OPINION, P6 COMPANIES, P4 INTERNATIONAL, P8 ASHOK GULATI EDITORIAL RECOVERY FROM COVID TECH KNOW Decentralise MSP RBI’s options narrow Oyo has close to $1 bn Canada plans digital tax as inflation and inflows procurement,PDS to both rise, will have to to fund regular ops: in 2022 on global giants deal with farm protests keep repo unchanged Agarwal to employees like Facebook, Google

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IN THE NEWS ICICI BANK CASE GROWTH PANGS DULL DIWALI ‘Oxford vaccine SC rejects Kochhar’s safe, no co-relation Revival doubts rise No festive cheer with side-effects’ plea on termination SERUM INSTITUTE OF India in Nov car sales on Tuesday denied charges Apex court rules ORDER, ORDER that a Covid trial volunteer on weaker Oct-Nov Pent-up demand 2%onayear-on-yearbasis.The suffered serious side effects her services were ■ The apex court said it five-day period of Diwali sales from a vaccine developed not governed by 'won't interfere with the Core sectors, power Trends in GST collections Core sector Power demand phase seen to be forMarutithisyearwasaround by AstraZeneca and Oxford Bombay HC order' FY 2019-20 FY 2020-21 (% change, y-o-y, in (in bn units) slowly petering out 40,000 units compared to University, saying that the any statute but were demand, auto/fuel (in ` crore) output of 8 infra 2019 2020 around39,000lastyearduring ■ It said the issue falls industries) vaccine is safe and immuno- 135 the same festival (last year purely contractual within the realm of a 10 genic, reports PTI. "We sales barely enthuse; -2.5 105.2 FE BUREAU DiwalifellinOctober). private bank and employee 0 120 98.4 would want to assure every- in nature GST, PMI kosher; Mumbai, December 1 The commentary from the 98,202 95,480 95,379 1,05,155 1,04,963 -10 1,03,491 91,916 1,02,083 87,422 ■ 86,449 one that the vaccine won't On March 5, HC had rail freight up -20 105 players were mixed. While be released for mass use dismissed Chanda DIWALI WASN'T EXACTLY Maruti maintained its stance -30 90 unless it is proven immuno- INDU BHAN Kochhar's plea -40 -37.9 blockbuster for auto players that though the pent up dem- 101.2 95.1 genic, and safe,"it said. New Delhi, December 1 against FE BUREAU Apr-20 Oct-20 75 with most manufacturers and was slowly petering out, termination as New Delhi, December 1 July Aug Sept Oct Nov Source: Industry ministry Jan Nov reporting moderate growth in sales should be fine till Decem- Diesel sales fall THE SUPREME COURT on MD and CEO Manufacturing PMI Petrol/diesel sales sales during November and ber.Others like Mahindra exp- 60 Freight Freight (in thousand tonnes) Tuesday rejected Chanda ■ She stands AFTER THE POST-LOCK- 50 loading revenue that too on a lowbase of last ressedoptimismthatsinceeco- 7% in November, Kochhar's appeal against the to DOWN blip in transactions, 40 (m tonne) (` cr, RHS) 8,000 Diesel 6,853 year.Ifsalesofaround14play- nomic activities are showing lose her 54.1 BombayHigh Court’s March 5 pension- driven by release of pent-up 30 120 12,000 6,000 ers in the passenger vehicle signsofpickingupthedemand petrol sales up 5% 20 Oct 56.3 orderwhichhaddismissedher related demandandfestiveconsump- 4,000 2,684 segment is grossed up, then momentum could remain int- 10 Services PMI 80 8,000 INDIA'S DIESEL SALES fell 7% pleaagainstherterminationas benefits tion,asetofeconomicdatafor 0 2,000 the growth during the month actinthecomingmonths. Jan-20 Nov-20 year-on-year in November the managing director and the October-Novemberperiod 40 4,000 0 Petrol was around 9% compared to Autoplayershaddespatched after rising for the first time CEO of ICICI Bank, saying the signaled the direwarning that Note: Reading below 50 suggests Jan Nov* the same month lastyear. hugevolumesduringOctober— contraction and above it indicates 0 0 *extrapolated from in eight months in October, issuefallswithintherealmofa KaulwhiledismissingKochhar’s absent concrete and expedi- expansion Source: IHS Markit Feb Nov PSU retail sales The country’s largest pas- one of the highest in recent industry data showed on private bank and employee. appeal upheld the Bombay HC tiousstimuli,thefragilerecov- senger vehicle manufacturer, times—tostockdealershipsfor Tuesday, reports PTI. Sale of The ruling is a major set- orderthatheldthatherservices ery might be fizzling out.The Maruti Suzuki India saw its thefestivalperiod. diesel, the most used fuel in back for Kochhar who now were not governed by any economy might have con- efit of a more favourable base. ember (which are mainly due domestic sales (factory the country, was, however, stands to lose her pension- statute,“but it is a purely con- tractedintheOctober-Decem- According to official data to transactions in October) despatchestodealers)declining Continued on Page 2 8% higher month-on-month. related benefits, including tractualrelationshipwithICICI”. ber quarter, at a rate even releasedonTuesday,thegross was `1,04,963 crore. bonuses and stock options. sharper than 7.5% in the pre- goods and services tax (GST) Nov ‘19 Nov ‘20 « % Change y-o-y No charges on The Bench led by justice SK Continued on Page 2 viousquarter,despitetheben- revenue collected in Nov- Continued on Page 2 Paytm merchant transactions PMLAcase: Court refuses bail to Deepak Kochhar Rural jobs scheme: Demand for work falls in November A COURT ON Tuesday He was arrested by the PAYTMANNOUNCEDTHATit rejected a bail plea of busi- Enforcement Directorate THEDEMANDFOR work under the rural However, in November, the demand for has waived all charges on nessman Deepak Kochhar, (ED) in September 2020 employment scheme (MG-NREGS) jumped workbothatthehouseholdaswellastheindi- 2,07,775 1,98,933 5,75,957 1,41,400 merchant transactions, repo- husband of former ICICI under the Prevention of in May as the lock-down was eased,peaked viduallevelsfellincomparisontoOctober. 1,38,956 5,05,944 48,800 rts fe Bureau in New Delhi. It Bankchiefexecutiveofficer Money Laundering Act in June,but continued to remain at elevated Thismaybesignallinganimprovementin 44,600 22,066 21,230 8,508 is now enabling merchant Chanda Kochhar and an (PMLA) in the alleged ICICI levels through October, according to an theeconomy,aspartofthefallindemandmay 8,312 « « « « partners to accept payments accused in a money-laun- Bank-Videoconmoney-laun- official data, reports Surya Sarathi Ray in havebeenduetoapick-upinconstructionand « 1.7 9.4 4 2.4 14 « 4 from Paytm wallet, UPI apps, dering case,reports PTI. deringcase.■ Page 3 New Delhi. assortedserviceindustries. ■ Page 2 Maruti Hyundai M&M Toyota Hero Bajaj RuPay cards at zero charges. Suzuki Motor Kirloskar MotoCorp Auto

● Special Feature FARMERS’ AGITATION NUE PIE Unions reject govt Yes Bank in Sixways a highercredit score talks with can bringyou benefits offer to set up panel; Thosewith a credit score of So Hum ` Loan 750 and above are seen as talks to continue 300 Credit Score 900 financially more disciplined, Bharat to and are thus rewarded by PRESS TRUST OF INDIA endedwithoutanyresolution. lenderswith preferential New Delhi, December 1 The meeting at Vigyan take 9.99% treatment such as lower Bhawan remained inconclu- interst rates on loans THE GOVERNMENTON Tues- sive and the government has FE BUREAU ■ Personal Finance, P9 daysuggestedsettingupacom- calledforanotherroundofdis- Mumbai, December 1 mitteetolookintoissuesraised cussionsonThursday,Decem- by farmers protesting against ber 3,union leaders said.Gov- YES BANK IS in talks with the new farm laws, but it was ernment officials said the newly-foundedSoHumBharat rejected by representatives of dialogue would continue and Digital Payments for a 9.99% QuickPicks 35agitatingorganisationsdur- the next round of talks has equitystakeinaproposednew ing their marathon meeting been scheduled forThursday. umbrellaentity(NUE)forretail ‘Tier-II write-down positive for LVB withthreeunionministersthat However,another round of payments. So Hum and Yes meeting got underway later in VOX POPULI Bankwill jointlywork towards depositors,other senior creditors’ the evening at the Agriculture Britain's Prime Minister Boris Johnson holds a vial of the Oxford/AstraZeneca Covid the NUE’s product and busi- THE WRITE-DOWN of Lakshmi Vilas Bank’s (LVB) Ministrywith representatives vaccine candidate at Wockhardt's manufacturing facility in Wales ness strategy, the former said Basel III tier-II securities is credit negative for ofBharatiyaKisanUnion(BKU), in a statement onTuesday. holders of junior securities because they will lose the officials said. BKU leader PromoterInfibeamAvenues their investment, but is credit positive for bank NareshTikait also said another haspickedupa33.33%stakein depositors and senior creditors because of the loss- delegation of farmer leaders FE BUREAU So Hum, founded by Navin absorption capacity provided by tier-II, Moody’s said on wasmeetingthegovernmentat Stocking up Surya,chairman-emeritus,Pay- Tuesday, reports fe Bureau in Mumbai. This marks the first Farmers unions’ leaders at 7 pm.He said issues otherthan ments Council of India (PCI). time that an Indian bank has written down tier-II securities theVigyan Bhavan in New the recently enacted farm laws Foreign flows keep rupee strong Surya said Yes Bank has a fin- and follows Yes Bank’s write-down of its additional tier-I (AT- Delhi onTuesday are also likely to be discussed, tech-first strategy, much like I) securities earlier in the year for the same reason. PAGE 10 and mentioned power tariffs With FPIs lapping up Indian equities, portfolio flows in 2020 are nudging $15 billion.This that of So Hum. So Hum is in GOVT SAYS forfarmersamongtheprobable has held up the rupee, which onTuesday rose to a more than one-month high vs the dollar discussions with multiple fin- ■ New farm lawswill bring talkingpoints. techpartnerstoworkonandco- Kataria at Bata helm: Footprints of farmers better opportunities Themeetingwasexpectedto Net FPI flows into equity ($ mn) `/$ (Inverted scale) createnewandinnovativepay- be attended by representatives 15,000 72.50 ment products and solutions India-origin corp honchos expand ■ Also, usher in new from Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, 73.14 for multiple use cases and for THE FOOTPRINTS of Indian-origin corporate technologies in agriculture Delhi and Uttarakhand,Tikait 10,000 9,559 73.00 rendering its services to the 6,096 executives at multinationals is expanding, with told reporters. This meeting 5,000 73.67 masses,a statement said.“This 2,506 2,473 73.50 1,719

FARMERS SAY 1,373 1,153

Sandeep Kataria taking over the reins of footwear began soon afterthe end of the 414 wouldhelpusgrowdigitalpay- ■ 0 major Bata as its global CEO, reports PTI. From New farm laws would first one with a much larger 74.00 ments consumers from 100 FMCG majors to IT titans, Kataria joins the league of Indian- lead to dismantling of the groupatVigyanBhawan,where -31 million to 500 million and also

-5,000 -767 origin executives who have climbed the highest echelons of MSP system thefarmerrepresentativeswere -8,390 74.50 drive digital consumer spends corporates across diverse sectors globally. From Nooyi to unanimousinseekingrepealof -10,000 from 18% to 50% in the econ- ■ Also, farmers would be Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sept Oct Nov 75.00 Pichai to Nadella, the list of such people at the helm of multi- left at the mercy of big thethreelaws. 2020 Oct 1, ‘20 Dec 1, ‘20 omy,”itadded. billion dollar enterprises is long. Kataria has been elevated as corporates Source: Bloomberg global CEO of Bata from CEO of Bata India. Continued on Page 2 Continued on Page 2

COVID BITES Wendy’s to open 250 cloud kitchens SARITHA RAI Time to Rebel The US company strikes deal December 1 with Rebel Foods, believes the alliance largest yet in the industry Wendy’s WENDY’S HAS STRUCK a deal with has with India’sRebelFoodstoopenabout250 Rebel Foods isworld’s largest so-called cloud kitchens across the cloud-kitchen operatorwith over 6,800 country,one of the most ambitious 300 locations restaurants in effortsyettoservecustomersthrough delivery rather than the traditional It followed its burger chains 30 markets fast-foodstoresastheindustryadapts rival McDonald’s into India in New Delhi in 2015 worldwide tothecoronaviruspandemic. The US company is experiment- ing with a new format as the Covid- seatingorcashiersthatpreparefood Foods,backedbySequoiaCapitaland 19outbreakmakesmanyconsumers exclusivelyfordelivery. GoldmanSachsGroup,istheworld’s unwilling or unable to visit tradi- Wendy’s, with nine brick-and- largest cloud-kitchen operator with tional stores. Cloud kitchens,which mortar outlets in India, said it more than 300 locations. derive their name from cloud com- believes its cloud kitchen alliance is puting,are remote facilitieswithout the largest yet in the industry.Rebel Continued on Page 2

Pune 2 FINANCIAL EXPRESS WWW.FINANCIALEXPRESS.COM MEETWITH FARMERS

Narendra Singh Tomar, Union agriculture minister

We had a detailed discussion. We will again ❝meet on December 3. We suggested to them ❝ to form a small committee, but they said they all will be present in the meeting. So, we EconomyWEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 2, 2020 agreed to that

Quick ● RURAL EMPLOYMENT SCHEME Diesel sales India’s manufacturing ‘Ill-informed’and fall 7% in Nov, ‘unwarranted’: Demand forwork petrol up 5% PMI slips to 3-month India on Canadian PM’s View PRESS TRUSTOFINDIA low in November New Delhi, December 2 comments on ADB to provide falls in November PRESS TRUST OF INDIA INDIA'S DIESEL SALES fell 7% New Delhi, December 2 farmers’protest $563-m loan for year-on-yearinNovemberafter power projects SURYA SARATHI RAY rising forthe first time in eight INDIA’S MANUFACTURING PRESS TRUSTOFINDIA New Delhi, December 1 Generation of person days months in October, industry SECTOR activity lost New Delhi, December 2 (in cr) MULTI-LATERALFUNDING 267.96 265.44 267.34 datashowedonTuesday. momentum and fell to a 235.64 AGENCYAsian THEDEMANDFORworkunder 220.36 235.14 233.74 Saleofdiesel,themostused three-month low in Novem- INDIAON TUESDAY DevelopmentBank(ADB) the rural employment scheme fuel in the country,was,how- ber amid slower increases in strongly reacted to com- onTuesdaysaiditwill (MG-NREGS)jumpedinMayas 166.2 ever, 8% higher month-on- factory orders, exports and ments by Canadian Prime provideloanof$562.8 thelockdownwaseased,peaked month.Diesel consumption in buying levels, a monthly sur- Minister Justin Trudeau and million(`4,143crore)for inJune,butcontinuedtoremain November was 6.23 million vey said on Tuesday. other leaders there on powerprojectsinUttar atelevatedlevelsthroughOcto- tonne,down from 6.7 million TheseasonallyadjustedIHS month does not represent a protests by farmers, calling PradeshandMeghalaya. ber,according to official data. tonneinthesameperiodayear Markit India Manufacturing major setback,since these are theremarksas“ill-informed” TheADBhasapproveda However, in November, the ago.Itwas,however,higherthan Purchasing Managers’ Index down from over decade highs and “unwarranted” as the $430millionmulti-tranche demand for work both at the 2013-14 2015-16 2017-18 2019-20 5.7-milliontonnedemanddur- (PMI)fellfrom58.9inOctober in October,a spike in Covid-19 matterpertainedtotheinter- financingfacility(MFF)to householdaswellastheindivid- 2014-15 2016-17 2018-19 2020-21* ingOctober. toathree-monthlowof56.3in cases and the possibility of nal affairs of a democratic improvethequalityand ual levels fell in comparison to *As on December 1,2020 Source: ministry of rural development The fall in consumption in November,indicating that the associated restrictions could country. reliabilityofelectricity October.This maybe signalling November,afterdieselsaleshad manufacturing sector growth underminetherecovery”. “We have seen some ill- supplyinUttarPradeshin an improvement in the econ- December1,thenumberofper- ago levels, a surge which sur- reachedpre-CovidlevelsinSep- remainedstrong,despitelosing Asperthesurvey,aggregate informed comments by India,theagencysaid. omy, as part of the fall in son days generated under the passedeventherecordedrisein tember,shows the recovery is traction.In PMI parlance, a new orders rose at the slowest Canadian leaders relating to demandmayhavebeenduetoa schemeishigherthantheentire demand for work.Mindful of fragile,anindustryofficialsaid. print above 50 means expan- paceinthreemonths. farmers in India. Such com- NMDC’sironore pick-up in construction and lastfiscal’stallyof265.44crore budget constraints, there has Petrol sales rose to 2.4 mil- sion,while a score below that The companies indicated ments are unwarranted, outputfalls4.81% assortedserviceindustries. and all other previous years since been a moderate regula- lion tonne from 2.28 million denotescontraction. that sales growth was under- especiallywhenpertainingto While2.43crorehouseholds since the scheme came into tionofthereleaseoffunds(sup- tonne,while cooking gas (LPG) “TheIndianmanufacturing pinned by resilient demand, the internal affairs of a inApr-Nov demandedworkinOctober,the effect in 2006.As FE reported ply)bythegovernment. saleswereup4.5%to2.36mil- sector remained on the right thoughcurbedbytheCovid-19 democratic country,” exter- NMDCONTUESDAY numberwasdownto2.25crore earlier, generation of person The Centre has been gener- liontonne. path to recovery, with strong pandemic,itadded. nal affairs ministry reporteda4.81%falliniron inNovember.Similarly,persons days in the current fiscal year ouswith the allocations forthe Aviation turbine fuel (ATF) growth of neworders and out- “Companies noted that the spokespersonAnuragSrivas- oreproductionat17.98 seeking job in Novemberfell to couldbearound420crore. MG-NREGSthisyear(including sales fell 48% year-on-year to put sustained during Novem- pandemic was the key factor tava said. milliontonne(mt)during 2.85crorefrom3.09croreinO- Thebigjumpshowsthehigh `10,000croreprovidedforrural 3,46,000tonne,butwere6.3% ber,”Pollyanna De Lima, eco- weighing on growth during In a terse message, the April-Novemberperiodof ctober.PersondaysinNovember efficacy of the popular scheme employment in the latest highermonth-on-month. nomics associate director at November,with Covid-related ministry further added that theongoingfiscal.Thefirm was also down by 45% over to avert a rural distress in the tranche of stimulus, the sch- The total demand for IHSMarkit,said. uncertainty also restricting "itisalsobestthatdiplomatic hadproduced18.89mtiron Octoberto14.35crore. pandemic period that saw tens eme’sbudgetoutlayforthecur- petroleumproductsrose2.5% Lima further noted that businessconfidence,”Limasaid. conversations are not mis- oreduringthesameperiod Four months to go in the of thousands of migrantwork- rentfiscalyearisnow`1.11lakh inOctobertoreach17.77mil- “the softening of rates of Business optimism faded represented forpolitical pur- offinancialyear2019-20, current financialyear,but gen- ers returning to their rural crore compared with `68,300 lion tonne. expansion seen in the latest slightlyinNovember. poses.” NMDCsaidinaBSEfiling. eration of person (work) days homesfromcities. crorein2019-20).Anamountof While petrol had reached Ironoresalesfellto18.73 under Mahatma Gandhi-Nati- There is evidence of a sharp `74,835 crore has been spent pre-COVID levels in Septem- mtduringtheperiodasaga- onal Rural Employment Guar- increaseinsupply(workoffered, under the scheme so far this ber itself, diesel consumption Survey: Indian businesses expect quicker return inst19.99mtinApril-Nov- anteeScheme(MG-NREGS)has which is reflected on person year.Anaverageof40.92daysof had returned to normal in emberofprecedingfiscal. reachedwithinthestrikingdis- days)inJune-July,asthegovern- employmenthasbeenprovided October. to pre-Covid profitability levels than most others tance of surpassing the highest mentstruggledtoextendtimely to each beneficiary household Dieseldemandhadspurted IOClaunches tallyinanyyearof267.96crore relief to the under-privileged. under MG-NREGS so far this 7.4 per cent year-on-year in PRESS TRUST OF INDIA growthandinvestment. notably higher than the global India’sfirst100 recordedin2018-19. The person days in both these year, compared with of 48.4 October,whilepetrolsaleswere New Delhi, December 2 As per the survey, 87% of average of 67%. In terms of At 267.34 crore, as on months were double the year- daysinthewholeoflastyear. up4.5%at2.54milliontonne. Indianbusinesses,notablyhigh- business outlook, almost half Octanepetrol INDIANBUSINESSESEXPECT er than the global average (45%) of the surveyed Indian INDIANOIL a quicker return to pre-Covid (73%),expect to return to pre- businessesareoptimisticabout CORPORATIONon levels of profitability than Covidlevelsofprofitabilitywit- business growth,much higher Tuesdaylaunchedthe Corporate bond issuance rises 25% to `4.4L cr in H1FY21: Finmin most others, and are positive hin two years, by the end of thantheglobalaverageof29%. nation'sfirst100Octane PRESS TRUST OF INDIA Tuesday. exception to this unprece- about international trade 2022.“Thisisdespitethesignif- “The overall business senti- petrol,helpingIndiajoina New Delhi, December 2 During the same period dentedeconomicshock. Corp bond issue despite the ongoing protec- icant economic impact of the mentisunderstandablymuted, selectleagueofnationsglo- lastyear,corporateshadissued “Yet, investment senti- (In ` lakh cr) tionism,says a survey. globalpandemic,whereIndiah- given the challenging environ- ballythathavesuch TOTAL CORPORATE BOND bondsworth `3.54 lakh crore. ment in the Indian economy Apr- According to HSBC's annual adoneoftheworld'shighestCo- mentoverthecourseoftheyear. Sep 2020 superiorqualityfuel.Launc- issuances during the first half “Covid-19 has drastically has been buoyed by the fre- Navigatorsurvey,whichcovered vidcaseloads,”thesurveysaid. However, we are witnessing hingthefuel,OilMinister of the current fiscal rose by25 affectedtheinvestmentclimate quent and active intervention 4.43 more than 10,000 companies Besides,a majority(90%) of signs of recovery as companies DharmendraPradhansaid per cent to `4.43 lakh crore in all economies of the world, of the Government of India Apr- across 39 global markets in the Indian businesses intend to are charting new pathways to XP100premiumpetrolwill despite economic contraction causing a sharp decline in the despite being hit by a world- Sep 2019 world,including350firmsfrom increasefinancialinvestmentin recovery,” HSBC India head of initiallybeavailableatselect duetotheCovid-19pandemic, demandandsupplyequilibrium wide pandemic,” the finance 3.54 India, Indian businesses con- their business to become more commercial banking Rajat outletofIOCin10cities. an official statement said on everywhere.India has been no ministrysaid. tinue to have an appetite for successful over the next year, Vermasaid. From the Front Page

Growth pangs: mentinH1was`1.5lakhcrore, panyhas grown to hundreds of Farm Bills: again a third of the combined ICICI Bank case: SC rejects Kochhar’s plea on termination kitchens across countries Revival doubts annual target forall these enti- including India,Indonesia and Farmers firm on ties. “We are not inclined to alleged role in granting out of theUK.—BLOOMBERG rise on weaker Making a case for more interfere...Thisfallswithinthe turn loans to the Videocon repeal; govt offers aggressive government expen- realm of private contract Groupwhichpurportedlyben- Oct-Nov diture at this juncture,former between bank and employee,” efitted her husband Deepak NUE pie:Yes Bank to set up panel to chief statistician Pronab Sen theapexcourtsaid. Kochhar.Hercounsel had ear- Thisisjust1.4%higherthan recently said the chances of a “This rejection on the lier argued in the high court in talkswith So look into issues theyearago,comparedwith an strong economic rebound in ground of'maintainability'by that her termination came encouraging10%growthy-o-y FY22 hinged on how the gov- the HC is wholly erroneous, months after the bank Hum Bharat to Farmers have been terming seen in October (September ernment firmed up its Budget arbitrary,and contrary to law approved hervoluntary resig- laws as being against the inter- sales). Manufacturing PMI, for FY22.If public expenditure well settled by the SC,”senior nationonOctober5,2018,and take 9.99% estofthefarmcommunity. whichhadrisento58.9inOcto- (by Centre/states/PSUs) is not counsel Mukul Rohatgi therefore,theterminationwas torlender. therefore, the termination is The Reserve Bank of India Theprotestingfarmershave ber,the highest in more than a scaledup,GDPmightshrinknot argued, adding that “...they “illegal”,Rohatgisaid. ShehadmovedtheBombay “illegal,untenable and unsus- (RBI) had released the final expressed apprehension that decade,hitathree-monthlowof justinthecurrentfiscalbuteven haveconvertedmyresignation The Bombay High Court High Court on November 30, tainableinlaw”. frameworkforauthorisationof the Centre's farm laws would 56.3inNovember.Thiswasstill inthesecondandthirdquarters to termination. Whether the had accepted the bank's con- 2019,challenging the termi- The ICICI Bank had then NUE for retail payments on pavethewayforthedismantling a strong performance, being of FY22 once the favourable terminationcanbedonewith- tentionthatKochhar'spleawas nation of her employment by filed an affidavit,contending August 18,following the draft of the minimum support price squarelyintheexpansionzone. baseeffectwanes,hewarned. out approving the resignation not maintainable as the dis- the ICICI Bank. She had con- the reliefs in the petition are released on February 10. The system, leaving them at the Theoutputofcoresectorindus- Onthepositiveside,theRail- isaquestion”. putewas contractual and con- tended before the high court not maintainable and it guidelines demand that appli- mercyofbigcorporates. tries,whichhaveashareof40% ways freight earnings aswell as Her termination came on cernsaprivatebody. that the bank also denied her deserves to be dismissed as cantshaveatleastthreeyearsof The government has main- in industrial production, had loading continued to rise since January30,2019,almost four Kochhar was terminated remunerationandclawedback ICICI is a private bank and is experience in the payments tained that the new laws will declined2.5%inOctober,after the April low; the transporter months after the bank from the ICICI Bank months all the bonuses and stock administered underthe Com- space and a minimum paid-up bringfarmersbetteropportuni- showing rapid sequential carried 110 million tonne (MT) approved hervoluntary resig- after she had voluntarily left options between April 2009 panies Act,not the state or its capitalof`500crore. tiesandusherinnewtechnolo- improvement to report flat ofgoodsinNovember,compared nationonOctober4,2018,and the second largest private sec- and March 2018, for her agency. At present, only National giesinagriculture. growth in September,in seem- with 108.1 MT in October and Payments Corporation of India At the nearly three-hour- ing divergence with the solid 101MTayearago.Itsfreightrev- (NPCI), a not-for-profit com- long meeting at Vigyan riseinmanufacturingPMI.Elec- enue also increased to `10,658 introduced all-new i20 has faredwellregisteringa10-13% Wendy’s to open 100 cloud kitchens within five pany, performs this role. The Bhawan, Union agriculture tricitydemand and diesel sales crore in November, compared helpedcarryforwardthefestive increaseincustomerordersand years. Wendy’s, with 6,800 NUE could choose to be a for- minister Narendra Singh alsoweakenedinNovember. with `10,405 crore in October momentum even in the post 12% increase in retail sales 250 cloud restaurants in 30 markets profit entity or a not-for-profit Tomar was accompanied by Factory despatches by car- and `10,208 crore a year ago. DiwaliperiodforHMIL.” when compared to the festive worldwide,followedrivalburger asdefinedunderSection8ofthe railways and commerce and makers, too, were far from “During the month of Novem- M&M clocked total domes- periodin2019.However,owing kitchens chains like McDonald’s into Companies Act. The systems industryministerPiyushGoyal encouraginginNovemberafter ber,(GST)revenuesfromimport tic sales of 22,066 units,which to the illegal strike called upon “India is one of our high- India,openingitsfirstrestaurant thatitdevelopswillbeexpected and minister of state for com- a decent rise in the previous of goods was 4.9% higher and wasanimprovementof4%y-o- bythemembersofTKMunion, growth, high-potential mar- in New Delhi in 2015. It plans tointeractandbeinteroperable, merceSomParkash,alsoanMP month. Maruti Suzuki India the revenues from domestic y, while the sales on a m-o-m TKM was forced to declare a kets,”Abigail Pringle,Wendy’s about 150 physical stores over to the extent possible,with the fromPunjab. reporteda2.4%%year-on-year transaction(includingimportof basis remained sluggish and lockoutatthefactorywhichhas chief development officer, the next decade,in addition to systemsoperatedbyNPCI. After the meeting, Bharat drop in domesticwholesale for services) are 0.5% higher than declinedasteep48%.However, impacted our production and speaking via video conference the cloud kitchen push. Sierra No single promoter shall Kisan Union (Ekta Ugrahan) Novemberto1,35,775units,as therevenuesfromthesesources the company did well on the wholesale numbers. Having from the chain’s headquarters NevadaRestaurants,thechain’s have more than 40% invest- President JoginderSingh Ugra- it cut inventory at dealerships during the same month last passengervehicles sales,which said that,we have been able to inDublin,Ohio.“Idon’tknowof franchisepartner,willhelpwith mentinthecapitaloftheNUE. han said it remained inconclu- aftertheDiwaliseasongotover. year,”thegovernmentsaid. increased a good 24% y-o-y to fulfillthemarketdemandwith anyotherglobal brand that has bothinitiatives. They shall upfront demon- sive and the government has Tobesanguine,government 18,212units.VeejayNakra,chief thestockavailablewithus,both announced this kind of signifi- “India is one of the most strate capital contribution of called for another meeting on expenditure and CPSE invest- executive officer (automotive at the factory as well as at the cantmultiyear,multi-unitcom- under-penetrated markets on not less than 10% at the time December3."Wearereadyfora mentspickedupsinceOctober. No festive cheer division), M&M said, “We are dealer’send,”hesaid. mitment.” earth” for quick-serve restau- of making an application for discussion to resolve their While the economy hasn’t happyto achieve strong double In a sign that economic Aslockdownsandsocialdis- rants,said Jasper Reid,manag- setting up of the umbrella issues.Let'ssee,"Tomarhadtold received much government in Novcarsales digitgrowthinSUVsduringthe activity is surely picking up, tancing disrupt their business ingdirectorofSierraNevada. entity.Thebalancecapitalshall reportersbeforethestartofthe spending support in Q2 – gov- So,insomewaysdespatches month of November,aided bya commercial vehicle manufac- models, fast-food chains are Wendy’s,once known forits be secured at the time of com- meeting. ernment consumption expen- during November were robustfestivedemandforallour turer,AshokLeylandregistered experimentingwithavarietyof “Where’s the beef?”tagline,has mencement of business. The He further said the govern- diture declined 22% onyearin expected to be lesser.Further, products. Given strong rural anincreaseof4%y-o-yinnum- ways to adapt.With deliveries particular challenges in India, promoter shareholding can be ment will arrive at a solution the quarter–,the Centre's bud- duetoDiwaliholidaysinfacto- growth and signs of improve- berofcommercialvehiclessold surging,many recognise their where the majority of citizens diluted to a minimum of 25% afterhearingtherepresentatives getspendingrose9.5%onyear ries,production was also lesser mentineconomicactivities,we at 9,727 units. On a m-o-m existing stores aren’t the opti- worshipcowsassacred.Itslocal after five years of the com- ofthefarmerorganisations. inOctober,after26%declinein duringthemonth. are hopeful to see this positive basistoo,theincreasewastothe mal way to meet demand and menu items include chicken mencement of business of the "The farmer's organisations September; also, budgetary After recorded its highest momentum continue post the tuneof9.4%. have turned to cloud kitchens, chili,masala fries and the best- umbrella entity. A minimum rejected the government's pro- capex was up 130% on year in domestic sales since its incep- festiveseason”. Two-wheelermanufacturer also known as ghost or dark selling `69 ($0.93) bun tikki,a net-worth of `300 crore shall posal to form a five-member October. tioninOctober,HyundaiMotor Vehicle sales forToyota Kir- BajajAutosoldlessernumberof kitchens. Chains like Chili’s, spicy potato cutlet served bemaintainedatalltimes. committee to look into the AsFEreportedearlier,about India’sdomesticsalesincreased loskarMotors (TKM) remained vehicles in November as the Applebee’s and Chipotle have betweentwoburgerbuns. Applications for setting up issues related to the new farm three dozen CPSEswith annual by 9.4% y-o-y to 48,800 units steady in November, as it vehicle sales declined 4% on a already set up their own deliv- Rebel Foods,co-founded by an NUE must reach the RBI by laws,"Roopsingh Sanha,mem- capexbudgetof`500andabove inNovember.However,onam- recordedanincreaseof2.4%on y-o-y basis to 1,98,933 units. ery-centricvirtuallocations. formerMcKinsey&CoalumJay- February 26. Major players in ber of Bharatiya Kisan Union weretoldbythegovernmentto o-mbasis,Hyundai’sautosales a y-o-y basis to 8,508 units. The sluggishness was on Wendy’s push in India deep Barman and his INSEAD thedigitalpaymentsecosystem, (EktaUgrahan),toldPTI.Itisone raise their capex target for the suffered a decline of 14%. Naveen Soni,seniorvice-presi- account of steep fall in com- appears to be the largest cloud- businessschoolclassmateKallol suchasStateBankofIndia(SBI), of the largest blocks of farmers currentfiscalto`3.2lakhcrore, Hyundaihasbeendoingwellon dent(sales&service),TKM,said mercial vehicle sales of the kitchen outsourcing deal Banerjee, helped pioneer the HDFC Bank,Paytm and Jio are who have been protesting up 50% from the level envis- the back of launches of new thecompanyhasbeenwitness- company, while the two- announced yet, based on the cloud kitchen concept.The duo likely to send in applications. againstthenewlaws. agedatthestartoftheyear.The variants its compact SUVCreta ing a gradual yet steady recov- wheelersalescontinuedtogrow number of locations. Leading operate their own restaurant Surya said,“We at So Hum are The government side was, CPSEsachievedbarelyathirdof andpremiumhatchbacki20. ery owing to factors such as at7%y-o-yto1,88,196units. start-upssuchasCloudKitchens brands and are expanding into proud to partnerwithYes Bank however,firm in its stand that the original capex target of Tarun Garg,director (sales, pent up and festive season Hero MotoCorp sold andVirtualKitchen,whichwork outsourcing for chains like and the combined expertise of a high-level committee must `2.14 lakh crore for FY21 dur- marketing & service), HMIL, demand as well as consolida- 5,75,957 motorcycles and witharangeofbrandsintheUS Wendy’s. With money from the two firms will add signifi- be formed to look into the ing the year’s first half.Includ- said,“As the smart Indian cus- tion of the market at the lower scooters in the domestic mar- andabroad,havefewerthan100 UberTechnologies co-founder cant value to this NUE venture issues and wanted the farmer ing the likes of the NHAI and tomercontinuestomakesmart end.“In terms of festive season ket, which was an increase of sites.One fast-food operator in Travis Kalanick, along with throughcontinuousinnovation representativestofurthercon- Railways, the capex achieve- mobility choices,the recently- demand and sales, TKM has nearly14%onay-o-ybasis. Thailand said it plans to open SequoiaandGoldman,thecom- anddisruption.” sidertheproposal.

Pune WWW.FINANCIALEXPRESS.COM WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 2, 2020 FINANCIAL EXPRESS NATION 3 ● VACCINE ‘ADVERSE EVENT’ Railway freight records ‘Need to rethink kind of crops grown’ highest loading for FY21 FE BUREAU Initial findings did not Pune, December 1 with 109.68 MT in Nov THE COUNTRYNEEDEDtore- think the kind of crops that call for halt in trial: Govt PRESS TRUST OF INDIA coal,13.77milliontonneofiron should be grown,Union Minis- New Delhi, December 1 ore,5.1 million tonne of food- terof Jal Shakti Gajendra Singh PRESS TRUST OF INDIA there is a causal link between grain,5.41milliontonneoffer- ShekhawatsaidonTuesday. New Delhi, December 1 the event and intervention. INDIAN RAILWAYS’ FREIGHT tilisers and 6.62 million tonne “Paddyand rice production “Thatcausallinkwhetherit loading of 109.68 MT for the ofcement(excludingclinker). inthecountrytodaynotonlyex- THE INITIAL FINDINGS into hastobeascertainedorrefuted month of November crossed “Thisisthehighestloading ceeds domestic consumption an “adverse event” allegedly hastobedonebytheDCGIand last year’s loading and earn- we have done thisyear.In fact, requirements,but is also above politicised issues, he said. were stressed. India draws up suffered by an Oxford Covid- all the papers in connection to ings for the same period and inthelastfourdaysofNovem- export requirements. Serious Shekhawat said the govern- 25% of the world’s water, 19 vaccine trial participant in the five parameters have been also registered its ber, we have thought needs to be given for ment has worked on total re- which is 1.5 times more than Chennai did not necessitate submitted to him accordingly highest figure for The Railways loaded 4 million whom these crops are being form of agriculture,and water the water drawn by USA and haltingofthetrials,theCentre forreview,”he said. the current fiscal, earned `10,657.66 tonne of goods produced,”hesaid. hasbeenanintegralpartofit. China,hesaid. said onTuesday. It is done purelyon a scien- a statement from every day,” Rail- Addressing the 9th Agro- According to the minister, “The country’s under- It is the role of drug regula- tific basis and the assessment the Railways said crore from freight way Board chair- chemicals Conference organ- India is said to have the least groundwaterresourcesarenot tor to ascertain or refute if to Serum Institute and others, is done with very objectively- onTuesday. loading, `449.79 man and CEO VK ised byFICCI,the minister said productive water usage in the infinite,and awareness among there is any causal link be- besides seeking a halt to the based criteria and initial In November crore (4%) higher Yadav said at a sugarcaneisalsobeingoverpro- world. Around 5,600 litres of people is low. Therefore, the tween the event and the inter- trial. causality assessment findings 2020, the Rail- as compared to press conference duced,resultinginoverproduc- waterisrequiredtogrow1kgof country needs to diversify to vention,it said. However, Serum Institute didnotnecessitatestoppageof ways loading was last year’s earnings onTuesday. tionofsugar. “Subsidiesarebe- paddy or rice,while the rest of crops that guzzle less water,to On allegation of the “ad- onSundayrejectedthecharges these trials,he added. 109.68 million for the same Average ing handed out for payment of the world achieves the same in minimisewaterneedsthatmay verse event” in a Serum Insti- as “malicious and miscon- Responding to a question tonne, which is wagon loading waterandelectricitybills,sugar 350 litres,he said,underlining have grown due to pesticide period tutetrial,thegovernmentsaid ceived” and said it will seek at a press conference, Union 9% higher than per day was millsarehelpedoutwithviabil- theneedforefficientirrigation use,and a complete revision of it will not affect vaccine time- damages of over `100 crore. Health Ministry Secretary Ra- last year’s loading 58,726 wagons, ity gap funding and subsidies systems. thinking of what crops to pro- lines in anyway. ICMRdirectorGeneralBalram jesh Bhushan said, “The ad- for the same pe- 4.6% higher areofferedtoconvertsugarinto Thiscanbeachievedbylink- duce and forwhich markets to A40-year-oldmanwhowas Bhargava said adverse events verse event will not affect riod (100.96 million tonne). than October 2020 (56,128). ethanol.Weneedtocomeoutof ing various entities,including produce,”hesaid. a volunteer in the third phase occurwithdrugsorvaccinesor timelinesinanymannerwhat- The Railways earned “Despite festival holidays thisvicioustrap,”hesaid,adding Farmer Producer Companies The ministry is currently of the Covidshield trial in anyotherhealth intervention. soever”. Bhushan said he does `10,657.66crorefromfreight and Cyclone Nivar affecting theindustryalsoneedstotakea (FPCs),intheeffort,hesaid.The working on water mapping.It Chennai has alleged serious “If any adverse event war- not want to comment on loading, `449.79 crore (4%) freightloading,IndianRailways standoncroprequirements. average landholding has been has identified the six most side effects,including avirtual rants hospitalisation then it is specifics of the case,but it is higher as compared to last continued to register impres- Inthelastsixyears,thegov- squeezedtooneacreand,there- stressed places for a pilot pro- neurological breakdown and called a serious adverse event. seenthatmostofthediscourse year’s earnings for the same sivefiguresinfreightloadingin ernmenthasimplemented102 fore,FPCs were conceptualised gramme under the Atal Bhujal impairment of cognitive func- Itistheroleofthedrugregula- on adverse events in media period (`10,207.87 crore). the last three months (15% recommendations of the toscaleupagriculture,hesaid. Yojana, being run with the tions. He has sought `5 crore tor,after collating all the data, suffersfrominadequateinfor- The loading this November each in both September and Swaminathan Committee,but TheministersaidIndia’sun- World Bank for an estimated compensation in a legal notice to ascertain or refute whether mation and facts. included48.48milliontonneof October),”theRailwayssaid. the Opposition leaders have derground water resources `6,000crore,hesaid. Third Derivative selects 3 Indian startups to Power consumption growth slows to 4.7% in November

PRESS TRUST OF INDIA mentdata. Powerconsumption asagainst97.84BUinthesame same month last year. In Sep- fund clean energy technologies New Delhi, December 1 hadenteredpositiveterritoryin monthlastyear. temberthisyear,the parameter VIKAS SRIVASTAVA $2 billion accessed through a ThreeWheelUnited,focuseson Septemberandrecordedadou- Peakpowerdemandmet,the recorded a growth of 1.7% at Mumbai, December 1 network of nine Venture Capi- financing three-wheeled and INDIA’S POWER CONSUMP- ble-digit surge in October, highest supply of power in the 176.41GW,comparedto173.45 tal firms.Then there are nine two-wheeledvehiclesensuring TION growth rate slowed to showedpowerministrydata. country in a day, in November GWayearago,datashowed. THIRD DERIVATIVE, A joint corporationswithanaggregate that Tuk-Tuks become easily 4.7%at98.37billionunits(BU) In September this year, was recorded at 160.77 GW, Peakpowerdemandmethad ventureofRockyMountainIn- market cap of $3 trillion that availableandaffordablebycou- in Novemberamid the onset of powerconsumptionrecordeda which is 3.5% higher than recorded negative growth from stitute and NewEnergyNexus, provides the technology and pling financing with charging early winter, especially in the growth of 4.4% at 112.24 BU, 155.32 GWin the same month ApriltoAugust.Ithaddroppedto a global accelerator, has se- related support.The accelera- network and other infrastruc- north. compared to 107.51 BU in the last year. The peak power de- 24.9% in April, 8.9% in May, lected three Indian startups in torisinconversationwithmul- turesupport.Thethirdstart-up InNovember2019,electric- same month last year.The fig- mand met in October was 9.6% in June,2.7% in July and itsinauguralcohortof50com- tiple Indian conglomerates isaroundplasticsandplasticre- ityconsumptioninthecountry ure grew by nearly 12% to recorded at 170.04 GW, 3.5% 5.6%inAugust.InMarch,itwas paniestopromotecleanenergy andexpectsmanytojointhem cycling where India has cham- was 93.94 BU, as per govern- 109.53BUinOctoberthisyear, higher than 164.25 GW in the mutedat0.8%. solutions to address the cli- in nearfuture. pionedmanyideasandinnova- mate change. Jon Creyts, MD, Rocky tions. The three Indian start-ups Mountain Institute told FE the “We have selected a com- Initial causality — two in shared and con- threecompaniesfromIndiaare pany that is one of the first to nectedmobilityspace,andone nine multinational corpora- representatives of three areas lookatplasticcreditsandhowto assessment in recycling plastics and plas- tions, including Microsoft, thatIndiawillleadtheworldin. becomeplastic-neutralbyman- tic credits —will be part of the AT&T,Shell,BPandbankssuch One of them, LoadExx is the agingourplasticfootprintatthe don’t necessitate $2-billionfundingthattheac- asWells Fargo. last-mile logistics company lowest cost. We expect many celerator has arranged Every start-up has the op- that uses fit-for-purpose light more such startups in coming stoppage of through nine venture capital tion of $100,000 seed invest- commercialvehiclesfleetseffi- months and have already firmsacrossfourcontinents.It ment, which is immediately ciently in East India,especially started screening similar com- clinical trials, also has a support structure of linked to follow-on capital of in Kolkata; the other startup, panies,”Creytssaid. says ICMR THE DG OF ICMR,Prof (Dr) Bal- ramBhargavahassaiditistherole PMLAcourt Guj transporters incur `150 cr loss of the Drug ControllerGeneral of India(DCGI),aftercollatingallthe data, to ascertain or refute refuses bail due to Covid-19 led night curfew whether there is a causal link to FE BUREAU different transporters across the the event.The initial causalityas- to Deepak Ahmedabad, December 1 state.Alone inAhmedabad,there sessment did not necessitate are more than 2000 offices of stoppage of these clinical trials, THETRANSPORTINDUSTRY in transporters who are taking par- statedtheDG,ICMR. Kochhar Gujarat has incurred at least celbookingsfromdifferentareas, Rajesh Bhushan, secretary, `150 crore business loss due to hesaidaddingthatnearly15lakh ministryofhealthandfamilywel- PRESS TRUST OF INDIA night curfew imposed by the people are directlyand indirectly fare,incourseofamediabriefing Mumbai, December 1 stategovernmentsinfourmajor employedbytransportindustryin on the actions taken, prepared- cities to curb the spread of novel thestate. ness and updates on Covid-19, ACOURT HERE on Tuesday coronavirus. The transport business is heldinNewDelhionTuesday,said rejected a bail plea of busi- Since November 20,Ahmed- down by 30% due to the night most of the trials,related to vac- nessman Deepak Kochhar, abad,Surat,Vadodara and Rajkot curfew,claimsHasubhaiThakker, cinesanddrugs,aremulti-centric, the husband of former ICICI arewitnessing curfewfrom 9 pm the employees working in the secretary of AGTTA adding,“we multi-site.Each site has an Insti- Bank CEO Chanda Kochhar to 6 am.As a result of the night, transport offices.As a result of it, have made representation to ex- tutionalEthicsCommittee,which and an accused in a money curfewtransportersarenotbeing we need to allow employees to empt labourers from curfew as is independent of the Govern- laundering case. able to take parcel bookings after leave offices before 8 pm,”says most trucks are loaded after the ment orthe manufacturerand in Hewas arrested bythe En- 5 pm as they have to load trucks MukeshDave,actingpresidentof late evenings only. During the case of an adverse event, this forcement Directorate (ED) in before 9 pm to ensure the goods AkhilGujaratTruckTransportAs- loading and unloading of trucks, Committee takes note and gives September under the Preven- carriersoutofthecitylimits. sociation(AGTTA). generallylarge numberof people its report within 30 days to the tion of Money Laundering “We are not able to deliver Dave claims that Gujarat are not gathering and hence,the DCGI,hesaid. Act (PMLA) in the alleged goods on time due to night cur- based transporters have incurred concernedauthorityshouldallow, This apart, the Data Safety ICICI Bank-Videocon money few.Theshipmentsare beinglate a business loss of at least `150 drivers,cleaners,labourersandof- Monitoring Board,consisting of laundering case. byatleastacoupleofdays.Unlike croresincetheimplementationof fice staff working in transport domainknowledgeexperts,mon- Special PMLAjudge PPRa- the lockdown period,there is no night curfew.According to him, companies to work during the itorstheclinicaltrialsonaday-to- jvaidya rejected Deepak arrangementforcurfewpassesfor there are nearly20,000 offices of nightalso.” daybasis and keeps an eye on ad- Kochhar’s‘regular’bail appli- verse events and reports it to the cation, filed on merits of the DCGI,who then analyses all re- case as against technical portstofindoutwhetherthereisa grounds. Gujarat government decides to regulate one-to-one correlation between Last month, the court had theadverseeventandvaccination, rejected his‘default’bail plea, production and supply of oxygen thehealthsecretarysaid. filed on the ground that the FE BUREAU oxygenfromproductionunits. thattheoxygenplantswillhaveto Inreplytoaqueryonwhether ED had failed to file a charge Ahmedabad, December 1 Under the Epidemic Diseases giveprioritytosupplytheoxygen those who have already had sheet in the case within the Act, 1987 the Gujarat govern- tohospitalsincaseneedarises. Covid-19 and developed anti- stipulated period. WITH THE CONSUMPTION of ment has issued a notification Confirmingthedevelopment, bodies need to bevaccinated,the The ED registered the medicaloxygenisgoingupexpo- that all oxygen producers in the Gujarat’sCommissionerofFood& health secretary stated,National money laundering case fol- nentiallyinwakeoftheincreasing state to use fifty per cent of their DrugControlAuthority(FDCA)Dr Expert Group onVaccineAdmin- lowing an FIR registered by Covid-19 cases in Gujarat, the total production onlyformedical HemantKoshiasaidthatthenoti- istration is also mandated to de- the Central Bureau of Investi- state government has once again purposes and divert only up to ficationshallremaininoperation cidewhetherpeoplewho have al- gation (CBI) against the decided to regulate the produc- fiftypercent of oxygen to the in- fortheentiremonthofDecember readydeveloped anti-bodies,will Kochhar couple, Videocon tion, supply and distribution of dustries.The orderfurtherstated thisyear. bevaccinated.—FE BUREAU Group promoter Venugopal Dhoot and others. ED slapped money laun- dering charges against the Kochhars and their business entities for “illegal sanction- ing of loans amounting to `1,875 crore to the Videocon Group of companies”. From a `300 crore loan sanctioned by a committee headed byChanda Kochharto Videocon International Elec- tronics,Videocon Industries transferred `64 crore to Nupower Renewables (NRPL) on September 8, 2009, only a dayafter the disbursement of the loan byICICI Bank,the ED alleged. NRPL, earlier known as NRL, is owned by Deepak Kochhar, the agency said. A “net revenue of `10.65 crore was generated by NRL from these tainted funds … Therefore, proceeds of crime amounting to `74.65 crore were transferred to or gener- ated in NRPL,” the Enforce- ment Directorate alleged.

Pune 4 FINANCIAL EXPRESS WWW.FINANCIALEXPRESS.COM PERSONAL MOBILITY

Kookhyun Shim, MD and CEO, Kia Motors India

Not only urban but customers from tier II, III, and IV markets too are acknowledging the need for personal mobility... ❝ ❝ We are expecting the market sentiment to improve more in coming months and are confident we will be able to CompaniesWEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 2, 2020 continue this positive momentum in future as well. Quick Have $1 bn to fund regular ops; still not at best place: OYO CEO

FE BUREAU sure that we can respond to the crisis in a thereforayearnow,failstosubside. given the option to opt for a voluntary View New Delhi, December 1 good way to try and ensure that we can “We are still not at the best place,a lot separation programme. come out of it at the right time,”Agarwal more work has to be done,”Agarwal said. The SoftBank-backed company’s con- OYO HOTELS & Homes is“continuously said during a fireside chat with board The founder said the OYO Vacation solidatedlossesincreasedto$335million recovering” from the pandemic-led memberTroyAlstead. Homes business is becoming critical in fortheyearended March 2019 from $52 business disruption and has close to The imposition of the lockdowns and terms of contribution to the company’s million in FY18, as expansion into inter- $1 billion in its repository to fund regular restrictions on travel by the governments overall growth. national markets, including China, operations, founder & group CEO Ritesh across the world to check the spread of Earlier this year,OYO furloughed entailed heavycosts. AgarwaltoldemployeesonTuesday. Covid-19crippledthehospitalitybusiness. employees across geographies. In India, Agarwalsaidthemanagementisbuild- “....we have continued to hold on to Companieshadtocutjobsandimplement the firm that had sent a section of ing a company that is ready to go public closetoabilliondollarsofcash,including paycutstoreinincosts.Thoughthephased employees on leavewith limited benefits without indicating a specific timeline.“…. all our group companies, including joint reopening of economies has helped busi- extended the same by another six our management’s focus is to make sure venture companies...At the same time, nessestoanextent,completerevivalseems months ending February 28,2021. thatwegiveaverywelldesigned,IPOready we’ve been very disciplined in making distant as the pandemic,which has been OYO group CEO Ritesh Agarwal The impacted staff have also been company,available forourshareholders.”

Flipkart India revenue COVID COMBAT rose 12% in FY20 FLIPKARTINDIA,thewholesaleentity Sputnik V: Dr Reddy’s, RDIF oftheWalmart-backede-commerce Incident with volunteer not firm,recordeda12%y-o-yincreasein revenuefromoperationsto`34,170.5 begin Ph-2/3 trials in India croreintheyearendedMarch31, accordingtothecompany’sregulatory PRESS TRUSTOFINDIA the first dose. due to vaccine,says Serum New Delhi, December 1 filingssourcedfrombusiness Currently, 40,000 volunteers are tak- intelligenceplatformTofler.Netlosses ingpartinphase3ofSputnikVclinicaltri- fell bynearly18%y-o-yto`3,150.3 FE BUREAU teer in Chennai,SII said theywere sympa- DR REDDY’S LABORATORIES and Russ- als, out of which over 22,000 have been croreinFY20,thedocumentsshowed. Pune, December 1 thetic with the volunteer’s medical condi- ian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) on vaccinated with the first dose and more Lossesstoodat`3,835.3croreinFY19. tionbuttakingintoconsiderationthecom- Tuesdaysaidtheyhavecommencedadap- than 19,000 with both the first and sec- Totalexpenses,however,increased VACCINE-MAKERSerumInstituteofIndia plexities and existing misnomers about tive Phase 2/3 clinical trials for the Sput- ond doses of thevaccine,it added. marginallyto`37,760.4crore. (SII)onTuesdaysaidithadinformedallthe vaccination and immunisation, the legal nikVCovid-19vaccine in India. “This is another significant step as we concerned authorities about the adverse noticewassentseekingdamages.Thecom- The trials have commenced after continue to collaborate with multiple TVS Motoracquires eventdevelopedbyaparticipantinthevac- panyhadsoughtdamagesover`100crore, receivingthenecessaryclearancefromthe entities along with the government bod- cinetrialaftertheCovishieldCovid-19vac- which theysaidwas to safeguard the repu- Kasauli-based Central Drugs ies to fast-track the process IntellicarTelematic cinewasadministered. tation of the company which is being Laboratory,theyadded. Currently, 40,000 for launching the vaccine TVSMOTORhasacquiredIntellicar “The concerned authorities were unfairlymaligned. This will be a multicentre volunteers are in India. Telematics,anintegratedIoTsolution informed and the principal investigator, A40-year-old resident of Chennai,par- and randomised controlled taking part in Ph-3 “We are working towards A Chennai resident participating in providerwithfleettrackingand data and safety monitoring board (DSMB) ticipating in the Phase-III human trials study, which will include clinical trials, of making thevaccine available predictivemaintenancesolutionstoa and the ethics committee independently the Phase-III human trial being being conducted by SII had sent a legal safety and immunogenicity withacombinationofimport which over 22,000 widerangeofvehicletypes. cleared and reckoned it as a non-related conducted by SII had sent a legal noticetothecompanyclaimingthathehad study, the Hyderabad-based and indigenous production have been given Benguluru-basedIntellicarprovides issuetothevaccinetrial,”SIIsaidinastate- notice to the company, saying that suffered an adverse effect after he was drug maker and RDIF said in model,”DrReddy’sLaborato- advancedfleetmanagementsolutions ment.“Wesubmittedallthereportsanddata administered the Covishield vaccine.NGR a joint statement. the first dose and riesco-chairmanandmanag- he had suffered an adverse effect throughanintegratedplatform related to the incident to the Drugs Con- Prasad and RRajaram, advocates for the Theclinicaltrialsarebeing over 19,000 both ing directorGVPrasad said. after he was administered poweredbyIoTtechnologies. trollerGeneralofIndia(DCGI).Itisonlyafter complainant,said their client had partici- conducted by JSS Medical the first and In September 2020, Dr the Covishield vaccine weclearedalltherequiredprocessesthatwe pated in the trials conducted at Sri Research as the clinical second doses Reddy’s and RDIF entered Hyundaitorecall456Kona continuedwiththetrials,”itadded. Ramachandra Institute on October 1,and research partner. into a partnership to The initial findings into the ‘adverse hadanadversereactionforwhichhehadto Further, Dr Reddy’s has conduct clinical trials of the EVsoverbatteryissues event’in the Chennai participant did not cinewassafeandimmunogenicandthatthe be hospitalised till October 26.The notice partnered with the Biotech- Sputnik V vaccine and the HYUNDAI MOTORIndia onTuesday necessitate halting of the trials,the Centre incidentwiththeChennaivolunteer,though claims the setback in his healthwas due to nology Industry Research Assistance rightsfordistributionofthefirst100mil- said itwill recall 456 Kona electric also said on Tuesday,clarifying that it will highlyunfortunate,was in nowayinduced the test vaccine he administered and not Council (BIRAC), Department of Biotech- lion doses in India. vehicles due to reported electrical not affect the timelines of thevaccine roll- bythevaccine. becauseofanypriorhealthcondition. nology (DBT) for advisory support and to EarlieronAugust11,2020,theSputnik deficiencies in the batterysystem. outinanymanner. SII said all the requisite regulatory and He also claimed therewas no follow-up use BIRAC’s clinical trial centres for the V vaccine, developed by the Gamaleya The Indian subsidiaryof Korean SII has also has assured everybody that ethical processes and guidelines were fol- bythehospitalafterhisdischargeandeven vaccine,it added. NationalResearchInstituteofEpidemiol- carmakerHyundai Motorwill recall the vaccine won’t be released for mass use loweddiligentlyandstrictly. afteramonthofthesevereadversereaction, Recently, RDIF had announced ogy and Microbiology,was registered by vehicles manufactured betweenApril unless it is proved immunogenic and safe. Addressing the concerns related to the neither the DCGI committee,ICMR,SII or thesecondinterimanalysisofclinicaltrial theMinistryofHealthofRussia.Itbecame 1,2019,and October31,2020,at no ThecompanyclaimsthattheCovishieldvac- serious adverse event reported byavolun- AstraZenecagotintouch. data,which showed 91.4% efficacy for theworld’sfirstregisteredvaccineagainst cost to customers. the vaccine on day 28 after the first dose; Covid-19 based on the human adenoviral and efficacy of over 95% 42 days after vectorplatform. 91springboard leases over Wockhardt in talks with global vaccine developers 400 coworking seats to offer drug substances,manufacturing facilities TCS supply chain solution to help govt 91SPRINGBOARD has provided on lease more than 400 desks to ITI- PRESS TRUST OF INDIA The UK government has reserved will manufacture and supply to them, project ramp up Covid testing capacity LITE Technologies at its coworking New Delhi, December 1 one fill and finish production Wockhardt said. facility in Bengaluru, one of the line at Wockhardt UK for its “Weareindiscussionswithanumberof ITSERVICES MAJOR TCSonTuesdaysaid small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) largest flexible office space deals this DRUGFIRMWOCKHARDTonTuesdaysaid vaccinedevelopersworldwideofferingboth ithasdeployedaplatformthatpowersthe capable of producing large quantities of year. 91springboard, which has over it is in discussionswith a numberof global exclusive use for 18 months drug substance,and fill and finish manu- project launched by the Central govern- reagents and other components needed 25 flexi-office locations across India, Covid-19 vaccine developers to offer drug facturing,because most of the companies ment’s Centre for Cellular and Molecular for RT-PCR-based and other diagnostic will provide office space at one of its substanceaswellasfillandfinishmanufac- wantdrugsubstanceaswellasformulation Platforms (C-CAMP) to scale up indige- test kits forCovid-19,a statement said. Bengaluru hubs to ITILITE, a digital turingfacilitiestothem. At first,AstraZeneca-Oxford vaccine product,”Wockhardt founder-chairman nousCovid-19diagnostictest-kitproduc- The project entails eliminating sup- travel & expense SaaS company. According to the company,the UK gov- will be manufactured at the UK facility. Habil Khorakiwala said during a virtual tion capacityto a million test kits a day. ply-chain bottlenecks and handholding ernmenthasreservedonefillandfinishpro- The company will start manufacturing mediaconference. C-CAMP’s newly launched project, MSMEs to help them bridge capability Divi’sLabtosetup`1,500-cr duction line atWockhardt UKforits exclu- the vaccine in the next few days, or in a The company is offering such options funded by the Rockefeller Foundation,is gaps, meet necessary quality standards siveusefor18monthsinordertoguarantee week or two.The UK government wants as a contract manufacturing organisation calledIndigenisationofDiagnostics(InDx). and expand capacities to be able to manufacturingfacilityinAP the supply of vaccines required to fight 100 million doses to be manufactured in (CMO) activity or as distribution rights, It aims to build a robust, scalable sup- indigenously produce a million test kits DRUGMAKER DIVI’S Laboratories on againstCovid-19. thenextfewmonths,whichthecompany dependingonwhattheywant,headded. ply-chain ecosystem of Indian micro, a day,it added. —PTI Tuesday said it has earmarked `1,500 crore to set up a new manufacturing facilityinAndhraPradesh.Theworkon the manufacturing plant would com- mence from December 7,Divi’s Labo- Bajaj Auto, Pierer Industrie AG start Delhi airport handles 2 million Paytm waives ratoriessaidinaregulatoryfiling. preliminary talks on stake transfer domestic passengers in October BHELappointsRenukaGera charges on PRESS TRUST OF INDIA are“currently at a very preliminary stage PRESS TRUST OF INDIA tions,itsaid. director,industrialsystems New Delhi, December 1 and this disclosure is being made only by Mumbai, December 1 In the international segment, Delhi STATE-OWNEDBharatHeavy wayof abundant caution”.“Bajajwill eval- handled more than 66% of the combined merchant ElectricalsonTuesdayannouncedthe BAJAJ AUTO ON Tuesday said it has uate and decide on the proposal in due DELHI AIRPORT ON Tuesday said it han- traffic of three metro airports in October, appointmentofRenukaGeraasits started preliminary discussions with its course,followingduecorporateprocesses dledabout2milliondomesticpassengers whileinthedomesticsegment,ithandled director(industrialsystems&products) Austrian partner Pierer Industrie AG for such a deal entails,”it added. in October on the back of festive season morethan48%ofthecombinedtrafficof transactions fromDecember1,2020.Afterher simplifying their share- In a press statement last travel demand, and expects to return to three metro airports,DIALsaid. appointmentontheboardofBHEL, holding pattern in pre- At present, PIERER week,PIERER MobilityAG said pre-lockdownvolumes soon. “Withtherecentannouncementbythe FE BUREAU RenukaGera,57,hasassumedcharge mium bike makerKTM by PiererIndustrieAGinafirststep Besides,theairportwitnessedahealthy governmenttopermitupto70%ofdomes- New Delhi, December 1 asdirector(industrialsystems& transferring their stakes to Mobility AG and willcontributeits60%stakein growth in international passenger num- ticslotsinthecomingdays,wearehopeful products),acompanystatementsaid. a newholding company. Bajaj Auto’s 100% PIERER Mobility AG to “PTW bers,achieving 1 million passenger mark of achieving the pre-Covid levels soon,” PAYTM ON TUES- At present, PIERER Netherlands Holding AG”through a contri- inOctobersincetheresumptionofairser- DIALCEOVidehKumarJaipuriarsaid. DAY announced SingaporeAirlinesappoints Mobility AG (PMAG) and subsidiary hold bution in kind,which will thus vicesfromMay25,theDelhiInternational MoSforcivilaviationHardeepSinghPuri it has waived off ChenSyYenIndiaGM Bajaj Auto’s 100% Nether- 51.7% and 48%, become a direct 60% share- Airport (DIAL) said in a release. has expressed confidence that passenger all charges on mer- lands subsidiary,Bajaj Auto respectively, holderofPIERERMobilityAG. Theairporthaswitnessedasignificant trafficwouldreachpre-CovidlevelsbyJanu- chanttransactions. SINGAPOREAIRLINES onTuesday International Holdings BV, If a decision is taken to exe- riseinpassengerfootfalleversinceairser- ary2021,thereleasesaid.Civilaviationsec- The company is in KTM AG announced the appointment of hold 51.7% and 48%, cute the transaction, PIERER vices resumed after two-months long retary Pradeep S Kharola had last week now enabling the Chen SyYen as its newgeneral respectively,inKTMAG. MobilityAGsaiditwillconsider lockdown due to Covid-19 pandemic. saidalmost65%ofthedomestictrafficis merchant partners managerforIndia.Yen’s appointment PiererIndustrieAGholds thelegalandeconomicrequire- Itsuccessfullyhandledaround1.9mil- back to pre-pandemic levels, and with toacceptpayments to the post is effective from over60%inPMAG,withthebalancebeing ments and conditions of a capital increase lion domestic passengers in October, reopening of more business and trade from Paytmwallet, November29,SingaporeAirlines free float.“The proposal envisages Bajaj by contribution in kind from the existing which is about 42% of the pre-Covid activities,thedomestictrafficmayreturn Paytm founder UPI apps and (SIA) said in a release. swapping its 48% stake in KTM AG for a authorised capital of the company. “The domestic traffic handled, DIALsaid. to normal level in the next 2-3 months. Vijay Shekhar RuPay cards at stake in PMAG and both Pierer Industrie authorisedcapitalenablesacapitalincrease With demand for air travel getting a According to DGCA data, released on Sharma zero charges. AmitSinhanamedMahindra and Bajaj moving theirstakes in PMAG,to of up to 50% of the existing share capital. boostinthewakeoffestiveseasonofNavra- November 19, domestic traffic declined The fintech a new‘Holdco’between them,”Bajaj Auto After the transaction,the stake of PIERER tri,DiwaliandChhathPuja,Mumbai,Patna, 57%year-on-yearinOctoberamidthepan- major said it will absorb `600 crore in presidentforgroupstrategy saidinaregulatoryfiling. MobilityAGinKTMAGincreasesfromcur- Srinagar, Bengaluru, Hyderabad have demic,despitea33%increasesequentially merchant discount rate (MDR) charged DIVERSIFIEDMAHINDRAGroupon The company further said discussions rently51.7%toapprox99.7%,”itadded. emerged as the top five domestic destina- overSeptember. annually by banks and other charges to Tuesdayannouncedtheappointment support MSMEs amid the pandemic. ofAmitSinhaaspresident,groupstra- The move will benefit more than tegy.Thegroup,whichhasinterest 17 million merchants on the rangingfromfarmequipmentand Instagram adds India-first feature to let users go‘live’with up to 3 guests Paytm ecosystem, the company said in automobilestodefenceandIT,among a statement. others,saidSinhawillworkcloselywith PRESS TRUST OF INDIA “Now,withtheabilitytogoLivewithup themselvesbetter. “We are absorbing MDR to extend thegroupbusinessestohelpdrive New Delhi, December 1 to three guests,creators have more oppor- “This year in particular has seen exten- support to our merchant partners to growthandreturns. tunities to have conversations with their sive use of Live,and as physical distancing increase theiroverall liquidityto expand FACEBOOK-OWNED INSTAGRAM on communities,andtoexpandtheirreachand normscontinue,Livewillremainaninvalu- their businesses. SPfirmtoinvest`700cron Tuesday announced a feature called‘Live usecasesforLive,”itadded. able feature to bring friends,families and “We believewaiving off these charges Rooms’to help creators go‘Live’with up to Theearlytestfor‘LiveRooms’tookplace audiences together,and fostermeaningful will benefit all MSMEs accepting Paytm newPunehousingproject threeguests,givingthemmoreopportuni- with a few creators in India, including conversations,”headded. All-in-One QR, Paytm Soundbox and SHAPOORJIPALLONJI’Smid-income ties to have conversations with their com- @shereenlovebug aka Shereen Bharwani, Mohan said from the launch of Reels to PaytmAll-in-OneAndroidPOSdevicesto housingplatformJoyvilleonTuesday munitiesandgrowtheiraudiences. @mr.mnv aka Manav Chhabra and thetestingandroll-outofLiveRooms,India collect payments directlyinto theirbank announceddevelopmentofanew Theearlytestsforthisfeatureweredone @rohinaakaRohinaAnandKhira. is playing a crucial role in thewayproducts accounts,” said senior vice-president housingprojectinPune,comprising in India and now, India is one of the first Ajit Mohan,vice-president and manag- arebeingdesignedforthefuture. KumarAditya. over1,100flats,aspartofitsstrategyto countriestorollitoutmorebroadly,accord- ThestatementsaidInstagramLiveviews ingdirectoratFacebookIndia,saidcreators Instagramnotedwhile‘LiveRooms’will The company said it is also extending expandpresenceinmajorproperty ing to a statement.The roll-out has begun inIndiagrew60%onaweek-on-weekbasis are at the forefront of pushing culture and facilitate greater audience engagement, financial support to MSMEs and aims markets.Joyvilleisa$200-millionplat- andwillbeavailabletoeveryoneinIndiaand in March (comparing March 18-24 period creativityonInstagramandthecompanyis safetycontinuestobeafocusandtheexist- to disburse `1,000 crore in loans by formbySPGroup,ADB,IFCandActis. Indonesiasoon,itadded. withtheweekofMarch11-17). constantlyinnovatingtohelpthemexpress ingsafetymeasureswillworkonitaswell. March 2021.

Pune WWW.FINANCIALEXPRESS.COM WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 2, 2020 FINANCIAL EXPRESS 5

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Pune 6 FINANCIAL EXPRESS WWW.FINANCIALEXPRESS.COM CONCERN FROM CANADA

Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau

The news coming out of India about the protest ❝by farmers... Let me remind you, Canada ❝ will always be there to defend the rights ofpeaceful protest OpinionWEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 2, 2020

RBI’s options narrow as ● FROM PLATE TO PLOUGH THE CENTRE COULD DEVOLVE ITS SPENDING ON PDS, MSPPROCUREMENT,MGNREGA, & FERTILISER inflation & inflows both rise SUBSIDYTOTHE STATESTHROUGHAFORMULAPRESCRIBED BYTHE FINANCE COMMISSION Keeping repo unchanged is an obvious choice,the bigger challenge is the balance between inflation and rupee value Policy options to deal with IVEN RETAIL INFLATION for Octoberwas a high 7.6% and seems unlikely to subside to levels that would comfort the MPC,before March-end, the committee is expected to leave the repo rate Gunchanged at 4%. The consensus is inflation would taper off only towards the end of FY21,to around 5-5.5% levels,thereby averaging about 6% the farmer protests for the year.At any other time,the MPC might even have considered an increase in the repo rate since inflation is running well beyond the targeted 2-6%.Also, ARMERSAREPROTESTING and if the market prices at the time of while it is mainlyprices of food that have risen sharply,prices of otheritems too againsttherecentlyenacted harvest turn out to be below MSP, the have gone up; the slight spike in prices of some key commodities also threatens farm laws by laying siege to government can compensate them to exacerbatetherisein prices.However,withthe economystruggling,notwith- Delhi’s highways connect- ASHOK partly for the lower market prices. I standingthebetter-than-expectedperformanceinQ2FY21andthefactthatthe ing the national capital to consider it a feasible option, and this government needs to borrow,it is likely to opt for a status quo. neFighbouring states.The agitation is GULATI can be kicked off immediately. Indeed,interestratesaren’treallytheproblemrightnowandhaven’tbeensofor primarily led by Punjab farmers, Infosys chair professor for agriculture, ICRIER. The fourth option is to totally a long time; the challenge is that credit isn’t flowing evenly.RBI Governor Shak- although some other groups have also Views are personal decentraliseMSP,procurement,stock- tikanta Das has successfully used innovative measures to ensure that liquidity is joined. I believe every citizen has the ing,andthepublicdistributionsystem more than abundant and that yields remain low—at the shorter end, they have right to protest peacefully.But,block- (PDS).Since many states and activists crashed.But,banks remain reluctant to lend,stayingwith the best and awayfrom ing highways reveals their intention is repealing would mean bringing back pose.Thattooatatimewhenthecoun- aresayingthatagriculturalmarketing risk of any kind.One doesn’t blame them for being circumspect given the kind of to create chaos and disruption,which controls,licenceraj,andresultingrent- try desperately needs funds to tackle is a state subject and, through these losses they could be running into, thanks to the damage caused to businesses by maygooutofhand. seeking.Remembermilk,poultry,fish- Covid-19 at home and the Chinese at laws,theCentreistramplingovertheir the pandemic. In the absence of the IBC mechanism,theyare all the morevulner- Here, let me also say that I feel ery,etc,don’tgothroughthemandisys- itsborders.Iconsiderthispolicyoption jurisdiction,thenwhyevenhaveacen- abletofinancialdamage.Credittoindustryandservices,includingNBFCs,hasactu- there is a gross communication fail- tem, and their growth rates are 3-5 impractical because even when the tralMSP?SinceMSPandprocurement ure on the part of the Centre, on times higher than that of wheat and government cannot cope up with exist basically to support farmers for allyfallenbetweenAprilandSeptemberthoughtheMSMEsegmenthasseencredit explaining to farmerswhatthese laws rice. Overall, almost 90% of agri-pro- excess production of just wheat and supplying grains to FCI to feed into flows improve on the back of the government’s credit guarantee scheme. There are and howtheyare intended to ben- duceissoldtotheprivatesector. rice in any meaningful way, think of PDS,the money for the so-called food has been some pick up in November,but nothing substantial. efit them. This communication gap Another demand is to how it will handle 23 com- subsidy should be allocated to states Under the circumstances,there doesn’t seem to beverymuch more RBI can do was fully exploited by some political make the MSP legally- moditiesforwhichMSPis on the basis of theirshare in the coun- tosupporttherecovery,excepttomakesuretheliquidityremainsampleandthatthe parties and social activists,who are binding,even on the pri- prescribed. In the case of try’spoverty/economicallyvulnerable rupee doesn’t appreciate to a point that it hurts exports.This is harder than one facing an existential threat and vate sector—implying With such excess production, the population,itswheatandriceproduc- believesbecause,whileensuringthereisenoughliquidity,thecentralbankalsoneeds believe that the Modi government that anyone buying decentralisation, private sector will not tion, its procurement of wheat and to bewatchful that this abundance doesn’t in anywayhurt the economy.The large can do no good to this country.Amas- below MSP could face the states will then come forward to buy at rice,etc.Awell thought out formula capitalinflows—especiallyFPIandRBI’sbuyingupofthesedollars—havealsoadded sive misinformation campaign was prison. Let me say that MSP,andthegovernment needs to be worked to allocate, say, to liquidityin recent months,probablyeven more than bond purchases.The flows launched saying that these laws are a this is not the first time be free to decide will not have the where- `100,000 crore of food subsidy.And, couldmoderatebutaren’texpectedtodryupaltogetherand,therefore,unlesstrade sell-out to corporate houses, will such a demand has been their specific MSPs withaltobuyallthestock then let states decide what should be deficitwidens,thisavenueofliquiditywillremain.Nonetheless,GovernorDasmust abolish the MSP system, dismantle raised.It came up several and handle and store this without thestateMSPandletthemhandlepro- clearly enunciate the central bank’s stance will stay accommodative to support APMC mandis, and even capture times even during the procurement and any viable outlet. It will curement and stocking costs. The growthsothatthepetulantbondmarketsdon’tgointoasulk.Forthemoment,man- farmers’lands.Nothing can be farther UPA era (2004-13), and massively distort the deficit-states can invite tenders for aging the record borrowings of both the Centre and states while ensuring yields from the truth. Neither do the laws every time, it was stocking costs. markets, make Indian supplyingtheseinrequiredquantities don’tspikeremainsabigpriorityforRBI.Evenifbondpurchases—ofstateandcen- say anything about the MSP system rejected. I consider this The deficit-states agriculturenon-compet- or, even better, they may introduce tralloans—seemoverdone,thecentralbankwillprobablyneedtostaythecourse.RBI noris the MSP/APMC system going to impractical as there are can invite tenders itive, and stocking of cash transfers in the PDS system. I disappear with these laws.Yes,what 23 commodities for these will be financially would go a step further and include has been supportive of business,allowing banks to give borrowers a moratorium for supply of and also providing regulatory forbearance.Whether the central bank should pro- would come under pressure is the which MSPs are unsustainable.And,why another `100,000 crore of fertiliser high commissions of arthiyas,mandi announced, but in prac- the quantities only 23 commodities, subsidy and free up fertiliser prices videfurtherforbearancesoastoprodbankstolendmoreratherthanparktheirsur- fees and cess that states collect,which tice, only wheat and rice whynot say40?This type from controls.And, beyond that, even plusesintheLAFwindowisamootpoint.Thatcouldbefraughtwithrisk. they require account for as much as 8.5% over enjoy MSP-enforcement ofsocialismisasurepath include another `100,000 crore, say, MSP in Punjab, amounting to in any meaningful man- to financial disaster. of MGNREGA.Let Finance Commis- `4,500-5,000 crore each year.A sub- ner, and that too only in The third policy sion work out a formula for distribu- stantial chunk of this is neveraudited six-seven states. Punjab is the biggest option is to use the Price Stabilisation tion of this `300,000 crore amongst Face up to the facts by the Comptroller and Auditor Gen- gaineras95-98%ofmarketarrivalsof Scheme to give a lift to market prices states based on some tangible perfor- eral (CAG) of India.No wonder some wheat and paddy are procured at MSP byproactivelybuyingapartofthesur- mance indicators. And, the Centre Facial analysis tech can come only after a data privacy law smell a rat in the farmers’protests. bystateagenciesonbehalfofFoodCor- pluswhenevermarketpricescrash,say should shed its MSP, PDS, fertiliser In any case, what are the policy poration of India (FCI). FCI is over- more than 20% below MSP. It can be subsidy, and MGNREGA responsibili- SINDIALOOKStoexpandthedeploymentoffacialrecognitiontechnology options now that farmers have dug in loaded with grain stocks, at over 2.5 done directly, through NAFED and ties.This would be true decentralisa- their heels? Punjab farmer-leaders, times the buffer stock norms,indicat- other such agencies already active in tion and can be accomplished, pro- (FRT)forlaw-keeping—areportbytheInternetFreedomFoundationtalks including two major political parties, ing massive economic inefficiency in caseofpulsesandoilseeds,or byusing vided enough groundwork is done in of32FRTsystemsgettinginstalledinthecountryunderProjectPanoptic, aredemandingthe repealoftheselaws. the grain management system with a Commodity Derivate Exchanges advance. Will this be acceptable to Aatanoutlayof`1,063crore—itmusttakeacueortwofromtheglobalexpe- Idon’tthinkthatwouldbeinthelarger costofthousandsofcroresofrupees to wherefarmerscanbuy‘putoptions’at farmer-leaders/opposing states/ rience.It must also put in place the legal framework to allow such technologyto be interest of the country’s peasantry,as the taxpayerwithout serving any pur- MSP before they even sow their crops, activists? Onlytimewill tell. usedwithoutoversteppingitsremit.AEuropeanCommissionwhitepaperfromear- lierthisyearcallsforathree-tofive-yearfreezeonthedeploymentoftechnologysuch as FRTover misuse concerns and possible technological shortcomings; though the EuropeanDataProtectionSupervisorisyettoorderanysuchaction,headsofthisreg- LETTERS TO ulatory office have publicly endorsed this position.The San Francisco city council THE EDITOR announcedafreezeonthetechnologylastyearbecausefoundational,human-origin High inflation rules out rate easing informationusedbythetechnologycausedittobebiasedagainstpeopleofcolour— an MITstudy found that facial-analysis had a high error rate,ranging between 21- Try addressing the 47%,fordarker-skinnedwomen.Notjustgovernments,evensomeofthelargestcon- We expect the CPI inflation to trust deficit glomerates have been mulling over halting ongoing FRToperations/participation. recede below the upper-end of ADITI IBM,inJunethisyear,announcedthatitwouldbecompletelyexitingthefacialrecog- Apropos “This is about politics, nitionbusiness.Aftervigorouslydefendingitssoftwarelastyear,Amazon,asperaWired the MPC’s target range of 6%, NAYAR not farmer rights”(FE, December report,saidsaidinOctoberthatitwasimposinga“one-yearmoratorium”onpoliceuse only in December, and average 1). Farmers, mainly from northwest of Rekognition.While Union home ministerAmit Shah had claimed that the Delhi India, continued to blockade Delhi Principal Economist, ICRA. for the fifth day in a row. There is a Policewas able to identifynearly1,900 people involved in the Delhi riots using FRT a substantial 5.3% in Q4 FY21 Views are personal significant trust deficit between and driving licence,voterID and otherofficial data,the fact is there are manyprob- the Centre and farmers’ lemsthatneedresolvingbeforeFRTetccanbesafelydeployedforpolicing—in2018, RECENT WEEKS HAVE witnessed whatRBIandwehadfeared. food inflation in the nearterm. representatives. It is time for wiser theDelhiPolicecounselhadtoldtheDelhiHighCourtthatthesuccessrateofFRTwas simultaneous euphoria regarding the Several lead indicators recorded a Globally, crude oil prices may counsel to prevail before amere2%.Ayearlater,theministryofwomenandchilddevelopmentpeggedthisat earlyavailabilityofseveralCovid-19vac- spike in growth in October, which hardenifthereisfurtherevidencethat something snaps. But the below1%andsaidthetechnologycouldnotevendistinguishbetweenaboyandagirl. cinecontenders,evenasinfectionshave seemedtosuggestthatasharpimprove- supportsanearlyroll-outofaCovid-19 government shouldn’t back down Thisisnottodismissthepromisesuchtechnologiesholdforlaw-keeping;indeed, riseninIndiaandmanyothercountries. ment had set in during Q3 FY21.How- vaccine, which may impart modest from the farm legislations it onceFRTachieveshighlevelsofaccuracy,itcannotonlybeasurgicalcrime-fighting The formerhas pushed up asset and ever,thiswasexaggeratedbyrestocking pressure on retail fuel prices and the passed in the last Parliament toolbytappingintotheCrimeandCriminalTrackingNetworkandSystemsdatabase commodity prices,further raising the ahead of the festive season, and base inflationoutlook.Withdemandrecov- session. The legislations were but also can be put to positive uses such as tracing missing persons,etc.But,before spectre of elevated inflation for India, effectsrelatedtoalateronsetofthefes- ering, albeit at a variable pace across hardly radical and promise to that,toensurethatAI-aidedpublicsurveillanceisnotmisused,thegovernmenthas while the latter has clouded an assess- tive period in 2020 relative to 2019.In different sectors,and rising commod- boost agriculture; there is a dire tobringintherequireddata/digitalprivacyprotectionlaws.ABrooking’spaperrec- ment of the strength of the economic ourview,growth in many sectors may ity prices, the core-inflation may need to liberalise agricultural ommendsanindependentbodyoruseofthecourtsystemforFRT-requestapproval. recoverythatmaybefeasibleinthenear moderateinNovember,followingsome remain sticky,despite the expectation markets. Most states, over the last However,theJusticeSrikrishnacommitteereport,asthisnewspaperhaspointedout term.Inthishazycontext,theMonetary satiation of pent-up demand,aswell as of easing logistical disruptions. few years, tried to reform the before,underscoresthenear-impossibilityofthis—despiteananti-abuseprocedure Policy Committee is scheduled to meet the temporary impact of a larger num- We expect the CPI inflation to sector via legislative changes. governingphone-tappingbyauthorities,thereviewcommitteehastoreviewnearly onDecember2-4,tomulloverthepolicy berof holidays.Aclearerpicture regard- recede below the upper-end of the Therefore, there can be no going 15,000-18,000 interception orders every meeting! The draft data protection law options and choose a path that is most ing the strength and durability of MPC’s target range of 6%, only in back. The discontent has envisagesalertsforuserswhensomeonetriestoaccessdatafrom,say,aFRTdatabase, appropriatefortheIndianeconomy. demandmayemergeonlyinDecember. December, and average a substantial coalesced into one primary butthegovernmenthasbeenkeptoutofthepurviewofthisprovision.Withoutestab- In its last meeting in October, the The pace of central 5.3% in Q4 FY21. The demand, some guarantee over the minimum support price (MSP) lishingtrustinFRT,anyattempttodeploysuchdatagathering,especiallyfrompub- reconstituted MPC had voted unani- and state government inflation-growth dynam- mouslytoleavethereporateunchanged spending in H2 FY21 ics suggest that we are mechanism. The government has licplaces, andanalysiswouldalwaysmeetcriticismandchallengebylitigation. The tone of the at 4%, and continue with the accom- remains to be seen,after close to the end of the rate promised that MSP will continue. modativestanceforaslongasnecessary the contraction recorded upcoming policy cutcycle,withaslightpos- But it can do more. The biggest to durably revive growth and mitigate inQ2FY21.Moreover,the review is expected sibility of a final cut in H1 challenge confronting Indian ProteinPUZZLE the impact of Covid-19 on the Indian economic recovery in to remain fairly FY22, followed by an agriculture is an increase in risks, economy,whilstensuringthatinflation many advanced dovish, in an extended pause. both from extreme climatic AI has made significant strides in decoding proteins,with remainswithinthetargetof2-6%going economies has been dis- So what about the conditions as well as sharp price forward.Moreover,five of the six mem- ruptedwiththereinstate- attempt to cap accommodative stance? fluctuations. MSP is a catchword positive implications for drug delivery and design bers voted to explicitly state that the mentofrestrictionsamid the yields While inflation is for income stability for farmers. accommodative stancewould continue surging Covid-19 cases, expected to remain The Centre should, thus, hold talks OOGLE’S DEEPMIND ALGORITHM’S unprecedented accuracy in atleastduringthecurrentfinancialyear, which may arrest the uncomfortable, the with farmers and come out with decoding of protein structures—this was recently reported in andintothenextfinancialyear. growthofIndianexports. improvement in eco- some concrete proposals to Nature—willhelpresearchersdevelopbettermedicationinthefuture. TheMPChadprojectedtheCPIinfla- Amidstthecontinuinghaze,wepro- nomicactivityisnascent,andneedsto mitigate their anxieties. Also, GAlthough scientists have been studying protein structures for long tion to ease from 6.8% in Q2 FY21 to ject the contraction in Indian GDP in be nurtured, warranting a continua- farmers will have to recognise that now, the complexity of some molecules and the sheer combinations involved 4.5-5.4%inH2FY21,withrisksbroadly FY21at7-9%,milderthanourprevious tion of the accommodative stance. the reality of the laws will not have ledtothedecodingofonly170,000proteins,fromover200million known balanced. Moreover, it had forecast a forecasts. However, the possibility of Equally significant are the persist- change. They also need to to humans.Understanding of the structure of complex proteins still eludes 9.5% contraction in the real GDP in renewed restrictions necessitated by a ing fiscal risks and the likelihood of a understand that extremist rhetoric mankind.While most approaches to decode structures tend to be experimental, FY21,withdownsiderisks,projectingde- riseintheCovid-19infectionsremains huge supply of state development and action—including flirting with — leaps in artificial intelligence has helped speed up the process. In 2018, when growth of 9.8% and 5.6%,respectively, arisktothedomesticgrowthoutlook. loans, in addition to the issuance of extreme identity-issues when the demand is mainly economic is DeepMindfirstparticipatedinthebi-annualcompetitiontodeterminenewpro- in Q2 FY21 and Q3 FY21,followed bya Thesupply-sidedisruptionsinfood, GovernmentofIndiasecurities(G-sec) marginal0.5%growthinQ4FY21. and other goods and services,issues of `2.3 trillion planned forQ4 FY21. wrong, unacceptable, and tein structures,it scored 15% higher than everyone else and achieving a GDT— Sincethelastreview,theCPIinflation related to the availability of labour, A new benchmark 10-year G-sec undermines their cause. At the a 0-100 scale that determines the accuracy of prediction—score of 60.Other hashardenedtoacringe-inducing7.6% highertaxesonfuelandliquor,andele- has just been introduced last week, same time, the government must approaches,until then,had only been able to achieve scores close to 40. inOctoberfrom6.9%inQ2FY21.With vatedgoldpriceskepttheheadlineCPI the third in this fiscalyearalone.This recognise the depth of the However, this year, the algorithm,AlphaFold, was able to achieve a score of acontractioninGDPintwoconsecutive inflation at an uncomfortably high is the consequence of the massive G- sentiment of farmers, reach out 92.4 for less complex structures and 87 for complex molecules.Also,given that quarters, the Indian economy has 6.9% in Q2 FY21. Looking ahead, the sec issuance that has been necessi- sensitively, and find a mechanism eachteamhastosharedataonhowitarrivesatthecalculation,thiswillalsohelp entered into a recession in H1 FY21. healthykharifarrivals,favourablebase tated in FY21, by the revenue shock to assure farmers that their other researchers tweak other techniques for better efficacy. If drug designers However, the pace of contraction in effects, import duty cuts and a bright generated owing to the Covid-19 incomes will be protected. can isolate everyprotein molecule and understand its structure,itwill also help India’sGDP(atconstant2011-12prices) outlook for the upcoming rabi season pandemic. Given this context, the — N Sadhasiva Reddy Bengaluru, delivermoredrugstothemarket.WhileAlphaFoldwasn’tabletosolvesomepro- narrowed appreciably to 7.5% in Q2 should soften food inflation.The pace tone of the upcoming policyreviewis Karnataka tein structures,with time and training,it will be able to do that as well.For now, FY21, from 23.9% in the lockdown- withwhichvegetablepricesnormalise expected to remain fairly dovish,in it is a significant achievement towards understanding drug responses. strickenQ1FY21,andwasnarrowerthan would cruciallyaffect the trajectoryof an attempt to cap the yields. ●Write to us at [email protected]

R.N.I. Reg. No. MAHENG/2010/34809 Printed and published by Vaidehi Chintaman Thakar on behalf ofThe Indian Express Private Limited and printed at The Indian Express Private Limited Press, Survey No. 288, Plot 1 and 2, Raisoni Industrial Park, Village Maan, Taluka Mulshi, District Pune-411027 and published at The Indian Express Private Limited, Express House, Plot No. 1205/2/6, Shirole Road, Shivajinagar, Pune-411004. Phone: 67241000, Fax: 67241047. Chairman of the Board: Viveck Goenka, Managing Editor: Sunil Jain, Resident Editor: Malini Bhupta* (*Responsible for selection of news under PRBAct)© Copyright: The Indian Express Private Limited. All rights reserved. Reproduction in any manner, electronic or otherwise, in whole or in part, without prior written permission is prohibited. The Financial Express®

Pune WWW.FINANCIALEXPRESS.COM WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 2, 2020 FINANCIAL EXPRESS OPINION 7

ing non-disruptive for the bond market, andsupportgrowthmoregenerally,sev- eral advanced central banks have used How to power tools such as QE without bounds and varying forms ofYCC. But what does all of this mean for emerging markets like India? electric mobility Implication for EMs: Don’t get carried away One, perhaps EMs like India should VINAY RAGHUNATH notgettoocarriedawaybytheunconven- tional policies that advanced economies & SOM KAPOOR pursue.Severaladvancedeconomieshave Raghunath is partner and automotive sector leader, established strong institutions over the and Kapoor is partner, automotive sector, EY India decades, driven by rules-based policy- making. Perhaps they have earned the licencetobemoreadventurous. Can Covid-19 be an opportunity to Back in India,while rules-based poli- boost electric mobility in India? cieslikeinflation-targetingareimportant reforms,theyare stillin theearlyyearsof implementation.Inflation expectations HESUDDENDROPinairpollutionlevelsinmet-

ILLUSTRATION: ROHNITPHORE needtobestabilisedfurther(chart6). ropolitan cities due to the lockdown was one of The cost of high public debt,too,can the few positive impacts of the early days of the bemeaningfulinEMs;rangingfromhigh pandemic. Emissions fell drastically, skies to the already elevated surplus banking inflation,tovolatile growth and,in some cleared, and residents of New York, London, PRANJUL BHANDARI, AAYUSHI sectorliquidity.Overtime,alargesurplus cases, default. For India, the benefits of Shanghai,T Mumbai and other major metro cities enjoyed can stoke macro imbalances like infla- runningloosefiscalpolicyovertimeneed clean airforthe first time in decades. CHAUDHARY & PRIYA MEHRISHI tion, eventually hurting the very recov- to be seen in the context of country-spe- AsperEYanalysis(MobilityConsumerIndexReport,2020), eryitwas meant to support. cificissues,suchasimplementationcon- monthly per capita emissions of carbon dioxide fell globally Bhandari is chief economist, India, Chaudhary is economist, HSBC Securities and Capital Markets (India) Pvt Ltd; Mehrishi is associate straints, and weak taxing capacity to across all three travel segments—work travel, social and …But the most pressing problem lowerdebtandthedeficiteasilyovertime. householdtravel,andleisureandentertainment.Thisbroadly is the large foreign capital inflows tracks the decline in journey numbers already noted.Sub- ● INDIA RBI WATCH Finally,foreigncapitalinflowsremain Beware the double-edged sword stantialreductioninemissionlevelswasnoted;56%forwork strong.Afewmonthsago,itwasledmore But even if EMs do not pursue uncon- travel, 58% for social and household travel, and 62% for by FDI inflows, and more recently there ventional policy, they would still find leisureandentertainment.Policymakersgloballyarenowtry- isasharpriseinFIIinflows.RBIhasbeen themselves at the receiving end of loose ing with conviction to push the future towards low-carbon intervening actively. Since early April, policy in advanced economies.And that transport and automakers are increasinglyworking on their RBI’s foreign currency assets have risen couldturnouttobeadouble-edgedsword. commitmentstobringnewmodelsofzero-emissionvehicles. Life in an by$90billion.Despitethis,therupeehas The good news is that advanced As per the Society of Manufacturers of Electric Vehicles appreciated 3% in real trade weighted economies would do a lot of the easing (SMEV),EVsalesinFY20were156,000units,whichwereup terms in this fiscalyear. for EMs. Loose financial conditions and by20%year-on-year.InFY20,152,000electrictwo-wheel- Goingforward,ifRBIdoesn’tintervene relatedeconomicrecoverygloballycould ers (97.43%), 3,400 cars (2.17%) and 600 buses (0.38%) intheFXmarket,therupeecouldappreci- help EMs both directly (via lower rates were sold,which is not even 1% of FY20 internal combus- unconventional ate further,hurting export competitive- andgrowthenhancinginflows)andindi- tion enginevehicle sales.The market cap of global EVman- ness.If it does intervene,it would add to rectly(via recoveryin export demand). ufacturers has witnessed a historic rise (over $500 billion) the already elevated banking sector liq- But in some cases it could become a in this fiscal year.This is more than the combined market uidity,stokinginflationworriesfurther. policyheadache;forinstance,ifloosepol- cap of the global traditional top-five automotive giants. Indeed,very loose liquidity is one of icyabroad forlong results in a gush of Highupfrontcapitalcostisthemajorobstacleimpeding world the reasons the short end of the govern- inflows over time, resulting in a host of theadoptionofEVsandtheirgrowthinIndia.Themostcrit- ment yield curve has recently dipped domestic problems such as inflation. ical component of battery pack leads decides the cost of an belowthe reverse repo rate (chart 4). This,asexplainedabove,isexactlythe EV, considering that the cost of this component is about Unconventional easing globally suggests that inflows And large foreign inflows have been problem RBI is grippedwith. 40% of the totalvehicle cost. the main driver of surplus domestic liq- So, what should the RBI do in the In the current scenario,selling EVsis a thin- ornegative- could remain elevated, requiring RBI to juggle between uidity. Since October, dollar purchases upcoming policymeeting? margin business,due to high batteryprices that account for objectives; it may be well served by keeping the repo rate (on the back of strong inflows) have cre- If global policymaking remains asignificantpercentageofthevehiclepurchaseprice.Future ated about three times more domestic accommodative forlonger,foreign capi- advances in technology and unchanged at 4% in the December 4 policy meeting liquiditythan bond purchases (chart 5). tal inflows into India could also remain greatereconomiesofscalewill, This, then, narrows down the ques- elevatedforlong.Inordertosailthrough, in all probability,make batter- tiontothefollowing:Whenwillthesefor- RBI will perhaps have to strike a balance India demonstrated ies more affordable. In the eign capital inflows stop? What should betweenitsobjectivesoninflation,bond its leadership in meantime, corporates who RBI do in the upcoming December 4 yields and the rupee.It could do a bit for compact cars; it’s want to procure EV fleets may meeting,and beyond? each but not go overboard on any.This time Indian OEMs find leasing as a more attrac- BIFACESAtriplechallengeof of high inflation. could also be made possible by focusing tive option than purchasing high inflation,elevated gov- An unconventional world of more on one objective over the other, get a global EV these vehicles. This trend is ernmentborrowingandlarge …Government borrowing is large policymaking dependingonthemorepressingproblem product on the likelytomakethewayforasec- capital inflows.In the econo- Alongside,public sector borrowing is Fiscal and monetary policymaking oftheday.Forinstance,FIIequityinflows same lines where ondary financing market.As a mist parlance, RBI’s policy likelytorisetoarecordofc16%ofGDPin around the world has become far more shot up in November and RBI focused affordability, new business model, few EV choicesRhavenarrowed,asthe‘impossible the current year. RBI has stepped up on adventurous and unconventional.The most on FXmarket intervention. manufacturers and original trinity’hasbecomemorebinding.Thelat- bond purchases to help the government last few months have witnessed a dra- Given varying challenges,we believe efficiency and size equipment manufacturers ter,aspereconomictheory,suggeststhat borrowin a non-disruptiveway. matic rise in the use of terms such as RBIwillalsobewellservedbynotmaking are differentiators (OEMs) are in the planning RBIcansimultaneouslypursueanytwoof To be fair, when possible, it has Modern Monetary Theory (MMT), ‘no many changes in the upcoming policy phaseforofferingtheoptionto the three—keep the rupee from appreci- resorted to‘operation twist’(by which it more austerity’,QE-infinity,yield curve meeting.Keepingthereporateunchanged purchasethevehicleandsepa- ating,allow large capital inflows,or keep converts its holding of T-bills and other control (YCC),and so on. at4%yetmaintaininganaccommodative ratelyleasethebattery—which monetaryconditionsloose. shorter maturity bonds to longer matu- The MMTview of the world suggests stancecouldbeaprudentstrategy. typically needs to be replaced after 7-10 years.In addition, rity bonds), in order to fund the fiscal thataslongasinflationisnotaproblem, RBI may have to update some of its third-partyplayershavestartedtodevelopbattery-as-a-ser- Inflation is elevated… deficit without adding to domestic liq- governmentsshouldkeepspending,and macroforecasts;forinstance,markupthe vicebusinessmodelsfocusedonbringingmoremoderately- Let’s start with the first of the three uidity.But that may not be sufficient in central banks should keep printing. currentyearinflationforecast(currentlyat pricedbatteryreplacementsolutionstothepublic. challenges—inflation.TheOctoberinfla- the face of the large borrowing pro- Some believe that the exit from 5.8%) and perhaps also lowerthe growth Moreover,themarketalsoholdsopportunitiestorepur- tionreadingmarkedtheseventhconsec- gramme*. And therefore RBI has also expansionary fiscal policy in advanced contractionforthecurrentyear(currently poseandrecycleEVbatteries.AtypicalEVbattery,afterbeing utive month of remaining outside RBI’s begun to do fresh OMO purchases for economies happened rather abruptly in averaging9.5%).Inarecentreport,weare removed,retainsthepowercapacityof50-70%.Thishasthe 2-6%toleranceband(chart1).Therisein bothcentralandstategovernmentbonds. previous crises.And this time, the loose nowcallingforalowergrowthcontraction potential to be repurposed for tasks such as power backup, inflationoverthisperiodhasbeenledby The problem here is that each time fiscal stance should stay for longer.And in FY21 (-8.5% y-o-y versus -11%).RBI renewable-energystorageandgridstabilisation.Uponcom- food,but not just food.While food infla- RBI does a fresh OMO purchase, it adds to make the extra government borrow- maywant to share its insights on matters pletion of a battery’s second life,the final stage is recycling. tioncontributed66%totherisethisfis- that confound the market. One, why is In terms of EV charging stations, although there are calyear,coreinflationcontributed33%. inflation so high at a time demand is so manyinfrastructureoperatorsinIndia,astandardbusiness Thedominantnarrativeoninflationis Inflation has been outside RBI’s 2-6% The short end of the govt yield curve has weak?Two,istheliquidityglutattheshort model is yet to be established.Utilities,oil majors,network thatit is ledbyaweakvegetablecropand tolerance band for seven months recently dipped below the reverse repo rate endexpectedtolingeronforlong?Whatis operatorsandsoftwaredevelopersarealsobecomingactive lockdown-ledsupplydisruptions.Whena Trends in inflation (% y-o-y) Yield curve (%) Sep 23, ‘20 thecentralbank’sstrategyonit?Three,for in the market to get the early-moveradvantage. 14 Core (excluding food, 6.00 new crop is harvested, and the supply Food 5.50 howlongwill recoveryneed the crutch of Morethanoperationsandmaintenance,installationser- economy begins to rumble back into 12 fuel, petrol, diesel, housing) 5.00 excessdomesticliquidity? vicescanserveastheprimaryrevenuedriverinthismarket. 10 4.50 4.00 Repo rate Nov 20, ‘20 action, these will fade, and low demand 8 3.50 Onthelastquestion,webelievemon- Many state utilities are offering special tariffs/plans for 3.00 willpullinflationdown.Alas,it’sbeensev- 6 Headline 2.50 Reverse repo rate itoringbankcreditgrowthandcoreinfla- retailingelectricityforEVcharging,whileoperatorsofcharg- 4 2.00 eralmonthsandthisnarrativeisnotcom- RBI's 4% target tion are key.If the former picks up (cur- ing networks typically provide charging station hardware, 2 1m 3m 1Y 3Y 5Y 10Y ingtobear.Perhapsitistoosimplistic,and Oct ‘19 Feb ‘20 Jun ‘20 Oct ‘20 T-Bill T-Bill G-Sec G-Sec G-Sec G-Sec rently credit is only growing 5.7% y-o-y cloud-based software services,technical support and other therealproblemmaybedeeper. Dollar and OMO purchases have resulted Inflation expectations need to be despite broad money growing 12% y-o- electricvehiclesupplyequipment(EVSE)managementser- For instance,we think the disruption in surplus banking sector liquidity stabilised further y),orthelatterstickson,RBImaywantto vices,such as payment processing. in the informal sector,which makes up Liquidity position in the banking system (axis inverted) Household inflation expectations (%) recalibrate its strategy. AsIndiahasdemonstrateditsleadershipincompactcars 50%ofGDPandtendstoproduceessen- -9 `, tn 11.0 12m ahead (median) *On ourestimate of fiscal deficit,gross and SUVs,the stage is set for Indian manufacturers to get a -8 -6.8 tial goods like food and clothing, may -7 10.0 market borrowing of central and state globalEVproductonthesamelineswhereaffordability,effi- -6 have played a role in stoking inflation. -5 9.0 governmentswould be over`20 trillion ciency and size become India’s differentiator. Even the -4 True that both the death and the birth -3 8.0 in FY21,versus `13 trillion lastyear. largestglobalEVOEMistakingaboutacompactmass-mar- -2 Liquidity in 3m ahead (median) rate of informal firms are high, but the -1 7.0 (Excerpted from‘India RBIWatch’ ket carto expand its footprint in the European market. periodbetweenwhentheygetdisrupted Nov ‘19 Feb ‘20 May ‘20 Aug ’20 Nov ‘20 Sep Jan May Sep Jan May Sep report by HSBC Global Research dated 2018 2019 2020 andwhen theyreappearmaywell be one Source: CEIC, HSBC, Bloomberg December1,2020)

FASAL BIMAYOJANA

HEPRADHANMANTRI Fasal nataka,and rabi 2019-20 data is pending Bima Yojana (PMFBY) is the from half a dozen states, the final claims largest risk-mitigation pro- ratio for all companies including private gramme launched by the gov- Insuring crops, onesfor2019-20isboundtoincreasesig- ernment for providing a pro- nificantlyon the receipt of pending data. Ttective shield to farmers from all natural Intherevampedschemeeffectivefrom risks over the entire cropping cycle.This kharif2020,aprovisionhasbeenmadeto scheme is the first in terms of the lowest ensuring happiness allocate work to insurance companies for premium payable by farmers and the three years,which will average out any highest value of crop insured.All general volatilityintermsofhigh/lowclaimsratio insurance companies registered by the Tech-based yield estimation through seasons and will act as an ideal period for IRDAI (Insurance Regulatory and Devel- the analysis of the scheme in terms of opmentAuthority)thathaveareasonable a robust arithmetical model claims paid by insurance companies with rural presence have been empanelled for incorporating satellite imagery— SUDHANSHU respect to the premium collected. theimplementationofthescheme.Atpre- The primary driver of the premium is sent, all the five government companies gridded weather data and soil PANDEY the unavailability of historical yield data and13privatecompaniesregisteredwith atthegranularlevelandthediscrepancies the IRDAI are empanelled. moisture data—can go a long way in The author is secretary, on account of human errors in computa- The basic idea forincreasing the num- moderating the premium rates Department ofAgriculture & tion/calculation,as well as recording of ber of companies was to leverage their Farmers Welfare and Department yield data.Technology-based yield esti- of Food & Public Distribution cumulative network in rural areas and to mation through a robust arithmetical taketheadvantageofefficiencyofthepri- model incorporating satellite imagery— vate sectorin scheme implementation. nies combined is 89%.This would mean lowerlossratioinaparticularseason/year of premium subsidy.In certain instances, the agriculture ministry has been releas- gridded weather data and soil moisture Theschemeisinitsfifthyearofimple- that forevery`100 collected as premium is not the right way of looking at the per- there has been a delay in sharing of CCE ing the season-wise data every month to data—cangoalongwayinmoderatingthe mentation and has been revamped to by insurance companies, `89 have been formance of a companyorof the scheme. data/release of state subsidy, leading to ensure that experts can do analysis of the premiumratesandstabilisingthescheme address the challenges in smooth imple- paidasclaimsbythem;insurancecompa- The kharif 2019 season was good for delayin release of claims to farmers. performanceoftheschemeonthebasisof implementation. mentation,includingmakingitvoluntary nies generally incur a cost of 10-12% for crop, but widespread unseasonal rains There has been criticism of low claims the most recent data. The agriculture ministry has initiated forallfarmersandleveragingtechnology. reinsuranceandadministrativeexpenses. damaged the harvested crops, leading to ratios and profits earned by insurance On analysing data for public and pri- large-scaleprominentgovernment,inter- Alothasbeensaidabouttheparticipa- Thus,insurance companies have barely substantialclaimspay-outsinMaharash- companies including private insurance vate insurers for the period of three years national and private technical agencies tion of private companies and insurance brokeneveninthefirstthreeyearsinspite traandMadhyaPradeshwheretheclaims companies based on incomplete data, (2016-17to2018-19)forwhichmajority anditisexpectedthatatech-basedproto- companies reaping supernormal profits ofagoodmonsooninthoseyears.Anycat- ratioswere121%and213%,respectively. whichleadstounfoundedcriticismofthe of the data has been received, the claims col for yield estimation would be in place fromthescheme.Inthefirstthreeyearsof astrophicriskprogrammeshouldbeeval- Claims pay-outs to farmers require scheme.Later,whenthecompletedatafor ratiostandsat98.5%and80.3%forpub- in1-2years.Thatwouldleadtoaparadigm scheme implementation for which com- uated at least overa five-yearhorizon and timely sharing of Crop Cutting Experi- the season was available, the claims ratio licandprivatecompanies,respectively.For shiftintheimplementationofcropinsur- plete data is available, the claims ratio at at the national (aggregate) level.Arguing ments (CCE) datawith insurance firms by wentupsubstantially.Toaddresstheprob- kharif 2019, as CCE data has not been ance schemes and would meet the needs thenationallevelforallinsurancecompa- that a particular company had higher or thestatesandthereleaseofthestateshare lem of gaps in data in the public domain, receivedfromGujarat,JharkhandandKar- of smallholderfarmers in the long run.

Pune 8 FINANCIAL EXPRESS WWW.FINANCIALEXPRESS.COM FB ON HATE SPEECH, NUDITY

Jamal Greene, FB Oversight Board co-chair

Hate speech is an especially difficult area. It's ❝not that easy ... for an algorithm to get the ❝ International context of such speech... WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 2, 2020

Quick ● SPAT OVER TWEET JD to raise $3.5 bn inAsia’s View China’s‘wolf warriors’ biggest healthcare IPO

JULIAFIORETTI & VINICY CHAN seenarecordwaveoflistingsinAsiathisyear, December 1 spurredbystronginvestordemandamidthe diplomats slam Australia coronaviruspandemic. JD HEALTH INTERNATIONAL raised JD Health is the largest online healtcare HK$27 billion ($3.5 billion) after pricing platform and online pharmacybyrevenue pleasingthedomesticaudience,”saidFang Asia’sbiggesthealthcareinitialpublicoffer- in China,according to its prospectus.The Win fans at home, Kecheng, a communications professor at ing(IPO)atthetopendofamarketedrange, company recorded revenues of 8.8 billion spokeswoman Hua Chunying theChineseUniversityofHongKong.“Itis peoplewithknowledgeofthemattersaid. yuan ($1.34 billion) in the first half of this not working in terms of building China’s TheunitofChinesee-commerceopera- year, up from 5 billion yuan in the same draws praise on social image globally. It is working in terms of tor JD.com priced its sale of 381.9 million periodayearearlier. media for exuding the incitingnationalisticsentimentdomesti- sharesatHK$70.58apiece,thepeoplesaid, Thecompanybroughtinsixcornerstone cally. It is not working persuading the asking not to be identified as the informa- investorsforitsIPOwhoagreedtosubscribe ‘style of a great power’ more liberal-minded Chinese. It is work- tionisn’tpublic.Thecompanyisduetostart forasmuchas$1.35billionofstock,includ- ingintermsofansweringthecallfromthe tradinginHongKongonDecember8. ing Singapore sovereign wealth fund GIC BLOOMBERG topleadership—andthelastthingiswhat An external representative forthe com- Pte,HillhouseCapitalandBlackRock. BlackBerry and December 1 Hua Chunying theyreallycare about.” pany could not immediately comment on Thecompanywasmarketingtheshares The shift is just one way that US Presi- the matter.The IPO surpasses the $2.3 bil- at HK$62.80 to HK$70.58 each. Bank of Amazon team up AUSTRALIAN PRIME MINISTER Scott diplomatic rhetoric is increasinglydriven dent-elect Joe Biden’s administration is lion share sale by Japan’s Otsuka a decade AmericaCorporation,HaitongInternational on vehicle data MorrisondemandedBeijingapologisefor by concerns at home,where President Xi facing a diplomatic landscape that has ago to become Asia’s biggest listing in the Securities Group and UBS Group AG are a provocative tweet depicting one of his Jinping’spromiseofnationalrejuvenation grown more combative afterfouryears of healthcare sector,according to data com- joint sponsors for JD Health’s IPO. CANADIANTECHNOLOGYSPECIA- nation’s troops holding a bloody knife to and a torrent of overseas criticism led by DonaldTrump’sTwitter-drivenapproach. piledbyBloomberg.Themedicalindustryhas —BLOOMBERG LISTBlackBerryande-commercetitan anAfghan child’s throat.Instead,the Chi- the Trump administration are fanning Besides dismissing the complaints of Amazonhavedevelopedacloud-based neseforeignministry’stopspokeswoman nationalistic sentiments. China’s diplo- world leaders like Morrison or Canadian softwareplatformdesignedtohelpau- shot back,askingwhetherMorrison lacks mats,who reportedly once received cal- Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, China’s tomakersandsuppliersstandardise “a sense of right andwrong.” cium tablets from citizens hoping they foreignministryhasregularlydenounced Bitcoin makes hasty retreat vehicledataandspeeddeploymentof The responsewas a hit in China,where growsomebackbone,arerecastingthem- top US officials such as secretary of state newrevenue-generatingfeaturesand spokeswoman Hua Chunying drewpraise selves as one of the Communist Party’s Michael Pompeo as“evil”and“liars.” services,thecompaniessaidTuesday. on social media forexuding the“style of a mostvocal defenders. China’sdiplomatsenjoyacaptiveaudi- after failing at $20,000 great power.”Her deputy,Zhao Lijian,was DiplomatslikeZhaoandLiuXiaoming, ence in a tightlycensored media environ- AdaptHealth to buy similarly cheered on for pinning the the country’s ambassadorto the UK,have ment where Twitter and Facebook are BITCOINPULLEDBACKaftermakingarun and could eventually fail. “Part of the offending tweet to the top of his Twitter becomecelebritiesonChina’sinternetand banned.The foreign ministry has used its at $20,000 onTuesdayamid scepti- integrityof a system is knowingwho AeroCare for$2 billion feed. China’s vast state media complex are widely known as “Wolf Warriors” in a state-controlled platforms to counter cism overthe cryptocurrency’s inte- owns it and knowing who has it and MEDICALEQUIPMENTPROVIDER piledin,promotingstoriesaboutthemin- nod to a “Rambo”-like action film series. overseas criticism by highlighting what nserally. knowing why it’s being transferred,” AdaptHealthsaidonTuesdayitwas istry’s remarks while the official Xinhua The trend points to more messy disputes they describe as Western hypocrisy on Prices rose to an intra-dayrecord said Cohn,the ex-chief of Goldman buyingprivatelyheldAeroCarefor$2 News Agency dismissed Morrison’s like the ones with Australia and Canada, issues like trade, security and human of $19,914.3 and then sharply retr- Sachs Group. “The Bitcoin system billionincashandstock.Thedeal demandas“utterlyabsurd”andtheGlobal and raises questions about China’s ability rights, appealing to the party’s narrative eated.InaninterviewwithBloomberg today has no transparency to it. So followsthecompany’s$425-million Times newspaper published an editorial to build soft powerto match its economic thatitendeda“centuryofhumiliation”by Television,Gary Cohn,a former economic there are a lot of people that question,why acquisitionofSolara,adirect-to-pati- describingAustralia as“evil.” and militarymight. colonial powers. chieftoDonaldTrump,saidthetoken“lacks wouldyouneedasystemthatdoesnothave entproviderofdiabetesmanagement The episode illustrates how China’s “I do think this strategy is more about —BLOOMBERG someofthebasicintegrityofarealmarket” anaudittrail.”—BL OOMBERG supplier,inMay.Florida-basedAero- Careprovidesrespiratoryandother medicalequipmentforuseathome. Brexit talks trickybut should end soon:Von DerLeyen Zoom’s margins FrancetoseekEUriposteifUS dented by punishesFrenchdigitaltax IAN WISHART example,”she told an online conference. itsignsuptoEUstandardswithoutfullcon- December 1 “Howwereplicatethatonbothsidessothat trol over how its own rules develop or FRANCEWILLIMMEDIATELYseek we can be clear there’s no regression from change.The two sides are trying to find a booming free user EuropeanUnionretaliationifWashin- TRADETALKSBETWEENtheUKandEuro- what we’ve achieved,and there is fairness solutionthatsatisfiesboth. gtongoesaheadinJanuarywithplan- pean Union are“so tricky and so difficult” overtime.” Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s base,cloud costs nedtradesanctionsoveraFrenchtax buttherecouldbeapositiveoutcomeinthe Thenegotiations,whichhavebeengoing spokesman,JamieDavies,toldreporterson ondigitalservices,Frenchfinancemin- nextfewdays,EuropeanCommissionpres- on since March,are nowin theirfinal days, Tuesday that the government is working ZOOM VIDEO COMMUNICATIONS war- isterBrunoLeMairesaidonTuesday. identUrsulavonderLeyensaid. with both sides’parliaments needing time hard to bridge the differences with the ned on Monday its gross margins would TheTrumpadministrationannounced With face-to-face talks continuing in toratifyanyagreementbeforetheUKleaves EU.Negotiators are also wrangling over remain under pressure going into 2021 as inJulyadditionaldutiesof25%on London,theGermanheadofthebloc’sexec- Ursula von der Leyen theEU’ssinglemarketonDecember31.An access to British fishing waters.The UK is thesurgingnumberoffreeusersofitsvideo Frenchcosmetics,handbagsandother utivesaidonTuesdaytherewerestillimpor- accordwouldestablishtariffandquota-free holding out fora betterdeal on howit con- conferencingservicemakesithardtooffset importsvaluedat$1.3billioninrespo- tant questions to resolve around the so- “At the moment being,we’re discussing tradeingoodsandcooperationinareassuch trols its fish stocks,something it sees as a aspikeincoststomaintainitsgrowth. nsetoFrance’sdigital services tax,but called level playing field, a set of rules howwereplicatethecontrolofthelevelplay- assecurityandtransport. matterofsovereignty.Anagreementonthe Sharesofthecompany,whichhaverisen said itwould hold off on imple- designed to ensure fair competition ing field,be it state aid,be it norms — envi- TheUK,whichdoesn’trecognisethelevel issue is a precondition for an overarching about sevenfold this year fuelled by the menting the move until January. betweenbusinesses. ronmental norms or labour norms, for playingfieldterm,hasrejectedanyideathat accord. —BLOOMBERG meteoric rise in demand in video confer- encingforwork,schoolorsocialisingdueto the Covid-19 pandemic,fell 5% after the bell, despite upbeat fourth-quarter fore- Pfizer-BioNTech seek EU emergency Canada plans digital tax in casts.Zoom operates some of its own data centers,but it also relies on cloud comput- ing services from outside vendors such as 2022 on global tech giants Amazon.com and Oracle Corp,meaning it nod for Covid vaccine,target Dec rollout mustbearcostsforfreeusers. REUTERS Those bills,driven in part by a jump in LUDWIG BURGER Ottawa, December 1 freeusersinthethirdquarterasmillionsof Frankfurt, December 1 MAPPING THE VIRUS Fb-backed Libra students and teachers started new school Cases exceed CANADAPLANSTOimposeataxoncorpo- renamed Diem in semesters,pusheddownZoom’sgrossprofit PFIZER AND BIONTECH’S Covid-19 vac- rationsprovidingdigitalservicesfrom2022 marginsto66.7%,belowanalysts’estimates cine could be rolled out in Europe this 63.3 million that will stay in place until major nations quest for approval of 72.1%,and its pre-pandemic average of month,thecompaniessaidonTuesdayafter come up with a coordinated approach on around80%. theyappliedforEUemergencyapprovalfor Deaths top taxation,the finance department said on FACEBOOK-BACKED CRYPTO- “We expect gross margins to be consis- theshot. The United Nations’ humanitarian office appealed for $35 Monday. CURRENCYLibrahasbeenrebra- tentwithQ3intothenextfiscalyearbefore The application to the European Medi- billion in aid next year as Covid-19 increases the number TheOrganisationforEconomicCooper- nded“Diem”inarenewedeffortto starting to improve towards ourlong-term 1.47 million of people in need of assistance by 40% to 235 million. cines Agency (EMA) comes days after the ation and Development is working on a gainregulatoryapprovalbystressing target margin,”chief financial officer Kelly companie applied r e ge use The European Central Bank should focus on keeping appr to nsur digital St elbe s Zoom had 00 s fo mer ncy of Recoveries financial conditions at current levels through the crisis common oach e e behe- theproject’sindependence.Plansfor eck rg aid. said it 433,7 theirvaccine in the US.Theysaid theircan- rather than announcing a blockbuster stimulus package moths,suchasAlphabet’sGoogleandFace- Libra,firstfloatedbyFacebooklast customerswithmorethan10employees,a didate,BNT162b2,couldbelaunchedinthe 44,143,939 that beats market expectations, according to Executive book,paytheirshare of taxes as the coron- year,wereslimmed-downinApril 485%increasefromtheyearbeforebutonly EuropeanUnionthismonth. Board member Isabel Schnabel. avirushammersbudgets. afterregulatorsandcentralbanks a17%increasefromthefiscalsecondquar- � Pence says Covid vaccine — “If EMAconcludes that the benefits of distribution could start in mid- Boris Johnson will promise cash grants to traditional Canada said it was concerned about a raisedconcernsitcouldupendfin- ter. REUTERS thevaccine candidate outweigh its risks in December English pubs forced to shut under new pandemic rules as delayin reaching agreement.The threat of ancialstability,erodecontrolover protectingagainstCOVID-19,itwillrecom- he seeks to persuade critics in his party to back him in a digital services taxes has prompted threats monetarypolicyandthreatenpriv- � Russia tries to import mendgrantingaCMA(conditionalmarket- vote on Tuesday. oftraderetaliationfromoutgoingUSPresi- acy.Tuesday’snameswitchispartof COVID-19 drugs as deaths hit Vaccinations may be available to European Union citizens With Kataria at Bata ing authorization)that could potentially high dentDonaldTrump’sadministration. amovetoemphasiseasimpler,reva- enable use of BNT162b2 in Europe before before the end of this month, after the European The new tax would come into effect on mpedstructure,StuartLevey,CEOof � US states fear shortfall of Commission recently secured about 2 billion doses, helm,footprints of the end of 2020,”they said in a joint state- supplies for vaccine rollout, President Ursula von der Leyen said during a parliamentary January1,2022,andremaininplaceuntila theGeneva-basedDiemAssociation ment.IntheirpursuitofaEuropeanlaunch, GAO says forum. commonapproachisagreedupon.Themea- behindtheplanneddigitalcoin,said. the partners are neck-and-neck with rival surewould raise federal revenues byC$3.4 —REUTERS Indian-origin corp � EU vaccine rollout possible Scientists at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Moderna,which said on Monday it would this month Prevention found evidence of Covid infection in blood billion($2.6billion)overfiveyears,starting ask the EU regulatorto recommend condi- donations collected by the American Red Cross from inthe2021-22fiscalyear. like any other company operating in honchos expand � Factory floors keep global residents in nine US states between Dec. 13, 2019, and tionalapprovalforitsshot. economy chugging along “Canadianswantataxsystemthatisfair, Canada.” Aneffectiveimmunisationisseenasthe January 17, 2020, according to a study published online in where everyone pays their fair share,” More details are due in nextyear’s bud- PRESS TRUST OF INDIA amid virus hit the journal Clinical Infectious Diseases. mainweaponagainstthepandemic,which financeministerChrystiaFreelandtoldleg- get.Foreign-basedvendorswithnophysical New Delhi, December 1 � Hong Kong virus surge hasclaimedmorethan1.4millionlivesand Vice-President Mike Pence told governors on Monday that islatorsinthefalleconomicupdate. presenceinCanadawillalsohavetostartcol- scuttles travel bubble, sends distribution of a coronavirus vaccine could begin by the ravagedeconomiesacrosstheglobe.Closeto bankers home third week of December, signaling US regulators will swiftly “Canadawillactunilaterally,ifnecessary, lecting sales taxes on products such as THE FOOTPRINTS OF Indian-origin cor- 50potentialvaccinesarebeingtestedonvol- approve an emergency authorization for the first shots. toapplyataxonlargemultinationaldigital mobile apps, online video gaming and porate executives at multinationals is unteersworldwide.—REUTERS corporations,sotheypaytheirfairsharejust streaming. expanding,withSanjivKatariatakingover thereinsoffootwearmajorBataasitsglobal chiefexecutiveofficer. FromFMCGmajorstoITtitans,Kataria Biden stokes first nomination joinstheleagueofIndian-originexecutives, OECD sees global economy turning who have climbed the highest echelons of corporates across diverse sectors globally. fightwith pick forbudget chief From Nooyi to Pichai to Nadella,the list of the corner on coronavirus crisis suchpeopleatthehelmofmulti-billiondol- PRESIDENT-ELECTJOEBidenissettingup tration,”he told reporters on Capitol Hill. larenterprisesislong. his first confirmation fight with Senate “We’repreparedtotrytoworkwiththevice LEIGH THOMAS 2021,ledbyastrongrecoveryinChina,the KatariahasbeenelevatedasglobalCEO RepublicansbychoosingNeeraTanden—a president once the vote’s certified,but she Paris, December 1 OECDsaid. ofBatafromCEOofBataIndia. sometimes-acerbicDemocraticpolicywonk certainlystrikesmeashisworstnomineeso Butthatmaskedwidevariationsamong In the non-IT space, Indra Nooyi led with an often-partisan Twitter feed — to far.”Republicanshavesofarrefrainedfrom THEOUTLOOKFORtheglobaleconomyis countries,with output in manyeconomies foods and beverages major PepsiCo as its serve as his White House bud- voicing outright opposition to improving despite a secondwave of coron- expectedtoremainabout5%belowpre-cri- global CEO for12years and stepped down getchief. Biden is choosing Biden’s other intended nomi- avirus outbreaks in manycountries asvac- sislevelsin2022. fromthepostin2018.Priortothat,shehad Tanden,the tough-minded Neera Tanden to nees,including former Federal cines emerge and a Chinese-led recovery Chinawillbetheonlycountrycoveredby served the companyinvarious roles for24 head of an influential Democ- serve as his Reserve chair JanetYellen to be takeshold,theOECDsaidonTuesday. theOECDtoseeanygrowthatallthisyear,at years. ratic think tank, is a veteran White House treasury secretary, or Antony Theglobaleconomywillgrow4.2%next 1.8%,unchanged from the last forecast in Harish Manwani became the first chief HillaryClintonaideseasonedin budget chief BlinkenforsecretaryofState.Yet yearandeaseto3.7%in2022,aftershrink- September.Itwillgainspeedto8%in2021 operating officer of FMCG major Unilever Washington battles over Oba- they are drawing the line with ing4.2%thisyear,theOrganisationforEco- —alsounchanged—beforeeasingto4.9% in2011afterjoiningthecompany’sIndian macare and Donald Trump’s Tanden,50,whowillbeformally nomic Cooperation and Development China will be the only country in2022. armHULasamanagementtraineein1976. presidency. Her selection on introduced to the public along (OCED)saidinitslatestEconomicOutlook. covered by the OECD to see any The United States and Europe are Itisn’tjustIndianITfirmsthatarepow- Monday as Biden’s nominee to lead the with other economic team nominees by After a second wave of infections hit expected to contribute less to the recovery ering companies globally but also India- growth at all this year, at 1.8% Office of Management and Budget drew BidenduringaneventTuesdayinWilming- Europe and the US,the Paris-based policy thantheirweightintheglobaleconomy. bornexecutives,whoareheadingmulti-bil- swift objections from GOP senators who ton,Delaware.Tandenwasoneofsixnomi- forumtrimmeditsforecastsfromSeptem- Aftercontracting3.7%thisyear,theU.S. liondollarenterprises. couldblockherconfirmation,withSenator neesBidenannouncedMondayforhiseco- ber,whenitexpectedaglobalcontractionof economywillgrow3.2%in2021and3.5% Satya Nadella,SundarPichai,Shantanu John Cornyn of Texas calling her selection nomicteam,includingYellen,CeciliaRouse 4.5% before a 5% recovery in 2021.It did that policy still has a lot to do,”said OECD in 2022,assuming a new fiscal stimulus is NarayenandArvindKrishnaaresomeofthe “radioactive.” tobechairoftheCouncilofEconomicAdvis- nothavea2022forecastatthetime. chiefeconomistLaurenceBoone. agreed.In September,the OECD had fore- names that are top of the mind for any “Most Republicans are open to anyrea- ers,JaredBernsteinandHeatherBousheyto “We’renotoutofthewoods.We’restillin Overall global gross domestic product cast a contraction of 3.8% this year and a techieaspiringtomakeitbigintheworldof sonablenomineebytheincomingadminis- bemembersoftheCEA.—BLOOMBERG themidstofapandemiccrisis,whichmeans will return to pre-crisis levels bythe end of reboundof4%nextyear.—REUTERS codingandsoftware.

Pune 9 FINANCIAL EXPRESS WWW.FINANCIALEXPRESS.COM

ON JOB/INCOME LOSS INSURANCE

Sarbvir Singh, CEO, Policybazaar.com

The middle-class has to safeguard itself against PersonalFinance financial shocks as it has to pay monthly installments ❝ ❝to service loans. A job/income loss insurance is the WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 2, 2020 right policy to protect from such eventualities.

● BORROWINGS ● YOUR MONEY SUNILK PARAMESWARAN Six ways a higher credit score can benefit you Of premium for setting the interest rate of loan appli- marketplace extend pre-approved loans Those with a credit score cants.Asloanapplicantswithhighercredit andcreditcardoffersonthebasisofcredit bonds, par of 750 and above are seen score involve lower credit risk,lenders try score. Such pre-approved loans or card toenticesuchapplicantswithlowerinter- ` offers may come with better product fea- bonds and as financially more est rates.On the otherhand,lenders com- Loan tures,lowinterest rate and quick process- disciplined, and are thus pensate for higher credit risk involved in ingtime.Pre-approvedofferscanalsohelp lendingtothosewithlowercreditscoreby youinprovidingafairideaofyourloaneli- discount bonds rewarded with preferential charging higherinterest rates. gibility and cost of availing credit. This treatment by lenders As risk-based pricing model can vary might help you in negotiating with other acrossvariouslenders,millennialsshould 300 Credit Score 900 lenders forsecuring betterloan deals. THE RATE OF interest paid by a bond compare loan rates offered by as many issueris called‘coupon’.In the days before RADHIKA BINANI lenders as possible before selecting the Higher eligibility for loan electronic payments, bonds would come final one.They can visit online financial balance transfer with a booklet of coupons.Eachwas like a MILLENNIALS HAVE A higher propensity marketstoviewtheloanoffersfrommul- Lenders often try to attract existing post-dated cheque. Since most bonds toindulgeinlifestylespends.Hence,main- tiple lenders based on their credit scores, borrowersofotherlendersbyofferingbal- pay interest semi-annually, the bond- taining a strong credit score is crucial for monthlyincomes,job profile,etc. ance transfer options at lower interest holderwasexpectedtodetachtherelevant them to avail loans and credit cards with rates. Under the balance transfer option, coupon every six months and present it betterterms and conditions. Lower processing charges the newlenderwill repaythe outstanding forpayment. Here are six ways how a strong credit on loans loan amount to the existing lender, Thesedaysmostbondissuerscreditthe score can improve the financial health Like in the case of interest rates,some whereas the borrower gets to reduce his holders’accountsdirectlyoneverycoupon of millennials. lendershavestartedrewardingapplicants interestcost.Somelendersmayalsoallow paymentdate.In1996,IboughtsomeRBI withhighercreditscoresbyeitherwaiving a longer tenure for the transferred loan, bonds and actually got a booklet of Higher loan eligibility offorreducingloanprocessingcharges.As resulting in lowerEMIs. coupons.Today even in India, the credit Lenders pull out credit reports of loan processing charges can constitute a sub- However, just like fresh loan applica- takesplaceelectronically.Eventodayhow- applicantstoevaluatetheircreditworthi- stantial amount,especially in case of big- tions, lenders will evaluate credit score ever,bearer bonds come with a booklet of ness.Usuallythosewithascoreof750and ticket loans,a waiver or reduction of such while extending a balance transfer appli- coupons.Unlike registered bonds,where a above have higher chances of loan chargescanresultinsignificantreduction ILLUSTRATION: SHYAM KUMAR PRASAD cation.Somelendersmayalsoconsiderthe record is maintained of the ownership at approvalastheyareconsideredfinancially of cost of credit. Such preferential treat- deriving various benefits such as dis- A strong credit score can also help in credit scorewhile setting the interest rate all points in time,bearer bonds belong to more disciplined and hence, have lower mentishighlyunlikelyforloanapplicants counts, cash backs, airmiles/rewards, no- availing credit limit enhancement.An ofthetransferredloan.Thus,maintaining whoever has them at a point in time.It is risk of credit default.Those with a lower with poorcredit scores. cost EMIs,etc.,through credit card trans- increased credit limit will increase your a higher credit score will increase the eli- like a currency note. If you drop a `500 creditscoreareviewedasriskierprospects actions. However, just as in case of loans, spending power via credit card, thereby gibilityofmillennialsforavailingloanbal- note on the floor,you cannot prove that it bythelendersandhence,mayfinditchal- Higher chances of credit card creditcardissuersconsidercreditscoresas boostingyourpotentialtomakebig-ticket ancetransfersatlowerinterestcostand/or belongs to you. The same holds true for lenging to get theirloans approved. approval one of the main factors while evaluating spends ordealwith financial exigencies. with lowerEMIs. bearerbonds.Astheyusedtosayinschool, The reason for availing credit cards is creditcardapplications.Hence,thosewith ‘finderskeepersandlosersweepers’. Lower interest rates on loans nomorelimitedtoavailinginstantcredit. good credit scores have higher chances of Access to pre-approved loans The writeris chiefproduct officer, Manylendersfollowrisk-basedpricing Today, availing a credit card is also about credit card approval. Various lenders and online financial Paisabazaar.com

● YOUR QUERIES eFE

Prasun Sikdar ● ` PARALLEL GOALS Coupon You can shift from YTM group health plan Microsoft invests in partners’ success to individual or tomer base and differentiate themselves Partner ecosystem is on theAzure marketplace through their familyfloater helping the software skills and services.To create additional valueacrosstheMicrosoftecosystem,itis ● I had boughta familyfloaterhealth major generate 95% of its offering opportunities for collaborative insurance policy10years ago and did commercial revenue salestopartners.Throughco-selling,part- ILLUSTRATION: SHYAM KUMAR PRASAD not renewit afterfiveyears becauseI nerscanleveragethesalesteams,demand- Rate of return got a jobthat had an insurance cover generationcapabilities,andthecommer- The rate of return that a bond holder from myoffice.Afterthe pandemic,I SANDHYA MICHU cial marketplace to reach newcustomers gets from it is called the Yield to Maturity lost myjob.Can I port myofficehealth worldwide and sell with both Microsoft (YTM).The priceof abondand itsyield are insurance into a familyfloateror AS THE BUSINESS landscape rapidly andotherpartners.Themodelencourages inversely related for bonds with a given shouldI have to buya newpolicy? transforms,there has been a continued seller-engagedandpartner-drivenselling principal amount, time to maturity, and —Arvind Kumar focus on more technology innovation, forcustomersacrosstheworld. coupon rate. The logic is as follows. The Individual members including family growth opportunities and newerways to In recent times, some of its India issuerisgoingtopaypre-determinedcash members covered underan indemnity- connectpartnerswithbothcustomersand bound partners have earned global flows to the holders. So how can a holder based group health insurance policyhave otherpartners across theworld.Software recognition.AmongthemisBlueYonder, extract a higher return from a given set of an option to migrate at the time of exit majorMicrosoftIndiacontinuestoenable namedastheMicrosoft2020Partnerof cashflows? from group orin the event of modifica- growthforitspartnersbyinvestinginthe the Year for Global Retail and Global Obviously,byreducingthepricethathe tion of the group policyorwithdrawal of tools and services theyrequire to expand Automotive,which takes an innovative or she pays for the bond.Thus, price and the group policy,to an theirreach,helpcustomersunlockgrowth fessionals from partner organisations approach in helping retail customers yieldareinverselyrelated.Thinkofcoupon individual orfamily potential, and grow their businesses. were skilled through the Cloud Skilling manage their supply chain. By combin- as the rate of return offered by the issuer. floaterhealth insurance Today,partnersinfluencemorethan95% We remain committed to Challengewithinjustthreedays. ingthelatesttechnologieslikeadvanced YTM, on the policyoffered bythe ofMicrosoft’scommercialrevenue,either create new growth Venkat Krishnan,executive-director, AI, machine learning, and cloud solu- other hand, is The rate of return same insurersubject to directlyorin partnershipwith Microsoft. Commercial Partners, Microsoft India tions, Blue Yonder customers can auto- the rate of that a bond holder underwriting.In this InIndia,theMicrosoftpartnerecosystem ❝opportunities for our says,“Weremaincommittedtocreatenew matecomplexsupplychainprocessesto return gets from it is called case,ifyou are currently hasmorethan11,000companies. growthopportunitiesforourpartnerswho make them fasterand easier. demanded by HEALTH partners who are building the Yield to Maturity not covered underany Bridgingtheskillsgapwithinthepart- are building innovative solutions on our Similarly,TCS BaNCS is designed to themarket. or the YTM. The price INSURANCE group health insurance ner network remains a key priority for innovative solutions on cloud platforms.We have strengthened help financial services institutions If the of a bond and its policy,you maywant to Microsoft.Toensurethatpartnershavethe our cloud platforms. our investments towards skilling initia- enhance end customer experience, coupon is getyou andyourfamilycovered undera resources to innovate and drive growth, tives and providing a globally accessible enablingthemtoembraceopenandinno- equal to the yield are inversely newretail health insurance policy. Microsofthasbeenconsistentlyinvesting —VENKATKRISHNAN, EXECUTIVE marketplace where our partners can col- vativetechnologiesthatembodytruedig- YTM the bond related for bonds inskillingprogrammes. DIRECTOR, COMMERCIAL laborateandco-sellwithusandotherpart- italcustomerengagement.Itisthelargest will sell for its with a given ● Iwillbe 69 this month and mywife In FY20,training on Microsoft prod- PARTNERS, MICROSOFT INDIA ners to customers worldwide. We are collection of components,enterprise and par value, and principal amount, will be 61 inApril,2021.Wedon't have uctsandsolutionswereprovidedtomore focusedonpreparingthemforthefuture consumerapps forthe financial industry suchbondsare time to maturity, and anyhealthinsurance policy.I had a than 3 million partneremployees,result- andenablingthemtobuildsolutionsthat madeavailablethroughthecloud,helping called par coupon rate. bypass surgeryin 2016 and nowI am ing in more than 96,000 new certifica- training programmes in FY20. At the canhelpcustomersachievemore.” firms become more agile and intelligent bonds. If the in perfect health. Mywife is suffering tions.In India,over 4 lakh professionals recent10theditionofMicrosoft’sPartner MicrosoftIndiaisconstantlyenabling by leveraging the power of new and yield is more from rheumatic arthritisnow.Should frompartnerorganisationshaveattended LeadershipConclave(PLC),over1,100pro- its partners to connect with global cus- extendedecosystems. than the we take a comprehensive health coupon the insurance policy? bondwillbelessforapricethatislessthan —Jayapal Pillai ● THRIVE & GROW itsparvalue,andsuchbondsarecalleddis- You maywant to look at different KEY FINDINGS countbonds. covers forboth ofyou as the age group and health issues are different.Some ■ 77% of Indian firms find Premium bonds insurers have a restriction on entryage Innovation most essential for innovation to be critical to their On the other hand, if the yield is less beyond 65years.Asyou have been performance and resilience than the coupon the bond will sell for a treated fora heart problem andyourwife ■ 78% of firms are accelerating price that is higher than the face value or has a chronic condition,checkwith some business resilience and recovery the pace of digitalisation in parvalue.Such bonds are called premium insurers on acceptance as underwriting response to the crisis bonds.Atmaturity,allbondsmusttradeat guidelines differfrom insurerto insurer pandemic has accelerated the evolution quickly to challenges and successfully par. Consequently, if the yield does not and product to product.Some insurers Most Indian businesses towards innovation,with companies in perform in four dimensions—people, ■ 64% say innovation in change,the price will gradually approach have certain plans forseniorcitizenswith consider innovation critical India maturing by 4% in their journeys processes,data and technologycapabili- products and services has the par value as we go from one coupon chronic health issues. overthelastsixmonths. ties. “Indian organisations were com- become easier in the datetothenext.Thus,parbondswilltrade to respond quickly to Altogether 3,312 business decision pelled to innovate in order to build post-Covid-19 era at par on every coupon date. Premium ● Will an insurance policyhavea cap market challenges and makersand3,495workersfromcompa- resilience in the new normal. However, bonds will steadily decline in price as we on room charges everyday? Howcan it nies with more than 250 employees this development also resulted in inno- approachthematuritydate,whilediscount be increasedwithout a substantial opportunities: IDC study across 15 markets in Asia Pacific region vationbecomingeasierfororganisations ibility,”added Sodhi. bonds will steadily increase in price as we rise in the premium? participated in the survey.The survey, in the country,”said Rajiv Sodhi, COO, As per Vasant Rao, MD, India and approachthematuritydate. —Deepak Shashikant whichwasconductedintwophases,cov- MicrosoftIndia. SouthAsia,IDC,thefuturewillseeorgan- This is called the‘Pull to ParEffect’.The Policypremium depends on the SRINATH SRINIVASAN ered sectors such as manufacturing,FSI, Around 64% of respondents isations increasingly fortify resilience rationale is as follows.As we go from one features of the policyyou have opted for. retail,educationandhealthcare.Thefirst acknowledged that innovation has withtechnology,investinpeople’scapa- coupon date to the next,one coupon pay- There are policieswhich offerroom rent IT IS EVIDENT by now that innovation phasewasconductedpre-Covid- become easier in the post-COVID- bilities and skills, leverage data to ment drops out of the pricing equation. as a percent of the sum insured,there are andtechnologyarequintessentialtosur- 19,between December 2019 19world.Priortothepandemic, increase competitiveness and redesign This pulls down the price.However,when somewhich offerspecific room category vival in the post-pandemic world.Com- to January 2020,while the only 32.5% of Indian busi- processes to empower people to contin- wegotoasubsequentcoupondate,theface oreven anyroomwithout anylimitations panies have rapidly taken steps to inno- second phase was con- nesses found innovation in uouslydriveinnovation.“Weseeamongst value gets discounted for one period less. as a percent of sum insured.Policies vate in terms of technology, processes ductedsinceCovid-19,that their products and services leaders a constant appetite for growth This pulls up the price.For par bonds,the which have capping on room charges also and people.The usage of digital tools isJuly2020. easy.“Movingforward,organ- and evolution.During Covid-19,31% of effectsneutraliseeachother,andtheprice have optional covers to remove capping to manage businesses has also gone As per the report, the isations in India say that they firms in India said they think their busi- remains unchanged.For premium bonds, orenhancing the room category.It is up significantly. ‘Culture of Innovation’ will prioritise increasing cus- ness model will lose competitiveness in the first effect dominates, and the price better to have minimum restrictions In a study conducted by IDC and refers to an organisation’s tomercentricity,whileleaders five years’time.This desire and urgency steadilydecreases.For discount bonds the even if it costs a little more premium. Microsoft, it was found that 77% of ongoing ability to respond inAsia Pacific plan to focus on for continuous improvement through second effect dominates, and the price Indiancompanieshavefoundinnovation investing in technology infra- agility and adaptation to change will steadilyincreases. The writeris MD & CEO,ManipalCigna to be critical to their performance and Vasant Rao, MD, India structure that is robust and determine the success of businesses in Health Insurance.Send yourqueries to resilience.Further,thestudysaysthatthe and South Asia, IDC allows scalability and flex- thisnewnormal,”hesaid. ThewriterisCEO, [email protected] TarheelConsultancyServices

Pune 10 FINANCIAL EXPRESS WWW.FINANCIALEXPRESS.COM

...Investment sentiment in the Indian economy has EXPERTVIEW been buoyed by the frequent and active intervention of the Government of India despite being hit by a world-wide pandemic. Markets —Union finance ministry WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 2, 2020

● Money Matters BULL RUN Yes Bank aims to expand retail, G-SEC Markets scale newclosing highs MSME loan portfolio to 60% The benchmark yield fell 0.065% FE BUREAU due to buying support on recoveryhopes,vaccine boost Mumbai, December 1 YES BANK IS looking to grow deposits to 5.876 PRESS TRUST OF INDIA avirus vaccine.We believe that this opti- `2 lakh crore bythe end of this fiscalyear. Mumbai, December 1 Sensex Intra-day, December 1 mism can sustain in the near term with a Itislookingtowinovertheretailcustomer 44,850 shifttowardsmidandsmallcaps,ledbylag with a suite of service offerings. EQUITY BENCHMARKS SURGED to life- 44,655.44 effect,"said Vinod Nair,Head of Research TheprivatelenderonTuesdayunveiled 5.847 time closing highs on Tuesday as better- 44,700 44,435.83 at Geojit Financial Services. therevamped‘YesPremia’thatoffersper- November 19 December 1 than-expected GDP data and progress on India's economy recovered faster than sonalised solutions for consumer seg- the Covid-19 vaccine front gave fresh 44,550 expected in the September quarter as a ments.Personalised solutionswill be pro- impetus to investorbullishness. pick-up in manufacturing helped GDP vided to consumer segments ranging `/$ A strengthening rupee and persistent 44,400 clock a lowercontraction of 7.5%,official from small business owners to salaried With itsnewrevamped productoffer- foreign capital inflows further boosted datashowedaftermarkethoursonFriday. professionals and seniorcitizens. ing for retail, Yes Bank is looking at 44,250 The rupee ended higher 0.513% market sentiment,traders said. However,India'smanufacturingsector The bank aims to increase the share of establishing a truly differentiated bank, amid strong local The 30-share BSE Sensex zoomed activity lost momentum and fell to a retail,andmicro,smallandmediumenter- with best-in-class technology and inno- 44,100 equities and fund flows 505.72pointsor1.15%toendatitsfresh three-month low in November amid prises (MSME) to 60% of the loan book, vation capabilities as cornerstones to closing record of 44,655.44. slowerincreasesinfactoryorders,exports compared to 45% at present. The bank drive significant scale in the retail bank- Inverted scale 43,950 73.67 Similarly,thebroaderNSENiftysurged Open Close and buying levels, a monthly survey said alsoaimstoreachadepositbaseof`2lakh ing business. 140.10 points or 1.08% to close at its all- onTuesday. crore byMarch,2021. Pental said that the value addition time high of 13,109.05. GST collections posted growth for the Rajan Pental,global head,retail bank- from the enhanced programme offerings Sun Pharma was the top performer in thirdmonthinarowinNovemberoverthe ing,YesBank,saidthatbankaimedtoraise and exciting rewards would deliver a pre- 74.27 the Sensex pack, spurting 5.51%, fol- Rupee soars 37p previousyear's figures. itsdepositsbookto`2lakhcrorebytheend mium customer experience that was tai- lowed byIndusInd Bank,Tech Mahindra, Collections of tax on the sale of goods of March this fiscal year.The lender had a lored to theirlifestyle. November 19 December 1 ONGC, Bharti Airtel, Infosys,ICICI Bank THE RUPEE surged 37 paise to and rendering of services came in at deposit base of `1.35 lakh crore till Sep- Forsalariedcustomers,YesPremiawill and BajajAuto. settle at 73.68 against the US dollar `1,04,963croreinNovember,thefinance tember 2020.The lender is also planning offer complimentary Emerge debit card On the other hand,Kotak Bank,Nestle onTuesday,buoyed byforeign fund ministrysaid.The collectionswere higher to expand its retail and SME loan book to withbenefitsworthover`50,000,prefer- C=/$ India,Titan,BajajFinance,HDFCBankand inflows into domestic equities. than`1.03lakhcrorerecordedinNovem- `10,000 crore in the third quarter from ential pricing on locker, trading account NTPC were among the main laggards, Besides,positive developments on ber 2019 but were `192 crore lower than `6,800croreintheSeptemberquarter. andloanrequirements,amongotherben- The euro rose against 0.302% shedding up to 1.40%. Covid-19vaccine front,improved October2020 collections. Pental said that the bank has received efits.Similarly,the bankwill offercurated the dollar World equities perched near all-time domestic macro-economic data Barring consumer durables, all BSE limited requests for restructuring retail currentaccountstosuitbusinessrequire- highs as strong factory output figures andweakness of theAmerican sectoral indices finished in the green, led loans ever since the moratorium was ments for self employed customers.The 1.1963 from China bolstered expectations of a currencyagainst keyrivals also by realty (3.49%), telecom (2.52%), teck lifted in August.The overall restructur- bankhasalsopromisedwiderangeoffixed swift economic recovery. supported the rupee.—PTI (2.42%) and IT(2.39%). ing request was not more than `200 deposits with higher interest rate and 1.1875 Meanwhile,Moderna applied foremer- The broaderBSE midcap and smallcap crore,he said. overdraft facilityforseniorcitizens. gencyauthorisationforitsCovid-19vaccine indices rose up to 0.94%. `/$ Intra-day, December 1 in the US afterfull resultsfroma late-stage (Inverted scale) ElsewhereinAsia,boursesinShanghai, trialshowedaround94%effectiveness. Tokyo, Hong Kong and Seoul ended with 73.35 November 19 December 1 "The markets started Decembertrad- significant gains. Tier-II write-down positive for LVB ing on a strong footing raising the 73.95 73.67 Stock exchanges in Europe were trad- 73.50 benchmark to a fresh high due to a good ing mixed in earlydeals. depositors,senior creditors: Moody’s GDP data. The Manufacturing PMI The rupee strengthened 37 paise to released onTuesdayshowed a slight con- 73.65 close at 73.68 against the US dollar.Brent FE BUREAU securities is consistentwith the approach Quick traction in manufacturing activities crudefutures,theglobaloilbenchmark,was Mumbai, December 1 regulators use globally to minimise the compared to the previous month, 73.80 trading0.10%lowerat$47.83perbarrel. cost of a bank bailout to taxpayers,” though growth remained strong. Foreign institutional investors THE WRITE-DOWN OF Lakshmi Vilas Moody’sanalystswrote,adding,“However, View "Markets across the globe made a pos- 73.95 remained net buyers in the capital mar- Bank’s (LVB) Basel III tier-II securities is before these two cases,the Indian regula- itive start to the month expecting an kets as they purchased shares worth credit negative for holders of junior secu- tor had never imposed losses on junior extensionofNovember'srecord-breaking 74.10 `7,712.98 crore on Friday, according to rities because they will lose their invest- creditors; it has now set a precedence for Open Close gains along with strong hopes of coron- provisional exchange data. ment,butiscreditpositiveforbankdepos- such future actions.” SBI, NPCI, Japan's JCB itors and senior creditors because of the Previously, the Reserve Bank of India loss-absorptioncapacityprovidedbytier- (RBI) protected junior creditors by allow- launch contactless II,Moody’s said onTuesday. ingweakbankstoservicetheircontractual debit card Reliance Capital fails to repay Burger King IPO to ThismarksthefirsttimethatanIndian obligations on those securities. Also, in bank has written down tier-II securities 2017-18,the RBI permitted several pub- STATE BANK OF India (SBI),National hit markets today, and follows Yes Bank’s write-down of its lic sector banks, which were under the Payments Corporation of India HDFC,Axis Bank for10th month additional tier-I (AT-I) securities earlierin promptcorrectiveactionplan,tobuyback (NPCI) and Japan's JCB International priced at `59-60 theyearforthe same reason. AT-Isecuritiestolowertheriskofatrigger on Tuesday announced the launch of FE BUREAU “Thewrite-downofBaselIIIcompliant event occurring underBasel III rules. 'SBI RuPay JCB Platinum Contactless Mumbai, December 1 URVASHI VALECHA Debit Card'.This card has been Mumbai, December 1 launched on the RuPay network by RELIANCE CAPITAL HAS defaulted on SBI in association with JCB.It comes term loan payments to Housing Develop- EVENASTHEcurrentfiscalhasbeenchal- ANALYST CORNER with a unique dual-interface feature ment Finance Corporation (HDFC) and lenging for consumer companies, quick that will enable customers to Axis Bank forthe tenth month in a row,as service chain Burger King India is raising perform both contact and perstock exchange disclosures. capital via its initial public offer on Retain‘buy’on TechM with contactless transactions in the Thecompanycouldnotmakeinterest Wednesday to fund growth and repay domestic market and seamless paymentof`4.77croretoHDFCand`71 some of its debt. contact transactions overseas,a lakh toAxis Bank on October 30. While the pandemic hit its revenues unchanged TP of `1,253 release said. The company had earlier missed 9 hardduringthelockdown,accordingtothe installmentsofHDFCandAxisBankfrom company to dispose off,alienate,encum- chain'sredherringprospectus,itisexpect- EDELWEISS SECURITIES The CEO highlighted that the new VistaarFinance gets January 31 to September 30 this year, ber either directly or indirectly or other- ingthesecondhalfofthefiscaltobebetter strategy NXT.NOW is yielding results according to the stock exchange disclo- wisepartwiththepossession,ofanyassets asmostcitieshaveremovedrestrictions. AT ITS ANALYST meet, Tech Mahindra as evidenced from its $2.46 billion `225 crin ECB from FMO sures made by the company. except in the ordinary course of business There's reason for its optimism as management reiterated their deal-wins and improved profitability. BENGALURU-BASEDVISTAAR The non-bank lender had taken a loan such as payment of salary and statutory Burger King's revenues grew by 2.2x over confidence on demand acceleration, Moreover, the enterprise FinanceonTuesdaysaidithasraised of `524 crore from HDFC and `101 crore dues, pursuant to order dated November FY2018-FY2020 to `8,41.2 crore. New margin sustainability and transformation has accelerated via about`225crore($30million)in from Axis Bank. While HDFC charged 20,2019passedbytheHon’bleDelhiHigh storeadditionsgrewby2.95xto260stores improvement. The company expects focus on the tech-centric business ExternalCommercialBorrowing(ECB) interestratesbetween10.6%to13%,Axis Court, and Orders dated December 3, in FY2020. Its same-store-sales growth faster and wider adoption of cloud and models, active ‘variabilisation’ of fromFMO-Dutchentrepreneurial Bank had extended the loan to Reliance 2019andDecember5,2019passedbythe stood at 12.2% and 29.2% in FY20218 5G—sizable opportunities—in the spend, fast-tracking of digital, and new developmentbank.Thisisthesecond Capital at 8.25% perannum. Hon’ble Debts Recovery Tribunal,Mum- and FY2019,respectively.In the first half wake of the pandemic. emerging commercial models for lineoffundingfromFMOtoVistaar, Reliance Capital's total outstanding bai and Order dated November 4, 2020 of the fiscal, its same store sales growth The CEO re-emphasised the 3-4-3 digital proposition. Management also andthelatestinfusionwillbe from banks and financial institutions, passedbytheHon’bleBombayHighCourt, wasdown59%whilerevenuesweredown strategy comprisingTrends — highlighted the immense focus on deployedtolendtosmallbusinesses including accrued interest stood at `690 ”Reliance Capital said. by 68% resulting in an operating loss of exponential growth of content, building the leadership team across acrossthecountry,astatementsaid. crore.However,thetotalfinancialindebt- RelianceCapitalhadreportedaconsol- `3.9 crore. intelligent devices and power of new geographies to fill in strategic and Vistaarhasnowraisedover`550crore edness of Reliance Capital remained at idatednetlossof`2,577croreinSeptem- Given that FY21 is ayearof disruption technologies; Big bets— human- geographic gaps, which should start ofdebtfinancinginsevenmonthsthis `20,077.14croreasonOctober31,2020. berquarter,against a net loss of `96 crore forthequickserviceindustrythankstothe centred experience next, business, paying off next year onwards. financialyear,itadded. Thecompanyhascitedlegalhurdlesfor in the same period a year ago.In Septem- pandemic, the recovery to pre-Covid lev- platform and cloud next approach; Management highlighted their focus not being able to proceed with its asset ber 2019, Care Ratings had downgraded elswouldbeslow.AccordingtoSharekhan Objectives— run better, change faster on big bets of the future, particularly in monetisation, which in turn resulted a Reliance Capital’s `17,000-crore debt to by BNP Paribas,at an IPO price band of and grow faster.We believe the data analytics andAI.The key Bad loans recovery for delayin the debt servicing. defaultgrade‘D’.Theagencyattributedits `59-60,the IPO isvalued at 29.5 times to strategy is in right direction considering components of data analytics, i.e. data “The company is unable to proceed actiontothecompanydelayingbyadayits 29.3 times its FY20 Enterprise Value (EV) industry-wide acceleration. Maintain value management, data on cloud and financial creditors via withassetmonetisationresultingindelay payment on several non-convertible toEbitdamultiple,consideringthediluted ‘buy’ with an unchangedTP of `1,253 data monetization are cumulative (25x FY22E EPS). opportunities worth about $1 trillion. IBC falls sharply due indebtservicing,duetoprohibitiononthe debentures (NCDs) it had issued. equity at upper and lower price band. to pandemic,says Icra ● INTERVIEW: RAJAN PENTAL, global head— retail banking, Yes Bank FE BUREAU Kolkata, December 1 ‘Yes Bank aims to double entire retail assets and liabilities by 2023’ THE CORONAVIRUS CRISIS and the sus- pensionofnewproceedingsundertheInsol- YesBankisaimingtodoubleitsretailassets take it to the next level and create a very seeingacquisitionsinassetsandliabilities business.So in three years’time,by2023, vency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC) has andliabilitiesby2023.RajanPental,global stable book around these product lines. growing rapidly. we should be able to double our entire resultedinasharpslowdownininsolvency head,retail banking,Yes Bank,in an inter- retail assets and liabilities. resolutionprocess,andaccordingly,thereal- view with Ankur Mishra, says the bank Which markets and segments you plan In how many quarters do you aim to isation forfinancial creditors has declined, doesnotwantinterestratetobethecatchfor to tap? reach at the level it was there before What is the strategy of the bank,when ratingsagencyIcrasaidonTuesday. acustomertocometothebankandthatthe This is a mass affluent segment and this reconstruction ofYes Bank? highlycompetitiveratesandservicesare The domestic ratings agency said for focuswillbeonservices.EditedExcerpts: wouldcutacrossbothurbanandrural.Obvi- It is important to understand howwewill offered bymanylenders? the first six months of the current finan- ously,thecut-offswillbedifferentinurban reachthere.Oneisthat,whatisthepaceof First of all,you very rightly pointed out cialyear,only42companiesundergoinga What are the reasons to focus on retail and ruralsegments.Butlargelyyoucansay new acquisitions. We opened close to ratesandservices,wewanttokindoffocus corporate insolvency resolution process segment? the middle management, the salaried to 30,000-35,000accountsinthefirstquar- moreonservices,becausethatiswherethe (CIRP) saw a resolution plan being The retail segment has the largest oppor- lookatit,andself-employedmediumsized terofthecurrentfinancialyear,inthesec- real competition is and followed by the approved,yielding`12,600croreasrecov- tunity.With the opportunities in the cor- organisation and obviously senior citizens ond quarterwewere able to open 1.5 lakh pricing, because good customers will eryforfinancial creditors. porate(segment)beinglimited,youwould thatisvastopportunityanyways. plus accounts,and that was the normal always command a good pricing. But the Icra,inarelease,saiditexpectsthatthe see that most banks have started focusing momentum bank had in the best of the largerstrategyis thatwe should be able to financial creditors could realise about on retail.The bank invested in the retail How do you plan to build a sustainable times.In October,wewere able to scale up have a very efficient platform and create `60,000-65,000 crore in FY21 through businessacouple ofyears backwith avery retailfranchiseespeciallynowafterLak- to 70,000 accounts,this was an aspira- innovationatthefront-end.Sotheworkis successful resolution plans from the IBC clear-cutunderstandingthatthisisoneof shmi Vilas Bank (LVB) and other issues tionalnumberforthebank.Wearealready on both the sides.And clearly,if you have as compared to about `1 lakh crore thelargestbusinessesforthebank,butthe that have created a deep trust deficit lose touch with each and every customer, lookingatacquiring1lakhcustomers.Sec- tobeinatrusteddistribution,thenunless realised in FY20. bankwasalsodoingwellinothersegments. among customers? the bank has acquired. ond is that our customers are actually you kind of distinguish yourself in terms Abhishek Dafria, vice president and And I think overtheyearswe have created I think the biggest learning the bank has, And secondly,how do you reach out to showingalotoffaithinthebank.Andalot of better service than others, that will be group head – Structured Finance, Icra, our space and a very clear cut carved out ormanypeoplelikemeprofessionally,has themfromtimetotime,toensurethatyou of customers who had either taken the the real differentiator. said,“The pandemic has thrown up new strategy around both liabilities and the been that what can keep you afloat is the are able to offer the entire bank and not money off or had gone down on the bal- operationalchallengesforthevariouspar- assets business.So,1,150 branches across serviceandconnectwiththecustomer.So, justone product.Andthird is that,if there ancesaregraduallyonthepathofrebuild- You said the bank will focus on services, ties involved in a resolution process.The distributionalreadyinplace. acquisition cannot be a standalone strat- are requirements, service requirements ing the relationship and putting the bal- ratherthaninterestrates.Shouldweunder- resolutionofCIRPswouldcontinuetoget So, this is what happened during the egy,that is only filling the book.So,our from the customer, how can you con- ances back. standthatthebankwillnolongercontinue impacted during the remaining period of genesisofbothstrategies,butgoodpartis strategywouldlargelydependonfirstthat stantlykeeponupgradingtheplatformto And where we stand today, I am very topaymoreforattractingdeposits? FY21 due to a decline in the numberof todaywe are sitting at a point where each we have to keep on acquiring,because we beabletogivehimatop-classservicebank. confident that by 2023,we will be able to Wedonotwantratetobethecatchforacus- CIRPsyielding a resolution plan aswell as of these product lines have kind of grown have to grow to the next level, but more So, a well serviced customer will never doubleourliabilitiesbusinessfromwhere tomertocometothebank.Wewanttooffer anincreaseinhaircutsthatlenderswould well in their own way.So,we are in a won- important or equally important is that moveaway.So,wehaveseenagoodmove- we are today,andwewill be able to double productswhicharebestsuitedrequirement have to take.” derful situation to now lift the business, howdoyou ensure that howdoyou not ment post the moratorium period.We are retail assets business and double the SME ofaspecificsegmentofcustomers.

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UPCM to attend SSG Capital tweaks bid to Lucknow municipal NOTICE body’s bond listing NOTICE is hereby given for an upcoming Investor Awareness Program (‘IAP’) to be conducted by DSP Mutual Fund. Schedule of the IAP is buyassets ofAltico Capital on BSE today as follows: Day & Date Link for Registration Time BIJOU GEORGE & The Ares Management- began in late 2018 and has FE BUREAU Sunday, 10.00 a.m SUVASHREE GHOSH th backed hedge fund has been complicated by the pan- Lucknow, December 1 6 December, https://us02web.zoom.us/j/84842188697 to December 1 2020 1.00 p.m. revised the structure of its demic,thoughtherehavebeen some signs of improvement. UTTARPRADESHCHIEFmin- For latest information about upcoming IAPs and updates on ARES MANAGEMENT- `2,750-cr ($374 million) SSG had previously sought ister Yogi Adityanath will visit cancellations/rescheduling, visit www.dspim.com/IAP. This is an BACKED HEDGE fund SSG cash bid for Altico Capital waiversofcertaincentralbank Mumbai to attend the listing investor education and awareness initiative by DSP Mutual Fund. Capital Management has India to focus on buying rules, but the Reserve Bank of of Lucknow Municipal Corpo- revised the structure of its bid the assets of the lender, India was reluctant to do so, ration (LMC)’s bonds at the foranIndianshadowlenderto rather than the firm itself fearing it could create prece- Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) help sidestep delays in regula- dent for a relaxation of the onWednesday. toryapproval. rules,the people said.Relax- The Lucknow Municipal SSG tweaked its `2,750 ationssoughtincludedcapital Corporation raised `200 crore crore ($374 million) cash bid Kong-based hedge fund adequacy and borrowers’con- by issuing municipal bonds on forAlticoCapitalIndiatofocus underscores the complexities centrationexposure,whichare private placement basis using on buying the assets of the of business in India, where applicable to shadow lenders BSE Bond platform a fortnight lender, rather than the firm deals can languish for months inthecountry,thepeoplesaid. back,therebybecomingthefirst itself, according to people amid rules and regulatory Representatives for Altico civicbodyinnorthIndiatoissue familiar with the matter.The approvals. Altico has been declined to comment, while bondsundertheAtalMissionfor cash consideration remains closely watched as India deals Ares and RBI didn’t immedi- RejuvenationandUrbanTrans- unchanged,the people said. with a broader crisis in the atelyrespondtoemailsseeking formation (AMRUT) scheme. The move by the Hong shadow bank industry that comment. —BLOOMBERG The municipal bonds which carry8.5% interest perannum and have tenure of 10 years, Compliance ‘Sebi’s newpeak margin rule to cut received21bidsandwereover- subscribed2.25times. norms forbrokers, brokingvolumes in short term’ The proceeds of the issue, which has been rated ‘AA’ by depository PRESS TRUST OF INDIA India Ratings and ‘AA (CE)’ by New Delhi, December 1 Brickwork Ratings, are pro- participants eased posed to be invested in awater MARKETS REGULATOR SEBI MARKETS REGULATOR supply project being imple- onTuesdayrelaxedcompliance SEBI’S new framework on mentedunderAMRUTscheme requirements for brokers and peak margin reporting,which and a housing project. depository participants with came into force fromTuesday, “The significance of this regards to submission of willaffectintra-daytradesand reduce speculative trades and maiden bond issue from an reportspertainingtointernalas reducethebrokingvolumesin thuswouldprovidelongevityto urban local body in Uttar wellassystemauditinthewake short term,stock brokers said. the traders,”said RajeevSrivas- Pradeshisnotmerelythequan- ofthecoronaviruspandemic. Thenewrule,whichisaimed tava,CBOatRelianceSecurities. tum of resources raised for The decision comes after at preventing brokerages from Hefurthersaidthatbrokers investments in urban infra- receivingrepresentationfrom giving excessive leverage to who have in-house research structure but a demonstration stockexchangesanddeposito- traders,will also reduce specu- teams will be able to balance of the transformation of Luc- ries, the Securities and lativetrades,theyadded. theirrevenuesteamsbetterby know Municipal Corporation ExchangeBoardofIndia(Sebi) Under the concept of peak focussing more on delivery into a model for urban gover- said in a circular.The capital marginreporting,aclearingcor- based transactions. nance and financial manage- markets watchdog has given poration is required to inform “Atthecurrentrateof25%, ment in Uttar Pradesh. It is a time till December 31 to bro- tradersandinvestorsatleastfour marketcanabsorbtheimpact, manifestation of the ease of kers to submit half-yearlynet- times a dayabout theirmargin however, if Sebi progresses as doingbusinessatthelocallevel, worth certificate (as on Sep- requirements.The present sys- perthecircularto100%itwill where there is direct interface tember30),reportsoninternal tem does not require such have a severe impact on mar- with the common people,"said auditaswellasystemauditfor updates.“The newpeak margin ket volumes,” Rajesh Baheti, KeshavVerma,advisortotheUP half year ended on September rulewillreducethebrokingvol- directorat stock brokers’asso- government, adding that 30,2020.—PTI umesinshorttermbutitwillalso ciationAnmi,said. municipal corporations of Ghaziabad,Varanasi,Agra and Kanpurwillalsoissuemunicipal bondsinthecomingmonths.

Pune WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 2, 2020 WWW.FINANCIALEXPRESS.COM 12 MARKETS FINANCIAL EXPRESS

ICICI Prudential Asset Management Company Limited Corporate Identity Number: U99999DL1993PLC054135 ‘Debit card Registered Office: 12th Floor, Narain Manzil, 23, Barakhamba Road, New Delhi - 110 001. issuances th Corporate Office: One BKC, 13 Floor, Bandra Kurla Complex, Mumbai - 400 051. NOTICE Tel.: +91 22 2652 5000, Fax: +91 22 2652 8100, Website: www.iciciprumf.com, jump 12%, Email id: [email protected] Declaration of Dividend under BOI AXA Multi Cap Fund Central Service Office:2 nd Floor, Block B-2, Nirlon Knowledge Park, Western Express NOTICE is hereby given that BOI AXA Trustee Services Private Limited, Trustee to BOI AXA Mutual Fund, has approved the declaration of credit cards Highway, Goregaon (E), Mumbai - 400 063. Tel.: 022 2685 2000 Fax: 022 26868313 dividend, as under: 4% in Sept qtr’ Notice-cum-Addendum to the Scheme Information Document (SID)/Key Information Quantum of Face Value Record Date* for NAV as on Scheme Name Plan(s) Option(s) Memorandum (KIM) of the Schemes of ICICI Prudential Mutual Fund (the Fund) Dividend (` per unit) per unit (`) declaration of dividend November 27, 2020 PRESS TRUST OF INDIA Mumbai, December 1 Closing of Official Point of Acceptance of Transactions (OPAT) of ICICI Prudential BOI AXA Multi Cap Fund Regular Dividend 1.00 12.90 Monday, Asset Management Company Limited (the AMC). (An open ended equity scheme 10/- investing across large cap, mid December 7, 2020 DEBIT CARD ISSUANCES in Notice-cum-addendum is hereby given to all the unit holders/investors of the Fund cap, small cap stocks) Direct Dividend 1.00 13.01 the country grew 12% to that the AMC is closing its OPAT at the below mentioned address with effect from 865.43 million and credit *Or immediately following Business Day, if that day is not a Business Day December 4, 2020. cards inched up 4% to 58.69 Pursuant to payment of dividend, the NAV of the schemes / options would fall to the extent of payout and statutory levy, if applicable. milliononanannualisedbasis Sr. No. Address Distribution of dividend is subject to availability of distributable surplus and statutory levy (if any). All unitholders registered in the plans / options in the September quarter, a of the above mentioned Scheme and whose names appear in the records of the Registrar on the aforesaid record date, will be entitled to report said onTuesday. 1. Shop No. NFS/3&4, Nehru Place, Tonk Road, Jaipur - 302 018, Rajasthan receive dividend. While debit card issuance Declaration of dividend shall be subject to availability of distributable surplus on the record date. In case the distributable surplus is less than has been on the rise since the This Notice-cum-addendum forms an integral part of the SID and KIM of the Schemes the quantum of dividend on the record date, the entire available distributable surplus in the Scheme / plan will be declared as dividend. of the Fund, as amended from time to time. beginning of the year, adding For BOI AXA Investment Managers Private Limited over 13 million cards to the All other provisions of the SID and KIM except as specifically modified herein above (Investment Manager for BOI AXA Mutual Fund) system in the third quarter remain unchanged. Place : Mumbai Sd/- endedSeptember,thenumber Date : December 1, 2020 Authorised Signatory For ICICI Prudential Asset Management Company Limited of credit cards rose bya little Place : Mumbai Sd/- over 1 million in the same Date : December 1, 2020 Authorised Signatory quarter,it added. The report was published No. 001/12/2020 by Worldline — the largest To know more, call 1800 222 999/1800 200 6666 or visit www.iciciprumf.com merchant acquirer and pay- As part of the Go Green Initiative, investors are encouraged to register/update their e-mail id ment processor in Europe and and mobile number to support paper-less communications. the number four globally, col- lating the latest RBI data. To increase awareness about Mutual Funds, we regularly conduct Investor Awareness Rise in debit card issuances Programs across the country. To know more about it, please visit https://www.iciciprumf.com canbeattributedmostlytoasig- or visit AMFI’s website https://www.amfiindia.com Nippon Life India Asset Management Limited nificantnumberofnewaccounts Mutual Fund investments are subject to market risks, opened under the Jan Dhan (Formerly known as Reliance Nippon Life Asset Management Limited) read all scheme related documents carefully. scheme,saidDeepakChandnani, (CIN - L65910MH1995PLC220793) managingdirectorforWorldline Registered O�ce: 4th Floor, Tower A, Peninsula Business Park, Ganapatrao Kadam Marg, Lower Parel (W), SouthAsiaandMiddleEast. Mumbai - 400 013. Tel No. +91 022 6808 7000 • Fax No. +91 022 6808 7097 • mf.nipponindiaim.com Of the total additions, RuPay cards led the growth NOTICE NO. 89 Record Date chart, adding 5.68 million 07, 2020 cards to the Pradhan Mantri DIVIDEND DECLARATION December Jan Dhan Yojana (PMJDY) accounts in Q3. Notice is hereby given that the Trustee of Nippon India Mutual Fund (“NIMF”) has approved declaration of dividend As of September, total on the face value of Rs. 10/- per unit in the undernoted scheme of NIMF, with December 07, 2020 as the record date: number of RuPay cards issued under the Jan Dhan scheme Dividend NAV as on November Name of the Scheme(s) stood at 300.14 million, (` per unit)* 27, 2020 (` per unit) against 294.46 million in July. Nippon India Interval Fund - Quarterly Interval Fund - Replacement of magnetic 0.0563 10.0691 stripe cards with EMV chip Series III - Dividend Option cards to existing customers, upgrade to contactless cards, Nippon India Interval Fund - Quarterly Interval Fund - 10.0693 Series III - Institutional Plan - Dividend Option 0.0565 pent-up demand for card issuance after the strict lock- Nippon India Interval Fund - Quarterly Interval Fund - 0.0601 10.0675 down and other normal Series III - Direct Plan - Dividend Option issuance could be other rea- *Income distribution will be done/dividend will be paid, net of tax deducted at source, as applicable. sons forthis rise,he said. There were a total of 1.03 Pursuant to payment of dividend, the NAV of the Scheme will fall to the extent of payout, billion debit card transactions and statutory levy, if any. *The dividend payout will be to the extent of above mentioned dividend worth `2.13 lakh crore in Q3, per unit or the di�erence of NAV from the last Speci�ed Transaction Date (Ex. NAV) to the Record Date the report said.The number of mentioned above, whichever is higher. However, the payout will be subject to the available distributable debit card transactions surplus in the Scheme as on the Record date. processedatpoint-of-sale(PoS) terminalsstoodat486.83mil- The speci�ed Transaction period for Nippon India Interval Fund - Quarterly Interval Fund - Series III is on lion,while e-commerce trans- 7th and 8th December 2020 (both business days). The following shall be applicable for application received actionswereat550.32million, during the speci�ed transaction period. which also includes card-to- For Subscriptions including Switch-ins under Dividend Option card transfers and digital bill In respect of valid applications for subscriptions received up to 3.00 p.m. on the aforesaid Record Date along paymentsthroughATMs. with a local cheque or a demand draft payable at par at the place where the application is received, the Ex- Dividend NAV of the day on which application is received shall be applicable. The investors will not be eligible for dividend declared, if any, on the aforesaid Record Date. FDI in non-life In respect of valid applications for subscription received after 3.00 p.m. on the aforesaid Record Date and/or up to 3.00 p.m. on the second day of the Speci�ed Transaction Period the closing NAV of the said second day insurance shall be applicable; In respect of valid applications received after 3.00 p.m. on the second day of the Speci�ed sector slips to Transaction Period the closing NAV of the next working day shall be applicable, provided such a day is/has been declared as a Speci�ed Transaction day for the fund. Otherwise, the application will be liable for rejection. `509 cr in FY20 In respect of purchase of units in Income/ Debt Oriented scheme with amount equal to or more than Rs 2 lakhs, the applicable NAV shall be subject to the provisions of SEBI Circular Cir/IMD/DF/19/2010 dated November PRESS TRUST OF INDIA 26, 2010 and CIR/IMD/DF/21/2012 dated September 13, 2012 on uniform cut-o� timings for applicability of New Delhi, December 1 NAV. With regard to Unit holders who have opted for Dividend Reinvestment facility, the dividend due will be reinvested by allotting Units for the Income distribution/ Dividend amount at the prevailing Ex-Dividend FOREIGN DIRECT INVEST- NAV per Unit on the record date. MENT(FDI)inthegeneralinsur- ance sector slipped marginally For Redemptions including Switch-out under Dividend Option to`509.07croreinFY2019-20 In respect of valid applications received up to 3.00 p.m. by the Mutual Fund, on the aforesaid Record Date the from the previous year, latest Ex-Dividend NAV of the date of receipt of application shall be applicable and the investors will be eligible for data by the General Insurance the dividend declared on the aforesaid Record Date. In respect of valid applications received after 3.00 p.m. Council(GIC)showed. on the aforesaid Record Date and/or up to 3.00 p.m. on the second day of the Speci�ed Transaction Period In FY2018-19,FDI in the the closing NAV of the said second day shall be applicable. non-life insurance space was For units in demat form : Dividend will be paid to those Unitholders/Bene�cial Owners whose names appear recorded at `516.61 crore. in the statement of bene�cial owners maintained by the Depositories under dividend plan/option of the Since the opening up of the Scheme as on record date. insurance market in 2000,the non-lifesectorattractedatotal All unit holders under the dividend plan/option of the above mentioned scheme, whose names appear on the FDI of `4,721.68 crore as on register of unit holders on the aforesaid record date, will be entitled to receive the dividend. March 2020.It was `4,212.61 For Nippon Life India Asset Management Limited croreattheendofMarch2019. (Formerly known as Reliance Nippon Life Asset Management Limited) There are 33 general insur- (Asset Management Company for Nippon India Mutual Fund) ance players, including four Mumbai Sd/- publicsectorinsurers,sixstand- December 01, 2020 Authorised Signatory alone health insurers and two state-owned specialised com- panies—ExportCreditGuaran- Make even idle money work! Invest in Mutual Funds tee Corporation of India and Agriculture Insurance Com- panyofIndiaLimited(AIC). Mutual Fund investments are subject to market risks, read all scheme related documents carefully. It is to be noted that FDI limit in the insurance sector has been hiked to 49% from earlierlevel of 26%.

Pune WWW.FINANCIALEXPRESS.COM WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 2, 2020 FINANCIAL EXPRESS NATION 13

Board of Trade meeting today to discuss ways to boost exports PLI schemes for bulk drugs, medical devices get positive response PRESS TRUST OF INDIA The board,which includes taken in order to take forward PRODUCTION-LINKED ministrysaidinastatement. applications under the PLI porttodomesticproductionca- New Delhi, December 1 members from public andpri- domestic manufacturing and INCENTIVE(PLI)SCHEMEsfor The PLI scheme formedical schemeformedicaldeviceswill pabilityinbulkdrugswoulden- vate sector, advises the com- exports,it said. bulkdrugsandmedicaldevices devices attracted 28 applica- be approved,” the statement surehigherresiliencefortheIn- MEASURES TO BOOST merce and industry ministry The BOT provides a plat- have received a positive tions from 23 medical device said.Looking at the increasing dianpharmaceuticalindustryto exports, manufacturing and on policy measures related to formtostategovernmentsand responsefromtheindustry,the manufacturers,itadded. imperativeofdrugsecurity,sup- externalshocks,itadded.—PTI the new foreign trade policy ForeignTrade Policy(FTP). Union Territories to articulate ministryofchemicalsandfertil- “Theappraisalprocessofthe will be discussed at the Board "A meeting of the BOT will theirperspectivesonthepolicy izerssaidonTuesday. applications will commence of Trade (BOT) meeting, to be beheldonWednesday,”anoffi- Commerce and industry and also to the centre for For the PLI scheme for bulk fromtodayonwardsandamax- chaired by commerce and cialstatementsaidonTuesday. minister Piyush Goyal apprisingthemaboutinterna- drugs, 215 applications have imum of 136 applications industry minister Piyush The discussions will focus tionaldevelopmentsaffecting beenreceivedfrom83pharma- under the PLI scheme for bulk NOTICE INVITING BID Goyal,onWednesday. on the new FTP (2021-26), strategies and measures to be the country's trade potential. ceutical manufacturers, the drugs and a maximum of 28

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������������� ������ ���� �� ����� ����� �� ���������� �� ����������� ����� �� �� ��� �������� �� ������ ��� ��������� ��� ������ ������� ���� ������� ������ �� ���� ����������� ��� ���� ��������� ��� ��� ��� ���� �� ������ �������� �� � ������ �� ������������ ���� ���������� ������������ �� ����������� ����������� �� ��� ���������� �� ������������� �� ��������� ��������� ���� ������� ���� ��������� ��������� ������ ������� ��� ������ �� �������� ���� ��� ���������� ���� ����������� �� ��������� ������ �� �� ������������� �� ��� ������ ����������� WWW.FINANCIALEXPRESS.COM WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 2, 2020 FINANCIAL EXPRESS INTERNATIONAL 15 Tech mogul in biggest tax case Covid worsens Europe’s Indian national pleads guiltyto facing dementia, lawyers say inequalities in yet another transnational fraud scheme way - the fertility gap PRESS TRUST OF INDIA Ajay Sharma, the director US by falsely claiming to be BLOOMBERG Australian lawyerwhoworked Washington, December 1 and owner of APS employeesoftheInternalRev- December 1 with him in Bermuda.The fil- REUTERS Technology, faces up to enue Service, the Social Secu- Lisbon/Rome, December 1 AN INDIAN NATIONAL ing on Monday included an who 20 years in prison rity Administration or the ROBERT BROCKMAN, THE October 2018 immunity runs a New Delhi-based tele- Drug Enforcement Adminis- software executive charged in agreement in which Tamine “IT’S TIME TO become a marketing call centre Monday tration. the largest-ever tax case promisedtocooperateagainst mum,”was the push-notifica- pleadedguiltytoconspiracyto Thevictimswere informed against a US individual,is fac- Brockman and Smith. tion hundreds of Portuguese commit wire fraud in connec- running afoul of the law,”said that they owed a sum of ing progressive dementia that Prosecutorsareexpectedto women received on their cell tionwith a fraudulent scheme Acting United States Attorney money to the US government will renderhim unable to help oppose the claim by Brock- phones last month. directed at thousands of indi- DuCharme. or one of its agencies and that in his defence, according to a man’s lawyers that he isn’t The text, sent by a private viduals in the United States, “This case makes clear that theywould be arrested if the legal filing citing his doctors. competent to stand trial, and hospital in Lisbon trying to theDepartmentofJusticesaid. US law enforcement will not debtswere not promptlypaid. Brockman,79,wasindicted US District Judge William the legal burden for establish- drum up clients for its mater- Ajay Sharma, the director stop at our borders to locate Afterthevictimswiredpay- on tax evasion and money AlsupwillholdahearingTues- ing that is high. nity unit, caused outrage on In the year 2000, there and owner of APS Technology, and vigorously prosecute ments to bank accounts that laundering charges that ac- daytoconsiderBrockman’sre- Last month,Geneva prose- social media, with some were 120,000 births in faces up to 20 years in prison, criminals,whether foreign or the defendants had opened in cused him of using a complex quest to move his case to cutors froze over $1 billion womensayingthatthemiddle Portugal. Last year there as well as forfeiture of domestic,who cause financial thenamesofinactiveandshell trust structure in the Houston. Brockman’s lawyers that Brockman held in Swiss of a pandemic and recession is were 86,600, a drop of $1,005,421andafineofupto harm to others in the United corporations to receive the Caribbean to hide $2 billion in have also said they’ll seek a bank accounts. theworstpossibletimetohave 39%. The fall has been $2,500,000. States,”he said. fraudproceeds,thefundswere income over two decades. His competency hearing for their In their filing, Brockman’s a baby. steepest following deep Sharma has been detained Federal prosecutors have withdrawn and laundered lawyers want his case moved client.TheJusticeDepartment lawyerssaidthatthreedoctors Evidencesuggeststhecoro- since his arrest in October alleged that Sharma was the through additional bank ac- from San Francisco,where he can present its own medical affiliated with Baylor have navirus is deterring would-be recessions such as the 2018 and pleaded guilty via leader and organiser of the counts. was indicted on October 1, to experts to refute Brockman’s confirmed Pool’s findings parents from conceiving in current one triggered by videoconference. fraud scheme. The scheme is estimated to Houston, where he lives and claims.Alsup had directed de- about his medical condition. most of Europe,but especially Covid-19 SethD.DuCharme,theAct- Between January and Sep- have netted over $2 million his doctors treat him. fence lawyers to file their pa- Eachwilltestifyinahearingto in the southern countries - ing United States Attorney for tember 2018, operating from fromvictimsacrosstheUnited In a filing late Monday, personhiscompetencybyDe- determinewhetherBrockman from Italy to Greece - where the Eastern District of New callcentresinIndia,thedefen- States,the Department of Jus- physician James L. Pool said cember 8. Prosecutors have iscapableofassistinginhisde- safetynetsareweakestandthe lockdown to make babies, but York, announced the guilty dants targeted victims in the tice said. Brockmanhassymptomscon- said they oppose a venue fence,according to the filing. birthratewasalreadyinstrong that is the opposite of rational plea. sistent with Parkinson’s dis- change.Brockman,theformer Defence lawyers will call decline. behaviour,” says Vanessa Four of Sharma’s co-con- ease,parkinsonism,Lewybody chief executive officer of other witnesses, including his In the year 2000, there Cunha, a specialist in fertility, spirators previously pleaded dementia, or some combina- Reynolds & Reynolds,a maker wife and colleagues, to estab- were 120,000 births in Portu- gender and family issues at guilty, and two are scheduled tion of them. The diagnosis of software for auto dealers, lish that Brockman has gal. Last year there were Universityof Lisbon’s ICS. for trial in February 2021 be- canonlybe“totallyconfirmed” has pleaded not guilty.He was “demonstrable cognitive and 86,600,adropof39%.Thefall “The pandemic will have a fore United States District with an autopsy, but each re- the first investor two decades memory challenges,”accord- has been steepest following big negative impact.” Judge Sandra Feuerstein. sults in rigid muscles, slow ago in billionaire Robert ing to a filing by one of his at- deep recessions such as the Irene Pontarelli,a 35-year- “Ajay Sharma and his crew movements and tremors, ac- Smith’s initial private equity torneys,Kathryn Keneally. current one triggered by old psychiatric rehabilitation perpetrated a sprawling, cording to Pool, a pharmacol- fund,eventuallyputtingup$1 In her filing, Keneally said Covid-19. therapist,had planned to have transnational fraud scheme ogyprofessorattheBaylorCol- billion. she gave copies of letters and As well as the emotional her first child this year after that preyed on unsuspecting lege of Medicine in Houston. Smith, the chief executive correspondencefromPooland challenges now for couples sevenyears of marriage. victims’ fears that they were “All are characterised by officerofVistaEquityPartners, the three other doctors to wanting children, in the long progressive dementia, and in avoided prosecution after prosecutors on April 9, or runtherewillalsobeeconomic Brockman’s case, the medical agreeing to cooperate against nearly six months before challenges for countries that reports confirm cognitive im- Brockman. Smith admitted in Brockmanwas indicted. could face years of struggle to pairment,which includes, but a non-prosecution agreement Defence lawyers encour- pull themselves out of the is not limited to, both short that he evaded $43 million in aged the government to “in- mire. Fewer births means and long-term memory loss,” taxes from 2005 through vestigate these medical opin- fewer and older workers.This according to Pool’s declara- 2014. ions by providing the will eventually be a drag on tion. Both men hid money from necessarywaiversfromBrock- economic output and a strain Brockman’s condition ren- the Internal Revenue Service man (since revoked post-in- on public pension schemes ders his “long-term memory by using Swiss bank accounts dictment) to allow the prose- and welfare states,widening inaccessibleanddefective,”ac- and secretive Caribbean trust cutors to contact the the gap between the richer cordingtothefiling.“Forthese structures initially set up by physiciansseparately,without northofEuropeandthepoorer reasons, I concur with the the same Houston lawyer, ac- participation by the defence.” south. medical position that Brock- cording to prosecutors. Prosecutorsdidn’tcontactany “You see stories in the me- man cannot assist his attor- Another witness against of the doctors before the in- dia and elsewhere about peo- neys in his defence.” Brockman is Evatt Tamine, an dictment,Keneallysaid. ple making the most of the Bill Gross called‘angry billionaire’ with short fuse at court hearing BLOOMBERG “I had told him that he had December 1 leftabunchofpipesintheside yard and he said,‘I don’t want BILL GROSS’S CALIFORNIA an angry billionaire with a oceanside neighbour Mark shortfusetobeupsetwithme,’ Towfiq figured there might be orsomethinglikethat,”Towfiq troubleaheadwhenthePacific said. Investment Management In a court filing on Gross’s Companyco-founderwas eye- behalf, Boyd said he was ing the house next doorto his. alarmedthatTowfiqhadsecu- The seller of the home de- rity cameras pointed at his scribed Gross as an“angry bil- backyard,which allowed him lionairewith a short fuse,”and to spot Gross as he toured the amoneymanageratPimcoof- property. fered his “condolences”when “Itwas also a bit unsettling thetechentrepreneurtoldhim to learn Towfiq was keeping Grosswould be his newneigh- trackofmyguestsintheback- bour,Towfiqtestifiedatahear- yard,”Boyd said in the filing. ing in Santa Ana court Mon- Towfiq insisted he wasn’t day. Basinger, who told Orange home a smellymesswith dead obsessed with Gross and his The two Laguna Beach County Superior Court Judge fish placed in the air vents af- girlfriendAmySchwartz. neighbors are embroiled in a Kimberly Knill that she in- termorethanthreedecadesof He said he began taping nastyfeud,withTowfiq claim- tended to prove that Towfiq is marriage. Gross’s property after police ing Gross blasted music, in- “obsessed”with Gross and his Basinger tried to portray suggested he document the cludingthethemetoGilligan’s girlfriend“and has been stalk- Towfiq as litigious and con- loud music. Island,atallhoursofthedayto ing him at all hours.” fronted him about a priorlaw- “Takingvideosandpictures get him to drop a complaint She asked Towfiq why he suitfiledbyaformerneighbor. onmyownpropertyseemslike about a glass sculpture in his was so fascinated with Gross, Towfiq testified the former a fundamental right,”he said. yard. Gross claims Towfiq had prompting the tech entrepre- neighbor had sued the city of Towfiq also said he was a been stalking him.They sued neurto saythat hewas“con- Laguna Beach because it had Pimco client from 2008 to each otherforharassment. cerned”that he would be his granted him permits to build 2012, and friends with a “Ha, ha, I am in trouble,” newneighbour. on the property and tried to moneymanagerthere. Towfiq said he texted Patrick “I’d seen the news of how get them reversed. “He told me all sorts of sto- Boyd,the manwhowas selling he’dtreatedhisfamily,hisem- Before Gross moved in, ries about Bill, Gross,”Towfiq his home to Gross. ployees,”Towfiqsaid,referring TowfiqsaidhetoldBoydabout said.“Hesaidsomethingtome Most of Towfiq’s second totabloidreportsofGross’sdi- some construction material like‘mycondolences,’sohewas dayonthestandatthehearing vorce that included claims that was left behind on the concerned forme.” was spent being cross-exam- from his ex-wife Sue that he property that needed to be Thehearingisscheduledto ined by Gross’s lawyer Jill left their multimillion-dollar cleared up. resumeWednesday. China’s #MeToo case heads to court after two-year delay

ASSOCIATED PRESS time when President Xi Jin- Taipei, December 1 ping’s government is tighten- ingcontrolsandstampingout ZHOU XIAOXUAN’S SAYSher dissent. prestigious internship with Womenwhocomplainface ChinesestateTVsouredaftera censorship and official resis- popular host forcibly kissed tance.Itwas onlyin 2019 that her. sexual harassment was added Outraged, Zhou took the to court regulations as previously taboo step of filing grounds fora suit. a lawsuit in 2018, joining the Zhou accuses CCTV host global #MeToo movement harassment cases who have a Zhu Jun of groping and against sexual harassment. court hearing,”Zhou said.“We forcibly kissing her in 2014. But the ruling Communist hope each individual case can She is asking fora public apol- Party dislikes such grassroots beatypeofpushforward.”The ogy as well as 50,000 yuan activism and offers few ways ruling party,whose late leader ($7,600) in damages. to pursue complaints. Zhou Mao Zedong famously de- In a series of social media waitedtwoyearsforahearing, clared,“women hold up half posts,she said she was alone while the host fought back by thesky,”hasimprovedtheirle- with Zhu in his dressing room filing a defamation lawsuit. gal and social status but is far fora fewminutes. OnWednesday,Zhou’scase fromdeliveringonitspromise She said he tried to reach goes to trial in Beijing, high- ofequality.Insomeareas,con- into her dress and drag her lighting the growing willing- ditions are deteriorating: onto himself, and then ness of Chinese women to Women have disappeared forcibly kissed her.The posts speak up about sexual harass- from leadership roles overthe were shared widely and re- ment despite official resis- past three decades. posted by many on the Chi- tance and censorship that #MeToo’s global spread nese internet and prompted a eroded #MeToo’s impact. helped to encourage activism great amount of media cover- “There are very few sexual in China.But that came at a age.

Pune WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 2, 2020 WWW.FINANCIALEXPRESS.COM 16 BACK PAGE FINANCIAL EXPRESS ● CAUTIOUS MOVES China fight withAustralia risks Joe Biden faces a balancing act in backfiring as Biden era nears BLOOMBERG choosing top aides with business ties December 1 CHINA’S ECONOMIC OFFEN- SIVEagainstAustraliaispartly says. designed to warn countries Few Dems oppose The group points to the against vocally opposing Bei- Jeffrey Zients as a majoritystakethatCranemere jing’s interests, particularly took in NorthStar Anesthesia, withJoeBidenlookingtounite candidate to lead acompanythatprovidesanes- US allies.Yet it’s alreadyshow- corona response thesiaservicestohospitalsand ing signs of backfiring. medical offices,in 2018. China last week imposed It cites negative reviews anti-dumping duties of up to NEWYORK TIMES that NorthStar Anesthesia re- 212% on Australian wine,the Washington, December 1 ceived through the Better latest in a slew of measures about 35% of Australia’s total addingtoworriesaboutitsuse Business Bureau,including al- curbing imports from coal to trade,three times more than of economic coercion, and FIVE YEARS AGO, Jeffrey D. legations of surprise billing copper to barley.Tensions es- the next highest country, could end up pushing middle Zients was the head of the and a threat to send a dental calated further on Monday af- Japan.Australia accounts for powers closer to the US camp. Obama administration’s Na- patient’s bill to a collection tera Chinese Foreign Ministry less than 4% of China’s com- President-elect Biden has tional Economic Council, agency during a dispute over officialtweetedafakephotoof merce. vowedtorebuildrelationships workingtopushacrossthefin- insurance coverage. anAustraliansoldierholdinga “It is only natural that withalliesdamagedbyDonald ish line a federal rule that That matter was resolved, knife to the throat of an China wants to sound some Trump’s “America First” poli- wouldpreventfinancialadvis- according to The Philadelphia Afghan child. precautionary alarm” to warn cies,whichinturnwouldmake ers from taking advantage of Inquirer.A spokeswoman for Australian Prime Minister countries off building an anti- it more palatable for some al- retirees. He won praise from NorthStarsaidthatwithintwo Scott Morrison quickly called China alliance, said Zhu Feng, lies to align more closely with progressives for fending off monthsofCranemere’sacqui- on China to apologise for the professorofinternationalrela- his administration. fierce resistance from Wall sition of the company,it had “repugnant” tweet. China’s tions at Nanjing University. “Biden is planning to re- Streetandforfightingforcon- Cranemere-andsittingonthe the Biden transition team and come,theRevolvingDoorPro- ended its practice of “balance Foreign Ministry spokesper- “After all, confrontation is the sume US international policy sumerprotections. board of Facebook as a detri- was mentioned as a possible ject has been urging Biden to billing”-chargingpatientsthe son Hua Chunying, in turn, least wanted by the world after a four-year hiccup,”said These days,Zients is a co- ment. candidate to once again lead keep corporate influence out difference between the cost of questionedwhetherhelacks“a now.” Jeff Moon,the US’s assistant chairman of President-elect Thepre-emptiveresistance the National Economic Coun- of his administration, has their services and what their sense of right and wrong”and China is betting that most trade representative for China Joseph R. Biden Jr.’s transition to Zients (pronounced ZYE- cil or head the Office of Man- compileda13-pagedocument insurerswill pay. said overall ties deteriorated Western countries will avoid for part of the Obama admin- team who is being watched ents) from the left is the latest agement and Budget,a role he about Zients. The file high- Jennifer Psaki, a spokes- becauseAustralia“tookwrong provoking Beijing and risking istration, adding that the warilybymembers of Democ- indication of how the Democ- held in an acting capacitydur- lights his wealth, his appetite woman for the Biden transi- measuresonissuesbearingon the kind of trade retaliation scope of China’s actions raticParty’sleftwing.Progres- ratic Party has shifted in the ing the Obama administra- for deficit reduction during tion team,said Zients opposes China’s core interests.” Australia is suffering,particu- against Australia was“breath- sive advocacy groups such as dozenyearssinceformerPres- tion. With those jobs set to be the Obama years and his re- surprise billing practices. To Beijing, the attacks on larly with their economies taking.” the Revolving Door Project ident Barack Obama took of- filled by others, Zients is the centworkaschiefexecutiveof “Jeff, like President-elect Australia are meant to deter weighed down by the pan- “The leverage is towork to- and Justice Democrats, con- fice amid the financial crisis. front-runner, according to Cranemere. In the Obama ad- Biden, supports legislation to others like Canada, the Euro- demic.At the same time,it has gether,” he added. While it’s cerned that he would defend Now,business and finance ex- people familiar with the tran- ministration,“his role was es- stopsurprisebillingbyforcing pean Union and Japan from sought to strengthen tieswith still unclear how exactly that corporate America if given a perience can turn otherwise sition team’s plans, to be the sentially to be a management the entire health care system joining a US-led campaign to Japan, South Korea and na- wouldwork,severalkeygroup- top economic policy job in the qualified White House candi- Biden administration’s Covid consultant for the executive to limit patient payments to counter China’s rise. Commu- tions in SoutheastAsia,in part ings including the Quad -- the Biden administration,pushed dates into pariahs forprogres- czar, steering the govern- branch: cutting costs, finding in-network rates for all proce- nist Party officials see Morri- byofferingmoretrade,invest- US,Japan,AustraliaandIndia- to keep him out of such a role. sives. ment’s response to the coron- efficiencies and looking at duresandprovidersnotpreap- son’s government as one of ment in 5G networks and ac- - as well as Five Eyes -- the US, Theyviewhisrecentworkrun- Zients, 54, has emerged as avirus pandemic. thingslikeabusinessman,”the proved by the patient,”Psaki theirmostvocal critics,and an cess to Covid-19vaccines. Australia,UK,CanadaandNew ning an investment fund - an important power centre in Inasignofthepushbackto Revolving Door document said. easytarget:Chinaaccountsfor Yet China’s moves are Zealand -- have been revived.

NDR Auto Components Limited Regd. Office : Level - 5, Regus Caddie Commercial Tower, Hospitality District Aerocity, IGI Airport, New Delhi - 110037 CIN: U29304DL2019PLC347460 WEBSITE: www.ndrauto.com; E-mail: [email protected] Phone: +91 11 66544976 STATEMENT OF STANDALONE UNAUDITED FINANCIAL RESULTS FOR THE QUARTER AND SIX MONTHS ENDED SEPTEMBER 30, 2020 (Rs. in lakhs, except per share data) For the period from Quarter Ended Six Months Ended Sl. Particulars January 01, 2019 to September 30, 2020 September 30, 2020 No. March 31, 2020 (Unaudited) (Unaudited) (Audited) 1 Total income from operations 3,027.82 3,455.48 10,580.17 2 Net profit/(loss) for the period (before tax, exceptional 337.45 199.39 99.50 and/or extraordinary items) 3 Net profit/(loss) for the period before tax 337.45 199.39 99.50 (after exceptional and/or extraordinary items) 4 Net profit/(loss) for the period after tax (after exceptional 289.50 153.02 166.59 and/or extraordinary items) 5 Total comprehensive income/(loss) for the period 284.63 143.34 142.48 [comprising profit for the period (after tax) and other comprehensive income (after tax)] 6 Equity share capital 594.63 594.63 594.63 7 Other equity (reserves) (excluding revaluation reserve) -- 12,668.04 as shown in the audited balance sheet 8 Earnings Per Share (of Rs. 10/- each) (for continuing and discontinued operations) (In Rs.) (a) Basic (Rs.) 4.87 2.57 2.80 (b) Diluted (Rs.) 4.87 2.57 2.80 Notes: Financial Restructuring & a) The above is an extract of the detailed format of quarterly/ half yearly unaudited standalonefinancial resultsfiled with the Stock Reconstruction Group, Exchange under Regulation 33 of the SEBI (Listing obligations and Disclosure Requirements). Regulations, 2015. The full format of Embassy Heights Office, the quarterly/ half yearly unaudited standalonefinancial results are available on the websites of the Company (www.ndrauto.com) and Mc. Grath Road, Bengaluru–560025. on the website of BSE (www.bseindia.com) and NSE (www.nseindia.com). Cell: +91 9449875680, e-Mail: [email protected] b) The above unaudited standalonefinancial results of NDR Auto Components Limited ("the Company") have been prepared in accordance with IndianAccounting Standards (IND-AS) as prescribed under section 133 of the CompaniesAct, 2013 read with Rule 3 AUCTION SALE NOTICE UNDER THE SWISS CHALLENGE of the Companies(Indian Accounting Standards) Rules, 2015 and the Companies (Indian Accounting Standards) Rules, 2016 and METHOD FOR SALE OF SECURED ASSETS relevant amendment rules thereafter. IndusInd Bank Limited (IBL) invites bids from all eligible buyers for sale c) The above unaudited standalonefinancial results have been reviewed by theAudit Committee and approved by the Board of Directors on "100% cash Basis" and on "AS IS WHERE IS, AS IS WHAT IS and at their meeting held on 30th November, 2020.The abovefinancial results of “NDRAuto Components Limited” for quarter/ period WHATEVER THERE IS BASIS" in terms of regulatory guidelines. ended september 30, 2020 subjected to limited review by the statutory auditors of the Company in accordance with the Standard on Interested parties should note that the Bank has received a binding offer (Primary Review Engagements (SRE) 2410 issued by the Institute of CharteredAccountants of India. Proposal) on hand. The primary proposal basically involves release of various properties For and on behalf of the Board of Directors under charge of the Bank to 3rd parties / sell to the buyers identified by the borrower/s. Sd/- The sale is under SWISS Challenge method, based on existing offer in hand Place: Gurugram (Pranav Relan) ("Primary proposal/ Bid"). Date: 30th November 2020 Whole Time Director Basis the Primary Proposal, IBL is seeking Expression of Interest (EOI) from interested/ eligible buyers having adequate financial capability as acceptable to the Lender, for sale of the mortgaged properties to recover its dues, using the NDR Auto Components Limited Primary Bid as the anchor bid or the base offer ("Reserve Price"). Accordingly, Regd. Office : Level - 5, Regus Caddie Commercial Tower, Hospitality District Aerocity, interested bidders offer has to be above the Reserve Price and the Primary IGI Airport, New Delhi - 110037 Bidder will be accorded an opportunity to better the terms of the highest offer/ bid CIN: U29304DL2019PLC347460 submitted pursuant to such Swiss Challenge process under the Auction Process. WEBSITE: www.ndrauto.com; E-mail: [email protected] Phone: +91 11 66544976 We place the following properties for sale on the terms & conditions indicated STATEMENT OF CONSOLIDATED UNAUDITED FINANCIAL RESULTS FOR THE QUARTER AND SIX MONTHS ENDED herein below: SEPTEMBER 30, 2020 DESCRIPTION OF SECURED ASSETS: (Rs. in lakhs, except per share data) Property 1: Contiguous land parcels of 297.60 acres spread across multiple survey For the period from Quarter Ended Six Months Ended numbers located in Pulimankombai Village, Kannivadi Village and Kodangapatti Sl. Particulars January 01, 2019 to September 30, 2020 September 30, 2020 Village in Theni District, Tamil Nadu owned by M/s Sampigehutty Estate Pvt Ltd. No. March 31, 2020 Property 2: Coffee Estate admeasuring 138.60 acres situated at Hegudlu Estate, Heggudloo Village, Bankal Hobli, Mudigere Taluk, Chikmagalur Dist (Unaudited) (Unaudited) (Audited) owned by Late Mr. V.G.Siddhartha. 1 Total Income from Operations 2,982.82 3,410.48 10,469.92 Property 3: Various land parcel admeasuring 1088.48 acres known as 2 Net Profit/(loss) for the period (before Tax, Exceptional 292.45 154.39 (10.75) Yelnoorkhan Group of Estates (Jensury Estate, Parry agro industries, and/or Extraordinary items) Bangaragiri Estates, Yelnoorkhan Estate, Sipani Plantations, Kanakanadoddi Estate) situated at Chikmagalur, Karnataka, owned by Ms. Malavika Hegde. 3 Net Profit/(loss) for the period before tax 292.45 154.39 (10.75) Property 4: Various land parcel admeasuring 336.40 acres known as Devdarshini (after Exceptional and/or Extraordinary items) Group of Estates (Devadarshini, Kudure Gundi 'B", Chettanalli 'A', Chettanalli 'B', 4 Net Profit/(loss) for the period after tax (after Exceptional 255.83 119.35 56.34 Chettanalli 'C', Chettanalli 'D' and Kanive Estates situated at Chikmagalur, and/or Extraordinary items) Karnataka, and owned by Late Shri S.V.GangaiahHegde, Smt. Sheshamma, 5 Profit for the period after share of profit/(loss) of 386.76 (86.33) 659.06 Smt. Vasanthi Hegde, Late Shri V.G.Siddartha and Smt. Malavika Hegde. associate and joint ventures Note: Detailed description of the properties including survey numbers of the land parcel are available with AO or can be accessed through link www.indusind.com. 6 Total Comprehensive Income/(loss) for the period 382.03 (95.81) 647.12 Reserve Price/ Available offer Rs.155.40 Crores (Rupees One Hundred [Comprising Profit for the period (after tax) Fifty Five crores and forty lakhs only) and Other Comprehensive Income (after tax)] EMD (5%) 5% of OFFER PRICE 7 Equity Share Capital 594.63 594.63 594.63 Last date for receiving the Bids 15-12-2020 till 4:00 PM 8 Other Equity (Reserves) (excluding Revaluation -- 16,362.81 Date & Time; Venue of auction Auction / Bidding on 16-12-2020 from Reserve) as shown in the Audited Balance Sheet 12.00 Pm to 1:00 pm. IndusInd Bank Ltd., 9 Earnings Per Share (of Rs. 10/- each) (for Unit No.101 & 102, Embassy Heights B- continuing and discontinued operations) (In Rs.) Block, McGrath Road, Bengaluru-560025. (a) Basic (Rs.) 6.50 (1.45) 11.08 Note: Interested buyers who wish to bid only for single property out of the four properties mentioned above can do so by giving their offer to Authorized Officer. (b) Diluted (Rs.) 6.50 (1.45) 11.08 Interested parties may contact the officials mentioned below for other relevant Notes: details for submission of the Expressions of Interest ("EOI"). Shortlisted parties will be provided access to further detailed information as may be required a) The above is an extract of the detailed format of Quarterly/ half yearly unaudited consolidatedfinancial resultsfiled with the Stock for submission of detailed proposal/bid. Exchange under Regulation 33 of the SEBI (Listing obligations and Disclosure Requirements). Regulations, 2015. The full format of The last date for submission of the EOI and necessary documentation in relation the quarterly/ half yearly unauditedfinancial results are available on the websites of the Company (www.ndrauto.com) and on the there to is 15.12.2020 by 4:00 PM by emailing it at [email protected], website of BSE (www.bseindia.com) and NSE (www.nseindia.com). in which shall be followed by physical submission in a sealed envelope to b) The above unaudited consolidatedfinancial results of NDR Auto Components Limited ("the Company") have been prepared in IndusInd Bank Ltd., Unit No.101 & 102, Embassy Heights, B-Block, accordance with IndianAccounting Standards (IND-AS) as prescribed under section 133 of the CompaniesAct, 2013 read with Rule 3 Mc. Grath Road, Bengaluru-560025. of the Companies(Indian Accounting Standards) Rules, 2015 and the Companies (Indian Accounting Standards) Rules, 2016 and For detailed terms & conditions of the sale, please refer to the link provided in relevant amendment rules thereafter. the IndusInd Bank Ltd website or contact at Contact No.: 9611333773, Email c) The above unaudited consolidatedfinancial results have been reviewed by the Audit Committee and approved by the Board of id: [email protected] or Contact No: 9449875680, Email id: Directors at their meeting held on 30th November, 2020. The abovefinancial results of “NDR Auto Limited” Components for [email protected]. quarter/period ended September 30, 2020 subjected to limited review by the statutory auditors of the Company in accordance with the Date: 01-12-2020 Sd/- Authorized Officer Standard on Review Engagements (SRE) 2410 issued by the Institute of CharteredAccountants of India. Place: Bengaluru IndusInd Bank Limited For and on behalf of the Board of Directors Sd/- Place: Gurugram (Pranav Relan) Date: 30th November 2020 Whole Time Director

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