‘Trashy’ to Clean: NDMC clears up Danish embassy surrounding following diplomat’s social media callout

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

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In a response to a social media post by Denmark’s Ambassador to India, HE Freddy Svane, highlighting the litter-strewn surroundings of the Danish embassy in New Delhi, the New Delhi Municipal Corporation (NDMC) took immediate action to clear the area.

A video shared by news agency ANI captured earthmovers and sanitation workers clearing heaps of garbage from a service road between the Danish and Greek embassies, following a backlash on social media platform X (formerly Twitter).

Expressing gratitude for the prompt response, Ambassador Svane commended the NDMC for their swift action, stating, “I am the Danish ambassador to the great green and now clean New Delhi. This is the service lane here, and a few hours ago I put out a video to showcase that it could be a mess. But it takes human action, and the heroes from NDMC listened to the cry about why we should not leave such a beautiful lane full of trash. They took action. Dhanyawad!..This is about pointing at an issue not complaining. I am so proud that NDMC took action within a few minutes…I have lived here for 11 years. We love India…”

Delhi | Ambassador of Denmark Svane Freedy says, “This is the service lane here, and a few hours ago I put out a video to showcase that it could be a mess. But it takes human action, and the heroes from NDMC listened to the cry about why we should not leave such a beautiful lane… pic.twitter.com/a1rhUNQ6Hg

— ANI (@ANI) May 8, 2024

The NDMC, in a statement, welcomed feedback from stakeholders for improving its services, acknowledging the ambassador’s social media message and promptly addressing the issue.

“NDMC welcomes feedback from any stakeholder for improving its services. In this regard, the social media message from H. E. Freddy Svane, Ambassador, the Royal Danish Embassy was promptly acted upon. Which was later acknowledged by the Ambassador himself to the media. Immediate steps have been taken on the plot of land (which is not a service lane) by lifting the dumped material,” NDMC said in a statement.

In an earlier video, Ambassador Svane lamented the state of the area, emphasising the need for action over mere words. “Welcome to great, green, and trashy New Delhi. This used to be a service lane, but you see, it is just full of trash, and people come here to do whatever they like to do here,” he remarked.

The diplomat’s call to action garnered attention on social media, tagging the Danish embassy in Delhi and Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s office, urging authorities to take steps to clean up the area. “Lovely and green New Delhi. Many words but no action. Saddened by this,” he had added.

Lovely and green New Delhi. Many words but no action. Saddened by this @DenmarkinIndia @CMODelhi @LtGovDelhi pic.twitter.com/ZRH9wutfsm

— daikanyama (@svane_freddy) May 8, 2024

Many X users responded and shared the post asking for action.

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RBI tells NBFCs to ‘strictly adhere’ to cash disbursal limits as per IT rules

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

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The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Wednesday (May 8) sent an advisory to select non-bank financial companies (NBFCs), asking them to strictly adhere to Income Tax rules on cash disbursal, weeks after the regulator imposed restrictions on IIFL Finance’s gold loans business for violating this norm, among others, CNBC-TV18 has learnt.

CNBC-TV18 has seen a copy of the letter sent by RBI to NBFCs, which refers to Section 269 SS of the Income Tax Act, 1961, which stipulates that no individual can receive more than ₹20,000 as a loan amount in cash. The regulator, in this letter, said, “No NBFC should disburse the loan amount in excess of ₹20,000 in cash, in no uncertain terms.”

RBI asked NBFCs to “strictly adhere” to these provisions of the Income Tax Act. The letter has been sent from the RBI’s Department of Supervision in Thiruvananthapuram, and addressed to NBFCs in the state of Kerala, where gold loan NBFCs are widely at play, said a person directly in the know. Among others, the letter has been sent to Manappuram Finance, as well as Muthoot Finance, two of the largest players in the gold-loan space, said a source in the know who did not wish to be quoted.

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The scale-based Master Directions for NBFCs clearly specify that non-banks must ensure compliance with the requirements under Sections 296SS and 269T of the Income Tax Act, 1981. Section 269T & 269SS of the Income Tax Act are enforced to ensure compliance with tax regulations around accepting and repaying loans and deposits. While Section 269SS deals with accepting loans, Section 269T deals with repayment of loans.

“RBI has been getting multiple queries from gold loan players about whether they really have to stick to the ₹20,000 cash disbursal limit after the IIFL Finance action,” said a person familiar with the matter, adding that the regulator has sent the letters to re-iterate the master directions on scale based regulation which state that NBFCs must follow the IT Act rules on cash disbursals and repayments.

While the regulator has not stated anything to indicate if any immediate action would be taken on entities not following directions, the letter is seen as a warning to lenders who may not be following these rules.

The RBI on March 4 had placed business restrictions on one of the largest gold-loan NBFC, IIFL Finance, “for significant disbursal and collection of loan amount in cash far in excess of the statutory limit,” among other reasons.

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As per industry sources, the practice of disbursing cash loans far in excess of this ₹20,000 limit is not an uncommon practice among gold loan NBFCs. When CNBC-TV18 raised this issue at the RBI’s last monetary policy press conference on April 8, that many players in the industry were doing cash disbursals in excess of the limit, Governor Shaktikanta Das replied, “We supervise all entities, all major entities. Wherever we see a problem, we first directly engage with the particular entity to see that corrective actions are taken. Where we see that the problems are huge or the problems are persistent, then only we act.”

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For the 5th time in 20 years, Nifty50 closes at the same level

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

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It’s quite abnormal for a benchmark index comprising large and most liquid stocks to close at the same level as the previous day’s close. However, Wednesday, May 08, was one of those days where the benchmark Nifty50 closed at 22,302.50 points, which is exactly the same level as the previous close.

Interestingly, this is the fifth instance over the last 20 years in which the benchmark closed at the same level without even a tick difference. After June 2005, the Nifty50 ended at the same level in May 2014, October 2016, and March 2017, according to data sourced from Bloomberg.

However, if one goes beyond 20 years, the same had happened twice in 1997 and thrice in 1999. Similarly, the index closed at the same level in January 2001 and October 2002 as well.

The Nifty50 index, which comprises the top 50 companies in the country, was launched in April 1996. The index is a well-diversified yardstick including companies from various sectors so that it can reflect the overall market condition. The dominance of these companies is evident in their market valuation itself. These top companies contribute 45% to the NSE‘s total market capitalisation, which stands at ₹397 lakh crore as of Wednesday’s close.

The index has generated an annualised return of 11.6% since its inception with a dividend yield of 1.2%. The Nifty50 is computed using free float market capitalisation method and under this method, only those shares which are available for trade are considered for the calculation.

A total of 13 sectors form part of the index with companies from financial services alone contributing more than a third to the total weight. While Oil, Gas & Consumable Fuels sector has 12.7% weight, the information technology also enjoys similar weight at 12.3%.

Among the index constituents, HDFC Bank boast the highest weigh of 11.5%, which was followed by Reliance Industries and ICICI Bank. While RIL commands a weight of  about 10% on the Index, the second largest private lender ICICI Bank enjoys a weight of 8.1%.

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Peak XV-backed data & AI startup Atlan bags $105 million led by GIC, Meritech Capital

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

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San Francisco-based Atlan has raised $105 million at a valuation of $750 million in a Series C funding round led by Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund GIC and Meritech Capital, with participation from existing investors Salesforce Ventures and Peak XV Partners.

One of the startups in Peak XV’s third cohort of the Surge accelerator program in 2020, the current round has brought the startup’s fundraising to more than $206 million, with Insight Partners and Waterbridge Ventures among its institutional investors.

For Atlan, the fundraiser comes at a time when demand for AI data readiness and governance has skyrocketed. “Over the past year, boards have consistently asked their CIOs and CDOs about their AI roadmaps, who have realized that the main hurdle isn’t AI models but the lack of AI-ready data—data enriched with business context, trust, and security,” said Prukalpa Sankar, co-founder, Atlan.

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“Atlan is addressing this by building the control plane for the data and AI stack, integrating trust and context into the digital fabric,” added Sankar. The startup claims to have seen its revenues surge more than 7x in the last 2 years, with a 75% win rate in competitive trials and a 400% enterprise sales growth in Q1 2024.

Some of the startup’s top clients include Cisco, Autodesk, Unilever, Ralph Lauren, FOX, News Corp, Nasdaq, NextGen, Plaid, and HubSpot. “…no two organizations handle data the same way: for data teams, diverse approaches are a feature, not a bug,” said Varun Banka, co-founder of Atlan.

“So, we built a solution that unifies data across warehouses, lakehouses, vector DBs, BI tools, and AI agents. In doing so, Atlan empowers data teams to leverage the entirety of their data at high velocity and scale by ensuring its quality, accuracy, and governance,” Banka explained.

Atlan claims that its platform cuts time spent in finding and understanding data by 95%, enabling faster data governance and AI readiness for enterprises.

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“Atlan is setting a new standard for modern data governance, especially for enterprises with a cloud-first data strategy,” said Rob Ward, co-founder of Meritech Capital and investor in data companies like Snowflake, Looker, and Tableau.

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ESAF Small Finance Bank Q4 sees double-digit growth in net interest income but profit sinks

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

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Thrissur-based ESAF Small Finance Bank (SFB) on Wednesday (May 8) reported a 57.2% year-on-year (YoY) dip in net profit at ₹43.4 crore for the fourth quarter that ended March 31, 2024.

In the corresponding quarter, ESAF Small Finance Bank posted a net profit of ₹101.4 crore, the bank said in a regulatory filing.

Net interest income (NII), which is the difference between the interest income a bank earns from its lending activities and the interest it pays to depositors, increased 18.4%, coming at ₹590.7 crore against ₹498.9 crore in the corresponding quarter of FY23.

The gross non-performing assets (NPAs) stood at 4.76% in the March quarter against 4.16% in the December quarter. Net NPAs came at 2.26% against 2.19% quarter-on-quarter (QoQ). Provisions stood at ₹226.2 crore against ₹137.8 crore QoQ and ₹82.3 crore YoY.

The results came after the close of the market hours. Shares of ESAF Small Finance Bank Ltd ended at ₹60.10, down by ₹0.36, or 0.60%, on the BSE.

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Sanju Samson or Rishabh Pant: Who will be India’s first-choice wicket-keeper at T20 World Cup 2024?

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

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On May 7, Rishbah Pant’s Delhi Capitals (DC) trounced the Sanju Samson-led Rajasthan Royals (RR) in match 56 of IPL 2024 at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi. Batting first DC scored 220/8 on the back of 50s from openers Jake Fraser-McGurk and Abhishek Porel. The Delhi skipper had a poor outing as he was dismissed for 15 after facing 13 balls.

In their chase, RR scored 201 runs and RR’s innings was powered by Samson’s thrilling knock of 86 in 46 deliveries. The innings consisted of 8 fours and 6 sixes.

While Pant had a poor outing, his team was victorious. In contrast, Samson’s good show with the bat could not fetch the desired outcome for his team. Nonetheless, as soon as the IPL season ends, both Samson and Pant will travel to the US and West Indies to represent India in next month’s ICC T20 World Cup 2024. Indian captain Rohit Sharma and head coach Rahul Dravid will have a tough job when they sit to pick the wicket-keeper for India’s playing XI.

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Both the wicket-keeper batters have garnered support from different quarters to be selected as India’s first choice ‘keepers. “Pant should be part of the World Cup squad,” Sourav Ganguly said last month. Before the Indian squad was picked, former Indian pacer Zaheer Khan had picked Pant as India’s sole wicketkeeper in the squad.

If the likes of Ganguly and Khan have backed Pant, then there is Matthew Hayden and Kumar Sangakkara who have leaned towards Samson to do good at the World Cup.

“Sanju Samson was batting like a dream, scoring 86 off 46 balls. He’s proven his worth time and again… Throughout the tournament, he’s been a master blaster, handling both spin and pace with finesse,” Hayden said after DC’s win.

“It’s really up to Rahul Dravid and Rohit Sharma and how they see the combination. But he (Samson) has made his case, so hopefully he’ll have a good run in the World Cup,” Sangakkara told reporters after the match.

To gauze who is more in-form, here is a look at how Pant and Samson have performed in IPL 2024 so far:

Rishabh Pant:

Matches played: 12

Runs scored: 413

Highest: 88*

50s: 3

Average: 41.30

Strike Rate: 156.43

Dismissals: 11 (9 catches, 2 stumpings)

Sanju Samson:

Matches played: 11

Runs scored: 471

Highest: 86

50s: 5

Average: 67.29

Strike Rate: 163.54

Dismissals: 7 (6 catches, 1 stumping)

While IPL numbers won’t matter when selecting a wicket-keeper is concerned, it is interesting to note that both players have almost similar numbers in this year’s IPL and the two are the leading run-scorers for their respective teams.

Now, it remains to be seen who will be picked in the playing XI whether it will be Pant or Samson.

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Delhi HC fines petitioner ₹1 lakh for Arvind Kejriwal PIL — all details here

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

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The Delhi High Court on Wednesday (May 8) dismissed a public interest litigation filed by a petitioner seeking directions for appropriate arrangements for Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal to run the Delhi government from Tihar jail. The court also imposed a fine of ₹1 lakh.

A division bench of Acting Chief Justice Manmohan and Justice Manmeet Pritam Singh Arora dismissed the PIL, criticising the petitioner for seeking a gag on political rivals, which the court deemed beyond its jurisdiction.

The petitioner also sought to restrain Delhi BJP President Virendra Sachdeva from exerting any “undue pressure” on Kejriwal to resign.

“What do we do? Do we impose emergency or martial law? How do we gag the press or political rivals? Your prayer is… Do we say no one will speak against Mr. A or Mr. B,” the court questioned while rejecting the plea.

The Delhi HC clarified that it neither has the authority to impose censorship on media channels nor can it restrain political rivals from expressing their views.

Arvind Kejriwal was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate on March 21 in connection with the Delhi excise policy case and is currently in Tihar Jail.

The PIL argued that the Delhi government’s schemes have benefited the people of Delhi and that the conduct of the media is prejudiced, interfering with the democratic process. The court noted that Kejriwal has already filed a plea in the Supreme Court against his arrest, and therefore, no direction to allow him to run the government from jail is necessary.

“You keep a bank draft of ₹1 lakh ready. This is not public interest… what have we been reduced to,” the court wondered while dismissing the PIL.

Previously, the high court had imposed a fine of ₹75,000 on a lawyer named Karan Pal Singh who sought extraordinary interim bail for Kejriwal.

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India’s biggest winemaker Sula Vineyards’ Q4 profit slips on mounting expenses

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

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Sula Vineyards, India’s biggest winemaker by revenue, reported a 4.2% drop in fourth-quarter profit on Wednesday, as mounting expenses overshadowed steady demand for its premium brands such as Rasa and Dindori.

The Mumbai-headquartered company’s consolidated net profit fell to ₹13.6 crore in January-March from ₹14.2 crore a year ago.

The rapid growth of restaurants and increasing incomes have nudged India’s rising well-to-do young crowd towards wine consumption.

Sula’s revenue rose nearly 10% to ₹131.7 crore in the quarter on a 14% jump in wine sales.

However, the cost of raw materials, which include grapes, sugar and yeast, surged nearly 9% to ₹88.8 crore, hurting its profit.

The winemaker’s earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation margin contracted to 25.3% from 26.4% a year ago.

The company’s wine tourism segment grew more than 31%.

“Wine tourism is a top priority and we are expanding fast,” CEO Rajeev Samant said in a statement.

Sula recommended a final dividend of ₹4.50 per share. Its shares closed up 1% ahead of results.

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Watch: Nitish Kumar Reddy takes a stunner gives the hosts their first breakthough

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

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Sunrises Hyderabad elected to field first against Lucknow on their home ground. SRH needs to win their next two games to reach the IPL 2024 playoffs.

In the initial over, Nitish Reddy took a flying catch that the rope and dismissed LSG opener Quinton de Kock.

Watch the catch here:

ICYMI!

Splendid catches ft. Nitish Reddy & Sanvir Singh 🧡

WATCH 🎥🔽 #TATAIPL | #SRHvLSGhttps://t.co/ufeihumQPJ

— IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) May 8, 2024

Awareness 🤝 Balance

Nitish Kumar Reddy’s brilliance near the ropes gives the hosts their first breakthrough 👌

Follow the Match ▶️ https://t.co/46Rn0QwHfi#TATAIPL | #SRHvLSG pic.twitter.com/lbwecPhfcZ

— IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) May 8, 2024

Lucknow Super Giants skipper KL Rahul won the toss and elected to bat in the Indian Premier League match against Sunrisers Hyderabad on Wednesday. South African wicketkeeper-batter Quniton de Kock was included in the LSG playing XI, while left-arm pacer Mohsin Khan missed out due to injury.

SRH skipper Pat Cummins included allrounder Sanvir Singh in place of Mayank Agarwal, while Vijayakanth Viyaskanth replaced Marco Jansen.

Playing XI

Sunrisers Hyderabad: Pat Cummins (c), Travis Head, Nitish Reddy, Heinrich Klaasen (wk), Abdul Samad, Shahbaz Ahmed, Sanvir Singh, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Jaydev Unadkat, Vijayakanth Viyaskanth and T Natarajan.

Lucknow Super Giants: KL Rahul (c/wk), Quinton de Kock, Marcus Stoinis, Nicholas Pooran, Ayush Badoni, Deepak Hooda, Krunal Pandya, Krishnappa Gowtham, Yash Thakur, Ravi Bishnoi and Naveen-ul-Haq.

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KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Kerala filmmaker Sangeeth Sivan dies at 61

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

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Renowned filmmaker Sangeeth Sivan, known for his contributions to both Malayalam and Hindi cinema, passed away at the age of 61 while undergoing medical treatment at a private hospital in Mumbai on May 8.

Sivan, hailing from Kerala, made his mark in the Indian film industry with a diverse array of films. He directed notable works like Vyuham, Daddy,  Gandharvam, and Yodha in Malayalam, and ventured into Hindi cinema with films such as Kya Kool Hai Hum and Apna Sapna Money Money, which gained popularity among audiences.

Following the news of his demise, condolences poured in from colleagues and fans. Bollywood actor Ritesh Deshmukh, who collaborated with Sivan on several projects, expressed his grief on social media, remembering Sivan as a mentor and a kind-hearted individual.

Deeply saddened and shocked to know that Sangeeth Sivan Sir is no more. As a newcomer all you want is someone to believe in you and take a chance.. can’t thank him enough for Kya Kool Hai Hum & Apna Sapna Money Money. Soft spoken, gentle and a wonderful human being. Am heart… pic.twitter.com/kvTkFJmEXx

— Riteish Deshmukh (@Riteishd) May 8, 2024

Sivan’s directorial debut was the Malayalam film Vyuham in 1990.

Sivan’s final project, a horror comedy titled Kapkapiii, starred actors Shreyas Talpade and Tusshar Kapoor. Produced by Jayesh Patel under the banner of Bravo Entertainment, the film is set for a posthumous release.

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