Fully vaccinated Mumbaikars can travel in local trains from August 15: Maha CM

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

Listen to the Article (6 Minutes)

Maharashtra CM Uddhav Thackeray today announced that local trains will resume operations in Mumbai from August 15 for those who are fully vaccinated.

Thackeray, in his address through Facebook Live, said that there will be an app where a fully vaccinated person can get the pass to travel in addition to an offline system for people who don’t own smartphones.

Currently, common people are not allowed to board Mumbai suburban trains, which are being operated only for the people employed in essential sectors and government services.
The chief minister also said that his government was considering to grant relaxations to shops, malls, restaurants and places of religious worship and a decision would be taken after a meeting of the task force on Monday.

The CM appealed to offices to stagger work timings and allow those who can work from home to continue the practice.

Currently, common people are not allowed to board Mumbai suburban trains, which are being operated only for the people employed in essential sectors and government services.

The chief minister also said that his government was considering to grant relaxations to shops, malls, restaurants and places of religious worship and a decision would be taken after a meeting of the task force on Monday.

About the decline in COVID-19 cases in the state, Thackeray said that the pandemic is far from over. “What we have learnt is that if we need to control the spread. We have to follow COVID-19 protocols and increase vaccination. We have a capacity to vaccinate up to 15 lakh in a day too as we have already vaccinated 8 lakh people in a day,” he said.

He further added that the state has taken steps to prepare for a possible third wave.

Thackeray also revealed that he has appealed to PM Modi to give states the right to relax the 50 percent cap on reservations.

-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

NIA carries out searches at 56 locations against Jamaat members in terror funding case in J&K

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

Listen to the Article (6 Minutes)

The National Investigation Agency on Sunday carried out multiple raids against Jamaat-e-Islami (JeI) linked members across Jammu and Kashmir, over two years after the religious group was banned by the Centre under anti-terror laws, officials said. The joint raids by the NIA along with the police and CRPF were conducted at 56 locations in all the 10 districts of Kashmir and four districts of Jammu province — Ramban, Kishtwar, Doda and Rajouri — in a case related to the terror funding, a spokesperson of the NIA said.

”Searches conducted today included the premises of office bearers of the proscribed association, its members and also offices of trusts purportedly run by the JeI. During the searches, various incriminating documents and electronic devices were seized from the premises of the suspects,” the spokesperson said. In February 2019, the Centre banned the JeI for five years under anti-terror laws on the ground that it was ”in close touch” with militant outfits and was expected to ”escalate secessionist movement” in the erstwhile state. A notification banning the group under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act was issued by the Ministry of Home Affairs after a high-level meeting on security chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Hundreds of JeI activists were arrested in a major crackdown across Jammu and Kashmir following the ban, which came just months ahead of the abrogation of the special status of Jammu and Kashmir and its bifurcation into Union territories in August 2019. ”A case was registered by the NIA on February 5, 2021 in pursuance to order from the Ministry of Home Affairs relating to separatist and secessionist activities of JeI, an unlawful association under the UA(P) Act, even after its proscription on February 28, 2019,” the spokesperson said.

The NIA said the members of the organisation have been collecting funds domestically and abroad through donations, particularly in the form of ’Zakat, Mowda and Bait-ul-Mal’, purportedly to further charity and other welfare activities but these funds are instead being used for violent and secessionist activities. ”The funds raised by the JeI are also being channelised to proscribed terrorist organisations such as Hizb-ul-Mujahideen (HM), Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and others through well-organised networks of JeI cadres. The JeI has also been motivating impressionable youth of Kashmir and recruiting new members (Rukuns) in Jammu and Kashmir to participate in disruptive secessionist activities,” the spokesperson said. The NIA said further investigation in the case is going on.

.

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

Delhi: Class 10 to 12 students can visit schools from Monday for admission, board practicals

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

Listen to the Article (6 Minutes)

The Delhi government Sunday allowed students of class 10 to 12 to visit schools from Monday for work related to admission, practical activities for board exam, and also said that health checkup camps situated on school campuses can resume.

Through an order issued Sunday evening, the Delhi Disaster Management Authority (DDMA) also permitted the opening of weekly markets across the city from Monday with a rider that the vendors and visitors shall follow Covid-19 appropriate behaviour.

The DDMA, however, specified that schools, coaching centres and colleges will remain closed for teaching purposes. ”Students of class 10 to 12 in the city are permitted to visit their schools from August 9 (Monday) for admission-related work including counselling, guidance and practical activities for board exam. ”

Health checkups and referral services situated in schools or conducted from there can resume. Children of all age may visit these centres accompanied by their parents or guardians,” the DDMA order stated. It said the Directorate of Education shall issue appropriate guidelines with respect to these permitted activities to ensure that COVID-19 protocols are followed and children safety is ensured.

The order also said, ”All weekly markets are allowed subject to strict compliance of guidelines issued by the government. No unauthorised weekly market is allowed to function.” The order added that roadside weekly markets will not be allowed.

.

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

PM Modi to launch Ujjwala 2.0 on Tuesday

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

Listen to the Article (6 Minutes)

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will launch Ujjwala 2.0 (Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana – PMUY) by handing over LPG connections at Mahoba in Uttar Pradesh on August 10.

During the event, to be held via video conferencing, the Prime Minister will interact with beneficiaries of the Ujjwala scheme and will also address the nation, a government statement said on Sunday.

Describing the journey from Ujjwala 1.0 to Ujjwala 2.0, the release said, during Ujjwala 1.0 launched in 2016, the target was set to provide LPG connections to five crore women members of BPL households. Subsequently, the scheme was expanded in April 2018 to include women beneficiaries from seven more categories: SC/ST, PMAY, AAY, Most backward classes, tea garden, forest dwellers, Islands. Also, the target was revised to eight crore LPG connections.

“This target was achieved in August 2019, seven months ahead of the target date,” the statement added.

In the Union budget for FY 21-22, provision for an additional one crore LPG connection under the PMUY scheme was announced. These one crore additional PMUY connections (under Ujjwala 2.0) aim to provide deposit-free LPG connections to those low-income families who could not be covered under the earlier phase of PMUY.

“Along with a deposit free LPG connection, Ujjwala 2.0 will provide first refill and hotplate free of cost to the beneficiaries. Also, the enrollment procedure will require minimum paperwork. Ujjwala 2.0 will help achieve the Prime Minister’s vision of universal access to LPG,” the release claimed.

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

IDBI Bank strategic sale: 7 firms in race for transaction advisor

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

Listen to the Article (6 Minutes)

As many as seven firms, including JM Financial, Ernst and Young and Deloitte, have bid for managing the strategic sale of IDBI Bank. These firms would make a virtual presentation before the Department of Investment and Public Asset Management, which is handling the sale process, on August 10, according to a notice by DIPAM.

The firms that have bid for acting as transaction advisor are Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu India LLP, Ernst and Young LLP, ICICI Securities, JM Financial Ltd, KPMG, RBSA Capital Advisors LLP and SBI Capital Markets. DIPAM would appoint one transaction advisor for the strategic sale of IDBI Bank, in which the central government and LIC together own more than 94 per cent.

LIC, currently having management control, has a 49.24 per cent stake, while the government holds 45.48 per cent in the bank. Non-promoter shareholding stands at 5.29 per cent. The exact quantum of stake dilution would be decided later.

The government in June invited bids from reputed professional consulting firms / investment bankers / merchant bankers / financial institutions / banks, for facilitating/assisting DIPAM in the process of strategic disinvestment of IDBI Bank Ltd. along with transfer of management control, till completion of the transaction. The last date for bid submission was July 13, which was later extended till July 22. The Transaction Advisor would be required to advise and assist the government on modalities of disinvestment and the timing; recommend the need for other intermediaries required for the process of sale/disinvestment and also help in identification and selection of the same with proper Terms of Reference; preparation of all documents like Preliminary Information Memorandum (PIM), organise roadshows, suggest measures to fetch optimum value.

The advisor would also be supporting IDBI Bank in setting up of the e-data room and assisting in the smooth conduct of the due diligence process, will help position the divestment of GoI equity in IDBI Bank to organize roadshows and to generate interest among the prospective buyers. The Cabinet in May had approved the strategic sale of the entire stake of the government and Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) in IDBI Bank Ltd.

In response to queries received from potential transaction advisors in IDBI Bank, the DIPAM had last month clarified that since LIC’s stake would be sold along with that of the government’s, a single transaction advisor would manage the entire share sale process. The quantum of stake dilution would be declared before RFP (Request for Proposal) stage of the transaction.

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in her Budget for 2021-22 had said the process of privatisation of IDBI Bank would be completed in the current fiscal. The government aims to mop up Rs 1.75 lakh crore in the current fiscal from minority stake sale and privatisation. Of the Rs 1.75 lakh crore, Rs 1 lakh crore is to come from selling government stake in public sector banks and financial institutions while Rs 75,000 crore would come as CPSE disinvestment receipts.

So far in the current fiscal the government has mobilised Rs 7,648 crore as disinvestment receipts.

.

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

Tokenization: Redefining digital payment eco-system with encryption

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

Listen to the Article (6 Minutes)

Anyone who has ever bought an item through the e-commerce route, will vouch for what experts have been saying for a few years now: that the country is witnessing an unprecedented digital revolution, which is unlikely to decelerate in the near future. The digital revolution is here to stay, grow and prosper, and so will the online payment mechanism ecosystem.

A revolution that has been sparked by the increased internet penetration in both urban and rural areas, affordable mobile devices, secure transaction environment and a shift in consumer behaviour. The revolution has further fuelled by the Covid-19 epidemic that started last year which has seen an astounding 73 percent increase in spending in Tier I and 400 percent in Tier II and Tier III coupled with preference shift in subscription based services.

Moreover, with the looming threat of third wave is forcing millions of families to stay home and depend on digital world to meet their day-to-day requirements.

However, if the digital revolution is to gather further momentum, capitalise on consumers who make online transactions their priority, two things are need of the hour. One, the need to further enhance the consumer payment experience by making digital payment seamless, and the second, is to protect the consumer’s sensitive financial and personal details from hackers.

According to RBI’s 2019-20 annual report, the number of registered frauds has increased at a compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of 14 percent while the value of frauds has increased by 34 percent in the past three years.

Keeping these priorities in mind, the RBI on January 8, 2019, issued guidelines for card tokenisation. It stated that banks, with the support of authorized card networks, can offer such services to holders of debit, credit and prepaid cards.

This permission was extended to all use cases/ channels like near-field communication (NFC), magnetic secure transmission (MST), in-app payments, QR code payments or token storage mechanisms like cloud, secure element, trusted execution environment, etc with certain conditions. This facility, however, was only offered through mobile phones/ tablets only. “It’s an extension to other devices will be leveraged later based on experience gained,’’ the RBI circular added.

Simply put, tokenization is the replacement of actual card details with a unique alternate number called “token”, which aims to reduce the risk of loss of sensitive data. It adds a safety layer to digitised payment by replacing the permanent account number (PAN) which assures customers that no sensitive information is lost in case of a security breach

Moreover, reduction in fraud impact on online merchants globally and reporting of low fraud rate in India, not only translates the convenience of tokens but the reassurance of security, especially in those making recurring, one-click or in-app payments.

It enables the financial institutions, merchants and third-party payment providers, secure mobile and online payments without the need to share or store sensitive account information. Also for consumers, there is no change in the way payment is made, instead it brings back trust into the system by removing the complexity in digital transactions.

However, e-commerce players are not relishing the benefit as tokenisation is currently restricted to device-based like mobiles and tablets. So, the merchants and payment aggregators are unable to provide platform-agnostic services.

Tokenisation can also be an easy solution to RBI’s guidelines prohibiting merchants, payment aggregators and payment gateway providers from storing any customer information like card related details. Also, these tokens, if intercepted is of little use as it contains no cardholder information.

On the other hand, RBI guidelines deprive e-commerce players of two key benefits; ejecting from re-entering the card details and helping to execute recurring payments. Thus, it will affect the payment experience of customers across industries like retail, OTT, etc. It will also mean having to make changes in architecture, existing storage and recurring payment functionalities, which will also add extra costs, for e-commerce merchants, payment aggregators and payment gateways.

To bring a balance between ease of payment experience and protecting customer’s data, card-on-file tokenisation should be enabled for e-commerce merchants, payment aggregators and payment gateways as it will ensure seamless customer experience and prevent a high churn rate in customers
Much like the counterparts in Australia, United Kingdom, and the United States, which makes no distinction in implementing tokenisation between use cases like in-app and card-on-file, Indians too expect greater convenience through different devices connected to the cloud technology.

The future of digital payments lies in tokenisation and the earlier we recognise its importance, the easier will be the move to an easy, safe, seamless, and secure payment mechanism and also ensure the government’s goal to move towards a less-cash India.

The author, Ashish Gupta, is Director at Kaizzen Insights. The views expressed are personal

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

Airfares on key international flights connecting India rise amid high demand

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

Listen to the Article (6 Minutes)

Average economy-class fares on international flights operating on key routes connecting India have risen significantly during the last one month due to high demand, according to data from EaseMyTrip.com. The travel website’s data shows that the average economy class fare on a flight heading from Delhi in India to Newark in the US increased from Rs 69,034 in July to Rs 87,542 in August.

An average economy class ticket on the Mumbai-Moscow flight and Mumbai-Doha flight was priced Rs 43,132 and Rs 11,719, respectively, in July this year, according to the data. This increased to Rs 85,024 and Rs 18,384, respectively, by August. In a statement, Nishant Pitti, CEO and Co-founder of EaseMyTrip.com, said there has been an increase in the average economy fares of international routes in August compared to July.

”Recently, a large number of countries have eased their travel restrictions for Indian citizens, which has steadily increased demand for travel as there is a huge pent-up travel demand,” he stated. Rising fuel costs and shortfalls in seat availability are also some of the other reasons for the increase in airfares at each of these routes, he pointed out. Passengers have been complaining on social media about the rise in fares of India-UK flights during the last couple of weeks.

Sanjeev Gupta, Secretary, Inter-State Council Secretariat, Union Home Ministry, said on Twitter on Saturday that an economy-class ticket on British Airways’s Delhi-London flight for August 26 was priced Rs 3.95 lakh. Gupta added that economy-class ticket on Delhi-London flights of Vistara and Air India for August 26 was also priced between Rs 1.2 lakh and Rs 2.3 lakh amid the college admission time in the UK.

In response, Vistara spokesperson stated: ”Pricing is always a function of supply and demand. There are only 15 flights a week allowed currently on India – UK route for Indian carriers and when there is relaxation and more capacity allowed, it will automatically bring down prices.” Scheduled international passenger flights have been suspended in India since March 23 last year amid the coronavirus pandemic. However, limited special international passenger flights have been operating since July 2020 under the air bubble arrangements formed with 28 countries, including the UK. According to the data of EaseMyTrip.com, the average economy-class ticket on a flight operating on the Bengaluru-Male-Bengaluru route increased from Rs 18,741 in July to Rs 20,372 in August.

Pitti said he anticipates a huge pent up demand for the travel and tourism sector post the vaccination drive across India. ”We can very well see that the tendency of people for revenge travel has already kicked-in and there has been a significant increase in queries and bookings for domestic as well as international destinations have been starting now, which we believe is a positive sign for whole of the travel industry,” he noted.

.

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

UK PM Johnson ‘threatened to demote Rishi Sunak’ over leaked letter: Report

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

Listen to the Article (6 Minutes)

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson is said to have been furious over a letter being leaked to the media last week, which claimed his Chancellor Rishi Sunak had written to push for easier international COVID-19 travel norms ahead of a planned review. The reaction followed media reports that the Indian-origin finance minister had written to his boss, calling for a significant easing of the coronavirus travel restrictions, warning that they were damaging the economy.

According to The Sunday Times, which reported on the letter last Sunday, Johnson is said to have been apoplectic with anger and even suggested a demotion for Sunak from the powerful Treasury department to take charge of Health. The problem was that the first Johnson knew of the letter was when details of it appeared in the media, the report said.

Quoting a senior source from a meeting, it said that Johnson then went on to say in the presence of around a dozen officials that he had been thinking about a change. Maybe it’s time we looked at Rishi as the next Secretary of State for Health. He could potentially do a very good job there.’ In an open meeting, after ranting about Rishi, he then suggested the Chancellor could be demoted in the next reshuffle, the source said.

The newspaper pointed out that Johnson is known for his off-the-cuff remarks, often made in jest. While Downing Street refused to comment on private conversations, allies of Sunak insisted he remains focussed on his current brief to revive the COVID-hit UK economy.

The Chancellor is solely focused on securing the country’s economic recovery and continuing to protect and create jobs, ITV News quoted a Treasury Department source as saying. Meanwhile, Sunak is preparing for a tough budget, known as the autumn Spending Review, in the coming weeks.

There have been reports of how this has put him on a collision course with his boss Johnson, who is determined on spending on projects while budgets remain constrained due to the costs incurred due to the pandemic. Reports of clashes between No. 10 and No. 11 Downing Street the office of the UK Prime Minister and Chancellor respectively have been doing the rounds for some time, amid the economic pressures triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic crisis.

However, it is generally believed that a Cabinet reshuffle is not on the cards for the coming months.

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