WEDNESDAY, 4 MARCH 2020 16 pages in 1 section www.business-standard.com MUMBAI (CITY) ~9.00 VOLUME XXIV NUMBER 143

THE MARKETS ON TUESDAY Chg# Sensex 38,623.7 479.7 Nifty 11,303.3 170.5 BACK PAGE P14 COMPANIES P2 Nifty futures* 11,294.8 8.5 Dollar ~73.3 ~72.7** Euro ~81.4 ~80.7** WILL GIVE SOCIAL MEDIAACCOUNTS INDIA WPP’S FIFTH-LARGEST Brent crude ($/bbl)## 52.8## 52.7** Gold (10 gm)### ~42,276.0 ~119.0 TO WOMEN WHO INSPIRE US: PM MARKET: CEO MARK READ *(March) Discount on Nifty Spot; **Previous close; # Over previous close; ## At 9 pm IST; ### Market rate exclusive of VAT; Source: IBJA PUBLISHED SIMULTANEOUSLY FROM AHMEDABAD, BENGALURU, BHUBANESWAR, CHANDIGARH, CHENNAI, HYDERABAD, KOCHI, KOLKATA, LUCKNOW, MUMBAI (ALSO PRINTED IN BHOPAL), NEW DELHI AND PUNE

A B PANDEY NAMED BUSINESS STANDARD FINANCE SECRETARY US Fed cuts rate, RBI SOCIAL EXCELLENCE AWARDS 2019 Revenue Secretary Ajay Bhushan Pandey has been appointed finance secretary following the retirement of Financial Services Secretary Rajiv Kumar. An IAS officer of the Maharashtra ready to take action cadre with 35 years of experience in state and Central 50 bps reduction comes amid virus scare; governments, Pandey Das suggests coordinated policy action is taking over as finance secretary at a time when SUBRATA PANDA is the first time in over 11 years that Business Standard Business Standard Business Standard economic growth has Mumbai, 3 March the Fed has cut policy rates by 50 bps ILLUSTRATI0N: AJAY MOHANTY been on a or more. The last time was in Social Entrepreneur Socially Aware Corporate Social Enterprise downward n the wake of volatility in the December 2008, when the rates were M R MADHAVAN L&T FINANCE HOLDINGS ST JUDE INDIA trajectory. financial markets due to COVID- lowered by 75 bps. In the past 12 President, PRS Legislative Dinanath Dubhashi, CHILDCARE CENTRES 19 (novel coronavirus), the instances when rates were either hiked Research MD & CEO Nihal Kaviratne, Founder I Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on or cut, the extent of change was 25 bps. RInfra defaults on Tuesday said it was ready to ensure “In the light of these risks and in that the markets ran well and confi- support of achieving its maximum loan repayments dence was maintained. It is monitoring employment and price stability goals, Anil Ambani-controlled Reliance Infrastructure global and domestic developments. the Federal Open Market Committee defaulted on payment of dues (interest and RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das, in decided today to lower the target principal) to lenders between January 23 and an interview to Bloomberg on range for the federal funds rate by ½ February 1, the company informed the BSE. The Tuesday, said there percentage point,” the Fed said in a defaults on principal include ~20.15 crore of YES was a strong reason statement. RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das. The Bank and ~1.05 crore of SREI Equipment for coordinated pol- The Dow Jones index of the US RBI said spillovers to financial Finance. RInfra also failed to pay interest dues icy action. And the was, however, down 310.41, or 1.16 per markets in India had largely been of ~30.12 crore to YES Bank, ~36 lakh to J&K option before the cent, as of 11:20 pm. contained Bank, and 31 lakh to SREI. RBI includes a rate The Fed’s move came just after the CORONAVIRUS cut and supporting G7 central bankers issued a statement ministers and central bank governors OUTBREAK the market through that they would use all policy tools to said they were ready to cooperate fur- ECONOMY & PUBLIC AFFAIRS P5 liquidity measures, achieve strong sustainable growth and ther on timely and effective measures. YES Bank approaches building confidence, safeguard against downside risks. In a statement issued on Tuesday, and other instruments to deal with As an indication of increasing the RBI said: “Globally, financial mar- domestic MFs for funds emerging challenges. coordinated action amid global uncer- kets have been experiencing consid- Private sector lender YES Bank has Also, in a major step to arrest the tainties, the G7 finance and central erable volatility, with the spread of approached Indian asset management economic fallout of coronavirus, the bank chiefs held a meeting to find coronavirus triggering risk-off senti- firms (mutual funds) for raising fresh equity Federal Reserve cut its benchmark pol- ways to counter the impact of COVID- ments and flights to safe haven.” MEET THE JURY: (From left) GiveIndia Director & CEO Atul Satija, Bain Capital worth $300-500 million amid a raft of rating icy rates by 50 basis points (bps). This 19 on the global economy. G7 finance Turn to Page 13 > Private Equity Chairman Amit Chandra, Tata Institute of Social Sciences Chairman downgrades and increasing stress on its loan S Ramadorai (chairman of the jury), Pratham Co-founder Farida Lambay, and Indian book. If the bank is able to raise funds in this School of Public Policy Founder-Director Luis Miranda PHOTO: KAMLESH PEDNEKAR round, it would give some breathing space. Export of 13 bulk

COMPANIES P2 drugs restricted Five-member jury picks NCLT approves NBCC’s In the wake of the COVID-19 outbreak and supply plan for Jaypee Infra disruptions from China,India on top three in social sector The National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) Tuesday “restricted” approved the resolution plan of National exports of 13 active BS REPORTER who were felled as much by the disease as Buildings Construction Company for Jaypee pharmaceutical Mumbai, 3 March by the lack of care and nutrition needed for Infratech with some tweaks. The NCLT said the ingredients (APIs) recuperation. And thus came about the bank guarantee of ~750 crore, submitted by and their “When my wife, Shyama, and I returned to philanthropic venture that has won the Jaiprakash Associates in the Supreme Court, formulations to ensure India after living overseas for 22 years, we 2019 Business Standard award for Social would be treated as part of the plan. that there was no shortage of key were looking to bridge the need gap in Enterprise. drugs in the domestic market, health care for children,” Nihal Kaviratne, St Jude India was chosen by a five- the Directorate General of Foreign founder of St Jude India ChildCare member jury, chaired by Tata Institute of COMPANIES P3 > An Indian woman who recently returned from the United States being Trade (DGFT) said. 4 Centres, said, looking back on the years Social Sciences Chairman S Ramadorai. that gave rise to his chain of centres for The other winners are M R Madhavan, Arcelor joint venture examined by doctors in Hyderabad on Tuesday PHOTO:PTI cancer-affected children from rural India. founder of PRS Legislative Research, as the buys Bhander plant After an exhausting run of non- Social Entrepreneur of the Year, and L&T ArcelorMittal Nippon Steel India is getting Markets rebound governmental organisations and Finance Holdings as the Socially Aware closer to securing ancillary units that were PM takes stock, visa after 7-day slide hospitals, and long deliberations with Corporate of the Year. All the winners beat not part of the Essar Steel acquisition. friends and family, the Kaviratnes found several strong contenders. Madhavan was On Tuesday, it announced that it had The equity markets snapped themselves staring at a thick bunch of honoured for doing what every democracy completed the acquisition of Bhander curbs on 4 countries their seven-day losing streak — intractable problems, but what stood out needs, helping build an aware and Power Plant in Gujarat from Edelweiss Asset the worst in five years — after the was the sheer magnitude and corrosive informed political class and electorate, Reconstruction Company. AGENCIES March 3 to the nationals of Italy, Iran, central banks pledged impact that cancer had on the lives of and laying the framework for a strong New Delhi, 3 March South Korea, and Japan who have not SENSEX to repair the economic patients and families. A tragedy made Parliament and state legislatures. yet entered India. damage due to the doubly deadly for children from rural areas Turn to Page 5 > BACK PAGE P14 With India reporting at least six con- The advisory also suspended visas Chg (pts) virus. The Sensex rose UN rights body moves firmed cases of coronavirus, Prime on arrival issued on or before March 3 480 480 points to end at Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday to Japanese and South Korean nation- 38,624, while Nifty SC over citizenship law reviewed the country’s preparedness als who have not yet entered India. gained 170.6 points. 10 > SBI BOARD ACCEPTS The United Nations High Commissioner for to deal with the virus, while the Union Those requiring to travel to India due DoT to issue Human Rights on Tuesday sought to file a health ministry issued a travel advi- to compelling reasons may seek fresh petition in the Supreme Court against the sory suspending all regular and e-visas visa from nearest Indian RESOLUTION PLAN citizenship amendment law. External Affairs granted on or before March 3 to embassy/consulate, said the advisory. Rupee falls below notices as AGR Ministry Spokesperson Raveesh Kumar said nationals of four countries. Hotels and the authorities at FOR SALE OF RCOM the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) was an “Had an extensive review regard- tourist sites in Agra have been told to 73 against dollar State Bank of India’s (SBI’s) board has internal matter of India. ing preparedness on the COVID-19 inform the office of the chief medical accepted the resolution plan for sale of novel coronavirus. Different min- officer as soon as visitors from Italy, The rupee fell again on Tuesday, Reliance Communications (RCom) and receipts add up istries and states are working togeth- Iran, or China arrive so that they can crossing the 73-level to close at its subsidiaries Reliance Telecom and Uber sold Uber Eats India er, from screening people arriving in be screened for coronavirus infection, 73.30 a dollar, as virus-positive Reliance Infratel. According to sources, India to providing prompt medical an official said. The instruction came cases increased to six in India. The the final voting on the resolution will be to only ~24k cr to Zomato for $206 mn attention,” Modi said in a tweet. a day after an Italian tourist was test- Reserve Bank of India supposedly over on Wednesday. They expect 66 per Uber sold its India food delivery business In view of the emerging global sce- ed positive for coronavirus in Jaipur. did not intervene in the market, cent of the votes to be in favour of the MEGHA MANCHANDA & SURAJEET DASGUPTA to Zomato for $206 million, the US-based narios regarding COVID19, the gov- The 69-year-old man was part of a even as the offshore markets resolution during the meeting of the New Delhi, 3 March firm said in its annual report on Monday. ernment issued the new advisory sus- group of 20 tourists who were in Agra continue to show rupee level committee of creditors (CoC). The CoC had “The estimated fair value ... includes the pending all visas granted on or before on Sunday. Turn to Page 13 > weaker by 10-11 paise. 4 > earlier chosen Mukesh Ambani’s The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) is investment valued at $171 million and the $35 Reliance Jio Infocomm and Delhi-based preparing to issue fresh notices to telecom companies million of reimbursement of goods and RELATED AI CUTS FLIGHTS; INDIGO’S CREW G-7 TO USE ‘ALL APPROPRIATE ECONOMY & PUBLIC UV Asset Reconstruction Company asking them how they had calculated their dues linked services tax receivable from Zomato,” it said. REPORTS UNDER HOME OBSERVATION TOOLS’ TO LIMIT HARM AFFAIRS P4 (UVARC) as highest bidders. 3 > to adjusted gross revenue (AGR). The notices, likely to be issued this week, have been prompted by the wide gap between payments made by the industry and the government estimates on AGR dues of telcos. “We have so far received ~24,000 crore from the companies, which is way less than the amount that we had derived. They (telecom companies) will have New CPI series for industrial workers to boost salaries to explain as to how they arrived at their numbers,” a senior DoT official said. SOMESH JHA * had decided to choose the CPI-IW as tracking their consumption patterns, With significant discrepancies cropping up in the New Delhi, 3 March COMPONENTS OF INFLATION the index for adjusting inflation for during January-December 2016. The AGR math, the industry may be facing a fresh round Food and beverages Housing central government employees. Even new series will cover 28 states and of dispute. According to telecom industry represen- Salaries of around 30 million industrial trade unions in the private sector use Union Territories against 24 and cover tatives, there are only two ways to resolve the con- Clothing and footwear Fuel and light workers are set to rise as a government- the CPI-IW to negotiate for the 317 markets compared to 289 used for tentious issue. First, the government can refer the Paan, supari, tobacco and intoxicants led committee has approved a new minimum wage of workers. the 2001 index. matter to the Comptroller and Auditor General of Miscellaneous group# base year for the consumer price index The CPI-IW hasn’t undergone The weight for food and beverages India (CAG) for an audit of all telecom books. (CPI) for such workforce. The move will 2.3 2.1 revision since 2001 — an exercise components will decline from 46 per Otherwise, telcos have the option of moving the also benefit around 4.8 million central which should usually take place every cent to 39 per cent in the new series. On Telecom Disputes Settlement and Appellate Tribunal 23.3 government employees, whose 30.3 39.2 five years. The old base for the CPI the other hand, the weight for non-food (TDSAT) if the government does not accept the oper- dearness allowance (DA) — a 200146.2 2016 has become outdated as the items such as education, health, ators’ calculations. component of salary which undergoes 6.4 consumption patterns of households entertainment and recreation, Rajan S Mathews, director general of the revision to keep pace with the inflation 5.5 have changed drastically in the past household goods and services, Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI), rate in the economy — is linked to this 15.3 16.9 two decades. The prices of the basket transport and communication is set to said, “We expect that the CAG will play a key part 6.6 6.1 inflation index. of certain goods and services are jump from 23 per cent in 2001 to 30 per in auditing the books of telcos to help find the A standing tripartite committee, led *CPI(IW )= Consumer Price Index for Industrial Workers tracked for mapping inflation. cent in 2016. “The consumption appropriate amount to be paid. Our second option by Principal Labour and Employment #Includes education, health, entertainment and recreation, household goods and services, transport The CPI-IW with the base year 2016 pattern of families belonging to the is to go back to the TDSAT.“ Advisor B N Nanda, met on February 27 and communication, and personal care and effects will give more weight to non-food items working class is in consonance with In the midst of the AGR calculation controversy, Source: Standing Tripartite Committee on CPI (IW) and gave the nod to the new series of than the food ones compared to the other indicators which show that there Vodafone Idea CEO and MD Ravinder Takkar again the CPI for Industrial Workers (CPI-IW), 2001 index, according to a copy of the is a shift in expenditure on non-food met Telecom Secretary Anshu Prakash on Tuesday. keeping 2016 as the base year. with public sector unit workers, since Business Standard. presentation given to the committee, items from food items. The new index Vodafone Idea has so far deposited ~3,500 crore in “The move will benefit 30 million the DA is based on the CPI-IW. The DA The DA of the central government which met on February 27. will be updated and keep this factor in two tranches to the DoT and is still assessing its full organised industrial workers of the will undergo a drastic change after the and private sector employees is To develop the new index, the mind,” a person who is aware of the AGR dues. According to the government’s calcula- country, and central government and government’s approval,” Nanda, who updated to adjust for inflation every six National Statistical Office conducted a deliberations said, requesting tion, Vodafone Idea owes more than ~50,000 crore in state government employees, along superannuated on February 28, told months. The Seventh Pay Commission survey of over 48,000 working families, anonymity. Turn to Page 13 > AGR liabilities. Turn to Page 13 > 2 COMPANIES MUMBAI | WEDNESDAY, 4 MARCH 2020 > UltraTech Cement > Hero MotoCorp > Sun Pharmaceuticals Industries > Eicher Motors > Tata Elxsi STOCKS Profitability to remain To resume normal Top gainer among the Sales rose 1% to IT stocks gain as rupee IN THE NEWS healthy around 20% supplies as China’s S&P BSE Sensex stocks 63,536 units in crosses 73-mark in next fiscal year: Crisil component makers February 2020 YoY restart production ~ 4,301.10 CLOSE ~2,054.80 CLOSE ~393.35 CLOSE ~17,913.20 CLOSE ~ 1,041.65 CLOSE * OVER PREVIOUS CLOSE 4.25% UP* 4.09% UP* 6.64% UP* 5.33% UP* 10.44% UP* > .

It’s official: Ola will go for IndiGo, GoAir public offer in next few yrs Tower firms stare at ~8,000-cr to replace 180 PW engines by SoftBank-backed ride-hailing firm Ola is planning to go public May-end: DGCA in the next few years and it is aiming to do it in the Indian loss if Voda Idea shuts business PRESS TRUST OF INDIA market, confirmed Ola co-foun- New Delhi, 3 March der and CEO Bhavish Aggarwal. LEADING TOWER COMPANIES He said the focus of the firm had Company uses around Aviation regulator Directo- Number of towers always been on building 180,000 towers with rate General of Civil Aviation sustainable, self-sufficient, profitable and long-term institutions. (DGCA) on Tuesday said 135,000 “Our India business is in a strong position, we are doing the same various vendors 124,000 IndiGo and GoAir will be in other countries also. The next logical step is for us to list in the replacing a total of 180 public markets; we are an Indian domicile, unlike some of our SURAJEET DAS GUPTA 72,000 unmodified Pratt and Whit- peers, so we list in India,” said Aggarwal during the MEA-PIC Geo- New Delhi, 3 March ney (PW) engines on their Economic Conference that was held in Pune over the weekend. “It A320neo planes with modi- is very important for us to be an Indian company and list in the obile-tower companies will 41,000 fied ones by the end of May Indian markets and build… maybe looking at us more, Indian lose a key tenant in more than this year. internet companies can start going public (rather) than relying on M a third of their towers in case IndiGo and GoAir have private markets,” said Aggarwal. BS REPORTER< Vodafone Idea closes down operations. 106 and 43 such A320neo air- This will make a major dent in their Brookfield Indus American Bharti craft — fitted with PW engines revenues and profitability, bringing Towers Tower Infratel — in their fleet, respectively. CCI approves BCP’s Bounce raises fresh down their tenancy ratio drastically. Corporation After the induction of the air- The loss for tower companies could be Reliance Infratel has over 43,000 towers, which craft into service, there have 40% stake buy in funding to fuel are being used by Jio. There are a few smaller around ~8,000 crore per annum, players also. been a number of incidents of IndoStar Capital e-vehicle expansion according to estimates. Source: Company & industry estimates snag in their PW engines. However, tower companies say the As there were more LPT Fair trade regulator Competition Bounce, a motorcycle and scoo- short-term pain will be over within they will have to rent out more tow- (low pressure turbine) failure Commission of India (CCI) on ter sharing start-up, has raised three years as data usage goes up and ers,” the CEO said. incidents in the aircraft in Tuesday approved acquisition a fresh $6.5 million funding 5G is launched, which would require Voda Idea, Airtel, Jio pay over ~6K cr Secondly, based on the ambitions IndiGo’s fleet, the airline was of up to 40 per cent stake in from existing investor InnoVen more tower capacity. of telcos, they expect that average data directed by the DGCA on IndoStar Capital Finance by BCP Capital, Asia’s leading venture According to estimates, Vodafone to DoT towards spectrum dues usage will double in the next three November 1 last year to repl- V Multiple Holdings on a fully debt provider. This marks Inno- Idea uses 180,000 towers with various Three private telcos — confronted with AGR (adjusted years to 20 GBPS per customer per ace all unmodified engines diluted basis. The regulator’s Ven Capital’s third investment vendors (there are 4.8 million active Vodafone Idea, Bharti Airtel gross revenue) liabilities of over month. To achieve that, there has to in its fleet with modified ones clearance is through the green in Bounce in a span of 18 mon- towers). and Reliance Jio — on ~53,000 crore. This is the last lot be a substantial increase in tower infra- by January 31. channel, which allows for an ths, taking the total debt inve- The average tenancies currently Tuesday paid ~6,046 crore to of payments that telcos will structure and new business to support Later, the regulator exte- automatic system for speedy stment to $12 million. range from 1.7 to 1.8 in the case of most the Department of Tele- make towards deferred high speeds. nded the deadline to May 30. approval of combinations, sub- BS REPORTER< of the big players and a loss of one ten- communications (DoT) spectrum liabilities to the DoT, Thirdly, with 5G expected to come GoAir was also told by the ject to certain conditions. PTI< ant could have a substantial impact towards deferred spectrum as the Union Cabinet had late in the next three years, operators will regulator to replace all un- on revenues, margins, and viability. dues. Vodafone Idea paid about last year approved a two-year require nearly a threefold increase in modified engines by May 30. Japanese investors The move could lead to a downward ~3,043 crore, Bharti Airtel has made moratorium on spectrum dues. On the number of towers (even though The regulator stated on Amrish Rau bet on healthtech spiral of rentals. a payment of ~1,950 crore to the November 20, 2019, the Union they would be smaller) to sustain such Tuesday that PW is in the appointed CEO Manufacturers of telecom equip- telecom department towards its Cabinet approved a moratorium of high speeds. process of setting up a main- start-up Tricog ment, including fibre, say if Vodafone deferred spectrum dues, while two years for spectrum payments. Yet the future of Vodafone Idea has tenance, repair and overhaul of Pine Labs Health care analytics firm Tri- Idea closes down, there could be a loss Reliance Jio paid ~1,053 crore. The move to defer payments for been a crucial impediment to the pro- (MRO) facility in India in col- Merchant commerce platform cog has raised $10.5 million of around $1.7 billion in FY20 in orders. Vodafone Idea’s payment in 2020-21 and 2021-22 will give posed merger of Indus Towers (a joint laboration with Air India for Pine Labs on Tuesday said it has from The University of Tokyo, This would affect the key players particular assumes significance as ~42,000-crore relief to Airtel, venture between Vodafone plc, Voda- replacement of 3rd stage LPT appointed Amrish Rau as its Edge Capital, Aflac Ventures — Ericsson, Nokia, and Huawei — all the company has been under Vodafone Idea and Jio. fone Idea, and Bharti Airtel) and Bharti (low pressure turbine) at their chief executive officer (CEO). Rau and Dream Incubator, along of which have contracts with the tele- tremendous financial pressure and is MEGHA MANCHANDA Infratel. Mumbai facility. brings fintech, entrepreneurial with TeamFund, USA. Existing com company. The merger has been again delayed “This will significantly and corporate experience to his investors Inventus Capital and Companies running telecom towers by two months. Sources point out that reduce the time taken for the new role as the CEO and replaces Blume Ventures also particip- are, however, expecting good times for dramatically in telecom if operations Vodafone Idea or if its assets are liqui- Bharti, which had agreed to buy 11.5 upgrade. The facility is exp- Vicky Bindra, a statement said. ated in the round. The start- three reasons. One, they point out that close down,” said the chief executive dated has limited options. A new own- per cent of Vodafone Idea’s stake in ected to be operational by the Bindra, after a two-year stint as up would be investing the fu- even if Vodafone Idea goes to the officer (CEO) of a tower company. He er will have to continue renting Indus Towers, wants a re-negotiation of end of February,” said the the CEO, is moving back to San nd to set up its presence in National Company Law Tribunal said the company might reduce the 200,000 towers to support the cus- its earlier terms and understanding DGCA. “It involves procure- Francisco. PTI< Africa and Asia. BS REPORTER< (NCLT), the resolution professional will number of towers by 50,000-60,000. tomers. Competing telcos also cannot (Vodafone Idea does not). Analysts say ment/ replacement of nearly ensure that it is run as a going business. Also he said in the case of Vodafone absorb such a large number of cus- the reason is simple: The current aver- 180 engines, out of which ab- “The Aircel experience (which was Idea, with over 300 million customers, tomers even if they want to. After all, age tenancies of both the companies out 90 engines are expected GoAir announces Zydus Cadila gets also in the NCLT) has shown everyone there was not enough capacity with com- currently 65 per cent of their average could fall dramatically without Voda- to be replaced by February- Bengaluru-Colombo nod for Phase I (where operations were closed down) petitors to port them on their networks. capacity of the network is already full fone Idea as a tenant and so would the end and the rest by the end of direct flights trial of new drug that the value of the assets deteriorates “Our estimate is that whoever buys and at peak times it hits 95 per cent. So value of the tower business. May,” it added. GoAir on Tuesday announced Zydus Cadila on Tuesday said it its new direct flights from had received approval from Bengaluru to Colombo. the Drug Controller General of The airline’s maiden flights India to initiate Phase I clinical to the capital city of Sri Lanka trials for a new drug entity NCLT approves NBCC’s plan for Jaypee Infra would commence from intended to treat Rheumatoid March 20. PTI< Arthritis. PTI< This is the third round of bidding NBCC has proposed to complete over 20,000 to find a buyer for Jaypee Infratech. flats in the next three-and-a-half years In the first round of insolvency pro- ceedings conducted last year, the ~7,350-crore bid of Lakshadeep, part RUCHIKA CHITRAVANSHI NBCC will create two special purpose of the Suraksha Group, was rejected New Delhi, 3 March vehicles (SPVs) — one for the land by the lenders. bank and the other for expressway Following this, on November 6, The National Company Law Tribunal and related assets — one of the legal the Supreme Court directed comple- (NCLT) on Tuesday approved the res- counsels said. tion of Jaypee Infratech’s insolvency olution plan of National Buildings NBCC has proposed to complete process within 90 days. It said a Construction Company (NBCC) for over 20,000 pending flats in the next revised resolution plan will be invited Jaypee Infratech with some tweaks. three-and-a-half years. only from NBCC and Suraksha Realty. The NCLT Bench, headed by act- Jaypee Infratech has develop- Homebuyers claims, amounting ing president B S V Prakash Kumar, ment rights over a land parcel of 6,175 to over ~13,000 crore, have been also said the bank guarantee of ~750 acres along the Yamuna Expressway. admitted while banks claim amounts crore, submitted by Jaiprakash Asso- The company still has over 3,500 to nearly ~10,000 crore. ciates in the Supreme Court, will be acres that is yet to be developed. It NBCC offered 1,526 acres of land to treated as part of the plan. It will be has launched more than 37,000 units lenders under a land-debt swap deal. used for completion of the housing in Noida, Mirzapur and Agra which NBCC has proposed to transfer projects. are yet to be completed fully. Jaypee Infratech has development rights over a land parcel of 6,175 acres the road assets on the Yamuna Mercedes-Benz India MD & CEO Martin Schwenk at the launch The Delhi Bench of the NCLT said Over 20,000 homebuyers have along the Yamuna Expressway Expressway to lenders. of GLC Coupe, in Bengaluru, on Tuesday. The all-new GLC NBCC’s plan has not been accepted been affected ever since the compa- However, before that, it would Coupe comes in two variants — 300d 4Matic diesel and 300 in entirety. “We will accept it with ny filed for bankruptcy. known by Wednesday. into insolvency in August 2017 after take a loan of around ~2,500 crore 4Matic petrol powered by BS-VI engines — priced at ~62.7 lakh modifications,” the Bench said. Details of the modifications sou- Jaypee Infratech, a subsidiary of the NCLT admitted an application against toll revenue to fund the cost and ~63.7 lakh, respectively PHOTO: PTI According to the approved plan, ght by the NCLT are expected to be crisis-hit Jaiprakash Associates, went by an IDBI Bank-led consortium. of construction. India now WPP’s fifth-largest market globally, says Mark Read Business grew 10% in advertising company. On Tuesday, Read also announced ON THE RISE 2019, which is ahead of that WPP had bagged the global adver- “INDIA HAS ALWAYS Top 10 global ad markets Global vs Indian ad tising mandate for tech giant Intel, BEEN AN IMPORTANT (figures in $ billion) growth rate Brazil’s rate of growth whose ad budget in 2019 was estimated India Globe (Figures in %) at $1.4 billion. MARKET FOR WPP, Rank Country 2019* 2020* % YoY growth | | VIVEAT SUSAN PINTO The Indian unit of WPP will also WHERE WE ENJOY 1 US 227 246 8.0 10.7 Mumbai, 3 March work on the business, said industry LEADERSHIP POSITION. 2 China 89 90 1.0 9.0 sources, which will see the group har- 3 Japan 41 41 2.0 In a world plagued by uncertainties ness skill sets from various verticals, BUT WE WILL NEED 4 UK 29 31 7.0 and the coronavirus outbreak, India including data analytics, creative com-  appears to be providing a beacon of merce and technology, apart from TO EVOLVE AS THE 5 Germany 21 21 1.0 5.1 hope for advertising giant WPP. The advertising. BUSINESS ITSELF 6 France 15 15 4.0 3.7 domestic market “stood out” in an oth- According to analysts, WPP’s Intel UNDERGOES A 7 Brazil 14 15 5.0 erwise challenging 2019 for WPP, grow- win, billed as one of the largest adver- 8 India 11.9 13.2 11.0 ing 10 per cent in terms of top tising pitches in recent years, TRANSFORMATION... ” 9 Canada 12 12 4.0 line, ahead of Brazil, said Chief On Tuesday, represents the path the com- MARK READ, CEO, WPP 10 Australia 11 12 2.0 Executive Officer (CEO) Mark Read also pany wishes to take in the  2019* 2020* Read on Tuesday. The compa- announced that coming years. Experts said it *figures are estimates Source: GroupM ny follows a January-Decem- WPP had bagged was an account where WPP ber accounting year. the global creative personnel would be leadership position. But we will need to saying that India will continue to be ups and internet firms in recent ple. The two campuses will together On a four-day visit to advertising pushed to provide cutting- evolve as the business itself undergoes among the fastest-growing markets in months. WPP’s GroupM is the largest have 8,000 people, he said, a number India, Read, who took over mandate for edge creative work with tech- a transformation, being not just cre- the world. The domestic ad growth will media agency in the country, with an that could grow as WPP evolves and from predecessor Martin Intel, whose ad nology at the heart of it. ative, but also simplifying our struc- be led by digital advertising, they say, estimated 50 per cent share of the mar- adds new functions and divisions to Sorrell in September 2018, has budget in 2019 Considered mild-manne- ture, driving collaboration and integra- with its share in total advertising ket, said experts. address client needs. been accompanied by WPP's was estimated red and sober by his peers, tion across the group and providing a standing at 27-30 per cent. The group has also shifted to an Read is also eyeing acquisitions in global executive committee at $1.4 billion Read said he hopes to see broader offer to clients led by data and WPP itself has been quick to pick up integrated campus in Mumbai to India and the globe after a year-and-a- on the tour. India maintain its pace of technology,” he said. the cues and adapt to change, working ensure that teams work jointly on half of realigning operations within They will hold their first interna- growth in 2020 as the domestic adver- Forecasts by the top media net- closely with top clients in the country, client briefs and collaborate closely WPP. Areas that could interest him, tional meeting in the country over the tising market remains largely resilient works in India, including WPP’s Group- including Hindustan Unilever, Colgate during business pitches, said Read. A said experts, include marketing tech, next two days, coming at a time when amid slowdown challenges. M, Madison and Dentsu have pegged and Google across traditional and digi- second integrated campus will open by content, production, e-commerce and Read has put a three-year transforma- “India has always been an impor- domestic advertising growth for 2020 tal advertising, setting up innovation the end of the current calendar year in analytics, capabilities that the compa- tion plan in place at the world's largest tant market for WPP, where we enjoy between 10.4 per cent and 10.9 per cent, hubs and tying up with domestic start- Gurugram, he said, housing 4,000 peo- ny is keen to drive in the future. MUMBAI | WEDNESDAY, 4 MARCH 2020 COMPANIES 3 . < SBI accepts resolution plan for sale of RCom, units

SURAJEET DAS GUPTA & ABHIJIT LELE that time was around ~21,000 is willing to pay about ~4,700 crore New Delhi, 3 March crore. for the tower and fibre assets of Sources in SBI said that, accord- Reliance Infratel. HOW IT UNFOLDED State Bank of India’s (SBI’s) board ing to their estimation, they will be Delhi-based UVARC offered to | The CoC had earlier has accepted the resolution plan for able to recover 35 per cent of the pay about ~16,000 crore for spec- chosen Reliance Jio sale of Reliance Communications ~41,000 crore outstanding exposure trum, real estate, enterprise and and UVARC as highest (RCom) and its subsidiaries of banks. The total claims made by data centre businesses of RCom and bidders for the assets of Reliance Telecom and Reliance various creditors against the compa- Reliance Telecom. RCom and its Infratel. According to sources in the nies were ~1.32 trillion. The bidders are believed to have subsidiaries bank, the final voting on the resolu- The Anil Ambani-run company committed themselves to paying tion will be over on Wednesday. went through the insolvency 30 per cent of the proceeds within | The combined bid They expect 66 per cent of the process, and was referred to the 90 days. The banks, however, will amount at that time votes to be in favour of the resolu- National Company Law Tribunal be able to salvage much more from was ~21,000 crore tion during the meeting of the com- (NCLT) in May last year. This came the deal compared to the case of | The total claims made mittee of creditors (CoC). after an offer by Reliance Jio to buy another telco, Aircel, which went to by various creditors The CoC, which is led by SBI, had its assets did not find favour with the NCLT. against the companies earlier chosen Mukesh Ambani’s the creditors. The conditions In this case, they took a haircut were ~1.32 trillion Reliance Jio Infocomm and Delhi- imposed by the department of of over 99 per cent on the outstand- based UV Asset Reconstruction telecommunications, too, were a ing dues of ~20,000 crore. | The Anil Ambani-run Company (UVARC) as highest bid- hindrance. Even here, it was UVARCL that firm went through the ders for the assets of RCom and its The resolution professional (RP) won the bid, agreeing to pay ~150 insolvency process and subsidiaries, according to sources in was appointed in June. crore upfront. The ARC’s plan was was referred to the NCLT the know. Sources said Reliance Jio agreed to sell fibre and other telecom assets in May last year The combined bid amount at to marginally up its earlier offer and to recover some bank dues. Voot expects 50% revenue from new Arcelor JV buys Mid-tier tech firms may do paid service better than larger peers: Experts SOHINI DAS Mumbai, 3 March DEBASIS MOHAPATRA “Structural growth for some win large deals. This is changing Bhander plant, Bengaluru, 3 March of the mid-cap companies can now as many are hiring senior Viacom18’s over-the-top (OTT) exceed that of large-cap firms. talent from larger peers,” the platform Voot, which Mid-tier IT services firms like We believe smaller IT compa- report said. “Their experience launched its subscription-led L&T Infotech (LTI), Mphasis, nies are better posi- of bidding and service Voot Select on Mindtree and L&T Technology tioned to win digi- WHY ARE THEY managing large Tuesday, is expecting sub- year. The subscriber can get eyes more Essar Services are likely to perform tal deals as these WINNING deals is, in our view, scription revenues to con- access to Voot’s premium con- well in the coming quarters as are smaller in size the single biggest tribute 50 per cent of its tent for ~99 a month. There is, compared to their larger peers, and scale,” said Ability to forge reason for these overall revenues in the next however, an introductory offer say analysts. Yogesh Aggarwal partnerships with companies’ poten- three years. of ~499 a year. According to industry ana- and Vivek Gedda large tech firms in tial to consistently Voot has 100 million While Voot expects the sub- lysts and brokerage firms, these in a HSBC report. niche areas grow revenues in monthly active users and aims scription model to significant- ancillary units companies are structurally bet- The report not- double digits in the to be one of the leading Indian ly contribute to its revenues, it  ter-placed to grow at a faster rate ed that the major Overcame major next few years,” OTT players. It was looking to is not in the near future. Gourav than their larger peers such as limitations in win- limitations in according to the launch its subscription model Rakshit, chief operating officer Acquisition comes Tata Consultancy Services ning large deals winning large deals report. once it attained a certain crit- (COO) of Viacom18 Digital close on the heels (TCS), Infosys, HCL have been over- by hiring talentfrom For instance, ical mass. It has an advertis- Ventures who heads Voot felt Technologies, and Wipro. The come by these largerpeers Sanjay Jalona, the ing led video on demand that by the end of this year, the of the firm getting ability to forge partnerships mid-tier firms in Strong leadership chief executive offi- (AVoD) platform and intro- AVoD service would still be sig- with large technology firms in part by hiring tal- cer of LTI, joined duced a subscription led nificantly higher than the SVoD NCLT nod for niche areas and strong leader- ent from larger from Infosys, video-on-demand (SVoD) service. “It is a three year jour- buying Odisha ship are seen as the factors peers. “One of the key growth where he used to head the hi- model too. It has priced the ney for us by when we can behind these optimistic projec- challenges for mid-cap compa- tech and manufacturing verti- content at par with Amazon’s expect a 50:50 contribution slurry pipeline tions. nies has been their inability to cal. Prime Video or around ~999 a from AVoD service,” he said.

ISHITA AYAN DUTT Kolkata, 3 March

M/NS India, a joint venture of AArcelorMittal and Nippon Steel, is getting closer to securing ancillary units that were not part of the Essar Steel acquisition. Cuttack approving our reso- units — like the slurry On Tuesday, AM/NS India lution plan for the OSPIL, pipeline and power plant — announced that it had com- having previously secured the captive port facilities are pleted the acquisition of the unanimous approval from the still controlled by Essar group Bhander Power Plant in Committee of Creditors promoters. Hazira, Gujarat, from (CoC). The 253-km pipeline In the meantime, steps Edelweiss Asset connects AM/NS India’s iron were also being taken to get Reconstruction Company. ore beneficiation plant in captive raw material Bhander, a natural gas-based Dabuna to its pellet plant in resources in place. Earlier this thermal plant with an Paradip in Odisha. Following month, AMIPL was selected installed capacity of 500 approval by NCLT, we now preferred bidder for an iron megawatt (Mw), will remain look forward to completing ore mine licence in Odisha captive to AM/NS India’s steel the formalities that will see through an auction. manufacturing operations at ownership of the asset trans- The Thakurani block in Hazira, the company said. ferred to AM/NS India.” Keonjhar district has estimat- Bhander was commis- In December, after the ed reserves of 179.26 mt, and is sioned in 2006 and com- Supreme Court paved the way expected to contribute to menced commercial opera- for the completion of the AM/NS India’s long-term raw tions in 2008. It was owned by ~42,000 crore Essar Steel material requirements. With the Ruias, promoters of Essar acquisition, the CoC of OSPIL the licence, AMIPL will seek group, who sold selected requisite clearances, as well it to Edelweiss ArcelorMittal’s as mine development and for ~475 crore. Bhander was upfront pay- production agreements, AM/NS India commissioned in ment offer. ahead of commencing opera- has purchased 2006 and However, the tions, the company said. the power plant commenced resolution plan Dilip Oommen, chief exec- under the commercial was challenged utive officer of AM/NS India, Securitisation operations in 2008. by Thriveni said, “We are pleased to have and It was owned by Earthmovers acquired these important Reconstruction the Ruias, and Srei ancillary assets for our steel- of Financial promoters of Essar Infrastructure making facilities. This is with Assets and group, who sold it Finance, a the intent to secure a robust Enforcement of to Edelweiss for financial cred- captive power and commodi- Securities ~475 crore itor of the cor- ty supply chain as we contin- Interest porate debtor. ue to make strong strides in (Sarfaesi) Act. Sources in our production and opera- The acquisition comes on the know said, last week tional performance.” the heels of ArcelorMittal get- Thriveni withdrew its appli- “Efforts to become ting National Company Law cation from the NCLT and increasingly self-reliant, in Tribunal (NCLT) nod for the ArcelorMittal’s resolution this case through the pro- acquisition of the Odisha slur- plan was approved. curement of a key energy ry pipeline. On Monday, the The 253-km slurry pipeline source in Gujarat and an iron Cuttack Bench of NCLT is an important ancillary unit ore rich reserve in Odisha, approved the ~2,359 crore res- for AM/NS India. The pipeline form part of AM/NS India’s olution plan submitted by connects the Dabuna plant medium- to long-term strate- ArcelorMittal India (AMIPL) with the 12 million tonne (mt) gy to significantly grow pro- for Odisha Slurry Pipeline Paradip pellet plant. The pel- duction capacity,” he added. Infrastructure (OSPIL). lets, a raw material feed for AM/NS India has an achiev- An ArcelorMittal the steel plant, are shipped to able capacity of around 8.5 mt spokesperson said, “We wel- Hazira. While AM/NS India and the long-term plan is to come the judgment by NCLT has secured some ancillary take it to 12-15 mt.

Uber sold Uber Eats India for $206 million

Uber sold its Indian food delivery business to Zomato for $206 million, the US-based firm said in its annual report, filed with the US Securities and Exchange Commission on Monday. “The estimated fair value of the consideration received is $206 million, which includes the investment val- ued at $171 million and the $35 million of reimbursement of goods and services tax receiv- able from Zomato,” Uber said. NEHA ALAWADHI 4 ECONOMY & PUBLIC AFFAIRS MUMBAI | WEDNESDAY, 4 MARCH 2020

“There is no need to panic (because of the “Dear @PMOIndia, Quit wasting India's time playing “The Centre and the Delhi government will deadly coronavirus outbreak). We need to the clown with your social media accounts, when work together to prevent the outbreak of this work together, take small yet important India is facing an emergency. Focus the attention of deadly disease (COVID-19). We have to work measures to ensure self-protection” every Indian on taking on coronavirus challenge" together so that it can be prevented" NARENDRA MODI RAHUL GANDHI ARVIND KEJRIWAL Prime Minister Congress leader Delhi chief minister > . AT A GLANCE Rupee closes above 73, experts see more pain ANUP ROY “Ideally, the rupee should open a rency dealer with a foreign bank. Mecklai Financials. The Fed rate cut Mumbai, 3 March little stronger against the dollar. After THE FALL Technical chartists pointed out that could give some temporary respite the Fed rate cut the yuan has strength- Rupee vs dollar (inverted scale) the rupee has breached the though. The rupee fell again on Tuesday, ened, gold spiked, equities rose, and 72.40 seven–month long range of 70.70-72.46. “Indian economy is run by finan- crossing 73 level to close at 73.30 a the rupee-dollar offshore rates have 72.60 Whenever such range gets broken, the cial and services industries; both can dollar level, as coronavirus positive fallen,” said Abhishek Goenka, man- rupee depreciates by ~1.5 to ~2.5 against be hit badly by the coronavirus scare. cases increased to six in India. aging director at IFA Global. 72.80 the dollar. “All the factors that we typ- And if the virus spreads here, the 73.30 The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) The partially convertible curren- 72.73 73.00 ically associate with a panic move in effect could be serious. Rupee, no did not intervene in the market, even cy had closed at 72.73 a dollar on USDINR are evident at this point. One doubt, will remain under pressure in as the offshore markets showed Monday. On Monday also, rupee slid 73.20 month offshore forward points are the coming days,” Bhansali said. rupee to be weaker by 10-11 paise rapidly as equities fell on confirmed 73.40 much higher than onshore indicating Amidst the crisis, however, the RBI against the dollar till the market close coronavirus cases in India. However, Mar 2,’20 Mar 3,’20 desperation to exit rupee assets. The assured the markets that it was closely in India. on Tuesday, the equities gained, but Source: Bloomberg; compiled by BS Research Bureau volatility curve has inverted. Risk rever- following the situation and will step in However, after a 50 basis points rupee loss continued. sals have spiked. We are seeing corre- if needed. The G7 finance and central rate cut by the US Fed, the offshore According to a senior currency continue to remain volatile in this lations that have held well in recent bank chiefs issued a statement assuring rates fell to 72.92 a dollar. At 8.50 pm trader, the arbitrage opportunity month. If the virus is contained in times breakdown,” Goenka of IFA that they would use appropriate tools to IST, the rupee was trading at 73.09-10 offered between the offshore and India, the equity flow will be strong, Global had said before the Fed rate cut. achieve strong sustainable growth and a dollar in the offshore markets. For onshore markets was too attractive for but if the threat perception is as high as The immediate next level could to safeguard against slowdown. They most part of the day, the rupee was at speculators, who pulled the spot rupee other countries, then rupee should be easily 73.5- 74 a dollar, according will also co-operate timely and effective 73.40 level in the offshore markets. down onshore. “It looks like rupee will depreciate steadily,” said a senior cur- to Ritesh Bhansali, vice-president, measures to counter a slowdown.

Tourists at Taj Mahal on Tuesday PHOTO: PTI IN BRIEF Centre restricts exports Outbreak raises Death toll above 3,000: Xi seeks global cooperation to find cure risks to outlook, With the coronavirus outbreak emerging as a global menace claiming over 3,000 lives in China and of 13 APIs, formulations abroad, Chinese President Xi Jinping has called for says US Fed chief international cooperation to develop a cure and vac- Exporters would need NOC for continuing trade cine to halt the COVID-19 on its tracks. The death toll Intel employee BLOOMBERG in China on Tuesday climbed to 2,943 with 31 more Washington, 3 March FEDERAL FUNDS deaths, even as the deadly disease wreaked havoc quarantined TARGET RATE (in %) globally with the total number of deaths crossing Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome 3,000 and infections surging past 89,000. PTI The Karnataka government is on alert Powell said the coronavirus out- and has started isolating people who break had increased risks to the came in direct contact with the software US outlook causing the central Digit Insurance Foxconn: China engineer who travelled from Bengaluru bank to deliver an emergency half- to Hyderabad in February and was later percentage point interest rate cut comes up with factories operating tested positive for coronavirus in to protect the country's record eco- cover for virus at 50% capacity Telangana. An Intel employee, who was nomic expansion. Bengaluru- Taiwanese tech giant and the patient's roommate, has been “My colleagues and I took this based iPhone assembler quarantined. action to help the US economy Digit Foxconn said on Tuesday “An Intel employee in Bengaluru keep strong in the face of new risks Source: Bloomberg Insurance its Chinese factories were has potentially been exposed and is to the economic outlook,” he told has come operating at 50 per cent currently under quarantine in accor- a hastily convened press confer- risks.” The vote for the emergency up with a of seasonal capacity and Security personnel wear protective masks in the wake of the outbreak, at the dance with government requirements. ence in Washington on Tuesday. cut to a range of 1 per cent to 1.25 product that are expecting to take a hit Gandhi Medical College & Hospital in Hyderabad on Tuesday PHOTO: PTI We're monitoring the situation closely," “The spread of the coronavirus has per cent was unanimous. The Fed will insure a person for the current quarter said the company in a statement. In brought new challenges and risks.” also said in the statement that the against the deadly due to the outbreak. SOHINI DAS tion normalises,” the official said. India, the firm said it had implemented US stocks initially advanced “fundamentals of the US econo- coronavirus. The Known by its official Mumbai, 3 March The managing director of a Mumbai- precautionary measures such as travel after the announcement before my remain strong.” and event restrictions, increased maximum coverage name Hon Hai Precision based mid-sized firm, which exports to sliding into losses, while the 10- The decision came amid pub- n the wake of the coronavirus the US, said the move would practically frequency of office sanitisation, and year treasury yield neared 1 per lic pressure for a cut by President that the product assures Industry, Foxconn is the (Covid-19) outbreak and supply stall exports of these APIs and formula- work-from-home provisions. cent. Fed funds futures are pric- Donald Trump, whose steward- is to the tune of ~2 lakh. world's biggest contract Idisruptions from China, India on tions. “The DGFT notification refers to The Karnataka health department, ing more than a percentage point ship of the economy is central to However, one can electronics manufacturer Tuesday “restricted” exports of 13 active Schedule 2 of the ITC (HS) Export Policy, which held an emergency meeting on of central bank rate reductions his reelection campaign this year. choose from multiple and makes Apple's pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) and 2018, which deals with restricted items. Tuesday, is reaching out to those who for 2020, including another quar- Following today’s shift he called sum insured options iPhones as well as gadg- their formulations to ensure there was To secure the necessary no objection cer- came in primary contact with the ter-point cut in the first half of for more, demanding in a tweet starting from ~25,000 ets for other global no shortage of key drugs. tificate from the relevant departments patient. "They will be isolated in their the year. that the Fed “must further ease which goes up to brands. AFP/PTI The Directorate General of Foreign would involve a four-stage process that homes for 14 days," said an officer. It has The central bank said it was and, most importantly, come into ~2 lakh. BS REPORTER Trade (DGFT) said in a notification issued takes at least 30-45 days to complete,” so far identified 50 people who came in “closely monitoring develop- line with other countries/com- $13 to fly in China on Tuesday that exports of 13 he said. In such a situation, touch with the patient. SAMREEN AHMAD ments and their implications for petitors. We are not playing on a Twitter asks 5,000 as airlines offer APIs — including paracetamol, exports would nearly come to a the economic outlook and will use level field. Not fair to USA.” global employees ‘cabbage prices’ tinidazole (antibiotic), metron- standstill for a month or so. Between April and December, pharma its tools and act as appropriate to US central bankers were to work from home Chinese airlines are offer- idazole (antibiotic), vitamin B1, Sudarshan Jain, secretary exports clocked an 11.5 per cent growth support the economy.” scheduled to gather March 17-18 Twitter Inc is “strongly ing tickets at vitamin B6, vitamin B12, acy- general of the Indian over the corresponding period the previ- Powell, in response about the in Washington. Tuesday’s deci- encouraging” its almost what are clovir (anti-viral), progesterone CORONAVIRUS Pharmaceutical Alliance (IPA), ous year, and the December quarter was scope for further moves, said “we sion was the first time it had cut 5,000 global employees known col- (hormone) — along with formu- said they were waiting for the particularly buoyant (clocking a 14.6 per do like our current policy stance,” by more than 25 basis points to work from home due to loquially as lations made from these APIs, OUTBREAK finer details on how the restric- cent growth). Total exports were likely to before repeating the Fed’s refer- since 2008. concerns over the spread cabbage would be restricted. tions would be imposed. touch $22 billion in FY20, beating FY19’s ence to taking action if needed. The reduction marks a stark of the coronavirus, the prices as they A senior government official The department of phar- $19.13 billion. Exports account for about The Fed’s decision could shift for Powell and his col- said this was not an export ban. maceuticals (DoP) had formed a panel half the Indian pharma industry, esti- presage a wave of easing from leagues. They had last projected company said on Monday. start restoring seat capaci- “Exporters of these items would now to examine the situation, and it had rec- mated to be worth $39-40 billion. other central banks around the no change in rates during 2020, The social media company ty following capacity. A have to take government approval before ommended restrictions be imposed on Pharmexcil has requested relaxation world although those in the euro- remaining on the sidelines during made the suggestion as one-way direct trip from they can export. This will help to ensure exports of 12 APIs. Industry claimed that in restrictions. It said if restrictions are area and Japan have less scope the election year, after lowering part of a blog update Shanghai to Chengdu on that key drugs and their raw materials there was enough stock of raw material in imposed with immediate effect it could to follow with rates already in their benchmark three times in one day after it suspend- Juneyao Airlines on are not exported in large quantities from the country to take care of immediate result in financial losses for exporters. negative territory. It came hours 2019 to a range of 1.5 per cent to ed all non-critical Saturday costs just 90 the country and there is no shortage needs. A Vaidheesh, managing director Pharmexcil said failure to meet commit- after Powell and finance chiefs 1.75 per cent. travel for workers, yuan ($13) plus 50 yuan here,” he said. This is a temporary meas- of GSK India, said the government was ments could result in cancellation of from the Group of Seven nations The European Central Bank including pulling out of in taxes. That’s a three- ure, he added. cautious given the uncertainty about sup- entire orders or huge penalties. said they would “use all appro- (ECB) will respond to the Federal the South by Southwest and-a-half hour journey, “Supplies have started coming from plies and the decision would help if there Pharmexcil has requested DGFT to priate policy tools to achieve Reserve’s “decisive” interest rate conference scheduled for about the same as a flight China, but factories in Hubei province was a big outbreak here. allow free export of drugs manufactured strong, sustainable growth and cut with easing of its own, accord- later this month in from New York to New are still not functioning normally. According to Pharmaceuticals Export before the notification and those lying safeguard against downside ing to Commerzbank AG. Austin, Texas. Orleans. Therefore, as a precautionary measure, Promotion Council (Pharmexcil) esti- at ports. It also requested DGFT consid- BLOOMBERG BLOOMBERG the government has taken this step. We mates, India is set to beat financial year er the feasibility to exempt drugs manu- will lift the restrictions as soon the situa- 2018-19’s (FY19’s) export figures this year. factured for exports to be exempted. “My colleagues and I took “The Federal Reserve is cutting this action to help the US but must further ease and, economy keep strong in most importantly, come into the face of new risks to line with other countries/ Govt plans to set up the economic outlook. competitors. We are not G7 to use ‘all appropriate tools’ to limit harm The spread of the playing on a level field. Not Group of Seven finance chiefs sustainable growth and safe- The statement came the Trump administration coronavirus has fair to USA. It is ~600-cr fund for DSA said they’re ready to act to guard against downside shortly before the US Federal isn’t considering a rollback of brought new finally time for SOHINI DAS build the necessary infrastruc- shelter their economies from risks,” the G7’s finance min- Reserve delivered an emer- tariffs on China as part of challenges the Federal Mumbai, 3 March ture and provide incentives to the spreading coronavirus, isters and central bankers gency half-percentage point efforts to counter economic and risks” Reserve to LEAD. local industry,” he said. The though they stopped short of said Tuesday in a statement interest rate cut to protect the fallout from the virus. He said JEROME More easing The Union government is plan- DSA would be under the depa- spelling out what measures following a rare conference economy from the global the administration isn’t pur- POWELL, and cutting!” ning to create a ~600-crore rtment of pharmaceuticals). they would put into place. call. They said they are outbreak. suing a payroll tax cut, even Federal Reserve DONALD TRUMP, fund to set up the proposed At the moment, the govern- “We reaffirm our commit- “closely monitoring” the US Treasury Secretary though Trump on Monday chairman US President drug security authority (DSA), ment is not considering impos- ment to use all appropriate virus and its impact on Steven Mnuchin told a con- called on Democrats to pass which would monitor the ing an anti-dumping duty on policy tools to achieve strong, economies and markets. gressional committee that such a measure. BLOOMBERG growth of the indigenous bulk imports from China as India is drug ecosystem through a cess not prepared to make the nec- on raw material imports. essary raw materials to meet A high-level committee the domestic requirement. “An headed by Eswara Reddy, joint anti-dumping duty at this time AI cuts flights; IndiGo’s crew under home observation drug controller general, would only make the raw was formed after the materials very expen- ANEESH PHADNIS Similarly, Air India is planning to Meanwhile, IndiGo has placed novel coronavirus sive and hit the local Mumbai, 3 March operate a smaller Airbus A320 type four flight attendants under home (Covid-19) outbreak industry,” a govern- aircraft to Saudi Arabia instead of the observation as they may have come in China to study ment official said. Air India has cut flights to Italy, Japan Boeing 747 and Boeing 777 due to in contact with a Telangana resident the situation in The DSA would and Korea while IndiGo has placed suspension of pilgrimages to Mecca who tested positive for coronavirus. India and make rec- use the funds to four of its crew members under and Medina. The resident was on an IndiGo ommendations on scout technology or home observation to check the The Directorate General of Civil flight from Dubai to Bengaluru on how to improve pre- support research to spread of coronavirus. Aviation (DGCA) ordered that all February 20. “Under guidance of the paredness. The panel sub- find technology that would The civil aviation regulator has aircraft arriving from Korea, Italy Airport Health Organisation mitted its report to the govern- enable the local manufacturers issued instructions to disinfect and Japan be disinfected upon (APHO), all four cabin crew members ment recently. to make the bulk drugs and oth- aircraft and come up with safety arrival in India. Boarding of who operated this flight (6E 96), have An official who was part of er raw material at lower cost. precautions to prevent spread of the passengers on return flights will been placed under home the committee said that India Moreover, the authority virus. The national carrier’s decision commence only after health observation immediately. We are imports bulk drugs, intermedi- would incentivise projects that to reduce frequencies comes as the screening on arrival, it said. The following all the prescribed APHO ates and key starting material have a certain scale of produc- government suspended visas of DGCA has also asked all the ground guidelines and taking preventive (KSM) worth ~30,000 crore in a tion because economies of citizens of the three countries. staff, cabin crew members, measures for our crew operating year. “If a cess of one per cent is scale would enable low-cost Earlier, the government had issued immigration and security staff to flights to regions affected by levied on the imports, it would manufacturing. If needed, a an advisory to citizens to avoid non- use personal protective equipment coronavirus,” IndiGo said. create a fund of ~300 crore or number of manufacturers can essential travel to these countries. It A woman has her temperature checked and her hands disinfected as she such as surgical masks, gloves and Air India, too, has asked the so. The government, too, will come together to start a proj- expanded health screening at enters the Palladium Shopping Center, in Iran on Tuesday PHOTO: PTI disposable shoe covers. “Adequate crew of its February 25 Vienna- invest a few hundred crores ect. There would be a mini- airports to cover passengers arriving hand sanitising facilities should be Delhi flight to remain in isolation and the aim is to have a fund of mum cut-off project size (out- from 12 countries. postponing or canceling their travel. and those to Milan, Seoul and Rome made available at multiple for 14 days at their homes. This around ~600-700 crore that put capacity) depending on the The restrictions have resulted in a Frequencies to Tokyo have been were cut to two per week from three locations for use by staff and comes after a passenger from Delhi would be used by the DSA to product to avail incentives. sharp drop in loads as customers are reduced from five to four per week or four flights. passengers,” it said. tested positive for the virus. MUMBAI | WEDNESDAY, 4 MARCH 2020 ECONOMY & PUBLIC AFFAIRS 5 . <

FROM PAGE 1 YES Bank in talks with MFs 5-member jury picks top 3 in social sector L&T Finance Holdings (LTFH) was financial matters, that it was as impor- just begun. He believes that there will picked out for the scale and gender- tant to teach them about the internet come a time when no child from a vil- for raising up to $500 mn inclusive work of its digital literacy ini- and money as it was to impart leader- lage or small town coming in for cancer tiative in rural India, Digital Sakhi. ship skills and confidence. As it is with treatment at a hospital in a large city investor approvals are expected over the The jury deliberated on a number of almost every aspect of the social sector, with accompanying parents, will have to Lock-in condition may next three days. These investors may exit parameters before settling on a winner there is a need to adopt a communal suffer living on the streets. prove to be a hurdle to once a deal to sell a controlling stake in the for each of the categories. “The outcome approach for maximum impact. His conviction and commitment to bank is struck. measures (for choosing the winners) The initiative has not just built confi- the work at hand is mirrored by M R get investors on board On February 12, YES Bank had delayed were absolutely critical,” Chairman dent entrepreneurs, but has also created Madhavan, who won the Social announcement of its December quarter Ramadorai said. In the end, it was the role models for the community. The pro- Entrepreneur of the year award for his S HAMSINI results as it was in talks with potential jury’s conviction that the impact must gramme that started with Maharashtra has venture, PRS Legislative Research. Mumbai, 3 March investors, including J C Flowers, for rais- be seen and felt that helped identify the since been adapted for Madhya Pradesh, Madhavan is determined to do what ing equity capital. It received non-binding winners of the year, he elaborated. Odisha, Tamil Nadu, and West Bengal. it takes to strengthen democracy in the ES Bank has approached domes- expressions of interest from several Ramadorai led a jury made of the For the jury, the work done by LTFH country, by supporting democratic insti- tic asset management companies investors, including J C Flowers and strongest names from the social sector: stood out for the scale and impact of the tutions and building awareness among Y (mutual funds) for raising fresh Tilden Park Capital Management. Bain Capital Private Equity Chairman project. The jury took a particular note the political class that is entrusted with equity capital worth $300-$500 million. Last month, ICRA downgraded the Amit Chandra, GiveIndia Director & CEO of gender diversity, rural impact, rural its care. He recalls with utmost clarity This comes amid a slew of rating down- bank’s tier-I and tier-II bonds from “A-” to Atul Satija, Pratham Co-founder Farida presence, and scalability for the future when the bug bit him. “When I worked grades and stress on its loan book. “BBB+” due to continued delay in capital Lambay, and Indian School of Public that the Digital Sakhi initiative had with ICICI Securities, I had volunteered If the private bank is able to raise funds raising by the lender. Policy founder-Director Luis Miranda. achieved, Ramadorai said. with Pratham and got interested in con- in this round, it would get some breathing This apart, there was likelihood of The Business Standard Awards for Impact was also one of the big rea- tributing to large scale change,” and that space. The lender, however, will still have further increase in the quantum of Social Excellence have been instituted sons that drew the jury towards St Jude is how he, a career finance professional, to work to raise more funds to address said one of the bankers. stressed and reported non-performing to recognise key initiatives taken up by India ChildCare Centres, founded by set about becoming an upholder for concerns. The bank has been aiming to In August 2019, YES Bank had raised exposure, given the limited resolutions corporates, enterprises, and individual Nihal and Shyama Kaviratne, that won democratic values and systems. raise a total of $2 billion. ~1,930 crore through the qualified insti- and recoveries. entrepreneurs to create the Social Enterprise of Democracy is not just about an elec- The private lender has been struggling tution placement (QIP) route. Accordingly, the quantum of capital meaningful changes in Ramadorai led a jury made the year. A St Jude toral process or an institution, it is a knot to raise capital for months. It also had to Fund managers have conveyed reser- requirement is also expected to increase society. The Awards of the strongest names Centre is a home away of invisible strands that need nurturing postpone its December 2019 quarter vations over putting money into instru- from earlier estimates, ICRA had said. have always managed to from the social sector: Bain from home, for families and care and its lifeblood is an aware results as the fundraising process con- ments which have a lock-in period. The bank’s common equity tier-I (CET- attract some of the best Capital Private Equity travelling with their and vocal citizenry and political class. sumed most of its top management’s time. However, discussions are on to find a solu- I) stood at 8.7 per cent of the risk weight- names in the sector, and Chairman Amit Chandra, children to the big city Without these, democracy is just a hol- Investment bankers associated with tion. An email sent to the bank to know ed assets (RWAs) as on September 30, this year, competition GiveIndia Director & CEO for cancer treatment. lowed out version of the real thing. And the fundraising exercise said the bank has the status of its fundraising plans did not 2019. Although this was above the Reserve for the most Socially Atul Satija, Pratham Co- Beginning with eight it is here that PRS Legislative Research approached domestic mutual funds for get response till the time of going to press. Bank of India’s threshold of 7.375 per cent Aware Corporate was founder Farida Lambay, families in one centre in has made huge strides, not just as a key issuing equity shares. There is also a plan to issue equity as on March 31, 2019, and 8.0 per cent for particularly intense. But and Indian School of Public 2006, today St Jude aide to Parliamentarians but also “While there is definite interest in the shares on a rights basis. For participating March 31, 2020, it remains weak. for the jury, the one that Policy founder-Director India operates 39 cen- through its Legislative Assistants to offering, firm commitments have not in a rights issue, an investor must be a On Tuesday, YES Bank’s stock closed stood tallest in the short- Luis Miranda tres and supports nearly Members of Parliament (LAMP) been made yet. The bank is in dialogue shareholder, which is why some existing 1.1 per cent lower at ~31.25 per share on the list was LTFH and its 500 families at any given Fellowship that initiates young Indians with mutual funds which had participat- shareholders (mutual funds) are being BSE. The stock is down over 33 per cent Digital Sakhi project. time in nine cities across India. to learn law-making and public policy. ed in the last equity raising round in 2019,” approached, the banker said. The final since the start of calendar year 2020. Equality is a hard-fought battle in “The centres have seen over 20,000 It has been a challenging journey every sphere, making it difficult for gov- admissions over the past 14 years, giving thus far and Madhavan recalls how the ernments and corporations to ensure an them (families and children) over project nearly ran aground. “We had tied even spread of their efforts. For the team 800,000 nights of peaceful sleep,” said up with a couple of foreign foundations at LTFH, the big challenge was untan- Nihal Kaviratne. but did not get the government permis- PNB Housing to raise Bill to give more powers to RBI gling digital finance for rural commu- The initiative, diligently built up over sion to take their funds. This led to a nities from gender-discriminatory prac- the years, was born out of a rash promise. severe cash crunch, but fortunately, sev- over co-op banks tabled in LS tices. Their work laid bare the sharp “On January 27, 2006, I was called up on eral Indian philanthropists stepped in,” ~1,700 crore via QIP inequalities that mark the sector in rural the stage at the Children’s Cancer Day whose generosity has carried them A Bill to provide more powers to through the RBI. areas and set the stage for Digital Sakhi. function at Tata Memorial Hospital, and through the last nine years, he said. ABHIJIT LELE quality investment holding and the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Introducing the bill, “In the entire journey of digital finance a mike was thrust into my hand. I looked PRS, Madhavan believes, is deliver- Mumbai, 3 March associates preferential allot- for regulating co-operative Sitharaman said it is the to empower low-income communities, down on the sea of little faces, all bald, all ing a public good and the work must be ment of equity shares or per- banks was introduced by “need of the hour” to avoid a digital financial inclusion still remains wearing masks, all with IV ports stuck in accessible to everyone and hence has to PNB Housing Finance’s board missible securities on basis. Finance Minister Nirmala PMC Bank-like crisis. Noting difficult for rural communities, particu- their arms, joyful but expectant. I made be sustained through philanthropic has given the go-ahead to raise The housing finance company, Sitharaman in the Lok Sabha that the happenings at the PMC larly women,” said Dinanath Dubhashi, a rash promise. No child from a village or funding. It is a tough ask in times such up to ~1,700 crore in equity cap- however, did not specify the on Tuesday. Bank had “unfortunately” put a CEO of LTFH. The Digital Sakhi pro- small town coming in for treatment at a as these, but one that is vital to the func- ital through qualified institu- timing for the QIP. The Banking Regulation lot of small depositors in diffi- gramme (FY17-18) seeks to empower rural hospital in a large city like Mumbai, tioning of a democracy, the jury felt. tional placement to support According to CRISIL, the (Amendment) Bill, 2020, which culty, she said there were women by training them in digital finan- accompanying parents, would have to Ramadorai said there was no doubt business growth till March firm had pegged the size of cap- comes in the backdrop of demands that the government cial literacy and imparting them with req- suffer living on the streets.” He said his about the huge impact of Madhavan’s work 2023, the firm informed the ital raise at ~2,000 crore to Punjab and Maharashtra Co- should do something about it. uisite leadership skills, all with the aim of friends and family were aghast at what on the country’s legislative processes and BSE on Tuesday. Its shares reduce leverage. But it scaled operative Bank scam, seeks to The Bill was introduced in creating a legion of women micro-entre- he had called upon himself at first, but democratic institutions. He also appreciat- closed at ~341.7 apiece, 1 per down the size of equity capital strengthen co-operative banks the Lok Sabha amid the din, preneurs and influencers. soon rallied around to help. ed the work done by Deloitte, partner to cent up over the previous close. offering to ~1,500-1,600 crore by increasing professionalism, with Sitharaman saying if the Dubhashi pointed out that one of the Institutions such as this help battle the Business Standard Social Excellence The board advised the com- to ensure that PNB continues enabling access to capital, opposition wants to deny the biggest takeaways from the early years not just the disease but also the miasma Awards, commending the diligence pany that subsequent to clo- its hold over 26 per cent stake as improving governance and small depositors their rights of the programme was that women of fear and alarm around it, the jury involved in the drawing up of the list of sure of QIP, the company offer promoter. ensuring sound banking then “it is a shame”. PTI needed to be trained in much more than averred. For Kaviratne, the journey has entries and presenting their case to the jury. 8 ISSUES AND INSIGHTS MUMBAI | WEDNESDAY, 4 MARCH 2020 >

week that India would eventually be an electricity-based economy. “We want to CHINESE WHISPERS The renewables and e-cars link electrify our whole economy. The energy would be through electricity Dead teacher suspended Renewables means savings on power and that means an even stronger case for electric mobility rather than through petroleum products The Bihar education department has or other forms of energy... We will elec- suspended teachers for dereliction of vider of electric car fleets to companies 11 cities, it runs a “profitable” operation, trify the economy and make electricity duty. This is nothing new, but the fact in India, is one of the companies tapping POWER OF WIND AND SUN and intends to raise further capital for green (renewables generation). Those that one of them, Ranjeet Kumar Yadav, into new opportunities. It offers “up to Annual capacity added (gigawatts) expansion. The plan is to more than are our long-term goals.” died two years ago is. An order from the 40 per cent” savings to clients switching nWind nSolar (AC) double the fleet to 2,500-plus The government’s intention Begusarai district education officer's from their conventional fossil-fuel 8.2 8.5 vehicles by January 2021, and to electrify everything, office, dated February 28, suspending vehicles fleet as electric vehicles are 9.3 9.0 also add new models from including mobility and absentee teachers included Yadav, who cheaper to run. They can be even Tata Motors, and from cooking, and to do that was supposed to check intermediate cheaper if cost-competitive renewable 4.1 Morris Garages, owned by with green electricity, students' answer sheets at a centre in energy is used to charge the vehicles. 2.3 2.4 2.6 China’s SAIC Motor Corp. would throw open new Begusarai, but did not turn up. Here's “We found a fantastic one-to-one cor- As for Tata Motors, it opportunities for smart what happened in the interim. From relation between companies that meanwhile announced a solutions. That would February 17, contractual teachers in the adopted renewable energy and com- 2017 2018 2019 2020 (E) partnership with app- mean an even larger play state went on strike, demanding VANDANA GOMBAR panies that adopted electric vehicles. Source: BloombergNEF, Ministry of New and based taxi service provider for innovation and disrup- permanent posts. After there were Renewables means savings on power Renewable Energy Prakriti E-Mobility to deploy tion — the two forces that reports that some teachers who tried to and that means an even stronger case 500 Tigor electric vehicles in the have changed the contours of reach the designated centres to check here are two sides to India’s for electric mobility. Many of our clients Accenture, Wipro and Blackrock. The national capital, Business Standard many sectors. answer sheets were beaten up by the electricity market — new and get their power from renewables,” company installs its own chargers to reported in December. Startup BluSmart Renewable energy capacity protesters, many teachers stayed away. old. On the side of the new, Sanjay Krishnan, co-founder and CEO offer a zero-capex service to its clients, offers rides on all-electric vehicles, and additions in India were, however, some- The state's education board took T there are young, innovative of the company, said in an interview and claims to have the largest charging at a flat price. “You know our fare. It’s what subdued last year, and will be so congnisance of the episode and ordered companies carving out business models with BloombergNEF. “I can run my elec- network in India, as well as the highest ~149, anywhere to anywhere in this year too, though a pick-up is an investigation. It also issued an order within regulatory limitations. On the tric fleet at less than ~1 per kilometre, utilisation rate, of 90 per cent, for Gurugram,” the website says. In the two- expected in 2021 and 2022. suspending teachers who refused to other side is the familiar story of revenue against ~5.50 per kilometer for a diesel its chargers. wheeler space, electric Yulu bikes are check the answer sheets. leakage, outstanding dues of billions of vehicle,” he asserted. With a fleet of 1,100 vehicles — becoming ubiquitous across many cities The author is editor, Global Policy for rupees and government bailouts. Clients of the company include mostly made up of electric models from in India, including Delhi. BloombergNEF Lithium Urban Technologies, a pro- Google, Unisys, American Express, Mahindra & Mahindra — active across Power minister R K Singh said last [email protected] Promises first With the Bihar Assembly polls scheduled for October, the Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP's) allies in the state have started impact of several factors at play,” he had flexing their muscles for a better seat- told reporters last month. sharing deal. The Ram Vilas Paswan-led According to him, SsangYong was on Lok Janshakti Party (LJP) will release its A bumpy ride for SsangYong its way to break even in CY2019, and vision document for the polls six months “everything was fine until Q1 last year." in advance during its "Bihar first Bihari Besides the general slowdown in car first" rally on April 14 in Patna. Not only A decade after Mahindra & Mahindra acquired the South Korean motor company, the automaker is demand, the company was impacted by this, the LJP on Tuesday also asked the struggling and its Indian parent’s three-year plan to pull it out of crisis looks challenging its diesel-heavy portfolio as the South other political parties to release their Korean market saw a shift to petrol vari- manifestos for the polls much in advance SHALLY SETH MOHILE years in February. ants under stringent emission norms. so that the elections were fought on the Clearly, the underperformance has The numbers confirm this. The share development agenda and not the issue of he past decade has been a spooked investors. Its share prices have of diesel vehicles in Korea’s overall auto- "Hindu-Musalman" or castes. LJP roller-coaster ride for auto dropped to 1,980 Korean won (as of mobile sales dropped 44 per cent to president Chirag Paswan said, "We all saw companies across the world, February 2020) from 9,180 Korean won 3,85,206 units in calendar year 2019 what happened in the Delhi polls", a T including India. Top decision at the end of the trading season on from 6,92,376 units in 2015, according reference to the issue of polarisation that makers at these firms have confronted March 31, 2011. to JATO Dynamics. Also, the overall dominated the Assembly election in the disruptions and rapid changes in buying With a market share of less than 5 market declined 1.72 per cent year-on- national capital. Asked if his remarks were behaviour with regular frequency. per cent, SsangYong is nowhere close to year to 1.4 million units in 2019 from 1.5 aimed at the BJP, which was accused by Nobody can vouch for this better than becoming a global SUV player — neither million units a year ago. rival parties of pushing "communal" Pawan Goenka, managing director at in scale nor in geographical presence. Andy Bae, analyst at IHS Markit (a issues into the Delhi campaign, Paswan Mahindra and Mahindra. Sample this: On an average SsangYong global sales forecasting and research junior answered in the negative. Asked When Goenka signed on the dotted sells 137,000 units (including exports) a firm), South Korea, attributed about Prashant Kishor's attack on Chief lines in 2010 to acquire the troubled, year, averaging 11,416 units per month. SsangYong’s current state of affairs to Minister Nitish Kumar over development bankruptcy-protected SsangYong Motor Its Korean rival, Kia Motors sold 1.4 mil- DOWNHILL the lack of product differentiation, issues, Paswan junior said while they had Company, little did he realise that like lion units in 2019, averaging 121,142 nRevenue (LHS) Net profit (RHS) Annual sales volume NO UTILITY slower pace of new launches and differences, he welcomed anybody who -24 Figures in ~ cr the previous two owners — Daewoo units a month. Drill it further and this 8,000 0 2013 145,649 nTotal SsangYong sales increasing competition from Hyundai, spoke about the state's progress. Motor and SAIC — Mahindra too would is what you get: Kia sells a little more -164 -635 -708 n Korean market Kia and others in the home market. 6,000 -308 -200 141,047 have its share of struggles in running than SsangYong’s monthly sales in just 2014 % SsangYong share According to Bae, in a competitive mar- ‘Accept free money’ the smallest of the Korean automakers. about four days! 4,000 -400 2015 144,764 4.44 4.75 5.58 4.44 4.48 ket, where there are multiple options to

At the time of the acquisition, A steep contraction in export vol- 4,930 choose from, the new Korando does not A horse-trading drama has taken the ce - 2,000 5,570 -600 2016 155,844 Mahindra executives had said the umes, sudden changes in buyer prefer- offer any differentiated proposition in ntre stage in Madhya Pradesh. On Mon - 6,728 5,844 0 5,576 -800 2017 143,685 buyout would make SsangYong a com- ence for gasoline vehicles in Korea, Dec Mar Jun Sep Dec terms of features from the Tivoli. day, senior Congress leader and former petitive global UV player and that the among other factors, caught the com- ‘18 ‘19 ‘19 ‘19 ‘19 2018 109,140 SsangYong should have been faster chief minister Digvijaya Singh once again 1,532,257 1,484,848 72,656 1,529,535 83,765 1,499,949 67,119 1,510,856 66,499 68,076 Korean firm will benefit from the Indian pany unawares and plunged Figures for quarter ended Dec 2019 are 2019 135,235 to react to the competition, he added. accused the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of conglomerate’s financial capa- Mahindra’s Korean sub- estimated; Compiled by BS Research Bureau 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 “The Tivoli has been a bestseller for the trying to lure his party MLAs with cash. bility, its competence in sourc- sidiary into record losses Source: Bloomberg Source: Company Source: JATO DYNAMICS company for the last three to four years. When journalists sought CM Kamal Nath’s ing and marketing strategy. In of Rs 704 crore in calen- But it has recently been taking the beat- comment, he said, "Vidhayak hi keh rahe turn, Mahindra would benefit dar year 2019. equity. The company is also open to main SUV markets — China and the ing from Kia’s Seltos, which has sur- hain mujhe... hume itna paisa diya jaa from Ssangyong’s technologi- It also forced the strategic divestment,” he had said. USA. Their presence in Europe is very passed expectations and successfully raha hai. Main toh vidhayakon ko keh cal capabilities. maker of Scorpio and “The main reason for their continu- limited, said Munoz. appealed to consumers,” said Bae. raha hoon ki phokat ka paisa mil raha Nine years after Mahindra XUV5OO to take an ous troubles is the product line-up and To be sure, the three-year plan "Even Rexton is now ageing and its hai, le lena. (MLAs themselves are telling completed the acquisition in impairment charge of Rs their absence in key markets,” said crafted by the Mahindra-SsangYong old style doesn’t appeal. “In contrast, me they are being offered money. I told March 2011, none of these TAKE 600 crore in the Felipe Munoz, global analyst at JATO board includes exploring new markets competitors such as Hyundai Palisade them to accept the free money.)” Nath objectives have been met. TWO December quarter. Dynamics. Although the acquisition by for the Korean arm. Some of the markets and Chevrolet’s Traverse, which added he failed to understand from Mahindra paid Rs 2,100 crore ANALYSIS BEHIND Last month, Goenka Mahindra has helped the brand enter identified include Russia, Vietnam and debuted recently, deliver new style and where the state's largest Opposition party ($463 million) for the pur- THE HEADLINES had told reporters that the Indian market, the Indian parent China. functions,” he added. was getting the money. Earlier, Singh had chase. But each year in the the Mahindra-SsangYong took too long to ride on the growing SUV Goenka, on the other hand, attrib- As Mahindra hits the accelerator to alleged that around seven MLAs had past decade has been tough board has put in place a market here, he added. uted SsangYong’s woes to the slowdown turn around SsangYong, the company’s received calls from the BJP leaders with for the maker of Rexton and Tivoli three-year plan to pull the company out They only brought a competitive and rapid shift in favour of petrol investors in Korea and India will be offers of huge sums of money. He had brands. The first two months of 2020 of the crisis. “Mahindra will pump in product to the Indian market last year models in the Korean market. “In auto- keenly awaiting the results in a chal- added his partymen had been offered ~5 have been particularly tough with the 450-500 billion Korean won ($380 mil- with the launch of the Tivoli-derived mobile manufacturing, when a com- lenging macroeconomic environment crore as first instalment and more after outbreak of coronavirus knocking off lion-$425 million) to revive the com- Mahindra XUV300. Mahindra, however, pany is about to break even and the mar- and growing competition in the SUV the Rajya Sabha elections. sales in South Korea to the lowest in 11 pany, funded through a mix of debt and has done nothing to explore the two ket hits a slowdown, you see cascading market in India and elsewhere.

INSIGHT LETTERS

signing ceremonies. The clauses that are Why flu is nothing to sneeze at Focus on white gold not tenable, if any, could be tackled before signing the agreements to avoid any sub- This refers to the news report “Crisil SME sequent disputes. The Department of Te - How Covid-19 virus has upended the world, reshaping travel and hammering stocks Tracker: Profitability of dairy units will re - le co m munication and the telecom compa - bound in FY21” (March 3). Amidst rising nies have to sort it out to honour the orders Zuofeng who was brought to a education, and healthy habits. As with as business plummets. competition and falling prices, one way of the apex court. The best thing would be Guangzhou hospital, on January 30, seasonal flu that thrives in cold dry So how are hotels, airlines, and forward for the Indian diary market could to stretch the repayment obligations in the 2003. He rapidly passed on the infec- co nditions, this new strain may sub- countries handling this? In Hong be to focus more on camel milk produc- form of a soft loan. But a hard lesson should tion to over 30 caregivers and medical side during hot, humid, summer Kong, Taipei and Singapore, guest tem- tion. Camel milk is considered white gold also be learnt — that it is important to read professionals. One of those, a Dr Liu, months, offering respite for research- perature scans were de rigueur by late and a powerhouse of good health for its and understand every clause before signing arrived in Hong Kong for a family ers and exhausted frontline health February with schools and several gov- rich nutrients and immunity-building an agreement. event and booked into room 911 of the care workers. ernment offices closed. By early March properties. It is imperative we find a way K Srinivasa Rao Hyderabad soon-to-be-ostracised Metropole Hotel Some facts on the novel coronavi- some far-sighted hotels had installed to popularise the camel milk. Many are at 75 Waterloo Road (the hotel was later rus: Thus far while total infections are airport-style thermal scanners to already taking steps in this direction, a lot Trouble comes in threes renamed Metropark Kowloon and hard to assess, Covid-19 has had a reduce inconvenience. China wit- of research is going on and now it is easily Room 911 disappeared without a trace). fatality rate of 2.14 per cent (of dia- nessed the complete closure of many being marketed, but it needs further en- Among a low GDP growth rate, the effects The hapless Dr Liu was determined gnosed cases) compared with the cur- hotels, some of which will reopen by couragement — like financing by banks. of coronavirus and a high unemployment to have been the cause of as many as rent US seasonal winter flu outbreak March 10. Only a handful of hotels in The byproducts of camel milk have to be rate, it is tough to identify which is more VIJAY VERGHESE 80 per cent of the subsequent Hong (0.07 per cent); SARS (9.6 per cent); Bangkok have temperature checks in showcased. Amul has been marketing ca- problematic for the Indian economy. Ac - Kong SARS cases. From that ill-fated Swine Flu H1N1 (17.4 per cent); and place with even luxury properties in mel milk in bottles. Pioneering work has cording to data released by the Centre for ninth floor the virus travelled with Mers (34 per cent). To put this in denial. The same is largely true of also been done by Lokhit Pashu-Palak Monitoring Indian Economy on March 2, uper-spreader is a term that speed and stealth to Hanoi, Toronto context the CDC (Centers for Disease hotels in Phuket, Vietnam, and even Sansthan at Sadari in Pali, Rajasthan. the unemployment rate in February 2020, gained notoriety and panicked and Singapore. Control and Prevention) estimates the Bali. Of course, this will swiftly change It is a sure source of income augmen- increased from 7.16 per cent in January to currency during the 2002-04 This issue of super-spreaders was 2019-20 US deaths from flu will range as events develop. tation for herders who keep camels along 7.78 per cent, highest since October 2019. S severe acute respiratory syn- troublingly evident again when an between 14,000 and 36,000 out of 26m Airlines are replacing HEPA micro with cows and sheep. Camel Karma: Twe - The report also showed the hike in the drome (SARS) outbreak largely in explosive South Korean coronavirus to 36m infections. The best defence is filters with greater frequency and nty Years Among India’s Camel Nomads, a unemployment rate in rural areas from 5.97 Hong Kong, neighbouring Guangdong, outbreak was traced to the reclusive frequent hand washing and perhaps a introducing rigorous disinfection rou- book by Ilse Köhler-Rollefson gives great per cent in January to 7.37 per cent in Fe - and Vietnam. Shincheonji Church of Jesus in Daegu. mask in crowded spaces. You cannot tines. Citing “flight reductions” Cathay and valuable insights on camel rearing by bruary. Also the GDP growth rate declined Later determined to have origi- The locus of the outbreak was deter- outrun a bug. Pacific closed several airport lounges the Raika community. from 7.1 per cent in Q1 to 4.7 per cent in Q3 nated from bats, this virulent “zoo- mined to be a 61-year-old woman who A serious and sustained pandemic and grounded half its fleet in March, N K Bakshi Vadodara of the 2019-20 fiscal year. If that was not notic” coronavirus was a chilling man- was estimated to be responsible for will challenge and dramatically impact while beleaguered cash-strapped Hong enough, coronavirus is disrupting the su - ifestation of a transmission from over 450 infections. business practices, stock markets Kong Airlines cut staff and eliminated Read before signing pply chain of the critical items from China animals to humans with unknown Armed with the knowledge of SARS (American Airlines dropped 9.1 per in-flight service on certain flights. and increasing the inflationary pressure. consequences. Bats have been the and ignorance surrounding the latest cent and Marriott plunged 7.9 per cent Singapore Airlines has reassured The apt and timely piece “A telecom crisis, Sumi Goswami Agra prime culprits in a number of zoonosis zoonotic breakout, reactions have in just one day, February 25), country passengers that post flight all surfaces once again” (March 3) provides many clues events from Nipah and the haemorrha- ranged from pragmatic (washing GNP forecasts, supply chains involving and devices undergo “rigorous” clean- on how to resolve the impasse. While deal- Letters can be mailed, faxed or e-mailed to: gic Ebola to Hendra (in horses), rabies hands regularly) to the bizarre (imbib- China, schools, population flows ing and the cabin air is replenished ing with the repercussions, the woes of con- The Editor, Business Standard and SARS. ing rassam, a spicy south Indian lentil (travel and migration), insurance, gov- every two to three minutes (the stan- sumers are also to be considered. Any dis- Nehru House, 4 Bahadur Shah Zafar Marg As the Wuhan novel coronavirus — stew to kill the virus). What is evident ernance, and political models. dard for most modern aircraft). ruption in telecom services will have New Delhi 110 002 termed Covid-19 by the World Health is that the stable doors have been While the world is on high alert, If anything, the current Covid-19 collateral damage that is beyond imagina- Fax: (011) 23720201 · E-mail: [email protected] Organisation — burned out of control closed after the horse has bolted. The worryingly this is not the case at resorts outbreak has revealed how unprepared tion. The fine print in licensing agreements All letters must have a postal address and in China’s Hubei province inviting dra- virus is on the loose, a vaccine is at least and even in high-risk urban centres governments are for a full-scale pan- is often ignored in the enthusiasm of the telephone number conian quarantines, travel advisories, a year away, genomic mutations may (including in India) where procedures demic. It has spotlighted how out of and travel bans (for China and later occur, and initial research suggests remain egregiously lax for fear of touch and insular hotel PR has Iran, Lombardy and other emerging Covid-19 may not burn out like SARS. alarming guests and losing business. become. It is time for governments, hotspots as the virus seeped into It is very likely Covid-19 (earlier Many Asian hotels pressed for infor- national health centres and the hospi- HAMBONE Europe and even Brazil), the attention known as 2019-nCoV) will become en - mation retreated swiftly into the tality industry to come together to of health experts once again turned to demic and join the four main corona- anodyne — taking “all necessary pre- fashion universal protocols to put trav- bats and super-spreaders. While Italy viruses currently in circulation that cautions”... “following official guide- ellers at ease and dispel rumours. It is reeled, by early March San Francisco account for as much as 25 per cent of lines”... launching “preventative meas- in everyone’s interest to do so. This is had declared a state of emergency and colds. While a small percentage of suf- ures”... Some hotels said they were the only way to protect the bottom line. New Delhi had seen its first coronavi- ferers may develop serious respiratory under a gag order on Covid-19. But rus case. issues like pneumonia, the new men- behind the PR spin and seeming head- The author is a Hongkong-based journalist The first recorded SARS super- ace appears relatively benign and so - in-the-sand bullheadedness there is a and the editor of SmartTravelAsia.com & spreader is believed to have been Zhou mewhat manageable with vaccines, real fear gripping the travel industry AsianConversations.com OPINION 9 > STAY INFORMED THROUGH THE DAY @ WWW.BUSINESS-STANDARD.COM

Volume XXIV Number 143 ILLUSTRATION: BINAY SINHA MUMBAI | WEDNESDAY, 4 MARCH 2020 analyses the challenges that modern professions (medicine, law, teaching and engineering make up 60 per cent of all professions) face as arising from Licence to harass their true nature. They are, he says, trade guilds. He says that like the medieval guilds of weavers and CBDT’s new performance appraisal needs review spinners these professions and their associations work to create a mystery of their craftsmanship and he Union government is looking to raise a significant amount of reve- operate as a pressure group where the economic nue through its Vivaad Se Vishwas scheme, announced in the Budget. motive of establishing a corporate monopoly was Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has said the scheme primary. He concludes in his book, Death of the will help people save time and money spent on such cases. There are Guilds, that though these professions were all pow- T erful in the past, with the rise of consumer activism over 400,000 direct tax cases with about ~9.3 trillion locked at different levels. in the last decade there is much lower empathy The scheme will give a waiver on interest, penalty, and prosecution if the tax- towards these professions among policymakers and payer is willing to pay by the end of the current fiscal year. The taxpayer will a greater focus on the efficiency and quality of the have the option of paying after March 31 but before June 30 with a penalty. On services they provide. the face of it, the government can perhaps not be faulted for trying to reduce Media coverage of the doctors’ strike has focused litigation and raising resources at a time when it is likely to fall short of revenue on relatives of patients launching physical attacks targets by a significant margin. on them, coverage of the lawyers’ strike on the high- But the way it intends to implement the scheme is worrying. As reported handedness of the police and the coverage of the by this newspaper, the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) has decided to teachers strike on their desire to be made perma- nent employees. link annual appraisals of field officers with their performance in terms of col- Doctors, lawyers and I can’t help but draw a parallel with events in lection under the scheme. An office memorandum from the CBDT also said Bombay in the 1980s when suddenly a spate of collection outcomes would play a bigger role in the future postings of field strikes across the several dozen textiles mills in the officers. Soon after the dispute settlement scheme was announced, the depart- city dominated the news headlines. At that time, ment asked the officers to work on holidays/Saturdays so that when the scheme academics on strike the strikes were portrayed as the outcome of was formally launched they got a head start on the collection front. This is a workers’ “unreasonable” demands for higher wages recipe for harassing taxpayers. led by the “militant” union leader Datta Samant. A thinking man’s guide to the angst of the professions Within a year, 80-odd of these mills had shut down The way the government is approaching the issue is flawed. It is important leaving 250,000 workers without jobs. With the pas- to understand why there are so many tax disputes in the first place. The govern- stare stupefied at headlines like these: One from tigious and respected even as India went through sage of time we are able to more clearly see what ment first sets overly ambitious targets for revenue mobilisation, forcing the last June said, 800,000 doctors in India on strike its various economic experiments — from being a really happened. The advent of nylon and polyester tax department to raise questionable tax demands that are contested by tax- I“demanding better working conditions”; this one state-led economy to a free market-led one — not to had made the cotton fabric mills of Bombay unprof- payers, resulting in litigation. The new performance assessment target will from November: Bar Council of India calls for a law- mention political experiments (from the Congress itable— the mill owners could barely pay the wages obviously lead to tax officials doing everything in their power to force taxpayers yers’ strike across all courts in Delhi protesting “brutal to Left to social group-based parties) and social of their labour, let alone give them increases and to pay the disputed amount. Many assessees are reported to be getting repeated police action”; and another from last December: Delhi experiments (the rise of women as chief ministers bonuses. The real villain was not Datta Samant but University teachers’ association calls for indefinite and heads of large financial institutions). the advent of new technology in the form of syn- calls from the tax department. What is worse is that even a mild success of the strike “demanding absorption of temporary teachers”. One can’t but think of the various stages that thetic fibers. scheme would incentivise the government to do more of the same — raise unre- As a product of an Indian mid- these professions have gone through Just as the advent of synthetic fibers made cloth- alistic demands, increase litigation, and then offer settlement. This will inevitably dle-class family in which my in the past 50 years. Around ing affordable for all, massive investments are under result in higher cost and affect the ease of doing business. Further, this will go father and grandfather were doc- Independence any worthwhile doc- way, using deep learning and artificial intelligence against the stated objective of the government to end “tax terrorism”. tors, my uncles, aunts and cous- tor, lawyer, academic or engineer (AI) to automate many parts of the work that pro- To be sure, the problem of litigation can be solved by addressing the root ins were either lawyers, college went to England for an advanced fessionals do. In the medical field, AI techniques are cause. The government needs to move towards responsible budgeting. It cannot professors or engineers, we were degree paid for from family funds, showing promising results in disease detection (e.g. the envy of other families. They and came back to enjoy a secure, detection of metastatic breast cancer in lymph node sustainably pursue the current level of expenditure with the given sources of reve- were all looked up to and admired prestigious life. In the 1960s, as the tissue), in the legal field (in contract review and lit- nue. Overly optimistic revenue projections not only result in bothering taxpayers and much sought after in the Indian university system expanded, igation outcome prediction) and Harvard University but also induces significant uncertainty in government expenditure. Government arranged-marriage market, that graduates in these professions emi- already has a course on Digital Humanities. These departments are not certain if they will get to spend the money allocated in the uniquely Indian test of the worth grated to the United States or advances make it likely that medical care, legal and beginning of the fiscal year. Besides, the government needs to work on speedily of an individual. Try as I could, I England or Australia where the educational services will become very much more resolving tax disputes. It is possible that in a large economy like India — with could not even remotely imagine AJIT BALAKRISHNAN shortages of such professionals affordable than they are today, but may affect the complex tax laws — there will be disputes. Therefore, it is important to put in sys- any of them going on strike to created a booming demand. Life in earning power of these professions. tems that will resolve these disputes in a time-bound manner. One reason why achieve anything in life. “Going- these professions looked safe till It is probably an urgent necessity that machine on-strike” was what millworkers and “head-load quite recently. What then has happened? learning algorithm skills be made part of the curric- India is considered a difficult destination for private investment is the hostile workers” did. As doctors, lawyers, professors and The attack against doctors does not seem to be ula in medical colleges, law schools, engineering relationship between the tax department and the taxpayers. Perverse perform- engineers, they saw themselves being paid well unique to India. According to an analysis in the disciplines as well as for undergraduate courses even ance assessments of tax officials will only add to the problem. above most others in India. If they needed some Indian Journal of Psychiatry, studies of violence in commerce and the humanities. This will enable pay fixes to be done, all that was needed was for a against doctors in the US show that 57 per cent of young Indians to step forward into the emerging few of them to whisper in the ears of the chief min- emergency care workers have been threatened with world with confidence. After the riots ister or secretaries to government and swift action a weapon, in the UK, 52 per cent doctors reported would follow. some kind of violence and similar or higher The writer ([email protected]) is an internet Restoring trust in state institutions is vital These professions were what India’s middle-class numbers are reported for China, Israel, Pakistan, entrepreneur and chaired a committee set up by the youth aspired to and worked hard to win in the very and Bangladesh. Ministry of Human Resource Development on Education he swift shutdown of West Delhi by scared citizens and the mobilisa- competitive exams that opened the doors to these Elliott Krause, distinguished professor of socio- and Entrepreneurship last year to provide inputs for the tion of vigilante squads on Sunday on rumours of fresh rioting reveal careers. These professions remained stoically pres- logy at Northeastern University in the United States, National Education Policy the depths of mistrust embedded in denizens of Delhi for each other Tand for state security institutions. This febrile suspicion will be the enduring legacy of the three-day riot in East Delhi over February 22-24, unless steps are taken to restore faith in state institutions. This includes the Delhi police, whose conspicuous absence and then active cooperation with rioting India’s soft power in the age of hard Hindutva mobs are now well established, and the Union government, whose writ extends to the police, the political leadership, and the judicial system. More than a ast week, when India’s bear hug of the US pres- influence. Plus, India’s ICCs are still aimed at the initiatives.” One can only estimate how much the week after the riots, there are sporadic and unconvincing signs that the appa- ident, designed to display our rising soft power diaspora (there are three ICCs in the Caribbean, two Citizenship Amendment Act controversies will ratus of law and order is working smoothly and impartially. Lwas tempered by deaths in Delhi, a new study in South Africa), ignoring strategic and growing rela- impact brand India. To be sure, the Delhi police, now headed by S N Srivastava, a former special captured the mixed results of India’s hard-at-home tionships in the Nordics and Latin America that The study showed that with high overall rank- commissioner of law and order, are working hard to win the hearts and minds and soft-abroad power strategy. need to be nourished. ings, China and Russia have disturbed the liberal, While this is the first time India has broken into Another identified problem is that unlike China, Western power status quo. While non-liberal pol- of the people. Photos of smiling cops distributing roses to students appearing the top 30, the Brand Finance Global Soft-Power much of our global familiarity comes from our pri- icies at home and the neighbourhood have lowered for the board exams in Khajuri Khas, ground zero of the riots, offer a heart- Index 2020 highlighted that India punches well vate firms, often not readily correlated to India. their reputations (ranked 24th and 26th, respec- warming contrast to the grim images of desolation and destruction that is below its weight — ranked 27th — below China Jaguar Land Rover, for instance, has done very little tively), it is more than made up through their out- north-east Delhi. Mr Srivastava’s colleagues also moved swiftly to use the TV (5),the UAE (18) and even Saudi Arabia to boost India’s (or Tata’s) soft sized influence (second only to the US and seventh, networks to dispel Sunday’s rumours and those suspected of spreading them (26), a country whose leadership was power because of a lack of asso- respectively) fuelled by trade, education as well as have been arrested. After more than two months, Section 144 has been imposed found complicit in the murder of a US- ciation. Similarly, the IT sec- outward investments — China’s $100 billion Belt in Shaheen Bagh to disperse the long-running protest and unblock roads. Over based journalist. The top four nations tor’s influence on Western and Road initiative, for instance. leading the list were the US, Germany, innovation and talent is unsur- Our biggest issue is that despite rising economic 1,000 people have been arrested so far, according to information relayed by the UK (despite Brexit) and Japan. passed, but its reputation is clout and market size, our influence ranking con- the police public relations cell, and about 335 First Information Reports filed. Donald Trump’s visit boosted our often dented by attention on tinues to lag below much smaller economies like Two special investigation teams have also been set up. This flurry of activity, soft power — driving familiarity on use of H1B visas or complaints the UAE and Israel. Creating a balance between however, cannot be considered reassuring, not least because it resembles the global platforms abuzz with POTUS’ of discrimination. Other soft hard nationalism at home and driving soft power post-riot playbook from 1984 and 2002. All of the key players in fuelling the tweets and memes, including Ivanka power ambassadors such as Air globally is a fine line that the ministry of external riots remain at large and untouched. Kapil Mishra, whose comments certainly Trump’s tongue-in-cheek responses. India have let the side down for affairs has to tread carefully as it redefines India’s played a role in stirring up trouble, and Ved Prakash Surya, the deputy police But our reputation and influence were THE NUTGRAF decades, while the jury is still global positioning. commissioner, who stood mutely beside Mr Mishra must surely bear some also dented as images of violence in the out on how unicorns such as High familiarity through our history and culture, capital spread equally virally, inviting PRADIPTA BAGCHI Oyo, which are hitting serious and rising visitors give us a good platform on which culpability. The Bharatiya Janata Party has taken no action against Mr Mishra, commentary from all-comers. bumps while pursuing fast to build. The key is not to replicate China — growing even as the Aam Aadmi Party promptly suspended councillor Tahir Hussain Brand Finance concludes that India growth in influential markets investment influence can fast turn into a negative for his alleged role in the murder of an Intelligence Bureau employee. The fact clearly underperforms, given the size of its popula- like the US, the UK, China and Japan, will impact hegemonic reputation — but leverage the new meta- that the police have been unable to arrest Mr Hussain, now AWOL, is testimony tion, economy and its rich heritage. The rankings India’s brand going forward. Could their failure hurt drivers of soft power — communities, platforms and to its ineptitude. On his part, Union Home Minister Amit Shah quickly shifted relative to gross domestic product (GDP) under- us as much as Softbank? social change. Cities will be the hub of new commu- focus and accused West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee of “triggering scores that India’s economic size and clout should Hence, boosting our reputation needs immediate nities, driven by economic growth and migration; riots” and “burning trains” to oppose the Citizens Amendment Act (CAA). enable it to figure among the top 10 most powerful focus: We score worse for reputation than Brazil, by 2025, 10 of the world’s fastest growing cities will in the world, like Russia (10). Qatar and Malaysia that are ranked below India over- be in India. These give us 21st century arenas to drive Taken together with a tepid prime ministerial tweet to his “brothers and The index takes into account three parameters all and at a par with tiny countries such as Greece India’s reputation among the global influencers. The sisters” for peace and harmony, three days after the riots began, and the midnight, — familiarity, reputation and influence — based on and Thailand. The research highlights our low scores power of platforms is now well established but no mid-case transfer of a high court judge who pressured the police to do their job are a survey of over 55,000 respondents. We score high in categories such as media and communications government has really understood how to use it scarcely reassuring. All of this undermines the reassurances by National Security on familiarity index with 6.8, comparable to — worse than Turkey, Qatar and Thailand and com- (apart from learning how to troll) to build global Advisor Ajit Doval during his televised recce of riot-hit areas. Now, as rudimentary Switzerland and South Korea. This is driven by tour- parable to countries such as Egypt and the influence, like an Amazon or Uber have. Lastly, in shelters for the displaced come up, the question of compensation has, ironically, ism, India’s overseas cultural centres, Modi govern- Philippines — as well as in governance, where we an age where environmental issues are driving con- run up against the spark for the riots: The CAA and the related impending National ment’s extensive global outreach, and is supple- are at the same level as Egypt and a shade better sumer choices and bolstering reputations of those mented by our diaspora, Bollywood, music, cricket than Brazil and South Africa. leading the change — India needs to show urgent Population Register (NPR) exercise. Many are unwilling to fill in compensation and yoga. But all this needs to be scaled up quickly. The report notes: “Following the controversial leadership through impact. After all, the town halls, forms for fear that the information would be fed into the NPR database. In other An Observer Research Foundation paper highlights revocation of autonomy for Kashmiris by the Hindu Taj Mahal and yoga can only take us so far. words, as long as the CAA remains on the statute books and the NPR goes ahead, that while we have 36 India Cultural Centres (ICC), nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led gov- Indians, not just Delhi-ites, will continue to mistrust one another. China has over 500 such centres with many tied to ernment, India must build upon its soft power The writer is a communications strategist. host-country universities to drive familiarity and strengths instead of turning to more hard power [email protected]; @bagchips on Twitter

chapter to recount the rise and fall of The chapter on Delhi consists of (that is, the Delhi police once headed Shukla. However, besides the archived highlights such as the Parliament or the by Mr Sharma) chose not to probe the The thrill of the chase media reports available on this high- Red Fort terror attack cases, the role of Jammu and Kashmir police profile case, there have been many assassination of Phoolan Devi or the officer Davinder Singh. Guru had to establish the author as a brave but go-to option, and accounts of how adaptations of the Shukla story from match fixing scandal unearthed by the mentioned Mr Singh, who was arrested smart cop who sometimes went beyond organised crime and politics in the celluloid to OTT platforms. Delhi Police Crime Branch during his last month for alleged terrorist links, in the set norms to wean away certain Hindi heartland were intertwined (and The writer deserves praise for not tenure. Although Mr Sharma’s pats his a letter to his lawyer and the latter had members of a gang and then plot its perhaps still are, but the book certainly turning this memoir into an auto- own back for swiftly solving most of brought up the name in a media downfall with their help. The strategy is shows how brazen hagiography that those cases, the fact that these major interview after Guru’s arrest. As an repeated often, but the means to that association BITING THE captures his own incidents occurred on his watch points India Today report points out, Singh, BOOK REVIEW achieve the end were different each was in the past). BULLET: deeds and to intelligence failures at the very least. then deputy superintendent of police time: Convincing someone’s mother on Instances of Memoirs Of a relegates the role The Parliament attack of 2001 was of Special Operations Group, had SHUBHOMOY SIKDAR one occasion, staging the transfer of a planting an Police Officer of others in his perhaps the biggest blip in Mr allegedly asked him [Guru] to “take subordinate on another. Each certainly informer in a gang Author: journey into Sharma’s career, though he does not Mohammad”, a co-accused in the rom his memoir Biting the Bullet, makes for an interesting read. or a police officer Ajai Raj Sharma footnotes. He has acknowledge it in this way. Over the Parliament attack case, “to Delhi, rent it is often difficult to figure out if For this reviewer, who spent six highly regarded for been fulsome in years and even after Mohammad Afzal a flat for his stay and purchase a car for Fformer IPS officer Ajai Raj Sharma recent years covering the crime beat in his bravery Publisher: Rupa his praise for Guru’s hanging there have been him”. Did the investigators miss this? chased bandits or they chased him. Delhi and Mumbai, Mr Sharma’s screaming “A Price: ~495 others — crediting questions on the fairness of the Does this change the perspective of the For the most part of his 36-year long recollections fill in on unexposed bullet to kill me is former Uttar investigation and trial. The author case? These are some of the questions a career, Mr Sharma, a former Delhi aspects of policing from a bygone era. A yet to be made” Pages: 186 Pradesh Chief steers clear of initiating a new debate reader may want to ask the author Police Commissioner and Border criminal fleeing on horseback, the during a face-off Minister by addressing those issues. As far as since the answers cannot be found in Security Force director general, served author being forced to travel on a with dacoits could Kamalapati the probe is concerned, which Mr the memoir. in his home cadre of Uttar Pradesh. bullock cart during an operation, be straight out of a Bollywood potboiler, Tripathi for standing up to the mighty Sharma says was swift, the book does A little more on police reforms or the Each posting was in a new district and criminals using assault rifles within city but are purportedly real. The setting up Indira Gandhi and preventing Mr little more than publish a sort of administrative control of the Delhi against the backdrop of — what else — a limits — it leaves nothing to the of the Uttar Pradesh Special Task Force Sharma’s suspension or in describing extended press note on the arrests of Police could have been welcome chase for a new dacoit in an imagination. There are also insights on to take on the Uttar Pradesh gangster the valour of a UP Police inspector who Guru, who was subsequently additions as well — especially when inhospitable, testing terrain. There are crime detection methods that preceded Shri Prakash Shukla is arguably the sacrificed his life in a valiant effort to convicted and hanged, and others. read in the context of its rank failure to many success stories and all of them are the modern communication biggest highlight of Mr Sharma’s CV, save schoolchildren from being A more updated reader would be control riots in the north east of the city recounted well in the book, which tries technologies that are now the default and he has justifiably reserved an entire abducted by bandits. keen to know why the probe agency in February. QUICK TAKE: DR LAL PATHLABS BUCKS THE TREND Indian gold imports drop 40% in 1 February as demand shrinks on Shares of Dr Lal Pathlabs have gained 3.5% in the record high prices. It will take The Smart past fortnight, even as the Sensex declined 6.5%, time for people to get used to on hopes that the diagnostic centre operator will higher prices. Then, eventually MUMBAI | gain from the coronavirus outbreak. Analysts say demand will come back WEDNESDAY, 4 MARCH 2020 investors should wait for clarity if the firm will in- SANDIP SABHARWAL, deed be allowed to conduct tests/collect samples Investment Advisor WWW.SMARTINVESTOR.IN.FOR INFORMEDInvestor DECISION MAKING <

TIME TO GO ON A BUYING SPREE? Cheer returns to The mkt bottomed out in less than two months during 6 of previous 9 corrections Date* Decline** (%) Trigger Bottomed out in (months) Street after 7 days Jul 11 -21.1 European debt crisis 5 May 13 -17.8 Taper tantrum 4 All but two Sensex stocks report gains; gold up 3% Aug 15 -12.9 Yyuan devaluation 1 Jan 16 -14.4 Crude fall 1 SAMIE MODAK & BLOOMBERG Sep 16 -12.0 Demonetisation and US election 4 Mumbai, 3 March Feb 18 -11.0 Rising bond yields and Indian Budget 2 he equity markets snapped their sev- BUY THE DIPS, Sep 18 -15.0 US-China trade war 1 en-day losing streak — worst in five Jun 19 -12.0 Fears of global GDP slowing 2 T years — after central banks pledged SAYS HISTORY Jan 20 -10.4 Coronavirus ? to repair the economic damage due to the Source: ICICI Direct; Note:*Start of correction; **Peak to trough decline in the Nifty index coronavirus. Most Asian, including Indian, and European markets rallied on Tuesday The latest selloff in the market on account Since 2011, the market has seen a 10 per cent from its peak of 12,352, which investment opportunities. Therefore, after the US markets climbed 5 per cent on of the coronavirus outbreak could be a per cent-plus fall because of headwinds, was touched on January 17. The ongoing while investing in such times, it is better Monday as investors judged recent losses as good buying opportunity if history is an such as the European debt crisis, end of correction may not be over yet and to make staggered investments for excessive. However, the American stocks indication. On six of nine occasions when the US bond-buying programme, and a market players say this could be a good benefiting out of market volatility or were in the red in the afternoon trade on the market has corrected more than 10 surprise currency devaluation by China. time for investors to start buying for the investing in products like balanced Tuesday. per cent, it has recouped all its losses Some of the recent triggers for the long-term. advantage,” says S Naren, executive In India, the benchmark Sensex rose 480 within two months, shows an analysis by correction have been the US-China trade “Historically, global events because director and chief investment officer, points to end at 38,624, while the 50-share ICICI Direct, the retail broking arm of ICICI war and fears of a global recession. of which the markets had a meltdown ICICI Prudential AMC. Nifty gained 170.6 points to settle at 11,303. Securities. Currently, the benchmark Nifty is off 8.5 have proved to become lucrative SAMIE MODAK In the preceding seven trading sessions the Sensex and the Nifty had crashed nearly 8 per cent amid a global sell-off in risky assets. Meanwhile, gold surged over 3 per cent on Tuesday after the US central bank cut interest rates to help cushion the economic Fed rate cut was expected, already priced in: Analysts damage caused by the coronavirus outbreak SENSEX NIFTY50 and on expectations of policy easing by oth- Change : 1.3% Change: 1.5% PUNEET WADHWA 2020 GDP growth forecast to er major central banks. Spot gold climbed 3.2 New Delhi, 3 March 5.5 per cent YoY (from 5.7 per per cent to $1,640.77 an ounce by 11:55 a.m. Nifty earnings may suffer 5% in FY21: Nomura cent earlier), down from 6.1 EST (10.25 pm IST), set for its biggest one- The 50-basis point (bps) rate per cent in 2019. day percentage rise since June 2016. cut by the US Federal Reserve PUNEET WADHWA after a choppy week. India’s frontline indices — "Between fiscal and mon- Earlier, investor reassessed the extent of (US Fed) on Tuesday was in New Delhi, 3 March the S&P BSE Sensex and the Nifty50 — saw their etary policy, we see more damage to the economic growth after the line with analyst expecta- worst week in a decade and slipped around 7 room on the fiscal side. central banks said they would take “concert- tions. The American central The impact of the coronavirus (COVID-19) per cent each. Commodity prices, too, were hit. Although some central banks ed action”. The Group of Seven (G-7) finance bank cut the interest rate in outbreak on Nifty50 earnings is likely to be While gold surged to a seven-year high of over in Asia (ex-Japan) have been ministers and monetary officials held a meet- an emergency move designed less than 5 per cent for FY21, according to a $1,600 per ounce, crude oil slipped from $68 a hesitant to ease given finan- ing to a draft coordinated policies to maxi- to shield the world's largest recent report by Nomura. The brokerage barrel to around $50 a barrel. Oil prices (India cial stability and external mize effectiveness. Bank of Japan also economy from the impact of remains optimistic on the Indian markets and basket), reports say, have corrected by around funding concerns, we think announced stimulus measures, while BSE SECTORAL INDEX the coronavirus (COVID-19) suggests the recent correction be used to $14/barrel YTD, leading to savings of $20 billion. more rate cuts are likely Australian and Malaysian central banks low- Date Mar 2, Mar 3, % change outbreak. accumulate stocks. “A fall in commodity prices is a key should downside risk materi- ered rates. 2020 2020 Expectations of such a “In our assessment, the impact on negative for metals, upstream oil alise. “Comments by the central bank officials Metal 8,071.6 8,529.6 5.7 move were gaining momen- Nifty earnings on account of the COVID- companies, gas distributors with In the bear case, we see AxJ over possible policy initiatives to curtail eco- Power 1,704.0 1,772.1 4.0 tum amid the sudden escala- 19 disruption is likely to be less than 5 long-term contracts, and refiners (ex-Japan) central banks easing nomic impact held markets positive across tion in coronavirus cases per cent for FY21F, over and above our (lower refining margin). Port and a cumulative 12.5bps-75bps in the globe,” said Vinod Nair, head-research, Oil & gas 12,370.3 12,747.3 3.0 across the globe that threat- expectation of a 5 per cent cut in logistic companies are likely to be 2020," wrote analysts at Morgan Geojit Financial Services. Infra 151.4 155.3 2.6 ened to derail global growth. consensus earnings because of slower CORONAVIRUS impacted by a fall in trade traffic. Stanley in a recent report. Japan’s Topix fell 1.4 per cent as investors Energy 4,396.4 4,507.4 2.5 “A rate cut was inevitable. economic recovery. We expect a gradual OUTBREAK Supply chain disruptions are likely to Regarding the markets, remained sceptical over the effectiveness of Earlier, trade wars were caus- recovery in the Indian economy over the affect pharma, autos and capital Vaibhav Sanghavi, co-chief the stimulus measures. Auto 15,434.6 15,746.3 2.0 ing deflationary pressures in next 12 months. A much severe impact outside goods,” the Nomura report said. executive officer, Avendus The number of coronavirus cases around Realty 2,123.9 2,158.8 1.6 major economies across the China and a second wave of the outbreak are the On the other hand, the fall in crude oil Capital Public Markets the world surpassed 90,000. Many countries globe, but the coronavirus downside risks,” wrote Saion Mukherjee, prices is positive for the consumer, paints and Alternate Strategies, said the stepped up travel restrictions to contain the TOP GAINERS BSE Price in ~ outbreak is much more defla- managing director and head of India equity cement sectors as this will lower their 50 bps rate cut by the US Fed spread of the virus. The OECD warned of long- Gainers Mar 2, Mar 3, % change tionary. Trade wars were con- research at Nomura, in a recent co-authored input/production costs. Sectors such as, tiles, has already been priced-in. term effects on globalisation from the virus. 2020 2020 fined to a few report with Neelotpal Sahu. textiles, chemicals, and APIs, also stand a “The move indicates that the All the Sensex components ended with Sun Pharma 368.9 393.4 6.6 economies/countries and a Most global markets, including India, have chance to gain market share from their central bankers acknowledge gains except for HDFC Bank and ITC. Overall limited set of products. The gained ground over the past couple of sessions Chinese competitors. slowing growth and are tak- Tata Steel 364.2 387.6 6.4 market breadth was mixed with 1,188 stocks health scare, on the other ing pro-active steps to com- advancing and 1,217 declining on the BSE. NTPC 104.0 109.1 4.9 hand, will have a deeper and bat it. Though the initial mar- Reliance Industries (rose 2.2 per cent), ONGC 89.1 93.3 4.7 widespread impact and will growth,” said G already seen a host of broker- mist Ting Lu expects China’s ket reaction to this ICICI Bank (2.2 per cent) and TCS (2 per cent) PowerGrid 184.1 192.7 4.7 dent global growth badly. Chokkalingam, founder and ages trim economic growth GDP growth to slide to 3 per development will be positive, made the biggest positive contribution to the Another cut of 50 bps by the managing director of targets — for China and at the cent YoY in the January- the subsequent news-flow as Sensex gains. All BSE sectoral indices end- UltraTech Cement 4,125.9 4,301.1 4.2 US Fed in the weeks ahead is Equinomics Research. global level — with a recovery March quarter (Q1-2020), regards the containment of ed with gains with the metal and power Hero MotoCorp 1,974.0 2,054.8 4.1 possible in order to lend con- The spread of coronavirus seen only in the second quar- from 6 per cent in the the health scare will be the indices gaining the most at 5.7 per cent and fidence to the markets and across major countries over ter of CY20. For instance, December 2019 quarter (Q4- driving force behind mar- 4 per cent respectively. Compiled by BS Research Bureau Source:Bloomberg help prop up economic the past few weeks has Nomura’s chief China econo- 2019) and has lowered his kets,” he said.

THE COMPASS Value of downgraded bond Farm activities improve, but recovery not in sight yet papers hits a 15-month low ket, it will be early to con- cult at least for some Recovery in other clude that weak rural con- FOR THE QUARTER more quarters. JASH KRIPLANI EARLY SIGNS navirus can also impact the sumption has peaked out. A few experts appear Mumbai, 3 March credit quality of corpo- major economic Quantum of downgrades eased in January Deepak Jasani, head of 3.8 3.5 hopeful. Dhananjay Sinha, rates,” said a senior official 2.8 3.1 Downgraded indicators is vital retail research at HDFC 2.5 2.0 director and head of institu- The flurry of downgrades at a rating agency, request- Securities, says most other tional research at Systematix seen in recent months No. of Amount ing anonymity. SHREEPAD S AUTE high-frequency economic group, says: “The recent few paused in January, with the Month issues (~ trillion) The downgrade tally so indicators are still not show- -0.1 economic indicators show value of downgraded bond August ‘19 169 1.64 far has been one of the At a time when rising con- ing positive signals. “While that one part of rural India, papers slipping to their worse in recent financial Jun ‘18 Sep ‘18 Dec ‘18 Mar‘19 Jun‘19 Sep‘19 Dec ‘19 September ‘19 178 2.16 cerns over the coronavirus rural recovery is a key deter- i.e. farm, is doing well. lowest levels in 15 months. years due to the risk-aver- Figures represent year-on-year growth (%) in agriculture, forestry & fishing GVA, GVA: Gross value October ‘19 159 1.07 impact have impacted the minant for the equity mar- added Source: MoSPI; compiled by BS Research Bureau Besides good agricultural However, debt fund man- sion set off by the IL&FS Indian equity markets, a few ket, we need to wait until a production, allocations agers and rating analysts November ‘19 71 0.53 crisis. For the current recent data points indicate a majority of other key indica- under the government’s wel- say the credit markets are December ‘19 119 0.87 financial year 2019-2020, revival in rural sentiment. tors, such as non-food credit big impact on its supply omist at CARE Ratings. fare schemes should not yet out of woods with the quantum of down- While the gross domestic growth of banks, and rural chain, even as demand While an expected good improve rural consumption non-banking financial January ‘20 35 0.17 grades stands at ~14 trillion, product or GDP print for the real wage growth, show remains weak. rabi harvest would help hereon.” However, the jury companies (NBFCs) and Source: Sebi which is 60 per cent December 2019 quarter structural recovery.” Besides, some also farmers, a meaningful is out on this. other sectors still showing higher than the previous showed good improvement Even India’s manufactur- believe that agricultural increase in their income lev- Thus, investors should signs of stress. valued at ~17,129 crore, showed financial year. in agricultural activities, ing Purchasing Managers’ gross value added (GVA) may el demands strong and sus- wait for more data points “Stress remains in some the data from the Securities In February, rating agen- mainly aided by inflation, Index or PMI for February not be an accurate reflector tained pricing improvement that confirm a recovery in lower-rated NBFCs and hous- and Exchange Board of India. cies had downgraded corpo- domestic tractor sales of declined to 54.5 per cent, of farmer incomes, which are in agricultural prices, which rural growth, which would ing finance companies, which This is 80 per cent lower than rate bonds of Vodafone Idea, major players were up 16-21 from 55.3 per cent in key for improving rural looks difficult in the current then augur well for con- could be vulnerable to further the value of issuances of the which is under pressure over per cent year-on-year in January. Though a PMI over demand. “While agricultural environment. sumption stocks, such as rating downgrades,” said downgrades in previous the adjusted gross revenue February. 50 indicates an expansion in production would remain Even if agricultural fast-moving consumer Arvind Subramanian, fund months. dues. At the end of March 31, Though these data points activity, the rapid spread of strong in the near future, it income remains stable, as goods, automobiles and agri- manager at IDFC Mutual Fund. Rating officials say the 2019, the telecom player had offer some comfort, given coronavirus is casting doubts does not necessarily indicate Sabnavis believes, it needs to cultural/rural lenders. “The last one to one-and-a- drop in downgrades can be outstanding borrowings of the importance of rural-led over its near-term sustain- good improvement in farm- get converted into demand For now, investors are rec- half years have been bad in attributed to the incremental ~10,352 crore through non- consumption for India’s ability. For instance, the ers’ income levels,” says to spur overall rural con- ommended to stick to quali- terms of downgrades. But, it stress coming down in the sys- convertible debentures economy and its equity mar- automobile sector may see a Madan Sabnavis, chief econ- sumption, which looks diffi- ty stocks. is still difficult to say that the tem. “Financial entities with (NCDs), showed the compa- stress in the system is behind larger borrowings have ny’s annual report. Rating us. There is still apprehension already seen sharp rating agencies have also downgrad- with non-performing assets of actions. So, incremental risks ed YES Bank from triple B to some of the NBFCs seeing a of downgrade have come triple B-minus. Muted outlook may lead to correction in TVS Motor’s stock rise,” said a fund manager, down in the system. However, However, fund managers Valuation premium requesting anonymity. the full recovery could take are of the view that the upside RAM PRASAD SAHU umes. Hero MotoCorp, too, and the declining scooter exports, and a steep increase In January, the number of some more time. Further, sup- is that a large part of stress is to peers may reported a 68 per cent decline sales, say analysts. in prices because of the shift bond issuances downgraded ply chain disruptions from factored in the pricing of the TVS Motor reported a 27 per in scooter volumes to just While domestic sales have to BS-VI. Most analysts expect by rating agencies stood at 35, external factors such as coro- bonds. not sustain cent fall in domestic volumes under 19,000 units, while its been lower, exports have volumes to remain sluggish for February, the sharpest overall volumes fell 19 per remained robust, registering in the first half of CY20. among domestic two-wheeler cent in the month growth of over 24 per cent for At the current price, TVS peers. Even as it peers are still the month. Exports account Motor is trading at 24 times While motorcycle sales, holding some stocks of BS-IV for a third of volumes for TVS its FY21 earnings estimates Sebi nod for IPOs of 3 firms which account, for about a vehicles, analysts say TVS Motor. Given the fall in crude on expectations of margin half of overall volumes fell 3.3 Motor has completely transi- oil prices and a bigger share of expansion and robust earn- Home First Finance, Indian part secondary component. government. The Equitas Small per cent, sales of scooters, its tioned to BS-VI-compliant volumes in oil-rich ings growth. Railway Finance Corporation, The Home First Finance IPO Finance Bank offer consists of a second largest segment, fell units and the new vehicles economies, such as Nigeria, However, analysts say, giv- and Equitas Small Finance consists of fresh issue of up to fresh equity worth ~550 crore 30 per cent to 60,000 units. are 10-15 per cent costlier sales could be impacted. en the slowdown, the sharp Bank are among the latest crop ~400 crore and an offer for sale and an offer for sale of 80 million The ongoing slowdown in than the outgoing variants. Abhishek Jain of Dolat 60 per cent-plus valuation of companies to secure market (OFS) of up to ~1,100 crore by equity shares, according to the the scooter segment, the tran- Traction in the scooter port- Capital believes there could premium to Hero MotoCorp regulator Sebi’s green light to selling shareholders, the com- draft red herring prospectus. sition to BS-VI, and supply folio, be it Jupiter (more than be volume and margin head- and Bajaj Auto could be diffi- launch their initial public offer- pany said. Market players said the com- disruptions because of the half of scooter volumes) or winds for the company, given cult to hold on to and the ings (IPOs). The IRFC IPO comprises panies could wait for the sec- coronavirus outbreak have Ntorq, have been impacted intense competition, the risk stock should see some cor- All the three IPOs, belong- fresh issue of 938 million equity ondary market volatility to sub- led to a sharp drop in vol- because of the higher prices of cyclical downturn in rection. ing to the financial sector, will shares and an offer for sale of side to launch their share sales. comprise of part primary and 469 million equity shares by the BS REPORTER MUMBAI | WEDNESDAY, 4 MARCH 2020 THE SMART INVESTOR 11 . < Good Feb volumes not enough to fire up Coal India Pressure on e-auction premiums, subdued outlook on prices, and stake sale overhang remain key concerns

UJJVAL JAUHARI Though some improvement has been also remains crucial for Coal India’s New Delhi, 3 March reported from December, the quarter GOING more-profitable e-auction prices, which ended December (Q3) still witnessed are market determined. During the Even as the markets remained choppy sales volumes decline 8 per cent year-on- LUMPY EARNINGS GROWTH DOWNHILL financial year, e-auction premiums, too, on Monday, a decent growth in February year (YoY). So, the latest numbers are In ~ crore FY19 FY20E FY21E have remained weak along with produc- coal volumes lifted Street sentiment some respite. tion numbers. towards Coal India’s stock, pushing it up In fact, February saw better recovery Revenues 92,896 90,738 95,457 E-auction premiums had declined to by over a per cent. On Tuesday, too, the with production volumes increasing 14.2 % change YoY 14.0 -2.0 5.0 51 per cent in January 2020 from 67 per stock gained over 5 per cent, partly aid- per cent YoY to 66.3 million tonnes Ebitda 18,054 16,750 19,692 cent in December 2019. The decline in ed by the rebound in leading indices. (MT) and sales volumes growing 6.8 per prices since January is one reason why These gains are not surprising, given cent YoY. % change YoY 115.0 -7.0 18.0 the Coal India stock has been under that the stock had fallen to its all-time A big positive is that the company’s Net profit* 17,463 17,474 18,629 pressure even as volumes improved. intra-day low of ~165 a fortnight back. larger subsidiaries, which had faced On the whole, besides the caution on This was because of weak coal prices some problems earlier, are now driving % change YoY 149.0 0.0 7.0 fundamentals, the overhang of stake sale since mid-January this year. sales and production. South Eastern Coal E: estimates; *Adjusted for one-offs; by the government, too, is weighing on Ebitda: Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation. Given the subdued outlook on prices Fields (SECL) and Mahanadi Coalfields Source: Kotak Institutional Equities Street sentiment. It is not surprising that and stake sale overhang, the near-term (MCL) saw 11.9 per cent to 19.2 per cent despite analysts giving buy ratings and upsides may be limited. This is despite 23 YoY growth in production. MCL also valuations remaining cheap, the stock had of the 27 analysts polled by Bloomberg reported an 11 per cent growth in sales. fallen to its all-time low a few days back. having a “buy” rating on the stock with Notably, Bharat Coking Coal (BCCL), After the Q3 performance, analysts an average target price of ~254. which produces the highest grade of improvement compared to 43 MT However, analysts say that a recovery power sector accounts for a large chunk at ICICI Direct, while valuing the stock at coal, also recorded an uptick of 8 per achieved in 9MFY20. in demand from the power sector will of Coal India’s sales. 5x FY21E adjusted EV/Ebitda, had Volumes improving cent YoY in sales, staging a turnaround While the improved performance is be key to overall improvement. arrived at a target price of ~200. Those at The company had consistently reported after 18 months. positive, the Street will remain watchful Notably, coal inventory across plants Concerns over pricing Kotak Institutional Equities have recent- a decline in volumes during the first half If BCCL sustains the trend, it can sup- on sustenance of the trend. Coal India is in India increased to 21 days amid weak Moreover, the market would also be ly given a target price of ~280. of FY20. This was also a key reason why port Coal India’s blended realisations. also looking to aggressively ramp up pro- power demand. looking at how coronavirus impacts These ratings are largely considering its stock price had been under pressure Overall, the production run-rate in duction and dispatches to post decent An improvement in demand holds international coal prices. Global prices the cheap stock valuations and the high during the June-November 2019 period. February, at 66.3 MT, showed a marked full-year numbers. key to the company’s prospects as the are already under pressure. The same dividend yield of 12 per cent.

N SBI CARDS IPO N NBFC plans go awry One for the high net worth individuals Listing gains may be limited if the issue is only at a higher rate. SAMIE MODAK DEMAND SITUATION LEVERAGE MAGNIFIES NBFCs add a spread of 2-3 per- Mumbai, 3 March HNI demand might undershoot their subscribed multiple times. Those taking BOTH GAINS AND centage points to the borrowing rate before lending. (Note that if the estimates, fear NBFCs LOSSES OF HNIs Non-banking financial companies (NBFCs) leveraged bets need to do their maths properly NBFC charges 12 per cent, the that help high net worth individuals (HNIs) Shares reserved Amountinvested (2%) (~) 500,000 investor will pay a rate that is lower ------place leveraged bets for initial public offer- Amountborrowed (~) 24 ,500,000 by 3-4 per cent. The interest earned ings (IPOs) are seeing their plans go awry In mn In value Subscription SANJAY KUMAR SINGH probability of listing gain before while the money is blocked in ASBA because of the risk-aversion caused by the (~cr) (%) applying. “Listing gain should be Total amountinvested in IPO (~) 25,000,000 offsets a part of the investor’s cost.) coronavirus outbreak. Institutional investors* 24.2 1,829 21 When an initial public offering (IPO) adequate so that the applicant is No. of times issue oversubscribed (x) 10 The most favourable scenario for Anticipating huge demand from wealthy like that of SBI Cards, which is expect- able to make a profit even after Interestrate on financing (%) 11.0 leveraged HNIs is if the listing gain is investors, financial firms had borrowed heav- HNIs 18.3 1,385 47 ed to evoke a good response, deducting interest cost,” good but the level of oversubscrip- ily. However, they now fear their funds could Retail 42.8 3,231 121 takes place, expectations of adds Vailaya. Amountworth of shares tion is not very high. Though this investorgets (~) 2,500,000 remain underutilised. Employees 1.9 141 184 listing day gains run high. Two key risks exist in can happen, these are intrinsically NBFCs typically mobilise funds to fund IPO High net worth individuals taking such a loan. Intereston total amount conflicting outcomes. If an IPO is Shareholders 13.1 985 141 bets by issuing commercial papers (CPs). They (HNIs) often borrow money Instead of a listing day @11% for7 days 51,685 popular, the likelihood of listing gain lend to HNIs at a spread between 3 per cent and TOTAL 100.3 7,571 87 from non-banking financial gain, there can be a loss. is high, but such an IPO is also likely 5 per cent. The fund mobilisation is done by companies (NBFCs) to apply Even in case of a high- Listing gain to be oversubscribed. The probabili- Source: Exchanges gauging the demand scenario, which was Note: As on 5pm on March 3; *Excludes anchor book for such IPOs. Such lever- quality company, some- Gain on investmentif shares run ty of getting the optimal mix of list- strong for SBI Cards until last week as grey aged bets, however, carry times market sentiment up 15% on listing day (~) 375,000 ing gain and allotment is not easy. market premiums were as high as 50 per cent high risks that HNIs need to YOUR can change between the Any investment where leverage is of the IPO price of ~750-755 per share. was subscribed 350 times. NBFCs made huge be cognizant of. time of applying and the Gain afterpaying STCG at15% (~) 318,750 high—it can go as high as 99 times However, the premium more than halved gains as they provided funding worth ~35,000 If a person’s application MONEY time of listing. Even Gain afterpaymentof interest(~) 267,065 the amount put up by the investor— following the selloff in the market, which saw crore. HNIs also made a killing as the stock is for more than ~2 lakh, he extraneous factors (say, Profitto investor(%) 53.41 carries high risk. “Investing in an the frontline indices drop 8 per cent in seven more than doubled on debut. falls in the HNI category. Allotments like the Coronavirus epidemic) can IPO via IPO funding is a high-risk days. Market players said NBFCs and HNIs “Some NBFCs were expecting IRCTC-kind of in this category happen as follows: If affect sentiment. Listing loss high-reward investment. It could are recalibrating their plans based on the demand for SBI Cards. However, the oversub- the HNI portion gets oversubscribed The other risk is the amount of Listing day loss of 10% (~) -250,000 result in massive losses if things go changing dynamics. scription will be much lower, hurting demand for x times, then each HNI is allotted allotment the HNI gets. “If the level wrong,” says Adhil Shetty, CEO, “The subscription levels in the HNI catego- IPO financing,” said an investment banker. 1/x of what he has applied for. HNIs of oversubscription is higher than Loss afterpaymentof interest(~) -301,685 BankBazaar.com. ry will not be according to initial estimates. SBI Cards IPO was subscribed 87 per cent on often borrow to enhance the number expected, the HNI will end up with a Loss to investor(%) -60.34 Finally, beware of over-leverag- NBFCs that have committed to borrowing are Tuesday with the bulk of demand coming from of shares they are allotted. “Suppose smaller allotment. But he will have ing. “Restrict yourself to your risk- caught on the wrong foot. Those who can low- small investors. The qualified institutional an HNI wants to buy shares worth ~1 to pay interest on the entire bor- taking ability. If you have one crore er their borrowing plan are doing so,” said an buyer (QIB) segment was subscribed 21 per crore. If the oversubscription is 10 rowed amount, which could result in much the level of oversubscription of your own, then don’t try to get official with an NBFC. The HNI borrowing is cent and the HNI segment was subscribed times and he applies using only his losses,” says Deepesh Raghaw, will be is not easy as HNI applicants allotment for more than that based on the estimated demand for the IPO 47 per cent. The QIB book closes on Wednesday own money, he could end up with an founder, PersonalFinancePlan.in, a mostly apply on the last day. amount,” says Vailaya. Shetty sug- and expected listing price. If the expected list- while other categories will remain open till allotment of ~10 lakh worth of shares Sebi-registered investment advisor. The interest rate on these loans gests that IPO funding should be ing price is high, HNIs borrow more to get the Thursday. Market players say HNIs will take only,” says Shankar Vailaya, chief He adds that as the level of allot- also has a bearing on the investor’s considered only after carefully desired allotment. If the estimated listing gain cues from QIBs. If the QIB subscription is mod- executive officer, Sharekhan BNP ment reduces, the listing gain has profitability. NBFCs raise money analysing the IPO, issue price, mar- is low, they refrain from placing higher bets. est, they might call of some of their leverage Paribas Financial Services. to be higher for the investor to make from mutual funds. In case of more ket and industry trends, and cost of For instance, the HNI category of IRCTC bets, said the banker quoted earlier. HNIs must take into account the a profit. Guessing in advance how popular IPOs, the latter agree to lend borrowing.

COMMODITIES1 > Sugar mills may achieve Farmers suffer losses as over 80% of export quota DILIP KUMAR JHA To step up exports from India and Mumbai, 3 March eventually reduce the domestic surplus, consumers chicken out the government has re-allocated 600,000 India is likely to achieve over 80 per tonnes of quota to those mills which are Market price less than the cost of production cent of its export quota allocated for equipped for exports. This quota was tak- the sugar season October en away from those unable 2019–September 2020, fol- SUGAR NO. 11 to export. > PRICE CARD DILIP KUMAR JHA of production of ~80-85 a kg. lowing a sharp rise in glob- (US cent/lb) “We will be able to Mumbai, 3 March “The entire poultry sector is led by al sugar prices after the achieve over 5 MT of sugar As on Mar 03 International Domestic small and unorganised players. They forecast of a supply deficit. exports this year. It will be ------Poultry prices have declined by a cannot survive at such massive losses. Sugar prices, however, have an extremely good per- Price %Chg# Price %Chg# third in the past month because of As a consequence, they are cutting moderated in the past few formance. Given that the METALS ($/tonne) receding consumer demand amid the their production capacity. In fact, days amid reduced government is pro-active, coronavirus outbreak. many small farmers have shut down demand in view of the the performance of sugar Aluminium 1,684.5 -6.5 1,937.2 2.9 Broiler chicken in the benchmark their operations and shifted to other coronavirus outbreak. mills in terms of exports Copper 5,640.0 -3.0 6,139.2 -1.1 Bengaluru wholesale market was means of livelihood,” said Ramesh The government had will be better this year,” said quoted ~61.76 a kg on average in Chander Khatri, president, Poultry allocated 6 million tonnes Abinash Verma, director- Zinc 2,009.0 -9.6 2,182.8 -15.4 February, as against ~91.58 a kg in Federation of India. (MT) of sugar quota among general, Indian Sugar Mills Gold ($/ounce) 1,600.3* 8.3 1,793.9 8.5 January. Similarly, broiler chicken in Poultry farmers have been suffer- 530 mills spread across in the Association (ISMA). the Hyderabad and Muzaffarpur ing for over two years because of a country, depending on their Of the 5 MT of allocated Silver($/ounce) 16.8* -2.0 19.1 -1.3 Source:Bloomberg (Bihar) wholesale markets was sold at sharp spike in prices of raw material. crushing capacity and Compiled by BS Research Bureau MAEQ last year, sugar mills ENERGY ~61.28 a kg and ~78.66 a kg, respec- Though feed prices have moderated records, under the maxi- were able to achieve tively, in February, as compared to of late, the decline in chicken con- MORE THAN A FLUTTER mum admissible export quo- exports of 3.8 MT. Crude Oil ($/bbl) 53.1* -12.9 50.9 -17.7 ~86.28 a kg and ~90.13 a kg in January. sumption because of the coronavirus Broiler: Monthly average price per ~/kg ta (MAEQ). Of this, sugar mills have Meanwhile, international sugar prices Natural Gas ($/mmBtu) 1.8* -26.2 1.8 -27.4 Egg prices have also plunged. fear has hit farmers hard. City /variety Jan 20 Feb 20 already cumulatively contracted for have moderated in the last few days on Though the gov- Feed prices have declined 6-15 per around 3.5 MT and transported around reduced demand amid lockdowns fol- AGRI COMMODITIES ($/tonne) ernment and farmers cent in the last one month. The aver- Bengaluru (Vencobb) 92 2.3 MT out of their factories for exports. lowing the coronavirus outbreak. Wheat 189.7 2.2 293.9 -1.8 have rejected the age soybean price has fallen 6 per cent 62 possibility of coron- to ~4,067 a quintal in February, as Hyderabad (Vencobb) 86 Maize 183.8* -0.1 240.2 -12.6 avirus spreading against ~4,329 a quintal in January. 61 Sugar 391.1* 13.5 472.3 -2.2 through consump- Similarly, maize and bajra have CORONAVIRUS tion of chicken and become cheaper by 15 per cent and 8 Muzaffarpur (General) 90 Sebi eases penalty norms in Palm oil 600.0 -9.1 990.5 -4.9 OUTBREAK eggs, demand for per cent, respectively. Maize and bajra 79 Rubber 1,564.0* 0.5 1,828.1 0.3 poultry has plunged. traded at ~1,994 a quintal and 1,806 a Valsad (General) 80 “Poultry con- quintal, respectively, in February as 57 minor commodity futures Cotton 1,399.5 0.6 1,497.5 -4.2 sumption has declined sharply since against ~2347 a quintal and ~1965 a * As on Mar 03, 20 1800 hrs IST, # Change Over 3 Months the outbreak of coronavirus. quintal in January. Feeds monthly average price per ~/qtl In a relief to the commodities futures mar- trades should be settled has been amend- Conversion rate 1 USD = 73.3 & 1 Ounce = 31.1032316 grams. Notes: Mammals, not birds, are the main “We expect demand to return to   kets, the Securities and Exchange Board ed. The regulator took the decision in 1) International metals, Indian basket crude, Malaysia Palm oil, Wheat LIFFE and Feeds/Centre Jan 20 Feb 20 Coffee Karnataka robusta pertains to previous days price. source of coronavirus,” said K G normal in two months. But by then of India (Sebi) has relaxed norms for view of past defaults in smaller com- 2) International metal are LME Spot prices and domestic metal are Mumbai local Anand, general manager, the summer season will set in and it Bajra - Delhi 1,965 matched book for commodity derivatives modities where prices were pulled on one spot prices except for Steel. 3) International Crude oil is Brent crude and Domestic Crude oil is Indian basket. Venkateshwara Hatcheries, which remains a lean period for the poultry 1,806 contracts. This means that in case of the side. If the buyer of a commodity wants to 4) International Natural gas is Nymex near month future & domestic natural gas is MCX near month futures. sells poultry products under Venky’s sector. However, reduced availability Maize -Gulabbagh 2,347 market moves in one direction and if square off by selling his/her position but 5) International Wheat, White sugar & Coffee Robusta are LIFF E future prices of brand. may have some positive impact on those on the other side fail to square off the market is all-sellers with lower cir- near month contract. 1,994 6) International Maize is MATIF near month future, Rubber is Tokyo-TOCOM near Poultry farmers are suffering prices,” said Anand. their open position, the exchange can use cuits, he/she cannot exit. The exchange month future and Palm oil is Malaysia FOB spot price. 7) Domestic Wheat & Maize are NCDEX future prices of near month contract, Palm heavy losses following the sharp drop The data compiled by the Poultry Soy bean -Indore 4,329 the tool for settlement giving an exit route has a tool to give him/her an exit by mak- oil & Rubber are NCDEX spot prices. 4,067 8) Domestic Coffee is Karnataka robusta and Sugar is M30 Mumbai local spot in prices. According to Anand, a broil- Federation of India shows that the ~1- to affected parties. ing him pay some penalty calculated on price. er chicken is currently being quoted trillion poultry sector employs 20 mil- Penalty in such cases have been cut settlement price. 9) International cotton is Cotton no.2-NYBOT near month future & domestic Source: www.poultrybazaar.net, NCDEX cotton is MCX Future prices near month futures. ex-farm at ~40 a kg, as against its cost lion people, directly and indirectly. Compiled by BS Research Bureau sharply, while the price at which such DILIP KUMAR JHA Source: Bloomberg Compiled by BS Research Bureau MUMBAI | WEDNESDAY, 4 MARCH 2020 BRAND WORLD 13 . <

“The bloom denotes energy and will be the driving force for all our marketing Fortune stirs in a efforts for Fortune products,” says Mallick. With a fresh look and renewed energy into the brand, the company is hoping it can bring its learnings from edible brand refresh oil marketing into staples; oils, once a fragmented unbranded With a new campaign and Akshay Kumar as endorser marketplace has changed its Adani Wilmar pitches an extended staples portfolio, flavour over the years and is now one where 60 per cent is seeks familiarity for the brand beyond edible oils cornered by branded players. In contrast, only 10 per cent of the total wheat flour market is branded, followed by 2-3 per cent of sug- ar being branded and only two per cent of total pulses market being branded with hardly any national player in the fray. For Adani Wilmar, breaking into these markets will mean dipping into the vast distribu- tion network that the company has built for its oil brand. Mallick believes that they are the best placed for such a foray, given that the home grown brand has an understanding of the market and a wide-enough The actor introduces the entire range of products under the brand, urging young presence in the hinterland. professionals to step into the kitchen without fear of failure Sinha agrees that Adani Wilmar is well placed to exploit VINAY UMARJI Mallick, deputy the gains from its edible oils dis- AHMEDABAD, 3 MARCH chief executive officer, tribution and brand recall for Adani Wilmar. Fortune, for the entire ow does a 20-year old Akshay Kumar has been staples portfolio. A national brand that has been roped in as the face of the brand campaign with a famous face Hassociated with one and the television commercial will help push the brand into product for the most part of its (TVC) has him advising first- the popular consciousness. existence, convince consumers timers in the kitchen, mostly However, the market for food that it is much more than that? millennial working profession- staples is complex and built on By Adani Wilmar’s playbook, a als, on how to keep cooking. a web of trusted relationships. new logo, a fresh look and sign- With the tagline 'Ruko Mat' Consumers choose on the basis ing up one of Bollywood’s high- (don't stop), Kumar pushes his A different colour palette, of several factors and hence est paid actors as brand ambas- protégés to sample Fortune's new fonts and a lotus there is no single formula for sador ought to do the trick for its wheat flour (atta), pulse flour bloom in place of the operating in these businesses, edible oils brand Fortune. (besan) and basmati rice and not alphabet ‘O’ marks the in some cases there is a mix of Since its launch way back in let their failures in the kitchen changed logo national and global brands and 2000, Fortune has built itself a blow out their attempts to dish in others it is a pure unbranded neat niche in the edible oils seg- up a meal at home. line will resonate with the target play. With Fortune, Adani ment, accumulating goodwill Conceptualised by Ogilvy audience, he says. Wilmar will have to navigate its and recall in a market that is India, the campaign hopes to The company has also way carefully and localise its dominated by large multina- leverage Kumar’s popularity designed a new logo; the marketing and promotion tionals at one end and unor- with the young to create famil- London-based brand design according to the product being ganised and unbranded sellers iarity for the brand and its sta- agency Blue Marlin was sold and the region being tar- on the other. “An internal survey ples portfolio. It is a smart nar- assigned the task and they geted. Becoming a pure nation- report showed that 90 per cent rative to use believes Piyush decided upon a look that al brand in staples is tricky, of our consumers still associat- Kumar Sinha, director at CRI denotes change and yet retains according to Sinha. But he says, ed Fortune brand with edible Advisory, a consulting firm that the old association with the "Fortune could go on to achieve oil, not other food staples. The specialises in retail. Given that brand. The alphabet ‘O’ in the the goal of becoming a pan new campaign is an attempt to most household have young name Fortune is now made to Indian brand for staples if it gets push Fortune as a complete professionals who call for food look like a lotus bloom and the three things right; pricing, avail- foods brand," says Angshu to be delivered home, the story- colour and font has changed. ability and trust.”

could be room for sector-specific meas- We are taking all possible steps to FROM PAGE 1 ures like ensuring funding as part of an keep Delhi safe. Isolation wards being overall support package by government readied in 25 hospitals, including 19 gov- and agencies. ernment and six private hospitals.” US Fed cuts rate... And, the units and companies affect- “Spillovers to financial markets in India ed by disruption may be given some dis- have largely been contained.” pensation (read relaxation) like forbear- DoT to issue... Growing hopes of coordinated policy ance in the treatment of loans. action to mitigate adverse effects on eco- Kristalina Georgieva, managing Tata Teleservices, on Tuesday, made an nomic activity boosted market senti- director of the International Monetary ad hoc payment of Rs 2,000 crore ment today (Tuesday), it added. Fund (IMF), while addressing the Group towards AGR dues. It had earlier paid Rs The outbreak of coronavirus and its of 20 meeting of finance ministers and 2,197 crore, saying it was the full and subsequent spread to geographies across central bank governors in Riyadh last final AGR dues payment from the com- the world have adversely affected the month, had said all were hoping for a V- pany, against the government estimate financial markets. shaped, rapid recovery, but given the of around Rs 14,000 crore. In the past few days, central banks uncertainties, it would be prudent to pre- "This on account payment is subject around the world have indicated the pos- pare for more adverse scenarios. to reconciliation after the conclusion of sibility of global coordinated action. The markets were eagerly awaiting the process of computation and verifi- This prompted a recovery in the the G7 central bankers’ call. There were cation being conducted by the DoT span- domestic as well global financial mar- expectations of a rate cut. “The expecta- ning a period beginning from FY2007 kets. The rebound on Monday in the tion is that the rate cuts will be large. and spread across 20 circles," the com- domestic stock markets, which had shed Anything less than 50 basis points will be pany said in a statement. 7 per cent in the past six sessions, taken negatively by the markets,” said a Bharti Airtel, on February 29, said it stopped after the health ministry report- senior currency dealer. had completed assessing the dues relat- ed two new coronavirus cases the same A day after two fresh cases of coron- ed to AGR. As per the company's self- day. Besides, an Italian tourist also test- avirus were reported in India, the Union assessment exercise, the dues amount ed positive for coronavirus in Jaipur, health ministry on Tuesday issued a to Rs 13,004 which it has already paid. It according to the Rajasthan government. travel advisory suspending all regular has paid an additional Rs 5,000 crore, The BSE Sensex on Tuesday closed visas/e-visas granted on or before March which the company said could be adjust- 480 points higher, 1.26 per cent, than its 3 to nationals of Italy, Iran, South Korea, ed against any reconciliation exercise. previous close following global market and Japan who have not yet entered Government calculations suggest the cues. Similarly, the Nifty50 index also India. Sunil Bharti Mittal-led company owes closed 170.55 points, or 1.53 per cent, Rs 35,500 crore to the DoT. The assess- higher. ment of dues was done for the period While the broader market showed PM takes stock... between 2006-07 and February 2020. some recovery, the rupee continued to Last week, DoT had operators to weaken against the dollar. The rupee Meanwhile, two private schools in Noida speed up their self-assessment of AGR breached the psychological threshold of cancelled classes on Tuesday for the next dues and submit documents backing 73 to a dollar and closed at 73.29 on few days as a precautionary measure their calculations, after Bharti Airtel Ltd, Tuesday, a 0.77 per cent fall from after the father of a student tested posi- Tata Teleservices Ltd and Vodafone Idea Monday’s close. tive for coronavirus, officials said. made partial payments. Referring to possible actions that the One of the schools, where a student's The government is learnt to be banking regulator can take, a State Bank father tested positive, said it would exploring the possibility of roping in of India executive said liquidity in the remain shut from March 4 to March 6. third-party audit firms to reconcile dues system was adequate. However, there Earlier in the day, the school said it was payable by telecom operators. postponing internal examina- Last October, the Supreme Court had tions scheduled for Tuesday due upheld the government’s definition of to some "unavoidable circum- AGR, based on which the levies on tele- stances". com operators are calculated. The order The board exams are not dealt a blow to the telecom industry, affected, the messages sent to which had for years argued that AGR the parents made clear. should only include revenue from core The second school said it was telecom operations. Telecom operators suspending classes immediately now have to pay dues of the past 14 years till March 9 and sanitising its with interest and fine. campus. Fumigation was under- In order to iron out the confusion over way at both schools. AGR dues calculations, the DoT has Some family members of the come out with a set of guidelines for one Delhi-based man, who has test- time re- verification to be carried out by ed positive for the coronavirus, the Controller of Communication have been shifted to Safdarjung Accounts. The government has pointed Hospital for tests after they out in a note that there’s an urgent need showed symptoms of the virus, to streamline deduction verification health ministry sources said. from 2006-7 to 2017-18. Some other relatives were asked to remain quarantined at their homes only, the sources added. New CPI series... The Delhi government said it was taking all possible steps to As prices of non-food items rise at high- deal with coronavirus and was er rate than food items, the DA compo- trying to get in touch with those nent of salaries of industrial workers and who could be infected or were others would see higher hike if new CPI- in contact with the infected IW is taken into account than the exist- man. ing one. Addressing a press confer- After the committee’s approval last ence, Delhi Health Minister week, a national tripartite committee led Satyendar Jain, flanked by by Labour and Employment Minister Deputy Chief Minister Manish Santosh Kumar Gangwar will meet to Sisodia, said: "COVID-19 is a new approve the new CPI-IW index. This will infection, but there is no need be followed up by an approval from the to panic. Union Cabinet. 14 MUMBAI | WEDNESDAY, 4 MARCH 2020 1 > UNHRC moves SC over CAA, MODI NOT QUITTING TWITTER, FB ‘Inspiring women’ to take over India says matter internal PM’s social media on Sunday Ruckus over Delhi riots rocks both Houses of Parliament for second day in a row NEHA ALAWADHI & ARCHIS MOHAN New Delhi, 3 March ARCHIS MOHAN Nirmala Sitharaman. The New Delhi, 3 March “IT IS UNFORTUNATE AND SAD THAT 70 Bill seeks to strengthen This International Women’s cooperative banks. Day, Prime Minister Narendra n an embarrassment for YEARS AFTER INDEPENDENCE, RAISING In the Rajya Sabha, the Modi will give control of his the Narendra Modi-led A SLOGAN LIKE BHARAT MATA KI JAI government said it was social media accounts to I Union government, the IS BEING DEPICTED AS A CRIME... IT willing to hold a discussion women, said the PM on United Nations High on the subject. The House Tuesday, a day after he hinted Commissioner for Human IS UNFORTUNATE THAT A PERSON adjourned for the day at 3 at giving up social media Rights on Tuesday sought WHO HELD THE POST OF PRIME pm after what seemed like accounts, raising a storm on to file a petition in the MINISTER IS SAYING SO” an agreement that it could the internet. Supreme Court against the have a discussion on com- “This Women's Day, I will citizenship amendment law. NARENDRA MODI, Prime minister munal violence on give away my social media External affairs ministry (After Manmohan Singh said the slogan was being misused to Wednesday morning. accounts to women whose life & spokesperson Raveesh construct a ‘militant and purely emotional’ idea of India) However, BJP’s Bhupendra work inspire us. This will help Kumar said the Citizenship Yadav issued a caveat that them ignite motivation in mil- Amendment Act (CAA) is FURORE OVER CITIZENSHIP LAW according to rules the lions. Are you such a woman or an internal matter of India chairman’s decision on the do you know such inspiring and that “no foreign party” Govt okay with SHAHRUKH issue should be final. women? Share such stories had any locus standi on discussion on PATHAN, who In a reply to a written using #SheInspiresUs,” Modi issues pertaining to the Delhi violence pointed a gun question, the Centre on posted on his different social The PM’s Twitter following rose by about 10,000 to 53.4 million on Tuesday, and the likes on his country’s sovereignty. after Holi, at a policeman, Tuesday said in the Lok media accounts on Tuesday. Facebook page increased by over 20,000 in a day FILE PHOTO: REUTERS India’s Permanent says OM BIRLA arrested in UP Sabha that it was discussing While there was no confir- Mission in Geneva was with state governments the mation on who these women the Padma Vibhushan this year, campaign in the run-up to and entrepreneurship and par- informed on Monday KEJRIWAL India preparations for updating could be, among the suggestions were some other suggestions. women’s day, which falls on ticipation in sports, special cir- evening by UN High meets PM, summons the National Population that came from his followers On Monday night, the PM Sunday. cumstances, rural and urban Commissioner for Human requests not Iranian envoy, Register (NPR) from April 1 were Asha Devi, the mother of said he was “thinking of giving These ministries are women women and agriculture. Rights Michelle Bachelet to spare those lodges protest to September 30. Union the Nirbhaya gang rape victim; up my social media accounts on and child development, infor- Several special shows and that her office had filed an responsible for over Iranian FM Minister of State for Home Sudha Murthy, the wife of Facebook, Twitter, Instagram & mation and broadcasting, women-centric movies will be “intervention application” violence, irrespective JAVAD ZARIF‘s comment Nityanand Rai said no doc- Infosys co-founder Narayana YouTube” this Sunday, setting health and family welfare, telecast on Doordarshan from on the law in the Supreme of party affiliation on violence in Delhi ument would be collected Murthy, and women from small the internet abuzz. The PM’s human resource development, March 1-7. Ministry-specific ini- Court, which is hearing a during the exercise, which towns and cities who have Twitter following rose by about agriculture and farmers’ wel- tiatives will also take place in batch of pleas in this regard. will be carried out along shown exemplary courage in 10,000 to 53.4 million on fare, rural development, hous- different parts of the country In the morning, Modi Houses could not transact Chowdhury walked over to with the house-listing dealing with everyday situations. Tuesday, and the likes on his ing and urban affairs, finance, through the week. said peace, harmony and any substantive business the side of the Well facing phase of Census 2021. Sportswomen, including Facebook page increased by defence and home. The Press Information unity are prerequisites for for a second successive day. the Treasury benches, Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal shuttler Saina Nehwal, who in over 20,000 in a day. The campaign will observe Bureau will organise roundta- the country’s development, In the Lok Sabha, Speaker which led to a commotion called on the PM and January joined the Bharatiya In a statement on Tuesday, seven themes which include bles on the themes in different while addressing Bharatiya Om Birla said the govern- between the BJP and oppo- requested that those respon- Janata Party (BJP), and boxer the government said several of education, health and nutrition, universities, colleges and insti- Janata Party’s Members of ment was willing to hold a sition members. Other sible for the violence — irre- MC Mary Kom, conferred with its ministries have launched a empowerment of women, skills tutes across the country. Parliament. He said several discussion on the commu- Opposition party mem- spective of party affiliation forces were working to nal violence in Delhi after bers, too, followed — “should not be spared”. destabilise the country. the festival of Holi. Chowdhury and a commo- Kejriwal appreciated the Modi also took a dig at After Birla’s statement, tion broke out as BJP mem- Delhi police for being proac- No proposal on Muslim quota: CM Congress leader, former Opposition MPs stormed bers blocked their way. tive in controlling the situa- prime minister Manmohan well of the House and there Locket Chatterjee, BJP tion, when rumours were There is no proposal on Muslim reservation before the Singh, saying the latter was a repeat of Monday’s MP from West Bengal, was spread on Sunday night. Maharashtra government, CM Uddhav Thackeray said in found a “bad smell” even in shoving and jostling seen having heated argu- India on Tuesday sum- Mumbai on Tuesday. Thackeray’s remarks came days after a slogan like 'Bharat Mata Ki between Opposition and ments with Chowdhury, and moned Iran’s Ambassador Minority Affairs Minister Nawab Malik informed the Legislative Jai' and looked at it with sus- ruling party MPs. Union minister Ravi Ali Chegeni and lodged a Council that the state government will provide five per cent picion. At a recent event, As tempers rose, Birla Shankar Prasad tried to paci- strong protest over the quota to Muslims in education. The NCP minister also said the Singh had said the slogan warned that members from fy them. On the day, the “unwarranted” comments government will ensure a legislation to this effect is passed soon. was being misused to con- both benches, who cross Banking Regulation by Iranian FM over violence “We will check its validity once it comes to us,” Thackeray struct a “militant and pure- over to the other side during (Amendment) Bill, 2020, in Delhi. In a tweet on told reporters at Vidhan Bhawan in south Mumbai, where the ly emotional” idea of India uproar would be suspended which comes in the back- Monday, Zarif said Iran Budget session of the state legislature is underway. that excludes millions of res- for the entire session. drop of PMC Bank scam, condemned the “wave of The BJP said it would back the Shiv Sena-led government idents and citizens. However, Congress was introduced in the Lok organised violence against if the NCP and the Congress tried to pressurise the Sena to grant In Parliament, both leader Adhir Ranjan Sabha by Finance Minister Indian Muslims”. Muslim quota by pulling out. PTI ‘Won’t have Delhi-like violence in Mumbai’ PRESS TRUST OF INDIA with people to keep the city they have been remarkably Mumbai, 3 March incident-free and ensure peaceful. “The entire police there is no repeat of Delhi machinery is ready to tackle Newly appointed Mumbai violence,” he told PTI. any untoward situation. We police commissioner Param At least 42 persons died in are also monitoring social Bir Singh on Tuesday said communal violence that flared media activities,” Singh said, maintaining communal har- up in the national capital last adding that stern action will mony in the city was the pri- week. Mumbai was convulsed be taken against anti-social ority of the police, and no by terrible communal riots in elements. Delhi-like violence will be 1992-93 in the aftermath of the “Agitating in a legal and con- allowed to happen here. demolition of Babri Masjid. stitutional way is the demo- Singh, a 1988-batch IPS offi- The city has witnessed cratic right of people. We don't cer, took over as the top police some huge anti-Citizenship have any problem with that, but officer of the city three days ago. (Amendment) Act (CAA) we will take action against those “The police are engaging protests since December, but who violate the law,” he said. $83 billion of trade escapes tax net: Report

PRESS TRUST OF INDIA New Delhi, 3 March

India has the third-high- est trade-related illicit financial flow among over 135 countries with a whopping $83.5 billion escaping the govern- ment’s tax net owing to trade-based money laun- billion, India at $83.5 bil- dering tactics, according lion, Russia at $74.8 billion, to a report released on and Poland at $66.3 billion. Tuesday by US-based About the value gaps think tank Global identified for India, GFI's Financial Integrity (GFI). senior economist Rick The GFI classifies as Rowden said a good way illicit flows funds which to think about a value gap are illegally earned, is "the amount of trade transferred, and/or that was not properly utilised across an inter- taxed" by the govern- national border. The pri- ments of the importers mary sources of illicit and exporters involved. flows include grand cor- “This is why GFI ruption, commercial tax believes the practice of evasion, and transna- trade misinvoicing is such a tional crime. big problem — it leads to A drug cartel using huge amounts of trade that trade-based money laun- are not being properly dering techniques to use taxed, thus countries are the illegal proceeds of nar- losing out on billions of cotics sales to purchase dollars of uncollected used cars, which will be trade taxes each year,” exported to the drug source Rowden said. country and sold, is an “For India’s trade with all example of illicit financial its global trading partners, flow, it said. in terms of the sum of all of According to the report the value gaps identified in titled "Trade-related Illicit the country's trade with all Financial Flows in 135 its global trading partners, Developing Countries: we identified gaps totalling 2008-2017", for 2017, five $83.5 billion for the year of countries with the largest 2017, and an average sum of identified value gaps were $77.9 billion over the ten- China at $457.7 billion, fol- year period of 2008-2017”, lowed by Mexico at $85.3 he said, citing the report.