Month: May 2022

Explained: Why Verra suspended conversion of retired carbon credits into blockchain tokens

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

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Carbon credit standards certifier Verra announced on May 25 that it was immediately banning the conversion of retired credits into blockchain tokens, months after crypto platform Toucan’s plan to use blockchain to upend the entire carbon credits system backfired.

Carbon credits that fund emission-reducing efforts are bought by polluting companies. While airlines, banks and oil companies are among the top buyers of carbon credits, crypto enthusiasts do not frequently buy offsets to compensate for creating emissions.

Start-up Toucan planned to push the disorganised and archaic carbon markets onto the blockchain in a bid to counter climate change with crypto economics. Toucan felt with a public and decentralised database, the company could force polluting companies to either buy carbon credits at higher prices or adopt more environment-friendly approaches in their businesses.

ALSO READ: The Climate Clock: Here’s all you need to know about carbon credits and their impact on businesses

What were Toucan’s plans?

Toucan, a Web3 organisation launched October 2021, planned to set up an infrastructure to facilitate the buying of carbon credits issued by Verra. The credits would be retired and then placed on-chain in the form of a new token, known as a Base Carbon Token, or BCT, which would be stored publicly and safely and traded like any other crypto asset.

Since their launch, Toucan has bridged on-chain around 22 million Verra-issued credits, representing around 4 percent of all issued credits, a report by S&P Global said.

Most of the credits came on the back of a campaign by crypto environmental group KlimaDAO. However, most of these credits were attached to low-quality, long-dormant projects which hardly had any positive impact on environment, Bloomberg reported. This impacted market prices, triggering panic among traditional carbon-credit issuers and buyers.

Also, many blockchain and crypto platforms offering tokenisation marked the Verra-registered carbon credits as ‘retired’ on the registry before creating a token to prevent double spending.  Some platforms left the credit active.

What does Verra want?

Verra took the decision to ban the conversion of retired credits into blockchain tokens to eliminate the confusion. The Washington-based non-profit wanted to ensure that when a carbon credit is retired, it would mean that the credit’s environmental benefit has been exhausted on being used to offset a company’s emissions. Toucan’s plan distorted this belief by giving life to a digital ghost of that credit in the form of a BCT.

ALSO READ: Crypto carbon offsets market: What is it and why is it attracting investors like Mark Cuban?

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

Nepal plane crash: Bodies of 22 victims transferred to Kathmandu for post-mortem examination

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

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The bodies of 22 people, including four Indians, killed in the plane crash in Nepal’s mountainous Mustang district on Sunday, have been brought to Kathmandu where the mortal remains would be handed over to their families after the post-mortem on Tuesday.

The Canadian-built turboprop Twin Otter 9N-AET plane was carrying four Indians, two Germans and 13 Nepali passengers, besides a three-member Nepali crew when it crashed minutes after taking off from the tourist city of Pokhara, officials said.

Rescuers on Monday recovered 21 bodies from the wreckage site of the plane belonging to Tara Air. On Tuesday, the last body was also retrieved from the wreckage site. According to Tribhuvan International Airport (TIA) General Manager Prem Nath Thakur, the bodies of 10 victims were brought on Monday evening and the bodies of the remaining 12 were brought here by a Nepal Army helicopter on Tuesday.

Also read: Nepal plane crash: A look at 9 fatal air accidents in the country since 2010

All the bodies have been sent to the Tribhuvan University Teaching Hospital for post-mortem examinations. The bodies will be handed to the families of the victims after the post-mortem, the official said.

The government has formed a five-member commission of inquiry headed by senior aeronautical engineer Ratish Chandra Lal Suman to find out the cause of the Tara Air plane crash, officials said.

According to a preliminary investigation carried out by the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN), bad weather was the reason behind the crash of the plane.

The black box of the plane was also retrieved by a team of experienced international and national mountain guides from the crash site on Tuesday and it will be transported to Kathmandu.

Also read: View | All is not well with Indian aviation

The black box, also known as the cockpit voice recorder, records radio transmissions and other sounds in the cockpit, such as conversations between the pilots, and engine noises.

The modern planes have two black boxes that includes the flight data recorder which records more than 80 different types of information such as speed, altitude and direction, as well as pilot actions and performance of important systems.

The black box could offer vital clues about the crash in which all 22 people on board were killed. Due to the geographical remoteness and adverse weather conditions, the search and the recovery mission were delayed.

The plane was found scattered at an altitude of 4,200 metres, a four-hour uphill hike from the centre of Thasang Village Municipality.

Also read: Nepal plane carrying 22 people including four Indians goes missing; bad weather hinders search operation

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 Q4 GDP growth slows to 4.1% as economists point that spending pattern is still below pre-pandemic level

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

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The Indian economy has grown by 8.7 percent in the 2021-22 fiscal year against a 6.6 percent contraction in the previous fiscal, official data revealed on Tuesday. A poll conducted by CNBC-TV18 got the full-year expectation bang on at 8.7 percent.

The FY22 gross value added (GVA) has come in at 8.1 percent versus a CNBC-TV18 poll reading of 8 percent.

The government data released shows that India grew at 4.1 percent in the fourth quarter of FY22 which has also met the CNBC-TV18 poll bang on. A year ago, the reading had come in at 2.5 percent.

Sajjid Chinoy, Chief India Economist at JPMorgan believes that India’s spending patterns are still below COVID-19 pandemic levels.

“It’s not clear how much savings there is at the bottom of the pyramid. You can see some of these headwinds in the RBIs Consumer Confidence Survey – this is admittedly an urban survey – but when households are asked where will your spending patterns be, two years after the pandemic, they’re still much below where we were pre pandemic. So, there is going to be a squeeze everywhere, I guess the key is going to be job creation,” he said.

Agriculture growth has come in at 3 percent versus 3.3 percent a year ago and in-line with the CNBC-TV18 poll.

A snapshot of the Q$FY22 GDP reading

Fiscal deficit reading

The fiscal deficit for the 2021-22 financial year is 6.7 percent of the GDP, less than the Finance Ministry’s revised Budget estimate projection of 6.9 percent.

The revenue gap for FY22 was recorded at Rs 10.33 lakh crore, close to the Ministry’s Budget estimate of Rs10.89 lakh crore.

The March fiscal deficit dropped to Rs 2.7 lakh crore, compared to Rs 4.13 lakh in the year-ago period.

Sudipto Mundle, Distinguished Fellow at National Council of Applied Economic Research, is not too worried about the fiscal deficit target.

“A little bit of slippage on the fiscal deficit would not be a problem but they should really try and hold on to the capital expenditure because the revival of the investment cycle is just at its early stages. And it’s quite important to maintain that subject always to the fact that priority has to be now inflation control,” he explained.

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

Following his success with Gujarat Titans Miller could bat higher up for South Africa

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

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South Africa captain Temba Bavuma is open to talking with David Miller about batting higher up the order in Twenty20s as the team prepares for a five-match tour of India starting in June.

Miller has failed to impress for South Africa in white-ball cricket in the last few years, but had an outstanding Indian Premier League season with champions Gujarat Titans in a stunning reversal of form.

He batted mostly at number five, as opposed to his usual six with South Africa, where he scored 481 with the best average in the competition of 68.71 at a strike rate of 143.

“He has performed exceedingly well in IPL. Whatever feelings of insecurity he had are gone now,” Bavuma told reporters on Tuesday.

“We will have a conversation. He is an important member of the team. If he feels he can add more value higher up the order, it is a conversation to have.”

South Africa will want to settle their batting order in this series with the T20 World Cup in Australia to follow in October.

“The important thing is to prepare for the World Cup,” Bavuma says. “The guys need to be in a competitive space. And the India series will be an important part of the competitive process, even if the conditions will be different in Australia.”

Bavuma added that as much they want to win the series, there will be an element of rotation to manage the burden.

“We haven’t got together as a team but the rest of the (non-IPL players) have had good sessions. We will arrive a bit early to get familiarised.

“With multiple formats (this season), it will be important to manage the workload, especially the bowlers.”

The series gets underway in Delhi on June 9 and finishes in Bangaluru 10 days later.

Also Read: Indian team to assemble in Delhi on June 5, South Africa squad arrives on June 2

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

Anti-profiteering authority to be merged with CCI to ensure consumers get GST rate cut benefits

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

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In a bid to continue the legacy of the National Anti-profiteering Authority and ensure that the benefit of reduced GST rates are timely passed on to consumers, the government is likely to merge the NAA with the Competition Commission of India (CCI) by year end.

“The GST Anti-Profiteering Authority is likely to be subsumed with Competition Commission of India by year end, most likely by November itself,” sources on the condition of anonymity told CNBC-TV18.

“All pending cases of anti-profiteering authority post the merger are likely to be taken up by the competition watchdog,” the sources added.

The NAA was setup to ensure that the GST rate reductions are passed on to consumers. The authority was crafted as a statutory body under the GST law to check unfair profiteering by registered suppliers.

“As of May, there are close to 400 cases pending with the anti-profiteering authority and the authority has been told to wrap up as many cases as possible on an urgent basis,” said the sources.

It is important to note that the proposal to merge the authority with the competition watchdog was earlier considered by the GST council. The council had requested CCI to study the proposal.

Also, the merger can only happen once the proposal is considered a fresh by the GST council and given an approval.

The merger plans could also ease litigation burden for the central government as the constitutionality of NAA is already under challenge across several state High Courts.

The GST Anti-profiteering Authority had issued orders of profiteering against some major corporates including HUL, Jubilant FoodWorks, McDonald’s, Starbucks, DLF, etc.

The authority made headlines when, in 2018, it issued orders establishing GST benefits of Rs 535 crore were not passed on by HUL to consumers. However, HUL has challenged the NAA order.

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

Canadians mourn death of ‘underdog’ Sidhu Moose Wala who ‘found success in Brampton’

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

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The tragic death of Punjabi singer Sidhu Moose Wala has sent shockwaves across Canada, the country where he rose to stardom.

Shubhdeep Singh Sidhu, popular by his stage name Sidhu Moose Wala, was shot dead in Punjab’s Mansa district on Sunday evening.

According to the police, the vehicle he was traveling in was fired at approximately 30 times. The 28-year-old singer died while being taken to the hospital. While a huge number of fans gathered at the agricultural land where Moose Wala was cremated today to catch the last glimpse of the noted singer, Canadians mourned the death of the ‘underdog’ who found his success in the country.

ALSO READ: Sidhu Moose Wala cremated at his village in Punjab’s Mansa, thousands gather to pay last respects

Moose Wala, like most Punjabis, went to Brampton, Ontario, in 2016 as an international student, but soon became a massive figure in the music industry delivering chart-topping hits.

“Brampton is where he found his success,” Canadian Broadcasting Corporation quoted journalist Jaskaran Sandhu, co-founder of Baaz News, as saying.

According to Sandhu, there were reports of people taking a day off from school and work to mourn the death of the rapper.

Moose Wala’s background is what connected him more to not just the student community but also immigrants who came from India and those who were raised in the city, Sandhu said.

The singer had a “huge impact on the community” and inspired many who came to Canada, CBC quoted Rupen Bhardwaj, as saying. Bhardwaj is a music video director based in Brampton who made Moose Wala’s videos like Legend and B-Town.

His was a case of an ‘underdog story’, said Bhardwaj, talking of how the singer came to have a life in Canada and rose to such an acclaim.

Speaking about the phenomenal growth of the rapper, Indian international student at Sheridan College Mehak Kaur told news website globalnews.ca that Moose Wala shook up the music industry in just four years.

Despite his decision to join politics in India and run for election, Canadians believe Moose Wala was one who always stood up for his adopted home of Brampton.

“He really took in the culture. He really did put Canada on, and that’s why people, especially Canadians, loved him so much because he kept it real,” Parminder Singh, a Punjabi media personality, told globalnews.ca.

ALSO READ: Sidhu Moose Wala: Music, controversies and a life tragically cut short

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

Do you need a second life insurance policy? Here’s what you should consider

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

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A life insurance cover with limited sum insured may be sufficient for a 30-year-old person, but it may not meet the additional needs and liabilities of the person who is 50. In such a case, an individual can buy a second life insurance policy.

Do you need a second policy?

While it is possible to claim two or more life insurance policies, it depends on the policyholders to decide if they want to take a second policy based on their insurance needs. Life insurance policies are taken keeping in mind not just the current situation of the family but also considering what the future entails. While in health insurance, the cover depends on the future medical costs, for a life insurance, the coverage estimates the value of the individual’s life. Hence, an individual should choose one or more policies in order to compensate the economic value of his or her life. A second life insurance policy helps in supplementing the coverage of the first policy. Apart from this, the policyholder can also rely on the second policy in case one claim is rejected.

Benefits of a second life insurance policy

With two policies, an individual can have separate maturity dates and use the sum assured to meet the changing financial needs at various stages of life. An individual can also opt for a policy based on personal milestones like marriage, children’s education and purchasing a house.

ALSO READ: Busting myths about Indian insurance market

What are the things to keep in mind?

An individual planning to buy a second life insurance policy should inform the insurer of the other policy and the reason for choosing a second policy that they hold.

“It is advisable to have one term insurance plan and one additional policy to take care of the additional needs which come with increased lifestyle needs and added responsibilities,” Mint quoted Indraneel Chatterjee, co-founder of RenewBuy InsurTech, as saying.

Chatterjee also advised to refrain from applying to multiple insurers at the same time to avoid complications and to consult an insurance advisor to make sure that he or she gets the right policies as per their requirements.

ALSO READ: Exclusive: Term policy premiums likely to rise by 15-25% across life insurance companies

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

Removing ranking points from Wimbledon not a great move says Murray

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

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Britain’s twice Wimbledon champion Andy Murray said on Monday the decision to strip the Grand Slam of its ranking points was not a “great move” by the ATP and WTA Tours.

Wimbledon had its ranking points taken away by the men’s ATP and women’s WTA after the grasscourt major opted to exclude players from Russia and Belarus because of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which Moscow calls a ‘special operation’.

“Removing the points, if it doesn’t stop players from playing then I don’t think it’s a great move from the ATP,” Murray told reporters after moving into the second round of the Surbiton Trophy grasscourt event.

“They’ve taken points away – everyone’s still showing up.

“My belief is Wimbledon will go ahead and have an extremely strong player field.”

Banning Russian and Belarusian players from this year’s championships was the only viable option under the guidance provided by the British government, organisers the All England Lawn Tennis Club said last month when announcing the decision.

“I don’t believe there’s anyone at the ATP that supports what’s happening in Ukraine,” Murray said.

“I think they’re trying to protect the players the best they can and that’s the decision that they’ve taken. Some players are fine with the decision but I think the majority of them were not,” he added.

“I spoke to some of the Russian players in Madrid and I feel for those players as well. I like them and I’m friends with them and I don’t believe they’re in favour of what’s happening (in Ukraine) either.”

Murray said last week that Wimbledon would never feel like an ‘exhibition event’.

Also Read: French Open 2022 Men’s Quarterfinals – It’s Djokovic vs Nadal; Zverev vs Alcaraz; Ruud vs Rune, and Cilic vs Rublev

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