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India’s GDP may see double-digit contraction in FY21: Ratings agencies

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FY21 GDP Of Many States To See Double Digit Contraction - India Infra Hub

On Tuesday agencies including Goldman Sachs, Fitch Ratings and India Ratings downgraded their growth estimates, now expecting GDP to contract in the double-digits. 

NEW DELHI:  After India’s worse-than-expected GDP performance in the first quarter—tanking by 23.9 per cent—global ratings agencies have revised their forecasts for the current fiscal year.

On Tuesday agencies including Goldman Sachs, Fitch Ratings and India Ratings downgraded their growth estimates, now expecting GDP to contract in the double-digits. 

Investment bank Goldman Sachs said it expects Indian economy to undergo a deeper recession in FY21 with a contraction of 14.8 per cent, worse than its earlier estimate of 11.8 per cent.

“We now forecast Q3 2020, and Q4 2020 at GDP growth of -13.7 per cent yoy and -9.8 per cent yoy, respectively. Our estimates imply that real GDP falls by 11.1 per cent in calendar year 2020, and by 14.8 per cent in FY21,” the investment bank said in a research note.

However, Goldman Sachs added that it expects a bounce back next year in the June quarter due to favorable base effects.

Fitch Ratings too lowered its forecast for the current fiscal 2020-21, expecting GDP to contract by 10.5 per cent against its earlier estimate of contraction of 5 per cent.

“The severe fall in activity has damaged household and corporate incomes and balance sheets, amid limited fiscal support. A looming deterioration in asset quality in the financial sector will hold back credit provision amid weak bank capital buffers. Furthermore, high inflation has added strains to household income,” Fitch said.

Other forecasters such as Nomura, India Ratings, HSBC have also lowered India’s growth projection.
India Ratings, the Indian subsidiary of Fitch, predicts a sharper fall of 11.8 per cent in India’s real GDP and says recovery will be visible only by third quarter of FY 22.

“Only in the third quarter of FY22, will India’s nominal GDP be bigger than that in Q4 FY20—a loss of nearly two years,” said Devendra Pant, chief economist at India Ratings.

He added that the loss of a tenth in the nominal GDP will result in poor revenue collections, and considerably enlarge the fiscal deficit, which the agency pegs at 8.2 percent of GDP for FY 21. 

Other major ratings agencies have also revised India’s growth forecast downward. Nomura now expects India’s GDP to contract by 9.0 per cent YoY in 2020 against it’s early prediction of 5 per cent, and by 10.8 per cent in FY21 against the earlier forecast of 6.1 per cent.

Sushant Singh Rajput case: Rhea Chakraborty shifted from NCB office to Byculla jail

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The NCB had told the court that she was an “active member” of a drugs syndicate and procured drugs for Rajput, her boyfriend.

MUMBAI: A day after the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) arrested her, Rhea Chakraborty was on Wednesday shifted from the anti-drug agency’s office in south Mumbai to the Byculla jail here.

Shortly after her arrest on Tuesday in a drugs case linked to her boyfriend and actor Sushant Singh Rajput’s death, she was sent in judicial custody till September 22 by a local court.

On Wednesday, she stepped out of the NCB office at 10.15 am after spending the night there and was taken to the Byculla jail by the agency officials.

The court had rejected her bail application.

The NCB had told the court that she was an “active member” of a drugs syndicate and procured drugs for Rajput, her boyfriend.

The NCB, however, said it did not want her custody as it had already questioned her for three days.

Immediately after her arrest, the 28-year-old Rhea was taken for medical tests including COVID-19 test to the civic- run Sion hospital in Central Mumbai.

At the hospital, her antigen test for COVID-19 came out negative, officials said.

She was then taken to the NCB office in south Mumbai around 7.15 pm, and produced before the court through video-conference.

when she was arrested, the 28-year-old waved at media personnel as she came out of the NCB office in south Mumbai.

The message found an echo in Bollywood with celebrities such as Sonam Kapoor, Taapsee Pannu, Vidya Balan, Anurag Kashyap, Shabana Azmi, Farhan Akhtar, Zoya Akhtar and others sharing the quote on their Instagram in a show of solidarity with the actor.

Directors Hansal Mehta, Anubhav Sinha, Alankrita Shrivastava and writer Atika Chohan were among those who reacted sharply to her arrest.

Actors Swara Bhasker, Dia Mirza and Richa Chadha also came out in her support.

Sinha, the director of films such as ‘Mulk’ and ‘Article 15’, simply asked mediapersons to “resign” and seek different employment avenues.

“If you still feel like a journalist, RESIGN. You won’t die of hunger. You will discover new friends, opportunities and avenues,” the director said in a scathing tweet.

‘Aligarh’ director Hansal Mehta was equally distressed.

“Not abetment of suicide, not money laundering, not murder? Now I know why marijuana is not legalised in India yet,” he said.

Chohan, co-writer of “Chhapaak”, said the actor was being “incriminated” for the life choices of Rajput, her boyfriend.

“He engaged in drugs and suffered from mental illness. Why is this so difficult to accept. Why is a woman incriminated and called names for an adult man’s life choice,” she tweeted.

In an acerbic tweet, Shrivastava said, “Excellent job, India! Enjoy the burning of the witch. And while we are at it we may as well get Sati back.”

“And no, lets not lift a finger to stem any crimes against women. Lets dance wildly and applaud the fire,” added the director of ‘Lipstick Under My Burkha’.

“Sacred Games” star Kubbra Sait said Chakraborty may have been arrested but she is “still not a murderer”.

“May the universe give the parents of Rhea the strength through this devastating time. Arrested by NCB. Still not a murderer. #MediaCircus I wonder your conversations over your shaam ki chai (evening tea)” she said.

Hours before Chakraborty’s arrest, producer Pritish Nandy pointed out how all the other charges against her had failed.

“All charges against Rhea have failed. Murder? No evidence. Abetment to murder? She wasn’t there. Stealing Rs 15 crore? Sushant never got the money. What remains is drugs. None found on her. She’s ready for a test. Who was it for? Obvious, na?#justiceforSushant #JusticeForRhea,” Nandy tweeted.

He said if one wanted to find out “what killed” Rajput, they need to go back to the original charges.

“Harassment, humiliation in public, bullying. There are people in Bollywood who constantly ridiculed him. In this @kangna_official is right. You cannot survive Bollywood with a fragile mind,” Nandy added.

Actor-comic Vir Das tweeted, “Reminder. Abuse legal drugs. Like power.”

Bidita Bag, an actor and model, wrote, “Rhea arrested. Now please can we concentrate on real issues that our country is facing?. #JaiHind.”

TV actor Kritika kamra called out the media for peddling “bloodlust”.

“The media has successfully pushed us into a bottomless pit of bloodlust and hate. We’re so far down in it that we see nothing, hear nothing, feel nothing,” she wrote on Twitter.

Not all reactions were critical of Chakraborty’s arrest that followed days of her being literally mobbed by camera crews and others.

Actor Ankita Lokhande, Rajput’s former girlfriend and “Pavitra Rishta” co-star, said “justice” has been served.

“Nothing happens by chance, by fate. You create your own fate by your actions. That’s karma,” she shared a post on Twitter.

Rajput’s sister Shweta Singh Kirti tweeted, “#GodIsWithUs” after Chakraborty’s arrest. Actor Shekhar Suman also hailed Chakraborty’s arrest, saying, “You sow so you shall reap.”

BJP leader and singer Manoj Tiwari used the same words in his response.

“What you sow, so shall you reap! Today’s arrest teaches us that nobody can escape the consequences of wrongdoings! My prayers for the truth to unfold soon,” he said on the social media platform.

Chakraborty has in recent TV interviews denied that she consumed drugs.

Apart from the drugs case, she is facing an abetment of suicide case in connection with Rajput’s death which the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) is probing, and a related money laundering case being probed by the Enforcement Directorate (ED).

Rajput’s father who accused Chakraborty of abetting his son’s suicide had also claimed that she siphoned Rs 15 crore from his son’s bank accounts.

The ED launched a probe into this aspect.

The NCB began a probe after Chakraborty’s mobile phone chats allegedly revealed that she used to consume drugs.

The NCB has also arrested her brother Showik Chakraborty and Rajput’s manager Samuel Miranda on drug supply charges.

AstraZeneca pauses Oxford COVID-19 vaccine trial after volunteer’s unexplained illness

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AstraZeneca is one of nine companies currently in late-stage Phase 3 trials for their vaccine candidates. In the US, the company began enrolling 30,000 volunteers across dozens of sites on August 31.

WASHINGTON: Pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca said Tuesday it had “voluntarily paused” a randomized clinical trial of its coronavirus vaccine in what it called a routine action after a volunteer developed an unexplained illness.

The company, which is developing the drug alongside the University of Oxford, is a frontrunner in the global race for a vaccine. 

“As part of the ongoing randomized, controlled global trials of the Oxford coronavirus vaccine, our standard review process was triggered and we voluntarily paused vaccination to allow review of safety data by an independent committee. This is a routine action which has to happen whenever there is a potentially unexplained illness in one of the trials, while it is investigated, ensuring we maintain the integrity of the trials,” a spokesperson said.

It added that in large trials, illnesses will sometimes happen by chance but must be reviewed independently.

“We are working to expedite the review of the single event to minimise any potential impact on the trial timeline,” the spokesperson added.

It was not immediately clear where the patient was, or the nature and severity of their illness. Holds during clinical trials are not uncommon, but this is thought to be the first time it has happened for a COVID-19 vaccine trial.

AstraZeneca is one of nine companies currently in late-stage Phase 3 trials for their vaccine candidates. In the US, the company began enrolling 30,000 volunteers across dozens of sites on August 31. 

The vaccine, called AZD1222, uses a weakened version of a common cold causing adenovirus that has been engineered to code for the spike protein that the novel coronavirus uses to invade cells.

After vaccination, this protein is produced inside the human body, which primes the immune system to attack the coronavirus if the person is later infected.

89,706 new cases, 1,115 deaths in last 24 hours take India tally past 43 lakh mark

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The total case tally stands at 43,70,129 including 8,97,394 active cases, 33,98,845 cured/discharged/migrated & 73,890 deaths, as per the latest Ministry of Health data.

Delhi Metro’s Blue Line and Pink Line resumed operations on Wednesday after being closed for 171 days due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

On Monday, the Delhi Metro had resumed services on its Yellow Line, with curtailed operations and a slew of measures for safety of passengers and employees.

Meanwhile, there was no respite for India in terms of rise in daily COVID-19 cases as the country registred a spike of 89,706 new cases and 1,115 deaths in the last 24 hours, taking country’s tally beyond 43 lakh mark.

The total case tally stands at 43,70,129 including 8,97,394 active cases, 33,98,845 cured/discharged/migrated & 73,890 deaths, as per the latest Ministry of Health data.

World now paying more attention to India, says PM Narendra Modi

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PM Narendra Modi also added that the Indian media needs to go global too.

NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday called for inculcating the habit of reading books among the new generation, saying it is imperative in this age of text, tweet and “Google guru” that they are not weaned away from gaining serious knowledge.

Inaugurating Patrika Gate in Jaipur and releasing two books authored by Patrika Group Chairman Gulab Kothari through a video conference, Modi also asserted that the voice of India along with Indian products is becoming more global with the country now enjoying stronger presence at world bodies.

The world is now listening to India with more attention, he said.

The Indian media, he added, needs to go global too.

The media, the prime minister said, has served people in an “unprecedented way” by spreading awareness on the coronavirus pandemic and by analysing government works and pointing out their shortcomings.

Though the media is also criticised at times, more so in this age of social media, but everybody needs to learn from criticism, he said, adding this is what makes India’s democracy strong.

Vodafone Idea unveils new integrated brand identity ‘Vi’

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‘The brand integration not only marks the completion of the largest telecom merger in the world, but will also set the company on its future journey,’ said CEO Takkar.

VIL, which had about 280 million subscribers as of June, said that Vodafone and Idea brands will now be called ‘Vi’.

“A brand with its eyes set on the future, it is built for and around customers. The integration of two brands is a culmination of the largest telecom integration in the world,” VIL said in a statement communicating its new unified consumer brand identity and positioning through a virtual launch on Monday.

Elaborating on the new brand, Ravinder Takkar, MD and CEO, Vodafone Idea said, “Vodafone Idea came together as a merged entity two years ago. We have, since then focussed on integrating two large networks, our people and processes.”

The brand integration not only marks the completion of the largest telecom merger in the world, but will also set the company on its future journey to offer strong digital experiences to 1 billion Indians on its 4G network, he said.

“VIL is now leaner and agile, and the deployment of many principles of 5G architecture has helped us transform into a future-fit, digital network for the changing customer needs.”

“The new brand launch signifies our desire to not just deliver, but delight our customers, stakeholders, communities and our employees and signals our passion and commitment to be a Champion for Digital India,” Takkar added.

The announcement comes close on heels of Vodafone Idea board, last week, approving fund-raising plans of up to Rs 25,000 crore through a combination of equity and debt instruments, to keep the company afloat.

The upcoming fundraising will offer a lifeline to cash-strapped VIL, which has suffered massive losses, has been losing subscribers and Average Revenue Per User (ARPU), and faces outstanding Adjusted Gross revenue (AGR) dues of about Rs 50,000 crore.

In the recent past there have been reports suggesting that Verizon and Amazon may invest over USD 4 billion into the company, although Vodafone Idea itself clarified last week that while it constantly evaluates various opportunities as part of corporate strategy, there is no such proposal currently before the Board.

Earlier this month, the Supreme Court directed telecom operators to pay 10 per cent of total AGR-related dues this year, and rest of the payments in 10 instalments starting from next fiscal year.

Fund infusion is critical for cash-strapped VIL, the third largest operator in the fiercely-competitive Indian telecom market where Jio’s entry in 2016, with free calls and cheap data pushed some rivals to exit, acquire, or merge to stay afloat.

Jio Platforms — the unit that houses India’s youngest but largest telecom firm Jio and apps — recently secured Rs 1,52,056 crore from 13 investors including Facebook, Google, General Atlantic, Intel Capital and Qualcomm Ventures.

Notably, Vodafone Idea’s overall AGR dues stood at over Rs 58,000 crore, of which the company has paid Rs 7,854 crore to the Department of Telecom so far.

The statutory dues arose after the Supreme Court, in October last year, upheld the government’s position on including revenue from non-core businesses in calculating the annual AGR of telecom companies, a share of which is paid as licence and spectrum fee to the exchequer.

VIL has been under severe financial pressure, and analysts had earlier cautioned that the company’s longer-term viability was under cloud.

In December, Vodafone Idea Chairman Kumar Mangalam Birla had said VIL may have to shut if there is no relief on statutory dues.

The company had reported a staggering Rs 73,878 crore of net loss for fiscal ended March 2020 – the highest ever by any Indian firm – after it provisioned for Supreme Court mandated statutory dues.

It reported net loss to Rs 25,460 crore for the June quarter after making additional provisions to pay past statutory dues, and had, at that point, said its ability to continue as going concern hinges on the Supreme Court allowing more time to pay dues.

The apex court has rejected the demand for a 20-year time for telcos to clear a combined Rs 1.

6 lakh crore in past dues, but allowed the liability to be cleared in 10 years.

Besides payment of AGR dues, VIL’s fund-raising will be important given that 5G is on the horizon, and industry will require the firepower for making substantial investments into bidding for spectrum and network rollout.

Saved a number of lives during COVID-19 pandemic: Xi Jinping praises China, WHO

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The coronavirus was first detected in the central city of Wuhan late last year, and the US and others have alleged the outbreak spread out of control because China withheld information about it.

Chinese President Xi Jinping

BEIJING: Chinese leader Xi Jinping on Tuesday praised China’s role in battling the coronavirus pandemic and expressed support for the World Health Organisation, in a repudiation of US criticism and a bid to rally domestic support for Communist Party leadership.

Xi told a televised assembly at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing that China’s battle against COVID-19 demonstrated the strengths of its socialist system and traditional Chinese culture in stirring motivation, building consensus and pooling resources.

“We are willing to do whatever it takes to protect people’s lives!” Xi told participants, most of whom wore masks and exercised social distancing.

The coronavirus was first detected in the central city of Wuhan late last year, and the US and others have alleged the outbreak spread out of control because China withheld information about it.

China says it acted swiftly and responsibly but has rejected calls for an independent investigation into its handling of the emergency.

China has also been a key supporter of the WHO against accusations, mainly from the US, that the organisation is too “China-centric” in its orientation.

Washington is in the process of withdrawing from the UN health agency, to which it still owes back dues.

Xi said China would continue to support the WHO in playing a “leading role in the global fight against the COVID-19 pandemic.”

“All selfishness, scapegoating and confusing right and wrong will not only hurt a country and its people, but harm people of all countries,” Xi said.

China itself had “helped save a great number of lives from COVID-19 around the world with concrete actions,” Xi said, pointing to the export of 209,000 ventilators, 1.4 billion protective suits and 151.5 billion masks.

China also sent medical staff to assist a handful of countries.

During the meeting, Xi also conferred the Medal of the Republic, China’s highest civilian award, on famed respiratory disease expert Zhong Nanshan, honouring his work in battling both COVID-19 and SARS, a disease caused by a related virus that occurred in 2002-03.

Zhang Boli, a specialist in combining traditional Chinese and Western medicine in treating COVID-19, Zhang Dingyu, head of Wuhan’s designated coronavirus-treating Jinyintan Hospital, and Chen Wei, a military medical scientist who who worked on treatment and a vaccine, also received the People’s Hero award for their work.

China has not reported any COVID-19 illnesses from local transmission in more than three weeks, with all of the new cases detected in that time among travellers from abroad.

China has reported a total of 4,634 deaths from 85,144 cases of COVID-19.

Telugu actor Jayaprakash Reddy passes away at 74; Andhra CM, Naidu express grief

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The veteran actor, who had been living in Guntur since lockdown, collapsed in the bathroom due to a heart attack.

Telugu actor Jayaprakash Reddy

GUNTUR: Telugu cinema and theatre actor Jayaprakash Reddy (74) passed away in Vidhya Nagar, Guntur due to heart attack on Tuesday. Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister’s office (CMO) issued a statement condoling the loss of the versatile actor.

“Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister YS Jaganmohan Reddy has expressed grief over the death of popular character artiste Sri Jayaprakash Reddy, who created a special place for himself in film-land through his inimitable dialogue delivery and mannerisms. The Chief Minister conveyed his condolences to the bereaved family members,” said the statement.

Telugu Desam Party (TDP) chief N Chandrababu Naidu also expressed grief over the demise of the 74-year-old actor.”

“Telugu cinema and theatre have lost a gem today with the demise of Jayaprakash Reddy Garu. His versatile performances over several decades have given us many a memorable cinematic moments. My heart goes out to his family and friends in this hour of grief,” Naidu wrote on Twitter.

IMA scam: CBI charges two govt officials

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Vijayshankar reportedly committed suicide in June even before the government could grant sanction to the CBI to prosecute him in the IMA scam.

I Monetary Advisory, IMA scam

BENGALURU: The CBI has submitted a charge-sheet against former sub-divisional officer (Bengaluru – North) L C Nagaraj and former village accountant N Manjunath in the `4,000-crore I Monetary Advisory (IMA) Ponzi scheme scam, before the special CBI court in the city, said official sources.

Nagaraj and the late DC of Bengaluru Urban B M Vijayshankar were nominated as the competent authority under Karnataka Protection of Interest of Depositors in Financial Establishments Act to probe the complaints against the IMA group. Vijayshankar reportedly committed suicide in June even before the government could grant sanction to the CBI to prosecute him in the IMA scam.

The CBI said Nagaraj had allegedly taken `4.5 crore from IMA director Mohammad Mansoor Khan to give him a clean chit, whereas Manjunath had reportedly taken a bribe of `10 lakh to fix a meeting between them.

PGI Rohtak to start phase-2 trial of Bharat Biotech’s Covid-19 vaccine

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Dr Vinod K Paul said that Bharat Biotech’s vaccine candidate based on inactivated virus procured by ICMR and Zydus Cadila’s candidate based on viral DNA are two Indian vaccines in second phase trial.

'COVAXIN' was developed and manufactured at the company's Bio-safety Level-III high containment facility at Genome Valley.

ROHTAK: Post Graduate Institute (PGI) Rohtak will start the phase-2 human clinical trial of Bharat Biotech’s COVID-19 vaccine.

Speaking to ANI, Dr OP Kalra, vice-chancellor, PGI Rohtak said, “We got permission from Bharat Biotech to start a phase-2 human clinical trial of their vaccine. We’ve 300 volunteers, aged between 12 years and 65- years, out of which screening of 15 has been completed.”

“We hope to get vaccine dosages by tomorrow morning,” added Kalra.

Recently, Niti Aayog member Dr Vinod K Paul said that Bharat Biotech’s vaccine candidate based on inactivated virus procured by ICMR and Zydus Cadila’s candidate based on viral DNA are two Indian COVID-19 vaccines in second phase trial.

“In India, Bharat Biotech’s vaccine candidate based on inactivated virus procured by ICMR is in the Phase II trial along with Zydus Cadila’s candidate which is based on viral DNA. The Oxford vaccine candidate developed by Serum Institute of India is already in Phase III trial in Maharashtra and some other States,” he said.

The total coronavirus cases in the country reached 42,04,614 including 8,82,542 active cases, 32,50,429 cured/discharged/migrated and 71,642 deaths, as per the data from the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. 

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