READ TO LEAD · 2020-06-03 · SRINATHSRINIVASAN Bengaluru,June3 ITSPENDINGINIndiawilltotal $83.5billion,adeclineof8.1% in2020,accordingtothelatest forecast byGartner,Inc.This is

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FE BUREAUNewDelhi, June 3

ESCALATING THE GLOBALcontroversy over digital taxa-tion,theUShasinitiatedinves-tigationagainstIndiaandnineother jurisdictions, includingthe European Union and theUK, for imposing or consider-ing digital services taxes withpotential to hurt Americancompanies. The move couldflareuptradetensionsiftheUSdecides to slap punitive tariffsat the end of the probe.

Official sources here,how-ever,stressedthattheprobeini-tiation bythe US should not beconstrued as a move of aggres-sion against India, as it is tar-getedatthepolicyofdigitaltax-ation that has emerged in aclutch of countries, includingWashington’scloseallies.Thesesources also averred that US-Indiatradediscussionswon’tbeimpacted by the move, andcited the fact that the US hadannounced FTA negotiationswith UK on May 5, 2020, buthas now initiated the ‘Section301 investigation’against thatcountryondigital taxation.

The office of the US Trade

RepresentativesaidIndiaadopt-eda2%DST(digitalservicestax)inMarch.“Thetaxappliesonlytonon-resident companies, andcoversonlinesalesofgoodsandservices to,oraimed at,personsin India.The tax applies onlytocompanies with annual rev-enuesinexcessofapproximately`20 million (approximately$2,67,000),”itsaid.

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DIGITALTAX ROW

CYCLONE HITS MAHACOAST

SANJANABHALERAOMumbai, June 3

NISARGA, THE SEVEREcyclonic storm, which madelandfall in Maharashtra’sRaigad district around 12.30pm on Wednesday, weakenedinto a ‘cyclonic storm’ byWednesday evening, but notbeforeuprootingtreesandelec-tricitypolesanddisruptingelec-tricity supplies in two talukas,MurudandShrivardhan.

On Wednesday evening,

MaharashtrarevenueministerBalasahebThorattweetedsay-ingthedistrictadministrationinPune,NashikandAhmedna-gar had been put on alert.TheIMD said the ‘severe cyclonicstorm’,withwindspeedsof100-110kmph,movednorth-north-eastwards with a speed of 24kmph and weakened into acyclonicstormby5.30pm.

Raigad guardian ministerand MoS for tourism AditiTatkare said the assessment ofdamage was still on but it was

hampered by heavy rains andstrongwindsthatwerestilloninparts of Raigad on Wednesdayevening. She said the damagecaused by the storm was notlimitedtoMurudandShrivard-hantalukasbutwasfeltinotherareas of Raigad as well, eventhose about 50 km away fromthecoast.NoinjurywasreporteduntilWednesdayevening.About15,000peoplehadbeenevacu-ated from theirhomes nearthesea in Raigad on Tuesday andwere asked to either move in

with relatives orprovided shel-ter at Zilla Parishad schools,Tatkaresaid.

In Mumbai, over 40,000people living near the coastwere shifted to saferplaces.

TheBrihanmumbaiMunic-ipalCorporation(BMC)issuedastatement saying 10,840 peo-plehadbeenshiftedfromareasnear the sea coast and otherlandslide prone locations to 35municipalschools.

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PRESSTRUSTOF INDIANewDelhi, June 3

GOOGLE HAS REMOVEDfrom its app store an Indianmobile application, ‘RemoveChina Apps’, which allowedusers to delete Chinese gamesand other software from theirAndroid smartphones, citingviolation of its policies.

Alphabet Inc’s Google hadpreviously removed Mitronapp — the popular Indianalternative forChina’sTikTok.

The two apps had drawn

millionsofdownloadsinIndiaas border tensions betweenIndia and China surged.

Mitron app had over 5 mil-lion downloads.Developed bylittle-knowOneTouchAppLabs,

based in Jaipur,Remove ChinaApps had become a top trend-ingfreeapponGoogle’smobileapp store in India with morethan five million downloadssincelateMay.

“Ourglobal Playpolicies aredesigned to provide a safe andsecure experience forouruserswhilealsogivingdevelopersthetoolstheyneedtosucceed.Whenviolations of these policies areidentified, we have an estab-lished process of working withdevelopers to help them findremedies,”Googlespokesperson

saidinresponsetoaquery.Remove ChinaApps helped

users identify the country oforigin forapps installed on thephone, highlighting Chineseones and suggesting steps forremoval.Once deleted,a mes-sagepoppedupsaying“Youareawesome,noChinaappfound.”

The app came in the lime-lightafterinnovatorandeduca-tionist Sonam Wangchukappealed to Indians to boycottChinese products because ofaggressionbytheChinesearmyintheLadakhregion.

Special Feature

POLICY VIOLATION

ANKURMISHRAMumbai, June 3

JAIN IRRIGATION HAS sub-mitted a proposal to lendersasking they restructure`4,000 crore of loans,sourcesclose to development told FE.The rejigging of debt isexpected to be such that thecompany is allowed to repaythe loans overa longerperiod.Theplanhasbeensharedwiththe rating agencies and StateBank of India (SBI) is likely toconvene a meeting of lenderssoon once the feedback fromthe agencies is in.

Lenders, who had earliersigned an InterCreditorAgree-ment(ICA),arelookingtocomeupwithanout-of-courtresolu-tion plan for Jain Irrigationsinceinitiatinginsolvencypro-ceedingsundertheIBCisnotanoption.OnWednesday,theCab-inet decided to suspend insol-vency proceedings under IBCfollowing an announcementmadebythefinanceministerinMarch. Some lenders hadincreased provisions, againstthe exposure, to 15% in theDecember quarter, when theaccount slipped to become anon-performingasset (NPA).

ContinuedonPage2

● DEBT REJIG

Jain Irrigationwants easierpayment terms

Experts feardouble taxation,but govtfirm on levy

Indian EnergyExchange’sRajiv Srivastava sayswithIndiamoving towardshybridisationofenergy, itwillgive a strongpush tointelligent automation inenergy trading■eFE, P9

Discoms are in a tight spotwith C&I demand down: IEX

Trees, power poles uprooted in Raigad district

CABINETCLEARS ORDINANCES

States restricted from taxingfarm trade under central law

GARTNER FORECAST

SRINATH SRINIVASANBengaluru, June 3

ITSPENDINGINIndiawilltotal$83.5billion,adeclineof8.1%in2020,accordingtothelatestforecast byGartner,Inc.This isthe first decline in ITspendingexperiencedinIndia inthelastfive years and most of thisdecline will be in Devices andDatacentres.

“The fear of a global eco-nomic recession due to theCovid-19 pandemic is forcingCIOsinIndiatobeverycautiouson their IT spending this year,”said Naveen Mishra, seniorresearchdirectoratGartner.“Inpartnership with their CFOs,CIOs in India are reprioritisingtheirITbudgetsonmissioncrit-icalinitiatives,”headded.TheQ4FY20 earnings report of topIndianITbrandsshowedexpec-tationsofamajorslowdownandhave hence deferred fromannouncing revenue and mar-gin guidance for the Q1FY21.This slowdown has alreadycaused Wipro and Infosys’clients to go for discretionarycuts in spends and also delaypayments, especially in retail,whichthecompaniesaretakingcasebycasetoresolve.

Mishrarecommendsthatin

ordertoadheretothecontinuedgovernment restrictions onsocial distancing,CIOs in Indiawillneedtospendmoreonbusi-nesscontinuity,remoteworkingand workforce collaboration.Thisisshiftingspendingtowardtechnologiessuchasdesktopasa service (DaaS), infrastructureasaservice(IaaS),virtualprivatenetwork (VPN) and security.Infosys has been using its pro-prietoryplatformemployeecol-laboration and services plat-form InfyMe and learning andcommunication platform Lex,which would go into theirnumerousremoteworkspaces.

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IT spend in Indiato dip by 8.1%

Google pulls down Remove China Apps, Mitron from Play Store

NewDelhi says taxdoesn’t specificallytarget US firms,avers trade talkswon’t be impacted

QuickPicks

Services sector activitiescontract sharply in May

INDIA'S SERVICES sector activities declined sharplyinMay asCovid continued to impair businessoperations, restrict consumer footfall at shops andresulted in job losses, reportsPTI. Reflecting a fall

in output at an “extreme rateonce again”, the IHSMarkit IndiaServicesBusinessActivity Index stoodat 12.6 inMay.Althoughtheheadline figure rose fromApril's unprecedented lowof5.4, the score remainedat a level,whichprior toCovidwasunparalleled in over 14 years ofdata collection andpointed toanextremedrop in services activity across India. PAGE 3

Govt allows foreign technocrats,businessmen tovisit India

FORTHE first time since the lockdown, thegovernment has allowed foreignbusinessmen,healthcareprofessionals andengineers tovisitIndia but theywill have toobtain freshvisas,

reportsPTI. In anorder, theMHAsaid the foreign nationals,holding avalid long-termmultiple-entrybusinessvisa,wouldalso have toget their travel documents re-validated from theIndianmissions. "...foreign nationalswould have toobtain afreshbusinessvisa or employmentvisa, as applicable, fromthe Indianmissions andposts abroad," the statement said.

Huawei hid Iran biz operationafterReuters reported CFO links

HUAWEITECHNOLOGIES acted to cover up itsrelationshipwith a firm that had tried to sellprohibited US computer gear to Iran, afterReuters in 2013 reported deep links between the

firm and the telecom-equipment giant's chief financialofficer, newly obtained internal Huawei documents show,reportsReuters. Huawei has long described the firm—SkycomTech—as a separate local business partner in Iran.Now, documents obtained by Reuters showhowHuaweieffectively controlled Skycom.The documents, reportedhere for the first time, are part of a trove of internal Huaweiand Skycom Iran-related business records, includingmemos,letters and contractual agreements, that Reuters hasreviewed. One document described howHuawei scrambledin early 2013 to try to "separate" itself from Skycomout ofconcern over trade sanctions onTehran. PAGE8

ECONOMY, P3

TRAI REMOVES CLAUSE

INTERNATIONAL, P8

SENSEX: 34,109.54 ▲ 284.01 NIFTY: 10,061.55 ▲ 82.45 NIKKEI 225: 22,613.76 ▲ 288.15 HANG SENG: 24,325.62 ▲ 329.68 `/$: 75.48 ▼ 0.12 `/€: 84.61 ▼ 0.48 BRENT: $38.83 ▼ $0.74 GOLD FUTURE: `46,650 ▼ `146

KOLKATA, THURSDAY, JUNE 4, 2020

Telcos to not charge50 paise for SMSesbeyond 100 per day

INCOGNITOMODE

Google faces $5-bnUS lawsuit for tracking'private' internet use

OPINION, P6

CCHURCHILL& G BHARDWAJ EDITORIAL

Informalworkers’savings need to belayeredwith insurance

Bihar scrapping testing

and quarantining of

returningmigrants is a

recipe for Covid disaster

VOL.29 NO. 183, 14 PAGES, `6.00 (NORTH EAST STATES & ANDAMAN `10.00) PUBL I SHED FROM : AHMEDABAD, B ENGALURU , CHAND IGARH , CHENNA I , HYDERABAD, KOCH I , KOLKATA , LUCKNOW, MUMBA I , N EW DELH I , PUNE

FOLLOW US ON TWITTER & FACEBOOK. APP AVAILABLE ON APP STORE & PLAYSTORE WWW.FINANCIALEXPRESS.COM

READ TO LEAD

FE BUREAUSNewDelhi, June 3

THECABINETONWednesdaydecided to promulgate threeseparateOrdinancestousherinthereformsinagriculturemar-keting and commodities tradeithadannouncedearlier,aspartof the package to counterCovid-19.Theordinancesaretogive effect to the amendmentsproposedtotheEssentialCom-modities Act and bring in twonew central laws on inter-statetradingandcontractfarming.

The three laws will togethergoalongwayinunshacklingtheentire agriculture-to-food-pro-cessing-to-retailingvalue-chainandgivingfarmersthechoicetoselltheirproduceinanymarketacrossthecountry,analystssaid.

The Cabinet cleared a pro-posal to promulgate an ordi-nance to suspend insolvencyproceedings against freshdefaulters for up to one yearfromMarch25,inabreathertofirmshithardbythepandemic,sources told FE. However, noofficial communication on thisissuewasimmediatelyreleased.

AgricultureministerNaren-draSinghTomarsaidtwoofthethree Ordinances —The Farm-ing Produce Trade and Com-

merce(PromotionandFacilita-tion) Ordinance,2020 andTheFarmers (Empowerment andProtection)AgreementonPriceAssurance and Farm ServicesOrdinance, 2020 – have beenkeptoutofthejudicialprocess.

ContinuedonPage2

FE BUREAUMumbai, June 3

FINANCIALCREDITORSHAVEalottolosewithinsolvencypro-ceedings under the InsolvencyandBankruptcyCode(IBC)hav-ing been suspended for a year.Their realisations could fall to`60,000-70,000 crore in FY21from `1 lakh crore in FY20,giventhefewernumberofreso-lutions as also bigger haircutsthatlenderswouldneedtotake,IcrawroteonWednesday.More-over,FY20hasseenseveralcor-porate insolvency resolutionprocesses being concluded forlargestressedassets.

The ratings agency cau-tioned it was possible recover-ies could drop further in FY22sincenocaseswouldhavebeenfiled for a year.Also,insolvencyproceedings initiated in FY22are unlikely to be resolvedwithin the year given the longtimelines taken for an CIRP tobecompletedsuccessfully.

Details onPage10

PresidentTrump isconcerned thatmany ofour trading partners areadopting tax schemesdesigned to unfairly targetour companies.We areprepared to takeall appropriateaction... againstany suchdiscrimination.

—USTRROBERTLIGHTHIZER

■NewDelhi feels its latestequalisation levy (EL)doesn’t specifically targetUS firms and is in syncwithitsmultilateralcommitments

■ Even ifUSTR finds India’spolicy unfair,NewDelhiwillhave anopportunity tonegotiatewithUS andavoidpunitive tariffs

US probing ‘GoogleTax’ by India, 9 more

SUMITJHANewDelhi, June 3

THE CENTRAL BOARD ofDirect Taxes (CBDT) on Satur-dayassignedjurisdictiontotaxofficers from its internationaltax division over assesseescoming under the purview of‘equalisation levy’ on e-com-mercecompanies. Expertssaidthat CBDT’s move was a signthat government was movingahead with the levy, whichcame into force on April 1,despite several representa-tions from industry bodies onbehalf of foreign companies,calling for a deferment of thetax due to a fearthat thewide-ranging scope of the law mayenduptaxingevennon-digitaltransactions, leading to possi-ble double taxation.

“As the first due date forpayment of equalisation levyis just a month awayon July7,the income tax authoritiesseem to be working steadilytowards the implementationand the chances of defermentlook bleak,” Sandeep Jhun-jhunwala, partner at NangiaAndersen said.

ContinuedonPage2

In casemarketpricesofanyagri produce surges,the farmerswill get a

shareof it, besides thecontractedprice, undercontract farming law

Theywill alsohave thecoverof minimumguaranteedprice ifopen

market/mandi rates fall drastically

While farmerswill nowhave freedomtoselltheirproduce in any

market, disputeswithbuyerscouldbe first raisedwith sub-divisionalmagistrate

Stateswon'thavepowerto levyany feesor taxesonagricultureproduce

tobegovernedunderboth theCentral lawson free inter-statetradingandcontract farming

Insolvency suspendedfor up tooneyear fordefaults afterMar 25

FCs stand to losea lotwith IBCsuspension: Icra

2,07,615TOTALCASES

8,909NEWCASES

COVID-19 UPDATE

5,815DEATHSSOFAR

DAVID SHEPARDSONWashington, June 3

PRESIDENT DONALDTRUMP’S administration saidon Wednesday it will bar Chi-nese passenger carriers fromflyingtotheUnitedStatesstart-ing on June 16 as it pressuresBeijingtoallowUSaircarrierstoresumeflights.

Themove,announcedbytheUS department of transporta-tion,penalises China after Bei-jing failed to comply with anexisting agreement on flightsbetweentheworld’stwolargesteconomies.Relations betweenthe two countries have alsosoured in recent months amidescalating tensions surround-ing the coronavirus pandemic.The order applies to Air China,China Eastern Airlines, ChinaSouthern Airlines and HainanAirlinesHolding.

Delta Air Lines and UnitedAirlines have asked to resumeflightstoChinathismonth,evenasChinesecarriershavecontin-ued US flights during the pan-demic.DeltasaidonWednesdaythat“wesupportandappreciatethe US government’s actions toenforce our rights and ensurefairness”.Uniteddidnot imme-diately comment.The ChineseembassyinWashingtondidnotimmediately respond to arequestforcomment.

ContinuedonPage2

● NO ENTRY

Trump tobar Chinapassengercarriers fromflying to US

Hotel in HC over Delhi govt orderCHL,WHICHOWNSandrunsSurya hotel, has moved theDelhi High Court against thestate government’s May 29order directing five luxuryhotels, including Surya andCrownePlaza,tobeconvertedinto hospitals to treat Covid-19 positive patients,reportsRishi Ranjan Kala in NewDelhi.The petition is sched-uledtobeheardonThursday.

CHLstressedthattheMay29order has been issued invio-lation of principle of naturaljustice without any legalbacking.It added that Delhigovernment failed to con-sider the cost and conse-quences of such orders onhotels in terms of resourceslikefinancialandmanpower.

Details onPage4

GOING DOWN■ IT spending in Indiawill total $83.5 billion

■ Thiswill be the firstdecline in IT spending inthe last five years

■Most of the declinewill be in Devices andData centres

■Overall cloud adoptionhas, however, increased

CycloneNisargamadelandfall southof thebeach townofAlibagnearMumbai onWednesday afternoon,leavinguprooted treesanddamagedpowerlines in itswake.MurudandShrivardhantalukas in Raigaddistrictwere theworst-hit

NISARGA STRIKESNIRMALHARINDRAN

NIRMALHARINDRAN

SRINATH RAO

US probing‘Google Tax’byIndia, 9 moreTHE TAX went into effect onApril 1.

"President(Donald)Trumpis concerned that many of ourtrading partners are adoptingtax schemes designed tounfairlytargetourcompanies,"USTRRobertLighthizersaidina statement."We are preparedtotakeallappropriateactiontodefend our businesses andworkers against any such dis-crimination."

NewDelhi,foritspart,issetto oppose the probe on theground that its equalisationlevy, or the so-called GoogleTax,doesn’t specifically targetAmerican digital firms and iswell within its multilateralcommitments underthe Gen-eral Agreement on Trade inServices at the WTO, a sourcetold FE.

Another source said theUSTR announcement is just afirst step towards a probe andisn’tanintimationoftariffsorotherpunitivemeasuresasyet.Also,theUSlawmandatescon-sultation with the allegedparty. So even if the USTRdetermines that India’s policyis unfair, New Delhi will haveanother opportunity to nego-tiatewithWashingtonandpre-vent the imposition of puni-tivetariffs.TheUSTRofficehassought written commentsfrom stakeholders for its planbyJuly15.

The latest impost wasintroduced in the Finance Act2020bywideningthescopeoftheequalisationlevytoincludee-commerceplayersandinter-mediaries. It’s a sort of digitaltax on non-resident e-com-merce operators at 2% on therevenuetheygenerateinIndiafrom e-commerce supply orservices. This levy has to bedeposited by the e-commerceoperator and not by the buyerof the goods orservice.

While the precise scope ofthe 2% levy is being debated,some analysts have said anIndian resident purchasinggoodsfromtheAmazon(US)orAlibaba or even a transactionbetween the Amazon US andAmazon India, too, could trig-gerthislevy,asthelatterwouldbe treated as a resident.

Noted tax expert MukeshButaniwrote inThe EconomicTimesrecently:“Theprovision(of 2% levy) needs clarity on

various counts.The definitioncould encompass businessesthat sell goods and services toIndian resident customeroverthe Internet, such as retailers,manufacturers, banking orinsurance companies, pay-mentprocessingandpaymentfacilitation companies etc.”

According to the USTRoffice,itwillconducttheinves-tigationundertheSection301of the Trade Act of 1974.Thislaw authorises authorities toinitiateaction,includingpuni-tivetariffs,inresponsetoafor-eign country’s action that isdeemed unfair or discrimina-toryandcurbsAmericantrade.

ApartfromIndia,theothersthat are being investigated arethe EU, the UK,Austria, Brazil,theCzechRepublic,Indonesia,Italy,Spain andTurkey.

Sources also indicated thatit’s not an American policyaggression against India, aseven US allies like the EU andthe UKare being probed.

Severalcountrieshavebeenseekingtoslapadigitalservicetax and the OECD has beenworking on a proposal toaddress the profit-shifting ofsome multinational compa-nies to avoid paying taxes incertain jurisdictions.

Seeking to start 301 probeagainst the EU, the USTR onTuesday said the block is con-sidering such a tax, as part ofthe financing package for itsproposed Covid-19 recoveryplan.“TheEUDSTisbasedona2018 DST proposal that wasnotadopted.The2018EUpro-posalincludeda3%taxonrev-enues from targeted advertis-ing and digital interfaceservices, and would haveapplied only to companiesgenerating at least €750 mil-lion in global revenues fromcovered digital services and atleast €50 million in EU-widerevenues for covered digitalservices,”the USTRsaid.

InIndia,anexpertcommit-tee had proposed extension ofthe impost to a clutch of otheronline activities and to B2Ctransactions above a certainthreshold.The tax on e-com-merce players and intermedi-aries imposed via Finance Act2020 is sync with the panel’ssuggestion.

Yet, the impost has notbeen extended to an array ofotherservices,whichasperthepanel’s suggestion, too areliabletobetaxedifdirectlyren-dered to India by the overseasparent/associates of foreign

technologyplayers.According to the commit-

tee,once such levy is imposed,the income arising from therelevant transaction won’t besubjected to income tax toavoiddoubletaxation.Thefor-eignfirmwon’tgetcredit initshomecountryfortheequalisa-tion tax paid here. Many ana-lysts feel the levieswouldraisethe burden on the digitalindustry and run contrary tothe government’s campaignfordigitisation.

Cabinet clearsOrdinances:States restrictedfrom taxing farmtrade undercentral law“IN CASE of any disputebetween farmer and a buyer,the matter will be first raisedat the level of sub-divisionalmagistrate, who will try for a

reconciliation as first optionbefore taking a decision. TheappealagainsttheSDM’sdeci-sion can be filed with the dis-trict magistrate,”Tomar said.State governments will haveno power to levy any fees ortaxes on agriculture produceto be governed underboth theCentral lawsonfreeinter-statetradingandcontractfarming,”he said.

Incasemarketpricesofanyagri produce go up substan-tially, the farmers will havesome share (which will bedefined in Rules) above thecontracted price while theywill also have a minimumguaranteed price if open mar-ket/mandi rates fall drasti-cally,the minister said,detail-ing the provisions of thecontract farming law. Therecovery of amount fromfarmers will not exceed whatthe farmer has received as anadvance from theprocessor/FPO/trader withwhomthecontractwas signedwhile his land rights will be

protected at any cost, Tomarsaid. Contract farming couldalso help the government’scrop diversification pro-gramme since farmers will beassured of sales and prices,Tomaradded.

The changes to the Essen-tial Commodities Act willremove cereals, edible oil, oilseeds, pulses, onions andpotato from its purview. TheCentral law shall ease inter-state farm trade, effectivelyoverriding the APMC mandisthat have shown impervious-ness to change.The proposedfreeing inter-state trade willcomplementwhateverlimitedAPMC reforms that somestates have undertaken inrecent months.

Thereformswillhelpevac-uate the surpluses from pro-duction zones to demandzones seamlessly, to theadvantage of farmer-produc-ersandplayersacrosstheagri-culture value chain,who havealso been promised solid sup-port by way of schemes and

outlaystobuild infrastructureand logistical chains fromfarm-gate to the retail trade,and even exports.

"This new Central law onfarm trade not only makesinter-state trade barrier-free,butalsotheintra-statetradingofagriproducewillnomoreberegulated byanystate.The lawwillallowanyonehavingaPANcardtobuydirectlyfromfarm-ers without taking any licencefrom any government," agri-culture secretary SanjayAgar-waltoldFE.TheOrdinancewillbe promulgated 'very soon' (ina dayortwo),he said.

Thegovernmentcouldalsoallow trading through the e-NAM platform without goingthrough the mandatoryregis-tration process as an exten-sion of the current reformsdone.

Once the insolvency Ordi-nance comes into force, sec-tions 7, 9 and 10 of the Insol-vency and Bankruptcy Code(IBC) will remain suspended.These sections deal with theinitiation of the insolvencyproceedings by financial andoperational creditors and cor-porate debtors. However,insolvency applications filedbeforeMarch25willbeenter-tained.The cut-off date fromMarch25alsocomesasarelieffor the lenders who had filedapplications against stressedfirms in sync with the centralbank's June 7, 2019, circular,underwhichadefaultcasewillhavetobereferredtotheNCLTif no other resolution plan isfirmed upwithin six months.

FCs stand to losea lot with IBCsuspension: IcraAGAINSTTHE stipulated res-olution period of 330 days,the process on average takes415 days. How much credi-tors will be able to recover inFY21would be decided bythesuccess of a large housingfinance company(HFC).ICRAanticipates that in the cur-rent environment lenderssmay not realize good valua-tions thanks to limitedappetite from buyers andmight need to take big hair-cuts. A prolonged lockdowncould also see the processslowing down and if creditorsare not satisfied with bidsthey may even request addi-tional time to accommodatefresh ones.

Forecast 2020: ITspend in India todip by 8.1%THE OVERALLcloud adoptionin India has increased, as aresultofthisincreaseinspend-ing.TCS which announced anambitious plan to have a per-manent remoteworkforce hasbeen working on similar plat-forms for a few years now.Recently the companyreported that its Secure Bor-derless Workspsaces had seen35,000 meetings, 4,06,000calls, and 340 lakh messagesacross TCS on the digital col-laboration platform.

Almost 75% of TCS’work-force is expected towork fromhome by2025.

Spending on devices anddatacentresystemsinIndiaareon pace to record the steepestdeclinesin2020,at-15.1%and-13.2%,respectively as showninthetablebelow.CIOsinIndiawill consider extending lifecycles of their existing deviceassetswhichwilldelaynewpur-chases, according to Mishra.WhilespendingisonpacetodipacrossallsegmentsinIndiathisyear,technologies such as tele-health,smart-chatbots,mobileapplications enabling deliver-ies,and distance learning edu-cationsoftwarewillexperiencean increase in spending in2020.As a result, spending onenterprise software is set torecord a moderate decline in2020at-2.6%.

“The lockdown measuresforced sectors such as educa-tion,healthcare,andpublicutil-ities to accelerate their digitaltransformation,” said Mishra.“However,sectorssuchasretail,insurance, and banking thatwere already advanced in theirdigital transformation have toreduce their IT spending in2020. These sectors will con-tinuetospendontargeteddigi-tal initiatives such as artificialintelligence,machine learningandvirtualsalesassistants,how-ever,theywill have to reduce orstop spending on businesstransformation, process re-engineeringandmodernisationofexistingsystems.”

Jain Irrigationwants easierpayment termsOTHERLENDERSareexpectedto follow suit in the Marchquarter, in keeping with the

income recognition and assetclassification (IRAC) norms.S&Phas downgraded Jain Irri-gation Systems to ‘D’ (defaultgrade)formissinginterestpay-ments due on February 1,2020.S&Palsosaidtheresolu-tion plan might take longerthan expected and the com-pany’s operations will con-tinue to suffer due to a lack ofsufficient liquidity to manageits debt servicing andworkingcapital requirements.In Octo-ber, 2019, Care ratings haddowngraded Jain Irrigation to‘D’, due to a delay in servicingits debt.

Trump to barChina passengercarriers fromflying to USCHINA“REMAINS unable” tosaywhen it will revise its rules“to allow U.S. carriers to rein-state scheduled passengerflights,” the TransportationDepartment said in a formalnotice made public onWednesday.

TheTrump administrationon May 22 accused China’sgovernment of making itimpossible for U.S. airlines toresume service to China andordered four Chinese carrierstofileflightscheduleswiththeU.S. government.The Chinesecarriers are flying no morethan one scheduled flight aweek to the United States butalso have flown a significantnumber of additional charterflights, often to help Chinesestudents return home. TheTrump administration is alsocrackingdownonChinesepas-senger airline charter flightsand will warn carriers not toexpect approvals. REUTERS

Cyclone strikesMaha coast:Trees, powerpoles uprooted inRaigad district

Besides, following anappeal by the BMC, nearly30,000people moved on theirown to these shelters,the civicbody said. This is the secondcyclone to strike India in twoweeks. Nisarga is also only thesecond time since 1902 that acyclonehasdevelopedovertheArabian Sea in June.(Inputs from Mayura

Janwalkar)

EconomyTHURSDAY, JUNE 4, 2020

FINANCIALEXPRESS2


ECONOMIC ACTIVITIESSEEM tobeattainingnormalcyat the end of the May as e-waybill generation touched 11.4lakh perday in the lastweek ofthe month, taking the dailyaverageforthewholemonthto8.2 lakh. This is nearly thricethefiguregenerated inApril.

However, while e-way billgeneration - which maps thecargo movement under theGST - has been rising everyweek in May since the com-plete lockdown was relaxed onMay 4, the data for the wholemontharestillonlyhalfofFeb-ruary,thelastfullmonthbeforelockdown, when 19.2 lakh ofsuch bills were generated on adailybasis.

In the three first threeweeksofMay,thedailygenera-tionwas9.4lakh,8.2lakhand6

lakh, respectively. E-way billsarerequiredforGST-registeredbusinessestotransportcargoifit exceeds `50,000 in value.Agovernmentportalissuesthesereceiptsafterrelevantinforma-tion (related to cargo, sender,recipientandvehicle fortrans-port) isprovided.

Withfurtherrollingbackoflockdown from June 1, morebusinessesactivityisexpected,givingaboosttoe-waybillgen-

eration.However,experts saidgiven the paucity of labour inkey economic pockets, the fullrecoverymayyetbedelayed.

“E-way bill data show thateconomic activity is at half-waymark compared with the pre-Covidperiod.Dataone-waybills,coupled with stock marketindices,are also indicating thatthe economyhas bottomed outandweareinV-shapedrecoverymode,”RajatMohan,seniorpart-

ner,AMRG&Associates,said.The total e-way bills issued

forAprilwas86lakh,oronly2.9lakh per day, as against 13.2lakh in March. On April 3, thegovernment had extended thevalidityofe-waybillthatexpirebetweenMarch20andApril15up to April 30. It was furtherextended to May 31.This alsomeantthatnewe-waybillsdur-ing the lockdown periodweren'tneeded.

"Due to the obvious impactof the lockdown, a lot of stockwas not able to reach the con-sumermarket andtheupcom-ingweekspostlockdowncouldsee heavy write-off of perish-ablestockinbooks,clearanceofoldinventoryatreducedpricesaswellasstruggletobridgethedemand-supply gap with fol-lowing repercussions on GSTcollectionsonbusinessresum-ing post June 8," Jigar Doshi,foundingpartneratTMSL,said.

RBI to SC: No forcedinterest waiver onloan moratorium

From the Front Page

Distinct Covidtrait in IndiaSCIENTISTSATTHECentre forCellularandMolecularBiology,Hyderabad,haveidentified a distinct traitin the coronavirus foundin people infected mostlyinTN andTelangana.Theyhave named the clusterofvirus population as'CladeA3i'found in 41% of thegenome sequenced.

Shramiktrain

services

DAILYRUNS OFtheShramik Special trains,which once averagedaround 250,have nowreduced to 50 due to afalling demand from thestate governments.

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WWW.FINANCIALEXPRESS.COM

Rise in e-waybills confirmseconomic activity resumption

Experts fear double taxation,but govt firm on levyTAX EXPERTS said that thefinance ministry wasexpected to defer the levy asit was unclear whether non-residente-commerceopera-torsneedto have incometaxregistration in India forpay-mentoflevy,andiftaxwouldbeleviedongrossconsidera-tion or commission incomefor platform-based businessmodels and correspondingexemption under theIncomeTaxActtoavoiddou-ble taxation.

The equalisation levy,meant to nullify the advan-tage of foreign e-commercefirms absent a physical pres-ence in India overlocal com-petitors, came into effect inJune 2016.The levy is oftenreferred to as “Google tax”and is applied at the rate of6%onthepaymentsfordig-ital advertisement servicesreceived by non-residentcompanieswithoutaperma-nentestablishment(PE)hereiftheseexceededRs1lakhina year.The companies usingtheseservicesarerequiredtowithholdthetaxamount.

Since then, the govern-ment has collected Rs 315crore in FY 17,and about Rs700croreandRs950croreinthesubsequentyearsviathistax. While there was noannouncement in the Bud-getthisyearforthetax,itwasintroducedintheFinanceActtowidenthescope.

While the Organisationfor Economic Co-operationand Development (OECD)hasbeenengagedinamulti-lateralapproachtofindawaytotaxdigitalcompaniesthatdon’tnecessarilyhavephysi-calpresenceinajurisdiction,many countries haveadopted some interim taxmeasuretillglobalsolutionisreached.

While ‘permanent estab-lishment’or PE for any com-panyisconventionallybasedon physical presence todecidethetaxability,thedef-initionhasprovedtobeinad-equate in the digital erawhere a non-resident com-pany can generate substan-tial revenue without beingphysicallypresentinapartic-

ularjurisdiction.To overcome the inade-

quate definition of PE fordigital services companies,Finance Bill, 2018, defined‘significant economic pres-ence’ which would deter-mine ‘business connection’of a company in India andwhetherit is liable to tax as acorporate entity and be cov-ered under the rules of cor-porate taxation.

However,these newcon-cepts and definition willhave to be agreed upon andcodified in the relevantbilateral tax treaties beforedigital companies couldbecometaxableascorporateentities, a government offi-cial said.

Intherecentconsultativepaper released by OECD, itproposed to define newnexusindependentofphysi-calpresencebutlargelybasedonsales.Thenewnexuscouldhave thresholds includingcountry specific sales cali-brated to ensure that juris-dictions with smallereconomiescanalsobenefit.

❝ ❝

AGRI REFORMNarendra SinghTomar, agriculture minister

Thiswill go a longway in helping farmerswhilealso transforming the agriculture sector.Theproposed amendment to the EssentialCommoditiesActwill allay fears ofprivateinvestors of excessive regulatory interference.

PMGKY:`53,248 crtransferredto accountsof 42 croreFE BUREAUNewDelhi, June 3

FINANCIAL ASSISTANCEamounting to `53,248 crorehas been transferred to thebankaccountsof42croreben-eficiaries as on June 2 underthe Pradhan Mantri GaribKalyanYojana (PMGKY).

On March 26, financeministerNirmala Sitharamanhad announced the PMGKYfor the poor to help themfight the battle against coro-navirus. The package was amix of fresh sops,front-load-ing of some of the plannedexpenditures and utilisationof some of the autonomousfunds (having no implicationon the Budget) at thestate/district level.

By front-loading the PM-Kisan, the Centre has trans-ferred `16,394 crore as thefirst instalment of `2,000 toeach of the 8.19 crore farmersas on Tuesday. Under thescheme, the Centre has beenproviding `6,000 to eachfarmerspreadoverthreeequalinstalments in ayear.

It also transferred `500 toeach of the 20.6 crore womenJan Dhan account holders,involvinganoutgoof`20,344crore.Togivesupport tobuild-ing and other constructionworkers, `4,313 crore wastransferred to 2.3 crore bene-ficiaries.

Under the Pradhan MantriUjjwalaYojana,8.58 crore freecooking gas cylinders worth`8,488 crore have beendelivered.

INDU BHANNew Delhi, June 3

THE RBI ON Tuesday refusedto grant any 'forced' interestwaiver on loan moratorium,saying it will risk not only thefinancialviabilityofthebanks,butwill alsoput the interestofdepositors in jeopardy.Besides,itwillhurtbanksbyasmuch as `2 lakh crore (1% ofthe GDP).

The banking regulator inits replyto the Supreme Courtsaid it was taking all possiblemeasures to provide relief tothe real sector with regard todebt repayments on accountof the fallout of Covid-19,but"it does not consider it pru-dent or appropriate to go for aforced waiver of interest,risk-ing the financial viability ofthe banks it is mandated toregulate, and putting theinterests of the depositors injeopardy."

The fact that the waiver ofinterest ishavingfar-reachingeffect on the economy cannotbeignoredandthelargerpub-lic interest of the economyalways takes precedence overthe individual cases of hard-ship, it said. The interest onadvances forms a vital sourceofincomeforbanksandallowsthem to sustain and remainfinancially sound and prof-itable,the replystated,addingthatthebankshavethediscre-tion of how they will recoverthe interest accrued duringthe moratorium period.

The RBI on May 22 hadgrantedextensionof itsprevi-ously announced three-monthtermloanEMImorato-

rium by another 3 months toAugust 31, 2020.The centralbank on March 27 hadannounced a three-monthEMI holiday from March 1 tillMay31onall termloanrepay-ments including home loans.

The RBI's response cameafter the SC on April 30 hadasked the RBI to examine ifbenefits of its policy decisionon the three-month morato-rium on fixed-term loans andEMIs are being passed on toborrowers.

Abatchofpetitionshadchal-lenged a part of the March cir-cularwith regard to recoveryofinterest accrued on the out-standing portion of term loansduring the moratorium periodof between March 1 and May31.

Accordingtotheregulator,theallegationof impositionofinterest during the period isdevastatingistotallywrongasthis would mean "turning ablindeyetowardsthefactthata borrowing arrangement is acommercialcontractexecutedbetween the lender and theborrower and the interestrates reflect the same".

TheRBI in its replysaidtheobjective of the circular wasthatwhenthecountryisunderlockdown and the businessesare closed and consequentlythe employed persons are fac-ing cash flow losses, loanobligations should not comeas a double whammy duringthis period…The moratoriumperiod merely permits thelending institutions to post-pone the payments that willfall due during the morato-rium period.

Construction cess fund: States transfer `4,313 crore to workersFE BUREAUNewDelhi, June 3

STATESHAVETILL June 2 dis-bursed `4,313 crore, or justaround 14% of the `31,000-crorecorpuslyingunutilisedatMarch-end under the desig-nated cess fund for buildingand constructionworkers,as aone-time support to 2.3 crorebeneficiariestohelpthemtideover the crisis arising out ofCovid-19.

The Centre on March 26advised states to "adequately"transfer money from the funddirectlyintotheaccountsofan

estimated 3.5 crore registeredworkers.

"The number of beneficia-riesvis-à-vistheactualnumberof registered constructionworkers shows that states didnot accord due priority to thecause of the workers," saidRajeevSharma,arepresentativeof the Building ConstructionGlobal Union in South Asia.Sharmasaidactingontheadvi-sory issued by the Centre, 21states have so far transferredamounts ranging from `1,000to`5,000tothebankaccountsofworkersfromthedesignatedcessfundsattheirdisposal.

The construction cess is inthe states' domain: they fixrates, collect the cess and alsodetermine the criteria for reg-istration of beneficiary work-ers and distribution of funds

collected.Sharma said the labour

ministry should look at pro-viding portability of the regis-tration to workers, mostlymigrant, under the BuildingandOtherConstructionWork-ers'Welfare Cess Act, 1996 sothat theydo not lose the bene-fitastheymovefromonestateto another.

The labour ministry hadearlier estimated that around`31,000 crore was lyingunspentwiththebuildingandother construction workerswelfare boards across states.

Trade union sources said

Delhihastransferredthehigh-est amount of `5,000 each tothe registered constructionworkers, followed by Punjaband Kerala at `3,000 each.Himachal Pradesh and Maha-rashtra have offered `2,000each while Odisha is learnt tohavegivenone-timebenefitof`1,500 each to registeredworkers. Many states, includ-ing Uttar Pradesh and Bihar,havealsoofferedfreerationforone to three months in variedquantities to suchworkers.

Most of the 21 states haveoffered `1,000 cash benefit toeachworker.


REGULATOR TRAI ONWednesday removed a specificprovisionthatrequiredtelecomoperators to charge at least 50paiseperSMSfortextmessagesexceeding100onasingle con-nectionperday,taking intoac-count the interest of“genuinenon-commercialbulkusers”.This means operators will

have a free hand in fixingchargesforsuchbulkSMSesbynon-commercial users, andTrai’s practice of forbearancewill extend to suchmessagestoo,anofficial explained.Theamendment,removing

aspecificprovision inthetele-comtarifforder,cameafteranelaborate consultationprocess, that saw the TelecomRegulatoryAuthority of India(Trai) organising its first-ever‘Open House Discussion’(OHD) entirely through the

video-conferencing mode toseekstakeholders’responseaf-ter a round of comments andcounter-comments.“Schedule XIII of the

TelecommunicationTariffOr-der 1999 made it obligatoryfor telecom service providersto charge a minimum of 50paise per SMS for every SMSexceeding100SMSesperSIMperday.ThedeletionofSched-ule XIII thus implies anotherstep of Trai in doing away ofthe tariff regulation andstrengthening the regime oftariff forbearance,” the sec-

toral watchdog said in astatement.The specific provision for

higher charges over andabove a certain threshold fordaily SMSes had been intro-duced in the Telecom TariffOrderin2012andwasmeanttoserveasanadditionalsafe-guard to curb themenace ofunsolicitedcommercialcom-munications or pesky tele-marketing calls.In 2018, a new stronger

technology driven frame-workwas prescribed byTraifordealingwithpeskycalls.


INDIA’S SERVICESECTORac-tivitiesdeclinedsharplyinMayas the coronavirus pandemiccontinued to impair businessoperations, restrict consumerfootfallatshopsandresultedinjob losses, a monthly surveysaidonWednesday.Reflectingafall inoutputat

an“extremerateonceagain”,theIHSMarkit IndiaServicesBusi-

nessActivityIndexstoodat12.6inMay.Although the headlinefigure rose from April’s un-precedented low of 5.4, thescoreremainedatalevel,whichprior to the coronavirus pan-demicwasunparalleled inover14years of data collection andpointedtoanextremedropinservices activityacross India,thesurveynoted.A print above 50means

expansionandascorebelowthat denotes contraction,as

per the IHSMarkit India Ser-vices Purchasing Managers'Index (PMI).According to the survey,

output sank sharply due toextendedbusinessshutdownsand very weak demandconditions.

ECONOMY 3FINANCIALEXPRESS

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Director Civil Aviation, Government of Gujarat,

C/o Gujarat State Aviation Infrastructure Co. Ltd.

(GUJSAIL), A Government of Gujarat Undertaking,GUJSAIL Complex, Nr. Torrent Sub-station,

SVPI Airport, Ahmedabad-380004, Ph.-079-2288 2000/ 2054

Pre Bid Meeting Date:- 15/06/2020 Last Date of Submission:-

24/06/2020 Bid Opening Date:- 01/07/2020

Interested bidders/agencies can download the tender document and relevant

details from the website www.nprocure.com

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TENDER ID :403947

INVITES TENDER FOR THE MAINTENANCE

SERVICES OF SKA B200 AIRCRAFT, VT-GUJ, MSN:- BB1687.

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Trai scrapsbulkSMSprovision fortelcos

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Regulator removesclause requiringtelcos to charge atleast 50 paise fortextmessagesbeyond 100 per day


THEWORLD ECONOMIC Fo-rum will have a unique twinsummit in January2021withthe theme‘TheGreatReset’tobring together global leadersfrom government, businessand civil societyfrom around theworld to discusshow to evolve aneconomic modelwith climatechange at theheart of it.“We only have

one planet andweknow that climatechange could be the nextglobaldisasterwithevenmoredramatic consequences forhumankind.Wehavetodecar-bonise the economy in theshortwindow still remainingandbringourthinkingandbe-

haviour once more into har-monywith nature,” said KlausSchwab,founderandexecutivechairman of the World Eco-nomicForum.This innovative summit

will be a very different annualmeeting, reflecting the spiritof the Great Reset. It will pro-

videauniqueop-portunity at thebeginning of2021tobringto-gether the keyglobal govern-ment and busi-ness leaders inDavos, yetframed within aglobal multi-

stakeholdersummitdrivenbythe younger generation to en-sure that the Great Reset dia-logue pushes beyond theboundaries of traditionalthinking and is truly forward-oriented,theWEFsaid.

WEFsummit to debategrowthwith climate focus

The summitwiththe theme ‘TheGreat Reset’ todiscuss economicmodelwith climatechange at theheart of it

Services activities drop sharply inMay


INDIA HAS SAVED `5,000crore in foreignexchangeaf-teritcapitalisedonthegloballowoilprices tofill itsunder-groundstrategicoilstoragetoshore up insurance againstany supply or price disrup-tion,thepetroleumministrysaidonWednesday.While the 5.33 million

tonne of emergencystorage—enough tomeet India’s oilneedsfor9.5days—wasbuiltinundergroundrockcavernsin Mangalore and Padur inKarnataka andVisakhapat-nam in Andhra Pradesh bythe government, state-ownedoil firmswere inAprilaskedtobuyimportoilwhenglobal rates fell to a two-decadelow.“Takingadvantageof low

crudepricesduetotheCovid-19 situation, India filled itsstrategic reserves to full ca-pacity,”theministrysaid in atweet adding this led to aforexsavingof`5,000crore.Oil prices globally had

slumped after coronaviruspummelleddemand.The storages at Manga-

lore and Padur were half-

empty and there was somespace available inVizag stor-age aswell.Thesewere filledbybuyingoilfromSaudiAra-bia,theUAEandIraq.The ministry said crude

and LNG sourcing has beenfurther diversified tostrengthenIndia'senergyse-curity.IndianOilCorp (IOC),the

nation’s largest oil firm, in2019-20enteredintoalong-term contract for sourcingcrudeoilfromtheUSA.It also signed a first-ever

termcontractforimporting2million tonneofUrals gradecrudeoilfromRosneftofRus-siain2020,theministry.“First Russian cargo of 2

millionbarrelsunderthecon-tractwas received by IOC atParadip onApril 8,2020,” itsaid.In just over twoyears,bi-

lateral hydrocarbon tradewith US increased from al-most negligible in 2017 to11%oftotaltwo-waytrade,itsaid. “US is the 6th largestsource of crude oil importswhile India has become the4th largest export destina-tionfortheUScrude.”It, however, did not

givedetails.

India saves `5,000 cron filling oil reserves


RETIREMENTFUNDBODYEPFO has updated KYC de-tails of its 52.62 lakh sub-scribers during the April-May period, according to alabourministrystatement.This updation includes

Aadhaar seeding for 39.97lakh subscribers, mobileseeding (UAN activation)for 9.87 lakh subscribersand bank account seedingfor 11.11 lakh subscribers.The KYC (know your

customer) is a one-timeprocess which helps inidentityverificationof sub-scribers through linking ofUniversalAccount Number(UAN)withKYCdetails.To extend the availabil-

ity and reach of online ser-vices,which have becomecrucial in the wake of theCOVID-19 pandemic, theEmployees'Provident FundOrganisation (EPFO) up-

dated KYC data for its52.62 lakh subscribers inthe month of April andMay 2020, the statementsaid.Further, to enable KYC

seedingon such large scale,the EPFO has also under-taken massive exercise ofrectifying thedetails of thesubscribers even duringthe lockdown.This resulted in correc-

tions of 4.81 lakh names,2.01 lakhdates of birthand3.70 lakh Aadhaar num-bers in the last twomonths.In order to balance the

need to ensure safety of itsstaff bymaintaining socialdistancing in office duringthe lockdown on one handand to facilitate KYCupda-tion for the subscribers onthe other hand, the EPFOadopted twin strategy ofwork-from-home and sim-plificationofKYCupdationprocess.

EPFO updates KYCof 52.62L inApril-May

CompaniesFINANCIALEXPRESS4 WWW.FINANCIALEXPRESS.COM

THURSDAY, JUNE 4, 2020❝❝

❝❝

SUPPORTTORETAILERSKumar Rajagopalan, CEO, Retailers Association of India

The reluctanceofbanks, especially privatebanks, to come to their(retailers’) aid is unfortunate andcouldhurt notonly retailers but thebanks themselves. Banks havemadehuge investments in the retailsector, and if the sector struggles togetbackon its feet, a significantportionof that investment could turn intonon-performingassets

Tata Steel to raise`400 crore throughdebt issueTATASTEELonWednesdaysaid itscommitteeofdirectorshasapprovedraising`400crore throughadebtissue.Ina filing to theBSE,thecompanysaid thecommitteeapprovedallotmentof4,000non-convertibledebentures (NCDs)havingfacevalueof`10 lakheachonprivateplacementbasis to identifiedinvestors.“Thecommitteeofdirectorshas today(Wednesday)approvedallotmentof4,000–8.08%perannumunsecured,rated,listed,redeemable,floatingcoupon,non-convertibledebentures (NCDs)of facevalue`10,00,000each,forcashaggregating to`400crore,toidentified investorsonprivateplacementbasis,”TataSteel said.

ReligareEnterprisesraises`300croreRELIGAREENTERPRISESonWednes-daysaidithasraised`300crorebydivestingstakeingroupfirmReligareHealthInsuranceCompany(RHICL)toKedaaraCapital.Consequenttothecapitalraising,thecompanysaidithasretiredpreviousloanandhasbecomecompletelyexternaldebt-free.EarlierinApril,ReligareEnterprises(REL)informedabouttheproposeddivest-mentofpartoftheinvestmentofthecompanyinReligareHealthInsuranceCompany(RHICL)toKedaaraCapitalFundIILLP.

CEPIgrants$14.1mforchikungunyavaccineTheCoalitionforEpidemicPrepared-nessInnovations(CEPI)announceda$14.1-milliongranttoaconsortiumcomprisingBharatBiotechandtheInternationalVaccineInstitute(IVI)toadvancethedevelopmentofachikun-gunyavaccine.CEPIisaninnovativepartnershipbetweenpublic,private,philanthropicandcivilorganisations,launchedatDavosin2017,todevelopvaccinestostopfutureepidemics.

GVKGroupreducessalariesbyupto30%GVKGROUPhasslashedsalariesof itsstaff across companiesbyupto30%fromMayamidthecoronaviruspan-demic,whichhas significantlyimpactedmarketsandbusinessesduetoa total shutdownofnearlytwomonths,a source saidonWednesday.Thediversifiedgroup,which is intoenergy,resources,airports,trans-portation,hospitalityand life sci-ences sectors,hasanaround1,800-strongworkforce.

AmazonIndiaexpandspackaging-freeshippingAMAZONINDIAonWednesdaysaidithasexpandedpackaging-freeshippingservices,whereinreusablebagswillbeusedtodelivergoods,to100Indiancities.Aspartofeffortsforsustainablesolutions,packaging-freeshippingwaslaunchedinninecities inJunelastyear.IndiawasthefirstmarketwheretheinitiativewaslaunchedbyAmazon.

IRCON,NIIFL,AyanasignsolarenergyMoUIRCONINTERNATIONAL,amini-ratnapublic sectorenterprise,hassignedamemorandumofunder-standing (MoU)withNational Invest-ment and Infrastructure Fund(NIIFL) andAyanaRenewablePower(AYANA),anNIIFplatformcompany,to explore andcollaborate onoppor-tunities in the solarenergysector.According to theMoU,NIIFLandIrconwill evaluate strategicpartner-ships across infrastructureprojectsandhaveagreed in-principle to iden-tify,bid andexecute solarenergypro-jects through jointventures/consor-tiumarrangements.

VNDatttakeschargeasNFL’sCMDNFLDIRECTOR(marketing)VirendraNathDatthastakenovertheaddi-tionalchargeofchairman&managingdirectorofthecompany.Datthasbeenassociatedwiththecompanyasdirec-tor(marketing)sinceOctober2018.

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ViewRISHI RANJAN KALANewDelhi, June 3

CHL, WHICH OWNS and runs SuryaHotel, has moved the Delhi High Courtagainst the state government’s May 29order,directingfive luxuryhotels,includ-ing Surya and Crowne Plaza, to be con-verted into hospitals to treat Covid-19patients. Filed onTuesday, the petition isscheduled forhearingonThursday.

“Petitioner (Surya hotel) is filing thepresentwrit petition seeking issuance ofappropriateordersordirectionsorwrit inthenatureofcertiorarioranyotherappro-priate writ thereby seeking quashing oftheorderarbitrarilyissuedbythesecretary(health and familywelfare), governmentofNCTofDelhi,”the counsel forCHLsaidin thepetition.

CHL,throughitspetition,stressedthattheMay29orderhadbeenissuedinviola-tion of the principle of natural justicewithoutanylegalbacking.

“GovernmentofNCToughttohavedis-cussed future course of action with thestakeholders, as conversion of the hotelinto a Covid hospitalwill affect the busi-ness(bothpresentandfuture)ofthehoteland its customerswill be reluctant to stayinsuchahotel.Therefore,anyorderviola-tive of the fundamental rights is to bequashed,”thepetitionsaid.

CHLaddedthat theDelhigovernmentfailed to consider the cost and conse-quencesof suchorders onhotels in termsofresources likefinancialandmanpower.Also, it did not consider that hotels aredesigned to cater to healthy individualsand its service design is not built to servepeoplewith health issues orwho them-selvesarehealthhazards.

Another issue is that the hotel infra-structureiscompletelydifferentfromthatofahospital,likecarpeting,air-condition-

ing,electrical/powerback-ups,wasteman-agement, laundryandhousekeeping,toi-let facilities,etc,it added.

CHLhadwrittenalettertoDelhihealthsecretaryPadminiSinglaon Monday,stat-ing that Surya has already allotted 200rooms for quarantine facility under theVandeBharatMission.Theorder,however,has come as a shock as it is without anyform of consultation and is in completeignoranceof theprinciplesofnatural jus-tice,it added.

The five hospitals are Batra Hospital,IndraprasthaApollo,BLKapurMemorialHospital,SirGangaRamHospitalandMaxSmart Super Speciality Hospital. ThesehospitalswouldhelpconverthotelShera-ton at Saket,CrownPlaza atOkhla Phase-I,Surya atNewFriends Colony,Siddharthat Rajendra Place, and Jivitesh at PusaRoad intoCovid-19hospitals.

The court case against the Delhi gov-ernment came after industry association,HotelandRestaurantAssociationofNorth-ernIndia(HRANI),onTuesdayurgedDelhichiefministerArvindKejriwalanddeputychief ministerManish Sisodia to recon-sider their May 29 order, stressing thathotels are not equipped in terms of infra-structuretoopensuchestablishments.

Delhiisoneofthemostimpactedstatesin Indiawith a high number of Covid-19positive cases.As on June 3 afternoon, ithadatotalof22,132cases,including9,243recoveries and 556 deaths.On Tuesday,Kejriwal said the cityhad a total of 6,731Covid-19beds,ofwhich4,100werevacant.

Conversion tohospitals:HotelmovesHCagainstDelhi government order

FE BUREAUHyderabad, June 3

AUROBINDO PHARMA HAS posted a45.2% increase in its net profit to `849.8croreforthefourthquarter,against`585.4croreduring the samequarter inFY19,fol-lowing growth across geographies withdiversifiedproductbasket.Revenues stoodat `6,158.4 crore,a growthof 16.4%overthecorrespondingpreviousperiod.Revenuefrom formulations recorded a growth of23.9% y-o-y to `20,011.9 crore andaccounted for86.6%of total revenues.Forthequarter,formulationrevenueregisteredagrowthof23.5%to`5,401.2crore.

“Thenewfiscalyearhas begunwith lotof challenges that the globe and industryhadneverwitnessed.Weare committed inprotectingthehealthandwell-beingofouremployees,their families andother stake-holders.Weareproudofouremployeesandother stakeholders for their commitmentduring the crisis forensuring thebusinesscontinuity. We have closed FY20 with ahealthyperformanceinQ4.Thegrowthwasseenacross all ourgeographies.Diversifiedproduct basket has helpedus tomaintainthegrowthmomentuminourcoregeogra-phieslikeUSandEurope.Weremainfocusedon strengthening ourexisting businesses,developing a differentiated and specialtyproductbasketandregulatorycompliance,”NGovindarajan,MD,saidinastatement.

The US market revenue witnessed agrowthof20.5%y-o-y to`2,990.3 crore,accounting 48.6% of consolidated rev-enue.The companyhas filed 17 abbrevi-ated newdrug application (ANDAs)withthe USFDA, including 10 injectables inQ4FY20 and 55 ANDAs, including 19injectables in FY20. It has received final

approval forsixANDAsinQ4FY20and22ANDAs including eight injectables inFY20.AsonMarch31,2020,onacumula-tive basis, the company filed 586ANDAswithUSFDAandreceivedapprovalfor425ANDAs including 28 tentative approvals.Thecompanyhas launchedfourproductsduring the quarter.For theyear, the com-pany launched 34 products includingseven injectableproducts

Theanti-retroviral (ARV)businessrev-enuewas at `1,251.5 crore compared to`972.5 crore, an increase of 28.7%y-o-yand accounted for 5.4%of revenue.Rev-enue from growthmarkets formulationsinFY20postedagrowthof13.5%y-o-yto`1,355.1croreandaccountedfor5.9%ofrevenue.TheAPI business clocked a rev-enue of `3,083.4 crore and contributed13.4% to the consolidated revenues.Thecompanyfiledonedrugmasterfile (DMF)withtheUSFDAduringthequarterand12DMFs inFY20.

Meanwhile, the company transferreditsbiosimilarbusiness,itsrelatedR&Dandmanufacturing facilities to its wholly-ownedsubsidiary,CuraTeQBiologics.

AurobindoPharmaQ4netup45.2%at`849.8 crore

Revenues stood at `6,158.4 crore, agrowth of16.4%over the

corresponding previous period

CHL, through its petition, stressedthat theMay 29 order had been

issued in violation of the principle ofnatural justicewithout any

legal backing


THEHIGHCOURTofGujaratonWednes-day stayed the electronic voting and unitholders’meetingrequiredbeforeFranklinTempletonMutual Fund canwind up sixofitsdebtschemes.Thematterwillbenextheardon June12.

“Inthemeantime,bywayofad-interimrelief, the operation and implementationof thenoticedated28.05.2020regardingE-voting andUnit-holder’sMeeting sendthroughEmail byrespondentno.3hereinshall remain stayed,”said the orderof theGujaratHighCourt.

The petitioners in the case are AreezPhirozsha Khambatta, Persis Khambattaand Khabhatta FamilyTrust. It was con-tendedbytheseniorcounselthatthepeti-tioners had invested a huge sum ofapproximately`6.55croreintheschemesof the fundhouse.

The court order stated that the assetmanagement company had decided toholdameetingtodisposeofthepropertiesofthecompanywithoutpassinganyreso-lution in that regard,whichwould have a

major impact on the amount invested bythe investors.

InApril, the fundhouse had closed sixdebtschemesduetosignificantlyreducedliquidity in the Indian bondmarkets formost debt securities and unprecedentedlevels of redemptions following thenovelCoronavirusoutbreakandlockdown.Later

inMay28,thefundhousehadannounceditse-votingprocessandunitholdersmeet-ing forthesame.

TheorderalsostatedthattheattentionofthecourtwasinvitedtoSub-clause15(c)of Regulation-18 of the SEBI (MutualFunds)Regulations,1996tobringoutthepoint thatwhenmajority of the trusteesdecide towinduporprematurelyredeemthe units, the trustees have to obtain theconsent of the unit holders.“However, inthis case, no such consent has beenobtained.Referring to Regulation-39 ofthe Regulations, it was submitted that ascheme of amutual fundmay bewoundup only after repayment of the amountduetotheunit-holders,whichhasalsonotbeenfollowed in this case,”said theorder.

When contacted, Franklin Templetonsaid the fund house was examining thematter andwould take appropriate stepsasmayberequired.“Wecontinuetofollowdue process, both inmaking investmentdecisions and in thewinding up of theseschemes.Wehaveactedinthebestinterestofourinvestorsandinaccordancewithallregulations,” said a spokesperson fromFranklinTempletonMF.

FranklinTempleton’s e-votingonwindingupdebt fundsstayed

●HCORDER


SBI CAP ON Wednesday informed theSupremeCourtthatitisreadytofundsevenstalled housing projects of the AmrapaliGroupandaconcreteproposalforreleasing`500croretostate-runNBCCwouldbesub-mittedwithinaweektothecourt.

SBI senior counsel Harish Salve told abench led by JusticeArunMishra that forreleasing any funds forundertaking con-structionwork, a special purpose vehicle(SPV)wouldbecreated.

Salve said that it is in deliberationwiththe receiverof the court andanothercom-panyhas to be set upbetween the receiver

andSBICAP,whichwillwork in collabora-tionwiththeNBCC.TheNBCCshallunder-taketheconstructionworkandthefundingwouldbedonethroughthecompanyforthepurpose of construction.However,he saidthat the homebuyers shall be asked todeposit10-15%toshowseriousness.

ThereceiveralsotoldthecourtthatUCO

Bankisreadytotakeovertheunsoldinven-toryassecurityandisreadytofund`2,000croreinsecurityofunsoldinventory.

Thebenchgaveaweek’stimetoworkoutthedetails.“Letajointmeetingbeconvenedbetween theNBCC,Receiver, the SBI CAPandUCOBank to do theneedful.LetUCOBankalsojointhemeetinginfurnishingtheinformation asmaybe requiredbythe SBICAP…TheForensicAuditorsarerequestedtoprovide all the information as may berequiredbytheSBICAP.Letthemsubmittheentire documents,as required bySBI CAPandassisttheminassessingthematter,”theSCsaidinitsorder,whiledirectingUCOBankto finalise the complete proposal in thisregardwithinsevendays.

SBI Cap ready to fund seven stalledhousing projects ofAmrapali Group

ASMITADEYNewDelhi, June 3

THE GLOBAL LICENSING deal betweenFacebook and Saregamawill surely bringgoodmusic to theearsof theusers—afterallgettingtheevergreentracksofMoham-madRafiorLataMangeshkartobeapartofyoursocialmediastoriesjustgoteasier.Butthe crux is that such deals sharpen thepotential for social media platforms tomonetise advertisements, while musiclabelsaddtotheirshareofdigitalrevenues,which currently formsclose to80%of thetotalpie.

TarunPathak,associatedirectoratCoun-terpointResearch,says:“Ifyoulookatoneofthe fewbig trends for Facebook across its

products(Instagram,WhatsApp)inthepastfewyears,itistheimpactofstories.Popular-ityof storiesmeansmore stickiness/moretimespentonFacebookplatformsbyusers,whichmeansmorevisibilityforads.”

MandarThakur,chiefoperatingofficeratTimesMusic,saysitisimperativetonotethediversityofahugemarketlikeIndiathatthrives on regional consumption.Due tothe explosion of low-cost data,platformslike Facebook,YouTube and TikTok havealsofoundastrongconsumerbaseinsmalltowns.Gettingaccesstoavastcollectionoflocalmusicwill onlyhelp the platforms tostrengthenandwidentheiruserportfolio.

“These platformsmake a lot ofmoneyfromadvertisingbyusingourmusic.Forus,it isanadditionalusageofmusicandarev-

enue stream,”Thakur told FE. As life hasmovedtotheinternetandcloud,thewaytoemotewithmusic has also changed.“Thewhole point of Facebook and Instagram isuser-generated content,” Thakur said.AlthoughThakurdid not reveal thevaluethatsuchdealsfetchonanaverage,hesaid:“It iscommensuratewithyourshare inthemarket and thevalue that your repertoirebringstotheplatformandconsumers.”

Industry experts estimated Indianmusic labels to rake in anywhere between`100 crore and `120 crore in revenuesfrom social media platforms in 2019,accordingtomediareports.

ThedealwithSaregamawillallowFace-book to license the company’smusic forvideo and other social experiences across

FacebookandInstagram.Peoplewillalsobeable toaddsongs to theirFacebookprofile.Saregamaboastsofarichcatalogueofover100,000songsacrossgenres inmore than25languages.

Shares of Saregama on Wednesdayended at `333.95 apiece on the BSE,up20%.

Facebookmade$17.44billioninadver-tising revenues in the three months toMarch 2020 against $14.91 billion inQ1FY19,up17%year-on-year.“ThelargestFacebook andWhatsApp communities inthe world are in India,” said FacebookfounderandCEOMarkZuckerberg.

Inthepast,Facebookhasstitchedsim-ilardealswithT-Series,ZeeMusicandYashRajFilms.

Saregama and Facebook announce global licensing deal


MAHINDRA AND MAHINDRA (M&M)expects the rural economy to recovermuch faster than urban. The recoverywouldbedrivenbyhigherminimumsup-port prices,higher government procure-mentandarecord rabiproduction.

Inaregulatoryfiling,thecompanysaidthat while it was difficult to predict thedemandscenariofortheimmediateshortterm, it expects tractor demand to showgood improvementon thebackof severalpositive factors.Higherpriceswould leadto better realisation to farmers and theoutlook of a normal monsoon has alsoaidedexpectationsofagoodkharif crop.

Thecompanyfurthersaidthatpositivefactors in the rural economy wereexpected to lead to quicker recovery inrural India and rural demand wasexpectedtoimprovesalesmomentumfortheautosector,whiledemandintheurbansegmentwould take longertocomeback.

On Wednesday, M&M said that thecompanyhad estimated the quantum oflossduetoCovid-19lockdowntothetuneof 87,000 vehicles and around 30,000tractorsforthethreemonthsofApril-June2020.Meanwhile,theestimatedquantumof loss due to Covid-19 lockdown forMarch 2020was around 23,400vehiclesand14,700tractors.

The company’s revenue and prof-itabilitywould also be impacted in linewith the fall involumes,it said ina filingto the stock exchanges. However, thecompany has gradually begun opera-tions in aphasedmanneraswas allowedwith relaxations in the lockdown.Around 75% of the company’s dealer-ships have also opened.

Rural demand torecover faster, saysMahindra &Mahindra

Industry experts have reportedlyestimated that Indianmusic labelsraked in between `100 crore and`120 crore in revenues from social

media platforms in 2019

KIRAN RATHEENewDelhi, June 3

ATATIMEwhen government is trying topromote manufacturing of telecomequipment in the country, there is a cleardivide between local and global players.While the domestic players like SterliteTechnologies,VNLandTejasNetworksareseeking preferential access to contracts,globalfirmsincludingNokia,EricssonandHuawei are opposed to themove as anyrestrictions on themwill hamper futureinvestments.

The Department of Telecommunica-tions (DoT) held ameeting onWednesdaywith all the telecom network makers inorder to learn about the pain points anddiscuss howmanufacturing can be pro-motedinIndia.Theideaofthemeetingwastogetsuggestionsfromindustryplayerssothat DoT can come outwith its incentivepolicytopromotemanufacturing.

According to sources,themeetingwasattended by Ericsson, Nokia, Samsung,Huawei, Sterlite Technologies,VNL,TejasNetworks, etc. During the meeting, thelocal firms demanded that preferentialmarket access (PMA) norms should beappliedtoprivateplayersalso.Thenorms,which are currentlymandatory for gov-ernmentcontracts,provideapriceadvan-tagetolocalcompanies.TheBSNL4Gten-derissoongoingtobecancelledbecauseitdidnot include thenorms andanewten-derwithPMAnormswill be issued.

It must bementioned that the globalfirmsareatadisadvantagewhenitcomesto PMA norms. Though companies likeNokia and Ericsson are manufacturingtelecomequipmentinIndia,thelocalcon-tent addition is around 40% only. But ifthecontractmandates50%orabovelocalvalueaddition,it leavesalltheglobalfirmsout of the race, leaving the floor open fordomestic companies.As the cost of tele-com equipment supplied by global firmsismuchcheaperwhile thequalityis supe-rior,the local firmsareyet tomakeamarkinprivatesector.Thelocalfirmsreiteratedto the government that they can’t com-

petewithglobalfirmsintermsofcost,andsomekindofhandholding shouldbepro-vided,likemandatingPMAtoprivatesec-toroperators.

Also,thefirmsconveyedtoDoTthat toincrease manufacturing in India, thereshouldbecertainpriceadvantageascom-paredtoothercountries.“Currently,man-ufacturinginIndiais8-10%expensive,sothegovernmentshouldprovideincentivesinthesamerange.Also,asIndiaisnotsucha bigmarket for telecom equipment, theincentives should promote exports,” saidoneof theexecutivesofaglobal firm.

Itmust bementioned that theDigitalCommunicationsCommission (DCC),thehighest decision-making body of DoT, inits meeting held onMay 11 has alreadycleared the production-linked incentive(PLI) scheme to promote telecom equip-mentmanufacturinginIndia.Aftertakingthe suggestions from industry,DoTwillform its policy and send it to the Cabinetfor approval.APLI scheme for electronicsmanufacturing has alreadybeen notifiedbythegovernment.

TEMA,an association of local telecomequipment players, said it requestedDoTthat telecom PLI scheme should includemandatory eligibility criteria, commit-ment and compliance on domestic valueaddition,exports,employment and tech-nology absorption.The body further saidthe scheme should be for indigenousdesigndevelopedmanufacturedproductsandnot forassembly.

Thegovernmentwantstobecomeself-sufficient in telecom equipmentmanu-facturing, primarily because of securityconcerns.

Local,global telecomequipmentplayers differ over policy

InApril, the fund house had closedsix debt schemes due to significantlyreduced liquidity in the Indian bondmarkets formost debt securities and

unprecedented levels ofredemptions following the

Coronavirus outbreak and lockdown

COMPANIES 5FINANCIALEXPRESS


Place: MumbaiDate: June 3, 2020

Notice is hereby given pursuant to Section 91 of the CompaniesAct, 2013 and Regulation

42 of the SEBI (ListingObligations andDisclosure Requirements), Regulations, 2015, that

for the purpose of determining the names of shareholders eligible for dividend as

recommended by the Board and as may be declared by the shareholders of the Companyth

at the 26 Annual General Meeting, the Share Transfer Book and the Register of Members

of the Company will remain closed from Saturday, June 13, 2020 to Monday, June 15,

2020 (both days inclusive).For Welspun Enterprises Limited

Sd/-Priya Pakhare

Company SecretaryFCS - 7805

NOTICE

Reg. Office: Welspun City, Village Versamedi, Taluka Anjar, District Kutch, Gujarat-370110Tel.: +91 2836 662222, Fax +91 2836 279010

Corp. Office: Welspun House, Kamala City, Senapati Bapat Marg, Lower Parel,Mumbai, Maharashtra - 400013. Tel.: +91 22 6613 6000, Fax: +91 22 2490 8020

Website: www.welspunenterprises.com, Email Id: [email protected]

WELSPUN ENTERPRISES LIMITED

CIN: L45201GJ1994PLC023920

Registered Office: 12th Floor, Narain Manzil, 23, Barakhamba Road, New Delhi - 110 001.

Corporate Office: One BKC, 13th Floor, Bandra Kurla Complex, Mumbai - 400 051.

Tel.: +91 22 2652 5000, Fax: +91 22 2652 8100, Website: www.iciciprumf.com,

Email id: [email protected]

Central Service Office: 2nd Floor, Block B-2, Nirlon Knowledge Park, Western Express

Highway, Goregaon (E), Mumbai - 400 063. Tel.: 022 2685 2000 Fax: 022 26868313

ICICI Prudential Asset Management Company LimitedCorporate Identity Number: U99999DL1993PLC054135

No. 003/06/2020

To knowmore, call 1800 222 999/1800 200 6666 or visit www.iciciprumf.com

As part of the Go Green Initiative, investors are encouraged to register/update their e-mail id

and mobile number to support paper-less communications.

To increase awareness about Mutual Funds, we regularly conduct Investor Awareness

Programs across the country. To knowmore about it, please visit https://www.iciciprumf.com

or visit AMFI’s website https://www.amfiindia.com

Mutual Fund investments are subject to market risks,

read all scheme related documents carefully.

Notice-cum-Addendum to the Scheme Information Document (SID)/Key Information

Memorandum (KIM) of the Schemes of ICICI Prudential Mutual Fund (the Fund)

Change in address of theOfficial Point of Acceptance of Transactions (OPAT) of Computer

Age Management Services Limited (CAMS)

Investors/Unit holders are requested to note the change in address of the OPAT of

CAMS, the Registrar and Transfer Agent of the Fund, as follows:

Old Address New Address Effective Date

CAMS SERVICE CENTRE,

Office No. CF-8, 1st Floor,

Business Point, Above Bicholim

Urban Co-op Bank Ltd., Angod,

Mapusa, Goa - 403 507

CAMS SERVICE CENTRE,

Office No. 503, Buildmore

Business Park, New Canca

By Pass Road, Ximer, Mapusa,

Goa - 403 507.

June 5, 2020

This Notice-cum-addendum forms an integral part of the SID and KIM of the Schemes

of the Fund, as amended from time to time.

All other provisions of the SID and KIM except as specifically modified herein above

remain unchanged.

For ICICI Prudential Asset Management Company Limited

Place : Mumbai Sd/-

Date : June 3, 2020 Authorised Signatory


FACEBOOK WILL ACQUIRE9.9% stake in Jio Platforms,announced last month, via anewentity— JaadhuHoldingsLLC—as per regulatorydocu-ments. In April, Facebook hadannounced an investment of$5.7 billion (`43,574 crore) inJio Platforms. According to asubmissionmade to the Com-petitionCommission of India,JaadhuHoldingsLLC isan indi-rect,wholly-ownedsubsidiaryofFacebook.

“Jaadhu is anewly incorpo-ratedcompanyformed inMar-ch 2020under the laws of theStateofDelaware,US...Jaadhuisnot engaged in anybusiness inIndiaoranywhereintheworld,”it said.Thenotification form isbeing filed in relation to Jaad-hu’s proposed acquisition of aminority, the non-controllingshareholdingof approximately9.99% of the fully dilutedequity share capital in Jio Plat-forms,itadded.Simultaneously,Jio Platforms,WhatsApp, andReliance Retail (RRL) are

proposing to enter into a sepa-rate commercial arrangement,it added. JioMart—anewRRLcommercemarketplacewhichconnectscustomerswithkiranastores and other small andmicrolocalIndianbusinesses—planstointegratecertainWhat-sAppserviceswithJioMart.

FB tobuystake inJioPlatformsviaJaadhuHoldings

RIL rights issueoversubscribed1.59 timesRELIANCE INDUSTRIESONWednesday comple-ted the nation’s biggest-ever rights issue of `53,-124 crore after it closedwithanoversubscriptionof nearly 1.6 times, thecompany said.The world’s biggestrights offering bya non-financial company inat least a decade wasoversubscribed1.59tim-es,cumulatingtoanover-all commitment of over`84,000crore. —PTI

HYUNDAI MOTOR INDIA(HMIL) on Wednesday intro-duceditsupgradedonlineauto-motive retail platform‘Click toBuy’to give customers aviablealternativesolutionforpurchasein the wake of Covid-19 pan-demic. This is India’s first andonlyend-to-endonlinecarbuy-ingplatform,curatedtoprovideincredible future retail experi-encetocustomers.

‘Click toBuy’is designed tofacilitateonlineretailofHyundaicars to promote a contactlesspurchasing process wherebyowninganewcarwillbesafe andhassle-free. With this facility,Hyundai isofferingaccess to itscomplete range of carmodels.The one-stop solution for cus-tomers’carownership require-mentcomeswithadditionalfea-tures suchas full-spectrumcarbuying journey, transparencywithon-roadprices,dedicatedsalesconsultants,onlinefinanceoptionsfrombanks,fastestloanapproval for pre-approvedcustomers,uniquedealcodesforcustomers,specialonlineprom-otions,onlinetestdrivebookingofsanitisedcarsandhomedeliv-ery of fully cars, stated a com-panypressrelease.FE BUREAU

Now,buyingHyundai carsis just a clickaway in India

THURSDAY, JUNE 4, 2020

FINANCIALEXPRESS6 WWW.FINANCIALEXPRESS.COM

❝ ❝

FARMERS FINALLYFREEUnion minister, Prakash Javadekar

Farmers cannowexportor store thesecommodities

(freed fromEssentialCommoditiesAct)as theywish.

Farmers are also free fromtheclutchesofAgricultural

ProduceMarketCommittee

THE MOST COMMONrefrain when we discusslong-term retirement sav-ingsbynon-salaried infor-mal workers is around

affordability. With such fragile andmodest incomes, how canwe expectstreetvendors,constructionworkersorfarmers to save, or save enough for a20-yearretirement?

This isperhapstrueforthose livingbelow the poverty line today.Most ofthemmay indeed be constrained torelyentirelyonsupport fromchildrenor the governmentwhen they are tooold towork.

But, the majority of India's infor-mal sectorworkers arenot in this cat-egory. Domestic help,milk farmers,auto-rickshaw drivers, shopkeepers,MSME workers, fishermen and Oladrivers are both economically activeand aspirational, and can afford tosave.Evenmore importantly,asmostof them are still in their 20s or 30s,they have enough time at hand tobuild up a large enough retirementcorpus, evenwith fairlymodest con-tributions.

Which brings us back to the com-mon refrain. If that were indeed thecase,why don’t we already have 200million National Pension Scheme(NPS)accounts?And,whydidmillionsof urban migrants have little or nosavings to withstand the lockdowneven fora fewdays?

Answers to questions aroundretirement savings capacity and NPStractionmay lie outside theNPS.

Like everyone else, non-salariedworkers are vulnerable to a range oflifecycle risks.These can cause a sud-denspike inexpenses,orasuddendipin income, or both. Many risks areinsurable and salaried workers areusually insulated from their impactthrough amix of insurance,pensions

and other employee benefits. How-ever,suchbenefitsarenotavailable tonon-salariedworkers—who form thebulkof India’s500millionpaidwork-force.Most non-salaried workers aresimplyuninsured.

So, what does an auto-rickshawdriverdo,if someone inhis familyhasan accident or urgentlyneeds an operation, butdoes not have any insur-ance?He firstwithdrawsall the money he hassaved up for some otherpurpose.If these savingsare not sufficient (asthey rarely are) to fullycover the cost of thetreatment,he is forcedtotake an expensive emer-gencyloanfromaneigh-bouroramoneylendertomakeup the balance.

Thus,he uses amix of savings andcredit as a proxy for insurance to paythe full costofanotherwise insurablerisk. Ideally, he should have paid lessthan 5% of this amount as an insur-ance premium, and transferred thefull cost of this risk to an insurer.

As a result of just one, fairly com-mon lifecycle event, he needs torestart saving for his original goalfrom scratch. But, he cannot restartsaving immediately as any surplusincomeoverthenextfewweeks isnowpledged to repaythe expensive emer-gency loan.

When the next crisis hits, he usu-ally repeats the same cycle.

Zero risk protection has seriousbehavioural and financial conse-quences for the auto-rickshaw driverand his family.First, successive emer-gencieswipeoutpastsavingsandpre-venthimfrombuildingabetterfuture

for his children. Second,heisforcedintoavicious,perpetual debt trap thatconsumes most of hissurplus income and fur-ther compromises hisability to save.And third,even if he decides to savefor his old age, theprospect of an illiquidretirement product liketheNPSwillappearunat-tractive tohim.

As the chairman ofIndia's Pension Fund Regulatory andDevelopment Authority (PFRDA) hasalsoobservedrecently,long-termsav-ings need to be layered with insur-ance. This would help cover large,unexpected losses, such as the deathof a breadwinner, or lost income dueto a crop failure ora health crisis.

As things stand, however, mostinsurance products for the workingpoorareusuallylinkedtoloans.There-fore, one needs to be in debt in orderto have risk protection,which seemscounterintuitive. Instead, we needinsurance that is linked to savings.Insurance that covers thecostof risks

that ordinarypeoplemost frequentlyface,oraremostconcernedabout,andwhich keep them in poverty and pre-vent them fromsaving.

Itisfeasibletodevelopanintegratedsocial security solution,where every`100thatanauto-rickshawdriver(oramaid, farmer or shopkeeper) saves, isautomatically distributed betweenNPS, a liquidmutual fund and insur-ance.Once suchaproduct is inplace,itwillbeimportanttoworkoutthelogis-tics ofhowit canbecomerapidlyavail-able toallunderservedsegments.

Here,Indiaclearlyhasanedgeovermost other countries.A combinationof IndiaStack,smartphonesandopendigital platforms have placed thecountry in a very unique “techmoment”. It is more feasible todaythaneverbefore to roll outa fullydig-ital social security solution for infor-malworkers.Adoptionat scale shouldnot be challenging as millions ofeveryday Indians across urban andrural locations are alreadyembracingdigital channels.

UPI will of course be essential forsuccess. Once it becomes even morebroadlyaccessibleandusedbyunder-served segments, it would enableseamless transfer of micro savings,directly from mobiles to well-regu-latedfundmanagersandinsurers.UPIcan then be used also to deliver liq-uidity, insurance claims and retire-ment benefits.

By creating an attractive, inte-gratedproductbasket,andbymakingit as easy to save as it is to send aWhatsAppmessage, India could leadthe way globally on comprehensivesocial securityinclusion.Thiswillhelpexcluded citizens achieve muchneeded riskprotection fortoday.And,releasea largershareof their incomesto better prepare for a more secureanddignified old age.

● RETIREMENTPLAN

BYCREATINGAN INTEGRATED PRODUCTBASKET,ANDBYUSINGTHE INDIASTACKTOMAKESAVING EASY, INDIACOULD LEADTHEWAYONCOMPREHENSIVE SOCIALSECURITY INCLUSION

CRAIGCHURCHILL&GAUTAMBHARDWAJChurchill is chief, Social Finance Programme, ILO, & Bhardwaj

is co-founder ofpinBox Solutions, Singapore

AKHIL BANSALDeputy CEO, KPMG in India

Views are personal

THE IDEA OF ATMANIRBHARTA, orself-reliance, was at the heart ofprime minister Narendra Modi’srecent address to the nation. ThereareparallelsbetweenPMModi’smes-sage andMahatmaGandhi’s conceptof a self-reliant India, the bedrock ofhis Swadeshi philosophy. Self-reliance iswoven into the tapestry ofIndia’s journeyright fromtheSwara-jya movement. The renewed pursuitofAtmanirbharta sows theseeds foranew course of long-term develop-ment, and serves as the pivot onwhich India can emerge as a hub formanufacturing and investments. Inorder to achieve this vision, Indianeeds to focus on holistic and sus-tainable development.

Inthe1980s,DengXiaoping’seco-nomic reforms were the trigger forChina’s emergence as a global power-house today.Though successful, theenergy-intensive Chinese model hastroubling environmental and eco-nomic ramificationswith significantincome inequality, and may not beideal for India.While there are manyimportant learnings from China andits rise as a global superpower, Indiamust now chart its own course togrowth as amarket democracy.

With its growth agenda, the gov-ernment is set to play an importantrole in creating a conducive environ-ment for business. Keeping in mindthe fundamental pillars of this new,post-Covid-19 India that PM Modihighlighted inhis speech,it is impor-tant that key policy changesare implemented.

Incentivising the establishment ofproduction facilities in the country iscritical, not just for assembly, but forrawmaterials,too.Theneedofthehouris a calibrated incentive plan,depend-ing on the level of indigenousproduc-tion.Certain curbs against the importof cheaper produce, from other coun-tries,might be necessarywhile ensur-

ing that the localproduce is cost-com-petitiveandsustainable.

The government should considermovingawayfrombroad-strokeinter-national policies and shift to a coun-try-to-country model. The focusshould remain on bilateral tradeagreements,whichensureabalanceofpayments aswell as technology-shar-ing. The government should forgepartnership/alliance models withother countries and companies,espe-cially inareaswhere indigenous capa-bilities donot exist.

To achieve real self-reliance, thecountrywill also need to incentiviseinnovation, researchand development tokeep India at the cut-ting edge of the indus-try. These can beachievedeitherthroughthe setting up of globalinnovation centres inIndia or through part-nerships between lead-ing Indian research/academic institutionsand their global coun-terparts. While theseedsof suchcollabora-tion already exist in the form of theNASA-ISROpartnershipandjointvac-cine development efforts for Covid-19, these ties should be enhancedacross institutions and fields.

Governance and policy issueswillalso need attention as India seeks tocarry on improving its ‘ease of doingbusiness’climate.Heavyinvestmentontechnologyingovernmentproceduresand bureaucracy is a long overduenecessitythat can’tbeoverlooked.

Buildingworld-classinfrastructureis extremely critical, and this requireshugeinvestments.Astrongframeworkforcollaboration (e.g.contracting)andfinancing such investments needs tobeestablished.

While competitive federalism is

required in the long term, ensuring acommon playing field, with a morecohesive and consistent policy frame-work achieved through collaboration,isvital.Clarityandtransparencyinthepolicy landscape are also crucial inrestoring investor-confidence.

A cultural shift is required in thepublic sectorandbureaucracytoavoidthe constant distrust—whether it istowards private organisations or thepublic at large.While public-privatepartnerships are a step in the rightdirection,the success of suchpartner-shipsneeds tobemorewidespread.

Therehasbeenaresurgenceinpro-tectionistpoliciesinrecentyears.While these policiesmay carry a certain ele-mentofrisk,boldandcali-brated steps areneeded toensure the vision of theAtmanirbhar BharatAbhiyan is achieved. Thesuccessofthesestepsshalllie in the effectiveness ofcollaboration Indiaachieves through its bilat-eral relations, especiallywithAmerican and Euro-peancountries.

There has never been a better timein history to take such boldmeasures.Externally, there is an ongoing rebal-ancing of world powers, and India isbeing lookedatas apartner in thecur-rent fight against Covid-19.Domesti-cally,Indiahasastronggovernmentatthe Centre, a bold leadership and astrong consumption story given itsdemographicmix.

Ifboldmeasuresarenottakenoverthenext five to tenyears,Chinamightfarsurpassusandourabilitytoachieveeconomic independencewillgetdras-tically impacted. Hence, it is criticalthat, with the vision laid out by thegovernment, we act fast and acttogether to usher in a stronger, self-reliant andmoreprosperousnation.

The Central VistaIt is an irony that the Modigovernment is rushing itsambitious project of redevelopingthe Central Vista at the heart of thenational capital, at a timewhen thespeaker of the Lok Sabha and thechairperson of the Rajya Sabha areexploring the possibility of holdingvirtual sessions of the Houses intheir capacities as their presidingofficers. The urgency shown to theexecution of the project in the faceof a global public health crisis at itsheight, is indicative of thegovernment’s misplaced priorities.At a timewhen it should use all theresources at its disposal to combatthe Covid-19 pandemic andmitigate the misery of theimpoverished people thegovernment shows no qualmsabout expending a vast sum ofmoney on providing modernworkplaces and securing ease ofworking to the electedrepresentatives. There is a time foreverything; this is not the time tobuild monumental structuresdisregarding the monumental taskof saving the lives and livelihoodsof the citizenry. The government’sunwillingness to defer the project,which many environmentalists andarchitects regard as ‘dubious’ tillthe pandemic becomes less severeor is overcome, is reflective of itstrait of being obsessedwith thecreation of outward symbols ofopulence. BJP’s penchant forostentatious displays ofwealth andpower is proverbial. The sad partis, it is unconcerned aboutdehumanising poverty beneath theveneer of prosperity. Thegovernmentwould have left a farbetter legacy if building homes forthe homelesswith amenities hadtaken priority over building a vistaawe-inspiring in size and designdevouring crores and crores ofrupees to satisfy its fondness for‘big things’ and announce to theworld the ‘new heights’ Indiahas reached.— G David Milton, Maruthancode

There has been a resurgence in protectionist policies inrecent years.The success of the self-reliance visionwilldepend on howwell India is able to negotiate termswith countries, especially the US and European nations

LETTERSTOTHE EDITOR

The govt shouldforge alliance

modelswith othercountries and firms,especially in areaswhere indigenous

capabilitiesdo not exist

Whydon’t theworking poorsave for old age?

Bilateral trade dealswill be key

Informal workers’long-term savingsneed to be layeredwith insurance.This would helpcover large,

unexpected losses

Bihar is courtingCovid-19 disaster

Scrapping testing, institutional quarantining of returningmigrants a badmove,can’t relyonhomequarantining

Bail, not jail

IntelligentDESIGNAportal to promote artificial intelligence is a good start;the govtmust promote start-upsworking in the field

BIHAR’S DECISION TO endmandatory testing and quarantining forreturningmigrantworkers reaching the state after June 2 is amisstepthatcouldprovedevastating,givenitsorelylacksthehealthcarecapac-itytodealwithascenario inwhichcasesrunintoseveral lakhs.Thestate

government, as per an Indian Express report, claims to have received nearly 30lakh returnees over the past fewweeks.As per a PTI report, it has also reasonedthat,withtheCentrenowhavingliftedseveralmovementrestrictions,it isunlikelythatmigrantswould register andundergo quarantining apart from it becomingdifficult for the state to reallydeterminewho is a returningmigrant.While sucha tsunami of returneeswould likelyoverwhelmeven the best-prepared states inthecountry,Biharsummarilydroppingall checks is an invitation todisaster.Thestatehasnearly5,000quarantiningcentres—allofwhichwillbeclosedfromJune15 (migrantswho landed on June 1will be completing their quarantine on thatdate)—that house nearly 13 lakhmigrants; currently, as per the state, some 5.3lakhmigrants are still undergoingquarantining at these centres.Given the bulkof the infected in the state—2,743 out of 3,872 confirmed cases—aremigrantswhohave returned afterMay3,fromhigh-burden states/UnionTerritories suchasDelhi,Gujarat,Maharashtra,etc,stoppingregistration,quarantiningandtest-ing is simplyabandoning the responsibilitytodealwith thepandemic ina scien-tific and strategicmanner.

The Bihar government must bear in mind that it has only 30,857 hospitalbeds, 1,543 ICU beds and 771 ventilators (as estimated by Centre for DiseaseDynamics,Economics and Policy).And, the daily growth rate for Covid-19was8.4% in the fourth lockdown period, in which a large number of returningmigrants arrived in the state,while it was 6.6% in the third lockdown period.Even if the dailygrowth rate didn’t increase over the nextmonth,the statewillhaveover44,000casesbytheend-June,andgoingbya requirementof ICUcarefor3.5%ofCovid-19cases (averageofDelhi,MumbaiandPune),thestatewouldhave exhausted nearly its entire ICU capacity by then.All of this refers to thetotal capacity in the state,not just the ones kept for Covid patients; so, the sit-uation is evenworse.

The state can’t just afford to throwup its hands and blame the relaxation ofmovement-restrictionstoclosedownitsquarantinecentres.Evenwith lax imple-mentation—an IndianExpressreportfromApriltalkedaboutquarantinedreturn-ing-migrantsleavingthefacilityateaseandcomingbackformeals—quarantiningis a basic non-pharmacological intervention against the disease. In any case, thestatesarefreetoimplementtheirownrestrictions,andifBiharneedstocheckinter-andintra-statetravelbybuses,etc,it is indeedfreetodoso.And,evenifonlyahand-fulofmigrantsarenowexpectedtoreturn,thestateshoulddiligentlytestandquar-antine them.Relying on home quarantining, as the state government seems tohave advocated,will hardlywork,given a recent ICMRreport shows that contact-tracinginIndia,aspertestingdataoverJanuary22-April30,isquitepoor,andBiharstandsashade lowerthaneventhenational average.

TECHNOLOGY’S MARCHWAS alreadymaking human labour redun-dant inmanyareas,but the pandemic has hastened the pace of this.AWorld Bank research highlights that automation threatens 600mil-lion jobs across the world.As for India, 69% of jobs might be lost to

automation.These numbers will certainly be offset by some jobs getting cre-ated,but thenatureofworkwill undoubtedlybeupended.Thus,theCentrehasdonewell to focusonnewtechnologies.AfterannouncingaNationalBlockchainStrategy, this year’s budget focussed on quantum computing.OnMonday, theITminister announced a national AI portal to dispense information on newdevelopments in the segment.

Although theportal is at an elementarystage at present,andonly shells outinformationonAI courses runbyuniversities anddetails thework of start-upsusing AI, apart from posting research and case studies, it is still significant asknowledgeabout the technologyisn’t as commonas it seems.Besides,ithas thepotential tocovermore fields.Oncemorecompanies startdeployingAI-enabledapplications, the portal can also host job-postings and keep the academiaupdated about industry-demand. Furthermore, if research papers and casestudies are released regularly, companies canworkwith university innovationlabs todevelopnewproducts.However,if thegovernment is tobackanAI strat-egy, it will also need to partnermore such programmes to promote start-ups.While start-ups in agri-tech and med-tech have been around, only a few stategovernments have gone ahead and partnered with such firms. States and theCentrewill have to forgemore such associations to promoteAI.

Delhi HC right, bail can’t be denied to send amessage

THE DELHI HIGH COURT is right, the remit of the courts is to dispensejustice,andimprisonmentisprimarilyforthoseconvictedandnotaboutdetainingunder-trialstogiveamessagetothepublic.Grantingbailtoanaccused in the communal violence in Delhi earlier this year—theDelhi

Police had argued against this, saying bail would send an adversemessage—thecourtsaidthatbail can’tbedeniedtoanaccused if thecourt isconvincedthatnei-ther investigation nor prosecution is served by keeping her in custody. JusticeAJBhambhanialsonoted,“Itisthissentiment…thatleadstoovercrowdingofjails;andleaves undertrials with the inevitable impression that they are being…treatedunfairlybythesystem.”

Thefactisthatcloseto70%ofprisonersinIndia’sovercrowdedjailsareunder-trials,asperdata fromtheNationalCrimeRecordsBureau (NCRB)—India’s show-ing is farpoorerthanmostcomparabledemocracies in this regard.And,with4.66lakhprisoners(in2018)versusatotalcapacityof3.96lakhinIndianjails,theprisoninfrastructure is already severely stretched,with the national capital having oneoftheworstovercrowding.Thisandseriousunder-staffinginjails (justabout70%of the sanctionedposts areoccupied in Indianprisons)make foradeadlycocktailforprisonadministrationinIndia.Beyondpure infrastructuralgrounds,therearecompelling reasonsof justiceandhumanrights thatwould justifya‘bail asnorm’stance.There are enough examples ofwrongful incarceration,with under-trialsandconvicts being foundnotguiltyafter lengthytrials andequally lengthystintsinprison.Also,incarcerationofunder-trials inIndiaseemstotypicallyweighdownonthemarginalised,with30%oftheunder-trialscompletelyilliterate(likelyover-whelmingly from the lower economic strata of the society)while the bulk (70%)haven’tcompletedschool.AsperPrisonStatisticsIndia2015 (thelastyearforwhichsuchdatawas published),SCs,STs andOBCs,made for66%of theunder-trials inthe countrywhowere in prison.The continued imprisonment of under-trials—erstwhile Jammu&Kashmir andGujarat had relativelyhigh rates of under-trialslodged in jail formore than five years—also likely assaults the right to judicialreprieve inmanycases.

Indeed,Amnesty International found that the Section 436Aof the CriminalProcedureCode,whichprovidesforreleaseofunder-trialswhohavebeeninjail forhalfofthemaximumsentenceprescribedforthecrimetheyarechargedwith(pro-videdthemaximumsentenceisnotdeath),wasbeinggrosslyviolatedtothedetri-ment of the under-trial’s interest in some states,while itwas over-estimated insomestates.ThecriminaljusticesysteminIndianeedstoreorientitselftowardsbailas thenormif justice is indeed tobedone.

●Write to us at [email protected]

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Mon-Fri `10, Sat `13, Sun `13). Chairmanof the Board:ViveckGoenka,Managing Editor: Sunil Jain, DeputyManaging Editor: Shobhana Subramanian * (*Responsible for selection ofnews under the PRBAct ) . Copyright:The Indian Express Private Limited.All rights reserved. Reproduction in anymanner, electronic or otherwise, inwhole or in part,without priorwritten permission is prohibited.The Financial Express®

Opinion

ATMANIRBHAR BHARAT

THEDEBATEOVERa‘badbank’,keenlydiscussed in the officialcircles and themedia in FY17,has been in the focus onceagain after the IBA sent a pro-

posal for establishing a bad bank to thegovernment and RBI. Earlier, RBI toyedwith the idea of a private asset manage-mentcompanyandanational assetman-agement company for private and publicsectorbanks,respectively.

At present, banks have NPAs of `9.7lakhcrore(asofDecember2019)withesti-matesoffreshslippagesof`5.5lakhcroreprimarily because of the Covid-19 stress.Wehave to look forquick solutions.Thereisaddedurgencybecausethegovernmenthasputonhold,rightlyso,freshreferenceto theNCLTunderthe IBCforoneyear.

A bad bank is established to buy toxicassets from a good bank at a price that isdeterminedbyabadbank.It is controlledby the government, and apart from thegovernment,other private players investin its equity. Itmay raise loan from otherbanks.Thesetransactionshappenatarm’slengthandabadbank ismanagedbypro-fessionalswithdomainknowledge.

InIndia,abadbankhasnotbeensetup;rather,private asset reconstruction com-panies(ARCs)havebeenbuyingNPAsfromvarious banks—and 29 ARCs are in thebusiness of buying bad assets but themodel has not yielded desired results.ARCs act merely as recovery agentsbecausetheylackthebandwidthtorecon-struct anycompanyunder stresswhich issold as going concern.The efficacy of the

ARC model is under question.The CVC,some time ago, submitted a report to thegovernment after examining cases above`50crore thatwere sold toARCsbetween2013-14and2017-18byPSBs.Thereportmentions that, in at least 48 cases, assetswere sold to ARCs below the realisablevalue of security. Besides the accountswhich were sold as going concern, thevalue of stocks and equipmentwere notfactored inwhile fixing the reserveprice.

This has acted as a dampener and saleto ARCs is few and far between now.Besides, ARCs have recovered roughly9.5% of the security receipts that theyheldattheendofFY18.Weneedtokeepinmind that all PSBs have board-approved

policy for sale to ARCs and cases of `50crore should have been placed before theboard forsanction/approval.

If the economy has to come back ontrack,then lendinghas to resume in a bigway.As a rule of thumb, credit growth isroughly2-2.5 timesGDPgrowth.

Settingup a badbank,undoubtedly, isaway forward.The case of Jhabua powerplant canbe examined tounderstand thedesirabilityofabadbank.JhabuaPowerforresolutionofinsolvencywasundertheIBConaccountofshortageofworkingcapital.Two bids were received—one from theNTPC, which made the bid for the firsttime for `1,900 crore at the rate of `3.2perMW,and another fromAdani Power,

for `750 crore at `1.25 perMW.Had theNTPCnotenteredthe fray,theplant,inallprobability,couldhavebeenpurchasedbyAdaniPowermaybeaftersomeincreaseofpricepostbargaining.

In this case, not only the price washigher,butprofit,if any,willgotogovern-ment coffers.The cost to the exchequerwill, therefore, be either nil orminimal.Suchdealsmay,subsequently,invitewrathof the CVC/CBI. A bad bank can do thisworkas itwill have thebandwidth todealwith such situations and can rope inexperts tomanageunits/plant till it findsa buyer.Besides, itmayshare future prof-itswith thebankthat sold thisasset.

Arguments against establishing bad

banksare: (1)Whentherearenotakersforbadassets,sowhyhaveabadbank;(2)Whywaste government resources when theCovid-19crisishasputtremendousstrainon resources; (3) The price atwhich toxicassetswill be transferredwill not bemar-ket-determined and price discoverywillnothappen; (4)ARCsarealreadythere forthepurpose.

Let us provide a different perspectiveto these issues.1. If there are no takers for the assets,

then itmakes sense to letdomainexpertsdealwithtoxicassetstill thesecanbesold.2.AsinthecaseofJhabuaPowerandin

most cases of `500 crore and above, thegovernmentmaysufferminimumloss.

3.Pricediscoveryisanimportantcom-ponent of the deal and a bad bank is bestsuitedforfixingprice.Agoodbankshouldmakeadditionalprovision incasethedis-coveredcostislessthanthebookvalueandtheywant to retain iton itsbooks.4.ARCshavemostlynotreconstructed

assets as banks suffer loss on investmentin security receipts after five years.Instances are therewhen defaulters havemanaged to reduce obligation to banksthroughpurchase fromARCs inthenameof sister/connectedconcernasprovisionslike Section 29A of the IBC are notincluded in theSARFAESIAct.

Selling stressedassets to abadbankata price determined by it will insulatebankersfromthepurviewof3Cs(CBI,CVC,CAG),andencouragethemtooffloadthesetoabadbank.

Countries like the UK, the US, Spain,Malaysia, France, Finland,Belgium,Ger-many,Austria and Sweden have success-fullyexperimentedwithbadasset resolu-tion throughabadbank.The earliest casewas of theMellon Bank in 1988—to holdbad assets of $1.4 billion. The UKAssetResolution(UKAR),abadbank,repaid48.7billion pound taxpayers’ loan that it hadtaken,and is close to selling the last of itsasset portfolio before winding down.International experience should comehandyforus tomodelourbadbankon.

Parliamentmaypassalegislationtosetup a bad bank and empower it with theheft for recovering from borrowers,withminimal legal hassles with respect toacquisition/disposalofbankassets.

OPINION 7FINANCIALEXPRESS


SHARADVERMA,VIKRAM JANAKIRAMAN& SAURABHCHHAJER

Verma isMD& senior partner, Janakiraman isMD&partner, andChhajer is principal, BCG.Views are personal

THE LOCKDOWNGAVE us time to prepare ourhealthcare response.Now,controlled return toa‘new normal’ is a priority.We propose a set ofIndia-specificactionstoconstrainfurtherspreadofthediseaseandcommenceeconomicactivity.

Two-vector approach for testingThe current testmethodology largely focuses on symp-

tomcarriersandthoseincontactwiththeinfected.Now,weshould increase testing in states (districts) that are lowontesting(say,<1,000testspermillion)orhavehighincidencerate(%positivetests>5%).Indistrictswhereself-reportingis low and contact tracing and quarantine enforcement isweak,weneedmore proactive testing.Given that someareasymptomaticandpre-symptomatictransmissionhasbeenobserved,periodic tests should be undertaken in high riskareas (likewholesalevegetablemarkets) andhigh risk pop-ulations (say,medical professionals).Thiswouldallowus toidentifytransmissionchainsoutside the symptomatic testandtraceprotocol todetect anoutbreakearly.

This primaryapproachneeds tobe complementedwithanothervectorthatrandomlytestsarepresentativesampleof people and helps determines statistically reliable inci-denceratesovertimeforindividualdistricts.Takentogether,thiswill provide amore robust testingmesh.Insights fromthis approach can be used to segment districts and decidetimingandextentofeasinglockdownmeasures.Forthesec-ondvectortoyieldstatisticallysignificantresults,arandomsample of 5,000 tests per district (where incidence rate isexpected<1%)and1,000testsperdistrict(whereincidencerate is expected >1%)would allow us to establish a clearbaseline.Thiswouldformthebasisforcleardistrictclassifi-cationandhencedriveconsistentdecisionsonease/enforc-ingmorecontainmentmeasures.While the firstvectorwilloperatedaily,thesecondcanberepeatedonaperiodicbasis.

Amore granular approach towards containmentShift focus of the unit that is too dispersed, to smaller,

easily-demarcated containment areas.These areas remainunder lockdown (with essential activities allowed) rather alargerarea.Thiswillalloweconomicactivitytocommenceinpartswhere no case is detected.But this should be done indistrictswhere sufficient testing has beenundertaken andabaseline incidence rateestablished.

We should addhealthcare readiness as ametric for seg-mentation,inadditiontoincidencerate.Adistrictthatiswellprepared tohandlepatients canallowforgradual easingoflockdown.Districts with limited health facilities need toaugmentcapacityandconvertlocalhostelsorhotelstoded-icatedCovid facilitiesanddeploymobilequarantineunits.

Solutions for high-risk populations and locationsFront-linegroupslikemedicalstaffneedconstantmon-

itoring and periodic testing.Also, testing should be under-takeninthelocalcommunityratherthanhavepeoplecometo hospitals.Clear separation of testing facilities and quar-antinecentres frompureCovidhospitals is essential.

High-traffic locationssuchaswholesalevegetableshopsneedaprotocol;forexample,supplierscomingfromoutsidethecitycomeearlyin themorningandthen leave,followedbylocalsuppliers,thenbylocalvegetablevendorsandfinallyend-consumers, accompaniedwith checks such as feverscreening,sanitisation tunnels,etc,andperiodic testing.

Dense urban communities such as slums,old city areasundercontainmentneedtobebrokenintounitswithphys-ical separation (like a floorof a chawlwithcommonsanita-tion). If a case is detected, the individual needs to be takenout toa separateareaoutside,identified for isolation.

Asweopenuptheeconomy,customisedmeasuresneedtobedevised foreach typeof activity—plantswithdiscretemanufacturing,assemblylines,continuousprocessing,etc.Exiting the lockdown requires a phased approach estab-lished on a new segmentation framework and augmentedtestingmethodology thatwould facilitate opening up theeconomywithoutcripplinghealthcare.Allofuswillneedtomakeanefforttolearnandreplicateatscalesuccessfulmea-surestominimisetheriskofcyclinginandoutoflockdowns.This is critical to saving livesandrestoring livelihoods.

Howto exit the

Covid lockdown

Need a discerning, data-driven approach

Bad bank: Should

India have one?

DEEPAKNARANG

The author is former ED,UBI, anddirector (RareARC, Incred Finance andBarodaTrustee India Pvt Ltd)

We have 29ARCs buying bad

assets, but themodel has not

yielded desired results.

Meanwhile, developed nations

have tasted successwith bad banks

INDIA’SMIGRANTCRISIS isaconse-quenceof the largeeconomicdiver-gence between the northern andeastern states and themore devel-opedstates inthesouthandwest.

In turn, surplus labour and lack ofskills have resulted in low savings andstaying power for poormigrants.Withthe lockdown,and now,the gradual lift-ingof the lockdown,manyare returningto their home states in the heartland atgreatpersonal risk.

Thelong-termsolutionishigh-growthemploymentopportunitiesineverystate.Otherwise,migrationwill ensue again inayearorsowithareversiontostatusquo.Additionally,ifthehighlypopulousheart-landgrowsslowerthantherestofIndia,itwill continue to impede the nationalambitionofstep-functionchangetowardsamiddle-class society. India only growswhenitsheartlanddevelops.

Demographics andeconomic growthUttar Pradesh and Bihar are among

India’s most populous states, with anestimated23.7croreand12.3crorepeo-ple, respectively (estimated from CRSdata).Total Fertility Rates (TFR) are alsohigh—UttarPradeshat2.74andBiharat3.41—compared to the2.18 India-aver-age (Source: NFHS-4 in 2013-15).Bothstateswillcontinuetohaveyoungpopula-tionsastherestofIndiaagesfaster.This isbothasignificantcompetitiveadvantageandaneconomicchallenge.

UP is fifth by state economic outputin 2019-20—at `16 lakh crore GDP.However, on a per-capita basis,UP is onthelowendat`69,425,aboveonlyBiharat `48,093—a consequence of inferiorplanningandhistoricalbadgovernance.India’s per-capita GDP is `1.49 lakh—three times that of Bihar and double ofUP. Bihar needs a focused agenda andstrong leadership to bridge thedivide tothenationalaverage.UPhasanindustriallegacy that CMYogi Adityanath is revi-talisingvia long-overdue reforms.

India today has a population ofapproximately 138 crore, `205 lakh

crore GDP in 2019-20 and a per-capitaGDPof `1.49 lakh. Ifwe removeUPandBihar (together 26%of the population),wearriveat102crorepopulation,`183.4lakh crore GDPamounting to `1.8 lakhper-capita.The large `31,000per-capitadifferencedemonstrateshowimportantitis to develop these two states.Otherwise,they will continue weighing India’sgrowthdown.

Shift from agriculture to highlabour-utilisation sectorsInbothstates,the lackofthrivingindus-try and services sectors has createdoverdependenceonagriculture.Indiahasbeen shiftingworkforce out of agricul-tureattherateof1%peryearsince2000.InUPandBihar,thisshiftmustaccelerateto 2.5% per year.The excessworkforcecanbegivenhigh-growthopportunitiesin the followingareas:Labour-intensive

manufacturing: UP andBihar must set up highlabour-utilisationindustrieslike garmentmanufactur-ing, assembly of automo-biles,electronics,machineryand others. Distributingindustrialclustersthrough-outwillgiveeveryoneaccessto employment opportuni-ties near theirvillages andtowns. With India’s pushtowards high-speed roadsand railways, these indus-trial clusters can be effi-ciently connected to portsfor exportmarkets.Flattedfactories can be rapidly built andlaunched,and are a quickway to provideemploymenttothereturningmigrants.Construction: State governments

cancommission largeprojects forroads,freight corridors,water storage, indus-trial facilities and flatted factories,tourism, and others. Construction canemploy many low-skilled and unskilledpeople,especially the returningmigrants.Tourism:Tourism,alongwith ancil-

larysectorslikeairtravel,restaurantsandhotels,employs crores of people.UPandBihar are cradles of Indian civilisationandhavemanyarchaeological sites thatcan be preserved and developed intotouristmagnets—onaparwithRomeorJerusalem. Both states can developtourism as amajor economic sector andprovidemassemployment.Healthcare infrastructure: Each

district in these statesmust have high-gradehealthcarefacilitieswithone500-bedmultidisciplinaryhospitalandapri-maryhealth centre ineverytaluk/tehsil.Eachhospitalcanhaveanambulanceser-vice to provide rapid response to every

citizeninthedistrict.Thesefacilitiescanprovideemploymentfordoctors,nurses,medical staff like radiologists, patholo-gists,andwardboysandotherposts.

Agriculture revivalUPandBiharhaveconsiderabletracts

offertilelandforagriculturalproduction.However, due to fragmentation andexcessworkforcedependence,thesizeofthe agriculture sector in Biharwas only`59,400 crore in 2017-18,growing at athree-year CAGRof 8.7% (Source: RBI).In the same period,UP’swas `2.13 lakhcrore, growing at 11%CAGR.Comparethis toMadhya Pradesh’s agri-sector, at`2.3 lakh crore and growing at 20%,whichprovidesagreatmodel forUPandBiharto improveagri-growth.

It is estimated that25%of thework-force is sufficient for agriculture.Whenthe excessworkforce is shifted out, thesectorcanrevivewithlandconsolidation,deploymentoftechnologieslikedripirri-gationandgreenhouses,anddigitalplat-forms so farmers can improve qualityandcommandbetterpricesfortheirpro-duce. Implementation of the proposedAtmanirbharreformscanenablefarmersto double their income.But this is onlypossibleiftheexcessworkforceisshifted.

Urbanisation andinfrastructure developmentPer 2011 census, Indiawas 31%urban,whereas UPwas 22% and Bihar amere11%. In themodern age, developmentcomesfromurbanareas.Keepingcitizensin villages without adequate employ-ment opportunities is unsustainable forpersonal andeconomicgrowth.Instead,census towns can be developed intourbangrowthengines.

Biharhasasmallnumberof120cen-sustownsthatcanallbedeveloped,whileUPhas670,ofwhich500couldbedevel-oped.They can be equippedwith high-speed connectivity, industrial clusterswithin 15-km of the town, schools andcolleges,hospitals,andutilities.Afocusedurbanisation agenda in census townswiththeensuinginfrastructuredevelop-mentwill have immense feed-forwardeffects forprovidingmassemployment.

Human capital developmentThe21stcenturygrowth isdrivenbythe

knowledgeeconomy.With-outhumancapitaldevelop-ment through skills,voca-tional training and highereducation,we risk leavingentirepopulationsbehind.

Bihar’sgrossenrolmentratio(GER)inhighereduca-tion is only 13.6 in 2018-19. Considering it has 12crore people and a highTFR, the state has a sub-stantial under-educatedyouth population. It isimperative to focus onincreasing GER to 30-plusby 2030 through rapidbrownfield expansion andtheuseofdigitalplatforms

to provide mass e-education. Simulta-neously, a large skilling drive to impartmanufacturing and other skills canassemble aproductiveworkforce.

Uttar Pradesh is in a better position.WithaGERof25.8 (justbelowthe India-averageof26.3),16lakhgraduatesayearand one of the largest higher educationsystems in India,UPhas built a pipeline.The state can now focus on improvinggraduatequalitywhomayfindgood jobswithin UP if a development-focusedagendaisimplemented.MorethanhalfofUP’s graduates are women—providingthemwithgoodemploymentopportuni-tiesneartheirhometownswilldoubletheworkforceandmakeUPapremierexam-pleofwomenempowerment.

In conclusion, India cannot growunlessUPandBihargrowfasterthantherest of the country. Sadly,15th FinanceCommission’sallocationsareinadequatefor this purpose, as are state revenues.This requires special funding and sup-portfromthecentralgovernment.Devel-opingtheheartlandwillbeamassivesteptowardsAtmanirbharBharat.

Indiawillgrowwhenits heartland

developsUttar Pradesh and Bihar are key to Atmanirbhar

Bharat—India cannot growunless UP and Bihar grow

faster than the rest of the country. Sadly, the 15th

Finance Commission’s allocations are inadequate for

this purpose, as are state revenues.This requires special

funding and support from the central government

Bihar has 120census towns thatcan be developed,while UP has 670, ofwhich 500 could bedeveloped. Theycan be equippedwith high-speedconnectivity andindustrial clusterswithin 15-km radius

ILLUSTRATION: ROHNITPHORE

TVMOHANDAS PAI&NISHAHOLLA

Pai is chairman,Aarin Capital Partners,andHolla is technology fellow,C-CAMP

●UNAUTHORISEDACCESS

REUTERSJune 3

GOOGLEWASSUEDonTuesdayinapro-posed class action accusing the internetsearch company of illegally invading theprivacyofmillionsofusersbypervasivelytracking their internet use throughbrowsers set in“private”mode.

The lawsuit seeks at least $5 billion,accusing the Alphabet unit of surrepti-tiouslycollectinginformationaboutwhatpeopleviewonlineandwheretheybrowse,despite their using what Google callsIncognitomode.

AccordingtothecomplaintfiledinthefederalcourtinSanJose,California,Googlegathers data through Google Analytics,GoogleAdManagerandotherapplicationsand website plug-ins, including smart-phone apps, regardless ofwhether usersclickonGoogle-supportedads.

This helps Google learn about users’friends,hobbies,favouritefoods,shopping

habits, and even the“most intimate andpotentially embarrassing things” theysearch foronline,thecomplaint said.

Google“cannot continue to engage inthe covert and unauthorised data collec-tion fromvirtuallyeveryAmericanwith acomputerorphone,”thecomplaint said.

Jose Castaneda, a Google spokesman,said theMountainView,California-basedcompany will defend itself vigorously

against theclaims.“Asweclearlystateeachtimeyouopen

a new incognito tab,websites might beable to collect information about yourbrowsingactivity,”he said.

Whileusersmayviewprivatebrowsingas a safe haven fromwatchful eyes, com-putersecurityresearchershavelongraisedconcernthatGoogleandrivalsmightaug-ment user profiles by tracking people’s

identities across different browsingmodes, combining data fromprivate andordinaryinternet surfing.

The complaint said theproposed classlikely includes“millions”of Google userswhosinceJune1,2016browsedtheinter-net in“private”mode.

It seeksat least$5,000ofdamagesperuser forviolations of federalwiretappingandCaliforniaprivacylaws.

BLOOMBERGJune 3

A FORMERLYCAUTIOUS analyst at SVBLeerink has changed his tune on thepotential sales of Gilead’s Covid-19treatment,remdesivir.

Even bullishWall Street analysts havebeencriticalofGilead’schancesofmakingaprofitfromthetreatment,whichreceivedan emergency use designation from USregulators inMay.Public advocates haveargued against drug and vaccinemakersmaking any profit from the global pan-demic but SVB Leerink analyst GeoffreyPorges is now forecasting that sales ofremdesivirmayreach$7.7billionin2022.

Less than twomonths ago,Porges hadsaid investors were giving a “generousamount of credit” for a drug that likelywon’tbe sold foraprofit.

The latest change is reasonenoughforPorges to raisehis ratingonGilead sharestooutperformfrommarketperformance,andincreasehispricetargetto$94,just$3

shyof thecurrentStreethigh target.The new target, up from $85 previ-

ously,alsoincludesmorethan$1billioninsalesfrompotentialcancermedicinesinapartnershipwithArcusBiosciences.

“Avaluation of $94+ is realistic, per-haps as soon as the companydeclares itsprice for commercial sale of remdesivir,”Porgeswrote inanote toclients.

Gilead’sCovid-19 sales seennearing$8bn in2022,outperformingpeers

Japan’s factory, retail sectors slumpas pandemic hits automobile sector

Huawei hid operation in Iranafter report of links toCFO

Tech giant says itwillvigorously defend itselfagainst the claims

US labour marketappears to stabiliseUSPRIVATEPAYROLLSfell less thanexpected inMay,suggesting layoffswereabatingasbusinessesreopen,thoughtheoverall economy’srecoveryfromtheCovid-19pandemicwillbeslow.DataWednesdayshowedprivateemployers laidoffanother2.76millionworkers lastmonthafterarecord19.557million inApril.

Pandemicbrings firstOzrecession in29yearsTHECORONAVIRUSPANDEMICpushedAustralia’seconomyintorecessionforthefirsttimein29yearsinthefirstquarteroftheyear,andthesituationisexpectedtogetworse.TreasurerJoshFrydenbergsaidWednesdaythecurrentJunequarterwillbethesecondinarowinwhichtheAustralianeconomyhascontracted.DatareleasedonWednesdayshowedtheeconomyshrank0.3%intheJanuary-Marchquarter.

ExCFOofGooglenamedTwitterchairmanTWITTERNAMEDPATRICKPichetteaschairman,replacingOmidKordestani,whosteppeddownfromtheroleonMonday.Pichette,formerchieffinancialofficerofGoogle,isapartneratventurefirmInoviaCapitalandhasservedasTwitter’s leadindependentdirectorsinceDecember2018.

NajibsaysMalaysiapollslikelyif turmoil staysMALAYSIA’SFORMERLEADERNajibRazakwarnedofa“highchance”ofelectionsifthenation’spoliticscontinuetobeinturmoil.Thehealthministryandtheelectioncommissionshouldstartdraftingstandardoperatingproceduresforpolls,NajibwroteinaFacebookpost.

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‘Applemust faceUSshareholder actionover CEOcomments’

InternationalFINANCIALEXPRESS8 WWW.FINANCIALEXPRESS.COM


REUTERSTokyo, June 3

JAPAN’S FACTORYOUTPUT slid faster-than-expected and retail sales tumbledthe most in more than two decades inApril, as the coronavirus pandemicwrecked both foreign and domesticdemandforthecountry’sautosandothermanufacturedgoods.

Thebadnumbers suggest the recessionseen in theworld’s third-largest economyover the six months to March is likely todeepen in the current quarter as govern-ment-imposedlockdownsdisruptedsupplychainsandkeptconsumersshutinathome.

Official data onFridayshowed factoryoutputslipped9.1%inAprilfromthepre-viousmonth,thebiggest drop since com-parable data became available in 2013 asautomakers and iron and steelmanufac-turers sufferedsharpdeclines.

That was a much larger decline than

the5.1%drop inaReuters forecast.“Output will probably pick up from

June onwards but it will be necessary toremain on guard for a second wave (ofcoronavirus infections),” said TakeshiMinami, chief economist at NorinchukinResearch Institute.

BLOOMBERGBrussels, June 3

CHINA’S HUAWEIACTED to coverup itsrelationshipwithafirmthathadtriedtosellprohibitedU.S.computergeartoIran,afterReuters in 2013 reported deep linksbetween the firm and the telecomequipment giant’s chief financial officer,newly obtained internal Huaweidocumentsshow.

Huawei has long described the firm—SkycomTech—asaseparatelocalbusinesspartnerinIran.Now,documentsobtainedby Reuters show how the Chinese techtitaneffectivelycontrolledSkycom.

The documents, reported here for thefirst time, are part of a trove of internalHuaweiandSkycomIran-relatedbusinessrecords — includingmemos, letters andcontractual agreements — that Reutershas reviewed.

OnedocumentdescribedhowHuawei

scrambled in early 2013 to try to “sepa-rate” itself from Skycom out of concernovertradesanctionsonTehran.

To that end,this andotherdocumentsshow,Huawei took a series of actions —including changing themanagers of Sky-com, shutting down Skycom’s Tehranoffice and forming another business inIrantotakeovertensofmillionsofdollarsworthofSkycomcontracts.

The revelations in thenewdocumentscouldbuttressahigh-profilecriminalcasebeing pursued byUS authorities againstHuawei and its chief financial officer,MengWanzhou,who is also the daughterofHuawei’s founder.

The United States has been trying togetMeng extradited fromCanada,whereshewasarrested inDecember2018.

A Canadianjudgelastweekallowedthecase to continue, rejecting defense argu-ments that the US charges againstMengdonotconstitute crimes inCanada.

REUTERSNewYork, June 3

A FEDERAL JUDGE said Apple Inc mustface part of a lawsuit claiming it fraudu-lently concealed falling demand foriPhones,especiallyinChina,leadingtotensofbillionsofdollars inshareholderlosses.

While dismissing most claims, USDistrict Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogersruled late Tuesday that shareholders cansueoverChiefExecutiveTimCook’s com-mentstoutingstrongiPhonedemandonaNovember1,2018analyst call,onlya fewdays before Apple told its largest manu-facturers tocurbproduction.

“Absentsomenaturaldisasterorotherintervening reason, it is simply implausi-ble that Cookwouldnot have known thatiPhonedemandinChinawasfallingmeredays before cutting production lines,”Rogerswrote.

The Oakland,California-based judgealsosaidadecisionbyAppletostopreport-ing iPhone unit sales “plausibly suggeststhat defendants expected unit sales todecline.” The complaint, led by theEmployees’ Retirement System of theStateofRhode Island,cameafterCookonJanuary 2, 2019 unexpectedly reducedApple’squarterlyrevenueforecastbyupto

$9 billion, in part because of US-Chinatrade tensions.

Itwas the first time since the iPhone’s2007 launch thatthe Cupertino,Califor-nia-based company had cut its revenueforecast.Applestockfell10%thenextday,erasing$74billionofmarketvalue.

❝ ❝

CRITICAL IMPORTANCEDrTedrosAdhanomGhebreyesus,WHO chief

Weare losing critically important antimicrobialmedicines all over theworld.These dataunderscore the importance both of protecting theantimicrobialswe have and developing newones,to effectively treat infections

Lufthansa vows extensive revampas losses balloon to 2 billion euros

SoftBank fund to rightunder-representation

HSBC’s topAsiaexecutive backsnewHongKongsecurity lawBLOOMBERGHong Kong, July 3

HSBC’S TOP EXECUTIVE in Asia hascome out in support of a controversialnational security law drafted by China’scentral government for Hong Kong.

Bank executive Peter Wong signed apetition in support of China’s proposedsecurity legislation, according tocomments posted on the bank’s officialWeChat account. The lender reiteratesit support for laws that stabilise HongKong’s social order and revitalise theeconomy under the ‘one country, twosystems’ principle, the post read.

These are HSBC’s first publiccomments on the topic after HongKong’s former leader Leung Chun-yinglambasted the global lender over notpublicly voicing its support for thenational security legislation in the city.

BLOOMBERGLondon, June 3

SOFTBANKHASSTARTEDa$100millionfundthatwillexclusivelyinvestincompa-nies led by people of color, a group that’shistoricallybeenunderrepresented intheventurecapital industry.

MarceloClaure,SoftBank’schiefoper-ating officer,will lead the fund alongsideShu Nyatta, a managing partner whoworksonthecompany’sInnovationFund,according to a statement from the com-panyonWednesday.Thefundwill specifi-cally look to support founders fromcom-munities that face “systemicdisadvantages in building and scalingtheirbusinesses,”it said.

The effort by Japan’s SoftBank stemsfrom a reaction to protests sweeping the

US this week after George Floyd, anunarmed black man, died after a whiteMinneapolis police officer knelt on hisneck formore thaneightminutes.

REUTERSFrankfurt, June 3

LUFTHANSAHASPLEDGEDawide-rang-ingrestructuring,fromjobcuts tosalesofnon-core assets, as it seeks to repay a9 billion euro ($10.1 billion) state bailoutandnavigate deepening losses in the faceof thecoronaviruspandemic.

ThepledgedcostcutscameastheGer-mancarrierpostedafirst-quarternet lossof 2.1 billion euros onWednesday, onlydays after securing the bailout that isintended to help the airline ride out thecrisisbutwill require it tocedesomeof itsprized landingslots to rivals.

“In view of the very slow recovery indemand,wemust now take far-reachingrestructuringmeasures,”said Chief Exec-utiveCarstenSpohr.

The group,which includes Swiss,Aus-trianAirlinesandBrusselsAirlines,isbrac-ing fora significantdecline in2020earn-ings and has begun talks with labourrepresentatives over cutbacks, the com-pany added.Brussels Airlineswill reduceits fleetby30%anditsworkforceby25%whileAustrianAirlines’ fleet and person-nel costsare tobecutby20%.

The sale of non-core operations is alsoonthecardsinthemediumterm,thegroupsaid,havingpostponedtheplannedsaleofparts of airline caterer LSG inMarch.Thefirst-quarterloss,whichwidenedfrom342million euros a year earlier,was driven bywritedowns of 266 million euros on itsfleet.Therewere alsowritedowns on thebookvalueofLSGNorthAmericaandbud-get carrier Eurowings,of 100million and57millioneurosrespectively.

Painkiller testedagainst coronain UK StudySCIENTISTS IN LONDON are testingwhetheracommonpainkillercanhelppatientswith Covid-19 avoid poten-tiallylethalrespiratoryfailureandtheneedformechanicalventilators.

Thestudyusesa typeof ibuprofencalledFlarin that’s available in theUKand formulated differently than thestandardversion toprotect the stom-ach.ThestudyisbeingrunbyGuy’sandSt Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust,King’sCollegeLondonandSEEK,apro-prietarydrug-researchfirm.Asuccess-ful testwouldmark a turnaround inattitudes toward the drug duringthepandemic. —BLOOMBERG

VOLVO CARS, OWNED by China’sGeely,saidonWednesdayit sold40%more cars in May than in April, asrestrictions to contain the spread ofthe Covid-19 pandemic started toease in severalmarkets.

Whilestilldown25.5%inMayfromayearearlier,theSwedishcarmakersold44,380cars inthemonthcomparedtothe 31,760 sold in April, helped byimproving showroomtraffic trends inEurope,aquickerthanexpectedrecov-ery in the United States, and stronggrowthinChina.

—REUTERS

Volvo cars salessoar 40% in Mayover last month

ShinzoAbe, Japan PM

TURBULENTTIMES

■ The group includes Swiss,Austrian and BrusselsAirlines

■ BrusselsAirlineswill reduce itsfleet by 30% &workforce by 25%

■AustrianAirlines’ fleet and staffcosts to be cut by 20%

Masayoshi Son, SoftBank CEO

TUESDAY’S RELEASE OF Zoom’sfinancialresultsfortheFebruary-Aprilperiod provided a window into theastronomical growth that has turnedit intoaWall Street star.

Zoom’s revenue for its fiscal first-quartermore than doubled from thesame time last year to $328million,resultingaprofit of $27million—upfrom just $198,000 a year ago. Thenumbers exceeded analysts’ alreadyheightened expectations, providinganother lift toa rocketingstock.—AP

Zoomboomsamid pandemic

Shareholders can sue over TimCook’s comments touting strongiPhone demand on a November2018 analyst call, only a few daysbeforeApple told its largest

manufacturers to curb production

BROWSING DATA

Google faces $5billion lawsuit inUSfor tracking‘private’ internet use

Sundar Pichai, CEO ofGoogleparent companyAlphabet

■ Lawsuit accuses theAlphabet unit ofcollecting information despite peopleusing Incognitomode

■Complaint claimsdata is gatheredregardless ofwhether users click on ads

■ This helps the tech giant learn aboutintimate and embarrassing thingspeople they search for online

■ Lawsuit seeks at least $5,000 ofdamages per user for violations ofwiretapping and privacy laws

■ Proposed class likely includes‘millions’ ofGoogle users, says lawsuit

Cases top

6.4millionDeaths over

Recoveries

380,800

2.70million

MAPPINGTHEVIRUSG7 Financeministers said the group is suspending officialbilateral debt payments for the poorest countries to year-end 2020 andpossibly longer, according to a statementdistributed by theU.S.Treasury.

Iran reported its highest number ofdaily infections in twomonths, a surge that nearsMarch’s peak levels and suggeststheMiddle Eastern country struck hardest by the disease is inthe throes of a secondwave.

Francewrote to scientific journalThe Lancet to request areviewof rawdata used in a now-controversial study into theeffects of an oldmalaria drug called hydroxychloroquine.

The EuropeanUnion is looking to secure access to futurecoronavirus vaccines by seeking deals to share the cost ofdevelopmentwith pharmaceutical companies, according toan internalmemo seen by Bloomberg.

Germany’s government approvedplans that pave thewayfor an across-the-board travelwarning to be replaced fromJune 15. In its place the cabinet sees appropriate travelrecommendations for individual EuropeanUnion nations, aswell as theUK and the passport-free Schengen area.

Brazil reported a record 1,262 deaths onTuesday, bringing thenumber of fatalities to 31,199.Therewere also 28,936 newreported cases, pushing the country’s total to 555,383, behindonly theUS.

German unemploymenthits highest level since 2015

Europe’s scarred economystarts a slow recovery

SouthAfrican court callslockdown rulesunconstitutional

Gilead loses a skepticwithremdesivir sales seenat $7 billion

Test stampedebypasses10,000US urgent-carefacilities

Worried Europe looks forway intovaccine race

China says newcoronavirus case reportedJune 2 is imported

❝❝

❝❝

CHANGEAGENTAnant Maheshwari, president, Microsoft India

Technologywill play a stronger role than everbefore, enabling economic recovery and helpingeach one of us achievemore.

DuringtherecentCovid-19-drivenlockdown,IndianEnergyExchange(IEX)hasfacilitated24x7powerinIndiainanaffordable,reliableand flexiblemanner,saysRajivSrivastava,MD&CEO,IEX.Accordingtohim,thecombi-nation ofpolicy,technological and customerneed changes is leading to disruption of thetraditional power utility business model.“New technological possibilities have thepotential to transform thewaypeople thinkabout,produceandusepower,”hetellsSudhirChowdhary inarecentinterview.Excerpts:

How is IEX positioned to deliver on thegovernment’svisionof‘Power forAll on24x7’?

IndianEnergyExchange(IEX)isamulti-lateralplatform,thatis,one-to-many,wherewematch thedemandand supplyof elec-tricity and certificates.We offer themostcompetitiveprices,transparency,flexibilityto facilitatepowerondemandandourUSPis to provide competitive price discoverywhichispossiblebecauseofourtech-basedsystem.Ourleadershipliesindeepeningtheexchange market and short-term powermarketalongwiththeadvancementsonthetechnology front likeAI andblockchain totransformIndia’senergyecosystemholisti-cally.During the lockdown,wehave facili-tated24x7powerto India inanaffordable,reliableandflexiblemanner.

Whatistheoutlookforthepowermarketinthefaceofthepandemic?

The lockdownhas led to a25%drop innationalpeakpowerdemandfrom171GWin the pre-lockdownperiod to about 131GWduring the lockdown.Discomsare in atough spot as their remunerative sourceofrevenue fromcommercial and industrial(C&I) consumershasdriedupand theout-standingisincreasing.EnablingdistributionutilitiesaswellasC&Iconsumerstoprocure

powerat lowest cost from themarketwilloffer some relief in the current situation.However,theindustryhastomovetowardsa regimewhich is farmore liberated andtechnology-driventhanwhatitistoday.

Howistechnologyimprovingpowergen-erationefficiency?

Energysector is poised for transforma-

tion atvarious levels.Wearemoving awayfromfossil fuel,andgettingintorenewablecapacity,whichisdecarbonisation.Capacitycreation is getting localised and allowingdecentralisation.Withthis,hybridisationofenergyis the futureasall stakeholdersdealwith multiple energysources.Whileothercoun-tries have alreadymovedtoahybridmodel,India istaking its first stepstowards this new para-digmofhybridisation.Thisgives a strong push tointelligent automation ashybridisation cannot bedone unless you have averystrongfocusontech-nology.Weare at the cuspof anopportunityto rein-vent the sectorand creat-inganewenergyorder.

Whatroledostakeholdersandcustomersplayinatypicalexchangeplatform?

IEX’s successhasbeenpossible throughitscustomer-centricapproachandcommit-ted relationshipswith stakeholders acrossorganisationsandgeographies.Weprovidebest deals,flexibilityanddeliveroptimumenergyresourceusageineveryweathercon-ditiontoallourcustomers.Withanexpert-ledmethodology,andadeepunderstandingof the customer,environment,and issues,IEXdevelopsbest-in-class,tailor-madetech-

nologyandprocessinnovationstomaintainahighlevelofcredibilityandcustomertrust.

Canyou tell us about IEX’s digital trans-formationapproach?

Wewant tomake the experiencemoreintuitive and simple forall ourcustomers.Therefore,weareshiftingalloursystemstoaweb-basedplatform,makingitextremelyuncomplicatedforourcustomers.ThereisahugeamountofanalyticsandMISinvolvedaroundit.IthasenabledustodevelopSmartPower Procurement, a tool that allows tofocus on demand and then optimise pro-

curement for the state atanygivendayortime.

Howwill new/emergingtechnologies (AI/ML,blockchainetc)shapethefuture of our energyecosysteminIndia?

Dealing in the seg-mentwearein,predictionis an imperfect science.Therefore, it is necessaryto improve the forecast-ingmodelandoptimisingthebuyingpatternofourbuyers for which we are

usingAI/MLenabledtechnology. Roboticprocess automation (RPA) is also quitehelpful in the work we are doing withstate-load dispatch centres and nationaldispatch centres as it is presently donemanually. At this stage, blockchain isunder a testing process but if UAT (useracceptancetesting)goeswell,we’llsoonbeutilising it in our financialmodel.We areinconversationwithaninternationalfirmto introduce peer-to-peer tradingwhichwill be blockchain-enabled andwill allowcustomers tochoose theirsuppliers.

SUDHIR CHOWDHARY

IF DARKNESS IS your kryptonite,GoPro’sZeusMiniisheretosavetheday.Mount it,wear it, love it— themagneticmultipurposewaterproof light bringstheactioncamerafirm’sfamedversatil-itytolights.Availableforpurchaseonthecompany website for $69.99, therechargeableZeusMinifeaturesarobustmagnetic swivelingclipand is compati-ble with GoPro’s full line of cameramounts–makingitinsanelyconvenientforawide rangeofuses.

“Zeus Mini brings to lighting whatthe HERO camera brings to cameras –incredibleversatility,designandperfor-mance,” said GoPro’s founder and CEONicholas Woodman. “Once you start

using ZeusMini,you realise howconve-nient it is to have added light during somany situations. I now keep one inmycar, one in my toolbox and one in mybackpack for on-the-go readiness. It’saddictivelyenabling.”

Bycombiningtheilluminationpowerof Light Mod with the versatility ofMagnetic Swivel Clip, GoPro hascomeupwithahighlycon-venient and capable,compact,hands-freeLEDlightingsolutionthat is fantastic forscenarios that reach farbeyond content cre-ation. Whether youneed to light up thetrail,under thehood

or under the sink, Zeus Mini makes iteasy thanks to its integratedmagneticswiveling clipmount.Clip it toyourbeltorbackpackstrap,snapitunderthehoodor drainpipe, or use it as a freestandinglight just like youwould amini tripod.And,unlike a dedicatedheadlamp,youcan illuminate a scenewithout blind-ing everyone you’rewith.But if head-lamps are your thing, ZeusMini clipseasilytoanyhat,beanieorheadband.

ZeusMiniiswaterproofto33feet(10metres),rechargeable and features fourlevels of brightness reaching up to 200lumenswith an includeddiffuser,whichdeliversacool5000KcolourtemperaturetunedforGoProcameraswhenusingZeusMiniforfilming.Thebuilt-inbatterylastsforuptosixhours.Plus,ifyou’re inabind,there’sastrobemodetoenableemergencysignalingandvisibility.

Companyofficials reckon ZeusMiniis so capable and convenient, it’s likelyto become one of yourmost used go-topieces of gear.And since it’s compatiblewith GoPro’s broad range of mounts,you’ll never run out of ways to put ittouse.

■ Estimated street price: $69.99

● INTERVIEW: RAJIV SRIVASTAVA, MD & CEO, Indian Energy Exchange (IEX)

COVID-19 HAS PROPELLED academicinstitutions towards online learningovernightandwearefindingIndianhighereducation institutions also embarkon thisjourneywithvaryingdegrees of prepared-ness. In this context,having experiencedmostlythecollaborativeplatformsaimedatbringingcommunitiestogetherforinterac-tions—Zoom, Google Hangout, Cisco’sWebex and the likes—many educationalinstitutionsarenowbeginning to tap theirpotentialforinteractivelearningandatthesame time, are recognising the need forother key academic parameters to beaddressed so as tomake the learning out-comespurposeful.

Whileseveraluniversitieshaveinvestedin technology infrastructure,the approachtodigitisationhas so farbeenselective andincremental,resulting in limited benefits.Covid is nudginguniversities to develop aholisticviewof theirowndigital transfor-mation journeyanddevelop a strategy toprioritiseandfocustheireffortsandinvest-mentstoredefinetheirpositioningforpost-Covid realities.Afour-prongedapproachofattract,retain,engage andpreserve shouldbetheunderlyingphilosophyforthetrans-formationjourneyofuniversities.

The‘Attract’dimensionhasassumedsig-nificanceduetotheuncertaintiesinstudentadmissionscausedbyCovid-19andthedif-ficulties faced bythe government and theuniversities in funding education.Henceuniversitiesshouldbeusingdigitalmethodsto slice anddice studentdata to attract theright profiles by offering the right pro-grammes to them. The second area that

would require the attentionof the facultyand the university administration is toensure‘retention’ofstudentsandavoidstu-dent dropouts. Universities could takeadvantageofmasscustomisationpossibili-tiesthatvirtualeducationofferstomakethelearning journey individualised to a greatextent.Thiswould call for rethinkinghowcontent is assembledanddelivered.Soundinstruction design for virtual educationwouldbenecessary.

In the absence of the ability to confirmstudent attention and interest, itwouldbeusefultodeployAIenabledtoolstomonitorstudent‘engagement’anduse analytics tohelpfacultyreorienttheircontentorassess-menttechniquesandproactivelyalertlearn-ers about the progress theyaremaking inacquiringskillsandknowledgerelatedtothecourse.Withtheemploymentscenariolikelytobedifficult in thenearterm,universitiesshouldmap student aspiration aswell astheir strengths to recommend additionalemployability related courses in order tohelpthemreinventtheirfuture.SkillsAlphaisonesuchdigital learningplatformwhichisenablinglearnersidentifytheskillgapandreadythemselves in areas that could fetchthemjobswhentheycompletetheireduca-tion.With respect to‘preserve’,universitiesneedtoplan forcybersecuritymeasures toprotect thedata,content and IPof theuni-versity and at the same time implementmethodsof capturingexplicit and implicitdatafromthesocial interactions.

Digitaltransformationistheneedofthehourforuniversities.With thedeploymentof AI and analytics coupledwith a designthinkingapproachtomapthestudentjour-ney,universitieswouldbeabletogetdeeperinsights intotheirstudentprofiles,efficacyof teachingmethodsandopportunities forpromotinglifelonglearning.

Thewriterisexecutivechairperson,GlobalTalentTrack,acorporate

trainingsolutionscompany

SUDHIR CHOWDHARY

SMARTWATCHES AREN'T just a fadanymore; used in a judicious manner,these tech-loaded devices relay back awealth of health and wellness data tothe wearer. Little wonder, these wristgadgets (which nowtellmore than justtime) are being embraced in a fero-cious manner by the health-con-scious lot. Mostly confined tohome for the past two and a halfmonths, this reviewer has beenawed byGarmin Venu, a super-slim, non-clunky and a pleas-ingly-designed smartwatch,aimed at thosewho take ‘activ-ity’ seriously. It is built toimpress with enhanced healthand wellness monitoring fea-tures and a pretty good batterylife,bringingmoreconvenienceforthewearers in theirdailyuse.

Pricedat`37,490,theVenuwilladdvibrantcoloursintothelivesof usersandmake workouts more fun for them. Itcomeswithquiteabroadrangeofall-dayhealth monitoring features likeadvancedsleepwithPulseOx,newrespi-ration tracking, abnormal heartratealerts,menstrual cycle tracking, stresstracking with relax reminders, newhydration tracking, new breathworkactivitiesandmore.

TheVenu features a 1.2-inch screenand is available inGraniteBluewith Sil-verHardware,BlackwithSlateHardware,LightsandwithRoseGoldHardwareandBlackwithGoldHardware(ourtrialunit).It features an impressive battery life ofupto fivedays in smartwatchmode,andup to six hours in GPS +musicmode. ImusthighlightthattheVenuisGarmin’sfirst ever smartwatch with a vibrantAMOLEDscreenandupto5-daybatterylife in smartwatchmode; up to 6 hoursin GPS mode with music. It comesequippedwithawhooping40on-deviceanimatedworkouts for strength train-ing,cardio,yogaandpilates.

These easy-to-followworkoutsdemonstrate proper form andtechnique right on the user’swrist.Needlesstosay,it’sabless-ing for those who are home-bound and are unable to pay avisit to the gym. The robustsuite of workout optionsincludespreloadedworkoutsonthe watch, preset workoutsavailable to download fromGarmin Connect, and “createyour own”customisablework-

outs.Thewrist-weariscompatiblewith Garmin Coach, free training

plans that can be adapted to a run-ner’s goals and performance, and alsocomeswith a complete virtual personaltrainerforaddedmotivation.

TheVenuwatchismadefordailywearwith interchangeable bands providinggreatcomforttotheuser.Thealways-on,sunlight-readableGarminChromaDis-playtechnologyalsomakes iteasytoseeit in any lighting. The watch not onlytracksyourphysicalmovementsbutalso

keeps a tracks of your sleep with theadvanced sleep monitoring that esti-mates the light,deepandREMstagesofsleep.Uponawakening,userscanreviewtheir sleep stats in Garmin Connect toseewhether theyare getting the qualitysleep they need to feel rested andrecharged thenextday.

Some of the smart featuresinclude:Notifications:Receive smart notifi-

cationsforincomingcalls,textmessages,social media updates, calendarreminders andmore.Android users canreplyto textmessages fromthedevice.Menstrual cycle tracking: The

Garmin Connect app letswomen tracktheir cycle, log physical and emotionalsymptomsand learnabout trainingandnutrition during each phase of theircycle. Users will be able to see periodreminders, cycle details and symptomslogged fortheday.Safetyandtracking:Incidentdetec-

tion (during select activities) and send-ingreal-timelocationtoemergencycon-tacts.Personalisation:Choosefromavari-

etyofgorgeouslivewatchfaces,appsandwidgets from the Garmin Connect IQstore app.Users can even upload theirown photos and turn them intowatchfaces.

In summary, the Venu features anextensive range of all-dayhealthmoni-toringfeatures.Youcaneasilydownloadmusic to yourwatch for phone-free lis-tening,record all theways tomovewithmorethan20preloadedGPSandindoorsportsapps,geteasy-to-follow,animatedworkoutsrightonyourwatchscreenandmore.The Garmin effort to assimilatetech into classic designs is a noble one.Get thisGPSwearable for all-dayhealthmonitoring.

■ Estimated street price: `37,490

Discoms are in a tight spot


Gadgets

eFETHURSDAY, JUNE 4, 2020

❝❝❝❝Hybridisation of energyis the future as all

stakeholders dealwithmultiple energy sources

Covid-19 ventilatortraining for docsINRESPONSETOthe increasingnumberofCovid-19patients requiringcriticalcareandventilationsupport,ApolloHospitals,IndianSocietyofCriticalCareMedicine (ISCCM)andMedvarsityhaveannounceda joint collaboration to trainover100,000doctorsonventilatormanagement.The trainingwill empowerdoctorsandhealthcareprofessionals tohandle,manageandoperate theventilatoralongwithanunderstandingof techniques tooptimisemechanicalventilationandminimisecomplicationsin invasiveventilation (intubation) andmanagementofCovid-19patients.Thetrainingwill bedelivered throughaseriesofonlinewebinarsorganisedonMedvarsity’splatformandwill be freeofchargeandopentoallhealthcareprofessionals in India.

SangitaReddy,jointmanagingdirector,ApolloHospitalsGroupsaid,“Asthegovernmentandhospitals cometogetherto strengthenthe responsethroughtheprocurementof life-savingventilatorsandothermedicalequipment,it is critical thatall ourdoctorsare skilledontheuseandmanagementofventilators.Throughthispartnership,weaimto trainoveralakhdoctorsoverthenext30days.”

Oppo,T-Hubinpact tosupport IndianstartupsCHINESEHANDSETMAKEROppoandHyderabad-basedstartup incubatorT-Hubhave joinedhands to support thestartupecosystemin India.Thecollaborationwill bring inscale-upopportunities forsomeof themostinnovative startupsworking in theareasofArtificial Intelligence,5G,battery,cameraand imageprocessing,gaming,andsystemperformance.Theselectedstartupswill receive incubationsupportfromOppoalongwith technicalmentorshipandaccess tonewmarkets.T-Hubwillprovide thestartupswith therightmentorshipandexposure to thedomestic andglobal incubationandinnovationecosystems.TasleemArif,vicepresident,andheadR&D,OppoIndia said,“Thestartupcommunityin Indiahaspushedall boundariesof innovationandaregoingat lightspeed tomakeadifference.Thiscollaboration isanotherstepwhich lineswithourendeavourtoprovide impetus to startups,andforthemtodevelop innovativesolutionsandproducts.”

Tech

Bytes

UmaGanesh

Educationreimaginedfor thedigital age

● LESSONS FORALL

Covid is nudginguniversities to develop aholistic view of their owndigital transformationjourney

Sangita Reddy, jointmanagingdirector,Apollo Hospitals Group

GarminVenu is awell-designed GPSsmartwatchwith abright, beautiful display

●GARMINVENU SMARTWATCH

Built for an active lifestyle

●GOPRO ZEUS MINI

Defy the dark in any conditionA compact,versatile LED light for projects, camping,outdoor adventures, safety andmore

● INTERVIEW: HEMANTKANORIA, chairman, Srei Infrastructure Finance

●WHENMORATORIUM ENDS

SHRITAMABOSEMumbai, June 3

BANKSANDnon-bankingfinancial com-panies(NBFCs)arepreparingforasurgeinretaildelinquenciesoncethemoratoriumexpiresonSeptember1.

The impactofpaycutsandjob losses,adisruption in collections and also themasking of high-risk borrowers by themoratorium could all come together toincrease the stress in the retail segment,bankersand industryexperts said.

On Tuesday, Kotak Mahindra Bank(KMB)managingdirector&chiefexecutiveofficerUdayKotak said small-ticket loanshave been going through a roughpatch inthe last30-40days in termsofcollections.Thetruepictureofthequalityofretailloanswillonlybecomeclearattheendofthesec-ondphaseofthemoratorium,headded.

Earlier, IDBI Bank had said during apost-results interaction that in Marchafter the lockdown, repaymentswere notforthcoming, especially in the retail seg-ment.BajajFinance,too,said itwasseeingdelinquencies rising in all consumer seg-ments,with amore pronounced impactseen in auto finance,where the bouncerate stood at 67-68% in April-May, upfromtheaverageof24.2%.

Whilemostpeopleagreethattherewillcertainly be a hit to the retail book, thequantumishard toascertainat this stage.Some institutions have been carrying outscenario-basedmodelling to estimate theimpact.Forinstance,ExperianCreditInfor-mationCompanyIndia (ECICI)didastudy

twoweeks ago, looking at howretail port-foliosperformedaftertheglobal financialcrisis(GFC).Thecompanypickedoneoftheasset classeswhich had performed rela-tively better in 2008-09—home loans—and tracked it vis-a-vis macroeconomicfactors prevailing now, Ashish Singhal,managingdirector,ECICI,said.

“Werealisedthatifthedeteriorationinthe macroeconomic factors was to thesame extentwhich happened at the timeof the GFC,we are looking at home-loandelinquencies in the next 12 monthsgoing up by1.75 times the normal delin-quencies.Incasethemacrofactorsdeteri-orate by 10%more than during GFC,weare looking at almost a doubling of thehome-loandelinquencies,”Singhal said.

Obviously,unsecured portfolios are atevengreaterriskandbanksarefine-tuningtheirownapproachtothesegment.ManuSehgal, business development leader -emergingmarkets, Equifax, said,“Banksarealsoturningmorecautiousontheretailsegment because pay cuts, job losses and

disruptionofincomemayaffecttheinher-ent creditworthiness of customers.As aresult, a borrowerwhomight have beencreditworthysixmonthsagomaycease tobesoat theendof thisperiod.”

Axis Bank has already said it hasincreasedprovisioningagainstunsecuredpersonal loansandcreditcards.Thecreditoutstanding for thebanking system inallcategories of retail loans fell betweenMarchandApril,suggestingthatbanksarelimiting freshdisbursements.

The portfolios at greatest risk are con-sumer-durable loans andpayday loans byNBFCs and fintech lenders. Last week, areportbyCreditVidyastatedthatloanlossescouldshootupbyasmuchasthreetimesintheunsecuredretailspace,hittingnew-agefintechlendersthemost.Themass-marketsegment,which includesmigrantworkersbadlyhit bythe lockdown,could seedelin-quencyratesdoubleastheborrowersreturntotheirhometownsandsomejobsareper-manently lost. Non-performing assets(NPAs) could treble. “Unlikely that con-sumerswill let go of their savings to fulfilEMIobligations,whenprospectsforfutureincomearepoor,”thereportsaid.

The traceability of some customers—migrant labourersaswellassalariedyoungprofessionalswho have returned to theirhometowns amid the lockdown—has alsobecomeaheadacheforlenders.Asthesebor-rowers, most of whom have unsecuredloans,cannotbefoundattheirlocaladdresswhich happens to be the one given to thelender,theseloanscanbeexpectedtogobad.

Atthesametime,someanalystssaythesituationmay improve for some borrow-erswith the easing of curbs.Anil Gupta,vice-president & sector head - financialsectorratings,Icra,said,“TheRBImorato-rium to borrowerswas extended by threemonths till August 31, and as the lock-down restrictions have been eased, thepaceofrecoveryineconomicactivitieswilldrivetheimprovementinrepaymentabil-itiesofborrowersandtheextentofimpactonassetqualityofbanks.”


HOUSING DEVELOPMENT FINANCECorporation (HDFC), promoter of HDFCLife,onWednesdaysold2.6croresharesofthe insurance company worth a littleover `1,274 crore through an openmarket transaction.

According to bulk deal data availablewiththeBSE,atotalof2,60,00,000sharesofHDFCLifeInsuranceCompanyweresoldbyitspromoterHDFC,thedatashowed.

The shares were offloaded on anaverage price of `490.22 apiece,valuingthe transaction at `1,274.57 crore,thedataadded.

However,thebuyersofthesharescouldnotbeascertained immediately.

At the endof theMarch2020quarter,HDFChelda51.44%stake inHDFCLife.

SharesofHDFCLife closedat`501.40apieceontheBSE,up0.37%fromthepre-vious close,while that ofHDFCended thetrade at `1,836.25, a rise of 1.18% fromthepreviousclose.


THE REALISATIONS FROM resolutionsundertheInsolvencyandBankruptcyCode(IBC)coulddropto`60,000-70,000croreinFY21 from `1 lakh crore in FY20, ratingagencyIcra said in a report onWednesday.Realisations coulddecline further in FY22as a result of the suspensionof insolvencyproceedingsforayear,itadded.

Icra expects the resolutionof corporateinsolvencyresolutionproceedings (CIRPs)tobe impactedduringFY21due toa fall inthenumberof CIRPsyielding a resolutionplanaswellasariseinhaircutsthatlenderswouldhave to take.The resolutionamountwouldalsobelowerinFY21asthepreviousyearwitnessed large-size non-performingassetssuccessfullyconcludingCIRPs.

Inthecurrentfiscal,thesuccessful reso-lutionof a largehousing finance company,understoodtobeDHFL,isgoingtobethekeydeterminantof theextentof realisationbyfinancial creditors,Icra said.It furthersaidrealisationsfromresolutionplanscouldfur-thersuffer inFY22as fresh insolvencypro-ceedingshavebeensuspendedforayear.NewproceedingsinitiatedinFY22areunlikelytogetresolvedinthesamefiscal,giventheaver-agetimetakenforCIRPstoconcludewithasuccessfulresolutionplanisquitehigh.

Againstthestipulatedresolutionperiodof330days,theaveragetimetakenforcom-

pletionoftheCIRPsyieldingapprovalofres-olutionplanshasbeen415days.

AbhishekDafria,vice-president,Icra,saidthe pandemic has thrown up newopera-tional challenges for the various partiesinvolved in a resolution process and thiscouldresultinlimitedcasesyieldingareso-lution plan,especially inQ1FY21.“In thecurrentenvironment,theongoingandevenfutureCIRPsare likelyto suffer fromlowervaluationsandpossiblelesserinterestfrombiddersduetotheuncertaintyacrossmanysectors.This in turnmayresult in creditorshavingtoagreeonhigherhaircuts,”hesaid.

Headdedthat thetimeperiodtakenforsuccessfullyconcluding aCIRPwould alsoincrease, as in addition to the lockdownperiod,the creditors need toprovide addi-tional timetothebiddersforduediligence.In case of unsatisfactorybid results,credi-torsmayhavetogoforextensionofbidtime-linesorforfurtherroundsofbidding.

Atthesametime,Icrasaid,suspensionoffresh insolvency proceedings for a yearwould ensure relief for the firms that areseverelyimpactedbythepandemicandareunabletomeetpaymentstotheircreditors.If thepandemic’s severitywere to increase,thusdelayingeconomicrevival,therecouldbe a sudden surge in cases being referredunder IBC after the one-year period.Thiswould be detrimental to the resolutionprocesswhich is already facing challengesfromover-burdenedtribunals.

HDFCoffloadsHDFC Life sharesworth `1,274 cr

Debt funds see sharpsurge inAUM inMay

TheReserveBankofIndia(RBI) shouldcon-sider allowing one-time restructuring ofloans to help NBFCs weather the currentliquidity crisis, says Hemant Kanoria,chairmanofSrei InfrastructureFinance.Inan interview with Mithun Dasgupta,Kanoria further says infrastructure pro-jects have virtually come to a standstillwith migrant workers on their way backhome,andthis impasse is likelytocontinuefor the next few months.Edited excerpts:

The government and the RBI haveannounced a slewofmeasures to com-bat the impact of the Covid-19 pan-demic on the economy. Have thesehelped in cushioning the impact of thepandemicandalsothesubsequentlock-downofeconomicactivities?Themeasures announced by the financeministerandRBI in the last fewweeks aregoingtohavemedium-tolong-termbene-fits andwill alleviate the liquidity conun-drum to a certain extent.However, inmyopinion,afewmorestepsareneededsimul-taneously to provide support to all busi-nesses, including the NBFCs. RBI shouldconsiderallowingone-timerestructuringofloansbasedonthecashflow.Furthermore,the loan accounts should be classified as“standard”sothatnoprovisioningisneededforthesame.Thiswillhelp stemthe tideof

non-performing loans (NPLs) andpreventbusinessesfromtippingoverintodefault.Iftheone-timerestructuringisnotallowedtothebanks,therewillbelargeNPLs.

Thegovernment,bothcentralandstate,should advise all their agencies to expedi-tiously clear all outstanding payments tocontractors and businesses.Also, all out-standing tax refunds and tax-related dis-putes must be resolved at the earliest toreleasepayments.Hugesumsofmoneyarestuckinarbitrationawardsagainstgovern-ment agencieswhich have been draggedintothehighercourts,leadingtoinordinatedelays.Thegovernmentshouldhonourthearbitrationawardsandinsteadoffurtherlit-igation,release the payments against theawards.Thesesimpleyeteffectivemeasures

willensureliquidityforbusinessesandhelpmanyofthemsurvivethecurrentcrisis.

NBFCs had been experiencing an acuteliquidity crunch even before the out-break of Covid-19.The pandemicmusthaveworsenedthesituation.Whatistheliquidity situation forNBFCs in generalandSrei inparticular?FollowingtheIL&FSepisode,manyNBFCshave been facing a liquidity crunch asbanksbecamecautious lendersandvirtu-allystoppedlendingtothesector.Theout-break of Covid-19 has accentuated theproblemfurther.Hence,there isanimme-diateneedtoallowone-timerestructuringofloanstohelpbanks,NBFCsandtheirbor-rowersweatherthecrisis.

Fortunately,atSrei,wehavebeenabletomanage our liquiditywell.We hope thatgoing forward the situationwill graduallyimprove inviewofthesupportbeinggivenbythegovernmentandRBItobusinesses.

Many of your customers are from theconstructionandinfrastructuresectors,whichhavebeenseverelyaffectedbytheCovid-19 outbreak. According to arecent report on construction equip-ment by Icra, the sector may see a15-20%decline inrevenues inCY2020.What isyourobservation?

The infrastructure industry and the con-struction sectorhave been experiencing aslowdownforthelasttwotothreeyears.Fol-lowing the outbreak of Covid-19 and thesubsequent lockdown, the problem hascompounded because of severe cash flowcrunch.Infraprojectshavevirtuallycometoa standstillwithmigrantworkers on theirwaybackhome.Thisimpasseislikelytocon-tinuefornextfewmonths.

Ourcustomersareprimarilyintheinfra-structure sector, infra-related andhealth-care sectors. For them, the challenge hasbeenmonumental,andwehavebeenwork-ing closelywith themto figureoutways toresolvetheirproblem.

Considering the slowdown ineconomicactivities,what areyourexpectationsontheperformanceofyourcompanyandtheindustryinthecurrentfinancialyear?I thinkthat if theabove-mentionedpracti-cal steps are taken,the businesses and thefinancialsectorcanbouncebackwithin1-2years.Butifnot,therecoverywilltaketime.Hence, it is critical to address thepracticalissuesatthegroundlevel.Fromthepointofviewofbusinesses,everyone's focus at thisjuncture isnowonsurvival,bothinlifeandinbusiness.Nooneisexpectingsubstantialgrowth in revenues andprofits in the cur-rentfinancialyear.

‘One-time restructuringof loansneeded tohelpNBFCs’

Impact of pay cuts &job losses, disruption incollections,masking ofhigh-risk borrowersbymoratorium to hitsegment, say experts

Chola Q4 PAT at`43 cr post one-timeprovision of `504 crCHOLAMANDALAMINVESTMENTandFinance(Chola),thefinancialservicesarmoftheMurugappaGroup,reportedprofitaftertax(PAT)of`43croreforthequarterendedMarchaftercreationofone-timeprovisionof`504croretocovercontingenciesduetoCovid-19andmacroeconomicdownturn.Thecompanyhadregistered`292crorePATinthefourthquarterofthepreviousfiscal.

HDFCBankcommits`5crascyclonerelief toBengalHDFCBANKonWednesdayannounced ithas committed`5croreto theWestBengalStateDisasterManagementAuthorityasanimmediate reliefmeasure to supportrelief andrehabilitationefforts in thecyclone-hitpartsof the state.SandeepKumar,branchbankinghead–East,andotherseniorofficialsof thebankhandedoveracheque toWestBengalchief secretaryRajivaSinha.

Covid-19:SATtoremainclosedtill June12THESECURITIESAppellateTribunal(SAT)has said itwill remainclosed tillJune12 inviewof thecoronaviruslockdownbeingextended inMumbai.Earlier,the tribunalhadsaid itwillremainclosed tillMay31.

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MarketsFINANCIALEXPRESS10 WWW.FINANCIALEXPRESS.COM


CHIRAGMADIAMumbai, June 3

SEVERALCATEGORIESOFdebtfundssawasurgeinassetsundermanagement(AUM)inMayagainstsharpoutflowsinApril.Cat-egories such as banking andPSU,corporatebondandultra-shortdurationsawincreaseinitsdailyassetsundermanage-ment (AUM),while credit riskfunds continued towitness afall initsAUMinMay.

Data fromAssociation ofMutual Funds in India (Amfi)show that dailyAUMof debtfunds at the end of May 29stoodat`6.18lakhcroreagainst`5.92lakhcroreinApril—anincreaseof`26,400crore.

Dwijendra Srivastava,CIO-debt at Sun-daramAMCsaid,“Therehavebeen inflowsinmanycategoriesofdebtfundsinMay.OneofthereasonsforsurgeinassetsofbankingandPSUfundsandcorporatebondfundsisbecausetheyhavegoodcreditquality.”

Banking and PSU funds saw its dailyAUMasonMay29wasat`89,565.42crore,

up by `10,378.07 crore. Corporate bondfundssawdailyAUMriseby`5,602.82croreinMaycomparedwithApril,thedatashow.

Market participants sayafter FranklinTempletonclosedsixdebtschemesinApril,investors want to stay away from credit

funds.ThedatashowthatdailyAUMofcredit-riskfundsasonMay29 stood at `30,241.52croreagainst`35,820.18crorein April, a fall of `5,578.66crore. Apart from credit-riskfunds, medium-durationfundsalsosawafallinitsassetsinMay.Inthedebt funds,dataon dailyAUM of liquid fundsand overnight fundswas not

available.Othercategories like short-dura-tion funds,moneymarket andultra-shortdurationfundssawasurgeinAUMinMay.

“Wehaveseenseveralofcorporatesandultrahighnetworthindividualsinvestingindebt funds.Having said that,most of theinvestorswanttostayawayfromcredit-riskfundsandthatisthereasontheyareinvest-ing in products that have good qualitypapers,”afundmanagersaid.

Money Matters

Jun 03May 20

5.770

5.782

The benchmark yieldrose under sellingpressure

0.010%

G-SEC

Jun 03May 20

75.79

Inverted scale

75.47

The rupee ended lowerafter a volatile sessionand amidmixed cuesfromAsian peers

0.154%

`/$

Jun 03May 20

1.0980

1.1195

The euro rose againstthe dollar

0.224%

C=/$

❝ ❝

LOANSTOMSMEsNirmala Sitharaman, finance minister

Public-sector banks have already sanctionedloansworth `10,361.75 crore under the 100%Emergency Credit Line Guarantee Scheme. Out ofthis, `3,892.78 crore has already been disbursed.

DailyAUM of debtfunds on May 29stood at `6.18L cragainst `5.92L cr inApril, an increaseof `26,400 cr, Amfi

data show

ANALYSTCORNER

IndiGo: Recommend‘sell’with revised FVof `925

KOTAK INSTITUTIONALEQUITIES

INDIGOREPORTEDbetter-thanexpec-tedQ4FY20earningsdrivenbyhigheryields andvolumes.Q4 results are, how-ever, notvery relevant in the context ofnear-termuncertainties.Weanticipate alonger drawn recoverywith a large lossexpectation for FY21E. Lackofclarity ondemand revival drives our ‘sell’ rating.Roll forward toMarch 2022Edrives arevised fair valueof`925 (`900earlier).IndiGo reported adecentquarter

with revenuesbeatingour estimatesby13%,drivenby5%higher RPKs and7%higher yields.Overall revenueswerehigher by `950croreversus forecasts.Costs, however, remainedelevatedonaccount ofhighermaintenanceexpensefor olderA320ceoaircraft, andCASKex-fuel ex-forex increased19%y-o-y,resulting in only `400 crore higherEbitda. Despitegoodyields, loss of`280crore (excl forex loss) is representativeof thedifficult operatingenvironmentfacedby IndiGoQ2FY20onwards,primarily due to slowneodeliveries.Themanagement seeks to replace

most of the current fleet of123A320ceoaircraft in the next twoyears, promptingus tobelieve that the current fleet count

maynot changemuchover FY21-22.Interestingly, themanagement also saiditwas not looking tonegotiate termswith lessors andwill continue tomaketimelypayments.While surprising, thisindicates that IndiGomaybeavailingoflow/nil cancellationpenalties andotherbenefits from lessors, andhence, doesnotwant to changeanyexisting lessor-lessee arrangement.Current capacity utilisation is 20%of

original capacityversus thepermitted33%.Capacity ramp-upwill thus happenslowlywith international (~25%ofpreCovid capacity) to recover evenmoregradually.Whilewedobake in loweremployee andother expense,we stillarrive at a fairly sizeable loss estimateof`7,300 crore for FY21.Weassume somenormalcy in FY22, thoughweexpectcapacity to still remain lower than FY20.Steepdecline in crudeprices is a

positive for the airline industry. IndiGo’scash reservesof`8,900 croreof freecash and`11,500 croreof restrictedcashprovide comfort.We, however,remain cautious, given uncertainty ofdemand revival evenonce thepandemic is behindus.We roll forwardtoMarch2022 andarrive at a newFVof`925basedon14XFY22P/E.

Nestle India:Recommend‘neutral’withTPof`17,250

NOMURA

WETHINKNestle India under SureshNarayananhasbest-in-class strategy,strongexecution capabilities andanemphasis onquick, decisive action.Weexpect it tobe a keybeneficiary of: arise in consumptionof ready-to-cook(RTC)products in apost-Covidworld;continued spreeofnew launches andentry into newsub-categories; focus onvolumegrowth and increasing shift fromtheunorganised to theorganised sectorwith enhanceddistribution reach;adoptionofa new regional cluster-based approach toenhanceefficiency;theout-of-homeconsumptionoppor-tunity.We forecastvolume-ledearningsgrowthof5/16/16% inCY20F/21F/22F.However, the currentvaluation leaveslittle room for error.We initiate at‘neutral’with aTPof`17,250.Weexpect consumptionofRTC

foods to increase in apost-Covidworld.Nestle’s products in this category—MaggiNoodles, Pazzta, Upma, Poha—

could see significant demandgrowth.Nestle is launching innovativeproductsat 3x thepaceof5 years ago.With asuccess rate significantly higher thanthe industry, new launches have contri-butedup to4% to revenueover thepast4 years.Weexpect new launches tocontinue apace, likely aidedby addi-tions from theparent’s global portfolio.WebelieveNestle’s cluster-based app-roach ismore consumer-centric andshould help it identify newopportun-itieswithbetter RoIs.Moreover, Nestle’sMaggiHotspot kiosks have kick-startedits out-of-home foray, andweexpectconsumers to adopt these in abigway.We initiate coverage ofNestle India

with a ‘neutral’ rating and aTPof`17,250.Wevalue Nestle at a P/E of65x onMarch’22FEPS, at a 20%premium to its past 3-year averagemultiple, aswe expect robust long-termgrowth, high earningsvisibilityand strong pricing power. However, at66xCY21FEPS,we think thevaluation isfactoring in these positives.

Lenders brace for surgein retail delinquencies

IBC realisations for financialcreditorsmaydrop40%to`60,000 crore in FY21: Icra

FE BUREAUKolkata, June 3

PSU MINER COAL India (CIL)hasnowlimitedminingonlytooverburden removal (OBR)with falling demand of coal.Themining behemoth is nowkeeping seams exposedremoving the top soil so thatcoalcanbeextractedassoonasthedemandpicksup.OBR is an integral part of

coalminingandthefirst stagein the process. Throughexposed seams it can be easilyestimated howmuch of coalhas actuallybeenmined,aCILofficial toldFE.CIL has already been

flushed with pit head stockand reserves at the powerplants are at an all time high.As of April 1, this year, pithead stocks are 75 milliontonne (MT) while reserves atpower plants are 50 MT,maintaining over 30 daysstockabove the required levelof22daysasmandatedbytheCentral ElectricityAuthority.

So, extracting further coalfrom the mines and creatinga huge stock pile wouldendanger the mines withchances of catching fire.So, CIL for now is only

exposing seams keeping coalreadyforextractionassoonasthe demandpicks up.The company has also

started reporting growth interms of OB removal. CIL haskept a target of producing710 MT for FY 21, which ishuge jump from the 602MTit has achieved this fiscal.CIL fell short of target by

58 MT during FY20 but inFY21 it wants to remain ontarget, for which it has con-centrated on speedy OBremoval,a CILofficial said.OB removal grew 10.4%

duringMay,againstOBremovedduringAprilthisyear,whilepro-ductionofcoalandofftakegrew2.6%and2.3%,respectivelyona month-to-month basis. Theminer as a whole produced41.43MTof coal inMaycom-paredto40.38MTinApril.

MARKETS 11FINANCIALEXPRESS


NOTICE-CUM-ADDENDUM NO. 8/2020-21

NOTICE-CUM-ADDENDUM TO THE SCHEME INFORMATION DOCUMENTS (“SIDs”), KEY INFORMATION MEMORANDA (“KIMs”)

AND STATEMENT OF ADDITIONAL INFORMATION (“SAI”) OF BOI AXA MUTUAL FUND (“FUND”).

Change in address of Investor Service Center (ISC) of BOI AXA Mutual Fund (“the Fund”)

Investors are requested to note that there is a change in the address of ISC of the Fund in Delhi with effect from June 4, 2020, the details of

the same are as follows:

Old Address New Address

BOI AXA Investment Managers Pvt. Ltd.

Room No. 610, 4th Floor, Avanta Business Center,

Statesman House, Barakhamba Road,

Connaught Place, New Delhi - 110 001

BOI AXA Investment Managers Pvt. Ltd.

Room No. D110, 6th Floor, Apeejay Business Centre,

Arunachal Building, Barakhamba Road,

Connaught Place, New Delhi - 110 001

This Notice-cum-Addendum forms an integral part of the SID/KIM of various schemes and SAI of the Fund (collectively documents).

All other terms and conditions appearing in the documents being modiied through this addendum remain unchanged.

For BOI AXA Investment Managers Private Limited

(Investment Manager for BOI AXA Mutual Fund)

Place : Mumbai Sd/-


CIN: L24230GJ1976PLC008738Regd. Office: 4801/B & 4802/A, GIDC Industrial Estate, Ankleshwar 393 002.

Corporate Office: Ground Floor, Spencer Building, 30, Forjett Street, Grant Road

(West), Mumbai - 400 036. Email: [email protected]

NOTICENotice is hereby given that in terms of Regulation 29 and 47 of SEBI

(Listing Obligations and Disclosure Requirements) Regulations, 2015

a meeting of the Board of Directors of the Company is scheduled onWednesday, June 10, 2020 through video conference to consider and

adopt Audited standalone and consolidated Financial Results for the

Fourth Quarter and year ended 31st March, 2020.

The information will also be available on the website of BSE Ltd

(www.bseindia.com) and National Stock Exchange of India Limited

(www.nseindia.com) where the Equity shares of the Company arelisted and will also be available on the website of the Company viz.

www.lykalabs.com.

Sd

Place: Mumbai Piyush Hindia

Date: 03.06.2020 Company Secretary & Compliance Officer

LYKA LABS LIMITED

3 Net Profit / (Loss) for the period before tax

7 Reserve (excluding Revaluation Reserve as shown

8 Earnings Per Share (of Rs. 1/- each)

a) Basic 1.24 4.05 0.83 1.23 4.04 0.83

4 Net Profit / (Loss) for the period after tax

5 Total Comprehensive Income for the period

1 Total income from operations 4,555.59 15,774.70 3,215.09 3,354.73 12,233.41 3,215.09

(before Tax, Exceptional and/or Extraordinary items) 3,127.80 10,150.97 2,262.43 2,577.79 8,518.83 2,262.43

2 Net Profit / (Loss) for the period

(after Exceptional and/or Extraordinary items) 3,127.80 10,150.97 2,262.43 2,577.79 8,518.83 2,262.43

(after Exceptional and/or Extraordinary items) 2,180.72 7,134.09 1,468.82 2,170.94 7,104.58 1,468.82

[Comprising Profit / (Loss) for the period (after tax) and

Other Comprehensive Income (after tax)] 2,181.10 7,134.70 1,468.89 2,171.32 7,105.19 1,468.89

6 Equity share capital 1,760.00 1,760.00 1,760.00 1,760.00 1,760.00 1,760.00

in the balance sheet of previous year) - 20,203.78 - - 20,203.78 -

(for continuing and discontinued operations) -

b) Diluted 1.24 4.05 0.83 1.23 4.04 0.83

Extract of Audited Financial Results (CONSOLIDATED and STANDALONE)

for the quarter and Year ended 31st March, 2020

1) The above is an extract of the detailed format ofAudited Consolidated and Standalone Financial results for the Quarter and Year ended on 31st March, 2020,

filed with the Stock Exchange under Regulation 33 of the SEBI (Listing Obligations and Disclosure Requirements) Regulations, 2015. The full format of the

above Result are available on the Stock Exchange website (www.bseindia.com) and the Company's website (www.dolatinvest.com)

Note:

2) The figures for the quarter ended 31st March, 2020 and the corresponding quarter ended in the previous year as reported in these financial results are the

balancing figures between audited figures in respect of the full financial year and the published year to date figures up to the end of the third quarter of the

relevant financial year.Also the figures upto the end of the third quarter were reviewed and not subject to audit.

Place : MumbaiDate : June 02, 2020

Particulars

Rs. in Lakhs

For Dolat Investments LimitedSd/-

Pankaj D. ShahManaging Director(DIN: 00005023)

DOLAT INVESTMENTS LIMITEDRegistered Office: Office No. 141, Center Point, Somnath, Daman, Daman & Diu-396210

Corporate Office: 301-308, Bhagwati House, Plot A/19, Veera Desai Road, Andheri (West), Mumbai - 400058

Tel.: 91-22-2673 2602; Fax: 91-22-26732642

Website: www.dolatinvest.com; E-mail: [email protected]; CIN: L67100DD1983PLC004760;

Sr.No

StandaloneConsolidated

Quarter Ended

31.03.2019

Audited

Year Ended

31.03.2020

Audited

Quarter Ended

31.03.2020

Audited

Year Ended

31.03.2020

Audited

Quarter Ended

31.03.2019

Audited

Quarter Ended

31.03.2020

Audited

NOTICE TO THE MEMBERS OF 19th ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING

Dear Member(s),

1. Notice is hereby given that the Nineteenth Annual General Meeting of the

Company (“19th AGM”) will be convened on Thursday, 09th July 2020 at

11:00 a.m. through Video Conference (“VC”)/ Other Audio Visual Means

(“OAVM”) facility in compliance with the applicable provisions of the Companies

Act, 2013 and Rules framed thereunder and the SEBI (Listing Obligations

and Disclosure Requirements) Regulations, 2015 read with General Circular

Nos.14/2020, 17/2020 and 20/2020 dated 8th April 2020, 13th April 2020 and

5th May 2020, respectively, issued by the Ministry of Corporate Afairs (“MCA

Circular/s”) andCircular No. SEBI/HO/CFD/CMD1/CIR/P/2020/79 dated 12thMay

2020 issued by the Securities and Exchange Board of India (“SEBI Circular”),

without the physical presence of the Members at a common venue.

2. The Notice of the 19thAGM and theAnnual Report for the year 2019-20 including

the inancial statements for the year ended 31stMarch 2020 (“Annual Report”) will

be sent only by email to all thoseMembers, whose email addresses are registered

with the Company or with their respective Depository Participants (“Depository”),

in accordance with the MCACircular/s and the SEBI Circular. Members can join

and participate in the AGM through VC/OAVM facility only. The instructions for

joining the AGM and the manner of participation in the remote electronic voting

or casting vote through the e-voting system during the AGM are provided in the

Notice of the AGM. Members participating through the VC/OAVM facility shall

be counted for the purpose of reckoning the quorum under Section 103 of the

Companies Act, 2013. The Notice of the AGM and the Annual Report will also

be available on the website of the Company i.e. www.jsw.in/investors/holdings

and on the website of Stock Exchanges i.e. BSE Limited: www.bseindia.com

and NSE Limited: www.nseindia.com.

3. Members holding shares in physical formwho have not registered their email

addresses with the Company or Kin Technologies Private Limited (“Kintech”),

the Registrar & Share Transfer Agent of the Company, can obtain Notice of the

AGM,Annual Report and/or login details for joining theAGM through VC/OAVM

facility including e-voting, by following the below mentioned steps:

The Shareholders are requested to visit the website of Kintech @ https://ris.

kintech.com/email_registration/ wherein following information is to be entered:

a) Company Name: JSW Holdings Limited;

b) Holding Type: Physical;

c) Folio Nos: As given on the Share Certiicate;

d) PAN Details.

4. Members holding shares in demat form may update their email address for

the purpose of obtaining Notice of the AGM, Annual Report and/or login details

for joining the AGM through VC/OAVM facility including e-voting, by following

the below mentioned steps:

The Shareholders are requested to visit the website of Kintech @ https://ris.

kintech.com/email_registration/ wherein following information is to be entered:

a) Company Name: JSW Holdings Limited;

b) Holding Type: NSDL/CDSL (as the case may be);

c) DP ID & Client ID

d) PAN Details.

The Annual Book Closure will be from Monday, 08th day of June, 2020 to Tuesday,

09th day of June, 2020

The above information is being issued for the information and beneit of all the

Members of the Company and is in compliance with the MCA Circular/s and the

SEBI Circular.

For JSW Holdings Limited

Sd/-

Deepak Bhat

Company Secretary

Date: 03rd June, 2020Place: Mumbai

Part of O.P. Jindal Group

(CIN: L67120MH2001PLC217751)

Reg Oice: Village Vasind, Taluka Shahapur, Thane MH – 421604

Email: [email protected]; Website: www.jsw.in

Ph.: 022-4286 1000, Fax: 022-4286 3000

HOLDINGS LIMITED

Equities join global rally,Niftyends above10k-markFE BUREAUMumbai, June 3

FORTHE FIRST time after therout in March, the Nifty onWednesday ended the dayabove thepsychologicallycru-cial mark of 10,000, takingcues from other global mar-kets. Indian equities havejoinedastrongglobalrallydri-ven by a rush of liquidity.Expectations of more fiscalstimulusmeasures,hopes of aCovid vaccine and reopeningof economies across theworldbuoyedmarkets.The bankingandfinancialstocks,whichhadbeen hammered the most,were responsible for themar-kets rallying for the sixthstraight session. Nifty Bankrose by 2% during the day’stradingsession.The benchmark Nifty50

endedmarginallyoff itshighs,gaining 82.45 points or0.83%, to close at 10,061.55,while the Sensex rose 284.01points or 0.84%, to close at34,109.54.Themarkets wit-nessed a volatile last hour oftradewhich led to the bench-

markslosingsomeofthegainsthat they made during thetradingsessiononprofitbook-ing. Last week, the Nifty wastrading at the 9,000mark butit has jumped by 1,032.5points in seven trading ses-sions.Market experts believethat the swift rally in theNiftyis because Indian stockmar-ketshavestartedplayingcatchupwithotherglobalmarkets.Asianmarketsrosetoathree

month high during the day’stradingsessionwithbourses inHongKong,Taiwan and SouthKorea rallying between1.73%to 2.87%. China’s ShanghaiComposite witnessed a flattradingsession,risingby0.07%

during the day.The Europeanindiceswerealsotradinghigherat the timeof press,with stockmarkets in the United King-dom,France andGermanyris-ing between 1.28% to 2.3%.Compared to global markets,theIndianmarketcontinuestounderperformbuttheextentofunderperformance of theIndian markets has reduced.Rusmik Oza, executive vicepresident—headoffundamen-tal research,Kotak Securities,said,“IndiabarringBrazil is theonlycountrywherethecasesofCovid-19inspiteofalockdownhave gone up, this had madeinvestorswaryandhad causedthe underperformance of theIndian markets. With Indiabeginningtoexitthelockdown,investorsaretakingitpositivelyand foreign portfolio investorbuyinghasresumed.”The premium that India

wascommandingoveremerg-ing markets (EMs) had gonedown to 31%recently againstthe10yearaverageof38%andpeaksofmorethan60%.Sofar,sincethestartoftheyear,MSCIEMhasseenadeclineof14.2%

outperformingtheMSCIIndiawhich is downby15.2%year-to-date.URBhat,director,Dal-ton Capital Advisors (India),said,“Themarketsarecurrentlycatching up with the otherglobalmarketsbut,if there is aslowandprolongedrecoveryinthe Indianmarket,insteadofa“V” shaped recovery that themarket is currently factoring,the India valuation premiumovermost other EMs can startcontracting significantly.Thatsaid, if there is indeed a V-shaped recovery, the Indianmarketislikelytoenjoythepre-miumovermostotherEMs.”Foreignportfolio investors

have so far bought stocksworth $2.9 billion since May26 when the markets wit-nessed a steep upmove.Aheadof theweeklyexpiryonThursday, the F&O segmentsaw volumes worth `17.25lakh crore against the sixmonth average of `13.9 lakhcrore.On the other hand, thecash market saw volumesworth `65,871.9 croreagainst thesixmonthaverageof `43,047.1 crore.

As coal demand falls,CIL limitsmining tooverburden removal

ANRPC rolls back NRestimates,eyes slowprice recoveryM SARITAVARMAThiruvananthapuram, June 3

DESPITE ITS OPTIMISM ondemand,AssociationofNaturalRubber Producing Countries(ANRPC)hasrolledbackitsesti-mate of global production andconsumptionofnaturalrubber(NR) for 2020. The KualaLumpur-based organisation’sMayestimateofNRproductiondownsizes its own April esti-mateby3,03,000tonne.As per the revised outlook,

theworldproductionisexpectedtofallby4.7%to13.130milliontonneduring2020.

“The recovery is likely tocontinue, albeit at slow paceand subject to a set of risk fac-tors,saidRBPremadasa,secre-tary general, ANRPC, in theforeword.Market analysts atANRPC

listfourreasonsfor“thepositivesentiment”thatdrivesthepricerecovery.One, the relaxing oflockdownsinseveralcountries.Two, increasing optimism onCovid-19 vaccine. Three,increaseincrudeoilprices.Four,the substantial contraction intheworldproductionestimatesofNRinthefirsttwoquartersofthecurrentyear.

AdaniPowerhiresmerchantbankertoevaluateequitydelistingproposalPRESSTRUSTOF INDIANew, Delhi, June 3

ADANI POWER BOARD onWednesday appointed mer-chant banker Vivro FinancialServices to evaluate the pro-posal to delist its equityshares fromBSEandNationalStock Exchange.Theboard,initsmeetingon

Wednesday, appointed VivroFinancialServices,aCategory-IMerchant Banker registeredwith the Securities andExchange Board of India forevaluating delisting proposal,thecompanysaidinaBSEfiling.Theboard,initsmeetingon

Wednesday, also authorisedcertain identifiedpersonnel toprovidealldetailsandinforma-tiontothemerchantbankerforcarrying out due diligence onthedelistingproposal.It stated that after the

receipt of the due diligencereport from the merchantbanker, the board will againmeet to discuss the DelistingProposal indetail.Shares of the company

dropped nearly 6% to `37.80onBSE.Earlier last week, the com-

panyhad toldbourses that oneof its promoters,Adani Proper-ties, has proposed volunteerdelistingofthecompanyshares.In the delisting proposal,

Adani Properties hadexpressed its intention eitherbyitselfortogetherwithothermembers of the PromoterGroup as the case may be toacquireall theequitysharesofthe Company, each equitysharehaving facevalueof`10heldbythepublicshareholdersof thecompany.Thepromotergroupcollec-

tively holds 2,89,16,12,567equity shares of the companyrepresenting 74.97% of thepaid-upequitysharecapital.

Nifty50

10,458.410,061.55

Mar 11,2020

Jun 3,2020

4,000

6,000

8,000

10,000

12,000

12 FINANCIALEXPRESS

WWW.FINANCIALEXPRESS.COMTHURSDAY, JUNE 4, 2020

Registered Office: 12th Floor, Narain Manzil, 23, Barakhamba Road, New Delhi - 110 001.

Corporate Office: One BKC, 13th Floor, Bandra Kurla Complex, Mumbai - 400 051.

Tel.: +91 22 2652 5000, Fax: +91 22 2652 8100, Website: www.iciciprumf.com,

Email id: [email protected]

Central Service Office: 2nd Floor, Block B-2, Nirlon Knowledge Park, Western Express

Highway, Goregaon (E), Mumbai - 400 063. Tel.: 022 2685 2000 Fax: 022 26868313

ICICI Prudential Asset Management Company LimitedCorporate Identity Number: U99999DL1993PLC054135

No. 002/06/2020

To knowmore, call 1800 222 999/1800 200 6666 or visit www.iciciprumf.com

As part of the Go Green Initiative, investors are encouraged to register/update their e-mail id

and mobile number to support paper-less communications.

To increase awareness about Mutual Funds, we regularly conduct Investor Awareness

Programs across the country. To knowmore about it, please visit https://www.iciciprumf.com

or visit AMFI’s website https://www.amfiindia.com

Mutual Fund investments are subject to market risks,

read all scheme related documents carefully.

Notice-cum-Addendum to the Scheme Information Document (SID) and Key

Information Memorandum (KIM) of the ICICI Prudential Liquid Fund, ICICI Prudential

Sensex Index Fund, ICICI Prudential Nifty Index Fund and ICICI Prudential Nifty

Next 50 Index Fund (the Schemes)

NOTICE is hereby given that the below provisions under the Schemes, as applicable,

will be revised as follows with effect from June 8, 2020 (“effective date”):

ICICI Prudential Liquid Fund

Existing Provisions Revised Provisions

Minimum Application Amount,

including switches#:

` 100 (plus in multiples of `1)


including switches#:

` 99 and thereafter

SIP - Daily, Weekly, Fortnightly and

Monthly:

` 500 and in multiples of ` 1

SIP - Daily, Weekly, Fortnightly and

Monthly:

` 99 and thereafter

#Not applicable to separate plans under ICICI Prudential Liquid Fund for deployment

of unclaimed amounts viz ICICI Prudential Liquid Fund - Unclaimed Redemption,

ICICI Prudential Liquid Fund - Unclaimed Dividend, ICICI Prudential Liquid Fund -

Unclaimed Redemption Investor Education and ICICI Prudential Liquid Fund - Unclaimed

Dividend Investor Education.

ICICI Prudential Sensex Index Fund



including switches:



including switches:

` 100 and thereafter

Minimum Additional Application

Amount, including switches:





ICICI Prudential Nifty Index Fund



including switches:



including switches:








ICICI Prudential Nifty Next 50 Index Fund



including switches:



including switches:








Investors/Unit holders are requested to note that the aforementioned revision shall be

applicable on a prospective basis to the registrations/enrollments received on or after

the effective date.

All the other provisions of the SID/KIM/addendum of the Schemes except as

specifically modified herein above remain unchanged.

This Notice-cum-Addendum forms an integral part of the SID/KIM/addendum of the

Schemes, as amended from time to time.

For ICICI Prudential Asset Management Company Limited

Place : Mumbai Sd/-


Canara Robeco Mutual FundInvestment Manager : Canara Robeco Asset Management Co. Ltd.Construction House, 4th Floor, 5, Walchand Hirachand Marg, Ballard Estate, Mumbai 400 001.Tel.: 6658 5000 Fax: 6658 5012/13 www.canararobeco.com CIN No.: U65990MH1993PLC071003

NOTICE-CUM-ADDENDUM NO. 17

Precautionary measures taken against Coronavirus issue in respect of Canara Robeco Mutual Fund -

Kochi Branch

Investors are requested to note that, AMFI vide its notice dated 22nd March, 2020 has issued a directive,

recommending all mutual funds to implement social distancing measures and keep their branch oices

closed. It was thereby decided that Canara Robeco branches will be temporarily closed with efect fromMonday 23rd March 2020 till further notice.

Considering the overall current situation of Kochi city, it has been decided to recommence the operational

activities of Kochi branch of Canara Robeco Mutual Fund with efect from 4th June, 2020.

Unit holders are requested to visit www.canararobeco.com in respect of their amounts remaining

unclaimed or unpaid and follow the prescribed procedure therein.

For and on behalf of Canara Robeco Asset Management Company Ltd.

(Investment manager for Canara Robeco Mutual Fund)

Date: 03-06-2020 sd/-

Place: Mumbai Authorised Signatory

Mutual Fund investments are subject to market risks, read all scheme related documents carefully.

Motilal Oswal Asset Management Company LimitedRegistered & Corporate Ofice : 10th Floor, Motilal Oswal Tower, Rahimtullah Sayani Road,

Opposite Parel ST Depot, Prabhadevi, Mumbai - 400 025l Toll Free No.: +91 8108622222, +91 22 40548002 l Email : [email protected]

l CIN No.: U67120MH2008PLC188186l Website: www.motilaloswalmf.com and www.mostshares.com

Notice cum Addendum to the Scheme Information Document and

Key Information Memorandum of the Schemes of Motilal Oswal Mutual Fund

Enabling of SIP Pause facility on BSE StAR MF platform for the Schemes of Motilal Oswal Mutual

Fund (MOMF)

In continuation to our notice cum addendum dated April 23, 2020 with respect to introduction of ‘SIPPause Facility’ (‘the Facility’) under all schemes of MOMF offering Systematic Investment Plan (‘SIP’),unit holders / investors are hereby informed that the facility has now been enabled on BSE StAR MFplatform. This feature shall be available to investors’ w.e.f. June 04, 2020 as per the terms and conditionslaid down by BSE StAR MF. Similarly for SIP registered through Mutual Fund Utility (“MFU”), other Stockexchange platforms and Channel Partners, investors may opt for this facility, if the same is being providedby the respective platform.

All other terms and conditions of the facility will remain unchanged.

This Addendum shall form an integral part of the Scheme Information Document (SID) and KeyInformation Memorandum (KIM) of all existing and prospective schemes of MOMF, as amended fromtime to time. All other contents remain unchanged.

For Motilal Oswal Asset Management Company Limited(Investment Manager for Motilal Oswal Mutual Fund)

Sd/-Place : Mumbai Aashish P SomaiyaaDate : June 03, 2020 Managing Director and Chief Executive Oficer

MutuAl FuND INvEStMENtS ARE SuBjECt tO MARKEt RISKS,rEAd ALL SChEME rELATEd dOCuMENTS CArEFuLLy.



Mumbai

June 03, 2020

For Nippon Life India Asset Management Limited(Formerly known as Reliance Nippon Life Asset Management Limited)

(Asset Management Company for Nippon India Mutual Fund)Sd/-

Authorised Signatory

Make even idle money work! Invest in Mutual Funds

Mutual Fund investments are subject to market risks, read all scheme related documents carefully.

(Formerly Reliance Mutual Fund)

NOTICE NO. 19 Record Date

June 09, 2020DIVIDEND DECLARATIONNotice is hereby given that the Trustee of Nippon India Mutual Fund (“NIMF”) has approved declaration of dividendon the face value of Rs. 10/- per unit in the undernoted scheme of NIMF, with June 09, 2020 as the record date:

Nippon Life India Asset Management Limited(Formerly known as Reliance Nippon Life Asset Management Limited)

(CIN - L65910MH1995PLC220793)

Registered Oice: Reliance Centre, 7th Floor, South Wing, OfWestern Express Highway, Santacruz (East),

Mumbai - 400 055. • Tel No. +91 022 4303 1000 • Fax No. +91 022 4303 7662 • www.nipponindiamf.com

Name of the Scheme(s)Dividend

(` per unit)*NAV as on June 02,

2020 (` per unit)

Nippon India Interval Fund - Quarterly Interval Fund -Series III – Dividend Option

0.0001

10.0496

Nippon India Interval Fund - Quarterly Interval Fund -Series III – Institutional Plan - Dividend Option

10.0500

Nippon India Interval Fund - Quarterly Interval Fund -Series III – Direct Plan - Dividend Option

10.0484

*Income distribution will be done/dividend will be paid, net of tax deducted at source, as applicable.

Pursuant to payment of dividend, the NAV of the Scheme will fall to the extent of payout,and statutory levy, if any. *The dividend payout will be to the extent of above mentioned dividend perunit or the diference of NAV from the last Speciied Transaction Date (Ex. NAV) to the Record Date mentionedabove, whichever is higher. However, the payout will be subject to the available distributable surplus in theScheme as on the Record date.

The speciied Transaction period for Nippon India Interval Fund - Quarterly Interval Fund - Series III is on 8thand 9th June 2020 (both business days). The following shall be applicable for application received during thespeciied transaction period.

For Subscriptions including Switch-ins under Dividend Option

In respect of valid applications for subscriptions received up to 1.00 p.m. on the aforesaid Record Date alongwith a local cheque or a demand draft payable at par at the place where the application is received, the Ex-Dividend NAV of the day on which application is received shall be applicable. The investors will not be eligiblefor dividend declared, if any, on the aforesaid Record Date.

In respect of valid applications received after 1.00 p.m. on the second day of the Speciied Transaction Periodthe closing NAV of the next working day shall be applicable, provided such a day is/has been declared as aSpeciied Transaction day for the fund. Otherwise, the application will be liable for rejection.

In respect of purchase of units in Income/ Debt Oriented schemewith amount equal to or more than Rs 2 lakhs,the applicable NAV shall be subject to the provisions of SEBI Circular Cir/IMD/DF/19/2010 dated November 26,2010 and CIR/IMD/DF/21/2012 dated September 13, 2012 on uniform cut-of timings read with provisions foradvancing of cut of timings for temporary period for applicability of NAV. With regard to Unit holders whohave opted for Dividend Reinvestment facility, the dividend due will be reinvested by allotting Units for theIncome distribution / Dividend amount at the prevailing Ex-Dividend NAV per Unit on the record date.

For Redemptions including Switch-out under Dividend Option

In respect of valid applications received up to 1.00 p.m. by the Mutual Fund, on the aforesaid Record Date theEx-Dividend NAV of the date of receipt of application shall be applicable and the investors will be eligible forthe dividend declared on the aforesaid Record Date.

Forunits indematform:DividendwillbepaidtothoseUnitholders/BeneicialOwnerswhosenamesappear inthe statementof beneicial ownersmaintainedby theDepositories underdividendplan/optionof theSchemeas on record date.

All unit holders under the dividend plan/option of the abovementioned scheme, whose names appear on theregister of unit holders on the aforesaid record date, will be entitled to receive the dividend.

BACK PAGE14 FINANCIALEXPRESS

WWW.FINANCIALEXPRESS.COMTHURSDAY, JUNE 4, 2020

Zonal Office / Regional Office : RBO-IV,Zonal Office, Bidhannagar , 1/16, V. I. P Road, Kolkata 700054 E-AUCTION SALE NOTICE

Sale of immovable property mortgaged to Bank under Securitization and Reconstruction of Financial assets and Enforcement of Security Interest(SARFAESI)Act, 2002 (No.54 of 2002)Whereas, the Authorized Officer of State Bank of India had taken possession of the following property/ies pursuant to the notice issued under Sec 13(2) of theSecuritization and Reconstruction of Financial Assets and Enforcement of Security Interest (SARFAESI) Act, 2002 in the following loan accounts with our Branch with aright to sell the same on “AS IS WHERE IS BASIS AND AS IS WHAT IS BASIS” for realization of Bank's dues. The sale will be done by the undersigned through e-auctionplatform provided at the website: www.bankeauctions.com

Name of theBranch

& Account

Outstanding Amount(Secured debt)

Date of Demand Notice

Description of propertyDate &Time of

e-Auction

Reserve Price

EMD

Incremental Value

Date and time forsubmission of request letter

of participation/ KYCDocuments/ Proof of

EMD etc.

30.06.2020 upto4 p.m.

Rs.8,90,000/--------------------

Rs.89,000/---------------------

Rs.10,000/-

04.07.202011.00 A.M. to

1.00 P.M.with unlimitedextensions of

5 Minuteseach

All that piece and parcel of land measuringabout 9.0 decimal & 350 Sq. Ft. land & buildingunder Mouza Makhalgacha, JL No. 24, DagNo. 709, 729, 877, 708, 719, 720, 721, 753,Khatian No. 554, 555, Near Habanpur Culvart,under Makhalgacha Gram Panchayet, P.O.Makhalgacha, P.S. Hasnabad, Dist. North 24Parganas, in the name of Shri Moni MohanDhali And Shri Krishna Pada Dhali of Vill.Tegharia, P.O. Makhalgacha, Dist. North 24Parganas. Property butted bounded by on theNorth: Budhiswar Mondal, on the South:Pucca Road, on the East: Dinobondhu Pal andon the West: Krishna Dhali.

Rs.15,26,000.00as on 17.03.2018 +

interest + othercharges

Date of Demand Notice: 23.03.2018

SBI Taki Branch(06867)PO.HasnabadPin-743426

M/s Dhali Rice Mill,Proprietor : ShriMoni Mohan DhaliGuarantor : ShriKrishna Pada Dhali,Vill. - Tegharia, P.O.Makhalgacha, Dist.- North 24 Parganas

TERMS & CONDITIONS:1. The e-Auction is being held on “AS IS WHERE IS” and “AS IS WHAT IS BASIS”.2. To the best of knowledge and information of the Authorised Officer, there is no encumbrance on any property. However, the intending bidders should make their ownindependent inquiries regarding the encumbrances, title of property/ies put on auction and claims/ rights/ dues/ effecting the property, prior to submitting their bid. The e-Auction advertisement does not constitute and will not be deemed to constitute any commitment or any representation of the bank. The property is being sold with all theexisting and future encumbrances whether known or unknown to the bank. TheAuthorised Officer/ Secured Creditor shall not be responsible in any way for any third partyclaims/ rights/ dues.3. It shall be the responsibility of the bidders to inspect and satisfy themselves about the asset and specification before submitting the bid. The inspection of property/ies puton auction will be permitted to interested bidders at sites as mentioned against each property description.4. The interested bidders shall submit their EMD through Web Portal: https://www.bankeauctions.com (the user ID & Password can be obtained free of cost by registeringname with https://www.bankeauctions.com) through Login ID & Password. The EMD shall be payable through NEFT in the account mentioned above.5. After Registration (One Time) by the bidder in the Web Portal, the intending bidder/ purchaser is required to get the copies of the following documents uploaded in theWeb Portal before the Last Date & Time of submission of the Bid Documents viz. i) Copy of the NEFT/RTGS Challan or Demand Draft; ii) Copy of PAN Card; iii) Proof ofIdentification/ Address Proof (KYC) viz. self-attested copy of Voter ID Card/ Driving License/ Passport etc.; without which the Bid is liable to be rejected. UPLOADINGSCANNED COPY OF ANNEXURE-II & III (can be downloaded from the Web Portal: https//www.bankeauctions.com) AFTER DULY FILLED UP & SIGNING IS ALSOREQUIRED. The interested bidders who require assistance in creating Login ID & Password, uploading data, submitting Bid Documents, Training/ Demonstration onOnline Inter-se Bidding etc., may contact M/s C1 India Pvt Ltd, Udyog Vihar, Phase 2, Gulf Petrochem building, Building No. 301, Gurgaon, Haryana. Pin: 122015, E-mailID: [email protected], Support Helpline Numbers: 124-4302020/21/22/23, 7291981124 / 5 / 6, Kingshuk Ghosh @ 9836311889 Email :- [email protected] for any property related query may contact Authorised Officer: Ashim Kumar Chowdhury ; Mobile No: 9674711559, E-mail ID: [email protected],[email protected] & RA: 9836086580 & BM Taki Branch :8001194473 during the working hours from Monday to Saturday.6. The interested bidder has to submit their Bid Documents [EMD (not below the Reserve Price) and required documents (mentioned in Point No. 5)] on/ before30.06.2020 up to 4.00 pm and after going through the Registering Process (One time) and generating User ID & Password of their own, shall be eligible for participatingthe e-Auction Process, subject to due verification (of the documents) and/ or approval of theAuthorised Officer.7. During the Online Inter-se Bidding, Bidder can improve their Bid Amount as per the 'Bid Increase Amount' (mentioned above) or its multiple and in case bid is placedduring the last 5 minutes of the closing time of the e-Auction, the closing time will automatically get extended for 5 minutes (each time till the closure of e-Auction process),otherwise, it'll automatically get closed. The bidder who submits the highest bid amount (not below the Reserve Price) on the closure of the e-Auction Process shall bedeclared as a Successful Bidder by theAuthorised Officer/ Secured Creditor, after required verification8. The Earnest Money Deposit (EMD) of the successful bidder shall be retained towards part sale consideration and the EMD of unsuccessful bidders shall be refunded.The Earnest Money Deposit shall not bear any interest. The successful bidder shall have to deposit 25% of the sale price, adjusting the EMD already paid, within 24 hoursof the acceptance of bid price by theAuthorised Officer and the balance 75% of the sale price on or before 15th day of sale or within such extended period as agreed upon inwriting by and solely at the discretion of the Authorised Officer. In case of default in payment by the successful bidder, the amount already deposited by the offer shall beliable to be forfeited and property shall be put to re-auction and the defaulting borrower shall have no claim/ right in respect of property/ amount.9. The prospective qualified bidders may avail online training on e-Auction from M/s. C1 India Pvt. Ltd. prior to the date of e-Auction. Neither the Authorised Officer/ Banknor M/s. C1 India Pvt. Ltd. shall be liable for any Internet Network problem and the interested bidders to ensure that they are technically well equipped for participating inthe e-Auction event.10. The purchaser shall bear the applicable stamp duties/ additional stamp duty/ transfer charges, fee etc. and also all the statutory/ non-statutory dues, taxes, rates,assessment charges, fees etc. owing to anybody.11. The Authorised Officer is not bound to accept the highest offer and the Authorised Officer has the absolute right to accept or reject any or all offer(s) or adjourn/postpone/ cancel the e-Auction without assigning any reason thereof.12. The bidders are advised to go through the detailed Terms & Conditions of e-Auction available on the Web Portal of M/s. C1 India Pvt. Ltd.,https://www.bankeauctions.com before submitting their bids and taking part in the e-Auction13. The publication is subject to the force major clause.Special Instructions14. Bidding in the last moment should be avoided in the bidders own interest as neither the STATE BANK OF INDIA nor Service provider will be responsible for anylapse/failure(Internet failure/power failure etc.). in order to ward-off such contingent situations bidders are requested to make all necessary arrangements / alternativessuch as power supply back-up etc, so that they are able to circumvent such situation and are able to participate in the auction successfully.

STATUTORY 30 DAYS SALE NOTICE UNDER THE SARFAESI ACT, 2002The borrower/ guarantors are hereby notified to pay the sum as mentioned above along with up to date interest and ancillary expenses before the date of e-Auction, failingwhich the property will be auctioned/ sold and balance dues, if any, will be recovered with interest and cost.

Date: 04.06.2020Place: Bidhannagar

Authorized OfficerState Bank of India

A/c No :37608106914A/c Name :SBI BranchParking A/cName of theBeneficiary:

SBI TakiBranch

IFSC Code:SBIN0006867

EMDSubmission

AccountDetails

Trump’s showof force fizzles inbacklash overprotest crackdownJORDAN FABIANWashington, June 3

DONALD TRUMP FACED adwindlingsetofoptionstoad-dress nationwide unrest,aftera backlash erupted over thegovernment’sviolentdispersalof peaceful protests outsidetheWhiteHouse,plungingthepresident intomore election-year turmoil.

ForTrumpandhisconserv-ativebackers,hisphotoop lateMonday in front of historic St.John’s Episcopal ChurchwithBible in hand was a show ofstrength— a symbolic movemeant to reassureAmericansthat hewould restore law andorder after several nights ofchaos inmajor US cities overthedeathofGeorgeFloyd.

Instead, Trump’s displayprompted a cascade of con-demnation from religiousleaders,Democrats and evensome Republicans. Images ofpoliceusingteargasandflash-bang devices to clear protest-ers from Lafayette Squareahead of Trump’swalk to thechurchmarred his presidencyanewatatimewhenhispublicsupport was already slippingoverhishandlingofthecoron-aviruspandemic.

No Republican governorspublicly acceptedTrump’s in-vitationtosendthemilitarytocrushriotsandlooting;Texas’sGreg Abbott said at a newsconference that ‘Texans cantake careofTexans’.

Andtheshowofforcefailedtodeterdemonstrations inthenation’s capital and othercities.Largecrowdsofprotest-ers beganmarching on publicstreets inWashingtonTuesdayevening, challenging both thecity’s 7 pm curfew andTrump’s authority.

Trump continued to advo-catefortoughnessonWednes-day morning, tweeting suchstatements as ‘Get tough po-lice!’ and ‘The National Guardis ready!’

He was praised by someevangelical Christian leadersforhiswalk to the church.

“ByholdinguptheBible,hewas showingus that it teachesthat,yes,Godhates racism,it’sdespicable — but God alsohates lawlessness,” pastorRobert Jeffresssaid inaninter-viewwithTheAtlantic.

But the crisis — andTrump’s response— has cre-ated an opening for likelyDe-mocratic presidential nomi-nee Joe Biden,who seized onthepresident’smissteps.

He delivered a televisedspeech from Philadelphia onTuesday, saying that hadTrump opened his Bible ‘in-stead of brandishing it, hecouldhavelearnedsomething:That we are all called to loveone another as we love our-selves’.

A Monmouth Universitypoll released earlier thisweekshowed74%ofAmericanssaythe country is on the wrongtrack,analarming response toa question pollsters considerimportant in judging a presi-dent’s re-election chances.Trump’sapprovalratingwasat42%, down from 46% in

March.Trump officials have dis-

cussed the possibility of thepresident invoking the Insur-rection Act of 1807 to makegood on his threat to send USmilitary forces to states andcities that struggle to quell ri-otingandlooting,accordingtoa person familiar with thematter. But a consensus hasnot emerged.

“No decisions have beenmade on that,” White Housecounselor Kellyanne Conwaysaid Tuesday, after reportersasked how seriously the ideawas being considered.She ex-pressedhopethatsuchamovewouldn’t be‘necessary’.

The possibility of Trumpaddressing the nation in aprime time Oval Office ad-dress has also been under dis-cussion,butsomeof thepresi-

dent’s allies believe it wouldnot bring an end to thedemonstrations.

“That would only set thepresidentup forfailure forthesimplefactthat itdoesn’tmat-ter howbeautiful, or poetic oreven unifying an Oval Officeaddress President Trumpmight give, it’s not going toimmediately stop the lawless-ness that we’re seeing in thestreets,”saidJasonMiller,afor-mer spokesman for Trump’s2016campaign.

InhisRoseGardenremarksMonday evening, though,Trump offered little to unifythe nation, soothwounds re-openedbyFloyd’skillingatthehandsofMinneapolispoliceorcall forcalm.Thepresident in-stead presented themight ofthe USmilitary as his answertodomesticunrest.

And previous efforts to de-liver a presidential messagefrom the Oval Office havelargely been panned. HisMarch 11 speech about thecoronavirus pandemic, inwhichheblamedChinafortheoutbreak, sent financial mar-kets tumbling.

As criticism of Monday’spolice violence mounted,Trump’s White Housebraced itself. The securityperimeter was extended totwo blocks in all directions,with a fence appearingovernight on the northernside of Lafayette Square,normally a public park.

●US ON BOIL

JONATHAN ERNST&BRENDANO'BRIENWashington/Minneapolis,June 3

US PROTESTERS IGNOREDcurfews overnight as theyvented their anger over thedeath of an unarmed blackmanat thehandsofpolice,buttherewasamarkeddropintheviolence that promptedPresi-dent Donald Trump tothreatentodeploythemilitary.

George Floyd died after awhite policeman pinned hisneck under a knee for nearlynineminutes inMinneapolisonMay25, reigniting the ex-plosive issueofpolicebrutalityagainstAfricanAmericansfivemonths before the Novemberpresidential election.

Tens of thousands of peo-ple took to the streets of citiescoast to coast for an eighthnightasNationalGuardtroopslined the steps of the LincolnMemorial inWashington.

There was sporadic vio-lence inWashingtonandPort-land,Oregon,with protesterstossing fireworks and bottlesanswered by police flashgrenades and teargas.

Clashesbetweenprotestersandpoliceandlootingofsomestores inNewYorkgavewaytorelativequiet intheearlyhoursofWednesday.Police toldme-dia they made 200 arrests,largely forcurfewviolations.

In Los Angeles, manydemonstratorswhodefiedthecurfew were arrested but bymid-evening, calm had beenrestored to the extent thattelevision stations switchedfrom wall-to-wall coverage

back to regularprogramming.Large marches and rallies

alsotookplace inPhiladelphia,Atlanta,DenverandSeattle.

The officer who knelt onFloyd,Derek Chauvin,44,hasbeen charged with third-de-gree murder and second-de-gree manslaughter. Threeother officers involved werefired but have not beencharged.

AlthoughralliesonbehalfofFloydandothervictimsofpolicebrutality in recent days havebeenlargelypeaceful,afterdarkmanyhaveturnedtovandalism,arson and looting.OnMondaynight, five police officerswerehitbygunfire intwocities.

Outside the US CapitolbuildingonTuesdayafternoona throng took to one knee,chanting‘silenceisviolence’and‘no justice,nopeace’,as officersfaced themjustbefore thegov-ernment-imposedcurfew.

Many of the protestersused the slogan ‘take a knee’,referring both to how Floyddied and a long-standingprotest against racism inAmerica that started in 2016with a football player taking aknee instead of standing dur-ing theNationalAnthem.

The crowd remained afterdark, despite the curfew andvowsbyTrumptocrackdownon

whathehas called lawlessnessby‘hoodlums’and‘thugs’,usingNationalGuard troops oreventheUSmilitaryifnecessary.

InAtlanta,fourofficersandtwo former officers werechargedwith using excessiveforcewhile arresting two stu-dents.Minneapolis launchedan investigation into possiblediscriminatorypractices inthepolice department over thelast10years.

In NewYork, thousands ofchanting protesters ignoredthe curfew tomarch from theBarclaysCenterinFlatbushto-ward the Brooklyn Bridge aspolice helicopters whirredoverheard.Thecrowdhaltedatan entrance to theManhattanBridgeroadway,chantedatriotpolice: ‘Walk with us! Walkwithus’.

New York state police ar-rested a 30-year-old womanTuesday after she drove a carstriking three police at ademonstration in Buffalo onMonday.

OnHollywoodBoulevardinLosAngeles,hundreds of peo-ple filled the street,marchingpast famous landmarks of thefilm center. Others gatheredoutsideLosAngelesPoliceDe-partmentheadquartersdown-town, in some cases huggingand shaking handswith a lineof officers outside.

Los Angeles was the sceneof violent riots in 1992, fol-lowing the acquittal of fourpolicemen charged in thebeatingofblackmotoristRod-neyKing, that sawmore than60 people killed and an esti-mated$1billion indamage.

—REUTERS

Therewas sporadicviolence inWashingtonand Portland, Oregon,with protesters tossingfireworks and bottles

answered by police flashgrenades and tear gas

USprotesters,angryat Floyd’s death,defycurfewbutviolence subsides

Social distancing is improving your shopping experienceOLGAKHARIFPortland, June 2

BEFORE COVID-19, VISI-TORS to Jared The Galleria ofJewellery browsed glass casesof engagement rings and dia-mond earrings and paid at apin pad.But now this routine— culminating in the furiousprinting of a receipt — hasbeen turnedupsidedown.

And it’s likely to stay that

way.With two-thirds of its

3,000 locations shuttered,Signet Jewellers, owner of theJared brand and other chains,has sold thousands of pieces aday via a new feature: videocalls. After browsing onlinewithasalesrepandpaying,theshopper drives to a nearbystore. A gloved and maskedemployeemakes the delivery,andmaybesomethingextra—

a fewweeks ago,a dozen roseswere included and the buyerproposed in theparking lot.

As thousands of stores andrestaurantsacross thecountryreopenwithshutdownrestric-tions easing, Americans arediscovering a reshaped shop-pingexperience.Alongwithallthe plexiglass shields and so-cial-distancing signs, comesthe rapid adoptionof contact-less checkout.This is safer for

employees and customers,while also forcing the evolu-tionofaUSretail industrythathas woefully trailed much oftheworld in technology.

“We see it as an opportu-nity to open the aperture forourcustomerexperience,”saidBill Luth, an executive vicepresident at Signet.

The traditional checkoutexperience — marked bycashierbanter,scanningitems,

pressingapinpadorhandlingcash—wasfadingbeforecoro-navirus arrived in America,and the outbreak has onlyquickened its demise.Mobileapps are increasingly beingused in stores to place orders,get questions answered viachatandpay.Toavoidanycon-tact,more customers are opt-ing for delivery or curbsidepickup.

“The mobile app will be-

come the dominant form ofpayment.”

This shift will speed uppurchases and let employeeshelp consumers, instead ofscanning items and swipingcredit cards. It may also getcustomers in and out morequicklyat a timewhen retail-ers and restaurants are re-quired to reduce capacity aspart of social-distancingmeasures. A diner that re-

serves a table fromhomeandthen orders and pays onlinewill make a restaurant moreefficient, according toRichard Crone, chief execu-tive officer of payments con-sultant Crone Consulting.

Coffee giant Starbucks,which pioneered mobile or-dering years ago, is nowdoingcurbsidepickupatsomestoresto helpmake up for lostwalk-in traffic.

Mark Zuckerberg defendshands-off approachtoDonaldTrump’s postsTHENEWYORKTIMESSan Francisco, June 3

MARK ZUCKERBERG, FACE-BOOK’S chief executive, onTuesdaystoodfirmlybehindhisdecision not to do anythingabout President Trump’s in-flammatoryposts on the socialnetwork, saying that he hadmadea‘toughdecision’butthatit‘wasprettythorough’.

In a question-and-answersession with employees con-ductedovervideochatsoftware,Zuckerbergsought to justifyhisposition,whichhas led to fierceinternal dissent.Themeeting,which had been scheduled forThursday, was moved up toTuesdayafterhundredsof em-ployees protested the inactionbystagingavirtual‘walkout’onMonday.

Facebook’s principles andpolicies supporting free speech‘show that the right actionwhere we are right now is toleavethisup’,Zuckerbergsaidonthe call referring to Trump’sposts.TheaudiooftheemployeecallwasheardbyTheNewYorkTimes.

ZuckerbergsaidthatthoughheknewmanypeoplewouldbeupsetwithFacebook,apolicyre-viewbackeduphisdecision.Headdedthatafterhemadehisde-termination, he received aphone call from PresidentTrumponFriday.

“I used that opportunity tomakehimknowI felt this postwasinflammatoryandharmful,and let him know where westood on it,” Zuckerberg toldFacebook employees. Butthoughhevoiceddispleasuretothepresident,hereiteratedthatTrump’smessagedidnotbreakthesocialnetwork’sguidelines.

TheFacebookchiefheldfirmevenas thepressure onhim toreininTrump’smessagesinten-sified. Civil rights groups saidlateMondayaftermeetingwithZuckerberg and Sheryl Sand-berg,Facebook’schiefoperatingofficer,that itwas‘totally con-founding’thatthecompanywasnot taking a tougher stand on

Trump’s posts,whichare oftenaggressiveandhaveheightenedtensionsoverprotestsonpoliceviolenceinrecentdays.

SeveralFacebookemployeeshaveresignedoverthelackofac-tion,withonepubliclysayingthecompanywould endup‘on thewrongsideofhistory’.Andpro-testers showedup lateMondayto Zuckerberg’s residentialneighbourhoodinPaloAlto,Cal-ifornia,andalsoheaded towardthe social network’sheadquar-tersinnearbyMenloPark.

Zuckerberg and Sandberghave spent the past few daysmeetingwith employees, civilrights leaders andotherangrypartiestoexplainthecompany’sstance.ZuckerberghassaidFace-bookdoesnotwanttobean‘ar-biter of truth’.He has also saidthat he stands for free speechandthatwhatworldleaderspostonline is in the public interestandnewsworthy.

But in trying to placateeveryone,Zuckerberghas failedtoappeasealmostanyone.Face-bookemployeeshavecontinuedcriticizing their employer onTwitter,LinkedIn andon theirpersonal Facebookpages.Somecirculatedpetitions calling for

change.OnMonday,hundredsof workers participated in thevirtual‘walkout’byrefusing towork and setting their auto-mated messages to one ofprotest.

TimothyAveni, a Facebooksoftwareengineerwhoresignedafter Zuckerberg’s decision toleaveupTrump’sposts,saidonhis Facebook page onMondaythatthecompanywasn’tenforc-ing its own rules to ban speechthatpromotesviolence.

“Facebookwill keepmovingthegoalpostseverytimeTrumpescalates, finding excuse afterexcusenottoactonincreasinglydangerousrhetoric,”Avenisaid.

OnMondayevening,VanitaGupta,whoheads theNationalLeadershipConferenceonCivilandHumanRights,tookpart ina one-hour phone call withZuckerberg,SandbergandotherFacebook officials. Afterward,she saidZuckerberg‘betrayedalackofunderstanding’andcom-pared Facebook’s inaction onTrump’sposts to its inaction inMyanmarand thePhilippines,wheremilitaryandgovernmentleaders have used Facebook tospreaddisinformationandpro-vokeviolence.

On Tuesday in the virtualmeeting with employees,Zuckerberg spent 30 minuteslayingoutwhathadhappenedwithTrump’sposts.He said thepresident’s looting-and-shoot-ingmessage,whichwentuponFriday,wasimmediatelyspottedbyFacebook’spolicyteam.

Zuckerberg said thatthough he knewmanypeoplewould be upsetwith Facebook, a

policy review backedup his decision

YouTubecensorshipcase turns oninternet lawTrump scorns

MALATHI NAYAKSan Francisco, June 3

IN ACENSORSHIP case filedagainst YouTube by LGBTQcontentcreators,theUSJusticeDepartment is defending thelaw that protects internetcompanies from lawsuits —the same statute PresidentDonaldTrumphasthreatenedto revoke.

Trump targeted the 1996law in an executive order lastweek as he escalated a fightwithTwitterafterit taggedtwoof his tweets as potentiallymisleading. But three weeksearlier,theJusticeDepartmentweighedintotheYouTubecaseand urged a federal judge notto declare the lawunconstitu-tional after the content cre-ators said it allows the Googlevideo-sharing site to violatetheir free-speech rights.

ThecontentmakersaccuseYouTube of using unlawfulpolicies and algorithms to re-strict thevideos theypost andstrip them of ad revenue.Thecompanydenies discriminat-ingagainstcreatorsandclaimsit’s immune from the suit un-der section 230 of the Com-munications Decency Act,which shields tech platformsfrom being sued over contentthatusers post on their sites.

At a hearing Tuesday, USMagistrate JudgeVirginia De-Marchi said she’ll issue a rul-ing in coming weeks onwhether to let the case pro-ceed.TheJusticeDepartment’sview is ‘not surprising’ ascourts have ruled that socialmedia platforms aren’t gov-ernment bodies and peopledon’t have constitutionalrights against them, saidNathaniel Persily, a professorat StanfordLawSchool.

“It will be very interestingto see in the future whetherthe admonition in the execu-tive order to conduct investi-gationsoncompaniesonview-point-based discriminationwouldthenleadtheDOJnottotakepositions likethis inthesecases,” Persily said. YouTubewas sued last year by mediacompanyDivinoGroup,whichproduces content for theLGBTQ community, and adozencreators,includingGregScarnici,anassociateproducerforSaturdayNight Live.

Divino Group onMondayasked the court to addressTrump’s executive order be-cause it directs the JusticeDe-partment to ‘act in amannerthat is substantially differentfromtheargumentsadvanced’in the government’s filing intheYouTube case.