Month: September 2021

India hits out at China; rejects fresh allegations against it over eastern Ladakh standoff

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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India on Thursday hit out at China for attempting to blame it for the eastern Ladakh standoff, asserting that the “provocative” behaviour and “unilateral” attempts by the Chinese military to alter the status quo along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in the region seriously disturbed peace and tranquillity in the region. External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said China continues to deploy a large number of troops and armaments in the border areas and it was in response to Chinese actions that Indian armed forces had to make appropriate counter deployments.

He said China’s allegations have “no basis in facts” and that it is India’s expectation that the Chinese side will work towards an early resolution of the remaining issues while fully abiding by bilateral agreements and protocols. India’s reaction came in response to China’s fresh allegation that the “root cause” of the tensions between the two countries was New Delhi following a “forward policy” and “illegally” encroaching Chinese territory.

Replying to a media query on China’s allegations, Bagchi said India has already made its position clear on the matter a few days back and rejected such statements that have “no basis in facts”. “It was the amassing of large number of troops by the Chinese side, their provocative behaviour and unilateral attempts to alter status quo in contravention of all our bilateral agreements that resulted in serious disturbance of peace and tranquillity along the LAC in eastern Ladakh,” he said. “China continues to deploy large number of troops and armaments in the border areas. It was in response to Chinese actions, that our armed forces had to make appropriate counter deployments in these areas to ensure that India’s security interests are fully protected,” he said. He also referred to External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar’s message to his Chinese counterpart in a meeting in Dushanbe earlier this month.

“As emphasised by the external affairs minister in his meeting with Chinese foreign minister earlier this month, it is our expectation that the Chinese side will work towards early resolution of the remaining issues along the LAC in eastern Ladakh while fully abiding by bilateral agreements and protocols,” Bagchi said.

A Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson on Wednesday accused India of following a “forward policy”. “India has long been following the forward policy and illegally encroached upon China’s territory across the border,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying told a media briefing while replying to a question on reports of India deploying artillery guns in eastern Ladakh.

Also Read: AUKUS submarine deal could fast-track China military modernisation: Experts

“This is the root cause of the tensions,” Hua said. Since the border standoff last year, India has been holding China’s provocative actions responsible for triggering it.

The border standoff between the Indian and Chinese militaries erupted on May 5 last year in eastern Ladakh following a violent clash in the Pangong Lake area. Both sides gradually enhanced their deployment by rushing in tens of thousands of soldiers as well as heavy weaponry. As a result of a series of military and diplomatic talks, the two sides completed the disengagement process in the Gogra area last month.

Also Read: China holding night battle drills near Ladakh, training soldiers for high-altitude combat: Report

In February, the two sides completed the withdrawal of troops and weapons from the north and south banks of the Pangong Lake in line with an agreement on disengagement. Each side currently has around 50,000 to 60,000 troops along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in the sensitive sector.

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Delhi govt extends 20% reduction in circle rates till December 31

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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In a boost to the real estate sector, the Delhi government on Thursday decided to extend the 20 percent rebate in circle rates for three months till December 31, with chief minister Arvind Kejriwal saying his dispensation will keep supporting Delhiites on every front.

The rebate scheme was launched in February this year amid the COVID-19 pandemic and was to end on September 30, officials said.

Announcing the decision on Twitter, Kejriwal said, “The 20% rebate in circle rates will continue. We will not let anything trouble Delhi people during this pandemic. We will stand with Delhi people at every front and every step.” Delhi revenue minister Kailash Gahlot also said that the government will help the public in all times of need.

Also Read: Delhi announces new power tariff, rates unchanged but bill may go up marginally

“With the city slowly recovering from the aftermath of COVID, here’s another good news for Delhiites !!! We have further extended the 20% slash in Circle rates till 31st Dec 21. Under CM Arvind Kejriwal ji, Delhi govt will support public in all times of need, Gahlot tweeted.

Government officials said that the scheme to reduce circle rates by 20 percent was introduced by the AAP dispensation in February this year to revive the real estate sector which has been severely hit by the pandemic.

According to revenue department officials, properties in Delhi are categorised into eight classes from ‘A’ to ‘H’, with posh areas falling under ‘A’ and the least developed areas in the ‘H’ category. In this scheme, the existing circle rate of land in ‘A’ category areas — Rs 7.74 lakh per square metre — will go down to Rs 6.19 lakh per square metre, officials said.

Also Read: Private liquor vends in Delhi to shut for over a month from October 1

In the ‘H’ category, the circle rate will be reduced from Rs 23,280 to Rs 18,624 per square metre after a rebate of 20 percent, officials added. Officials said the move will help in giving a boost to the economy.

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

KV Kamath says govt’s asset monetisation program completes economic picture

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Veteran banker K V Kamath on Thursday said Narendra Modi government’s asset monetisation program is doable and it completes the economic picture.

In an interview with CNBC-TV18‘s Latha Venkatesh, Kamath, former chairman of ICICI Bank said, “The challenge in all these years in Indian industry has been the completion risk of a project. In asset monetisation, the government is saying there are completed projects which we built but the private sector can manage them better and ultimately the asset will revert back to the government. In most of the sectors that have been identified, there are ready to go assets that can be monetised.”

“I saw a paper that said roughly 50 percent of assets are absolutely ready to go assets. So that gives you a platform to get these assets off and then in course of time the balance can go in,” he added.

Also Read: Citi expects 15 bps reverse repo hike in October 8 RBI monetary policy

Further, he said digitalisation is the key to solve the succession process in India, “20 years ago, people who had lost their dear ones would come to the bank and really be searching for a solution for the process of succession. There have been improvements since then but even now I felt that a lot more needs to be done.”

Also, he launched an initiative to help investor families and financial advisors based on specific challenges, such as processes related to the transfer of assets on the death of an investor. The initiative is being launched under the Association of Registered Investment Advisers (ARIA).

Watch video for more.

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Mumbai schools to reopen for classes 8 to 12 from October 4; check guidelines

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) on Thursday issued a detailed Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) as schools in Mumbai are set to resume classes for standard 8 to 12 from October 4, 2021.

The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) recently suggested phased reopening of schools with the proper implementation of multi-layered COVID-19 mitigation measures.

The ICMR study observed that school closures in India for more than 500 days have affected over 320 million children as per the UNESCO report.

Another survey has found that students missed out on social interactions, lacked physical activity and had a sense of loosening the bonds of friendship due to prolonged school closures.

Here’re the guidelines issued by BMC:

• A student can attend school only with the parent’s consent and attendance is not compulsory.
• If any student has symptoms such as fever, cold, shortness of breath, redness of eyes, swelling of fingers, hands and joints, vomiting, diarrhoea and abdominal pain, then she or he should be taken to a healthcare facility immediately.
• All the teachers and other staff must have been vaccinated before a school starts.
• Thermal scanning of each student should be done daily at the time of entering the school.

Also Read: COVID-19 – 30 medical students of Mumbai civic hospital test positive

• If any student or staff-member is found to have contracted coronavirus infection, the school should be closed, and the building should be disinfected.
• Masks are mandatory for everyone all the time.
• Air conditioning should not be used in classrooms and if it is needed, the temperature should be maintained above 24 degrees Celsius.
• Windows and doors should be kept clean and fully open.
• Assembly, gatherings, annual day functions and other similar events which may lead to large gatherings of students should not be organised.
• Only one student should be seated on a desk bench. If possible, students should have fixed places to sit daily.

Also Read – COVID-19 vaccine shots won’t last a lifetime, say experts; here’s why

• A class can have a maximum of fifteen to twenty students at a time. If the number of students in a class is more than 20, students can be called in two sessions.
• The duration of the actual class should not exceed three to four hours, and there should not be any lunch break.
• Students should be instructed to submit homework online, and teachers should ensure that there is no exchange of books.
• Social distancing should also be maintained in school buses or other vehicles ferrying students.

Also Read: Is reopening of schools amid COVID-19 a sound decision? Here’s what students, parents say

(With inputs from PTI)

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Maruti Suzuki expects adverse impact on production amid semiconductor shortage

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Maruti Suzuki India on Thursday said it expects an adverse impact on production at its two plants in Haryana and parent Suzuki’s Gujarat plant in October on account of supply constraint of electronic components due to semiconductor shortage. While terming the situation as “quite dynamic”, the company in a regulatory filing said, “It is currently estimated that the total vehicle production volume across both locations could be around 60 percent of normal production.”

“Owing to a supply constraint of electronic components due to the semiconductor shortage situation, the company is expecting an adverse impact on vehicle production in the month of October 2021 in both Haryana (plants) and its contract manufacturing company, Suzuki Motor Gujarat Pvt Ltd (SMG) (plant) in Gujarat,” the filing said.

Also Read: Maruti, Tata Motors, Ashok Leyland top analysts’ playbook as Street pins hopes on monthly sales, festive season

The company’s production capacity at Gurgaon and Manesar plants in Haryana is around 15 lakh units per annum. SMG Gujarat, which supplies vehicles exclusively to MSI, has an additional installed production capacity of 7.5 lakh units per annum.

The company had earlier said its vehicle production in September would be just 40 percent of its normal output due to the shortage of semiconductor chips.

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Centre postpones paddy buying in Punjab, Haryana till October 11 due to rains

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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The Centre on Thursday postponed procurement of kharif paddy in Punjab and Haryana till October 11 as the crop maturity is delayed owing to recent heavy rains. Paddy procurement for 2021-22 kharif marketing season in Punjab was to commence from October 1, while in Haryana it officially started from September 25.

The procurement operation is undertaken by the central government’s nodal agency Food Corporation of India (FCI) along with state agencies. “It has been reported that due to recent heavy downpour in Punjab and Haryana, the maturity of paddy has been delayed,” Union Food Ministry said in a statement.

Keeping in view the interest of farmers and to avoid any inconvenience to them, the ministry has decided that the procurement of paddy under the minimum support price would commence from October 11 in these two states, it said. All the agencies have been directed to take necessary action to undertake procurement of paddy with the effect from October 11 in Punjab and Haryana, it added.

The Centre has fixed minimum support price (MSP) of Rs 1,960 per quintal for grade ‘A’ paddy, while Rs 1,940 per quintal for common grade paddy for 2021-22 kharif marketing season. Punjab is a major contributor to the central pool as on an average over 100 lakh tonne of rice is procured from this state. From Haryana, less than 45 lakh tonne of rice is purchased during a kharif marketing season.

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Funding Rundown: Ola Electric gets $200 million funding from Softbank, Unacademy infuses $20 million in Relevel & BP leads $25 million funding round in BluSmart

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Ola Electric gets $200 million funding at $3 billion valuation

Ola Electric has raised over $200 million in a funding round, led by Falcon Edge, Softbank and others. The latest funding round took the company’s valuation to $3 billion. As per the company, the current round will help it accelerate the development of other vehicle platforms including electric motorbike, mass-market scooter and its electric car.

“I thank our existing investors and welcome new ones to Ola. Together we will bring mobility to a billion and sustainability to the future,” Ola founder and CEO Bhavish Aggarwal said. “We are proud to lead the EV revolution from India to the world. India has the talent and the capability to build technologies of the future for the industries of the future for the entire world,” Aggarwal added.

The latest funding, the company said, will further strengthen Ola’s “Mission Electric”, urging the industry and consumers to commit to electric and ensure that no petrol two-wheelers should be sold in India after 2025. The announcement of the fundraising comes after Ola sold electric scooters worth Rs 1,100 crore during the two days that the purchase window was open.

Edtech unicorn Unacademy infuses $20 million in its job portal Relevel

Job hiring platform Relevel on Thursday announced it has raised $20 million from its parent edtech company Unacademy. The fundraise comes within four months of the launch of Relevel, on the back of strong traction witnessed in user growth, hiring company partnerships, and placement rate, the company said in a statement. The capital will be used for scaling up the Relevel team, strengthening the platform and expanding the suite of tests to improve the variety of job offerings, the company added.

Also Read: Facebook-backed Meesho raises $570 mn funding, valuation more than doubles to $4.9 bn

Relevel is a hiring platform that empowers job-seekers to showcase their skills through tests and get their dream job within 15 days. The platform currently has over 2.35 lakh users and claims to have 100 percent placement rate of users who have qualified in the tests. Last month Unacademy closed a Series H round of $440 million at a valuation of $3.44 billion. Unacademy, at present, has over 50,000 registered educators and more than 62 million learners. The startup offers learnings in 14 languages across 5,000 cities.

InnoVen Capital India Fund announces first close at Rs 740 crore

Venture debt firm InnoVen Capital has raised Rs 740 crore ($100 million) towards the first close of its new fund. The target corpus of the fund is Rs 1,000 crore, with a green-shoe option to raise an additional Rs 1,000 crore, the firm said in a statement. The anchor investor for the fund is Innoven Capital, a joint venture of Seviora (Temasek) and United Overseas Bank.

While the fund is stage and sector agnostic, the primary focus will be on sectors such as consumer internet, B2B commerce, enterprise software, fintech, healthtech and logistics, the firm said. InnoVen has executed over 250 transactions with more than 180 startups. Since 2017, it has disbursed approximately $400 million.

Also Read: Sebi rolls out ‘swing pricing mechanism’ for open-ended debt funds; here’s what it means for investors?

According to the firm, its portfolio companies have raised over $20 billion of external capital and are now valued at over $70 billion. Some of its portfolio companies include Byju’s, Swiggy, Oyo Hotels & Homes, Eruditus, DailyHunt, PharmEasy, Infra.Market, Zetwerk, Moglix, FirstCry, BharatPe, boAT, Licious, Blackbuck, Rebel Foods and OfBusiness.

BP leads $25 million funding round in EV ride-hailing startup BluSmart

BP Ventures has made its first direct investment in India by pumping in $13 million in integrated EV ride-hailing and charging company BluSmart. It led a $25 million Series A round that also saw support from Mayfield India Fund, 9Unicorns and Survam Partners, alongside other existing investors. “BluSmart will use the capital to expand its fleet of electric vehicles and charging stations from its home city of Delhi to five additional Indian cities in the next two years,” the company said.

Sophia Nadur, managing partner at BP Ventures, will join BluSmart’s board. To date, BP Ventures has invested almost $800 million in more than 60 companies across seven geographies. BP Ventures was set up more than 10 years ago to identify and invest in private, high growth, game-changing technology companies, accelerating innovation across the entire energy spectrum.

Also Read: Swiggy to see valuation touch $10 billion with new round of funding in competition with Zomato

“The investment will help BP move towards becoming a leader in India’s mobility market, and to provide integrated energy and mobility solutions to help customers reduce their emissions across the world,” the company said. BluSmart is India’s first and largest integrated EV ride-hailing and charging company, and aims to deliver safer, cleaner and more sustainable mobility.

Loop Health secures $12 million in Series A funding

Health insurance startup Loop Health has raised $12 million in Series A funding in a round co-led by Elevation Capital and General Catalyst. Joining the two firms is Vinod Khosla, through Khosla Ventures, YC Continuity Fund, Tribe Capital and a group of angel investors, including NoBroker founder and CEO Amit Kumar Agarwal, Livspace founder and COO Ramakant Sharma, Meesho co-founders Vidit Aatrey and Sanjeev Barnwal, Carbon Health co-founder and CEO Eren Bali, Codecademy co-founder and CEO Zach Sims and Maven Clinic founder and CEO Kate Ryder.

The company said it will use the fresh funds to scale the business and sales, focus on product development through custom insurance products (including wellness) and physical healthcare clinics, and drive strategic hiring, mainly in the sales and engineering verticals. The startup claims it has witnessed significant growth, insuring 50,000+ members across 150 companies in the last 12 months and growing 50 percent month-over-month. Loop targets covering one million members by the end of 2022 and five million members across Southeast Asia in the next five years.

9Unicorns and Varanium NexGen invests $7 million in Homeville

Homeville, a housing fintech startup, has raised $7 million in a round led by 9Unicorns and Varanium NexGen Fund. JITO Angel Network, CREDAI Members Network, Blacksoil and Earlsfield Capital and others have also participated in the round.

Also Read: Skit raises $23 million funding, plans foray into US, South-East Asia

According to the startup, the funds will be used to further strengthen its technology infrastructure and scaling the mortgage platforms serving millennial home buyers as well as homebuyers in the affordable segment. The platforms serve the consumer housing credit demand and build the credit rails for institutional capital to flow seamlessly to retail credit assets linked to housing.

Crypto treasury startup Coinshift raises $2.5 million

Crypto treasury management platform Coinshift has raised $2.5 million in a seed round from Sequoia Capital India, Weekend Fund, and others, as well as angel investors such as Polygon co-founder and COO Sandeep Nailwal. The startup helps businesses and decentralised autonomous organisations (DAO’s) manage their crypto easily.

“We have processed $14 million in payouts till date and are growing 200 percent MoM. Our customers include ConsenSys, Balancer Grants, Uniswap Grants, Biconomy and 120 others with $200 million in treasury assets,” said Tarun Gupta, Founder, CoinShift. With over $90 billion sitting in crypto treasuries, Coinshift plans to help teams diversify treasuries efficiently by building asset management with a built-in risk assessment. The crypto startup’s long-term goal is to be a go-to software for businesses to manage all crypto treasury operations.

Upskilling platform Cusmat raises $100K from We Founder Circle & others

Upskilling platform CUSMAT has raised $100,000 in its pre-Series A round led by We Founder Circle. Venture Catalyst, Better Inc, and MapMyIndia have also participated in the round. The funding proceeds will be used to ramp up the enterprise sales team, in product development, training content and to develop industry-driven features for the platform, said the company.

Also Read: Flexi-cap funds see rush of investors; Check and compare their recent performance

CUSMAT is a skilling and training platform that enables organizations to onboard, assess, train, upskill, plan learning tracks for the employees to maximize retention rates, and on the job performance by using its AR/VR, cloud-based learning management system. Since its inception in 2016, the startup claims to provide standardized training solutions to maximize productivity by 30-40 percent, safety by 30-40 percent accident reduction and minimize running costs for industries.

Meesho raises $570 million funding, valuation more than doubles to $4.9 billion

Internet commerce platform, Meesho has raised $570 million in its Series F round of funding led by B Capital Group & Fidelity Management & Research Company. Existing investors Prosus Ventures, SoftBank Vision Fund 2 and Facebook also participated in this round. Other new investors include Footpath Ventures, Trifecta Capital, Good Capital and others. Following the raise, the company’s valuation has more than doubled to $4.9 billion in less than five months.

With an aim to reach 100 million monthly transacting users by December 2022, Meesho expects to utilize the fresh round of funding to grow its technology and product talent by 2.5x, increase its roster to 50+ million products, and become the platform of choice for customers, entrepreneurs and sellers from all corners of India.

Meesho is also looking to expand its groceries and FMCG offerings with Farmiso (Meesho Grocery), its community group buying business to 200+ cities. By making online grocery shopping affordable for first-time users across India’s Tier 2+ markets, the company is enabling them to shop from a wide selection of groceries at ticket sizes as low as $1-2.

Also Read: Storyboard | Deepika Padukone to Virat Kohli: When celebrity brand endorsers turn investors

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow