Month: June 2022

Google cleared to buy 1.28% stake in Bharti Airtel

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

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India’s antitrust watchdog Competition Commission of India (CCI) on Thursday allowed Google International LLC’s proposal to buy a 1.28 percent stage in telecom major Bharti Airtel.

The global technology giant will invest up to $1 billion in the telecom service provider through a mix of equity and commercial partnerships in areas like affordable smartpnones, networks, and cloud.

The deal has been cleared on the basis of modifications offered by the acquirer, according to an official release.

Along with the investment agreeement, both companies through their affiliates have also entered into certain commercial deals. The parties also intend to enter into certain other commercial arrangements in future, as per the release.

Deals beyond a certain threshold require approval from the regulator, which keeps a tab on unfair business practices in the market place. Google International LLC is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Google LLC. The latter is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Alphabet Inc.

With PTI inputs

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

Serum Institute seeks nod to export 32.4 lakh doses of its Covid vaccine Covovax to US

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

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The Serum Institute has sought the Centre’s approval to export 32.4 lakh doses of the COVID-19 jab Covovax under the brand name Nuvaxovid to the US, which will be the first vaccine to be exported to the country by any Indian manufacturer, official sources said on Thursday.

According to a communication sent to the government by Prakash Kumar Singh, Director, Government and Regulatory Affairs at the SII, the shipment is likely to be dispatched on July 3 if due approval come in time, an official source told PTI. The sources said it will be the first instance of any Indian manufacturer’s vaccine — Covid or non-Covid — to be exported to the US.

“It is a matter of pride for us and our country that in line with clarion call of our Prime Minister Narendra Modi ji’s ‘Making in India for the world’ and under leadership of our CEO, Dr Adar C. Poonawalla, our made in India world class Covovax vaccine will be the first life-saving vaccine of our country to be exported to United States of America. Also, our firm is committed to fulfill the dream of our PM to make India a pharmacy hub of the world,” Singh has said in his communication, according to an official source.

Also read: Gennova Bio gets DCGI’s emergency use authorisation nod for its mRNA COVID vaccine

On December 28, 2021, the Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) had approved Covovax for restricted use in emergency situations in adults, and in the 12-17 year age group on March 9 this year.

On June 29, the drug regulator approved it for restricted emergency use in children aged 7 to 11 years. Covovax is manufactured through technology transfer from Novavax and is approved by the European Medicines Agency for conditional marketing authorization.

It was granted emergency use listing by the World Health Organization on December 2017, 2020. In August 2020, the US-based vaccine maker Novavax Inc had announced a licence agreement with SII for the development and commercialisation of NVX-CoV2373, its COVID-19 vaccine candidate, in India and low and middle-income countries.

Also read: Coronavirus in India: Over 18,000 new COVID-19 cases recorded, highest in 130 days

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

England vs India 5th Test preview: Jasprit Bumrah to lead India as visitors eye series win

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

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England and India will lock horns in the fifth Test at Edgbaston in Birmingham on July 1, a match which was originally to be played last year at Old Trafford, but was rescheduled after a COVID-19 outbreak. India were leading the series 2-1 heading to the fifth Test.

Much has changed for both teams over the course of the year. Both teams now have new coaches and captains at the helm.

Virat Kohli and Ravi Shastri were the captain and coach of the Indian team, respectively. Shastri relinquished the coaching position after the T20 World Cup and Test captaincy was taken away from Kohli after the Test series in South Africa. Rohit Sharma is now the all-format captain of team India and Rahul Dravid is the head coach.

Likewise, England too has seen a change in captaincy and coaching role. Joe Root was England’s skipper when the series between the two sides was in progress with Chris Silverwood as the coach. But debacle in the Ashes saw Silverwood being sacked and Root stepped down as England’s Test captain following a series loss in the West Indies. Ahead of this year’s home season, England appointed Ben Stokes as the Test captain and Brendon McCullum as the coach of the Test side.

NEWS – @Jaspritbumrah93 to lead #TeamIndia in the fifth Test Match against England.@RishabhPant17 will be the vice-captain for the match.#ENGvIND pic.twitter.com/ueWXfOMz1L

— BCCI (@BCCI) June 30, 2022

Both teams head into the Test on the back of series wins, although England’s win is more recent compared to India.  India last played a Test series back home in March against Sri Lanka where they crushed the islanders 2-0. England are in red-hot form as they completed a 3-0 series whitewash against New Zealand this week.

With India leading the series 2-1, they just need to salvage a draw to win their first Test series on the English soil since 2007 when Dravid was the captain.

But India were pushed on the backfoot as they look to seal the series win. Sharma, tested positive for COVID-19 on Saturday and since then has been in isolation. He again tested positive on Wednesday and has been ruled out of the match. Fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah will now lead India in the Test.  Captaincy issue aside, India rushed opener, Mayank Agarwal, to England as a cover for Sharma at the top of the batting order.

Sharma and fellow opener KL Rahul were India’s top-two run scores last year in the series. Sharma had scored 368 runs while Rahul had accumulated 315 runs. Should Sharma be ruled out of the Test, India will be without the two batsmen as Rahul was not selected for the Test squad after sustaining an injury.

In that scenario, India would be relying on the form and experience of Cheteshwar Pujara. Struggling for form, India’s number three had joined the English county side and racked up scores of 170*, 203, 109, 201, as he averaged 143 in seven innings. Anticipation will also be around Kohli if he can notch a hundred.

The former Indian captain has failed to reach the three-figure mark in all forms of cricket since 2019. Eyes will also be on wicketkeeper-batsman Rishabh Pant. Pant had made his Test debut in England back in 2018 and come up with a sensational second-innings hundred at The Oval. For some unusual reasons, Pant has found scoring runs in overseas conditions easier than in India.

Three of his four Test hundreds, including his highest Test score of 159* have all come abroad. Other Indian batsman to watch out for is Shreyas Iyer. He has been on a run-scoring spree since making his Test debut against New Zealand last year.

Also read: England vs India 5th Test: These English players could pose a threat for team India

India’s bowling department meanwhile will be spearheaded by Bumrah and fellow pacer Mohammed Shami. The two bowlers come will come into this match after enjoying a break following a hectic IPL season. Last year Bumrah had claimed 18 wickets while Shami had picked 11 wickets. Mohammed Siraj should be India’s third-pace bowler.

Shardul Thakur should feature as the first-choice all-rounder and there could be a toss-up between Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja as the spin-bowling all-rounder.

England is going with the same Test squad which was picked for the third Test against New Zealand.

India will have to vary of the Joe and Jonny factor in the England batting line-up. Joe Root and Jonny Bairstow were in sensational form against New Zealand accumulating 396 and 394 respectively. Bairstow’s fast runs and Root’s solidity along with Stokes’ genius meant that England chased down targets of over 250 three times against New Zealand.

England’s bowling will most rely on old warhorses James Anderson and Stuart Broad. The two fast bowlers have been backed by Stokes and McCullum as they found themselves amongst wickets against New Zealand. Broad picked 12 wickets while Anderson claimed 11 scalps against the Blackcaps. Watch out for newcomer Matthew Potts. The 23-year-old fast bowler has made a sensational start to his Test career picking 14 wickets from his first three Tests. Left-arm spinner Jack Leach also remains a possible threat for the Indian bowlers after back-to-back 5-wicket hauls in the third Test against New Zealand.

The Test between England and India could be the last time that Kohli and Anderson could be facing each other at this level. The two greats of the game have had some iconic duals over the years and the batsman and the bowler will be wanting to have the last laugh and be on the winning side at the end of the match.

India squad: Rohit Sharma (c), Mayank Agarwal, Ravichandran Ashwin, Srikar Bharat (wk), Jasprit Bumrah, Shreyas Iyer, Ravindra Jadeja, Virat Kohli, Mohammed Shami, Mohammed Siraj, Rishabh Pant (wk), Prasidh Krishna, Cheteshwar Pujara, Shubhman Gill, Shardul Thakur, Hanuma Vihari, Umesh Yadav.

England squad: Ben Stokes (c), James Anderson, Stuart Broad, Jonny Bairstow (wk), Sam Billings (wk), Harry Brook, Zak Crawley, Jack Leach, Alex Lees, Jamie Overton, Craig Overton, Ollie Pope, Matthew Potts, Joe Root

The match begins at 3:00 PM IST

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

Mi 12S Ultra to have the largest-ever camera sensor in a smartphone

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

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Xiaomi is introducing a 1-inch camera sensor — the largest-ever in a  smartphone — in the Mi 12S Ultra. The phone will be launched on July 4 and will be live-streamed on the company’s official website. Xiaomi co-developed the sensor with Sony.

Many smartphone companies, including Sony, have tried to implement a big sensor but rarely succeeded. The closest is the Xperia Pro-I, which has a sensor of the same size but only uses part of it. The sensor is more or less the same as the one Sony uses in its $1,300 Cyber-shot RX100 VII.

Also Read: Here are some smartphone launches we are really excited about in July

This sensor would mean bigger pixels, bigger optics and a tremendous improvement in the image quality, especially in low light. And Xiaomi did not stop with a huge sensor.

The company has also collaborated with Leica for the hardware. While most collaborations seem more of a marketing gimmick and a way to attract buyers, Xiaomi has actually split the $15 million cost of developing the sensor with Sony.

Will this collaboration mean a hike in the Xiaomi price or will they make other compromises to stick with their price range? Come July 4 and we will find out. The phone will be a part of the Mi 12S lineup, which also includes the Xiaomi 12S and the Xiaomi 12S Pro.

Also Read: HTC launches metaverse smartphone Desire 22 Pro; here are the details

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

England vs India 5th Test: These English players could pose a threat for team India

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

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India and England are ready to lock horns in the fifth and the final Test of the series to be played at Edgbaston in Birmingham. India were leading the five-match Test series 2-1, when the series came to an abrupt pause following a COVID-19 outbreak in the Indian camp. India’s Test team is again in England to complete the series. A draw in the fifth Test should suffice for India to win their first Test series on English soil since 2007.

But even salvaging a draw against England would be difficult as the Three Lions are are on the top of their form. Under new captain Ben Stokes and new head coach Brendon McCullum, England’s Test team seem to have rejuvenated. England are in red-hot form after crushing New Zealand 3-0 in the just-concluded Test series.

England’s 15-man squad announced for the Test against India is a good mix of experience and youth, but here are three English players are of particular interest and would be the ones to watch out for.

1. Jonny Bairstow

One English batsman who is in red-hot form and could leave the Indian bowling attack in tatters is Jonny Bairstow. The middle-order batter will head into the match against India on the back of a fruitful series against New Zealand. In the three matches against the Blackcaps, Bairstow smashed two hundreds and one fifty.

With 328 runs, Bairstow was the third-highest run-scorer of the series. But what makes Bairstow a dangerous player is the rate at which he has scored the runs. In the second innings of the second Test at Nottingham, Bairstow hammered a hundred in just 77 balls and became the second-fastest English batter to notch a hundred. In the third Test at Leeds, Bairstow created further mayhem.

He first blasted a century and a half in mere 140 balls to hit the second-fastest 150 for England in Tests and then hit fifty in 30 deliveries to recond England’s second-fastest half-century. Overall, Bairstow had a strike rate of 120.12 in the six innings that he played. Bairstow’s form suggests that England could score big or chase down huge totals with ease. Indian bowlers have to devise a plan to control Bairstow or they could be severely punished.

2. Joe Root

Joe Root has started enjoying his batting after relinquishing England’s Test captaincy. Root stepped down as England’s Test skipper after debacles in the Ashes and England’s three-match Test series against the West Indies which England lost 0-1.

Despite the team’s result against the West Indies, Root showed form as he hit two hundreds. But against New Zealand free from the burden of leading the team, Root took his form to the next level as he notched two hundred and a half-century.

That totals to four hundreds and one fifty in last six appearances. Root’s outrageous six which he hit against pacer Neil Wagner highlights the former England captain’s confidence. And just in case we forgot, Root had played innings of 64, 180* and 121 against India last year.

3. Jack Leach

The third English player that Indians have to be careful against is left-arm spinner Jack Leach. The spinner is in form as he finished with 13 wickets from just four innings with back-to-back five-wicket hauls in the third Test which resulted in his career’s first 10-wicket match.

Before troubling New Zealand batsmen, Leach had a good short County stint against Hampshire, Gloucestershire and Warwickshire as he claimed 12 wickets in three matches. Leach would be itching to roll his arm over against India and continue his wicket-taking form.

The trio of Jonny, Joe and Jack are three players from the English players to watch-out for in the fifth Test against India in Birmingham. If India hopes to win the series then the team needs to negate the threat from these three players.

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

Google’s Switch to Android app now works with all non-Pixel devices

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

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Google’s Switch to Android app, which was initially limited to Google Pixel devices, is now available to all smartphones running Android 12. Released earlier this year, this is an important app for someone moving from an iPhone to an Android device.

The free iOS app makes it easier for users to switch their data from one device to another. It initiates a transfer process by displaying a QR Code on the iPhone. Once you scan the code, you can start transferring photos, videos, contacts, and even calendar events to your Android device. You can do it either wirelessly or through a cable connecting both phones. Using a cable will transfer heavy data faster than wirelessly.

You can also move your WhatsApp chats from one device to another, which was impossible before this. You will be asked to launch your WhatsApp during the process to transfer all your chat backup and media.

In case you are moving to an iPhone from an Android device, you can use the Move to iOS app to transfer all your data, including WhatsApp backup. The app has been helping users make the move since 2015.

Also read: OnePlus Nord 2T to launch on July 1 in India; all details 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

Stockbrokers must report any tech breach within six hours — this and other diktats by SEBI

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

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The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) on Thursday issued a fresh cybersecurity and cyber-resilience framework for stockbrokers and depository participants.

As per the new framework, stockbrokers and depository participants must report any cyber-attack, cyber-threat or breach to stock exchanges, depositories, and SEBI within six hours of the incident taking place or being noticed.

Further, these incidents must be reported as per guidelines to the Indian Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-In). Additionally, those who have been classified as “protected systems” by National Critical Information Infrastructure Protection Centre (NCIIPC) must report these incidents to the agency as per guidelines.

Also read: SEBI allows foreign portfolio investors to invest in commodity derivatives market

The framework also directs stockbrokers and depository participants to submit to stock exchanges, depositories and SEBI annual reports of cyber-attacks, cyber-threats, cyber-incidents and breaches experienced, as well as steps taken by them to mitigate such incidents, and information on bugs, vulnerabilities, threats that may be useful to other market participants.

These reports must be submitted within 15 days of the end of the financial quarter, the SEBI notice said.

The circular directed stockbrokers and depository participants to take appropriate steps to comply with these directives, and told stock exchanges and depositories to make the required amendments to the relevant bylaws, rules and regulations to enable implementation of these directives, and also spread awareness among their members or participants. 

Also read: SEBI fines NSE Rs 7 crore, Chitra Ramkrishna Rs 5 crore in ‘dark fibre’ case

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

Big Deal: ReNew Power sees green hydrogen, storage battery as new frontiers

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

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CNBC-TV18’s special show, Big Deal, focuses on the new energy business and the various opportunities as well as themes developing in the space in changed world order. Nasdaq-listed ReNew Power’s Sumant Sinha shared his perspective on the show.

Sinha believes green hydrogen projects in India and outside India and storage batteries are the new opportunities for the company.

“In India, we have started a green hydrogen joint venture with Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) and Larsen and Toubro (L&T) for green hydrogen projects within India. We are looking at a joint venture for batteries with Fluence and we are looking at green hydrogen opportunities outside India as well because our view is that hydrogen will be a global business. Therefore we are looking at all of these,” he said.

ReNew Power is the first company from India to list overseas via the special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) route almost a year ago.

Also Read: Fuel producers can sell domestic crude oil to non-govt entities from October

The company is in a much better position now than it was at the time of listing, he said.

“We are now waiting for the markets to come back a little bit and as that happens, we are pretty confident that with the performance that we are now showing, hopefully, that begins to reflect more directly into our share price as well,” he said.

The company is fully funded right now and doesn’t need to raise any capital per se. Therefore, through all of the disruptions happening in the international capital markets, ReNew Power just has to sit tight and focus and execute on its core business to make sure it becomes as healthy and sustainable as possible.

“We have about $1.5 billion of cash on our balancesheet as of March 31, 2022,” he said.

Sinha said he believes energy producers continue to benefit from the Russia-Ukraine war. Further, he said the company is seriously exploring various strategies to get into the Carbon Credit business, as renewables are attractive for investors, and see more exposure from existing shareholders
“The focus is to build more capacity in this space organically,” he said.

For the entire discussion, watch the accompanying video

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

All eyes on two-wheeler sales trends ahead of June auto number

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

Listen to the Article (6 Minutes)

Auto sales for the month of June will be released on Friday. While the sector is expected to see strong wholesale sales, especially for segments like passenger vehicles and commercial vehicles, two-wheelers continue to be under pressure.

The passenger vehicle space has done very well in the month of June, there were a slew of new launches, and there was an easing of the chip supply issue as well. All of that has led to very good demand in the passenger vehicle space, which is expected to see double-digit growth in June.

Even the commercial vehicle space has done quite well this time around. There has been pent-up demand, the freight rates have firmed up and there has been a pickup in infrastructure activity, and that has aided commercial vehicle demand.

The only space that has not recovered up until now is the two-wheeler space. In fact, there is a decline of 10 to 15 percent month-on-month as the marriage season demand has peaked.

Tractor segment — there is an improvement but with this deficiency in the monsoon that remains to be a big concern whether the improvement is something that can sustain.

The big risk to watch is the fact that until the 27th of June, the all-India average monsoon was down 10 percent if that continues then that perhaps could derail the rural sector even more.

According to Nomura — in the commercial vehicle space Ashok Leyland and Tata Motors is expected to see anywhere between 70 to 100 percent year-on-your rise compared to June of last year.

Moving on to the passenger vehicle space, Maruti is expected to see about a 10 percent growth on a year-on-your basis, while M&M Auto has done exceptionally well. They have had a slew of successful launches like the M&M XUV 700, and Thar and that will aid their numbers this time around. The tractor segment for M&M has been under pressure as the deficient monsoon has hit demand.

In the two-wheeler space, there are different problems that different companies are facing. So for Bajaj Auto, the numbers are expected to be poor because the management said that exports are getting hit for them as markets like Egypt have gone ahead and banned three-wheelers which have hit their numbers quite a bit.

For Hero MotoCorp, the slowdown in the rural segment is something that will give them just about a single-digit growth and for Royal Enfield, it will be the best of the lot though there has been a good pickup over there. TVS Motor Company also has been steady with about a 21 percent growth.

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