Former TMC MP Dinesh Trivedi joins BJP

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

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Former Trinamool Congress MP Dinesh Trivedi joined the BJP on Saturday, weeks after he announced quitting his Rajya Sabha membership on the floor of the House deploring “violence” in poll-bound West Bengal. He joined the BJP in the presence of its president J P Nadda, and Union ministers Piyush Goyal and Dharmendra Pradhan besides other leaders.

Lauding Trivedi as a principled politician, Nadda said he was earlier a right person in the wrong party and was now in the right party. Trivedi said he had been waiting for this “golden moment” and added that family is supreme in some parties but it is people who are supreme in the BJP.

He also praised the Modi government for its handling of the COVID-19 pandemic and the issues involving neighbouring countries. A number of TMC leaders have quit the party in recent months to join the BJP as the saffron party mounts an aggressive all-out campaign to end Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s 10-year-old reign in the state.

Trivedi (70) was once a close confidant of TMC president Banerjee and was her choice for holding the important railway ministry portfolio in the Union Cabinet during the UPA government. Though his ties with her strained resulting in him being removed from the cabinet, they later patched up. After losing the Lok Sabha election in 2019, he was sent to the Rajya Sabha by the party.

With the BJP being successful in wooing over a number of TMC leaders to its fold, the saffron party has said that this underscores an increasing unease in its rival camp and is a pointer to its “decisive” victory in the assembly polls to be held in eight phases between March 27 and April 29.

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IndiGrid inks largest transmission deal with Sterlite Power

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

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India Grid Trust, India’s first power infrastructure investment trust (InvIT), on Saturday signed a share purchase agreement to acquire NER-II Transmission Limited from Sterlite Power as part of the Framework Agreement.

The indicative value of the acquisition is Rs 4,625 crore and would boost IndiGrid’s AUM (asset under management) by 34 per cent to over Rs 20,000 crore ($2.8 billion).

Post completion, the platform’s asset portfolio would consist of 13 power transmission projects, with a total network of 38 power transmission lines and 11 substations extending over 7,570 circuit kilometers and 13,350 MVA in 17 Indian states and 1 Union Territory.

NER-II is part of Inter State Transmission Scheme (ISTS) network, and was awarded on a Build, Own, Operate, Maintain (“BOOM”) basis with a contractual period of 35 years.

The project has 11 elements including two substations of 1,260 MVA capacity and four transmission lines extending over 830 circuit kilometres. The asset spans across Assam, Arunachal Pradesh and Tripura and is of strategic importance for the delivery of power in one of the toughest regions in the country. This project will strengthen the power transmission network in the North Eastern States and address the of transmission, sub-transmission, and distribution system needs of the region.

IndiGrid had signed a framework agreement in April 2019 with Sterlite Power for acquisition of NER-II upon commissioning. This transaction is expected to be consummated during Q4 FY21, subject to unitholders’ approval, regulatory approvals, and other customary closing adjustments.

The acquisition will be funded through a combination of internal accruals, debt, equity proceeds from the preference issue done in May 2019 and forthcoming rights issue. Post this acquisition, the net debt/AUM would stand at 64 per cent.

Commenting on the acquisition, Harsh Shah, chief executive officer of IndiGrid, said, “We are excited with acquisition of NER-II which is one of the largest acquisitions in Indian power transmission sector in India. NER-II fits well with our strategy of focusing on operating assets with long term cash flows and minimal counter party risk. This acquisition would be DPU accretive and augment our recent increase of DPU to Rs 12.40 per annum for a considerable period.”

Commenting on the transaction, Pratik Agarwal, managing director, Sterlite Power said, “This mega transmission project will help deliver reliable power for 5.3 crore people in India’s north eastern region.”

IndiGrid has acquired Rs 8,300 crore assets since the last capital raise including Rs 7,100 crore of Framework/ROFO projects from Sterlite Power and first cost-plus transmission asset from Reliance Infrastructure.

It has also announced its foray into the renewables sector with the planned acquisition of 138 MW solar asset. Separately, in FY21, KKR was inducted as a sponsor following the Rs 2,510 crore preferential issue in 2019 which was subscribed by KKR and GIC amongst other marquee investors. KKR has also acquired majority interest in the Investment Manager.

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Bottomline: Job reservations for locals – Has Haryana gone loco?

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

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It is tough to tell whether the job reservation bill is only a political gambit or the State leadership has lost its marbles. Either way, it’s a bad move.

The job reservation bill passed by Haryana seems clearly aimed at currying favour with the local populace. However, there are significant legal lacunae that suggest a challenge in the courts may not pass the test—as noted lawyer Dushyant Dave told CNBC-TV18 on Friday. If that’s the case, and if we presume the State Government leadership is aware of this, the question is: Why pass the bill?

The only logical explanation is politics. The move props up the State leaders as champions of the local youth, who are demanding jobs (that’s an important political constituency) while painting industry as anti-locals. While any such move could have short-term political benefits, creating fissures between people and industry can have a deep and lasting impact on the fabric of the State. Here, the message ‘don’t just eye the throne, also look at the kingdom you will rule’, seems appropriate. This because any move to enforce such a law will cause capital and business to flee, leaving the State a pale shadow of its former self.

Also Read: Haryana Bill on job reservation creates distress among IT, auto cos

Even if the law is challenged legally and a verdict awaited, politicians, in the meantime, will maintain the rhetoric to keep the issue centre-stage. That hurts business.

It’s enforcement that counts

While the industry awaits clarity on the finer points and applicability of the bill, the more important issue is how it will be enforced, assuming the bill isn’t challenged in court. The larger, more resourceful businesses will likely find a workaround, but the small and medium businesses will bear the brunt. And this may well lead to the return of turn-a-blind-eye payments to officials to keep the peace.

The return of babu raj

Recently the Prime Minister in an address waxed eloquent on why the running of the country should not be left to bureaucrats alone. He wants minimum government, maximum governance. He has also been batting for induction of talent laterally into government and government-owned bodies, stressing on faceless assessments for tax and, just last week, said that self-regulation, self-attesting and self-certification is the way forward. This, a day after news reports of Niti Aayog said it has started a drive to remove obstacles to ease of doing business at the level of courts and State governments. Haryana’s job reservation bill cocks a snook at all of this.

The bill provides for invasion of all places of business by designated officials to check files, records et all, at will and at a time of their choosing. In other words, officers have been issued a carte blanche if they use the job reservation calling card. That’s like going back to the 20th century of red-tapism and corruption. Imagine this. If an employer wishes to hire a non-local for a less than Rs 50,000 job because such skillset is not available locally, the employer will need to seek the permission of the local officer, and his proposal could well be rejected. This could virtually amount to State officers stepping into the shoes of the HR in companies, as their word would prevail.

What’s more, given the penalties of Rs 1-2 lakh for the first offence and up to Rs 5 lakh for subsequent offences, the law could end up laying the base for greater corruption.

Seeds of mega disruption

Haryana accounts for over 3 percent of India’s GDP, and its GSDP has grown from Rs 4.9 trillion in fiscal 2016 to Rs 9.4 trillion in fiscal 2020, a CAGR of 13.6 percent. Gurugram, Haryana’s biggest business district, is not just a large auto and industrial centre, but also the 2nd largest IT and 3rd largest financial hub in the country. It is also the medical tourism capital of India. It is the magnet that has drawn large investments over the past two decades leading to neighbouring towns, Manesar and Sohna, also benefitting from its rapid growth.

To give you a sense, Haryana has attracted $91 billion in cumulative foreign direct investment (FDI) since 2001 accounting for about 8-9 percent of the total FDI into the country. It also accounts for 2/3rd of passenger vehicle output, 60 percent of motorcycles and half the tractor production in the country, with a large slice of India’s auto/auto component and industrial exports too. And much of this economic activity is concentrated around Gurugram, which is adjacent to the nation’s capital Delhi.

Also Read: Will Haryana govt’s job reservation bill pass legal scrutiny? Experts weigh in

The city claims to host nearly half the Fortune 500 companies, with many like Coca Cola, Pepsi, Nestle, BMW and Hyundai having their corporate offices here. In fact, Gurugram is a cosmopolitan city and more culturally diverse than many others with nearly half its population being migrants. The city has attracted talent from across India and even from overseas, and the rapid urbanization of this region (a village till the early British colonial era) has driven up the economic indicators.

Unfortunately, much of the jobs have been taken up by more skilled and qualified migrants. And part of the local angst stems from this. What’s a problem, however, like an office bearer of the Gurgaon Industrial Association told CNBC-TV18 on Friday, is that the local youth are neither occupationally nor socially equipped to serve in modern industry. So, reservation of jobs can hardly be the solution.

Source: Census of India 2011, Part XIIA

Re-skilling is the answer

That unemployment is a big issue in Haryana is borne out by data. The State has the highest unemployment rate in the country at 26.4 percent, according to CMIE, followed closely by neighbour Rajasthan at 25.6 percent.

The problem definitely needs to be tackled on a war footing. What transpired in Gurugram and neighbouring areas about 10 years ago is not very different from what occurred in Devanahalli, near the Bangalore airport, more recently. A sudden coming into wealth as a result of land-to-riches phenomena, as locals sold the ancestral farm and non-farm land for development at hitherto unimagined sums, leading to a surge in well-being and consumption. In Bangalore, youth strutting around in the top brands with swanky cars soon invited the moniker ‘Devanahalli Boys’. These were the new rich, the new bad boys of the town, nary concerned about their education or their future careers, blinded by the present riches. A similar trend played out in Haryana many years ago with swanky weddings, chopper charters, luxe wheels all making it to the local headlines, as being associated with the new local rich.

Unfortunately, I have no data to back this argument, though there is enough anecdotal evidence. But whatever the cause, the reality today is that much of the local youth in Haryana today are not cut out for the kind of jobs on offer. And the only answer to that can be skilling and re-skilling of the aspirants. Industry experts suggest a public-private-partnership (PPP) model to address this need. This will be a long road, requiring greater effort and commitment from both the industry and the State, but one likely to yield positive tangible results. What it does not offer, though, is a palatable option if vote bank politics is the objective.

The risk of being called out

The events in Haryana seems to have put the Central Government in a pickle. The Prime Minister has come out strongly in favour of industry, privatization, and lesser government intervention, but the Haryana chapter of the party is walking a completely contrarian path. At a time when the focus is on improving ease of doing business, Haryana is all set to see its rank plunge from the current 16 out of 36. Given the wide ramifications of the job reservation bill, and the message it sends out to investors domestic and foreign—be mindful of the risk of Rajasthan following suit—it would be prudent if the highest offices in the ruling party step in to nip this new, ugly legislation in the bud.

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Apple Watch garners 51% global market share, India sweet spot

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

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Packed with industry-leading health and fitness tools, Apple Watch has once again dominated one of the key wearable segment, leading the smartwatch category with a 51 percent global share in 2020 and further cementing its position in the India market, according to latest reports this week.

Watches grew significantly as demand for wrist bands declined during the year, witnessing a 139.3 percent (on-year) growth with 2.6-million unit shipments last year.

According to the IDC, smartwatches, which can run third-party applications on the device itself, accounted for a 24.5 percent share in the watch category and Apple continues to lead the smartwatch category with a massive 51 percent share in 2020.

“In India, mainly Watch 3 and Watch 6 led to the growth in 2020. Apple Watch has been well received by the Indian consumers,” Navkendar Singh, Research Director, Client Devices & IPDS, IDC India, told IANS.

Price reductions on older Apple Watches and the promotional discounts offered by banks and e-tailer channels on Series 5 and Series 6 made the device a popular purchase among consumers in India.

According to Jaipal Singh, associate research manager, Client Devices, IDC India, the high cost associated with wearable watches is not much of a challenge anymore.

“Also, the watch form factor is now seen as more appealing to the consumers, and vendors will leverage this shift by further expanding their watches portfolio in coming quarters,” he added.

Counterpoint Research said that Apple Watch Series 6 and SE did well globally, shipping 12.9 million units and accounting for 40 percent market share in Q4.

“In a year where annual growth inched forward at only 1.5 percent, Apple maintained its solid number one position and increased its market share by 6 percent, helping shift the overall market closer to the premium segment,” it said.

Apple Watch users can view their cardio fitness levels in the Health app on iPhone, and receive a notification if it falls within the low range.

Apple Watch already estimates average and higher levels of VO2 max during vigorous outdoor walks, runs, or hikes, which many runners and other athletes monitor to improve performance.

Apple Watch also has several other health features like ECG, Fall Detection and more.

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Attention taxpayers! Here are a few tasks you need to complete before the March 31-deadline

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

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We are just three weeks away from the end of the financial year 2020-21, and there are still a few tasks to be undertaken by taxpayers before the all-important March 31 deadline. It’s that time of the year when many opt for tax-saving investments in case they haven’t done it already during the year. But there’s more expected of a taxpayer.

For instance, paying off any government liability on or before the deadline could save you a lot of hassle as well as late-payment penalty and fines.

Here’s a list of tasks one needs to finish before the March 31 deadline:

Filing belated and revised return

Since March 31 also marks the end of the assessment year, it’s the last date to file the revised or belated return for the financial year 19-20. Any ITR filing after the deadline is referred to as a belated return. If a taxpayer has already filed the ITR but wishes to make changes, s/he can opt for a revised return, the deadline for which is March 31.

Advance Tax

Under the Income Tax Law of India, a person — except for senior citizens without any professional income — with a tax liability of over Rs 10,000 is liable to pay advance tax. Such a taxpayer is liable to pay advance tax in four instalments — before July 15, September 15, December 15 and March 15. According to a report on TimesNow, if the advance tax is not paid on or before the deadline, the taxpayer is charged 1 percent interest per month for deferment in instalment and 1 percent interest per month if only 90 percent of the total amount is paid before the end of the FY.

Linking Aadhar and PAN

The deadline for linking your PAN card with Aadhar is also March 31. The PAN car may become defunct if it isn’t linked with Aadhar before the deadline.

Vivad Se Vishwas

The last date to make a declaration under the Centre’s Vivad se Vishwas scheme has also been extended to March 31, 2021. The Central Board of Direct Taxes notified that the date for payment of tax without additional interest under the aforementioned scheme remains April 30, 2021. The Direct Tax ‘Vivad se Vishwas’ Act, 2020, came into force on March 17, 2020. The objective of the scheme is to reduce pending income tax litigation, generate timely revenue for the government and to benefit taxpayers.

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IT sector recruitment witnesses a big jump: Naukri JobSpeak Index

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

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Automation and digitisation in the IT-software/software services industry have led to a record sequential growth of 33 percent in hiring activities in February, the Naukri JobSpeak Index for February 2021 revealed. This was due to increased implementation of digital technologies across India.

Naukri JobSpeak is a monthly index that computes and records hiring activity based on the job listings on the Naukri.com website on a month-on-month basis. According to the index, there was a growth of more than 22 percent in recruitment activity at over 2,000 job listings as compared to January’s 1,925.

Apart from this, the report further stated that a large number of industries saw a positive sequential growth in hiring activities for the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic. In February, the telecom sector registered a sequential jump of more than 24 percent.

On the other hand, medical/healthcare saw a growth of 28 percent. Apart from this, the education segment witnessed a growth of 25 percent, while FMCG saw a jump of 20 percent. Also, Banking, Financial Services and Insurance (BFSI) has witnessed an uptick of 17 percent. However, the insurance sector witnessed a flat with 1 percent decline in recruitment trend.

The index also observed that all six metros and vital tier-II cities saw positive hiring activities in February compared with January. Recruitment in metros displayed double-digit growth led by Bengaluru (31 percent). Bengaluru was followed by Hyderabad (28 percent), and Pune (24 percent). On the other hand, tier-II cities such as Ahmedabad with 31 per cent and Vadodara with 20 percent growth saw a positive trend sequentially. Apart from this, the requirement for professionals in teaching/education grew by 49 percent in February compared with January, with the opening of schools and colleges/universities.

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Dozen privatisation proposals may be considered in FY22

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

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The government’s privatisation drive will see about a dozen profit-making entities being put up for disinvestment under the strategic route in FY22, two persons familiar with the matter said.

They said that NITI Aayog has been asked to finalise the first list of public sector enterprises to be put up for privatisation.

This list would focus on profit making entities operating in non-core areas that could help the government realise better valuations and good investor interest.

“The idea is to bring better performing companies that have to be privatised first so that investor interest is generated in government’s strategic sale programme. Water will be tested for loss-making and such entities later,” said the person quoted earlier.

Accordingly, sources said the first list of privatisation may include at least two public sector banks that have been brought out from the prompt corrective action (PCA) framework, one non-life insurer, Bhadrawati and Salem units of steel major SAIL, Central Electronics, Cement Corporation of India, Nagarnar Steel Plant of NMDC, Bharat Earth Movers.

But the first among the companies to be privatised may be the ones where the process was already initiated FY21. The cabinet has given the nod for some major strategic stake sales in companies including Air India, Bharat Petroleum Corporation (BPCL), Shipping Corporation, Container Corporation, and IDBI Bank, sale process of some are already in advanced stage.

The government has budgeted Rs 1.75 lakh crore from stake sale in public sector companies and financial institutions, including 2 PSU banks and one insurance company, in the next fiscal year.

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Antivirus software pioneer McAfee charged by US with cryptocurrency fraud

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

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John McAfee, the antivirus software pioneer whose former company still bears his name, has been indicted on fraud and money-laundering conspiracy charges stemming from two cryptocurrency schemes, the U.S. Justice Department said on Friday.

Authorities accused McAfee and his bodyguard, Jimmy Gale Watson Jr., of exploiting McAfee’s large Twitter following to artificially inflate prices of “altcoins” through a so-called pump-and-dump scheme, and concealing payments McAfee received from startup businesses to promote initial coin offerings.

The Justice Department said McAfee and his accomplices reaped more than $13 million from the schemes. The charges were brought in Manhattan federal court.

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission filed related civil charges concerning the alleged pump-and-dump scheme.

Manhattan U.S. Attorney Audrey Strauss said in a statement: “As alleged, McAfee and Watson exploited a widely used social media platform and enthusiasm among investors in the emerging cryptocurrency market to make millions through lies and deception.”

Lawyers for McAfee could not immediately be identified. McAfee is being detained in Spain following his arrest there on tax evasion charges announced in October, the Justice Department said.

Watson was arrested on Thursday night in Texas, the department added.

Watson’s attorney Arnold Spencer said in a statement: “Jimmy Watson is a decorated veteran and former Navy Seal. He fought for other people’s rights and liberties, and he is entitled to and looks forward to his day in court to exercise some of those very rights.”

Both also face civil charges by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, which in October accused McAfee of concealing more than $23.1 million he made from boosting seven cryptocurrency offerings on Twitter.

In the cryptocurrency cases, authorities said McAfee touted assets including Verge, Reddcoin and Dogecoin as part of a “Coin of the Day” or “Coin of the Week” tweet from around December 2017 through February 2018.

Authorities said McAfee held himself up as an expert on cybersecurity and cryptocurrency through his tweets, speeches and his role as a CEO of a publicly-traded cryptocurrency company. They also accused him of telling followers he had no stake in the coins, even as he touted how they “will change the world.”

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Higher infrastructure spend ups ‘construction equipment’ volumes

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

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Heightened focus on infrastructure spend, particularly in the road infrastructure segment has led to a sharp scale up in ‘Construction Equipment’ volumes since July 2020, said ratings agency ICRA.

Accordingly, the agency revised its outlook on the construction equipment sector to ‘Stable’ from ‘Negative’ following a strong ramp up in volumes.

ICRA cited heightened focus on infrastructure spend, particularly in the road infrastructure segment has led to a sharp scale up in volumes since July 2020.

As per the agency, factors such as sharp increase in the awarding and execution pace of road construction; increased focus on rural infrastructure; strong rural volume off-take for equipment on the back of second consecutive good monsoon; improving demand from railway and mining segments and the regular payment flow from the government to contractors has supported healthy revival in industry volumes over the last few months.

Besides, demand has also been supported by steady inflows from the central government on infrastructure spend, particularly on roads, even though state infrastructure expenditure has been severely curtailed and diverted to the pandemic management.

According to Pavethra Ponniah, vice president and sector head, ICRA: “Following a sharp correction in unit sales in Q1 FY2021, CE OEM volumes have recovered sharply since, supporting industry credit profile.”

“Raw material price hikes, particularly for steel, have however had an impact on profit margins. OEMs have and are expected to take further price hikes to pass on these cost pressures.”

However, the agency pointed out that continued limited fiscal bandwidth with state governments to invest in infrastructure and the price hikes following the upcoming emission norm change in April 2022 as two critical demand headwinds in the coming quarters.

“State governments are key contributors to the infrastructure activity in the country. Modest growth in SGST collections, delays in receipt of GST compensation, and the reduction in the central tax devolution to the states in FY2020 below the level budgeted by the GoI, have complicated the liquidity management of the state governments,” added Pavethra.

“This could potentially derail the equipment industry, as it slows down infrastructure investment.”

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Scam 2003: SonyLiv announces sequel of Scam 1992

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

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Following the success of the critically acclaimed Scam 1992: The Harshad Mehta story, SonyLiv will carry the Scam franchise forward with its second instalment, Scam 2003. OTT platform SonyLiv and Applause Entertainment announced that the second season will also be directed by Hansal Mehta.

This time around, the director will train his lens on the story of the 2003 stamp paper scam by Abdul Karim Telgi. As per reports, the series tentatively titled ‘Scam 2003: The Curious Case of Abdul Karim Telgi’, will be based on the Hindi book ‘Reporter ki Diary’ authored by journalist Sanjay Singh. Singh was the one who initially broke the story of the said scam nearly two decades ago.

Grateful for the very loving response to this announcement. This is a challenging tale to tell. And even more so because it is Season 2 of such a successful show. We will work doubly hard to reciprocate this love and to make this season very exciting, authentic and engaging. 🙏🏻 pic.twitter.com/gJekVVkRWp

— Hansal Mehta (@mehtahansal) March 4, 2021

Telgi is considered the mastermind behind one of the country’s most infamous scams that cast its net over various states. Telgi, born in Karnataka, pulled off the scam that allegedly ran into nearly Rs 20,000 crore.

In a statement, Sameer Nair, CEO, Applause Entertainment said, “Scam 1992 has helped establish a solid ground for the ‘Scam’ franchise where we aim to tell stories about the various scams that our country has witnessed, the people behind it, their motivations and machinations. The success of Scam 1992 endorsed our belief about the audiences’ interest in such stories.”

Director Hansal Mehta said in a statement to various media outlets that he was excited to explore another interesting story after the success of Scam 1992. He said that the new season of the franchise would focus on another story that shook the country a few years ago — the stamp paper scam. “I am looking forward to collaborating again with team Applause, SonyLIV and StudioNEXT, partners who think alike and encourage creative thought,” the statement said.

Kiran Yadnyopavit, a renowned Marathi film writer, will develop the story in collaboration with Sanjay Singh. The filming, which will begin later this year, is expected to release in 2022.

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