Month: January 2021

Flights suspended, highway closed as snowfall continues in Kashmir valley

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

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Kashmir remained cut off from rest of the country for the fourth consecutive day on Wednesday as the arterial Jammu-Srinagar national highway and the Mughal road remained closed, while air traffic was suspended due to heavy snowfall across the valley.

The snowfall began on Sunday and continued in many areas when last reports came in, even as the MET Office said the weather is likely to improve later in the day. ”No traffic was allowed on the Jammu-Srinagar National Highway due to accumulation of snow and landslides at many places,” an official of the traffic control room said. He said the highway was blocked due to snow accumulation at Jawahar Tunnel and landslides/mudslides/shooting stones at Samroli, Magarkot, Panthyal, Marog, Cafeteria Mor, Dhalwas and Nashri.

The snow clearance operations were in full swing and efforts were on to restore movement of stranded vehicles along the 260 kilometre road, the official said. Mughal Road, which connects the valley to Jammu division through Shopian-Rajouri axis, has been closed for several days due to heavy snowfall in the region, officials said.

The officials said south Kashmir’s Kulgam district received highest snowfall with five to six feet of snow accumulated at some places. Anantnag district has also received heavy snowfall, they said. The areas in south Kashmir, followed by central, received heavy snowfall compared to the areas in the north of the valley, the officials said. Srinagar city has witnessed heavy snowfall for the past three days, even as the snow clearance operations have been ongoing along inter-district routes as well as major roads linking tehsil headquarters to district headquarters.

While the administration has ensured that most of the essential services were least affected, the heavy snowfall has resulted in snapping of electricity in many areas across the valley, the officials said. There was less movement of traffic due to slippery roads.

The flight operations to and from Srinagar remained suspended for the fourth consecutive day due to poor visibility and accumulation of snow, the officials said. However, the MET Office has said the weather is likely to improve from later on Wednesday.

Weather is improving gradually and the significant improvement is expected from today afternoon onwards, a MET official said. He said light rain/snow may occur at scattered places of Jammu and Kashmir over the next 24 hrs. However, there was no forecast of any major snowfall from Thursday till January 14, he said.

The minimum temperature improved in most places in the valley due to the snowfall but still stayed below the freezing point, the officials said. Srinagar city — the summer capital of Jammu and Kashmir — recorded a low of minus 0.9 degrees Celsius.

The minimum temperature in Gulmarg tourist resort settled at minus 3.5 degrees Celsius compared to minus 4 degrees Celsius a night earlier. Pahalgam tourist resort, which also serves as a base camp for the annual Amarnath yatra in south Kashmir, recorded a low of minus 1.2 degrees Celsius.

Qazigund recorded a minimum of minus 0.2 degrees Celsius, Kupwara, in the north, minus 0.7 degrees Celsius and Kokernag, minus 1.0 degrees Celsius. Kashmir is currently under the grip of ’Chillai-Kalan’ — the 40-day harshest winter period when a cold wave grips the region and the temperature drops considerably leading to the freezing of water bodies including the famous Dal Lake here as well as the water supply lines in several parts of the valley.

The chances of snowfall are the most frequent and maximum during this period and most areas, especially in the higher reaches, receive heavy snowfall. While ’Chillai-Kalan’ which began on December 21 — will end on January 31, the cold wave continues even after that in Kashmir with a 20-day-long ’Chillai-Khurd’ (small cold) and a 10-day-long ’Chillai-Bachha’ (baby cold).

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

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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

Tata Motors’ new 7-seater SUV named Safari in ode to iconic brand

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

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Leveraging the improving picture of car sales in India, Tata Motors has released a brand new seven-seater SUV named Safari, in an ode to its iconic brand.

The bookings for the new SUV, which was code-named as Gravitas, will begin this January, according to sources.

Tata launched Safari, “India’s first true SUV” — as the CEO and MD Guenter Butschek likes to call it — in 1998. It was priced at Rs 8.35 lakh then, and while its current price remains unknown, it will sit above Harrier.

Tata’s sales have bounced back strongly over the past few months led by Nexon, Tiago, and Harrier. The company has a robust pipeline in the form of the Safari and the Hornbill, a micro SUV, and a few other products that are lined up. The automaker has reported an impressive 21 percent growth in domestic sales in Q3.

Shailesh Chandra, President-Passenger Vehicles Business, said that they have surpassed FY20 sales and have sold 1.38 lakh units since April. The company has recorded 39 percent year-to-date growth against an industry decline of 16 percent.

By capitalizing on festive season sales, the automaker has boosted its market share by up to 8.5 percent against 5.4 percent in December 2019. Both Harrier and Tiago ended the year with consistent growth rates.

Safari will now compete against the likes of Mahindra’s XUV 500 and MG Hector Plus.

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

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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

US welcomes arrest of 26/11 attack mastermind and LeT commander Lakhvi

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

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The US has welcomed the arrest of Mumbai attack mastermind and Lashkar-e-Taiba operations commander Zaki-ur-Rehman Lakhvi in Pakistan, terming it an ”important step” in holding him responsible for his role in supporting terrorism and its financing. Lakhvi was arrested on Saturday in Pakistan on terror financing charges, amidst growing international pressure on Islamabad to bring to justice terrorists roaming free in the country.

UN proscribed terrorist Lakhvi, who was on bail since 2015 in the Mumbai attack case, was arrested by the Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) of Punjab province. ”We welcome Pakistan’s arrest of terrorist leader Zaki-ur-Rehman Lakhvi as an important step in holding him responsible for his role in supporting terrorism and its financing, the South and Central Asia Bureau of the State Department said in a tweet.

”We will follow his prosecution and sentencing closely and urge that he be held accountable for his involvement in the Mumbai attacks, it said on Tuesday. Lakhvi was designated as a global terrorist by the UN in December 2008 for being associated with Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and al-Qaeda and for participating in the financing, planning, facilitating, preparing or perpetrating of acts by, in conjunction with, under the name of, on behalf or in support of both the entities.

Last month, the UN Security Council’s 1267 Al Qaeda Sanctions Committee allowed for a monthly payment of Pakistani Rupees 1.5 lakh for Lakhvi to meet his personal expenses. The LeT, led by Jamat-ud-Dawa (JuD) chief Hafiz Saeed, is responsible for carrying out the 2008 Mumbai attack that killed 166 people, including six Americans.

The global terror financing watchdog Financial Action Task Force (FATF) is instrumental in pushing Pakistan to take measures against terrorists roaming freely in Pakistan and using its territory to carry out attacks in India and elsewhere. The Paris-based FATF placed Pakistan on the Grey List in June 2018 and asked Islamabad to implement a plan of action to curb money laundering and terror financing by the end of 2019 but the deadline was extended later on due to COVID-19 pandemic.

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

NYSE may make second U-turn on China telecom delistings amid confusion over policy

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

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The New York Stock Exchange is reconsidering its plan to allow three Chinese telecom giants to remain listed, the latest twist to a saga amid confusion over rules set by the Trump administration and tension within Washington on China policy.

If it does so, it would mark a second sudden U-turn. The bourse said late Monday it reversed a decision announced just last week to delist China Mobile Ltd, China Telecom Corp Ltd and China Unicom Hong Kong Ltd after consulting with regulatory authorities in connection with the U.S. Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control.

The about-face was due to ambiguity over an executive order issued by President Donald Trump barring investment in firms Washington says are tied to the Chinese military, and whether the three firms were banned under the order, a source familiar with the matter said on Tuesday.

However, it will go ahead with the delistings, which were planned on or before Jan. 11, if it deems the companies are subject to the order, said the person who asked to remain anonymous because the discussions are ongoing.

Bloomberg earlier reported that the NYSE may flip back.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin phoned New York Stock Exchange President Stacey Cunningham on Tuesday to tell her he disagreed with the exchange operator’s decision to reverse course on the delistings, a separate source said.

Coming in the final days of the Trump presidency, the back and forth at the NYSE underscored the lack of clarity about, and the tensions around, the implementation and implications of the administration’s ban on investment in 35 Chinese companies.

One China expert who has worked with Congress on delisting issues said the NYSE may have made the U-turn if they sought clarity from Treasury about the rules and been told they did not need to delist.

Republican Senator, and China hardliner, Marco Rubio expressed outrage that the U.S. Treasury may have caused the NYSE to wind back the delisting procedures.

“If it is true that someone at (Treasury) advised (NYSE) to reverse the decision to delist these Chinese companies, it was an outrageous effort to undermine (President Trump’s) Executive Order,” he tweeted.

The Treasury declined to comment on the NYSE decision. OFAC, which is responsible for enforcing sanctions, declined comment.

The NYSE is owned by Atlanta-based Intercontinental Exchange Inc (ICE), which is run by billionaire Jeffrey Sprecher, whose wife Kelly Loeffler, also a former ICE executive, is one of two Republican senators facing run-off elections on Tuesday in Georgia. Loeffler is a staunch supporter of President Trump.

New guard

The flip-flopping at the Big Board also sowed confusion among investors.

Tariq Dennison, managing director at GFM Asset Management in Hong Kong, said he had almost completely unwound his positions in China Mobile shares in both Hong Kong and New York, partly in anticipation of needing to find investments for U.S. clients with less exposure to risks associated with the investment ban.

There are also questions about how the order will be handled by President-elect Joe Biden who is set to take office on Jan. 20 and could revoke it easily. His transition team has not commented on plans for the directive.

William Kirby, a Harvard Business School professor focused on China, said on Monday that whereas the Trump administration has taken a “one-size-fits-all” approach to its regulation of Chinese companies, the Biden administration would likely have company-by-company reviews.

Miller said that while the last year had seen toughening policies on investment flows into Chinese companies, “many of these rules are likely to fall by the wayside.”

Flip-flop

The executive order banning U.S. investors from buying shares of companies Washington alleges are owned or controlled by the Chinese military takes effect on Jan. 11, although shareholders can wait until November 2021 to divest.

While the directive stops short of forcing a delisting, a separate bill signed into law by Trump in November will kick Chinese companies off U.S. bourses if they do not fully comply with the country’s auditing rules in three years.

S&P Dow Jones Indices said on Wednesday it would no longer remove the three firms’ ADRs, which had been due to be deleted before Jan.7, from its benchmarks after the NYSE’s latest decision.

Other index makers including FTSE Russell and MSCI Inc have cut a dozen Chinese companies on the list from their benchmarks, but have not removed the three telecom firms, all of which have major passive U.S. funds amongst their top shareholders.

The three telecom firms said in statements that they had taken note of the NYSE’s latest announcement and would release information in accordance with regulations, adding that investors should pay attention to investment risks.

China’s foreign ministry has lambasted what it called the U.S.’s stretching of the concept of national security to suppress Chinese companies.

It reiterated on Tuesday that the status of the United States as an international financial centre relies on the confidence that global companies and investors have in the certainty of its rules.

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

India’s services sector activity expands at slower rate in Dec; staff hiring halts

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

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India’s services sector activity expanded at a slower pace in December as rates of growth in sales eased to a three-month low and staff hiring came to a halt amid weak business optimism, a monthly survey said on Wednesday. The seasonally adjusted India Services Business Activity Index fell from 53.7 in November to 52.3 in December.

The index was above the critical 50 mark that separates growth from contraction for the third month in a row during December but pointed to the slowest pace of expansion in the three-month sequence. ”Although the news that the service sector remained in expansion mode during December is welcome, the fact that growth lost momentum yet again shouldn’t be disregarded,” said Pollyanna De Lima, Economics Associate Director at IHS Markit.

Companies indicated that growth was supported by the securing of new work, though curbed by competitive pressures and the COVID-19 pandemic, the survey noted. Global COVID-19 restrictions, particularly travel bans, reportedly restricted international demand for Indian services at the end of 2020. New export business decreased sharply, but at the slowest pace since March.

”A spike in COVID-19 cases was reported as a key factor restricting growth of new work intakes among service providers, which in turn curbed the rise in output and led to increased business uncertainty about the outlook,” Lima noted. On the employment front, staff hiring came to a halt due to liquidity concerns, labour shortages and subdued demand, while business optimism faded.

”Given the damaging impact of the pandemic on the service economy, some companies are facing financial difficulties, which is preventing staff hiring. December saw the ninth round of job shedding in ten months,” Lima said. On the price front, a pick-up in input cost inflation was witnessed, the strongest since February, but a renewed fall in selling prices was seen as some firms sought to beat competition and secure new work, the survey said.

Although private sector activity continued to increase at the end of the year, the upturn eased to a three-month low. The Composite PMI Output Index, which measures combined services and manufacturing output, fell from 56.3 in November to 54.9 in December. However, companies maintained an upbeat view that output will increase in 2021. ”It is clear that the early part of 2021 will continue to be challenging, but we’re looking at a sustainable recovery and some return to normality once COVID-19 vaccines become available,” Lima said.

India’s economy recovered faster than expected in the September quarter as a pick-up in manufacturing helped the gross domestic product (GDP) clock a lower contraction of 7.5 percent and held out hopes for further improvement on consumer demand bouncing back. The GDP had contracted by a record 23.9 percent in the first quarter of 2020-21 fiscal (April 2020 to March 2021) as the coronavirus lockdown pummelled economic activity.

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

Ratan Tata travels to Pune to meet ailing ex-employee

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

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In yet another heartwarming story of Ratan Tata, the 83-year-old travelled over 150 kms to meet his ailing former employee. The Mumbai-based industrialist was photographed at Friends Housing Complex in Pune on January 4.

Sharing the picture on LinkedIn, Yogesh Desai, a resident of the same society, said, “This is how legends are made of. No media, no bouncers only commitment towards loyal employees. There is a lot to learn for all entrepreneurs and businessmen that money is not everything all that matters is being a great human being.”

Desai also clarified that Tata is not his former boss. “He is not my Ex Boss. He came to meet his employee in my Friends housing complex. I have not met him,” he wrote.

Tata has been flooded with praises for his compassionate act. Padma awardee Ratan Tata was a former chairman of Tata Sons and Tata Group.

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

BharatPe to raise over Rs 5,000 cr in debt funding in next 2 yrs, gets Rs 60 cr from Innoven Cap

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

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Financial Technology firm BharatPe on Wednesday said it plans to raise over Rs 5,000 crore in debt funding in next 2 years to build its lending business. The company further announced that it has received Rs 60 crore from Innoven Capital, a venture debt and specialty lending firm.

”As we build the lending business at BharatPe, raising institutional debt is important to us. We plan to raise USD 500-700 million (Rs 3,600 crore – Rs 5,118 crore) of debt capital over the next 2 years.

”We are incredibly glad that Innoven Capital is our first supporter on this journey. We look forward to working with Innoven to build a long-term win-win relationship,” BharatPe group president Suhail Sameer said in a statement.

BharatPe at present provides a single interface for all existing UPI apps and allows merchants to accept UPI payments for free, through the BharatPe QR. It also supports merchants to access credit and other value-added services.

”We are excited to partner with BharatPe as their first institutional debt provider. BharatPe is not only helping millions of merchants to accept UPI payments seamlessly but also enabling them access to credit, which has been a pain point. ”This is a massive market and we look forward to being a partner in BharatPe’s ambitious growth agenda,” Innoven Capital India CEO Ashish Sharma 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