Month: June 2022

Eknath Shinde fourth Maharashtra CM hailing from Satara

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

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Eknath Shinde on Thursday became the fourth chief minister of Maharashtra hailing from Satara district. NCP chief Sharad Pawar, who himself has roots in the western Maharashtra district, noted this in a tweet congratulating Shinde.

While Shinde cut his teeth as a Shiv Sena leader in Thane near Mumbai, he hails from Dare Tamb village, 60km from Satara city. Before him, the state had three chief ministers from the district — Yashwantrao Chavan (the first CM of the state), Babasaheb Bhosale and Prithviraj Chavan.

While Pawar, also a former CM, is mainly associated with Baramati in Pune district, the NCP leader told reporters that his family has roots in Koregaon tehsil of Satara.

Also Read: Eknath Shinde sworn in as Maharashtra chief minister, Fadnavis will be his deputy

“After late Yashwantrao Chavan, Shree Babasaheb Bhosale and Shree Pritiviraj Chavan, another Satara-kar has taken over as the Chief Minister,” Pawar tweeted earlier in the day. Vijay Mandake, a senior journalist from the district, said leaders from Satara have always been influential in state politics. Ganesh Utekar, a Shiv Sena leader from the district and resident of Shinde’s native Dare village, said it was a pleasant shock for all of them when BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis announced Shinde as the next CM.

“Everybody in the village is celebrating the development,” he added. Shinde, who completed his primary education in a local school, visits the village regularly and does not miss the annual village fair, Utekar said.

Catch LIVE updates of the Maharashtra political crisis here

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

A $197 billion investment advisory firm founder believes its time to be greedy and not fearful

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

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Kenneth Fisher, the founder of Fisher Investments, a $ 197 billion investment advisory and money management firm that serves large institutions and high-networth individuals, believes that this is not the time to be fearful but greedy in the markets as there are too many ‘scary stories’ people are worried about right now, as the market fall has been longer than just a correction but it should not be confused with a bear market.

“If you look out 6-12-24 months, the returns are overwhelmingly positive and on average very high. So, it’s a treacherous time if you have even got an intermediate timeframe to sell out and go away. This is not a time to be fearful. This is a time to be greedy.” said Fisher in an interview with CNBC-TV18.

According to the market veteran, countries that have sanctioned Russia are underperforming, while markets in countries that have not – like China and India – will do better.

“I would say that the Russia-Ukraine war is more important than people think it is. One way that impacts India directly is because it has bifurcated the stock markets into the countries that are doing sanctions versus the countries that aren’t doing sanctions. And of course, within both groups, there’s some variations. Naturally, the ones that are not doing sanctions are having better-performing stock markets than the ones that are doing sanctions,” he explained.

Fisher, who ran the longest continuous column on Forbes called Portfolio Strategy — for 32 years — says global economic health is not as bad as it is being made out to be and he is not impressed by the central banks around the world as they “are less important than people think they are”.

 “The fact is central banks are more reactors than they are causers — they were in 2020 and in fact they are now. The fact is that while there is some effect of that, it is much smaller than what goes on in people’s imagination. What will get us out of this, in my opinion, is time,” he said.

Fisher ranked 151 on the 2021 Forbes 400 list of richest Americans, says that in the initial part of the bounce back, growth and technology sectors will do better.

 “Calling bottoms is always tricky. The fact is that if you say 6-12-24 months, we are going to be under higher prices. If you say 2 months from now, I don’t have a clue. As Warren Buffett famously said, in the short-term, a market is a voting machine – that is about popularity. In the longer term it’s a weighing machine, pre-pricing the future for what will happen after that time period and typically months after that time period,” said Fisher.

There is a word of caution for Indian investors from the market veteran. He believes that the Indian stock market is weighted more towards ‘value stocks’ and thus has fallen less compared to its peers and thus the assent will also be gradual on the way up.

Watch the video for the full interview

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

Eknath Shinde sworn in as Maharashtra chief minister, Fadnavis will be his deputy

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

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Eknath Shinde was sworn in as the 20th chief minister of Maharashtra on Thursday. Former CM Devendra Fadnavis also took the oath of office, as Shinde’s deputy.

Shinde and Fadnavis met Maharashtra Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari to stake claim to form a government in Maharashtra. Fadnavis later announced that Shinde would be the new CM of the state.

During a press conference earlier in the day, Fadnavis said that in 2019, it was expected that BJP and Shiv Sena would come together to form the government in Maharashtra. “The people’s mandate was insulted and the government was formed with anti-Hindu parties. Last two-and-a-half years of the MVA government were full of corrupt practices,” Fadnavis had said, adding that they also have the support of 16 independent MLAs.

Also Read: Who is Eknath Shinde – the Sena leader at the centre of Maharashtra’s political crisis?

Former CM Uddhav Thackeray, in a live address to the people on Wednesday night, announced that he was resigning from his post and as an MLC. Thackeray’s decision came just after the Supreme Court refused to stay Koshyari’s directive to Thackeray face a floor test in the assembly on Thursday.

After his announcement, Thackeray left for the governor’s official residence, where he submitted his resignation.

.Thacerkay’s resignation capped a week-long drama of resort politics, where rebel Shiv Sena MLAs led by minister Eknath Shinde camped in luxury hotels and hopped on chartered jets from Mumbai to Surat and Guwahati, before landing in Goa on Wednesday night.

Shinde reached Mumbai on Tuesday afternoon, while the rebel MLAs supporting him are still in Goa.

Catch LIVE updates of the Maharashtra political crisis here

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 Brands announces foray into food and beverage retail with Pret A Manger

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

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Reliance Brands Ltd (RBL), the retail brand licensing arm of Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL), on Thursday announced a strategic partnership with global fresh food & organic coffee chain, Pret A Manger, to launch and build the brand in India.

With this long-term master franchise partnership, RBL will open the food chain across the country starting with major cities and travel hubs.

Pret A Manger, French for ‘ready to eat’, first opened in London in 1986. It was a shop with a mission to create handmade food, freshly prepared each day.

Also Read: Salary, full and final settlement within 2 days under new Wage Code

Over 35 years later, the brand currently has 550 shops globally across 9 markets including the UK, US, Europe, and Asia, offering organic coffee, sandwiches, salads, and wraps freshly made each day.

“Our partnership with Pret is rooted in the strong growth potential of both Pret as a brand as also of the food & beverage industry in India. RBL closely follows the pulse of Indian consumers and there is an increased consciousness of what we eat – rapidly making Food the new Fashion.

Indians, like their global counterparts, are seeking Fresh and Organic ingredient-led dining experiences which has been synonymous with Pret’s core offering. Couple that with the high recall the brand enjoys in the country, it’s undoubtedly a recipe for success,” said Darshan Mehta, managing director of RBL.

Also Read: Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat and Telangana among top achievers in ease of doing business

“As India’s largest luxury to the premium retailer, RBL has over 14 years nurtured and grown global brands in the country. With its rich cache of insights on customers’ evolving spending habits and an ambitious expansion plan, RBL’s first foray into the food industry will bring the much-loved Pret dining experience, to one of the biggest retail markets,” the RBL said.

Pano Christou, CEO of Pret A Manger said, “Two decades ago, we opened Pret’s first shop in Asia and it’s been an inspiration for all of us to bring our freshly made food and 100 percent organic coffee to new cities across the continent.

RBL is a great partner to help us do just that, bringing their years of expertise in the market to help our brand succeed in India. We’re looking forward to working with them on what is our most ambitious global franchise partnership to date.”

Post this announcement, shares of the oil-to-telecom conglomerate traded in the red. At 9:23 am, shares of RIL were down 0.4 percent at Rs 2,584.2 on the BSE.

Ashish Chaturmohta, Director and Head-Research, JM Financial Services, had told CNBC-TV18 on Thursday that RIL’s stock is showing strong signs of recovery after correcting for last five weeks.

“So here, initiate long, keep Rs 2,520 as a trading stop loss and on the upside Rs 2,700-2750 would be the short-term target,” he 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

Companies scramble to switch to paper as plastic straw ban looms

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

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FMCG companies, especially those selling beverages, have started replacing plastic straws on tetrapacks of juice boxes with imported paper straws as they rush to comply with the ban on some single-use plastic products that comes into effect on July 1.

On August 13, 2021, the government notified the Plastic Waste Management Amendment Rules, 2021, which prohibit the manufacture, import, stocking, distribution, sale and use of various single-use plastic products from July 1, 2022. The list includes ear buds with plastic sticks, plastic sticks for balloons, plastic flags, candy sticks, ice-cream sticks, polystyrene (thermocol) for decoration, plates, cups, glasses, cutlery such as forks, spoons, knives, straw, trays, wrapping or packing films around sweet boxes, invitation cards,  and cigarette packets, plastic or PVC banners less than 100 micron and stirrers.

This includes the plastic straws that come attached to tetra juice boxes such as Frooti, the smaller packs of Real juice, Amul Lassi, among others. The FMCG industry reached out to the government over the past year, urging for a delay or an extension in the implementation of the ban, but in vain.

Also read: India’s largest trader body accuses German retail giant of violating FDI policy

Their argument was that this ban would potentially disrupt the industry as the smaller beverage packs that come with these straws make up 40-60 percent of the beverage portfolios of some of these companies.

However, with no relief coming from the government, companies such as Parle Agro and Dabur have replaced plastic straws with imported paper straws, and are also scrambling to develop domestic manufacturing capabilities.

“Our manufacturing locations would be starting with biodegradable straws as per new guidelines and time frame. As part of our transition, we will have to import paper based straws and then move to PLA based straws. This will commence once all the machineries of our business partners for manufacturing PLA straws are installed and commissioned which will take a few months.  We have created infrastructure for the same by developing many local MSMEs as business partners to support us and cater to our volume of biodegradable straws,” Schauna Chauhan, CEO of Parle Agro said.

Dabur, which sells smaller packs of Real juices with these straws, has said that it has already commenced production of Real juice packs with integrated paper straws. “We are committed to meeting the regulations and will ensure that all packs come with integrated paper straws,” Shahrukh Khan, Executive Director-Operations of Dabur India said.

Also read: IOC to invest Rs 740 crore in Digboi refinery capacity expansion

As per industry sources, most companies are importing these paper straws from Indonesia, with very few other alternatives available. Import of paper straws, as against the integrated plastic straws has more than tripled the costs of straws for most companies.

In addition, global supply, companies said, is limited and the current availability of paper straws will only make up for 10-15 percent of the industry demand.

While companies had been flagging unavailability of plastic straws, the Indian Paper Manufacturers Association (IPMA) said in a statement earlier this month that India has enough capacity and the technological know-how to manufacture paper straws in the country.

“A wrong impression is being created by some in the general public that presently there is no Indian paper mill that can manufacture the required paper for making paper straws. Any additional paper requirement for making paper straws can also easily be met by Indian paper mills,” A S Mehta, President of IPMA, said in the statement.

Also read: Tech Mahindra CEO CP Gurnani’s pay rises 189% to Rs 63.4 crore in FY22

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

Ek Villain Returns Trailer: John Abraham and Arjun Kapoor on the chase of a serial killer

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

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After much anticipation and a long wait of 8 years, the sequel of 2014 action drama Ek Villain is here. Ek Villain Returns, starring John Abraham, Arjun Kapoor, Tara Sutaria and Disha Patani the film will be released in theatres on July 29. The trailer of the movie is out and it’s getting a good response.

Within a few hours of release the trailer of the film has garnered over 15 lakh views on YouTube.  The gripping trailer, featuring John Abraham and Arjun Kapoor in intense looks, gives a glimpse into the film, which picks up right from where it ended eight years ago.

The Villain is here to take down all the heroes! #EkVillainReturns trailer out now! In cinemas this Villaintines Day- 29th July 2022. Tune in now:https://t.co/D32JZjABWr@arjunk26 @DishPatani @TaraSutaria #BhushanKumar #KrishanKumar @EktaaRKapoor @mohit11481 pic.twitter.com/kDtg05bWZa

— John Abraham (@TheJohnAbraham) June 30, 2022

The trailer opens with JD Chakravarthy giving a short recap of what happened in the first part of the film.

Also read: How My Brother Nikhil and Aligarh changed the lens for LGBTQIA+ representation in Bollywood

The trailer proceeds to show the masked villain who targets only girls who have rejected a one-sided love proposal.  In the trailer the villain is called the ‘Messiah’ of one-sided lovers.

The two-minute-forty-two-second trailer shows a love story between Disha and John and a booming relationship between Tara and Arjun as well. A heartbroken Arjun is also seen ditched by Tara.

However, things take a turn when Arjun suspects John is killing the women and they both clash.

The trailer creates a mystery around who is the villain of the story with the two protagonists clashing.

The soundtrack of the trailer is a reprised version of ‘Galliyan’. The song by Ankit Tiwari has become quite popular after the first film in 2014.

The fans of John Abraham are also reacting positively to the trailer showing great excitement.

What a electrifying trailer of #EkVillainReturns. Literally Goosebumps. Arjun kapoor looks terrific and John Abraham is also good in #EkVillainReturnstrailer . pic.twitter.com/tbp15flmEi

— Movie Reviews (@AjayRat42603938) June 30, 2022

Villain season is coming… Ready for #EkVillainReturns 🎭@TheJohnAbraham @arjunk26 @DishPatani #TaraSutaria pic.twitter.com/gB925yWzBs

— Resya Ichaa (@ItsMeResya) June 25, 2022

The film is directed by Mohit Suri who is known for films like Half Girlfriend, Aashiqui 2, Murder 2, Zeher and Kalyug among others. Ek Villain Returns will be the first collaboration between the director and John Abraham while Arjun Kapoor and Disha Patani have previously worked with Mohit.

Also read: ‘Jugjugg Jeeyo’ earns Rs 37 crore at box office in opening weekend

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

HUL chief Sanjiv Mehta set to be named non-executive chairman of Unilever Indonesia

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

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FMCG major Hindustan Unilever Ltd (HUL) on Thursday said its chief executive officer and managing director Sanjiv Mehta will be appointed the president commissioner (non-executive chairman) of Unilever’s Indonesia business.

Mehta’s appointment as president commissioner of PT Unilever Indonesia Tbk (Unilever Indonesia) is subject to approval from shareholders at Unilever Indonesia’s next extraordinary general meeting to be held on July 28, 2022.

“He will join the company’s board of commissioners and chair the same in a non-executive capacity. He will continue to be the chief executive officer and managing director, Hindustan Unilever Ltd (HUL), and President, Unilever South Asia. He is also a member of the Unilever Leadership Executive,” the statement said.

Also Read: Salary, full and final settlement within 2 days under new Wage Code

The board of commissioners of Unilever Indonesia is responsible for overseeing the policy and the implementation of the corporate governance agenda of the company and providing advice to the board of directors in managing the company, it said.

Established in 1933, Unilever Indonesia is one of Indonesia’s foremost FMCG companies with a turnover of $2.7 billion as of December 2021. Unilever Indonesia has nearly 5,000 employees. It manufactures over 40 Unilever brands including local jewels Bango and Sariwangi across nine factories situated in the country.

Also Read: Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat and Telangana among top achievers in ease of doing business

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

Top News Podcast: Eknath Shinde to be new Maharashtra CM, 1% TDS on cryptocurrency from July 1 and more

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

Listen to the Article (6 Minutes)

Eknath Shinde will take oath as the Maharashtra Chief Minister, announced Devendra Fadnavis on Thursday. He added that it was expected in 2019 that BJP and Shiv Sena together will form the government in Maharashtra.

“People’s mandate was insulted and the government was formed with anti-Hindu parties. The last two and a half years of the MVA government were full of corrupt practices – We have the support of 16 independent MLAs also,” he said.

In this edition of Top News Podcast, CNBCTV18.com’s Kanishka Sarkar shares the latest on Maharashtra political crisis, stock markets, cryptocurrencies, and more.

The market closed near the flatline amid volatility. Sensex slipped 8 points to 53,019 and Nifty50 was at 15,780. Reliance and banks lent support while IT and autos dragged Nifty50. The market has posted a fall of 10 percent in the second quarter of FY23 and this is the biggest Q2 fall since 2008.

Meanwhile, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, during the Union Budget 2022-23 in Parliament on February 1 introduced a 1 percent tax deducted at source (TDS) on the transfer of the virtual digital assets (VDAs) — or simply put crypto and Non Fungible Tokens (NFTs).

The TDS rule would come into force from July 1, i.e. Friday for transactions of more than Rs 10,000. The move comes after the imposition of a 30 percent flat income tax on cryptocurrencies from 1st April 2022.

Tune in to Top News Podcast for more

In case you have any queries or suggestions, please write to us at cnbctv18podcast@nw18.com

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