Month: October 2022

Trade setup for Nov 1: As long as Nifty holds 17,900, the bulls may remain in charge on D-Street

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

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Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) remained net purchasers of Indian shares for a third straight session on Monday, according to provisional exchange data.

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 April-September fiscal deficit of FY23 touches 37.3% of full-year target

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

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The central government’s fiscal deficit in the first half of the current financial year works out to be 37.3 percent of the full-year target, according to official data released on Monday.

In actual terms, the fiscal deficit — the difference between expenditure and revenue — was Rs 6,19,849 crore during the April-September period of 2022-23.

It was 35 percent of Budget Estimates (BE) in the corresponding period last fiscal.

Also read: Eight core sector industries’ output grows 7.9% in September

As per the data released by the Controller General of Accounts (CGA), the government’s total receipts, including taxes, stood at Rs 12.03 lakh crore or 52.7 percent of BE for 2022-23.

During the year-ago period, the collection was 55.6 percent of BE 2021-22.

The tax revenue stood at about Rs 10.11 lakh crore or 52.3 percent of this year’s BE.

The central government’s total expenditure was Rs 18.23 lakh crore or 46.2 percent of the BE 2022-23. It was 46.7 percent of BE 2021-22.

Also read: Govt approves 42 proposals for telecom products under PLI scheme

For 2022-23, the fiscal deficit of the government is estimated to be Rs 16.61 lakh crore or 6.4 percent of the GDP.

According to the data, capital expenditure was 45.7 percent of the full-year budget target in the current fiscal, compared to 41.4 percent in the corresponding period last year, as per the monthly account of the union government up to September.

Out of the total revenue expenditure, Rs 4.36 lakh crore was on account of interest payments and Rs 1.98 lakh crore on account of major subsidies.

Also read: RBI inflation meeting on Nov 3 — Economists don’t expect rate action

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

Looking back at Dil To Pagal Hai as the Yash Chopra film completes 25 years

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

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The first song I ever danced to on stage was ‘Koi Ladki Hai’, the rain song from Yash Chopra’s 1997 blockbuster musical Dil To Pagal Hai. I was five. I love the songs of several other Yash Raj and Dharma classics — Chandni, Lamhe, Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge (DDLJ), Kuch Kuch Hota Hai, Mohabbatein — but the album of none of these films has been as intimately a part of my life as Dil To Pagal Hai’s been over the years.

It’s been a quarter of a century since the film’s release but I invariably keep returning to its enchanting music composed by Uttam Singh (hands down his most inspired work so far). It never fails to charm me and make me believe a little in love no matter where I am or what I am going through in life. My eldest cousin would dance for hours on Karisma Kapoor’s Le Gayi. I was too young to know what the lyrics meant but I could sing the entire song word for word, much better than I could some of my pre-primary poems.

I was besotted with DDLJ’s Raj like an entire generation of women and girls but I could never relate to Simran or bring myself to like the film’s second half. It was too much of desi melodrama for my subdued sensibilities. Meanwhile, Kuch Kuch Hota could never really affect me the way it did so many people around me. I was always a Dil To Pagal Hai girl. I loved the stage, dancing, music, Yash Chopra movies, and romance. This one film brought it all together and how.

For the first few years, I was so awestruck by Nisha that I couldn’t notice anyone else in the film — not Shah Rukh Khan or even Madhuri Dixit. It was a supporting role that reached Kapoor after several female superstars had turned it down. I’m so glad they did for I cannot imagine anyone other than Kapoor playing Nisha with such aching vulnerability and haunting beauty. I used to think that in a country of Madhuri Dixit fans, my love for Nisha was my little secret. But turns out, I’m not the only one.

Soumyata Chauhan, a 28-year-old Mumbai-based advertising professional, says, “The way Nisha’s character was written, it was so refreshing. It would have been so easy for the makers to portray her as the other woman or the second fiddle but they chose not to. That’s what made the character stand out for me.”

Also Read: Wendell & Wild movie review: Henry Selick and Jordan Peele’s Halloween horror comedy is grand but not spooky enough

Swati Thapar, a 32-year-old digital marketing copywriter based in Amsterdam, agrees. “Nisha’s character has stood the test of time. She’s talented and makes no bones about it. She manages to be kind and appreciative towards her competition, which only a person who is comfortable with their own art and their own self can do. She is not afraid to confess her feelings to the boy she loves or even be judged for it. She beat the cliché in 1997 and there’s something that I could learn from her even today. Also, Nisha’s closing dialogue is one of Bollywood’s best wisdom on love. ‘Kisi ko pyaar karna aur usi se pyaar paana bahut kum logon ko naseeb hota hai’ (Very few people are fated to be loved back by the ones they love),” Thapar says.

Nupur Agrawal, a digital marketing consultant from Bangalore, says she too has always been able to connect better with Nisha than anyone else in the film. “As a teenager, I remember feeling super bored about the ‘Maya’ stuff. The best part of the film was Nisha. Her character, her love, her friendship, and the scene where she tells God, ‘Tu bura hai’ (you are bad) was relatable and seemed a lot more real than Rahul and Pooja.”

Twenty-five years feels like a good time to look back at a film and see if it has aged well. Sure, Dil To Pagal Hai fields problematic ideas such as ‘Hum Hindustani ladkiyan apna jeevansaathi khud nahi chunti, usey toh humare liye koi aur chunta hai‘ (we Indian women don’t get to choose our life partner, he is chosen for us by someone else) or finding your true soulmate in the first person you get together with. Life doesn’t work like that. Sometimes, you need to meet a lot of people before you get to the one who makes your heart sing Are Re Are.

But Dil To Pagal Hai also gets a lot right. It introduced the concept of loving thy self a lot before Kareena Kapoor’s Geet from Jab We Met came along and told us unabashedly, ‘Mai apni favorite hoon‘ (I am my favourite person). Chauhan agrees. “In a world of Kuch Kuch Hota Hai fanatics, I always managed to remain a Dil To Pagal Hai loyalist. The whole film is a masterpiece but that one scene where Pooja gifts herself a bunch of flowers and chocolates on Valentine’s Day really spoke to me. It was this scene that introduced us ‘90s kids to the subject of self-love, much before Instagram came into our lives.”

Even if Kuch Kuch Hota Hai kept harping about ‘pyaar dosti hai‘ (love is friendship),  Rahul was an extremely horrible friend to Anjali. He does not follow his own theory; he falls in love with a woman who is not his best friend, so smitten he is with her beauty. Rahul and Nisha’s equation in Dil To Pagal Hai, meanwhile, is the stuff of friendship goals. Nisha is no Anjali. She doesn’t just confess to Rahul her feelings, she also confronts him about it when needed. Together, they reach a resolution and move on, stronger and thicker than ever. Dil To Pagal Hai is what Kuch Kuch Hota Hai should have been but is not.

It is also one of those rare Hindi movies in which the actor and actress meet each other for the first time around the interval. Chopra doesn’t treat the friendships between Rahul-Nisha and Pooja-Ajay as an aside but gives them ample space and concrete in the first half to become a solid foundation for the conflict to play out later in the film.

Also Read: Tripling season 3 review: No road trip this time, but a memorable journey nonetheless

Yash Raj and Dharma are also notoriously infamous for making their films in a way where the first and the second halves look and feel like two different movies. Take any of their popular films — Kabhi Kabhie, Chandni, Lamhe, DDLJ, Kuch Kuch Hota Hai, Kabhi Khushi Kabhi Gham. The first halves of these films are starkly different from what you get to see post interval. Dil To Pagal Hai was among the first films to break this construct. It flows like one country brook that gurgles through uninterrupted, making soft music as it moves along.

The one big question that the film revolves around is a major life lesson. Dil To Pagal Hai opens with Khan and Dixit breaking the fourth wall and Khan asking: ‘Mujhe kaise pata chalega ki mere liye kaun banaya gaya hai?‘ (how will i find out who it is that is meant for me) I don’t entirely agree with Dixit’s response but there is some element of truth in it. You need to find your version of right. It takes a while but once you do, it becomes a lot easier to spot them when they come along. What the Chopra directorial also illustrates wonderfully is how you cannot and should not force love. It either happens or it doesn’t. And when it does, you’ll know.

I cannot write about Dil To Pagal Hai and not mention its opening track Ek Duje Ke Vaaste. Remember Ye Fizaein, the song that Mai Hoon Na ends with? Ek Duje Ke Vaaste is even better. It features several prominent real-life couples. See how many you can identify. I’ll drop a tiny hint. It ends with an adorable Yash Chopra lovingly hugging his wife Pamela.

Also Read: 5 years of Secret Superstar: A homage to mothers and motherhood

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

Axis Bank stake sale: Bain Capital to sell 1.2% in bank for $410 million

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

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Private equity player Bain Capital is likely to sell a 1.2 percent stake in Axis Bank under a $410-million (Rs 3,350 crore) block deal on Tuesday, November 1, sources privy to the developments told CNBC-TV18.

The three Bain Capital affiliates — BC Asia Investments VII, BC Asia Investments III, and Integral Investments South Asia IV — collectively hold a 4.27 percent stake in Axis Bank under the FDI (foreign direct investment) category.

The floor price for the Axis Bank block deal is Rs 888 per share, which is a discount of up to 2 percent on the scrip’s close on Monday, October 31, in the block deal. JP Morgan is the broker of the deal.

In 2017, Bain Capital picked up a stake of 4.8 percent in Axis Bank for Rs 6,854 crore.

Shares of Axis Bank ended at Rs 905.85, up by Rs 2.85, or 0.32 percent on the BSE.

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

Amazon India seller Appario Retail to stop selling on platform within a year

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

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E-commerce firm Amazon India on Friday, October 28, said online seller Appario Retail Private Ltd will cease to be a seller from the company’s online platform within 12 months.

“Amazon and India’s Patni group-owned Zodiac Wealth Management LLP have agreed to renew their joint venture Frontizo Business Services Private Limited. Partners have decided that Appario Retail Private Limited, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Frontizo, will cease to be a seller on amazon.in and amazon.in/business within the next 12 months,” a joint statement said.

Appario Retail is one of Amazon’s largest sellers in India and a wholly-owned subsidiary of Frontizo Business Services, which is a joint venture between Amazon India and Patni Group-owned Zodiac Wealth Management LLP. It mainly sells smartphones, smartwatches, electronics, etc across brands.

Also Read: Morbi bridge collapse: Wall clock, e-bike maker Oreva group had no experience in construction business

Appario and Cloudtail are the two most prominent sellers on the e-tailer’s platform, which came under CCI scanner earlier this year for being Amazon’s preferred sellers.

Online retail firm Cloudtail India, one of the largest sellers on the Amazon India marketplace, stopped selling on the e-tailer’s platform in May 2022.

Also read: Key challenge for CCI is implementing amendments: Ex-chairman AK Gupta

Cloudtail is primarily engaged in the business of trading goods on the e-commerce marketplace. It is a joint venture (JV) firm between Infosys Founder N.R. Narayana Murthy and Amazon.

The JV was dissolved after Murthy’s Catamaran, which held a 74 percent stake in the Prione Business Services, that operated the JV, decided to discontinue it in August last year. The American e-commerce giant holds a 24 percent share.

Also Read: LTTS to hire over 1000 engineers for its new Mysuru campus

Prione Business Services was formed in 2014 and was up for renewal on May 19, 2022. However, in August, Amazon and Catamaran announced that they have mutually decided to not continue their joint venture beyond May 2022.

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

Key challenge for CCI is implementing amendments: Ex-chairman AK Gupta

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

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The Competition Commission of India (CCI) will have to brace itself to operationalise path-breaking amendments, said A.K. Gupta, former chairman of CCI.

A parliamentary panel on finance is looking at the Competition Amendment Bill 2022 and the anti-competitive practices of Big Tech.

Among other measures, the proposed law seeks to regulate measures and acquisitions based on deal value thresholds.

Gupta said the new law proposes settlement and commitment, deal value threshold, leniency as well as regime. “Implementing the provisions of the new Competition Amendment Bill will be a challenge. The new CCI chief will have to hit the ground running due to the short implementation of time,” he said.

Also read: Govt appoints Sangeeta Verma as acting chairperson of CCI

He also said he didn’t see any ambiguity in deal value threshold. He said currently some mergers in the digital markets are not being able to be captured and the target entities command a significant market position because of control over tangibles.

“We would like to capture very few mergers in digital markets and would like to assess mergers that do not have substantial operations in India,” he said.

Also read: CCI slaps Rs 223.48-crore penalty on MakeMyTrip, Rs 168.88 crore on OYO

Talking about challenges in dealing with Big Tech, Gupta said that digital platforms have a decisive influence on online competition. They control the infrastructure, terms of access and have rule-setting power. “The power of digital platforms can have an adverse effect on the consumers and competition landscape. The challenge is to do market correction and with speed,” he said.

Last week, the CCI imposed a nearly Rs 2,500-crore penalty on Google for abusing its market dominance. The hefty fine on the tech major could have long-term implications for Big Tech companies.

Talking about that, Gupta said the CCI’s job is to make sure the competition landscape remains competitive. The CCI order will open a mobile ecosystem to competing apps of Google. “Competing indigenous apps were not getting a chance to flourish. Google was imposing its Google Pay billing systems and denying access to others. Third-party payment systems will now be able to compete,” he said.

He said the CCI has given behavioural remedies that are guidelines for other Big Tech companies. “If other Big Tech companies behave in a similar fashion then action can be taken against them as well. They should take a cue from the CCI orders against Google,” he said.

Watch video for the entire 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

Frustrated Darren Sammy hurting at terminal decline of West Indies cricket after WI fail to qualify for Super 12 of T20 World Cup 2022

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

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“It hurts man, it hurts.” Darren Sammy’s eyes, the sad smile tells it all the moment he was asked about the terminal decline of West Indies cricket.

The Caribbean team hit the nadir at the ongoing T20 World Cup 2022 as the two-time champions (2012 and 2016) couldn’t even qualify for the Super 12s.

As a double T20 World Cup-winning skipper, Sammy is bound to be frustrated and angry. But at the same time, he is pragmatic enough to understand the practical difficulties which includes not enough financial security offered by Cricket West Indies (CWI).

Also Read | T20 World Cup: 5 major upsets at the mega event in Australia

Sammy is very clear that unlike BCCI, the West Indies board can never stop its players from choosing franchise leagues over playing for the assortment of island nations.

“India is strong because they can tell their players that you don’t play anywhere else. You have to understand that they have the money to back it up,” Sammy told PTI in an exclusive interview on what ails West Indies cricket.

“An India A list contracted player could probably make a million dollar a year (Rs 7 crore plus match fees plus TV rights money) compared to a Windies A lister, who would earn USD 150,000 (Rs 1.2 crore roughly) .

“That’s a massive difference and obviously the question of pay (disparity) will always come up. It’s very difficult for smaller boards (in terms of financial might) to keep their players together when they are handsomely paid elsewhere,” Sammy said without mincing words while hitting the nail on its head.

Also Read | Watch: Ireland’s Barry McCarthy pulls off unbelievable fielding effort in T20 World Cup match against Australia

A sportsman’s peak period is a short one and it’s no longer an amateur sport where passion was the biggest ration for men in flannels.

“Gone are those days when you played for love. Love doesn’t buy you groceries from supermarket,” said Sammy bluntly.

He feels that CWI can learn a thing or two from how New Zealand Cricket has dealt with this dilemma.

“So, it’s a tough period. I think NZC does it quite well (no international cricket scheduled during IPL). If NZC can do it, it comes down to communication. It’s upto the players and the boards to get a working system.” A commitment in a professional relationship demands certain kind of sacrifices.

“If you say, you are committed to me (player to board or vice versa), then some level of sacrifice has to happen. You can’t be committed to me when nothing else is available for you.”

On Russell and lack of communication

Players like Andre Russell didn’t take part in the T20 World Cup and one of IPL’s big buys, current skipper Nicholas Pooran, didn’t look half the player he is.

Sammy feels that communication is a two-way street and both Russell and CWI have to come on the same page.

“I think it cuts both ways (referring to the communication gap). But one also needs to show the desire to play. Desire is gauged by action.

“I can say ‘I want to play, I want to play’ but if my actions don’t show that, obviously there will be communication gap,” Sammy said in a message for Russell.

“I don’t know what kind of communication happened among guys like Russell, Fabien Allen and Cricket West Indies but it wasn’t good enough. But then in CPL, we have had young players who have outshone Russell and Co,” said the former skipper, who feels that no one is indispensable.

Playing only leagues can have negative effect

Sammy knows a thing or two about winning T20 World Cups and he strongly believes that being a star freelancer in global leagues can make you the most sought after player but it certainly has its pitfalls while playing occasional T20Is for the country.

“I don’t know what motivates them (players) but one thing I know for sure. When West Indies won two T20 World Cups in 2012 and 2016, in that phase our domination was because all our top T20 players were still regularly playing international cricket.

“Some were playing Test matches and a lot of them were playing ODIs. Facing international bowlers was always there,” he elaborated.

A classic example for Sammy is Englishman Alex Hales, who has been a star in T20 leagues (not IPL) but after a long layoff is having problems adjusting in international cricket.

“You can play ‘n’ number of leagues but it is hard to play T20 leagues for long time and one fine day appear for your national team and expect that you will create magic. That doesn’t happen.

“Take the example of Alex Hales. For four years, he faced franchise bowling and as good a player Alex is, at international level, you have three to four bowlers always on song. To play that high level, you have to practice at that high level.”

Playing for Caribbean nations not solution

What hurts Sammy is the lack of pride while wearing that iconic maroon West Indies jersey.

“For decades, it was our thing. When we came to T20 World Cups, win or lose, we had that fear factor in our jersey Numbers. The teams knew that they would have to bring their A game.

“But that’s not the case at the moment. To think of a West Indies team not among the top 12 of a T20 World Cup is unimaginable.” So, will playing for Barbados, Jamaica, Guyana at least in T20Is can be a solution considering there will be some pride associated with playing for the flag? Sammy outrightly rejected the idea.

“No, I don’t think that will work as West Indies have too much history to be disintegrated into island nations. Also, a practical difficulty is that all the islands don’t have enough quality players to play for the nation,” he concluded.

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

Online gaming now safe and risk-free, claims Mobile Premier League

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

Listen to the Article (6 Minutes)

Mobile Premier League (MPL) recently launched a host of programmes to foster “safe and risk-free gameplay.” One such initiative is the loss protection policy, which, the company claims, allows gamers to claim a refund of up to 100 percent of their net losses that they may have incurred after playing 10 gameplay sessions with specified thresholds.

“Yet another way we are continuing our efforts to make gaming more secure and lag-free is through our Bug Bounty programme. Under this, we will reward security researchers up to Rs 10 lakh for successfully identifying a valid vulnerability on MPL. This will not just enable us to spot any security vulnerabilities but also help us take targeted steps to tackle them in a timely manner. Through initiatives such as these, we look forward to giving users a gaming experience they can trust and enjoy,” said Namratha Swamy, Country Head — India, MPL.

Swamy also added that MPL recently received a SHIELD Trust Certification for its strategic security initiatives to protect the interest of players on the platform. SHIELD is a global risk intelligence company and the certificate considers a company’s trust profile and assesses key risk metrics such as the number of genuine users, user-to-device ratio, and the prevalence of malicious tools used on a given platform to establish its credibility.

Also Read: RBI to commence first Digital Rupee pilot in the wholesale segment on November 1

“With a trust score of 95.95 percent, MPL has become the world’s first multi-gaming company to acquire this certification after fulfilling the vital requirements of SHIELD’s Trust Check, which renders it the most credible and safe platform for gaming enthusiasts,” she said.

Swamy claims that the Bug Bounty programme helps the company focus on identifying security vulnerabilities and make concerted efforts in devising a timely resolution to tackle them.

The programme is not limited to just identifying security loopholes but also allows researchers to report any possibility of fraud that can give a player an unfair advantage, encouraging reports on instances that can enable a player to compromise with the gameplay or the outcomes, like win a game without playing, alter the gameplay or even post outrageous scores.

Also Read: As the cyber security month comes to an end, this is what the experts are saying on the issue

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