities of the Afghan national security forces. In doing so, India will continue to be guided by the requirements of the government of Afghanistan and the shared objectives of the international community,”she said.
“The SCO must adopt an uncompromising approach towards the persisting threat of terrorism in Afghanistan, as it is essential to advance peace and prosperity in the region. India is committed to doing it all can assist Afghanistan in its quest to regain stability and reconstruct its economy and polity. This includes cooperation in building capacities and capabilities of the Afghan national security forces. In doing so, India will continue to be guided by the requirements of the government of Afghanistan and the shared objectives of the international community.”
Since defence cooperation, especially enhanced linkages between armed forces is an important dimension of SCO, Sitharaman stated that India is keen to explore the full potentialities of this engagement. “India will engage with a positive approach and an open mind on all issues related to defence cooperation within the SCO framework,” she said.
Meeting to support greater cooperation in the defence field. There is a need for further discussions on how the EWG mechanism can be best developed to meet our shared requirements and objectives for defence cooperation in the SCO framework. India has already commenced practical steps to take forward defence engagement under the framework, as reflected in our first ever presence at this Ministerial Meeting and participation of the Indian Army Band at the Fanfare for Peace Military Tattoo being held in conjunction with our meeting today”. Further, she stated that “we will also engage as feasible on the items under the Agreed Programme of activities for defence cooperation under the SCO for 2017-19. As we move ahead, India will also explore the possibility of coordinating some SCO defence activities in the coming years.”
She further stated in this context, “We note the decision to set up an Experts Working Group (EWG) mechanism under the SCO Defence Ministers
The Raksha Mantri stated that India will participate in the SCO’s Peace Mission joint military exercises being held in Russia later this year. As
India enjoys excellent bilateral defence cooperation with a large number of SCO countries, especially with Russia as well as with all of India’s Central Asian partners represented in the SCO, she expressed belief that cooperation in the SCO framework will help reinforce India’s efforts to strengthen bilateral cooperation with the partners in the region in the field of defence. Recognizing the value of improving regional transportation and communication networks through mutual consultation, sustainability and sharing of benefits, the Raksha Mantri opined that it can create a network of physical and digital connectivity that extends from Russia’s northern regions to the shores of Indian Ocean. The International North South Transportation Corridor is an important step in that direction. However, she noted that it would also be essential that such initiatives respect the sovereignty and territorial integrity of all countries.
www.spoindia.org April 2018 | 19
LEAD STORY
In the coming days and weeks answers will be provided to many questions currently surrounding the two banks and their bosses. But the coincidence of both of them facing turbulence in their careers around the same time is now at the discussion point in every circle from board room to dining room.
20 | April 2018 www.spoindia.org
Chanda vs Shikha Who is at Fault!!! group. The Reserve Bank of India has raised questions over the performance in her Bank, putting her continuance in office in doubt. In a recent event, Chanda Kochhar was to be guest of honour at the FICCI Ladies Organisation annual event. President Ram Nath Kovind was the chief guest for the April 5 function at which 10 entrepreneurs were to be honoured. According to a FICCI official, "We don't know the reason why she opted out but her office called up to inform that she would not be joining in". When reached for a comment, ICICI spokesperson refused to comment. Kochhar was to be the guest of honour at the April 5 event and invitations sent out last month mentioned her name prominently. The FICCI's Ladies Organisation (FLO) Icon award is given to women who have excelled in their fields.
The ongoing crisis in the Indian banking industry is never ending.After a series of crisis in PSB’s (Public sector bank), it is now the turn of India’s top private banks (ICICI and Axis Bank) where two senior and well-known women banker personalities (CEOs), being featured in many media houses as the Indian women power Chanda Kochhar, managing director and CEO of ICICI Bank, and Shikha Sharma, CEO-Axis Bank. Both of them, believed to be the inspiration for the women of the country, are in the midst of questions these days. Chanda Kochhar has been accused of being complicit in a quid pro quo arrangement that ensured investment in her husband’s firm in lieu of bank loans to the Videocon
In 2017, Kochhar was ranked No.2 with Sharma close at No.3. Incidentally, both Kochhar and Sharma built their banking career under ICICI Chairman Narayanan Vaghul and later K V Kamath and also were seen as contenders for the top job at the bank. In May 2009, Kochhar became the head of ICICI Bank and Sharma moved to helm Axis Bank a month later when its founding chairman P J Nayak stepped down. Recently, in the first quarter of 2018, both banks were forced by the Reserve Bank of India to raise their bad loans estimate higher but yet their problems were not considered enough to raise a red flag. Though both ICICI Bank and Axis Bank lent to common customers in the private sector, their performance and stock prices were not affected as much as their public sector counterparts. In July 2017, the Axis Bank board had decided to extend Sharma’s term by another three years starting June 2018, the fourth extension since she was
first made the CEO. It is a strange coincidence that both of them are today facing rough weather, albeit for different reasons.
ICICI in midst of trouble Chanda Kochhar's bank ICICI is alleged to have given loans worth Rs 3250 crores to the owner of Videocon, Venugopal Dhoot. Chanda Kochhar’s husband Deepak Kochhar is the owner of NuPower Renewables which is a Joint Venture of Venugopal Dhoot and Deepak Kochhar. The issue was raised last month by a newspaper shortly after Kochhar and Sharma were called to be questioned by the Serious Frauds Investigation Office in the case of fraud orchestrated by billionaire jeweller Nirav Modi and his uncle Mehul Choksi. ICICI Bank is said to have led a consortium of 31 banks that lent money to the Gitanjali Group, a jewellery company owned by Choksi, according to sources. Though both banks lent money to Choksi over the years, they did not end up having outstanding loans to Choksi unlike several public sector banks. The CBI sleuths investigating the case wanted to know if the private banks were privy to information that could have flagged off the defaulter earlier. Nirav Modi is said to have defrauded Punjab National Bank, India’s second largest state-run bank, of 1.8 billion US dollars, though he said that he only owed the bank 775 million US dollars, in a letter sent to the bank’s management. The celebrity jeweller — the mastermind of the massive fraud — is said to have fled the country and was reportedly last seen in New York after his appearance at the World Economic Forum in Davos as a member of the Indian delegation. www.spoindia.org April 2018 | 21
LEAD STORY The investigating agencies will now look into Kochhar’s involvement in loans to Videocon but ICICI Bank’s board has already issued a statement that she is clean as the loan to Videocon was decided by a committee. In the case of Sharma, Axis Bank posted worse-than-expected bad loan numbers for two quarters. The disclosure surprised analysts, though in the last quarter the bank said that it restated numbers after RBI imposed new norms for classifying such loans. The Axis Bank board has confirmed that it has received the RBI letter but there is no information on any action it has taken on it yet. In the coming days and weeks answers
according to a March 28 filing. The board headed by Chairman M. K. Sharma said there was "no question" of any quid pro quo, nepotism or conflict of interest and expressed "full faith and confidence" in Kochhar, according to the filing. However, Kochhar's current tenure as CEO is set to end on March 31, 2019. There are six independent directors on the ICICI board, including the bank's chairman as well as the head of stateowned Life Insurance Corp. of India, which owns about a 9.4 percent stake, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. The board also includes a government nominee and five executive directors from ICICI.
will be provided to many questions currently surrounding the two banks and their bosses. But the coincidence of both of them facing turbulence in their careers around the same time is now at the discussion point in every circle from board room to dining room. The board of ICICI Bank, that earlier expressed full faith in Chanda Kochhar, is now divided over whether to ask her to step down as the federal central authorities investigate allegations of impropriety over loans made to Videocon group.ICICI's board, which consists of 12 members, reviewed credit approval processes and found them to be robust, 22 | April 2018 www.spoindia.org
The taxman is now studying the nature
How the benefit of doubt was raised? ICICI Bank, India’s second-biggest private lender by market value, reported a 32 per cent fall in December quarter net profit due to drastically lower treasury income amid rising bond yields, although the pace of addition to the list of nonperforming assets (NPAs) slowed the most in the past nine quarters.
Chanda Kochhar Chief Executive Officer, ICICI Bank
crore from two Mauritius-based firms to NuPower Renewables Private Ltd. The two foreign-based firms have been identified as First Land Holding Limited and DH Renewables Holding Limited. The department had also sought the share valuation report for investment in NuPower Renewables, apart from copies of balance sheets and profits.
Standalone net profit fell to Rs 1,650 crore, or Rs 2.55 per share, compared to Rs 2,442 crore, or Rs 3.80 per share, a year earlier. The profit was lower than a Bloomberg poll of 26 analysts, who had pencilled in a net profit decline of 22 per cent to Rs 1,903 crore. • Role Deepak Kochhar (Spouse of Chanda) The Income Tax Department has issued a fresh notice to Deepak Kochhar in his individual capacity and it sought details of his personal finances and transactions in connection with the tax evasion probe and the ICICI Bank-Videocon loan case, officials said. He has been asked to furnish the documents within 10 days, they said. The department had sought details from him in his capacity as the managing director (MD) of NuPower Renewables, the firm under the department's scanner, twice earlier. The tax department is specifically looking into the flow of about Rs. 325
Deepak Kochhar Founder & CEO, NuPower Renewables
of activities of NuPower Renewables between 2010-11 and 2015-16. The earlier notices were issued to Deepak Kochhar under Section 131 (power regarding discovery, production of evidence) of the I-T Act. The department had also sent a detailed questionnaire, seeking details of the firm's operations, to be answered by Deepak Kochhar as it is probing the investments made by the two Mauritiusbased firms in his company with suspected links to the Videocon-ICICI Bank loan case. The CBI is already conducting a preliminary enquiry in this loan case and has named Kochhar in it. The loan deal had recently made news after reports questioned it and linked it to a possible quid pro quo that Videocon Group promoter Venugopal Dhoot allegedly had with NuPower Renewables, a company founded by Deepak Kochhar. Videocon had received more than 30 billion rupees in loans from ICICI Bank. A large part of that loan hasn't been repaid and the asset
was declared non-performing in 2017. • Response from Dhoot Videocon Group chairman Venugopal Dhoot has denied any dealings with Deepak Kochhar, the husband of ICICI Bank MD and CEO Chanda Kochhar, beyond investing Rs 2.5 lakh in Deepak's renewable energy business.He termed reports of subsequent events, including loaning Rs 64 crore to Nupower Renewables through one of his companies, or subsequent transactions which resulted in Deepak Kochhar gaining full ownership of the company, as baseless. These reports have led to allegations of possible conflict of interest and quid pro quo against Chanda Kochhar. "Our transaction is very clear and I have not done anything wrong, and will not do anything wrong...We have not invested any money in any company floated by Deepak Kochhar,” he stated. ICICI Bank had sanctioned the loan to Videocon Group as a part of a consortium. Its board has ruled out any conflict of interest issues for Chanda Kochchar and reposed faith in her. The bank’s position is that it was a minority partner in the consortium led by State Bank of India. Now, the observation also states the involvement of more people in the family of Kochhar, ICICI Bank to seek clarity on the lender's alleged business relations with Singapore-headquartered Avista Advisory Group, a financial advisory firm founded by ICICI Bank MD and CEO Chanda Kochhar’s brother-in-law, Rajiv Kochhar, who is also the chief executive officer of the firm, according to information published on Avista's website. Rajiv Kochhar was detained at the Mumbai International Airport when he was about to leave for a Southeast Asian country. The CBI had issued a Lookout Circular (LoC) against him in connection with the ICICI Bank’s dealing with Videocon Group. • Role of Rajiv Kochhar Rajiv Kochhar got the mandate to restructure foreign currency-denominated debt deals worth over $1.7 billion of seven companies over the last six years. All these
companies were borrowers of ICICI Bank at the same time. “In at least one of these deals, ICICI Bank was the lead bank of the lenders,” the report said. Whether ICICI Bank had engaged in any business relation with Avista is a matter of deeper scrutiny.
Axis in troubled waters too Axis, under Sharma’s watch underreported Rs 9,478 crore of bad loans in fiscal 2016, as per subsequent RBI audit. The divergence in NPA reporting stood at Rs 5,632 crore a year later. Gross NPA swelled to Rs 25,000 crore by the end of December 2017 from Rs 1,318 crore, at the end of March 2010 (Shikha Sharma had taken over as CEO at Axis in June 2009). In an unusual move, Shikha Sharma wanted her new term to be reduced to seven months from three-year tenure that has been approved by the bank’s board. Banking industry sources said Sharma, 59, cited ‘personal reasons’ for her decision. “The board has accepted her
Shikha Sharma CEO, Axis Bank
request, subject to the approval of the RBI,” Axis Bank added. Axis Bank had been under pressure since last year following divergence in bad loan classification. In the quarter ended September, the bank said that RBI found divergence of ₨5,630 crore of bad loans of the previous fiscal. Last month, the
RBI had imposed a ₨3 crore penalty on the bank for violating NPA classification norms. Gross NPAs of the bank at the end of March 31, 2010, when Sharma joined, was just ₨1,318 crore, or 1.13 per cent. This has seen a near five time jump in the last two years. Gross NPAs jumped up to ₨21,280 crore at the end of March 2017, while its profit fell to ₨ 3,679.2 crore. In comparison, gross bad loans were much lower at ₨4,110 crore at the end of March 2015 and profits were higher at ₨7,357.8 crore.
So who is at fault? In the case of ICICI Bank, the question is, was it right to give a clean chit to Kochhar without conducting proper investigations? In the case of Axis Bank, the question is, on what basis did the board choose to give her a fourth term? In both instances, the effectiveness of the board and lax corporate governance are issues that cannot be wished away. Lastly, a million dollar question arises on how safe are our deposits if the banks fail? So far, in case of a bank failure, the proposed corporation will provide deposit insurance up to a certain limit, which has not been specified. Currently, bank deposits of up to Rs 1 lakh are insured but there are few banks that have failed in India in recent years as the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has stepped in to work out a resolution plan without creating any risk for depositors. However, the Centre's proposed Financial Resolution and Deposit Insurance Bill (FRDI), which is aimed at plugging bankruptcies in the financial services sector, includes a special provision which by definition allows the affected banks to use depositors' money to absorb some of the losses. The FRDI Bill aims to set up an entity called the Resolution Corporation (RC) that insures bank deposits. Today, your bank deposits are insured to the tune of Rs 1 lakh by the Deposit Insurance and Credit Guarantee Corporation (DICGC). The bill says, your fixed deposits are safe and banks cannot use them without your consent. The RC will also insure bank deposits and the insured limit will be set in consultation with the RBI. www.spoindia.org April 2018 | 23
COVER STORY
Modi, Xi aims at improving bilateral relations PM Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping held one-on-one talks on the second day of a two-day informal summit in Wuhan, aimed at improving bilateral relations Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President of China, Xi Jinping held their first Informal Summit in Wuhan on April 27-28, 2018, to exchange views on overarching issues of bilateral and global importance, and to elaborate their respective visions and priorities for national development in the context of the current and future international situation. They believe that the simultaneous emergence of India and China as two large economies and major powers with strategic and decisional autonomy, has implications of regional and global significance. They shared the view that peaceful, stable and balanced relations between India and China will be a positive factor for stability amidst current global uncertainties. The two leaders also agreed that proper management of the bilateral relationship will be conducive for the development and prosperity of the region, and will create the conditions for the Asian Century. To this end, they decided to strengthen the Closer 24 | April 2018 www.spoindia.org
Development Partnership in a mutually beneficial and sustainable manner, in pursuit of national modernization and greater prosperity for their people. Prime Minister Modi and President Xi reviewed the developments in IndiaChina relations from a strategic and long-term perspective. They agreed to significantly enhance efforts to build on the convergences through the established mechanisms in order to create the broadest possible platform for the future relationship. They also agreed that both sides have the maturity and wisdom to handle the differences through peaceful discussion within the context of the overall relationship, bearing in mind the importance of respecting each other's sensitivities, concerns and aspirations. The two leaders expressed their support for the work of the Special Representatives on the India China Boundary Question and urged them to intensify their efforts to seek a fair, reasonable and mutually acceptable
settlement. The two leaders underscored the importance of maintaining peace and tranquillity in all areas of the India-China border region in the larger interest of the overall development of bilateral relations. To this end, they issued strategic guidance to their respective militaries to strengthen communication in order to build trust and mutual understanding and enhance predictability and effectiveness in the management of border affairs. The two leaders further directed their militaries to earnestly implement various confidence building measures agreed upon between the two sides, including the principle of mutual and equal security, and strengthen existing institutional arrangements and information sharing mechanisms to prevent incidents in border regions. The two leaders agreed to push forward bilateral trade and investments in a balanced and sustainable manner by taking advantage of complementarities
between their two economies. They also discussed ways to promote greater cultural and people-to-people exchanges and agreed to explore establishing new mechanisms in this direction. Prime Minister Modi and President Xi underlined that as two major countries India and China have wider and overlapping regional and global interests. They agreed on their need to strengthen strategic communication through greater consultation on all matters of common interest. They believe that such strategic communication will have a positive influence on enhancing mutual understanding and will contribute to regional and global stability. The two leaders agreed that India and China have separately made major contributions to global peace and prosperity through their respective growth and economic development, and would continue to act as engines for global growth in the future. They reiterated the importance of building an open, multipolar, pluralist and participatory global economic order which will enable all countries to pursue their development and contribute to the elimination of poverty and inequality in all regions of the world. They spoke of their respective efforts to contribute to the regional and global economic development. The two leaders also shared views on their respective foreign policy visions of achieving global prosperity and security. They agreed to jointly contribute in a positive and constructive way in facilitating sustainable solutions for global challenges including climate change, sustainable development, food security etc. They underscored the importance of reform of multilateral financial and political institutions to make them representative and responsive to the needs of developing countries.
mitigation, addressing climate change and ushering digital empowerment. They agreed to pool together their expertise and resources in these areas and create a global network dedicated to these challenges for the larger benefit of humanity. Prime Minister Modi and President Xi recognized the common threat posed by terrorism, and reiterated their strong condemnation of and resolute opposition to terrorism in all its forms and manifestations. They committed themselves to cooperate on counter-terrorism.
The two leaders agreed that as two major countries and emerging economies, India and China, given their vast developmental experiences and national capacities, should join hands to take lead in offering innovative and sustainable solutions to challenges faced by humankind in the 21st century. These include combating diseases, coordinating action for disaster risk reduction and
The two leaders highly assessed the opportunity for direct, free and candid exchange of views offered by the Informal Summit and agreed on the utility of holding more such dialogues in the future. The forward-looking dialogue raised the level of strategic communication about the perspective, priorities and vision that guide their respective policy choices domestically, regionally and globally. It
Earlier in the day, Modi and Xi met for the final and the most “informal” rounds of one-on-one talks of the summit when the two leaders went for a boat ride on the East Lake and exchanged views during a 30-minute walk on the manicured lawns along the lake. The two leaders also witnessed the traditional Chinese teamaking ceremony while engaging on topics like international, regional and bilateral issues. Xi then hosted a private lunch at the guest house where, again, only the two leaders and their interpreters were present.
also helped them in forging a common understanding of the future direction of India-China relations built upon mutual respect for each other's developmental aspirations and prudent management of differences with mutual sensitivity. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, presented specially made prints of paintings by legendary Chinese artist Xu Beihong, who spent time at Santiniketan, to President Xi Jinping during their informal summit. Titled The Horse and Sparrows and Grass, Xu made the paintings during 1939-40, when he stayed at Kala Bhavan in Santiniketan and worked under Rabindranath Tagore. The reprints were specially ordered by the Indian Council for Cultural Research (ICCR) from Xu’s collection at Santiniketan. Xu (1895-1953) was the first visiting professor from China to stay and work at the town where the Nobel laureate penned many of his classic poems and novels. “China and India are both important engines for global growth and we are central pillars for promoting a multi-polar and globalised world. A good China-India relationship is an important and positive factor for maintaining peace and stability in the world," said President Xi. Chinese state media has praised the tone of the "informal summit" in Wuhan. The news was splashed across front pages of several leading newspapers in the country. The extensive reportage indicates the importance being attached to this visit by the Chinese leadership. www.spoindia.org April 2018 | 25
IN FOCUS
Niira Radia then ventured into the healthcare business through Nayati Healthcare, whose first hospital was inaugurated in Mathura by Ratan Tata in February 2016. It is a 351-bed multi super specialty hospital.
Niira Radia to bring a revolution into the Hospital Industry Niira Radia, once an influential corporate lobbyist and public relations professional, decided to exit the communications consultancy business in October 2011 after her name emerged in the 2G spectrum scandal. To her credit she has always helped many organisations and corporates like TATA GROUP in closing lucrative deals and matters related to retrenchment and merger and acquisition too. And now Niira Radia is back doing what she always loved: strategic advice. Absolutely, there is no doubt on her credentials in helping and advising Ratan Tata in the crisis of Cyrus Mistry, who was earlier sacked as the chairman of Tata Sons (by the Tatas) over a host of management issues. There are talks within Tata Sons to let Radia handle some of the communication strategies of Tata Tea, India’s largest packaged tea brand with a dominating market share. Radia was also instrumental in shifting the Nano plant from West Bengal to Gujarat after Mamata Bannerjee-led protests in Singur in 2008. 26 | April 2018 www.spoindia.org
Niira Radia then ventured into the healthcare business through Nayati Healthcare, whose first hospital was inaugurated in Mathura by Ratan Tata in February 2016. It is a 351-bed multi super specialty hospital. During the inauguration, Tata told reporters, “It is heartening to see a full-fledged specialty hospital being established in Mathura with considerable personal sacrifice, driven by passion and a genuine desire to serve the community.” Radia while expressing her views, told journalists that she had no regrets about her past and her foray in the corporate world was “a great learning”. She has her plans to set up more hospitals in northern states like Punjab and Jammu & Kashmir. Nayati presently operates Nayati Medicity in Mathura and Nayati Hospital in Agra and has plans to expand further to areas like Amritsar, Varanasi, Lucknow and Nagpur, sources said. By continuing her efforts to become
the tycoon in the hospital industry, she is now going to promote a new private hospitalthat is likely to become functional in the city early next year. The hospital is built by OSL group, a company coowned by a renowned businessman from Odisha. This deal has happened recently outside India for approximately 250 cr. plus approx. The twist to the story however is when both the party is from India, why did they had seal the deal outside India.The exact deal amount is not known. The new 600-bed facility that is to be named PrimaMed, will come up on Golf Course Road and will mark the entry of Nayati Healthcare in NCR. Nayati is partnering with OSL healthcare, headed by Vimhas founder Dr Rajiv Sharma, to run PrimaMed.As per the sources, Nayati acquired majority stakes (51%) in PrimaMed hospital this week as well as PrimaMed Vimhans, which is located near Ashram in Delhi. The construction of PrimaMed Gurugram will be completed early next year, an official spokesperson said.
SPO ANALYSIS
MTNL to wind up soon Mahanagar Telephone Nigam (MTNL), the lifeline of two major metros - Delhi and Mumbai which has been providing telecom services by bringing a telecom revolution in 1986 isnow struggling with declining revenues and mounting losses. In view of the price competitive market that is also seeing fast changes in technology, the government that needs to take care of a huge staff strength of 27,919, is finally exploring the option of shutting down the debt-laden firm by monetising its land, buildings and tower business. The government is also exploring various options on how to give MTNL's licence fees of Rs.11, 000 cro whether it will come up for renewal in April next year. Sources said, as far as the firm’s mobile subscribers are concerned, they can easily port out to other operators, which has happened of late when some private operators shut down their services. MTNL’s landline business can be assigned to fellow PSU, BSNL which currently does not have presence in Delhi and Mumbai. Previously, different governments explored the possibility of merging MTNL and BSNL and creating one single company but it could not fructify because of HRrelated issues. It has a total of around 2.5 million sq ft of commercial land and 4 million sq ft of residential assets, spread over the two cities and a large part of these can be monetised either through sale or leasing for commercial purposes. A look at the company’s financials prove that it is beyond redemption. Its employee cost is at an unsustainable level of close to 100% of its revenues. Its losses are more than its revenue — the company reported a net loss of Rs 2,941 crore in 2016-17 while revenues
were at Rs 2,870 crore. It is meeting an annual interest costs of about Rs 1,500 crore by taking more loans. In its annual report for 2016-17, the company acknowledged the danger and portrayed a bleak outlook by saying “Because of high leverage and heavy repayment schedule of loans as well as interest payment to banks and financial institutions in the coming years, there is a possible risk of liquidity crunch in near future, which will be a great threat to MTNL to keep it as an ongoing concern in near future”.
The company has already conveyed to the department of telecommunications its inability to provide over Rs 11,000 crore by April next year to pay for one-time spectrum charges and other fees to the government to renew its 2G licences. Being in a debt trap of Rs 19,510 crore as on March 31, 2017 (including Rs 4,533.97 crore of the bonds, the liability for interest and principle of which are with the Centre), it is not even in a position to meet the capex requirement to upgrade its telecom infrastructure.The centre holds a 56.9% stake in MTNL, 18.81% in Life Insurance Corporation and the balance stake is with the public. By following the policy of the
NDA government, the Niti Aayog has recommended winding up of over two dozen ailing PSUs, many of which are currently under the closure process. In order to facilitate the process, the settlement of statutory dues and payment to secured creditors are now being completed within two months after the Cabinet approval. It has set timelines for the disposal of movable assets, sale of land and retrenchment of employees not opting for voluntary retirement scheme (VRS) to fast-track the closure of sick PSUs. According to the department of public enterprises’ guidelines issued in FY16, the sick units would be closed within one year from the date of issue of minutes of the Cabinet approval.
31, 2017.
MTNL has land and buildings at premium locations in Delhi and Mumbai which could fetch a substantial amount, if monetised. According to the annual report of MTNL, the gross value of its property, machinery and equipment were about Rs 10,000 crore on March
The big question is whether this closer will take place before the Union General election 2019 or after the election? Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Limited (MTNL) is a state-owned telecommunications service provider in the metro cities of Mumbai and New Delhi in India and in the island nation of Mauritius in Africa. The company had a monopoly in Mumbai and New Delhi until 1992, when the telecom sector was opened to other service providers. The Government of India currently holds 100% stock in the company. As of December 2017, it has 3.58 million subscribers. www.spoindia.org April 2018 | 27
SPO ANALYSIS
Indian companies to get benefited from Atal New India Challenges The Atal Innovation Mission (AIM) of the NITI Aayog has made its announcement to launch the Atal New India Challenges, which came into being following PM Narendra Modi’s clarion call to bring innovations and technologies relevant to the people. The launch event saw the presence of Dr Rajiv Kumar, Vice-Chairman, NITI Aayog; Shri Nitin Gadkari, Union Minister for Road Transport & Highways, Shipping and Water Resources, River Development & Ganga Rejuvenation; Shri SS Ahluwalia, Minister of State, Ministry of Drinking Water & Sanitation; Shri Amitabh Kant, CEO, NITI Aayog and Shri Ramanathan Ramanan, Mission Director, AIM. Applicants showing capability, intent, and potential to productize technologies will be awarded grants up to Rs. One crore. This grant support will be supplemented by mentoring, handholding,incubatingand other support as neededat various stages of commercialisation. while generating wider deployment. Vice-Chairman of NITI Aayog, Dr Rajiv Kumar highlighted the need to ensure inclusive 28 | April 2018 www.spoindia.org
and innovative solutions. He said, “India has accelerated its growth potential by leveraging technology in various spheres. This initiative will focus our efforts towards solving problems in core areas, which would have a direct impact on improving lives of our citizens and will also generate employment. The topics placed in different phases are aligned with India’s needs and through the support of innovation, we are ready to make a giant leap towards a New India.” Partnering with the Ministries of Road Transport and Highways, Housing and Urban Affairs, Agriculture and Family Welfare, Drinking Water & Sanitation and the Railway Board, AIM will attempt to harness the potential of India’s innovators. Union Minister, Shri Nitin Gadkari spoke of the need approach policy and economic activity with a scientific outlook. He added that innovative policies will help fulfil the Prime Minister’s dream of a New India. Union Minister of State, Shri SS Ahluwalia, stressed on the need to identify affordable solutions to problems
of groundwater recharge and ensuring every citizen has access to safe drinking water. CEO, NITI Aayog, Shri Amitabh Kant emphasised the need to identify unique technological solutions to problems unique to India. He said, “Bringing more innovations to the service of Indian citizens will require more individuals and entities to innovate for Indian needs, and take innovative products to market through several mechanisms, such as start-ups, government schemes, or other deployment mechanisms.”He also highlighted the fact that the challenges are being issued after rigorous consultations and discussions with the partner ministries. Mission Director, Atal Innovation Mission, Shri Ramanathan Ramanan, said, “these innovations will be deployed to make lives of all Indian citizens better. This programme will bring a technological revolution in the lives of the common man, solving India’s technological challenges locally.” It should be noted that
these grants will not be mutually exclusive - multiple grants may be given in a focus area, based on the Selection Committee’s perception of potential. Furthermore, the winning grantees will be supported with mentoring, go-to-market strategies by leading incubators, accelerators and experts, technical support, and other means.
2. Fog vision system for road and rail
The programme is currently accepting applications at http://aim.gov.in/atalnew-india-challenge.php and the last date for applications is June 10, 2018.
6. Smart Mobility
Under the Atal New India Challenge, which shall be run in collaboration with five ministries, AIM will invite prospective innovators/MSMEs/start-ups to design market-ready products, using cutting edge technologies or prototypes across 17 identified focus areas, namely, 1. Climate-smart agriculture
3. Prevention of Rail failure using emerging technologies 4. Predictive maintenance of Rolling Stock 5. Alternate fuel based transportation
7. Electric Mobility 8. Safe transport 9. Instant Portable Testing
Water
Quality
10. Affordable Desalination / Recycling Technology 11. Waste management recycling / reuse 12. Garbage composition devices
13. Quality of compost 14. Decentralized composting 15. Mixing blades for composting 16. Waste in public spaces 17. Dissuading public littering The programme is open to Indian companies registered under the Companies Act 1956/2013, primarily a Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) as defined in the MSMED Act, 2006. It is also open to Start-Ups, as defined by the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP), Government or private R&D organizations (other than a Railway R&D organization), academic institutions, academicians, or even individual innovators are encouraged to apply, provided they partner with entities with appropriate manufacturing capabilities.
Hero Motocorp and Kings Learning to impart English language skills In its constant endeavor to make English learning accessible to every Indian, Kings Learning, the employability-focused English learning tech start-up, has joined forces with Hero Motocorp CSR division. As part of the Saksham Haryana program, Kings Learning will be conducting an app based blended English learning program using their enguru App at 10 government schools in Haryana. Kings Learning will also conduct a special 3-day intensive teacher training program for the teachers in these schools to enable them to run the blended program including a 45 minutes session every two weeks based on the app lessons completed. Hero Motocorp is sponsoring this project starting from April 2018 to May 2019 wherein 30 government schools have been brought on board for 6 tech pilots across various trainings. The 30 schools have been divided into 3 clusters of 10 schools each, with each cluster being given specific types of interventions. www.spoindia.org April 2018 | 29
NEWS
PM lauds senior citizens for giving up fare subsidy The Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the interactive session Bharat Ki BaatSabkeSaath has lauded the efforts of Senior Citizens of India for giving up subsidy for travel in Indian Railways. While interacting at the event in London, PM recounted his days spent at Railway Station & the enriching experience he gathered there from. PM also noted the remarkable progress made by Indian Railways in Infrastructure creation. Indian Railways have registered a significant rise in the number of senior citizens who have chosen to give up the subsidy. From 15th August, 2016 to 31st March, 2018 about 40 lakh esteemed senior
citizens have voluntarily given up concessions resulting in benefit of Rs. 77 crore savings to Railways from this single initiative. Option for giving up of concession in passenger fare for senior citizens to the extent of 100% was already available. Further, Indian Railways has popularized it along with giving the option to avail either the full concession provided to them on rail tickets or half of it. The scheme of “Give it up� Senior Citizen concession has been a great success. Indian Railways is thankful to
the citizens, who have opted for giving up senior citizen concession. At present, male senior citizens get 40 per cent while women get 50 per cent concession on the total fare. Though there are many categories of passengers including sportspersons and differently-abled persons who avail concessions, the major beneficiaries are in the senior citizen segment.
Centre to amend death penalty lawfor rape cases below 12-year of age Amid nationwide grief and anger over the rising child rape cases, the government has said it has started the process to amend law to introduce death penalty for rape of minors below 12 year of age. The Central Government in a letter, submitted to the Supreme Court said that it has started the process to amend the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO)Act to introduce death penalty for rape of minors till 12 year of age. The Centre submitted its report while responding to a PIL filed by Advocate Alakh Alok Srivastava, seeking maximum sentence of death penalty to those offenders involved in the rape and brutal murder of children between the age group of 0 to 12. 30 | April 2018 www.spoindia.org
The apex court three-judge bench, headed by Chief Justice of India (CJI) Dipak Misra and comprising of Justices AM Khanwilkar and DY Chandrachud, fixed the matter for further hearing to April 27. Disturbed over the rape and murder of an eight-year-old girl in Kathua, Union minister of Women and Children Development Maneka Gandhi had few
days ago asked her department to work on a proposal to amend the POCSO law to bring in the provision of death penalty for the rape of a minor below the age of 12 years. "I have been deeply, deeply disturbed by the rape case in Kathua and all the recent rape cases that have happened on children. I and the (women and child development) ministry intend to bring an amendment to the POCSO Act asking for death penalty for rape of children below 12 years," Maneka Gandhi was heard saying in a video, which was uploaded on Twitter. The minor girl in the Kathua case, who belonged to the minority nomadic community, had disappeared from near her home in the forests next to a village in Kathua, 90 km from here, on January 10.
Gadkari'scommitment for STP projects Union Minister of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation, Road Transport and Shipping, Shri Nitin Gadkari chaired a review meeting of the ongoing STP Projects in Bihar, Jharkhand and West Bengal in New Delhi. Addressing senior officials of National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG) and contractors, he directed that all the sanctioned projects in these states should be completed at the earliest. Bihar has 20 sanctioned STP projects in ten towns including 11 in Patna, and one each in Buxar, Barh, Mokama, Naugachia, Sultanganj, Hajipur, Begusaria, Munger and Bhagalpur. The state has a projected sewage generation of 606 MLD by 2035. The existing sewage treatment capacity is 124 MLD. The sanctioned projects will add 538 MLD of sewage treatment capacity. Projects of 216 MLD capacity are ongoing while projects worth capacity of 322 MLD are at various stages of tendering. In Patna, the 11 STP projects worth Rs 3237.69 crore will create total of 350 MLD sewage treatment capacity and
lay down 1140.26 km of sewerage lines. The expected sewage load for the city by 2035 is 320 MLD. Once these projects are completed, no sewage water from Patna will flow into river Ganga. These projects will ensure that no untreated water goes into Ganga in Patna and sewer lines reach every household in the town. STP projects will also be taken up in Danapur, Phulwari Sharif, Sonepur, Chhapra, Fatuah, Bakhtiyarpur, Barauni and Kahelgaon in the current year. West Bengal has 13 sanctioned STP projects in Gayespur, Kalyani, Halishahar, Bhatpara, Barrackpore, Budge-Budge, Berhampore, Nabadwip, Kamarhatim, Baranagar, Howrah, Bally and Kolkata. The
state has a projected sewage generation of 1638 MLD by 2035. The existing sewage treatment capacity is 548 MLD. The sanctioned projects will add 295 MLD of sewage treatment capacity. Projects worth 80 MLD capacity are ongoing and projects worth 215 MLD are at various stages of tendering. Jharkhand has two sanctioned STP projects at Sahibganj and Rajmahal. The state has a projected sewage generation of 16 MLD by 2035. The ongoing project of Sahibganj has a capacity to treat 12 MLD while the project of Rajmahal with a capacity of 3.5 MLD is under tendering process. The progress of 39 Ghats and Crematoria projects on the bank of Ganga were also reviewed and officials have been asked to finish all projects by October 2018. In addition, the status of 37 polluting industrial units in Bihar and 41 industrial units in West Bengal situated on the banks of Ganga were also reviewed. While 40 industrial units in the two states have complied with the norms, 9 of these units have been closed.
GST collections for 201718 at ₨ 7.41-lakh crore Collections from the levy of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) stood at a provisional ₨7.41-lakh crore for the year ended March 31. The GST regime was rolled out on July 1, 2017, and therefore the total tax collection pertains to the nine-month period from July 2017 to March 2018. A statement from the Finance Ministry said the total GST revenue collected between August 2017 and March 2018 was ₨7.19-lakh crore. “For (these) eight months, the average monthly collection has been ₨89,885 crore,” the statement said. These collection includes ₨1.19-lakh crore of Central GST, ₨1.72-lakh crore of State GST and ₨3.66-lakh crore of
Integrated GST. The Integrated GST collections include the ₨1.73-lakh crore tax on imports and ₨62,021 crore of cess. Commenting on the collections, Abhishek A Rastogi, Partner, Khaitan& Co, said, “The collection is below target as rate cuts were announced in the recent past
and various refunds in the case of export and other cases have also been cleared. It is hoped that the compliance level will improve further and all the assesses registered will start paying taxes, thereby leading to improved GST collections in the new financial year.” The SGST collection during the year, including the settlement of IGST, has been ₨2.91-lakh crore and the total compensation released to the States ₨41,147 crore. The compensation is to ensure that the revenue of the States is protected at the level of 14 per cent over the base-year tax collection in 2015-2016. “The revenue gap of each State is coming down over (the) last eight months. www.spoindia.org April 2018 | 31
TECH TALK
Our mobile is our most valuable possession, probably more valuable than our purse! If there was such a situation, the girl should have dialled the number herself and preferably put it in speaker mode. By Col. K K Chaudhary Executive Director-IT & IS – Lanco Group
Mobile Hacking Incident A young lady, fresher from a famous Management Institute, visited my office recently in connection with a business opportunity for her company. Like good Business Development Executives, she had already done the homework of knowing about me from LinkedIn and other social media pages. She was aware about my blogs and on a personal note she wanted an advice on the ordeals that she was subjected to recently. The Mobile Hacking Incident that she explained is very alarming but common. All of us can face situation such as stalking, banking fraud, cheating etc. if we are casual towards handing of our mobile devices. The incident The girl was travelling to her home for a Holi break by Shatabdi Express. The person sitting next to her was a young gentleman of about 30years of age, traveling to the same destination. The girl was busy listening to music using earphone and spent most of her time either napping or reading novel. During the travel the boy initiated talk many times, but with brief responses, the girl avoided. Most of the time the boy was busy on his laptop. As they were about to reach their destination, the boy became little uneasy with his phone. He looked worried and turned towards the girl. Appearing to be in hurry, the boy said that he didn’t realise that his mobile got discharged and will take some time to charge. He had to talk to his father about his arrival and requested for her mobile to make a call to his father who was supposed to receive him at the station. The girl obliged. The girl then got busy packing her bag. The boy seemed to be dialling some number and after trying a couple of times he finally spoke to someone. With thanks and sense of gratitude, the boy returned the mobile to her. They reached their destination. 32 | April 2018 www.spoindia.org
The Ordeal after the Mobile Hacking Incident Later in the day the girl finds a WhatsApp message from the boy with a wish to meet. The girl, unhappy with the surprise message, blocked the WhatsApp number. After few hours she gets an SMS with a request to unblock WhatApp and a proposal to meet. The girl ignored. She then gets a WhatApp message from another number with a couple of her photographs stored in her mobile. The boy appreciated her look and dress. The girl was frightened. This time she ignored. There were some incoming calls also, which the girl didn’t take. Next day, the girl went to the local market with her mother. She was astonished to see the boy entering the store and waving at her. Quite upset, the girl asked her mother to return home immediately. She hurriedly removed the SIM from her mobile and started using her mother’s mobile. The next day was even more frightening. She got a message on Facebook. Wondering how the boy could get her Facebook profile, she just ignored the message again. Just a day before she met me, she was again terrified to find the boy near her office approaching her. She hurriedly went inside her office premises and shared the ordeal with her friend. When she checked her private email account later in the day, she had a mail from this boy. He was just pleading for a meeting as he ‘had developed too much liking for her’. On advice of the friend, she decided to lodge a police complaint against the unknown person. She was not very sure about the effectiveness of this step and associated inconveniences that she could face. The next day when she visited me, she was still carrying the
same mobile but with SIM borrowed from her friend and was still getting the WhatsApp messages. Of course, she was not responding. What Really Happened in the Mobile Hacking Incident? It appears that while the boy was pretending to be dialling a number, he actually used the mobile Internet to connect to his laptop/server to pull a Trojan into the mobile. With a Trojan successfully installed into the mobile, the boy was able to capture all text messages, call details, Facebook profile, email addresses, media files including photographs and video stored in the mobile. He also has access to her locations as she had kept the GPS and location enabled in her mobile. In a nutshell, the boy knew almost everything about her, including her family, friends, hobby, movements etc. So many stalking incidents in recent days correlate with this incident as to how the stalker knows where the victim is! Protection from Mobile Hacking Incidents Most of us possess a mobile and are always connected to the Internet. We ignore the fact that the mobile has become our identity. It has our precious private data such as calls made, messages sent, photographs clicked and saved. With control on this device everything including our movements can be tracked. The following precautions can save us from such ordeals • Don’t Let your precious mobile go in unknown hands - This is the first lesson from the above incident. Our mobile is our most valuable possession, probably more valuable than our purse! If there was such a situation, the girl should have dialled the number herself and preferably put it in speaker mode. After all he wanted to speak to his father. In any case a
one-time NO is less difficult than later sufferings. • Enable Screen Lock - Don’t use a PIN code for locking the screen. That’s the easiest one to breach, someone just has to be peeking while you unlock your phone. Using a complicated pattern is a better choice. While choosing this option, deactivate the option that makes it visible when you enter it. However, this protection has no effect if the SIM is removed and used in other phone. For this additional protection, you should consider setting PIN to SIM also. • Turn off automatic Bluetooth connectivity - Bluetooth on your mobile phone may be useful in the car or at home, where it’s safe to communicate with your other electronic devices. But if you are in a public place and the Bluetooth connectivity is left open, anyone sitting within the range of Bluetooth can pick up that signal and gain access to your phone. • Mind your App -Free Apps are popular amongst youngsters. Please understand that the developers have spent time and money to develop them. They don’t offer it free to you. Instead they force you to allow them to access your data while you install it. They actually sell it to data brokers or hackers. • Avoid Using Public Wi-Fi - Though Public Wi-Fi is free and saves you from exceeding your data limits, it is highly insecure. A good way to secure your information on public Wi-Fi is to use a virtual private network, or VPN that encrypt the data that enters and leaves your Wi-Fi connected device, encoding your sensitive information. • Deactivate Your Internet Exposure - If you get trapped, two quick actions that you must take – Lodge a complaint with Cyber Crime Dept. of police and deactivate all your Internet exposure for at least 3 months. This includes stoppage of use of the SIM and the mobile device. Use another device with different SIM. n
Canon adopts a new village under its flagship CSR initiative
Marking a new milestone on the path of its corporate philosophy – ‘Kyosei’, signifying ‘living and working together for the common good’, Canon India has announced the adoption of a new village under its flagship CSR initiative – ‘Adopt a Village’. Through this initiative, the organization has successfully been executing its commitment towards the community, across the country. The new village is adopted in the North region’s Maheshwari Village at Rewari district of Haryana. Along with this initiative, Canon India also announces its association with Humana People to People (HPPI), a notfor-profit organization, focused on community development, since last two decades. Its mission is to unite with people in India in order to create development in the broadest sense through the implementation of the projects that aim at transferring knowledge, skills and capacity to individuals and communities. HPPI will support Canon’s efforts in the direction of strengthening the social fabric of the country, under its 4E’s including Education, Eye Care, Environment and Empowerment. Kazutada Kobayashi, President and CEO, Canon India stated, “Our flagship initiative for social development ‘Adopt a village’ has witnessed several milestones over the last six
years. With our first adopted village in Haryana- Ferozepur Namak reaching a self-sustainable model and the new village Maheshwari joining us, we see commendable progress in this outreach. Last year, we marked two decades of our existence in the country, this glorious milestone has been possible with the support of our partners, employees and the community. Our latest initiative in the direction of social welfare is ‘learning beyond books’, where we will be making the children in our adopted villages witness the world outside their horizons. www.spoindia.org April 2018 | 33
INTERVIEW
Machine Learning helping doctors to generate precise and Faster Prescriptions By Dr, AtishLaddad Pediatrician and Founder Member, The Pediatric Network A brainchild of Dr.AtishLaddad, The Pediatric Network (TPN) is an alternative child health support program that aims to acquire a holistic healthcare and wellbeing for every child. The chief objective of The Pediatric Network (TPN) has always been to bestow children across India with a healthy and sheltered lifestyle by making positive alterations and advancements in the treatment methods and functioning of paediatricians. Keeping this perspective in mind, TPN is all set to take its first steps towards embracing the path of digitalization by introducing Machine Learning a contemporary way to revolutionize the delivery procedure of medical prescriptions. This digital marvel is all set to change the traditional and mundane scenario typically witnessed in a medical clinic, wherein the patient enters the clinic’s reception to take an appointment and waits for hours until the examination to get a medical prescription. Machine Learning is nothing but the process of building smart algorithms and workflows inside a tech application for a precise purpose. In the zone of paediatrics, this techsavvy tool facilitates to produce medical prescriptions at a much faster rate as compared to the pen and paper. Going digital has always been a major challenge to health experts. Prescription software’s are not only cumbersome to use since they involve too much of typing or search and select functionality but the additional distress of losing eye contact and a personal touch with their patients always lingers in a doctors mind. To address this misery, this doctor-friendly application that is set to penetrate into 34 | April 2018 www.spoindia.org
Dr. AtishLaddad Pediatrician and Founder Member, The Pediatric Network the health domain, is a good example of how machine learning and artificial intelligence (AI) can play a vital role in refining our health. The process of Machine Learning characteristically encompasses a code built into it to study how a doctor approaches a specific disorder and recommends drugs, lab tests, vaccination and preventive measures based on paediatrician’s previous behaviour patterns. The intelligent algorithms of the application analyses the doctors data and facilitates the doctor to generate prescriptions in record time.
Machine learning is currently the talk of the town. Most technologists and paediatricians across the globe are adapting the technology, thus adding another dimension to their existing skills. This cutting-edge technology is sure to make a positive impact on the health specialists practice in time to come. Most doctors want to adopt technology but they can’t do so as they love to interact with their patients. With technology inside a doctor’s cabin, the interaction quotient goes down as doctors have to spend more time on the machine than on their patients. By inculcating machine learning algorithms inside a prescription software, we have been able to ensure that the doctor generates intuitive, clean and error-free prescriptions as fast as pen and paper.
ROUND ABOUT
An Open letter to My Esteemed Readers Friends, Of late, you might have been in the midst of many revelations and exposes, both nationally and internationally. Every country had its own epoch-making and mind-stirring revelations. Some of them were referred as scams, others flipside of governance structure, a third category has been dubbed as concocted fantasies, and fourth were termed as political vilification. In the U.S., it was the unfortunate incident of data harvesting and sharing clandestinely that shook the digital world. Everyone is holding Cambridge Analytica (CA) as the villain of the day. The name of Facebook also figures prominently, though its chief executive swears its innocence and claims that the IT behemoth was trapped into the present situation. If you are limiting the operational space of the entity (CA) euphemistically calls itself as a Think Tank registered in the UK, to the US, EU and India, you are mistaken. Friends, you may search for countries, where CA has been working or is alleged to be working, you will be in for a big surprise. Their name appears in several other places for the wrong reasons. CA appears to have influenced elections held in Africa, South Asia, Latin America and what have you. Does it mean digital devices should be abhorred? Does it mean digital devices can be manipulated? Does it mean that the increasing pace of digitization should be discontinued to ensure a free and fair world? Before answering these questions, let me, as a preamble, dwell on some of the basics. It is not the first time that human ingenuity and discoveries have found dual uses for technologies. Technology is neutral. It is the mankind, who uses the technology and tries to bend it to suit their selfish ends. Atomic fusion can create devastating destruction and at the same time presents hugely beneficial devices for the mankind. That is the
paradox of technology. Let me take this analogy to other areas. Artificial Intelligence (AI) is rewriting how people think and act. It makes life easier for many and at the same time is perceived to create hardships to an equal number of people, who may lose their employment opportunities. Yet, it can help people in undertaking hazardous tasks. AI also will create numerous employment opportunities. While in one sense it replaces people, in another sense it replenishes the human civilizations. The use of AI to help the mankind is unleashing newer realms and horizons. Let me come to the subject. Does the recent breach of trust carried out by using technologies affect the pace of digitization in the world? I feel that it will never impact the technology. Here, we have to distinguish between two things – technology and the mindset of technology handlers, who put the technology to unsavoury use. A mobile phone can give the fisherman the latest weather forecasts as to when he should go fishing in the sea, when he should not, likelihood of heavy rains so that he can return to the shore before it gets intensified. The same mobile phone can help a terrorist to do overt and covert actions. That said, we should work towards eliminating the misuse of technology. Those who have developed the technology also have a responsibility to develop safeguards. Next in importance is finding adequate systems to secure the cyber world from hacking and other unholy practices. Digital systems are meant to bring about greater transparency and to ensure accessibility to the people vital services, which are part of governance. There will be heavy backlash, if such benefits are jeopardized. People will lose faith in the system and will refuse to become a stakeholder in the digital world. Recently, one might have read about three important websites of the Indian Government,
which were hacked. The reasons are still not clear. But many people say that it was an organized attempt by some of the neighboring countries to hack into the vital information and database kept by the government. Of late, Bitcoins are being talked about and many countries allow parallel operations of such systems. A number of companies have sprung up across the world to deal in Bitcoins, which, according to the experts, is highly speculative and ephemeral. These are operated through digital platforms and they are sort of parallel operations in the money market, away from the watchful eyes of the regulator – central banks. Yet, we do not have a system to regulate these operations or prevent them. No government has come out with a policy framework to deal with the situation, though they claim that such systems are highly speculative. It is high time an international understanding and a policy framework either to regulate the system or to nip it in the bud itself. A wait-and-watch approach will negate the whole purpose of restoring the faith of the people in the digital world. www.spoindia.org April 2018 | 35
CYBER - LAW
Most companies are not ready for EU GDPR Legislation A new-data protection law — the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) being rolled out on May 25 — is the most comprehensive set of rules being put forward globally to strengthen data protection and privacy of users.
provide service on behalf of their clients.
However only a third of India’s IT services firms are compliant with the European data protection law to be effective in May, say analysts, warning that potential damages of any breach of privacy of user data from the continent could cost companies as much as 4per cent of their revenue.
The research of 482 IT Decision Makers was conducted during March 2018 in the UK, Germany, India and the US by Viga.
The policy enforces rules and responsibilities for corporations to be more transparent in acquiring user data, stick to unambiguous ways to seek consent and allow the user to withdraw consent. “Only 30-35per cent of all IT/ ITeS companies have started their journey to work towards GDPR compliance,” said Jaspreet Singh, Cyber Security Partner at EY. For technology services companies, newer policies will conflict with decadesold technologies where their client and record-keeping systems need rework. For instance, a legacy application that does not support any kind of login, will need to put in place a login interface to keep a record of the people who accessed it. This should be open for audit by European authorities. The data protection regulation may cost dearer to the Indian software service exporters too as they foresee deployment of more resource for compliance and probable rework in client contracts. Industry analysts suggest even though the GDPR norms will be applicable across all industries, firms that deal with BFSI, retail, utilities and healthcare are likely to invest in greater compliance as they deal with health and financial data of users to 36 | April 2018 www.spoindia.org
WinMagic, a data security company has released the findings of research that suggests many companies will not be ready when it takes effect on May 25th, 2018.
India centric Findings • 21% of companies in South India do not use automatic geo-fencing to prevent moving of data outside of the legal jurisdiction it resides • 73% of companies in Central India and 74% in East India do not check whether customers have given permission for their records to move from the companies’ servers to partners’ servers • 24% of companies in South India using cloud-based services for data know the physical storage location belonging to some services only • 88% of Indian companies ensure that all personal identification information is anonymized and encrypted across on-premise services and devices • 63% of companies based in North-East India do not have complete confidence in precisely identifying information that has been exposed during a data breach (internal or external) • 39% of companies in West India are
still cautious about their EU GDPR preparedness and 30% are stressed, while 40% in North-East are feeling nervous about Across all geos • 62% of IT Decision Makers (ITDMs) surveyed describe themselves as ‘confident’ in the build-up, with 1 in 5 (18%) saying they are nervous. • Only half (51%) of companies say they have all the systems in place that will allow them to remove EU Citizen data from servers upon the request, including back-ups, in accordance with Articles 16 & 17 of GDPR. • Worryingly, a fifth (21%) do not yet have any systems in place. In many cases, companies lack the systems and processes to ensure compliance with the new legislation which affects all companies holding and processing EU citizen data. They must have “appropriate technical and organizational measures” in place to safeguard personal data, as well as minimize data collection, processing and storage. Non-compliance can lead to fines of €20 million or 4% of turnover, but this is far outweighed by the reputational damage that can occur from a data breach where non-compliance has heightened the risks for citizens. Continuous encryption can be complicated to implement in modern environments where infrastructure and data span both cloud and on-premises servers. Where companies lack strict security and encryption management for technologies such as virtual machines and hyperconverged infrastructure, uncontrolled data sprawl can be common, leading to silos of hidden data, and a fragmentation of governance, that leaves companies noncompliant, and at risk of heavy fines.
www.spoindia.org April 2018 | 37
MOVEMENT
Subodh Gupta appointed as Director (Finance) - BHEL
On his appointment as Director on the Board of Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL), Subodh Gupta, 54, has assumed charge as Director (Finance) of the Public Sector Engineering and Manufacturing Enterprise. Prior to this, he was handling overall financial planning and strategy, treasury management and taxation in the Corp. Finance division of BHEL, besides heading the finance function of Strategic Business Units under the company’s Industry Sector business segment.
Kunal Kumar appointed Joint Secretary in Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs Kunal Kumar has been appointed as the Joint Secretary in the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs. He is an IAS Officer of the 1999 Batch of the Maharashtra Cadre.
Shambhu Singh appointed Additional Secretary & FA, Road Transport & Highways Shambhu Singh IAS ( Manipur 1986) presently posted in the Cadre, has been appointed as Additional Secretary & Financial Adviser, Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, Government of India.
PinkyJowel moves to Tamil Nadu cadre Pinky Jowel was given inter-faith deputation from Uttar Pradesh to Tamil Nadu cadre on personal grounds for a period of three years.
38 | April 2018 www.spoindia.org
Sanjay Kumar Moitra takes charge as Director (Onshore), ONGC
Sanjay Kumar Moitra has taken over charge of Director (Onshore) of Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC). As Director (Onshore), he will look after oil and gas production from ONGC’s onshore fields. With over 35 years of experience in oil & gas production activities at various Indian basins, Moitra has conceptualised many out-of-box ideas for efficient resource management leading to implementation of a large number of complex and high-value projects in India's oil & gas industry.
Nitishwar Kumar appointed JS | Water Resources, River Development & Ganga Rejuvenation Nitishwar Kumar, IAS (Uttar Pradesh 1996) presently posted as PS to MoS, Ministry of Railways, Government of India, has been appointed Joint Secretary, Ministry of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation, Government of India.
Suman Bala appointed as parttime CVO at CGA Suman Bala has been appointed as the part-time Chief Vigilance Officer (CVO) at the Controller General of Accounts (CGA). She is an ICAS Officer as well.
Jaideep Kumar Mishra appointed Joint Secretary MeitY Jaideep Kumar Mishra, ICAS (1993) has been appointed as Joint Secretary, Ministry of Electronics & Information Technology, from the date of assumption of the charge of the post, for a tenure of five years or until further orders, whichever is earlier, vice Shri Sanjiv Kumar Mittal, lAS (UP:1987).
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RNI No.: DELENG/2016/69058 Printing Date 27 & 28
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Reg. No.: DL-SW-1/4197/17-19
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