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Softbank exits Paytm at loss of around USD 150 mn

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New Delhi: Japan’s Softbank investment arm Softbank Vision Fund exited from Paytm in the June quarter at a loss of around USD 150 million, sources aware of the development said.

Softbank invested about USD 1.5 billion in One97 Communications — the owner of Paytm brand — in tranches in 2017.

“Softbank has exited Paytm at a loss of 10-12 per cent. The total loss is around USD 150 million,” one of the sources said.

Softbank held around 18.5 per cent stake in Paytm before the company’s initial public offering (IPO) in 2021. It held a 17.3 per cent stake through SVF India Holdings (Cayman) Ltd and 1.2 per cent through SVF Panther (Cayman) Ltd.

SVF Panther sold its entire stake during the IPO for Rs 1,689 crore, about USD 225 million.

“Softbank announced that it will exit Paytm in 24 months from the time of the IPO. The exit was in line with Softbank’s plan. However, the company did anticipate loss at that time,” another source said.

Softbank had acquired Paytm shares at an average price of about Rs 800 apiece.

Paytm share price was listed at Rs 1,955, lower by 9 per cent, and has not matched its issue price of Rs 2,150 apiece to date.

The share price of Paytm plummeted further after the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) banned its associate firm Paytm Payments Bank Ltd (PPBL) from carrying out transactions. It touched an all-time low of Rs 310 on May 9.

Paytm reported widening of losses to Rs 550 crore in the fourth quarter of 2023-24 following the ban on transactions related to its payments bank.

The company during the reported quarter wrote off Rs 227 crore investment for a 39 per cent stake in PPBL following future uncertainties associated with its business operations, including the uncertainty of any other regulatory development, etc.

For the year ended March 31, 2024, the company’s loss narrowed to Rs 1,422.4 crore. Paytm had recorded a loss of Rs 1,776.5 crore in FY23.

Billionaire Warren Buffet’s Berkshire Hathaway Inc also exited Paytm around seven months back by selling shares at a lower-than-acquired price.

The company had acquired 2.6 per cent stake in Paytm for Rs 1,279.7 per share at an aggregate value of Rs 2,179 crore, as per an official document.

The shares were disposed of at an average price of Rs 877.29 apiece, taking the transaction value to Rs 1,370.63 crore in November.

Paytm’s shares closed at Rs 467.25 apiece on Friday.

DDA postpones demolition drive in Majnu Ka Tila

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DDA postpones demolition drive in Majnu Ka Tila
Debris of illegal structures razed to the ground during a demolition drive, at Khyber Pass

New Delhi, Jul 13: The Delhi Development Authority (DDA) has deferred the demolition drive on the Yamnua flood plain near the Majnu Ka Tila gurdwara, sources said on Saturday.

According to a senior police officer, a demolition drive was conducted at Khyber Pass near Civil Lines to remove encroachment on Saturday.

Some temporary structures which were illegally made on the lands of Land and Development Office were demolished, police said.

Dharamveer Solanki, a Pakistani refugee who lives in Majnu Ka Tila area, said the demolition party was yet to reach his area.

“The DDA are yet to reach Majnu ka Tila. They have started the demolition near Vidhan Sabha area,” Solanki said.

The DDA had in a public notice on Thursday said it will undertake a demolition drive in the area on July 13 and 14.

People in Majnu Ka Tila, where there is a sizable population of Pakistani Hindus, said they received the notice from the land owning agency late Thursday evening asking them to vacate the area by Friday.

The notice referred to the National Green Tribunal’s April 3 order and the Delhi High Court’s March 12 order behind the move.

“In the compliance of order, it is proposed to organise a demolition drive against the encroachment in the river Yamuna flood plain area near south of Gurudwara Majnu Ka Tila (Western Bank) on Saturday and Sunday,” the DDA notice read.

The affected families can take temporary harbour at Delhi Urban Shelter Improvement Board (DUSIB) shelters, it had said.

“Hence, the residents of the area are hereby requested to vacate the area by July 12 otherwise they will be self-responsible for any loss due to demolition drive against the encroachment on July 13 or later,” the notice stated.

In its April 3 order, the NGT had said that the status report filed by the DDA did not disclose any substantial effective steps by the agency for removing the encroachment from the area.

The NGT asked the agency to file a compliance report at least one week before the next date of hearing, which is July 15, by e-mail.

Ahead of the Lok Sabha polls, some refugees living in Majnu Ka Tila were given citizenship certificates under the Citizenship Amendment Act.

4th T20I: Yashasvi Jaiswal’s unbeaten 93 guides India to series-clinching win

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Harare: Yashasvi Jaiswal’s flair was complemented by skipper Shubman Gill’s poise as young Indian team cantered to a 10-wicket victory over Zimbabwe in the fourth T20 International, taking an unassailable 3-1 lead in the five-match series.

This is the second time that India beat Zimbabwe by 10 wickets after a similar-margin win at the same venue in 2016.

Jaiswal and Gill’s approach was in complete contrast as the Mumbai southpaw went hammer and tongs during his unbeaten 93-run knock while the skipper (58 not out) was ready to play the second fiddle in a chase of 153 which was completed in 15.2 overs.

The target was made to look way easier than it should have been on a track that had good bounce and carry.

Jaiswal, who had to sit out during the T20 World Cup campaign hardly looked rusty, playing shots all around the wicket.

The thumping bowler’s back-drive off rival skipper Sikandar Raza was delightful and equally stylish was the pick-up pull off Richard Ngarava for a six.

The lack of pace in Zimbabwean attack on a good wicket became home team’s undoing as the dominant Jaiswal had reached his half-century with nine boundaries when the skipper was yet to reach 15.

There was no way that Zimbabwe could have stopped the run-feast as towards the end, the bigger interest was whether the two flag bearers of Indian batting into the next decade could reach their individual milestones of half-century and century.

It was Gill, who got his fifty and that didn’t leave Jaiswal with enough runs to complete his hundred.

Earlier India’s part-time bowlers Shivam Dube and Abhishek Sharma performed commendably in the middle overs to restrict Zimbabwe to a manageable 152 for seven after being put into bat by Gill.

Raza smashed 46 off 28 balls but India’s fifth bowler Abhishek (1/20 in 3 overs) and sixth option Dube (1/11 in 2 overs) produced a decent effort to keep the proceedings under control.

They removed the dangerous-looking opening duo of Wesley Madhevere (25 off 24 balls) and Tadiwanashe Marumani (32 off 31 balls) to put brakes in the middle overs.

However Raza with three sixes and two fours was the reason that Zimbabwe reached 150-plus target with almost all the Indian bowlers, save leg-spinner Ravi Bishnoi, entering their names in the wickets column. Medium fast bowler Tushar Deshpande (1/30 in 3 overs) was handed a debut cap but in his first spell he flattered to deceive, either pitching it too full or bowling too short.

More often than not he drifted on the pads allowing both openers Madhevere and Marumani to pick up easy boundaries.

Deshpande would feel good that he could get rid of Raza with a slower delivery in the slog overs to prevent Zimbabwe from surpassing 170 which would have been par on this track.

Zimbabwe’s best opening stand for the series in the first three games was 9 but Madhevere and Marumani added 63 in a solid stand even if it was not exactly spectacular.

However once the opening stand was broken by left-arm spinner Abhishek, who forced Marumani to mistime a pull-shot into Rinku Singh’s hands, Zimbabwe couldn’t press home advantage they had gained.

Madhevere was accounted for by Dube as he couldn’t get the required elevation and distance to a short ball. Rinku at deep mid-wicket completed formality.

Brian Bennett (9 off 14 balls), who was brilliant with the bat in the second game failed to get going before Washington sent him back. This was after Dube and Abhishek bowled wicket to wicket and kept a check on scoring.

Congress will rectify mistakes of Lok Sabha elections: Deputy CM DK Shivakumar

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Congress will rectify mistakes of Lok Sabha elections: Deputy CM DK Shivakumar
Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar

Bengaluru Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar on Thursday said the Congress party would evaluate and rectify the mistakes it committed in the Lok Sabha elections in the state.

He said the exercise is aimed at taking on the BJP-JDS combine.

Speaking to reporters at the KPCC office, Shivakumar, who is also the Congress state president, said the party increased its tally from one seat in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections to nine in 2024, but that fell short of the expectation of at least 14 to 15 seats.

“The performance will be evaluated by the party in the presence of the AICC fact-finding committee. This process is taking place across the country. We are sharing our reports for the four geographical regions of the state. We will discuss and find out the shortcomings,” Shivakumar said.

The deputy chief minister said though the party fielded good candidates in the recent Lok Sabha elections, it did not translate into favourable results.

“We need to understand the subtle factors which have influenced the results. We knew BJP-JDS combine had an advantage. We will prepare ourselves to fight with them in the future elections,” he added.

MUDA scam: BJP to hold mega protest in home district of CM on July 12 demands his resignation

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MUDA ''scam'': BJP to hold "mega" protest in home district of CM on July 12, demands his resignation

Bengaluru: Karnataka BJP will be holding a “mega” protest in Mysuru on July 12 in connection with an alleged fraudulent allotment of sites to land losers by Mysuru Urban Development Authority (MUDA), which involves plots given to Chief Minister Siddaramaiah’s wife Parvathi, its president B Y Vijayendra said on Wednesday, and demanded the CM’s resignation.

The protesters will demand allocation of sites to the poor by withdrawing those distributed illegally, and a CBI probe into the “scam” as the allegations are against the Chief Minister and his family, he said, adding that the BJP will also raise the issue during the coming Assembly session.

It is alleged that compensatory sites were allotted to Siddaramaiah’s wife in an upmarket area in Mysuru, which had higher property value as compared to the location of her land which had been “acquired” by the MUDA.

The MUDA had allotted plots to Parvathi under a 50:50 ratio scheme in lieu of 3.16 acres of her land, where MUDA developed a residential layout.

The controversial scheme envisages allotting 50 per cent of developed land to the land loser in lieu of undeveloped land acquired for forming layouts.

Speaking about the alleged MUDA “scam”, Vijayendra accused the Chief Minister of giving wrong information to the public. “The CM’s true face has come out in the open.”

“At every stage in this land scam, irregularities have been committed, ” he alleged. “The Chief Minister has to answer to the people and should take the responsibility for the scam….the CM, who promised Rs 2,000 (a month) to poor women, has given 14 sites worth more than Rs two crore each, together worth about Rs 63-64 crore to his wife.”

“If there is any CM in the country, who committed irregularities during his term and sought compensation from his own government, it is Siddaramaiah,” Vijayendra added.

Vijayendra noted that 14 sites that were given to Parvathi by MUDA are said to be in accordance with land acquisition act 1991 as per records. But he pointed out that according to the act, if the land that has been acquired is between three to four acres, only two sites of 40×60 square feet measurement should be given in lieu of the land acquired.

“So, the CM’s wife should have got only two sites of 40×60 (square feet) measurement. Which means, 14 sites that have been given are completely in violation of rules,” he said, alleging “misinformation” on the part of the CM by claiming that his wife received sites which were worth only Rs 18 crore, while she was supposed to have received compensatory sites worth more than Rs 62 crore.

The guidelines value of 14 sites that have been given to CM’s wife by MUDA as on today is Rs 3,000 per sqft, while the market value is more than Rs 9,000 per sqft, he claimed.

Vijayendra also alleged that Siddaramaiah has not mentioned this over three acres of land belonging to his wife in his 2013 Assembly election affidavit, which is a clear case of violation of Model Code of Conduct and Representation of the People Act.

“We are discussing complaining to the Election Commission about this,” he added.

Alleging that Urban Development Minister B S Suresha (Byrathi Suresha) rushed to Mysuru, the home district of Siddaramaiah, hurriedly called a MUDA meeting as the scam came to the fore, and transferred officials instead of punishing them, the state BJP chief said, “more than Rs 5,000 crore worth sites have been allotted to influential people. The Minister is trying to protect officials involved in the scam.”

The Deputy Commissioner of Mysuru district, who inquired about the MUDA scam and submitted a report to the government, has been transferred, he said, alleging that the Minister has tried to cover up the scam, and has himself carried all the relevant files from MUDA office in Mysuru to Bengaluru.

Palestinian flag waved during UP procession man arrested

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Palestinian flag waved during UP procession, man arrested

Bhadohi (UP): A man was arrested after a video of the Palestinian flag in a procession taken out after the sighting of the Muharram moon here went viral, police said on Tuesday.

SHO in-charge of the Aurai police station Sachchidanand Pandey said some youths took out a procession on the National Highway in the Madhosingh area on Sunday night allegedly without permission, during which they waved a Palestinian flag and shouted slogans.

The SHO said that after a video of the incident went viral on Monday, Sahil alias Badshah and Gorakh were identified in the investigation. A case has been registered under BNS section 197 (2) and Sahil was arrested on Monday night, police said.

He said the police is searching for other accused Gorakh, adding that efforts are on to nab others on the basis of the video.

SC reserves verdict on PIL alleging rise in child marriages in country

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SC reserves verdict on PIL alleging rise in child marriages in country

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Wednesday reserved its judgement on a PIL of an NGO which alleged a rise in child marriages in the country and non-implementation of the relevant statute in “letter and spirit”.

A bench comprising Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud and justices J B Pardiwala and Manoj Misra heard submissions from the counsel of the petitioner, ‘Society for Enlightenment and Voluntary Action’, and Additional Solicitor General Aishwarya Bhati, appearing for the Centre, before reserving the verdict.

The Centre claimed there was a significant decrease in child marriages in the country.

Earlier, the top court had directed the Ministry of Women and Child Development to file a status report detailing steps taken by it to execute the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act.

BMW crash case: Shiv Sena sacks key accused Mihir Shah’s father Rajesh Shah as party’s deputy leader

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Mumbai: Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, who heads the Shiv Sena, on Wednesday sacked Rajesh Shah, whose son Mihir Shah was allegedly involved in the BMW hit-and-run, as the party’s deputy leader.

A one-line notice by Shiv Sena secretary Sanjay More said Rajesh Shah has been relieved from the post of the party’s deputy leader.

Shah, however, continues to be a member of the Shiv Sena.

A BMW car driven by Mihir Shah allegedly rammed into a two-wheeler in the Worli area of south-central Mumbai on Sunday morning, resulting in the death of Kaveri Nakhwa (45), who was riding pillion, while her husband Pradeep survived with injuries, police have said.

According to them, Kaveri Nakhwa was dragged for around 1.5 km by the speeding car before Mihir pulled it over, swapped the seat with his driver, and fled in another vehicle. The driver allegedly ran over her while reversing the BMW.

Mihir Shah was arrested on Tuesday.

Assembly bypoll: Clash in Uttarakhand’s Manglaur leaves several injured

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Assembly bypoll: Clash in Uttarakhand's Manglaur leaves several injured

Manglaur: A clash between two groups during the by-election in Uttarakhand’s Manglaur has resulted in several injuries. The Manglaur bypoll was necessitated by the death of sitting BSP MLA Sarwat Karim Ansari in October last year.

Congress candidate Qazi Nizamuddin alleged that miscreants were openly firing, calling it a “murder of Democracy.” He claimed that there were no ambulances or measures to assist the injured.

Other videos also surfaced on X claiming that Muslims were allegedly attacked with sticks before voting.

SP Rural Swapan Kishore Singh, however, stated that the situation was under control and voting was proceeding peacefully. He confirmed that a police force was deployed and there was no confirmation of gunfire.

Voting is currently underway in the Manglaur and Badrinath assembly constituencies, running from 8 am to 6 pm. In Manglaur, the BSP has nominated Ubedur Rehman, son of the late MLA Sarwat Karim Ansari. He faces Congress candidate Qazi Nizamuddin and BJP’s Kartar Singh Bhadana, a prominent Gujjar leader.

In Badrinath, the seat became vacant after Congress MLA Rajendra Bhandari resigned and joined the BJP. The contest involves BJP’s Rajendra Bhandari, Congress newcomer Lakhpat Singh Butola, former CRPF officer Himmat Singh of the Sainik Samaj Party, and journalist Naval Khali as an Independent candidate.

The vote counting for the bypolls is scheduled for July 13.

Rahul Dravid refuses BCCI’s extra ₹2.5 cr bonus over rest of his support staff for T20 WC victory

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Rahul Dravid refuses BCCI's extra ₹2.5 cr bonus over rest of his support staff for T20 WC victory

New Delhi: Rahul Dravid, the outgoing head coach of the Indian cricket team, refused an additional ₹2.5 crore as bonus from the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI). Dravid opted to take home only ₹2.5 crore, the same amount as the rest of his support staff.

“Rahul wanted the same bonus money (₹2.5 crore) as the rest of his support staff (bowling coach Paras Mhambrey, fielding coach T Dilip, and batting coach Vikram Rathore). We respect his sentiments,” a BCCI source stated.

According to the BCCI’s distribution formula, each of the 15 playing members of India’s T20 World Cup-winning squad and Dravid were to receive ₹5 crore from the ₹125 crore prize money. The support staff were allocated ₹2.5 crore each, while the selectors and the traveling members of the squad were set to receive ₹1 crore each.

This is not the first time Dravid has upheld such principles. In 2018, as head coach of India’s U-19 World Cup-winning team, he rejected a proposed bonus distribution that would have given him ₹50 lakh while awarding ₹20 lakh each to the support staff and ₹30 lakh each to the players. Dravid insisted on equal bonuses for everyone, resulting in a revised award of ₹25 lakh for each coaching staff member, including himself.

Dravid’s tenure as head coach has been marked by consistency in selection and a deep connection with the players. Despite not winning a World Cup as a player, he achieved the milestone as a head coach with India’s T20 World Cup victory. His humility and leadership were evident when players, including captain Rohit Sharma and senior player Virat Kohli, celebrated Dravid’s contribution.

Rohit Sharma, who convinced Dravid to stay on for the T20 World Cup following India’s loss in the ODI World Cup finals last year, praised Dravid’s impact. “You are an absolute stalwart of this game, but you left all of your accolades and achievements at the door and walked in as our coach and came on a level where we all felt comfortable enough to say just about anything to you,” Rohit wrote on Tuesday.

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