Cognizant CEO Brian Humphries wants bellwether tag back

BENGALURU: Cognizant’s ambition is to regain its growth bellwether status and knock a few rivals off their perch, said CEO Brian Humphries, as he restructures the IT services provider to grow quickly going forward.The Teaneck, New Jersey-headquartered company was a leader in growth terms, as it typically used to settle for lower margins than Indian software services rivals. However, about three years ago, Cognizant changed its strategy to increase margins after activist investor Elliott Management got on board, in the process slowing the topline.Earlier this year, Cognizant slashed growth guidance to 5.1% at best, the lowest in its 25-year history. “Cognizant has been a bellwether of the industry for many many years, and in more recent years, we have not. And, our collective ambition is to understand how to make that happen again,” Humphries told ET in an interview. The company will now make strategic bets in sectors such as Cloud, digital engineering, data and the internet of things. It will also expand footprint in international markets where it already is present, such as the UK, the Nordics, the Benelux region and others.Humphries is betting that growth on track will solve the other issues it faced over the past three years. “I want to be bigger everywhere. I have a lot of ambition and competitive instincts, and some of our competitors, I would like to knock them off their perch a little bit. Jokes aside, we have growth ambitions and that will be the story of Cognizant in the years ahead,” he said.Under Humphries, the company has rejigged operations to include how it manages talent and pays the sales team. Humphries has gunned for more variable pay for sales staff to ensure those who outperform would get paid more, creating a performance culture. The investment in sales is to get more clients on board and help avoid surprises. Four of Cognizant’s biggest health care clients merged and cut spending, forcing the company to cut growth guidance.“The single biggest thing I can do is decide whom to promote, to hire, or whom to demote. And that goes back to the core of some of my leadership beliefs, which are clarity of communication, clarity of role, who is responsible for what,” Humphries said. “It also enables a performance culture, because if I know the role clarity is there, then Iknow who is responsible for what. So, I know who took over a business and turned it around and I know who took over a healthy business and damaged it.”Since Humphries took over, Cognizant has seen a slew of senior-level exits, including the heads of its banking and healthcare businesses, which had lagged in growth terms. The company has also created a retention program that will cost as much as $48 million, and is targeted at director-level employees and above. Humphries wants to ensure that the restructuring at Cognizant gets over quickly and does not drag on, he has said previously. Employees have faced the prospect of job cuts for three years now, ET has reported.“There is noise in the system that is an unnecessary distraction. As I stand in front of clients every day and our associates, I say the single biggest thing we can do to help ourselves is get back to growth,” Humphries said, when asked about employee woes. He has also not heard concerns being expressed about its restructuring from customers, Humphries added.

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UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson Accused Of Groping A Journalist

Britain Prime Minister Boris Johnson was trying mightily Monday to showcase his shiny new agenda for the people, but his Conservative Party's annual conference has been overshadowed by accusations...

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"Don't Misinterpret": S Jaishankar On PM Modi's "Trump Sarkar" Remark

Prime Minister Narendra Modi used the term "Ab ki Baar Trump Sarkar" at his mega "Howdy, Modi!" event in the US last week only to refer to what Donald Trump had used during his presidential campaign,...

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Samsung Galaxy Fold to Launch in India Today: What You Need to Know

The event will detail the pricing and availability of the Samsung Galaxy Fold in the Indian market.

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Delhi Metro's Dwarka-Najafgarh Grey Line To Open On October 4

The over 4.2 km-long Grey Line of the Delhi Metro, which will connect urban village area of Najafgarh to the rapid transit network, will be opened for services on October 4, officials said on Monday.

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एक साल बाद घर में टेस्ट खेलेगी टीम इंडिया, दक्षिण अफ्रीका के खिलाफ ऐसी हो सकती है प्लेइंग XI

तकरीबन एक साल बाद भारतीय क्रिकेट टीम घर में टेस्ट सीरीज खेलने के लिए तैयार हो चुकी है।

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China To Mark 70 Years Of Communism Today With Massive Show Of Force

China will celebrate seven decades of communist rule on Tuesday with a display of power through central Beijing, showing off goose-stepping troops, new missiles and floats celebrating the country's...

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US Bank Branch Manager Admits Stealing $5,00,000 From Elderly Customers

An Alexandria, Virginia, bank branch manager pleaded guilty Monday to stealing more than $500,000 from older customers after gaining their trust to personally handle their transactions.

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In eye of storm, CG Power CEO Neelkant resigns

MUMBAI: CG Power & Industrial Solutions Managing Director and CEO KN Neelkant has resigned from his post after being sent on leave since instances of financial irregularities came to light that may have caused the company to lose Rs 3,000 crore.Sources told ET that the board of the company asked Neelkant to step down, as the company is trying to resolve its debt issues and a change in promoter group and management is understood to be a prerequisite for creditors for restructuring the company's debt. The banking sector is dealing with huge stressed assets, and in the current environment, it is unlikely that banks would restructure debt of a company if the promoter has come under the scanner.Prior to this, CG board asked Chairman Gautam Thapar and Chief Financial Officer VR Venkatesh from their positions for their alleged role and is now engaging with its lenders to resolve the debt issue faced by the cash-strapped company.Speaking to ET exclusively post the board meeting Neelkant said, "The turn of events in today's board Meeting is indeed quite saddening and it is all the more disheartening to see that the disclosure released by the company to the stock exchanges, reflects a picture different from the amicable separation which was discussed in today’s board meeting. Unfortunately, while it was me who had flagged the suspicious transactions earlier this year and despite my having been widely credited for the operational turnaround of the company, I was asked to go on leave and have now been asked to step down".A CG Power executive involved with the development told ET, “Mr Neelkanth was the one who over the last few years has made wrong representation about the company's accounts to the board, the audit committee and other stakeholders; such as analysts, banks etc. It's a voluntary resignation, not forced.”Another executive told ET that the board was of the view that as CEO and MD, he cannot be absolved of responsibilities.71384395 CG Power notified the exchanges that Neelkant tendered his resignation orally at the board meeting on Monday, which was recorded through video-conferencing. “Given the ongoing investigations and enquiries, the board of directors accepted K.N. Neelkant's resignation, subject to and without prejudice to any of the company's rights, contentions, entitlements and remedies, whether in law or in equity, including the right to subsequently undertake actions, if needed, towards termination for cause,” the board said in a statement.CG Power set up an operations committee (OC) to preserve value in the company after creditors of parent company Avantha Holdings started invocation of pledge of shares. This committee was informed of some irregular financial transactions that were executed by the top brass of CG without following due processes and board approvals. Subsequently, the company appointed law firm Vaish Associates which found that at least nine transactions were undertaken wrongfully, which included related party transactions and round tripping, that may have led to CG losing Rs 3,000 crore.

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How to put India's shadow banks on firmer ground

By Andy MukherjeeWhen a well-capitalized shadow bank’s credit rating goes from A+ to D in 10 days, it shows how fragile lending to India’s builders has become. It also highlights the policy error of not addressing the root of the problem: land.In June, three months before the unexpected default by Altico Capital India Ltd., I proposed a land bank that would buy stalled property projects from struggling developers. The bank would pay with government-backed debt securities, which the builders would use to repay loans.To see how this could prevent liquidity problems from cascading into solvency issues, consider the Altico default. The Clearwater Capital Partners-backed firm missed a measly $2.8 million interest payment after its tight but manageable repayment schedule of $135 million became a squeeze at $233 million in the financial year that started April 1. The 63 cents of equity behind every dollar Altico owed to its creditors was of little help. Spooked by its $900 million-plus loan book for residential and commercial real-estate projects, two lenders exercised put options or reset the interest rates so high that they had to be prepaid.India’s banks are rapidly losing faith in the shadow financiers that lend to property builders. A year after the collapse of IL&FS Group, a specialist infrastructure financier, the crisis of confidence is getting worse. Indiabulls Housing Finance Ltd. shares fell as much 38% on Monday after the central bank imposed lending restrictions on Lakshmi Vilas Bank Ltd., a deposit-taking institution the financier has been trying to merge with to bolster its funding sources.71384366 The nervousness with shadow banks isn’t about the quality of their retail loans, which are still fairly resilient. It’s their lumpy advances that are worrying investors. Dewan Housing Finance Corp., which defaulted in June, underwrites mortgages, but it also has $5 billion of exposure to developers. As banks try to restructure Dewan, a contentious issue is the haircut they’ll have to take if the lender is forced to sell its builder loan book at a deep discount.Prospective buyers are bound to haggle. There’s no assurance that the builders will complete and sell the apartments. The evidence points to the contrary. Many private funds that began investing in Indian real estate six to nine years ago have been unable to return even the principal to investors, despite repeatedly extending the life of the investments. India’s delayed apartment units are a $22 billion mess, according to the website Moneycontrol, which notes several reasons. Amid a cyclical slowdown, demand for premium housing has collapsed; shantytown rehabilitation got stuck in a compliance and clearance quagmire; and nobody bothered to fix the broken plumbing – the regulator looked the other way even as the fund managers kept collecting fees.Now everyone’s woken up. The $1.4 billion last-mile fund that the Indian government has proposed to finance completion of mothballed middle-income and affordable housing units won’t even skim the surface of the stress. That’s because this money won’t be available to builders whose debt has already been marked down by banks as nonperforming or those that are facing insolvency proceedings. While New Delhi’s reluctance to bail out private industry is understandable, it must recognize that the second-highest number of in-court insolvency cases in India involve real-estate firms. A solution that sidesteps them will be of little help.71384374 Instead of lending them money, New Delhi should force developers to disgorge delayed projects to a land bank. They’ll get a fair value, but in the form of special sovereign-guaranteed bonds that must be used to repay loans. If a lighter balance sheet allows builders to complete other projects and exit the crisis stronger, fine. If not, they’ll go into bankruptcy – but with a lower debt load. As a government entity, the land bank would be able to obtain construction clearances more easily. To boost the value of its real estate holdings, it could also be allowed more liberal building-height and land-use norms. It could then auction blocks to developers and use the proceeds to redeem the bonds. If executed well, taxpayers might even end up making a profit. And buyers will get the homes they’ve paid for.What’s more, once a land bank is operational, it could even take over and sell the surplus land held in India’s public-sector enterprises. That would generate fiscal resources for the government. But that’s for later. The more urgent need is to reduce the risk to the financial system by forcing the real-estate industry to deleverage. Shares of Piramal Enterprises Ltd. fell 7% on Friday, and slid another 5.5% on Monday, after the Economic Times reported that talks for a $1 billion capital injection by SoftBank Group Corp. into the Mumbai-based conglomerate’s housing finance unit had fallen through. The sticking point was developer loans, the report added, citing unidentified people close to the situation. According to Jefferies estimates, 89% of Piramal’s loan book consists of advances to builders.Confidence in counterparties won’t return until the collateral woes are taken care of. A land bank could square the circle.

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World’s biggest money manager to add Indian bonds after selloff

BlackRock Inc., the world’s largest money manager, plans to add to its holdings of Indian bonds, lured by one of the highest yields among emerging Asian nations and the promise of more monetary easing.“We are looking at some stabilization and would potentially look for adding exposure” after the risks from the likely increase in federal borrowings settle, Neeraj Seth, head of Asian credit at the firm, said in a phone interview.Rupee debt sold off in the past two months, the longest run of losses in a year, after the government’s surprise $20 billion tax cut sparked fears of missing deficit targets. At the same time, with the 10-year yield at 6.70 per cent, India offers plenty of premium to developed markets.71384265 “The current 10-year yield level has started to look attractive,” Seth said, adding the fund likes the five-year and 10-year bonds.Yields have surged more than 30 basis points in the past two months, driven up recently by fears that the unexpected tax cut will boost an already bloated bond supply. Even an expected interest-rate cut by the central bank on Friday -- the fifth for the year -- has done little to aid sentiment.Standard Chartered Plc estimates the government will need to borrow as much as 800 billion rupees more, and Fitch Ratings flagged the likelihood of a wider fiscal deficit. The government’s borrowing plan remains unchanged for the rest of the fiscal year, Economic Affairs Secretary Atanu Chakraborty told reporters Monday.“The market is concerned about higher supply brought by the corporate tax reforms, which requires higher level of borrowings,” Seth said. “The market has been readjusting for that.”

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"Would Not Like Any State To Tell Us...": India On Buying Russian Arms

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar today defended India's right to buy a missile defense system from Russia despite the threat of sanctions from the United States.

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Only 10 jobs created for every 100 jobs taken away by Artificial Intelligence

BENGALURU: At least 10 new AI-based jobs are being created for every 100 positions made redundant in traditional technology, experts in the field have said.However, the new roles are not being created as quickly as the positions that are eliminated and companies are increasingly training talent to fill the gap in artificial intelligence skills.This was the key takeaway from ET’s recent conversation on Technology Talent Equilibrium with Sridhar Mitta, founder of digital technology services provider NextWealth Entrepreneurs; Prakash Mallya, the head of Intel India, and Supriyo Das, vice-president, Wipro Technologies. “If 100 jobs are cut, 10 jobs are created. The people who are losing jobs have different skills, and they’re going away. People are getting new jobs on different skillsets,” Mitta said.71384126 Intel has started initiatives to teach AI in schools, said Mallya. “I guess, training skills outside the industry requires a collective ecosystem and efforts across different companies,” he said. “You need to approach it in different ways. You need to reach out to industry, developers, startups. How do we include formal education on AI to build mindset, have some AI for Youth initiative, which is 254 hours, four-stage (that) we are rolling out for 10 schools,” Mallya explained.To develop AI-ready talent, Intel India has trained more than 1,50,000 developers, students and professors since 2017. The global opportunity of AI was estimated at about $15.7 trillion by 2030, according to a PwC report last year. Technology services companies are increasingly using AI at the core, raising the demand for talent.“The prediction is definitely there will be a shortfall of skills. We need to categorise where you need most right, and what kind of jobs will get created,” said Das of Wipro. “From our organisation’s perspective, we do not see AI as a particular set of skills for a particular set of people. AI is needed everywhere,” he added.

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UK's Vodafone seeks relief on spectrum dues

MUMBAI|NEW DELHI: Top executives of UK’s Vodafone Group sought a two-year moratorium on payment of spectrum-related dues by Indian joint venture Vodafone Idea, said people familiar with the matter. This is the third time this year that its executives have sought such relief in meetings with the government, underscoring financial stress at the carrier, which has been posting losses and losing customers since Vodafone Idea and Idea Cellular merged in August 2018.During their meeting with telecom secretary Anshu Prakash on Monday, Vodafone Group chairman Gerard Kleisterlee and chief executive officer Nick Read also sought “a refund of Rs 32,000 crore of input tax credit (due to telcos) which has been held by finance ministry,” said one of the persons.They were accompanied by other senior executives of Vodafone Idea, including new CEO Ravinder Takker. Analysts estimate Vodafone Idea’s spectrum repayments to be around Rs 24,400 crore, split over FY20 and FY21. The executives also met commerce and industry minister Piyush Goyal during the day. They were scheduled to meet telecom and IT minister RS Prasad as well, but he had to go to Patna to oversee flood relief measures. After meeting the telecom secretary, Kleisterlee said, “We look forward to the results of that.”71384094 ‘Meeting Quite Productive’CEO Read added that the executives had very “productive” meetings with government representatives. Asked whether the UK telecom company was contemplating an exit from the joint venture and the Indian market, he said, “We’re absolutely focused on the successful integration of Vodafone Idea.” Vodafone Group declined to comment on specifics of the discussions. This is the second time top officials of Vodafone Idea — bloodied by a brutal price war since Reliance Jio’s entry in September 2016 have met officials in the communications ministry in the past two months. Aditya Birla Group chairman Kumar Mangalam Birla, also nonexecutive chairman of Vodafone Idea, along with Takker met Prasad last month to seek relief after the telco had raised similar demands in meetings with Department of Telecommunications (DoT) officials in January.The government is of the view that not all telcos want such relief and that such a relaxation can’t be given to only one company. Soon after Birla’s meeting with Prasad in August, the minister had written to finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman, urging measures to ease the payout burden on the telecom industry by offsetting spectrum and other payments to the government against the accumulated Rs 36,000 crore input tax credit with the Centre. He had also sought a cut in the universal services obligation (USO) levy to 3% from the current 5%, which would effectively reduce the licence fee to 6% from the current 8%, besides a reduction in the goods and services tax (GST) rate, first to 12% and then lowering it further, from the current 18%.As separate entities and after the merger Vodafone Idea has been posting losses. The company has lost over 100 million customers in less than a year since completion of the merger to 321 million at July end. It posted a consolidated loss of Rs 4,873.9 crore in the June quarter, while revenue fell over 4% sequentially, despite a rise in average revenue per user (ARPU).Debt at the end of June was around Rs 99,300 crore, factoring in a rights issue of Rs 25,000 crore, but debt to equity was still at a high of 12 times, according to Goldman Sachs. Analysts said the telco would need another round of equity infusion by the second quarter of FY21 to plug a potential Rs 7,600 crore ($1.06 billion) funding gap. “Vodafone Idea’s gross debt stood at Rs 1.22 trillion at end-FY2019 (including) Rs 907 billion deferred spectrum liabilities,” said analysts at Kotak Institutional Equities. “Spectrum payout instalments stand at around Rs 122 billion per annum for the next many years.”“Barring a regulatory or structural change in the market, we question the company’s ability to sustain these investments,” analysts at brokerage UBS said in a recent note to clients, adding that it is expected to continue to lose market share as network integration and delayed 4G rollouts weaken the competitive position.

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Boeing unveils revamp to deepen safety focus after Max crashes

Boeing Co Chief Executive Officer Dennis Muilenburg unveiled a structural overhaul intended to sharpen the planemaker’s focus on safety after two accidents of its 737 Max killed 346 people within a five-month span.Acting on a recommendation from the board, Muilenburg is creating a new product and services safety organisation to centralise responsibilities across the planemaker’s business and operating units. The new group will be run by Beth Pasztor, a 34-year Boeing veteran who will report to a new board aerospace committee as well as the company’s chief engineer.Pasztor will have responsibility for all aspects of product safety, including investigating concerns raised anonymously by employees, Boeing said in a statement on Monday. The company’s accident-investigation team, safety-review boards and engineering and technical experts who represent the Federal Aviation Administration in aircraft certification will all report to Pasztor, who previously oversaw product safety at Boeing’s jetliner division.“Beth is a proven leader, she’s a collaborator,” Muilenburg said in an interview in the company’s Chicago office tower. He also considered external candidates before deciding that Pasztor’s deep knowledge of Boeing would give her a running start. “She, from a technical qualification standpoint, is the best.”The CEO is under pressure to show airlines, travellers and global regulators that safety is woven into the century-old manufacturer’s designs and culture. Both have been called into question given the lapses that have prompted regulators to ground two brand-new Boeing jetliners this decade.The company had already rung up $8.3 billion in Max-related expenses through July, and the costs of maintaining production and compensating customers are certain to grow the longer the grounding lasts.The Max hasn’t flown commercially since just after the March crash of an Ethiopian Airlines jet. A Lion Air plane went down off the coast of Indonesia in October. In both disasters, a once-obscure flight-control system went haywire, nudging the planes' noses down until pilots were overwhelmed. In 2013, the 787 Dreamliner was banned for three months after fires on two planes from lithium-ion batteries.Directors last week signalled that they would closely monitor the company’s progress under Muilenburg. A new board committee is devoted to overseeing the safe design, development and production of the company's aerospace product line-up. “Safety-related experience” will be a criteria to be considered in choosing future directors.“This is an engineering company, it needs an engineering culture and engineering management,” aerospace analyst Richard Aboulafia said last week. “It deviated pretty far from this at the time when the Max was being developed.”The US National Transportation Safety Board last week called for a renewed focus on how a cacophony of flight-deck alerts can distract and overwhelm pilots. The agency's report on the Max tragedies also provided clues to one of the mysteries of the disasters: how Boeing safety assessments for a software-system linked to the crashes could still comply with FAA design principles.Boeing’s simulator tests of the socalled MCAS system focused on pilots’ response to indications that a motor on the horizontal stabiliser was moving the plane's nose down without their input.But the hazard tests never examined specific failure modes that could cause MCAS to kick on — including failure of a key sensor that tripped multiple cockpit warnings and bewildered pilots on the Lion Air and Ethiopian Airlines flights.Boeing, following recommendations from the the board last week, will have the company’s tens of thousands of engineers report to the company’s chief engineer, Greg Hyslop. That will promote a more consistent approach to meeting operational priorities, while enabling senior managers to spot and elevate talented engineers, Boeing said. The move mirrors an earlier restructuring of finance professionals, who now report directly to Boeing Chief Financial Officer Greg Smith.Muilenburg said he doesn't expect the structural shift to substantially change the day-to-day work of those carrying out design and testing. But connecting the technical experts to other engineers across the company will create a new, informal network for them when problems crop up, he said.He is also expanding Boeing's safety-management system and safety-review boards, which have been expanded and are now led by senior executives, including Hyslop and business division chiefs. Boeing has also invested in enhanced flight simulation and computing capabilities. Software engineers in recent weeks have run 390,000 flight hours -- the equivalent of flying 45 years -- on the 737 Max.In addition, the company is already pouring money into researching the design of future flight decks to account for human factors.

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अयोध्या मामला: हिंदू पक्ष ने दी दलील, जन्मस्थान भी न्यायिक इकाई दावा करने का हक

हिंदू पक्षकार की ओर से पेश वरिष्ठ वकील के. परासरन ने कहा कि विवादित जगह पर मूर्ति थी या नहीं, यह महत्वपूर्ण मुद्दा नहीं है।

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प्रदूषण बढ़ने पर दफ्तरों का समय बदलने की तैयारी शुरू

पराली जलाने से दिल्ली की आबोहवा खराब होने के दौरान दफ्तरों के समय को लचीला करने पर दिल्ली सरकार काम कर रही है।

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Govt gears up to kick off its own mega Diwali sale

NEW DELHI: The government is getting set for a series of blockbuster divestments — lining up strategic sales in four blue-chip, state-run companies and firming up plans for embattled Air India.A group of secretaries on Monday cleared strategic sales in Bharat Petroleum Corp. Ltd (BPCL), BEML, Container Corporation of India (Concor) and Shipping Corporation of India (SCI). Stake sales in THDC India and Neepco, both power companies, have also been approved. These could be taken over by state-run NTPC.The Air India expression of interest (EoI) paperwork is also likely to be finalised and issued soon, setting in motion the formal process for the state-owned airline’s sale, two government officials familiar with the process said. “Stake sales in these state-owned firms have been put on the fast track,” one of them told ET.The government proposes to raise Rs 1.05 lakh crore from disinvestment in the current financial year. It had exceeded asset-sale targets of Rs 1 lakh crore in FY18 and Rs 80,000 crore in FY19.The Air India EoI with all relevant details for investors is in the process of being finalised and could be cleared by the special mechanism headed by home minister Amit Shah over the next fortnight, the official said.71383973 Aggressive Bidding Likely for BPCL“About Rs 30,000 crore debt (in Air India) would be taken over by the government,” the second official said. “The EoI would provide completely clarity to investors looking to buy.” While BEML has the requisite approvals in place, the Department of Investment and Public Asset Management (Dipam) will take proposals for BPCL, SCI and Concor soon to the special mechanism set up to approve their disinvestment.At the current market value, the government stake in BPCL is worth about Rs 55,000 crore, but the actual realisation may be higher if it gets a control premium from the strategic investor. The government expects up to Rs 65,000 crore. Another official said the sale of the government’s stake, currently at 53.3%, will not require parliamentary approval.“We have got the issue examined… The law has been repealed,” he said. “Parliament will only need to be informed.”The share price of the second biggest petroleum products retailer closed almost unchanged at Rs 470 on the BSE on Monday. The government expects the open bidding for BPCL to be aggressive in view of the company’s extensive retail network.The government’s 54% stake in BEML, a state-run entity under the defence ministry, is worth about Rs 2,100 crore at current prices; the 54.8% stake in Concor about Rs 20,000 crore and the 73.75% stake in SCI could fetch Rs 1,300 crore. Share prices of these companies closed 1.38-2.27% higher on the BSE Monday.With barely six months left in the fiscal year, the government is keen to push through strategic sales and public offers aggressively, hoping to make the most of the buoyancy in the markets following corporate tax cuts. The initial public offer of the Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corp. (IRCTC) opened on Monday.

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Automakers are now chasing glory abroad to beat blues at home

MUMBAI: The country’s two largest carmakers Maruti Suzuki and Hyundai Motor India are looking to revive their exports after years of neglecting that market to make up for a fall in domestic demand.Maruti Suzuki and Hyundai, which together account for twothirds of the Indian passenger vehicle market, saw their export volumes fall by 28% and 43%, respectively, in the last decade when they doubled down on domestic sale push as India emerged one of the fastest-growing global car markets, letting exports stagnate.Maruti, which exported 147,000 units in 2009-10, shipped 106,000 units in the last fiscal while Hyundai, whose exports peaked at 285,000 units in 2009-10, shipped around 160,000 in 2018-19.But now they are looking to push exports, along with other carmakers including M&M .“Not only does it (exports) help increase total volumes, it’s a natural hedge against currency fluctuations,” said RC Bhargava, chairman of Maruti Suzuki. “However, it's not possible to quickly increase or decrease exports. Over time we will increase exports,” he told ET.71383971 SS Kim, managing director at Hyundai Motor India, said, “We have a flexible manufacturing facility wherein we are able to balance out production plans for the domestic and export market.”The South Korean carmaker was India’s top exporter of cars until a few years back. But eventually it shifted most of export production out of the country and started shipping vehicle kits as new capacities went into satiating local demand.With domestic market plunging in recent months, carmakers are now looking at ways to boost exports by identifying new markets or setting up local assembly operations.Bhargava said, “Being a small carmaker, for us Africa can be a potential market.”Maruti Suzuki, which sells every second car sold in the local market, has exported over 1.86 million passenger vehicle units cumulatively. Baleno, Dzire, Swift, Celerio and Alto are exported to over 100 countries. Latin America accounts for 27% of its exports, followed by Asean (16%) and Africa (15%).Hyundai exports to around 91 countries across Africa, the Middle East, Latin America, Australia and Asia Pacific.VG Ramakrishnan, founding partner of consulting firm Avanteum Advisors, said India trails many other countries in vehicle exports. “Mature markets have a minimum of two brands leading the globalisation drive,” he told ET. “India is an exception; we have no homegrown companies to lead the exports drive.”71383975 However, many global carmakers including Volkswagen, Nissan, Ford and General Motors have been using their overseas reach to make their Indian operations viable.This helped overall passenger vehicle exports from the country grow 52% to around 670,000 units in the last decade.“Ford, GM, VW and Nissan, which together have a combined 5% share in the domestic market, contributed over 50% of the exports in 2018-19,” said Arun Malhotra, former MD at Nissan Motor Corporation (India).Domestic vehicle maker Mahindra & Mahindra is looking to push exports by setting up offices with local partners in many new markets. “We are much more aggressive in having local offices, in terms of liaison offices or manufacturing bases,” said Arvind Mathew, chief of international operation at M&M.“Today, by expanding our local footprint (offices, assembly, distribution network), we are able to identify, local customer/government requirements quickly.”M&M is building plants in North Africa, South East Asia, East Africa and Central America. The goal is to take exports footprint from 8% of the business to 20% in the coming five years, with 10 local or liaison offices, company officials said. Over the years, the exports demand has been gradually shifting from small cars to mid-size cars and SUVs. According to Kim of Hyundai, today the compact segment accounts for 53% of its total exports followed by SUV and mid-size cars.

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Several PSU divestments lined up: Govt gears up to kick off its own mega Diwali sale

NEW DELHI: The government is getting set for a series of blockbuster divestments — lining up strategic sales in four blue-chip, state-run companies and firming up plans for embattled Air India.A group of secretaries on Monday cleared strategic sales in Bharat Petroleum Corp. Ltd (BPCL), BEML, Container Corporation of India (Concor) and Shipping Corporation of India (SCI). Stake sales in THDC India and Neepco, both power companies, have also been approved. These could be taken over by state-run NTPC.The Air India expression of interest (EoI) paperwork is also likely to be finalised and issued soon, setting in motion the formal process for the state-owned airline’s sale, two government officials familiar with the process said. “Stake sales in these state-owned firms have been put on the fast track,” one of them told ET.The government proposes to raise Rs 1.05 lakh crore from disinvestment in the current financial year. It had exceeded asset-sale targets of Rs 1 lakh crore in FY18 and Rs 80,000 crore in FY19.The Air India EoI with all relevant details for investors is in the process of being finalised and could be cleared by the special mechanism headed by home minister Amit Shah over the next fortnight, the official said.71383973 Aggressive Bidding Likely for BPCL“About Rs 30,000 crore debt (in Air India) would be taken over by the government,” the second official said. “The EoI would provide completely clarity to investors looking to buy.” While BEML has the requisite approvals in place, the Department of Investment and Public Asset Management (Dipam) will take proposals for BPCL, SCI and Concor soon to the special mechanism set up to approve their disinvestment.At the current market value, the government stake in BPCL is worth about Rs 55,000 crore, but the actual realisation may be higher if it gets a control premium from the strategic investor. The government expects up to Rs 65,000 crore. Another official said the sale of the government’s stake, currently at 53.3%, will not require parliamentary approval.“We have got the issue examined… The law has been repealed,” he said. “Parliament will only need to be informed.”The share price of the second biggest petroleum products retailer closed almost unchanged at Rs 470 on the BSE on Monday. The government expects the open bidding for BPCL to be aggressive in view of the company’s extensive retail network.The government’s 54% stake in BEML, a state-run entity under the defence ministry, is worth about Rs 2,100 crore at current prices; the 54.8% stake in Concor about Rs 20,000 crore and the 73.75% stake in SCI could fetch Rs 1,300 crore. Share prices of these companies closed 1.38-2.27% higher on the BSE Monday.With barely six months left in the fiscal year, the government is keen to push through strategic sales and public offers aggressively, hoping to make the most of the buoyancy in the markets following corporate tax cuts. The initial public offer of the Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corp. (IRCTC) opened on Monday.

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शारदा चिटफंड : राजीव कुमार की अग्रिम जमानत पर आज आ सकता है फैसला

कलकत्ता हाईकोर्ट शारदा चिट फंड घोटाला मामले में प्रदेश के पूर्व पुलिस आयुक्त राजीव कुमार की अग्रिम जमानत याचिका पर एक अक्तूबर को अपना फैसला सुना सकता है।

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गांधी जयंती पर पदयात्रा में शामिल होंगी सोनिया गांधी, राहुल करेंगे नेतृत्व

पार्टी की दिल्ली इकाई की ओर से बुधवार को राजघाट तक निकाली जाने वाली इस पदयात्रा में कांग्रेस अध्यक्ष सोनिया गांधी सहित कई वरिष्ठ नेता शामिल होंगे।

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संयुक्त राष्ट्र में अहमियत नहीं मिली तो इमरान ने पाक की स्थायी प्रतिनिधि मलीहा को हटाया

पाकिस्तान ने संयुक्त राष्ट्र संघ में अपनी स्थायी प्रतिनिधि मलीहा लोधी को हटा दिया है। उनकी जगह पर मुनीर अकरम को नियुक्त किया गया है।

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Yemeni Rebels Release Photos, Say They Killed, Wounded 500 Saudi Fighters

Yemeni rebels on Sunday said they carried out a major assault on forces of a Saudi Arabian-led coalition near the two nations' border, releasing footage they say shows hundreds of captured troops,...

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Caught In The Act: A Black Hole Rips Apart An Unfortunate Star

Scientists have captured a view of a colossal black hole violently ripping apart a doomed star, illustrating a extraordinary and chaotic cosmic event from beginning to end for the first time using...

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Change Comes To Islam's Birthplace, And The World Watches Warily

The world's 1.8 billion Muslims look to one country above all others.

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Subhash Chandra At Home In Mumbai, Says Son Punit Goenka

Essel Group chairman Subhash Chandra has not left the country and is "very much in Mumbai" at his home, said his son Punit Goenka on Sunday.

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Saudi Crown Prince Warns Of "Unimaginably High" Oil Prices

Saudi Arabia's crown prince warned in an interview broadcast on Sunday that oil prices could spike to "unimaginably high numbers" if the world does not come together to deter Iran, but said he would...

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Your EMIs may pinch less from next week

Mumbai: Borrowers could be paying less on their mortgages as banks shift to a new system of linking such loans this week to benchmarks prescribed by the central bank. That may result in lowering the cost of funding by as much as 30 basis points in some cases, experts said. A basis point is 0.01 percentage point.State Bank of India, for instance, has pegged the spread at 2.65 percentage points above the repo rate, which is at 5.40%, resulting in an external benchmark rate of 8.05%. That will bring the effective rate to 8.20% against an 8.30% floating interest rate under the previous marginal cost of funds based lending rate (MCLR) regime for salaried home loan borrowers on loans up to Rs 30 lakh. However, there could be additional charges added on to this based on the profile of the customer. 71367410 SBI will charge an additional 15 basis points from non-salaried borrowers. Those in the higher Risk Grade (RG) 4-6 will be levied a further 10 basis points. The Reserve Bank of India said the benchmark can be the repo rate, or three-month or six-month treasury bills, or any other benchmark published by Financial Benchmarks India, which administers such rates. The central bank announced on September 4 that banks would have to link loans to retail customers and micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) to external interest rate benchmarks in order to make the transmission of monetary policy more effective to boost credit growth, consumption and investment in order to revive the economy.Banks are free to decide the spread over the external benchmark. Subsequently, risk premiums may change in line with a borrower's credit assessment as agreed upon in the loan contract. The repo rate, at which banks borrow from the RBI, is at the lowest since February 2010 at 5.4%. The three-month T-bill rate has seen a drop of 100 bps since February and is currently at 5.28%. The six-month T-bill rate, which was at 6.4% in February, is now at 5.48%. While the repo rate has been slashed 110 basis points between February 2019 and August 2019, the drop in MCLR has only been 20 basis points.An ICRA report said that external benchmarking on lending rates is likely to result in significant volatility in equated monthly instalments (EMIs) for borrowers. It’s estimated that a 50 basis point rise in the repo rate could lead to a Rs 2,200 increase in monthly payments on a Rs 75 lakh loan payable over 15 years. A 100 basis point climb could pinch the pocket by as much as Rs 4,500 a month.

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Can India shop India out of trouble?

Kolkata | Mumbai: Consumption picked up in the first weekend of festive season shopping, bringing relief to large retail chains, brands, malls and e-commerce marketplaces. A positive start to the Diwali sales period has assuaged concerns that the economic slowdown would hit consumption in what’s traditionally the high point of India’s shopping calendar.Several retailers, including Future Group, Spencer's Retail, Arvind Lifestyle, Reliance Digital, Vijay Sales and Great Eastern said their sales have grown by more than double digits in categories such as fashion and apparel, smartphones and consumer electronics in the first weekend of Navratri over same period last year. On average, sales have jumped 10-14%, they said.The country's two largest e-commerce marketplaces, Amazon and Walmart-owned Flipkart, which launched their biggest sale for the year over the weekend, said overall business had doubled on the first day from the last time. Flipkart said sales in categories such as beauty, women’s ethnic wear, kidswear, sports, baby care and furniture surpassed last year's entire festival sales on day one itself. 71367220 Despite online discounts, footfall has risen in malls and stores by about 4-6% while the average bill value in brick-and-mortar stores is up 8-12%. The weekend was also the last before Durga Puja.India's largest smartphone and electronics retailer Reliance Digital's CEO Brian Bade said while it's still early days, footfall has been encouraging in the first weekend. "So have been new iPhone sales, which have been far superior this year compared to the last few," he said. Apple, which launched its latest iPhone 11 series last Friday in India with about 55,000 units, has almost sold out its inventory with retailers saying this has been one of the best launches of new iPhones in the past two years, according to senior industry executives.Electronics retailer Vijay Sales and Great Eastern Retail said Navratri had started reasonably well, despite Amazon and Flipkart. "Crowd is back to the stores and transactions are happening, which is a healthy sign," said Vijay Sales managing partner Nilesh Gupta.Great Eastern director Pulkit Baid said there has been good momentum. "Finally, it feels like festive," he said. Consumer goods makers and retailers had been cautious about this year's festive season business due to a slowing economy, lack of new job creation and poor consumer sentiment in urban and rural India over the past three quarters. However, recent measures by the government such as a cut in corporate tax rates to boost investment, have led to a rise in the feel-good factor, industry executives said.Apart from this, the central bank has told banks to link retail loans to external benchmarks, lowering the cost of funds, and the stock market has been buoyant.Offline retailers said apparel sales have been encouraging, growing by 15-50% in the past two days even though sales of fastmoving consumer goods (FMCG) are yet to pick up. "Grocery sales growth still remains under pressure," said Kishore Biyani, founder of Future Group, which owns Central, Big Bazaar and Brand Factory stores. "However, apparel is performing really well and there is no doubt it will be a good festive season for us in the lifestyle segment." Spencer’s Retail too reported high double-digit growth in apparel sales. "Let’s hope it leads to a good festive season going forward," said managing director Devendra Chawla. Malls in Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata and Bengaluru were teeming with shoppers over the weekend."We saw high footfalls and more shopping bags over the past two days," said Rajendra Kalkar, president (west), High Street Phoenix Mall, which runs Phoenix Mills in Mumbai. "However, it's too early to predict whether it was entirely led by pre-festive season buying or a non-rainy weekend in Mumbai after a long time." Arvind Lifestyle Brands managing director J Suresh said sales grew by double digits. He, however, warned that post Diwali the situation might be dampened unless overall consumer sentiment improved. Arvind Lifestyle runs nearly two dozen brands such as Gap, Arrow, Children's Place and Sephora. The festive season, which starts with Onam in Kerala, extends through Navratri-Durga Puja and ends with Dhanteras-Diwali. It accounts for almost 35-40% of annual sales.

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Goldman Sachs invests Rs 500 crore in Ozone Techno Park

Mumbai | Benagluru: At a time when most non-banking financial companies have stopped making new investments or disbursing funds to real estate developers across the country, global institutional investor Goldman Sachs Group has invested around Rs 500 crore into an income-producing asset of Bengaluru based Ozone Group, said multiple persons with direct knowledge of the development.Goldman Sachs has made this investment into the developer’s commercial project Ozone Techno Park in Chennai jointly through two of its NBFC arms Goldman Sachs (India) Finance and Goldman Sachs Investments (Mauritius). The investment has been made through a structured debt arrangement.Located on Chennai’s Old Mahabalipuram Road, Ozone Techno Park is a ready and fully leased commercial project that houses tenants like HCL, CTS, Rainbird Healthcare and Firstsource Solutions. The IT park is spread over around 7 acres with total leasable area of nearly 1 million sq ft across the 10-storey complex.“It’s a safe bet given that the project is fully-leased to blue chip global clients and offers steady stream of rental yield. The deal will be completed in two tranches,” said one of the persons mentioned above.The company is likely to use part of the funds raised to repay some of its debt obligations including Urban Infrastructure Venture Capital that has exposure to some of its other projects.With lending by banks to realty slowing down since 2011-12, the role of NBFCs and housing finance companies had gained prominence. The liquidity crisis that started with the default of IL&FS has changed the scenario completely. The Goldman Sachs-Ozone transaction stands out as this is for a yield-producing commercial asset and is not a private equity investment but it has been done through NBFC units.ET’s email query to Ozone Group remained unanswered until the time of going to press. Goldman Sachs and Urban Infrastructure Venture Capital Fund declined to comment. Income-producing commercial assets have proved to be a major draw for most of the global institutional investors that are active in India or are keen to invest here.

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I wouldn’t say the worst is over for China: Ralf Speth, JLR

Ralf Speth, the global CEO of Jaguar Land Rover (JLR), said it was too early to judge whether the ‘worst is over’ in China despite two consecutive months of double-digit growth for the luxury carmaker in the world’s biggest auto market.Speth told Ketan Thakkar that ‘Project Charge’, the restructuring programme that began earlier this fiscal, is starting to deliver including China and is already exceeding the targets set initially. As it did in 2010, in the immediate aftermath of the global financial crisis, JLR will have to balance two seemingly divergent strategic goals – of trimming broader costs and simultaneously investing in products that help drive smooth growth in a volatile demand environment. Edited excerpts:What is the progress report on Project Charge? Jaguar Land Rover is kind of a seismograph, whenever anyone wants to know what is really going on in the automotive world, just look at JLR. We are honest, we don’t have a finance company, we don’t have a bank or another insurance company, we cannot do things with residual values or lease cars, whatever the situation. We take everything, right on the chin.We are agile. We started the 'Project Charge' (cost cutting plan) earlier than other rivals. We are on track with our targets - not only on target, but exceeding the targets on ‘Project Charge’.It's more than challenging. We are investing in the future, like we did in 2010, when we started to simultaneously restructure and also invested over proportionately in products for the future.Is the worst over in China? Sorry, that's an absolute statement. I wouldn't say so (that the worst is over). What if tomorrow there is another issue arising out of China? We don’t know what Mr. Xi and Mr. Trump have in mind, but the issue does not affect Jaguar Land Rover alone; other companies face exactly the same.What is the way ahead for the Chinese markets? I don't know which way the economy is moving and how will China revive. We will have to manage it. It looks like the state in China is a little bit the same as in India; one cannot tell how long it will take for the economy to revive.The market for premium vehicles in China has been down by 17% last month. The mainstream market volume too is declining. We weathered the storm, we also grew last month by double digits. We are doing our part, but I cannot tell you how long will this evolution continue.What is the response to I-PACE and the initial assessment on what will drive EV adoption…Demand has been more than our expectation, and we are facing a shortage of batteries. But from a wider customer adoption standpoint, they are hesitating because of high prices and low convenience.From a global perspective, the cost will go down only in the mid-term, and not in the next few years. Why? Because the demand will become bigger and bigger, and more and more batteries for electric vehicles will be now developed and will be produced around the world.Many companies are moving in that direction; we were the first ones and there are many who are following us. And therefore, this means that now all of a sudden, there is a shortage of batteries. And building a new battery plant takes a certain period of time. And, therefore, in this kind of a very short period of time, there's not enough capacity available around the world.I guess it may take three years for capacities to come. But there will also be an issue around 2025 to meet the Brussels fleet requirement. While the car industry has a target to meet on fleet average, there is no target on the development of infrastructure.So, if the auto industry does not meet targets, it will be levied penalties, but not the infrastructure companies. For the EV market to be really successful, the price has to be accessible, the customer should have convenience of charging and source of energy should be renewable: That scenario is still some time away.About Destination Zero - moving toward zero emission, zero casualty and zero congestion. What time are you giving yourself?We’re talking about the circular economy. It is not about achieving the results today or tomorrow, but it is about going in the right direction. Okay. We know nobody can move to 100% electrified mobility at the moment based on renewable energy. The technology is not there, battery capacity is not there.And why is it a problem at the moment? The customers expect long range and to deliver that, we need big batteries, and those are very expensive; so the end price of a car today is high.Along with high price, there are hardly any charging stations and the ones that are there have different systems with no standardization. With the improvement in infrastructure, one could use smaller batteries, and with smaller batteries you can also reduce prices.Now, in Europe, there is an important agricultural element in the interiors, where usage is different from mega cities like London, Berlin or Paris. So we need to find solutions that address both the markets running on renewables.We are on track to electrify our entire fleet by 2020. Already all our plants are carbon free in the UK. Our R&D centre generates all its energy from renewable sources. We have built 3,000 sq metre of solar roof at our engine plant, which is the biggest solar roof in Britain. We are already moving in that (destination zero) direction.Can India contribute?India is a signatory to the Paris Climate Accord. India is at the forefront of this kind of thinking and mindset. In India, a lot of customers in my view may be prepared for this kind of new technology.To be sure, it’s not the question of technology for the sake of technology; it also has to contribute to the environmental issues.It doesn’t make sense if the power does not come from renewable energies. Right? Therefore, we need renewable energies. Does India have renewable energies? And, of course, the charging infrastructure?(The reporter travelled to the UK at the invitation of Jaguar Land Rover)

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Saudi Crown Prince Denies Ordering Khashoggi Killing

Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman of Saudi Arabia told "60 Minutes" that he takes "full responsibility" for the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi because it was committed by Saudi government...

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मानसूनी कहर: भारी बारिश से कई राज्यों में बाढ़ जैसे हालात, चार दिन में 128 की मौत

देश में पिछले चार दिन से चल रही भारी बारिश का कहर शनिवार और रविवार को भी जारी रहा।

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केंद्रीय मंत्री नितिन गडकरी आज करेंगे दिल्ली-मेरठ एक्सप्रेसवे का उद्घाटन

केंद्रीय सड़क एवं परिवहन राजमार्ग मंत्री नितिन गडकरी सोमवार को दिल्ली-मेरठ एक्सप्रेसवे के तीसरे चरण का उद्घाटन करेंगे।

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Corporate tax cut will reignite private investments: Baba Kalyani

Baba Kalyani, chairman of Bharat Forge, was in an ebullient mood as he spoke about the impact of the recent tax incentives on corporates. “It will re-ignite a virtuous cycle of private investment in the country,” he told ET’s Nehal Chaliawala and Satish John in an interview over phone. This move will embolden Indian companies to get into the “global supply chains” of several sectors, he added. Edited excerpts:Will the government’s announcements to reduce corporate tax and expand the scope of corporate spend under Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) norms spur investment?This is the single biggest boost to the ‘Make in India’ campaign. India now is on par with the United States, the UK, Vietnam, Indonesia, Singapore and Thailand in terms of manufacturing cost competitiveness. In January 2018, the US economy got a big spurt after President Trump reduced the taxes. I think we should also start seeing similar effects in a couple of months. It should also re-ignite a virtuous cycle of private investment in the country.Most importantly, this will allow many Indian companies to get into the global supply chains of several sectors other than automotive and pharma. There are a lot of new business models coming up because of technology advancements. Low tax rates for the industry will encourage entrepreneurs and businessmen to invest in these sectors. But we now need to take some steps like converting SEZs (special economic zones) into economic employment enclaves. Leverage vacant lands that are available. Create demand measures like it was done during the 2008 downturn. For example, buses were bought under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM). The private sector needs more defence orders. Something like that will build on this tax regulation.Many companies are saying that investments may not be immediate because there is excess capacity in the system. What do you think?This is where the real problem lies. If you look at the traditional business model, everybody has too much capacity. On traditional products, we are all working way below our full capacity, whether it is cars, trucks or anything. Now, EV is a technology. It is not a traditional business model. We, therefore, have to create new markets with these new technologies rather than depending only on the traditional business models. I think companies that are able to do this speedily and at a reasonable cost are the companies of the future.What are the new business segments that Bharat Forge is exploring?Bharat Forge is India’s first manufacturing multi-national company, with facilities all over the world. Whatever we have developed has been with our own research. We do a lot of work in material science and new material processes, which is our bread-and-butter business. We are also working in the areas of defence and related products, electric vehicles, nanotechnology, and composites, including carbon composites. A lot of our electric vehicle aggregates and sub-systems will be coming into the market in the next few months.Our industry used to be centred around metals at one time. Now the industry is moving into everything other than metals. There are a lot of electronics in vehicles already and there will be a lot more when EVs come in. There are a lot of light metals in vehicles. There are a lot of composites coming in. We are also doing a lot of manufacturing through 3D printing. There is a lot of convergence of technologies in many fields and we have more than 12 research labs. We even make small jet engines, which we have developed in one of our research labs. Customers for these largely are from the defence sector.Could you shed some light on the investment that you recently made in Europe for aluminium casting?We foresee that a lot of aluminium will be used in the automotive industry and other industries for light-weighting. These are very special aluminium castings with very thin walls and built-in cooling channels and stuff like that. If you take an electric vehicle, the battery casing is made from aluminium casting with cooling channels. That’s the kind of thing we are going to make in our plant (in Germany).Could you share more information on the carbon composites segment of your business?If I was to peek into the future, I believe that wheels for cars in another five to seven years will be all made from carbon composites.There is an increase in the usage of composite materials in light-weighting vehicles so that they consume less fuel and therefore generate less emission. We are working on making carbon composite wheels. I can’t say when it will be ready, but we are working on it. And generally, what we work on becomes reality.What was the thought behind investing in electric vehicles companies like Tevva Motors?Unless you invest in a startup like that, you don’t know what is involved in an EV. And if you don’t know what is involved in it, you really cannot do development work in terms of the sub-systems that go into it, whether it’s the battery charging system, inverter, AC-DC converter, controls, et cetera. Having a stake in Tevva (an UK-based company that makes electric drive trains) taught us a lot of these things. And hopefully, that will allow us to become a supplier to many OEMs (original equipment manufacturers) who move into the EV business.

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Over two-thirds of PMC’s loan exposure is in HDIL group

MUMBAI: The beginning of financial fraud at the Punjab and Maharashtra Cooperative (PMC) Bank could date as far back as 2008, with officials at the lender allegedly creating several accounts to help fund the distressed property company HDIL over the past decade, two people familiar with the matter told ET.It has now come to the knowledge of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) that a group of management executives, which included the now suspended managing director (MD) Joy Thomas, allegedly helped lend about Rs 6,226 crore, or 73% of total loans of the bank, to just HDIL. The developer has filed for bankruptcy recently.“It is shocking to know that more than two-thirds of the total loans of the bank went to just one customer,’’ said one of the sources cited above. The fraud may have begun in 2008 and is “going on since then,” said the source.71361873 Neither RBI officials nor Thomas could be contacted immediately for comments.Although the chairman of the bank, Waryam Singh, was on the board of HDIL, PMC did not even disclose the loans given directly to HDIL as related-party transactions. This is a grave violation of banking laws, said the sources.“The RBI, a few years ago, forced the bank to move to the electronic platform and digitize a lot of processes,” said the second source. “With that, the bank was unable to continue this game for long and now the management is pretending to be a victim than the perpetrator.’’ The regulator is likely to begin criminal proceedings against the suspended MD and several other bank executives, including some board members. A complaint could be filed at the Economic Offences Wing of the Maharashtra police as early as Monday.A person familiar with the case confirmed that RBI had sought the removal of PMC chairman Singh for breach of corporate governance norms.“At the end of the last RBI inspection in October last year, RBI had asked the central registrar of societies to remove Singh from the bank's post because he was involved in the bank while still serving as a director in HDIL. However, the central registrar never acted on the request and, in fact, Singh continued to be chairman until the RBI put directions on the bank,” said the person.As a multi-state co-operative bank, PMC came under the control of the central registrar. So, central bank action on PMC first needed the regulator’s nod.Over Two-thirds of PMC’s Exposure is in HDIL GroupThe Mumbai–based cooperative bank, with operations in seven states, collapsed recently and the RBI ordered freezing of operations and imposed limits on withdrawals of funds by depositors. It raised the limit to ?10,000 per account from ?1,000. The central bank also appointed former regulator J.B. Bhoria as administrator.On Friday, Thomas had said the central bank was rather harsh and hasty in taking punitive action against the lender without giving it an opportunity to recover loans advanced to HDIL.Thomas had said the bank had enough securities to cover its loans to HDIL, and the regulator should have allowed the bank more time in recovering its loans.“We met the RBI executive director (ED) Rabi Mishra on September 19 and gave him details about this account and asked for some time to rectify it. The ED said he will conduct a normal inspection on the bank. The next day, RBI officials came and took more information from us. But we were shocked when we got the notice with restrictions on the 23rd…How can the RBI find out what is wrong in two days? This has resulted in depositors facing difficulty despite the fact that the bank had sufficient liquidity,” Thomas had said Friday.“I cannot say how this exposure was hidden but I can only say that this exposure was not seen until now…but we had collateral securities totaling about two and a half times the loan exposure to this group in the form of land and real estate,” he had said last week.PMC gave a fresh Rs 96-crore loan to HDIL in August to help the company pay off Bank of India and avoid NCLT proceedings.

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Aaditya Thackeray To Make Debut In Maharashtra Election From Worli

Capping days of speculation, the Shiv Sena on Sunday said it has decided to field Aaditya Thackeray, the elder son of party chief Uddhav Thackeray, from the Worli assembly constituency in Mumbai.

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PM Modi-Trump Talks Fail To Meet India's Expectations, Says Congress

The Congress on Sunday said it was disappointed over Prime Minister Narendra Modi's meeting with US President Donald Trump that "failed" to meet India's expectations despite public display of bonhomie...

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महाराष्ट्र चुनाव: उत्तर भारतीयों के विरोध की राजनीति खत्म, 100 सीटों पर प्रभाव

महाराष्ट्र विधानसभा के आगामी चुनाव में करीब दो दशक बाद उत्तर भारतीयों का विरोध कोई मुद्दा नहीं रह जाएगा। प्रधानमंत्री नरेंद्र मोदी का प्रभाव पूरे देश में लोकसभा चुनाव में दिखा।

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एमपी हनीट्रैप केस में एक और खुलासा, पकड़ी गईं हसीनाओं ने लिपस्टिक और चश्मों को बनाया था हथियार

मध्य प्रदेश के दर्जनों राजनेताओं व अन्य हस्तियों को अपने जाल में फंसाकर उनके आपत्तिजनक वीडियो तैयार करने के चर्चित हनी ट्रैप मामले में अब एक और अनोखा तथ्य सामने आया है।

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अपग्रेड होने से पहले मिग-29 के 28 स्क्वाड्रन ने अंतिम बार भरी उड़ान

अपग्रेड होने के लिए जाने से पहले वायुसेना के मिग-29 की 28 स्क्वाड्रन ने शनिवार को आखिरी बार उड़ान भरी।

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BJP Names Ex-Congress MLA Alpesh Thakor For Gujarat Bypolls

The BJP has fielded former Congress MLA Alpesh Thakor as a candidate for the upcoming Gujarat bypolls. He will contest from Radhanpur, a seat he had won in 2017 on a Congress ticket.

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Sister Mariam Thresia Third Kerala Woman To Be Canonised At Vatican

Kerala's Sister Mariam Thresia is set to be canonised next month, the fourth from the state who will be attaining sainthood, of which two were women.

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महासेल : अमेजन ने 36 घंटे में बेचे 750 करोड़ के मोबाइल फोन, फ्लिपकार्ट की बिक्री भी हुई दोगुनी

आर्थिक सुस्ती व मांग में कमी की चर्चा के बीच ई-कॉमर्स कंपनी अमेजन और फ्लिपकार्ट ने फेस्टिवल सेल में जमकर कमाई की।

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देश में छह लाख से अधिक बिना नियम वाले ड्रोन, सुरक्षा एजेंसियां उठा रही ये कदम

पाकिस्तान द्वारा ड्रोन के जरिये पंजाब में हथियार गिराने और सऊदी अरब में पेट्रोलियम कंपनी पर ड्रोन से हमले की घटनाओं ने सुरक्षा एजेंसियों के कान खड़े कर दिए हैं।

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73 Dead In 4 Days In UP Rain, Many Trains Cancelled In Bihar: 10 Points

Seventy three people have died in four days in Uttar Pradesh where several parts received above-average rainfall this week. A red alert - likelihood of heavy to very heavy rainfall - has been sounded...

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भूपेश बघेल ने कहा: जब भाजपा-आरएसएस के लोग गोडसे मुर्दाबाद कहेंगे, तब मानूंगा सच्चा गांधीवादी

छत्तीसगढ़ के मुख्यमंत्री भूपेश बघेल ने शनिवार को कहा कि भाजपा और राष्ट्रीय स्वयंसेवक संघ (आरएसएस) को राष्ट्रपिता महात्मा गांधी की विचारधारा से कोई लेना-देना नहीं हैं।

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आईएनएक्स मीडिया मामला: नीति आयोग की पहली सीईओ रहीं सिंधुश्री खुल्लर पर चलेगा केस

खुल्लर के अलावा अनूप पुजारी, प्रबोध सक्सेना और रबिंद्र प्रसाद के खिलाफ भी केस चलाने की मंजूरी दी गई है। खुल्लर साल 2015 में नीति आयोग की पहली सीईओ नियुक्त की गई थीं। 

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When Modi is seen borrowing more, rate cuts fail to boost bonds

By Kartik GoyalSeptember is shaping up to be a brutal month for Indian bonds, and traders are hoping the government’s borrowing plans this week will offer some relief.Benchmark 10-year rupee yields have climbed almost 20 basis points since end-August, driven by fears that a $20 billion tax cut could boost an already bloated bond supply. Even an expected interest-rate cut by the central bank on Friday -- the fifth for the year -- has done little to aid sentiment.All eyes are now on the government’s financing plans for the fiscal second half due Monday, with traders concerned that the authorities could increase bond sales beyond the 2.68 trillion rupees ($37.8 billion) set earlier.“The worries about the fiscal overhang are so deep that it has upset optimism created by the Reserve Bank of India’s easing,” said Mahendra Jajoo, head of fixed income at Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. in Mumbai. Tax cuts have reignited worries about the breach of deficit targets, he added.71357001 Sentiment toward rupee debt soured after Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s administration unleashed a surprise tax break on Sept. 20 to shore up growth. Ten-year yields jumped the most since February 2017 amid fears the authorities would be forced to sell more bonds to make up for an estimated 1.45 trillion rupees of lost revenue.Benchmark 10-year yields may rise to 7 per cent in the coming months from around 6.7 per cent due to worries about a wider budget deficit and increased bond supply, according to Mirae Asset and IndusInd Bank Ltd. Mirae warned yields could even vault past that level if the central bank doesn’t step in to conduct open-market bond purchases.The concerns persist even after an assurance from a government official that the borrowing plan remains unchanged for the rest of the financial year. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has also said any review of the fiscal gap target will only take place nearer to the next budget in February.Traders remain skeptical, especially after Standard Chartered Plc estimated the government will need to borrow as much as 800 billion rupees more, and Fitch Ratings flagged the likelihood of a wider fiscal deficit.“Sentiments have been impacted by the fear of additional supply,” said Shyamal Karmakar, head of rates and credit trading at IndusInd Bank in Mumbai.Below are key Asian economic data and events due this week:Monday, Sept. 30: BOJ bond purchases, China manufacturing PMI, Japan and South Korea factory output, Thailand trade balance and India budget deficitTuesday, Oct. 1: RBA policy review, Japan unemployment, CPIs in Indonesia, South Korea and Thailand, South Korea trade balanceWednesday, Oct. 2: Japan monetary base, Bank of Thailand’s MPC minutesThursday, Oct. 3: Australia services PMI and trade balance, Japan foreign bond buyingFriday, Oct. 4: RBI rate decision, Malaysia trade balance, South Korea FX reserves, Philippines CPI

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"Tradition Of Military Rule In Pak": India At Commonwealth Meet

India strongly criticised on Saturday Pakistan''s stand on the Kashmir issue as "propaganda" at the Commonwealth Parliamentary Conference in Uganda and said the military rule is the tradition of...

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मन की बात: नवरात्रि की शुभकामना के बाद इन मुद्दों पर चर्चा कर सकते हैं पीएम मोदी

प्रधानमंत्री नरेंद्र मोदी आज सुबह 11 बजे मन की बात के जरिए देशवासियों को संबोधित करेंगे। अमेरिका के सात दिवसीय दौरे से लौटे पीएम मोदी अपने अनुभवों को साझा कर सकते है।

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देशभर में लौटते मानसून का कहर, बिहार में 13 ट्रेनें रद्द, यूपी में 80 लोगों की मौत

देशभर में लौटता मानसून कहर बनकर गुजर रहा है। यूपी, बिहार, उत्तराखंड, हिमाचल, झारखंड, मध्यप्रदेश और महाराष्ट्र के कई इलाकों में बाढ़ जैसे हालात बने हुए हैं।

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डॉ. कफील क्लीन चिट मामले में नया मोड़, सीएम के सलाहकार बोले-रिपोर्ट का गलत निष्कर्ष निकाला गया

गोरखपुर के बीआरडी मेडिकल कॉलेज में अगस्त 2017 में ऑक्सीजन की कमी से हुई 70 बच्चों की मौत के मामले में आरोपी डॉ. कफील को क्लीन चिट मिलने के मामले में नया मोड़ आ गया है।

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Saudi Crown Prince Was A Pariah After Khashoggi Killing, How Trump Helped

At the annual Group of 20 gathering of world leaders in Osaka, Japan, in June, the crown prince of Saudi Arabia, Mohammed bin Salman, beamed before cameras as he stood center stage between President...

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Delhi Metro's Dwarka-Najafgarh Grey Line Likely To Open Next Week

The over 4.2 km-long Grey Line of the Delhi Metro, which will connect urban village area of Najafgarh to the rapid transit network, is likely to open early next week, officials said on Saturday.

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शारदीय नवरात्रि आरंभ, जानें कलश स्थापना का शुभ मुहूर्त

नवरात्रि में कलश स्थापना चक्र सुदर्शन मुहूर्त (अभिजित) में करना श्रेष्ठ माना गया हैं।

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दफ्तर में यौन उत्पीड़न की परिभाषा में विस्तार की जरूरत- राष्ट्रीय महिला आयोग

राष्ट्रीय महिला आयोग ने शनिवार को कहा कि दफ्तर में महिलाओं के यौन उत्पीड़न को और विस्तृत रूप से परिभाषित करने की जरूरत है।

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Senior Cops Face Off Over Madhya Pradesh Sex Scandal Probe

The sex scandal in Madhya Pradesh has culminated in a face-off between Madhya Pradesh Director General of Police VK Singh and another officer who is his equal in stature.

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चीन: ट्रक से भिड़ी बस, हादसे में 36 लोगों की दर्दनाक मौत, 36 घायल

पूर्वी चीन में रविवार सुबह हुए दर्दनाक हादसे में कम से कम 36 लोगों की मौत हो गई। स्थानीय सरकारी समाचार एजेंसी जिन्हुआ के हवाले से दी गई खबर में बताया गया है कि बस और ट्रक के बीच हुई भिड़ंत काफी भयानक थी। हादसे में 36 लोग घायल हैं।

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Mumbai Cops Ask Complainant To Buy Stationery, Charged With Bribery

Two Mumbai police officials were arrested by the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) after they allegedly asked a man to buy stationary for them as he failed to give them Rs 500 as bribe, an official said.

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Boy, 10, Dies In West Bengal Allegedly After "Tantrik" Performs Rituals

A suspected 'tantrik' (occult practitioner) has been arrested after the death of a 10-year-old boy, allegedly due to rituals performed by her, in West Bengal's Nadia district, police said.

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"ST Somashekhar Was Sold Dreams By BJP", Says Karnataka Congress Chief

Karnataka Congress Chief Dinesh Gundu Rao on Saturday reacted to disqualified MLA ST Somashekhar's remark that he was incapable as the party's state unit chief, saying his former party colleague had...

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हिंदू युवती से शादी करने वाले मुस्लिम व्यक्ति ने कहा, दोबारा इस्लाम अपनाने का इरादा नहीं

हिंदू धर्म अपनाकर विधिवत तरीके से हिंदू युवती से शादी करने वाले मुस्लिम शख्स ने सुप्रीम कोर्ट से कहा है कि उसका धर्म परिवर्तन छलावा नहीं था।

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कॉमनवेल्थ कॉन्फ्रेंस में भारत ने पाक को आड़े हाथों लिया, कहा- सैन्य शासन वहां की परंपरा

युगांडा में हो रहे राष्ट्रमंडल संसदीय सम्मेलन (कॉमनवेल्थ पार्लियामेंटरी कॉन्फ्रेंस) में शनिवार को भारत में कश्मीर मुद्दे पर पाकिस्तान के रुख की आलोचना की और इसे प्रोपेगंडा बताया।

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महाराष्ट्र विधानसभा चुनाव: उद्धव ठाकरे ने ठोका मुख्यमंत्री पद पर शिवसेना का दावा

भाजपा के शिवसेना के साथ सीट बंटवारा होने के दावे के बीच उद्धव ठाकरे ने शनिवार को दो टूक कहा कि मिलकर लड़ने पर जीतने पर उनकी पार्टी मुख्यमंत्री पद का दावा नहीं छोड़ेगी।

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जम्मू-कश्मीर: आईबी और एलओसी पर पाकिस्तान ने देर रात तक बरसाए गोले

जम्मू-कश्मीर में पुंछ जिले के किरनी और शाहपुर सेक्टर में शनिवार शाम पाकिस्तान ने सीमा पर गोलाबारी शुरू कर दी। इस दौरान पाक भारी हथियारों से भारतीय चौकियों और रिहाइशी इलाकों को निशाना बना रहा है। साथ ही कई इलाकों में मोर्टार शेलिंग भी कर रहा है।

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दिल्ली, उत्तर प्रदेश समेत चार राज्यों को सर्वाधिक प्रदूषित इलाकों की निगरानी का निर्देश

केंद्रीय प्रदूषण नियंत्रण बोर्ड (सीपीसीबी) कार्यबल ने एनसीआर के चार राज्यों दिल्ली, उत्तर प्रदेश, हरियाणा और राजस्थान को अपने यहां के सर्वाधिक प्रदूषित इलाकों की गंभीरता से निगरानी करने को कहा है।

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पश्चिम बंगाल: शिक्षक पर छात्राओं के यौन उत्पीड़न का आरोप, स्कूल में जबरदस्त तोड़फोड़

पश्चिम बंगाल के मालदा जिले में छात्रों के अभिभावकों ने शुक्रवार को एक निजी आवासीय स्कूल में जमकर उपद्रव मचाया और तोड़फोड़ की।

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Apple Watch Series 5 to Go on Sale in India Today: What You Need to Know

The Apple Watch Series 5 price in India starts at Rs. 40,900 and goes up to Rs. 69,900 for the most premium variant.

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Just not fare: Amazon, Flipkart's Diwali plans worry phone sellers

NEW DELHI: Brick-and-mortar retailers have urged the government to curb the practice of etailers forging exclusive tie-ups with smartphone makers and offering lower prices, saying, ahead of the critical festive season, the buildup of inventory owing to “predatory online pricing” would sound the death knell for offline sellers and lead to huge job losses.The All India Mobile Retailers Association (AIMRA), which represents thousands of brick-and-mortar stores across the country, has shot off letters to the commerce ministry, the Competition Commission of India and the Department for Promotion of Industry & Internal Trade (DPIIT).“The predatory online pricing and exclusivity has damaged the ecosystem of the trade beyond repair,” the association said in one of the letters, which has been seen by ET, without naming any specific etailer. “More than 30,000 mobile phone retail outlets have been shut down in the past one year.”Exhorting the government to ensure a level playing field, the association said, “Same product, same time and same price is the need of the hour.”The allegations against online retailers come despite the government’s move last year to change foreign direct investment (FDI) rules for the ecommerce segment. 71344444 'Cos working around rules’The new rules were aimed at ensuring a better pricing balance between online and offline sellers and at forcing handset makers to expand their presence in the bricks-and-mortar segment as well.At that time, the government had barred online marketplaces from signing exclusive deals for products on their platforms and also directed that a single vendor could sell a maximum of 25% of its inventory on an ecommerce platform.However, AIMRA president Arvinder Khurana alleged that ecommerce players have been working around the rules.“Online channels are provided with the new models first and only once the sales start dwindling after a couple of months, they are released to offline retailers… that are left with a huge inventory and only a few leftover customers who missed the online deals,” he told ET.He said the enormity of the issue is magnified ahead of the festive season — which is considered a make-or-break period for much of the retail industry — since online sellers can potentially take away a large chunk of customers before offline retailers even begin to offer discounts to customers.The comments come ahead of Amazon and Flipkart’s annual festive sales and promotions across categories from September 29 till October 4. According to global market research firm Forrester, this period will account for 80% of the $4.8-billion revenue expected in the festive season from September 25 to October 29.“More than 56% of the ecommerce business is related to the mobile industry,” the association said in the letter cited earlier. Eliminating the practice of smartphone makers giving exclusive models to ecommerce platforms is “imperative for the survival of domestic trade”, it said.The AIMRA also alleged that some unregistered retailers were resorting to the illegal practice of buying online-exclusive models in bulk, at discounted rates, during the online sales period, and reselling them later in the offline market at higher prices. It said that handset makers and etailers were aware of this practice, but again it did not name anyone in particular.Such retailers don’t pay the goods and services tax (GST), leading to revenue loss for the government, the association said in the letter.This, it said, was on top of the low GST that the government was getting on the low-priced smartphones that many manufacturers were offering by cutting down on distribution margins.

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आखिरकार हरीश साल्वे ने ली जाधव का केस लड़ने की फीस, सुषमा पर थे इतने रुपये बकाया

उन्होंने हेग स्थित अंतरराष्ट्रीय न्यायालय (आईसीजे) में पाकिस्तान की जेल में बंद पूर्व भारतीय नौसेना अधिकारी कुलभूषण जाधव मामले की सुनवाई के दौरान भारत का प्रतिनिधित्व करने की एवज में फीस के तौर पर केवल एक रुपया लेना स्वीकार किया था।

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संयुक्त राष्ट्र में भारत ने पाक को दिया करारा जवाब, कहा- इमरान की बोली हर बात झूठ

यूएनजीए में खान ने कश्मीर और भारत को लेकर जो गलत तस्वीर पेश की है उसका शनिवार को विदेश मंत्रालय की फर्स्ट सेक्रेटरी विदिशा मैत्रेय जवाब दे रही हैं।

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अमेरिका दौरा समाप्त कर पीएम मोदी स्वदेश के लिए रवाना, बोले- यात्रा बेहद सफल रही

प्रधानमंत्री नरेंद्र मोदी अपना अमेरिकी दौरा को पूरा कर स्वेदश के लिए रवाना हो चुका है। उन्होंने इस हफ्तेभर के दौरे को बेहद सफल बताया है।

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Bhagat Singh Birth Anniversary: 10 Stirring Quotes By Freedom Fighter

Bhagat Singh, the great socialist revolutionary of the Indian freedom movement, died at a young age of 23 but has left a strong mark of patriotism during his brief lifespan. Often referred as Shaheed...

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नौसेना के बेड़े में आज शामिल होगी पनडुब्बी खंडेरी, रक्षामंत्री राजनाथ सिंह दिखाएंगे हरी झंडी

रक्षा मंत्री राजनाथ सिंह मुंबई में आज नौसेना के लिए तीन परियोजनाओं का शुभारंभ करेंगे। वे स्कॉर्पियन क्लास की दूसरी पनडुब्बी आईएनएस खंडेरी को नौसेना में कमीशन करेंगे।

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टेक्सास में पहले भारतीय-अमेरिकी सिख पुलिस अधिकारी की गोली मारकर हत्या

अमेरिका के पहले पगड़ीधारी सिख पुलिस अधिकारी की शुक्रवार को टेक्सास के ह्यूस्टन नार्थ वेस्ट हैरिस काउंटी में ट्रैफिक रुकने के दौरान गोली मारकर हत्या कर दी गई।

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25 Android Apps Removed From Google Play Due to Adware: Symantec

Symantec says 25 malicious apps from over 22 developers were listed on Google Play

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DHFL offers to repay investors in full, but seeks nod for ICA

MUMBAI: Dewan Housing Finance Corporation (DHFL) has offered to repay investors in full without any haircut over a period of time but has sought their consent to a bank-led process called the Inter-Creditor Agreement (ICA).The company met representatives of non-bank institutional lenders and investors — including mutual funds, insurers, Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO), provident funds and offshore lenders — and tried to persuade them to accept the plan proposed by the banks. The mutual funds and other investors are wary of the plan and want a full and final payment immediately. The ICA, which has already been signed by lenders, involves a package aimed at reviving the indebted company.Kapil Wadhawan, chairman of DHFL, along with two senior executives, was present at the meeting. A detailed presentation on the resolution plan was made.71344484 Investors have two optionsDHFL has proposed to issue four sets of fresh debt securities collateralised to different assets as this will help them elongate maturities, three executives who participated in the meeting told ET. The assets include retail, builders’ loans, credit to Slum Rehabilitation Authority (SRA) projects and one other class, they said. Pass-through certificates (PTCs) are also proposed to be issued.For example, non-convertible debentures (NCDs) are collateralised against retail assets and are likely to yield interest payments every month. Performance-linked debentures (PLBs) would be offered mostly to unsecured investors and are directly linked to SRA projects. PLBs may pay nominal interest for the first two years but increase it in the following years.Unsecured creditors were also offered a 2.3% equity in the company. Those NCDs would be mostly of 10-year maturities offering rates in the range of 8.5-10%.“All such non-bank institutions are going back to their boardrooms to decide on the proposals as they have to come up with a decision within a month,” said one of the persons. Their nod is crucial for the ICA even though banks make up a majority of the debt. The ICA guidelines need approval of at least 75% of creditors by value and 60% by number. Most mutual funds could not sign the ICA as they did not comply with Sebi mandated side-pocketing or segregation of stressed assets from performing investments.The investors have two options: Either agree to such a proposal and be part of ICA or move Debt Recovery Tribunal (DRT). Catalyst, the custodian of DHFL bonds, has threatened to file a case in DRT acting on behalf of some of the investors. It has sought consent for ICA from all bondholders. Bankers said agreement of non-bank creditors to the resolution plan is important for any progress since it insulates them against any litigation in the future. “Banks have already made their point clear. We have agreed on a plan and signed the ICA but it is better if other creditors also come on board because we do not want litigation delays later. If the others do not approve this, then they will need to come up with another plan. Banks may have to approach the regulators to show us the way forward in case there is no agreement,” said a senior executive from a public sector bank who has been actively involved in the process.Banks have broadly divided this plan into two baskets. 60% are retail loans which are performing well and 40% wholesale loans to builders and SRA projects. The plan is to sell these 40% loans to distressed funds or private equity players. DHFL’s annual general meeting is slated for Saturday when this plan will most likely be put to vote.Other creditors are also aware of the situation. “The resolution plan is at an advanced stage. Any DRT filing would be tantamount to self-destruction as such cases take years to get resolved,” said a large institutional investor.In Friday’s meeting, DHFL is said to have offered to pay liquidation value right now to those willing to go to DRT. The company asked them to stay away from any legal action, which may upset the apple cart.Meanwhile, some retail investors, who subscribed to DHFL bonds through public sales, have written to the authorities including the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi), the Reserve Bank of India and the finance ministry seeking safety of their investment.State Bank of India has already approached Sebi, seeking a one-time exception for mutual funds over a rule on segregation of assets so that they could be part of a resolution plan for DHFL, ET reported on September 25.

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Accenture’s muted Europe growth bad news for Indian IT

BENGALURU: Accenture’s slower growth in Europe in its FY19 could impact leading Indian IT firms, analysts said, as it signalled weaker spending by the region’s banks.“We believe that continued revenue decline in European regions signals weak spending of European banks — higher risks to TCS given more penetration in Europe BFSI (Banking, Financial Services and Insurance),” Prabhudas Lilladher analyst Aniket Pande said in a note. “We remain cautious on overall demand environment and as US is entering elections with continued uncertainty around trade war, may create headwinds for tech spends of US BFSI,” he said.Tata Consultancy Services, India’s top IT services exporter, said earlier it would be hit by a restructuring at Deutsche Bank, a key client. “Demand environment remains sanguine. We continue believing that the industry will not materially de-grow from here, although there is some caution on BFS growth,” brokerage Motilal Oswal said.

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First Sikh Police Officer In US Shot Dead At Traffic Stop

An Indian-American Sikh police officer died after being shot multiple times from behind in a "ruthless, cold-blooded way" during a traffic stop in the US state of Texas, a senior official said...

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Spending on bread, protein-rich items fell in 2017-18

NEW DELHI: Indian households spent lesser on breads, cereals and pulses, milk and milk products, tobacco, communication and recreational activity and personal effects in 2017-18 compared with the previous fiscal, data released by the statistics office showed on Friday.As per the National Accounts Statistics 2019, the private final consumption expenditure (PFCE) on bread, cereals and pulses was Rs 4.8 lakh crore in 2017-18, down from Rs 5 lakh crore in FY17.Protein-rich products like milk, cheese and eggs too saw a decline in expenditure. The spends on milk, cheese and eggs fell 12% to Rs 3.7 lakh crore while that on milk and its products declined 14.6%.The decline in private spends in FY18 has continued to 2019-20 as shown by the sharp deceleration in pace of PFCE growth to 3.1%, an 18 quarter low in the first quarter of FY20. Private consumption had grown 7.2% in the trailing quarter.A recent Yes Bank report said that a range of lead indicators had pointed towards a continued moderation in consumption, as seen in a contraction in passenger vehicle and two wheeler sales, underscoring the weakness in rural demand.

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Amazon India set to meet sales target

BENGALURU|MUMBAI: Amazon’s India unit is on track to hit its internal sales target for the current year, with the ecommerce behemoth’s seller base clocking robust growth despite an overall slowdown in the economy, a top executive said.Amit Agarwal, global senior vice president and country head, Amazon India, said the rising number of crorepati sellers on its platform was an indicator of the company’s growth, a metric similar to same store sales tracked by the offline retail industry. Crorepati sellers are merchants who have been able to earn more than Rs 1 crore selling products on Amazon in a year.“I wouldn't say 2019 has been our fastest growing year ever, which would not be the case since we are growing in size every year...but we are growing much the same way we expected to. We don’t see any kind of negative impact. Also, ecommerce is really small, so I would be very hesitant to draw macro trends, as it constitutes 2% of the overall retail market," Agarwal said in an exclusive interview with ET.In the US, for instance, ecommerce will make up for more than 12% of overall retail sales by next year, as per market research firm Statista.Last week, Flipkart group CEO Kalyan Krishnamurthy had refuted multiple reports pointing to slower growth in the Indian ecommerce market in the first half of the year. The two big domestic online retail players are collectively expected to clock almost $4.8 billion in sales in the whole festive period, as per Forrester research.About 80% of the sales will occur in the first five days — the period in which Flipkart and Amazon will hold their Big Billion Days and Great Indian Festival events, respectively, it said. The sales estimate for the period is $3.82 billion, a 36% rise over the $2.9 billion registered during the same time last year.“We have pretty much met or exceeded our goals,” said Agarwal.

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Sonata Software likely to achieve secondary gains from Thomas Cook's fall

PUNE: Midsize IT firm Sonata Software could be an indirect beneficiary of the collapse of British travel operator Thomas Cook UK. TCUK’s closest competitor is TUI, a Frankfurt, Germany headquartered travel firm which is among Sonata’s top two clients, as per analysts tracking the firm.“While TUI has been directly impacted, Sonata could be a secondary beneficiary as this is likely to lead to an increased IT spend by TUI,” said Harit Shah, senior analyst, Reliance Securities.“Amid this, shares of TCUK competitor TUI Group have surged as much as 16% in two days, immediately post the news of the collapse breaking out, reflecting the possibility that the company – the largest leisure, travel and tourism company in the world – is likely to benefit from this development. This augurs well for Sonata Software albeit indirectly, for whom TUI is among top two clients,” Shah said in a note earlier this week.“TUI is likely to see increased profits as the company attempts to gain TCUK clients – and also short-term windfall profits as reports have emerged that TUI has substantially raised the cost of holidays for TCUK clients who are using it to find alternative flights for their travel plans,” he said. Sonata Software declined to comment on this as it needs prior approval from TUI to comment on client specific issues.Amit Chandra, assistant vice president at HDFC Securities, said, “I think the impact will not be immediate. It’s not right to assume that TUI will increase its outsourcing to Sonata in a big way.”

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लता मंगेशकर-रणबीर कपूर के जन्मदिन से अदनान सामी के ट्रोल तक, ये हैं बॉलीवुड की बड़ी खबरें

पढ़िये मनोरंजन जगत की बड़ी खबरें।

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तालिबान की धमकी और हिंसा के बीच अफगानिस्तान में राष्ट्रपति चुनाव आज

अमेरिका और तालिबान में शांति वार्ता टूटने के बाद बढ़ी हिंसा के बीच अफगानिस्तान में शनिवार को करीब 96 लाख मतदाता देश के नए राष्ट्रपति के चुनाव के लिए मतदान में भाग लेंगे।

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Flipkart, Amazon need to send thank you notes to TikTok

NEW DELHI: Flipkart and Amazon have a reason to thank the controversial TikTok. Popularity of the Chinese social media app, which lets people record short videos and post them online, has boosted sales of mobile phone tripods and accessories up to 10 times in a year.Tripods to prop up smartphones while recording videos and other products like mobile holders, connectors and on-the-go cables are selling like hot cakes across ecommerce platforms and retail stores in India as more and more people take to the video-sharing app to showcase their ‘talent.’Flipkart and Amazon told ET that they’ve seen a huge spike in product categories, with sales sky rocketing to anywhere between 300% and 10 times within a year. More interestingly, higher sales are emanating from small towns and cities said industry insiders, where people use apps like TikTok in the hope of becoming social media influencers, and in turn get money from advertisers to plug in their product in a bid to be seen by the large follower base. “The biggest killer app today is Tiktok, more so in rural markets.Short-duration video-sharing will become the biggest killer app in India, which is driving the sale of these value-added mobile phone accessories such as LED flashlights, tripods and stands,” said brand specialist Harish Bijoor. “Video sharing is value addition, and value addition has monetary benefit.71344376 The more the number of followers you have on your video sharing app, the better, and the more visual you share, the quicker you become an influencer, and then monetary benefits follow,” said Bijoor.Despite its popularity, TikTok has been in focus globally and in India on concerns of privacy violations, data security and being an easy vehicle for online bullying. The Prime Minister has directed the IT ministry to keep a close watch on the app.In a statement to ET, TikTok said it has over 200 million Indian users across tier I, II and III cities. India has some 500-550 million smartphone users currently.“TikTok has given people an avenue and a voice to showcase their talent and connect with like minded people. This spirit has led to a lot of creators to come forward, create content and showcase their passion, talent and skills amongst a varied audience, thereby carving an independent identity,” the company said.A number of factors have worked for TikTok’s popularity, which has spurred demand for its related accessories, as per market watchers. Indian carriers are giving rock bottom data tariffs and plans that give high speed data by the truckload. Second, the easy availability of the mobile phone accessories through online portals, which deliver to a higher number of pin codes today than previously. Third, a large pricing range – Rs 300-5,000 – which enables people of all classes to purchase these accessories.And lastly, the ability of making videos in local languages.“We have seen users exploring educational content on the platform. Users from the remotest labels, electronics and furniture.An Amazon India spokesperson told ET the platform has seen a 300% increase in unit sales of bestselling monopods from 2018 to 2019. “Another interesting product line with 200% increase in unit sales are smartphone gimbals,” gimbals are used for stabilising a camera or mobile phone camera while making a video on the go and can be priced between Rs 3,000 to Rs 30,000 apiece.

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