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Archives for October 2018

Modi government at war with Indians, imposing suffocating ideology: Rahul

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In a blistering attack on the Narendra Modi government, Congress President Rahul Gandhi on Friday said it has gone into a war with its own people imposing a single suffocating ideology on 1.3 billion Indians.

Delivering the keynote address at the Hindustan Times Leadership Summit 2018, here, Gandhi lashed out at the Bharatiya Janata Party regime saying it dislikes thinkers like journalist-activist Gauri Lankesh who was shot dead last year and others who are sacked merely for criticising the Prime Minister.

“What we see today in India is defaming, a maligning of the Indian imagination. The Indian government has gone into war with its own people because it wants to impose one ideology on 1.3 billion of us.

“It wants to impose one singular suffocating memory on our 1.3 billion people,” said Gandhi in his scathing criticism of the Modi rule.

“What is the nature of the war, farmers are committing suicide by the thousands. Economy is decimated, rupee is on its knees, petrol is at an all-time high, the stock market is imploded, 12 lakh crore in NPAs and the banking system is jammed shut. Unemployment is at a 20-year high.

“Unorganised sector has been decimated as a result of the demonetisation and extremely complex multilayered GST. Millions and millions of small and medium business have been wiped out. Public confidence is in tatters,” he said castigating the government’s policies.

He said peoples’ aspiration was turning into anger — Dalits and tribals agitating across the country and there are vicious attacks on the minorities.

“Our friends in the media are sacked because they criticised the Prime Minister, Gauri Lankesh is shot dead because of what she wrote.

“Fresh thinking is unwelcome, in fact, forget about fresh thinking they dislike thinkers — (former Reserve Bank of India Governor) Raghu Ram Rajan, (Nobel laureate) Amartya Sen…the list goes on.

Gandhi said “institutions are attacked, Supreme Court judges are compelled to go public because they feel intimidated and in the same breath they speak of Judge B.H. Loya (a CBI judge who died under mysterious circumstances in 2014), they speak of their fear”.

He said the sole qualification of choosing Vice Chancellors to lead the country’s top universities was that they subscribe to the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) ideology.

India today was “burning”, Gandhi said, while the government was only talking about its slogans like — Make in India and Clean India, which he said have translated into zilch.

“People in charge are convinced that they have a monopoly on knowledge, only they understand and no one else anything about India or the Indians’ dreams,” he said.

Reciting lines from Rabindranath Tagore’s “Where the mind is Without Fear”, Gandhi called upon people to reimagine the India where all Indians were free and not discriminated against.

IANS

London, Shanghai may face flood-hit future: UK charity

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As an Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report next week is expected to call for urgent cuts limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees, a study on Friday said world’s biggest coastal cities like London, Shanghai and Bangkok may face a flood-hit future.

The report published by Britain-based Christian Aid said some of the cities were set to become extremely vulnerable to storm surges and flooding.

Sea level rise was expected to exceed 40 cm if global warming is not limited to 1.5 degrees Celsius. With the world’s urban population expected to grow to 59 per cent by 2030, city dwellers would increasingly come under threat.

Author of the report Kat Kramer, Christian Aid’s Global Climate Lead, said: “Some of the world’s most famous cities are sinking under the waves as climate change drives up sea levels.”

“We’re starting to see what happens when climate change acts as a threat-multiplier, compounding poor development decisions.”

“We’re already at around one degree of warming and we are getting a picture of what happens if we exceed 1.5 degrees. The world is currently on track for more than three degrees of warming, which would have disastrous consequences for the millions of people living in these coastal cities,” Kramer said.

“It’s vital that governments heed the findings of the IPCC and agree to increase their Paris Agreement pledges.

“These global metropolises may look strong and stable but it is a mirage. As sea levels rise, they are increasingly under threat…,” she said in a statement.

The cities featured in the ‘Sinking Cities, Rising Seas’ report include Jakarta, Houston, London, Shanghai, Lagos, Manila, Dhaka and Bangkok.

IANS

Pakistan asks India to share data of J&K’s Kishanganga dam

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Pakistan has asked India to immediately share the data showing inflow and discharge of water at the Kishanganga hydropower project in Jammu and Kashmir, a media report said on Friday.

It has also sought dates for inspection of the 330MW hydroelectric project that India had agreed to during a two-day meeting held in August in Lahore between Indus water commissioners of the two countries.

“We recently asked Indian authorities for Indus waters in writing to give us dates for inspection of the Kishanganga dam as soon as possible,” Pakistan’s Commissioner for Indus Waters Syed Muhammad Mehr Ali Shah told Dawn news on Thursday.

“Through a letter, we have also pressed Indian authorities to immediately share the data concerning flows of water at the river and releases/discharges, in/outflows at the dam with us under the relevant provisions of the Indus Water Treaty.

“We are receiving water at Jhelum basin in our territory, but to ascertain our need or requirement we need data India is obligated to share with us time to time,” he added.

During the 115th meeting of the Permanent Commi­ssion for Indus Waters, India had agreed to allow Pakistan to inspect the projects built on the Jhelum basin, including Kishanganga hydroelectric project, in the near future.

Similarly, Islamabad had agreed to allow New Delhi to carry out inspection of the Kotri barrage over the Indus.

Besides Kishanganga, India had also agreed to let Pakistani experts inspect sites of two hydro­power projects – 1,000MW Pakal Dul and 48MW Lower Kalnal at Chenab basin – by the end of September.

But the inspections were postponed.

Shah told Dawn that Pakistani authorities wanted to have a detailed tour of the Kishanganga project since Pakistan had already raised various objections on its design and construction.

The project was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on May 19 in Jammu and Kashmir’s Bandipora district.

Islamabad has accused New Delhi of violating the Indus Waters Treaty — a 1960 water distribution pact between India and Pakistan — by setting up the dam.

The Kishanganga project was delayed for several years as Pakistan dragged India to the International Court of Arbitration, which ruled in India’s favour in 2013.

IANS

Equity indices open in red; Sensex down 280 points

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The key domestic equity indices opened in the red on Friday, as the S&P BSE Sensex dropped nearly 280 points and the NSE Nifty50 traded below the 10,600-mark.

Index-wise, the Sensex opened at 35,097.99 points from its previous close of 35,169.16 points on Thursday.

At 9.20 a.m., it traded at 34,887.23 points down by 281.93 points or 0.80 per cent.

Similarly, the Nifty50 of the National Stock Exchange (NSE) opened at 10,514.10 points after closing at 10,599.25 points. It traded at 10,530.45 points during the morning trade session, down 68.80 points and 0.65 per cent.

IANS

Trump administration asks Google to shun China Search project

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US Vice President Mike Pence has called on Google to end its censored Chinese Search engine the “Dragonfly” project.

According to a Wall Street Journal report, Pence in a speech on Thursday said American companies must reconsider turning over intellectual property as they expand in China.

Google’s modified search engine — codenamed “Dragonfly” — would “strengthen Communist Party censorship and compromise the privacy of Chinese customers,” Pence said.

The news about Google’s plan to build a censored search engine in China broke in August when The Intercept reported that the search platform would blacklist “sensitive queries” about topics including politics, free speech, democracy, human rights and peaceful protest, triggering internal protests among some Google employees.

Two weeks after that report, Google CEO Sundar Pichai told the company’s employees that the China plan was in its “early stages” and “exploratory”.

Google operated its services in China until 2010.

Pichai is scheduled to testify before the House Judiciary Committee in November to allay concerns over privacy issues and the tech giant’s entry into the Chinese market.

He confirmed the November schedule during a private meeting with GOP lawmakers on Capitol Hill in September.

“We remain committed to continuing an active dialogue with members from both sides of the aisle, working proactively with Congress on a variety of issues, explaining how our products help millions of American consumers and businesses, and answering questions as they arise,” Pichai had then said in a statement.

IANS

5.3-magnitude quake hits Japan

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An earthquake measuring 5.3 on the Richter scale struck Japan’s Hokkaido prefecture on Friday, the Japan Meteorological Agency said.

There were no immediate reports of injury or damage. No tsunami warning was issued, Xinhua reported.

The temblor has an epicentre at a latitude of 42.6 degrees north and a longitude of 142.0 degrees east at a depth of 30 km.

The quake logged lower 5 in parts of Hokkaido prefecture on the Japanese seismic intensity scale which peaks at 7.

KCR colluded with BJP to target me, says Chandrababu Naidu

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Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu on Thursday alleged that TRS chief K. Chandrasekhar Rao, actor-politician Pawan Kalyan and YSR Congress leader Jaganmohan Reddy have colluded with the BJP to target him.

With Telangana’s acting Chief Minister and Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) chief Chandrasekhar Rao continuing his bitter attack on Naidu, calling him a “thief and betrayer”, the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) president accused Rao of colluding with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

Naidu was talking to reporters on the sidelines of inauguration of a facility by Xiaomi and Dixon Technologies to manufacture Mi LED TVs in this temple town.

The TDP chief, however, said he would not respond to personal attacks by KCR. “I speak on ideologies and policies. I never resort to personal attacks,” he said when asked to react to KCR’s bitter attacks on him during election meetings in Telangana.

With KCR also targeting Naidu for TDP’s alliance with the Congress in Telangana, Naidu said the party took the step due to political compulsions. The TDP president, however, ruled out similar arrangement with the Congress in Andhra Pradesh, saying the latter does not have much presence in the state.

Indirectly defending the alliance with the Congress in Telangana, Naidu recalled that the United Front, of which he was the Convener, had taken the Congress party’s outside support to form the government at the Centre.

Claiming that he developed Hyderabad as the information technology hub when he was the Chief Minister of undivided Andhra Pradesh, Naidu said he did it for Telugu people. He pointed out even KCR and his family members admitted that the credit of developing Hyderabad goes to him.

Naidu alleged that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had hatched a conspiracy to target him and the TDP. He said Modi was using central agencies against him. Stating that he was not afraid of anybody, Naidu said he had clean record and credibility in his 40-year-long political career.

The TDP leader said Modi was trying to tarnish established political leaders and demolish established institutions. He condemned what he called attempts by the Centre to take over the affairs of Tirupati temple.

Naidu predicted that an alternative will emerge to the BJP-led government at the Centre. Such an alternative was necessary to undo the injustice done to people of the country, especially the people of Andhra Pradesh, by the Modi government, he said.

Naidu, whose TDP pulled out of the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) in March this year, said BJP had done more injustice to Andhra Pradesh than the Congress which bifurcated the state.

“You have not given the special status which you had promised in 2014,” he said and accused Modi of also going back on the promise to implement Andhra Pradesh Bifurcation Act.

The TDP chief also slammed the Modi government over “Rafale scam”, saying Bofors was small compared to this.

He alleged that people have lost faith in the banking system as those who committed bank frauds fled the country. He also targeted the Centre for rising fuel prices, devaluation of rupees, its failure to achieve anything from demonetisation and improper implementation of the Goods and Services Tax.

IANS

Assessing IL&FS financial situation, searching viable solutions: Kotak

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 The new Board of debt-stricken IL&FS is in the process of assessing the company’s financial situation and is deliberating on various viable solutions to restore solvency, a Board member said on Thursday, even as Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said the government is determined to ensure that the company’s insolvency issue is contained quickly to prevent further adverse impact.

Addressing the media, after the new Board’s first meeting here on Thursday, Uday Kotak, MD & CEO of Kotak Mahindra Bank, who has been appointed as the Non-Executive Chairman of the company by the Central government, said all options are being looked at to salvage the financial position of IL&FS.

He further said that the Board will meet again to decide on the best way to implement the roadmap laid out by the NCLT (National Company Law Tribunal).

“This is a process which is under NCLT process, which is a process independent of…at this stage, in terms of having more detailed discussion with the shareholders…..we will be talking to the shareholders at an appropriate time.”

Without ruling out options like sale of assets and rights issues, Kotak refuted comparisons being made between IL&FS and the IT major Satyam that went bust nearly a decade ago.

“This is a very complex company…one has to keep that in mind and it is a financial market intermediary but also in the real world space. Therefore there are significant financial market challenges which make it a little different from directly comparing with the Satyam situation,” he said.

The meeting comes days after the Central government superseded the management of the beleaguered company via a NCLT order and appointed a six-member board led by Kotak to restore its financial solvency.

Key public sector lenders and undertakings such as LIC and SBI have a 25.34 per cent and 6.42 per cent stake, respectively, in the firm which has around Rs 91,000 crore in long-term debt.

As per some industry estimates, the company has an urgent liquidity requirement of around Rs 5,000 crore.

Lately, the credit crunch has led a few of the company’s subsidiaries to default in servicing some of the inter-corporate deposits.

Subsequent to defaults, rating agency ICRA downgraded the ratings of its short-term and long-term borrowing programmes.

Earlier on Thursday, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley told reporters in New Delhi that there had been “significant impact” on the capital market on account of the contagion effect of the IL&FS problem which had prompted the government to replace the Board.

“The government is determined to make sure that since this is an internal factor to India, this should be contained quickly so that no adverse impact of it is left,” he said.

IL&FS Ltd is a core investment company and serves as the holding company of the IL&FS Group, with most business operations domiciled in separate companies which form an ecosystem of expertise across infrastructure, finance and social and environmental services.

Initially promoted by the Central Bank of India (CBI), Housing Development Finance Corporation Ltd and the Unit Trust of India, IL&FS was incorporated in 1987.

Over the years, it has inducted institutional shareholders including SBI, LIC, ORIX Corp of Japan and Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA).

As on March 31, 2018, LIC and ORIX Corp are the largest shareholders in IL&FS with their stakeholding at 25.34 per cent and 23.54 per cent, respectively. Other prominent shareholders include ADIA (12.56 per cent), HDFC (9.02 per cent), CBI (7.67 per cent) and SBI (6.42 per cent).

IANS

Bengaluru Deputy Mayor Ramila dies of heart attack

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 Bengaluru’s new Deputy Mayor Ramila Umashankar died following a massive heart attack early on Friday, said an official. She was 44.

“Ramila died after a massive cardiac arrest around 12.50 a.m. at a private hospital in the city,” Bengaluru civic corporation official L. Suresh told IANS.

She is survived by her husband, a son and a daughter.

The ruling Janata Dal-Secular (JD-S) counsellor from Kaveriapura was elected on September 28.

“Ramila’s husband (Umashankar) rushed her to the hospital after she complained of chest pain and difficulty in breathing,” Suresh said.

The Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) declared a holiday for its offices, schools and civic wards across the city. Hospitals and markets though would remain open.

Karnataka Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy, former Prime Minister and JD-S supremo H.D. Deve Gowda and Bengaluru Mayor Gangambike Mallikarjun have mourned Ramila’s death and expressed condolence to her bereaved family, among many others.

IANS

Banks collect Rs 3,000 crore as fine for no minimum balance

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Public sector banks (PSBs) collected Rs 3,551 crore as charges from saving bank account holders for failure to maintain the required minimum balance.

Over Rs 11,500 crore collected in last four years by all banks
Banks continue to harvest a windfall at the cost of those who don’t have resources to maintain prescribed minimum balance in their accounts.

As high profile borrowers dumped almost Rs 10 lakh crore worth non performing assets (NPAs) in 2017-18, public sector banks (PSBs) collected Rs 3,551 crore as charges from saving bank account holders for failure to maintain the required minimum balance.

These charges are collected primarily to recover a part of the cost incurred on servicing the accounts.

An official in the Ministry of Finance said that in last four years (2014-15 to 2017-18), 21 PSBs and three private sector banks (ICICI Bank, Axis Bank and HDFC Bank ) collected over Rs 11,500 crore from customers who did not maintain a minimum balance in their savings accounts.

The largest lender in India, State Bank of India (SBI), alone collected almost Rs 2,500 crore in 2017-18. Among the private players, HDFC Bank charged customers nearly Rs 600 crore for not maintaining minimum balance.

Now, the banks want to end a negative perception which has been building since the practice of penalties was launched after the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) issued a circular on July 1, 2015 that empowered banks to fix services charges on various services rendered by them.

Since then, banks have been charging different penalties for the same default. SBI savings account holder who failed to maintain minimum balance is charged between Rs 5 and Rs 15 (plus GST) for various levels of shortfall. SBI customers are compulsorily required to maintain an average monthly balance of Rs 3,000 in metro cities while in semi urban cities the minimum level is Rs 2,000 and Rs 1,000 in rural areas.

The customers of private banks like HDFC Bank are required to maintain an average monthly balance of Rs 10,000 in urban cities, Rs 5,000 in semi-urban cities and Rs 2500 in rural areas.

The banks have now changed gears. With interest rates on saving deposits dipping and instruments like mutual funds out performing, the percentage growth in bank deposits has reduced. As a result, cash availability with banks has been declining. The heads of government banks had recently met in Delhi to set targets to raise the liquidity available with banks by attracting more people to make bank deposits.

 

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