Month: September 2020

HC to hear early Tuesday plea seeking JEE postponement

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

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Just ahead of the JEE Main examination scheduled for Tuesday morning, the Nagpur bench of the Bombay High Court will take up for urgent hearing a plea filed by a citizen seeking its postponement for students residing in flood-hit parts of Maharashtra’s Vidarbha region.

The examination is scheduled to start at 9 am and the court has posted the matter for hearing at 8.30 am on Tuesday.

The HC, on its own motion, took up the matter for hearing on Monday evening when it was brought to its notice a letter sent by Nitesh Bawankar, a resident of Bhandara.

In its letter, Bawankar highlighted the problems being faced by students appearing for JEE-Main examination and residing in flood-hit areas ofNagpur, Amravati, Akola, Chandrapur, Gondiaand Gadchiroli districts. Due to floods, students from these areas will find it difficult to appear for the JEE-Main examination, he said.

A division bench of Justices R K Deshpande and Pushpa Ganediwala asked the respondents, the Maharashtra government, the Centre and the National Testing Agency, to consider postponing the examination for students residing in flood- affected areas.

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

Stock Market Highlights: Sensex, Nifty end nearly 1% higher led by financials, metals; Bharti Airtel top gainer

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

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Stock Market Highlights: Indian benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty ended with gains on Tuesday after the Supreme Court granted 10-year time to telecom firms for paying the Adjusted Gross Revenue (AGR)-related dues to the Department of Telecommunications (DoT). Bharti Airtel remained the top gainer of the Nifty50 index, ending over 7 percent post verdict. Nifty Metal remained the best-performing index of the day, closing 3.41 percent higher while Nifty IT was the only index to end in the red, down 0.44 percent.

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

Global Markets: Asian stocks edge lower after Wall Street dips in month-end trade

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

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Asian stocks were set to weaken on Tuesday following a softer Wall Street close while the dollar slipped as markets digested new Federal Reserve comments that suggested rates will stay low for an extended period.

Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 lost 0.89 percent in early trading, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 fell 0.22 percent, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index futures lost 0.38 percent. Wall Street declines overnight were caused by month-end portfolio rebalancing “rather than a new trend in equities,” said Rodrigo Catril, senior FX strategist at NAB Market Research in Sydney.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500 ended in the red, while the Nasdaq rose solidly. The S&P gained more than 7 percent for the month to notch its best August since 1986 in what is traditionally a softer month for stock performance.

“After such a strong summer run we’re reverting back to the old pandemic playbook, so we see tech outperforming,” said Mona Mahajan, senior US investment strategist at Allianz Global Investors in New York. “Really, that’s a defensive move as people think about stay-at-home more as we’re heading toward that fall season.”

Investors in Asia await the release of China manufacturing data and an interest rate decision from the Australian central bank. While the Reserve Bank of Australia is not expected to change policy, its commentary on the economic outlook will be closely watched.

Most stocks slid overnight, but chalked up another month of gains for August. US tech shares rose again Monday, powered by stock splits that lifted Apple Inc  and Tesla Inc. Providing some support to sentiment was AstraZeneca’s plan to enroll 30,000 participants in a late-stage study to evaluate its COVID-19 vaccine candidate, AZD1222. Vaccine news often lifts markets.

Taiwan stocks could see a boost after the US said on Monday it was establishing a new bilateral economic dialogue with the country, an initiative it said was designed to support Taipei.

Fed Vice Chair Richard Clarida on Monday expanded on Governor Jerome Powell’s comments from last week, saying that under the US central bank’s new policy view, a low rate of unemployment does not on its own trigger higher interest rates. Last week, the Fed said its new strategy plan is to use higher inflation when the economy is robust to offset the impact of periods of weaker prices.

The Nasdaq fared even better than the S&P for the month, up nearly 10 percent as it rallied for a fifth straight month. Monday marked the first trading day for the revamped Dow, with Salesforce.com, Amgen Inc and Honeywell International Inc joining the 30-component index, replacing Exxon Mobil Corp , Pfizer Inc and Raytheon Technologies Corp. Honeywell ended the session lower while a move higher late in the day pushed Salesforce and Amgen into positive territory.

In Asia, China’s Caixin manufacturing purchasing managers’ index. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.79 percent, the S&P 500 lost 0.23 percent, and the Nasdaq Composite added 0.68 percent.

The dollar edged lower against a basket of major currencies early on Tuesday. The dollar index fell 0.08 percent, with the euro up 0.02 percent to $1.1938.

The Japanese yen strengthened 0.04 percent versus the greenback at 105.86 per dollar, while Sterling was last trading at $1.3364, down 0.04 percent on the day.

Expectations that the Fed will keep interest rates low for an extended period kept the dollar soft, marking a fourth straight month of declines, its longest losing streak since 2017.

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

WHO says emergency authorisation of COVID-19 vaccines needs great care

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

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The emergency authorisation of COVID-19 vaccines requires a “great deal of seriousness and reflection”, the World Health Organization said on Monday after the United States announced it was considering fast-tracking candidate drugs.

Although every country had the right to approve drugs without completing full trials, “it is not something that you do very lightly”, WHO chief scientist Soumya Swaminathan told a news conference.

The head of the US Food and Drug Administration said he would be willing to bypass the normal approval process to authorise a COVID-19 vaccine as long as officials were convinced the benefits outweigh the risks. Russia has already granted regulatory approval to a COVID-19 vaccine this month after less than two months of human testing, prompting some Western experts to question its safety and efficacy.

The WHO’s preferred approach would be to have a full set of data which could be used for the pre-qualification of vaccines, Swaminathan said. The WHO would then consider the efficacy and safety of each drug on a case by case basis, she added.

The WHO has used experimental drugs to combat Ebola in Africa, a measure which proved successful, Mike Ryan, the head of the organisation’s emergencies programme, said. But he stressed that a fast-track approach without full trials required intensive monitoring and safety follow-up work, and should be halted immediately if problems occur.

Also Read: Opening up without control of COVID-19 is recipe for disaster: WHO

“If you move too quickly to vaccinate … millions of people, you may miss certain adverse effects,” Ryan said.

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’s next round of sero-survey to begin from Sep 1

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

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The next round of monthly sero-prevalence survey in the national capital is slated to begin on Tuesday, with authorities gearing up for the exercise to further analyse the COVID-19 situation in Delhi. Sources said the sample size this time is likely to be about 17,000. However, there was no official confirmation on its scale.

The last sero-prevalence survey was held from August 1 to 7, according to which antibodies against COVID-19 infection were found in 29.1 percent of people surveyed in the national capital.

Delhi Health Minister Satyendar Jain while announcing the results of the August survey earlier this month had told reporters that 15,000 representative samples were taken from 11 districts, and that the next exercise was to begin from September 1. The minister had also said that prevalence of antibodies found in men was 28.3 percent, and 32.2 percent in women.

Sero-prevalence of antibodies found in age groups of less than 18 was 34.7 per cent, in 18-50 years 28.5 percent, and 31.2 percent in 50 years and above. The sources said the September round of survey will be held over five days, and also likely to follow similar protocols as in the previous exercise.
The exercise was undertaken in the first week of August for a comprehensive assessment of the COVID-19 situation in Delhi and to formulate strategies based on its findings.

The sero-prevalence survey before the August exercise, done from June 27 to July 10 by the Delhi government in association with the National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), had used 21,387 samples and found that around 23 per cent of the people surveyed had an exposure to the novel coronavirus. “The rise, rather than the exponential rise is not there. So, people are taking safety precautions it seems. But, we cannot afford to be complacent and lower our guard,” Jain had said on August 20.

The national capital had seen spurt in daily cases in the last several days and steady rise in active cases since August 5. Delhi recorded 1,358 fresh COVID-19 cases on Monday, taking the tally in the city to over 1.74 lakh while the death toll from the disease mounted to 4,444, authorities said.

On Sunday, Delhi had recorded 2,024 fresh cases, the highest single-day spike in the city in August till date. It was also the highest spurt in the last nearly 50 days in Delhi.

On Saturday, the city reported 1,954 cases and in the preceding two days, the city had recorded cases in excess of 1,800. The active COVID-19 cases tally on Monday was 14,626. About 15,000 samples were collected as part of the August exercise, spanning different areas and age groups, gender and economic class, he said.

Out of the total number of samples, 25 per cent were taken from the age group of less than 18 years, another 50 per cent from the 18-49 years age bracket and remaining 25 per cent from those in the age group of 50 years or more.

The sero-prevalence found in Northeast district was 29 percent, South district 27 percent, South East 33 percent and New Delhi 24 percent, Jain had said.

Jain on July 22 had announced that after analysing the results of the June-July survey, it was decided that more such exercises would be done every month to formulate better policies for tackling the COVID-19 situation in the national capital.

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

Bharti Infratel decides to proceed with Indus Towers merger

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

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Bharti Infratel on Tuesday said that its board, in a meeting held on Monday, decided to proceed with the Scheme of Arrangements for a merger with Indus Towers.

“After deliberations, the Board has decided to authorize the Chairman to proceed with the Scheme and to comply with other procedural requirements for completion of the merger including approaching NCLT to make the Scheme effective subject to certain procedural condition precedents,” said Bharti Infratel in a statement.

As per the statement by Bharti Infratel, the likely shareholding structure in the
merged company could be:

• Vodafone may hold 28.2 percent, Airtel 36.7 percent, and PEP 3.2 percent
• Total for Indus share swap: 31.4 percent and Infratel shareholders: 68.6 percent

The shareholding is subject to change, based on the closing adjustments, said the company.

Vodafone Idea has decided to cash out by selling its 11.15 percent stake in Indus. The development comes just hours before the Supreme Court pronounces its much-awaited verdict in the AGR case.

“The above is basis cash consideration chosen by Vodafone Idea Limited (VIL) for its 11.15% shareholding in Indus which will be based on 60 days VWAP as at Closing date (and agreed closing adjustments). Based on today’s calculation the cash consideration comes to approx. INR 4,000 crore,” said the company.

VIL and Vodafone Group Plc. have entered into certain security arrangements for payment obligations. This includes a combination of a security deposit by VIL, security via pledge of a certain number of shares of the merged company out of those issued to V Plc. and a corporate guarantee by V Plc. which can get triggered in certain situations and events, as per the statement.

These security arrangements remain subject to all applicable regulatory approvals and any approval of V Plc’s lenders.

The security arrangement will provide the merged company a payment cover of over one year for the operational payments due from VIL.

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

AGR verdict today: All you need to know about the case

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

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It’s been over 10 months since the Supreme Court accepted the interpretation of adjusted gross revenue (AGR) by the Department of Telecom on October 24, 2019, and ruled that telecoms must pay outstanding dues to the DoT.

What is the AGR case?
The case in context dates back to 1999. The telecom department had issued notices to telecom companies seeking AGR dues. The dispute between the DoT and telecom operators was on the definition of AGR. DoT argued that AGR includes all revenues (before discounts) from both telecom and non-telecom services. Telecom service providers claimed that AGR should comprise just the revenue accrued from the core services and not the dividend, interest income or profit on sale of any investment or fixed assets. The companies went to various courts and forums challenging the definition of AGR and finally knocked the SC, which delivered the verdict in favour of the government and the original dues sought.

The original verdict
As per the October verdict, various revenue heads were included in the net of gross revenue, leading to a burden of over Rs 92,000 crore. The three-judge SC bench led by Justice Mishra, who is set to retire this week, will be passing its final judgement on the AGR case on September 1, which is expected to decide the fate and health of the Indian telecom sector.

Who owes how much?
As per the assessment by DoT, the total amount due by top telecom operators was Rs 1.19 lakh crore. Bharti Airtel owed Rs 43,989 crore, Vodafone Idea (Rs 58254 crore) and Tata Teleservices (Rs 16,798 crore). Dues for insolvent companies were also identified. As per the assessment, telecom companies that have now gone bankrupt had dues of about Rs 40,000 crore. As per the assessment, Aircel dues stand at Rs 12,289 crore, Videocon’s at Rs 1,376 and Reliance Communications at Rs 25,199 crore.

The self-assessment conundrum
Between October 2019 and now, a lot has transpired. After the SC verdict, telcos went through a self-assessment and found that they owed half of what the DoT had sought. As per the self-assessment done by Bharti Airtel, it claimed it owned Rs 13,004 crore, Vodafone Idea said it owed Rs 21,533 crore and Tata Teleservices said it owned Rs 2,197 crore. The DoT accepted the self-assessment and moved the Supreme Court to allow (1) The admission of the self-assessed amount and (2) Payment of the amount over a staggered period of 20 years.

However, in early March the SC bench slammed the DoT for even considering it. Justice Mishra made some tough comments during the hearing and said, “This is sheer fraud taking place in the face of this court. Grossest contempt has already been observed during the hearing. We will summon the DoT officials responsible for self-assessment. We would neither spare DoT nor telecom companies,” Justice Mishra said. The court, however, agreed to consider the plea of staggered payment of dues.

Staggered payment: Issue of security and what constitutes ‘reasonable’ time?
When discussing the issue of staggered payment of dues, several arguments and counter arguments were made, but the bench had two key concerns (1) How can telecom operators guarantee that the dues will be paid and what security can they provide against it. To this the bench sought personal guarantees of directors and promoters. The telecom operators, however asked for spectrum to be considered as security. (2) The other question was what constitutes a reasonable time. While DoT has stuck to its original ask of 20 years, TTSL agreed to 7-10 years and Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Idea agreed to 15 years.

What happens to insolvent companies?
As for the due that companies that have now gone bankrupt including Aircel, Videocon and Reliance Communications is concerned. Since Reliance Jio has spectrum sharing and trading pacts with RCOM and Airtel had spectrum sharing and trading pacts with Aircel and Videocon, the court questioned why Jio and Airtel should not be liable to pay the dues of insolvent companies.

Three decisions that are expected by the court today include:

1. Staggered payments – The SC is expected to give its verdict on the time period by when these telcos need to pay the dues. DoT has sought 20 years, but TTSL has agreed to 7-10 and Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Idea have said 15 years.

2. Can spectrum (or right to use spectrum) be transferred, assigned or sold under IBC.

3. Additional liabilities, if any, on Jio, Airtel for past dues of R.Comm, Videocon and Aircel. Jio had spectrum sharing and trading pacts with R.Comm. Airtel had spectrum sharing and trading pacts with Videocon, Aircel.

Disclaimer: Reliance Industries Ltd., which also owns Jio, is the sole beneficiary of Independent Media Trust which controls Network18 Media & Investments Ltd.

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

Reliance Power defaults on payment of Rs 300 crore principal, interest

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

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Reliance Power on Monday said it has defaulted on payment of principal and interest totalling to Rs 300.22 crore. The company defaulted on payment of Rs 300.22 crore, including interest amount of Rs 2.22 crore on July 31, 2020, it said in a BSE filing.

The default was on loans taken from Axis Bank, Yes Bank, IDBI Bank and Lakshmi Vilas Bank, it added.

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

Future Group deal: RIL says Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas, EY, Deloitte among advisors

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

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Reliance Industries on Monday said leading legal firms Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas and Khaitan & Co helped the company in due diligence, scheme of arrangement, documentation and other aspects of the deal to acquire the retail business of Future Group.

It was also assisted by consultancy firms like Ernst & Young, Deloitte Haskins & Sells and Price Waterhouse & Co.

Last week, billionaire Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Industries had announced the acquisition of the Kishore Biyani-led Future Group for Rs 24,713 crore through its subsidiary Reliance Retail Ventures Ltd (RRVL).

“With reference to the announcement…Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas and Khaitan & Co acted as the legal counsels for the transaction and advised and assisted RRVL and its wholly-owned subsidiary, Reliance Retail and Fashion Lifestyle Limited (RRFLL),” it said in a BSE filing.

Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas, being the legal advisor to RRVL for its restructuring and fund-raising activities, advised on the structuring aspects of the transaction.

“Ernst & Young LLP assisted in financial and accounting due diligence. Deloitte Haskins & Sells LLP was involved in the verification of property leases and physical verification of assets.

“Price Waterhouse & Co LLP provided the valuation report and Citigroup Global Markets India Private Limited issued the fairness opinion to the board of directors of RRVL and RRFLL,” it added.

Through the deal, Reliance will acquire Future Retail that owns the Big Bazaar that sells everything from groceries to cosmetics and apparel, and Future Lifestyle Fashions Ltd that operates fashion discount chain Brand Factory.

(Disclaimer: Reliance Industries is the sole beneficiary of Independent Media Trust which controls Network18 Media & Investments Ltd.)

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

Govt extends FY20 GST return filing date for composition dealers till Oct 31

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

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The government on Monday extended by 2 months the due date for filing of annual GST returns for 2019-20 by composition dealers to October 31.

This is the second extension in as many months given by the government.

The original deadline for filing the return was July 15, which was earlier extended till August 31.

The Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) in a tweet said, “Last date GSTR 4 for FY 2019-20 extended to 31st October 2020”.

Goods and Services Tax (GST) composition scheme can be opted by any taxpayer whose turnover is up to Rs 1.5 crore.

Under the scheme, manufacturers and traders are required to pay GST at the rate of 1 per cent, while restaurants (which do not serve alcohol) have to pay GST at 5 per cent rate.

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