Intel inputs about terror threat on New Year’s Eve keeps Mumbai cops on their toes; staff weekly offs cancelled

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

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Amid intelligence inputs about a possible terror threat in Mumbai on New Year’s Eve, the Mumbai police have beefed up security at railway stations and other public places, and also cancelled the weekly offs of personnel so that they are at full strength, officers said on Thursday.

“In order to maintain law and order, police are on alert and keeping a strict vigil across the city on December 31. Considering the possibility of people gathering at prominent places like the Gateway of India and Marine Drive, a large number of personnel will be deployed in the city on the eve of the New Year,” a police officer said.

As there were some inputs about a possible terror threat during the New Year celebrations and as railway stations are soft targets, the security of prominent stations has also been increased, another official said.

In the wake of emergence of the new ‘Omicron’ variant of COVID-19, the Mumbai Police have prohibited New Year celebrations and gatherings in any closed or open space, including hotels and restaurants. The orders were issued on Wednesday under Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC) Section 144 by Deputy Commissioner of Police (operations) S Chaitanya.

“Mumbai police have prohibited all New Year gatherings and parties in closed and open places, but there is a possibility that people can gather in groups not more than four persons,” the officer said.

Besides the city police, the Government Railway Police (GRP) have also stepped up security at prominent railway stations considering the threat, and anti sabotage measures have been taken, he added.

In a tweet, Quaiser Khalid, Commissioner GRP Mumbai, said, “In view of the covid 19 [sic] situation we advise people to adhere to government directions on the issue. We @grpmumbai have deployed large manpower for checking, frisking & anti-sabotage measures at important Rly Stn. We will enforce laws firmly. We request people’s cooperation, ” Khalid added in a tweet.

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Tesla recalls nearly half a million cars over safety issues

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

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Tesla Inc is recalling more than 475,000 of its Model 3 and Model S electric cars to address rearview camera and trunk issues that increase the risk of crashing, the US road safety regulator said.

The US electric vehicle manufacturer is recalling 356,309 2017-2020 Model 3 vehicles to address rearview camera issues and 119,009 Model S vehicles due to front hood problems.

“Unavailability of the rearview camera display may affect the driver’s rear view and increase the risk of a collision,” the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) said.

Tesla is not aware of any crashes, injuries or deaths related to the issues with its Model 3 and Model S cars, the NHTSA said.

Tesla shares were down 1.1 percent in premarket trading on Thursday.

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27 lakh income tax returns filed today; 5.36 crore filed in total: I-T dept

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

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Over 5.36 crore income tax returns for the 2020-21 fiscal have been filed so far, with about 27 lakh filed on Thursday alone, as the compliance deadline neared, the I-T department said. The extended deadline for individuals to file income tax (I-T) returns ends tomorrow.

“More than 5.34 crore income tax returns for AY 2021-22 filed till 8 pm today. This includes 24.39 lakh #ITRs filed today itself with 2.79 lakh #ITRs filed in the last one hour, [sic]” the department tweeted. The total ITR count further increased to 5.36 crore till 9 pm with the addition of 2,58,176 more filing in the last one hour, a senior tax official said.

For the financial year 2019-20, 5.95 crore ITRs were filed till the extended deadline of January 10, 2021.

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

SBI to acquire nearly 10% stake in India International Clearing Corporation

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

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State Bank of India (SBI) on Thursday said it will acquire about 10 percent stake in the India International Clearing Corporation (IICC). IICC is the first international clearing corporation set up at GIFT-IFSC that acts as a central counterparty providing clearing and settlement and risk management services.

It clears and settles index and single stock derivatives, currency derivatives and debt securities. SBI said it is expected to complete up to 9.95 percent stake, subject to a maximum investment of Rs 34.03 crore, by March 2022, in IICC.

The strategic investment in IICC is aimed at strengthening the financial markets infrastructure, SBI said in a regulatory filing on Thursday.

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

Dish TV AGM concludes, e-voting results to be placed before Bombay High Court

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

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The AGM of Dish TV was held on Thursday but the outcome of the e-voting for passing resolutions, including the reappointment of its director Ashok Kurien, will be known only after the permission of the Bombay High Court.

Having been postponed twice before, the AGM was held virtually amid the ongoing fight between Subhash Chandra family-led promoters and its single largest shareholder Yes Bank Ltd (YBL).

On December 23, 2021, the Bombay High Court had directed that the result of the AGM shall be subject to the outcome of the final hearing of the interim application filed by World Crest Advisors LLP against Catalyst Trusteeship Ltd and YBL, in which Dish TV was was one of the defendants.

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The matter adjourned to February 3, 2022. World Crest Advisors LLP, a shareholder of the company had filed a suit before the high court challenging the shareholding of Yes Bank Ltd (YBL) in the company.

In a regulatory filing on Thursday, Dish TV said the scrutinizer has submitted his combined report on the remote E-Voting and E-voting during the AGM along with a report on e-voting results in a sealed cover, duly authenticated by him, to the company Secretary, who will place the same before the High Court.

“In terms of the order dated December 23, 2021 of the High Court of Bombay in the Suit, the result/outcome of this AGM held on December 30, 2021, will abide by the decision in the Interim Application in the Suit, said Dish TV while updating the bourses about the AGM.

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While sharing the total number of shareholders present in the meeting through Video Conferencing, Dish TV informed 17 were present from the promoter group and 156 from the public.

Dish TV Chairman & Managing Director Jawahar Lal Goel had presided over the AGM as the Chairman. In the AGM, Dish TV had proposed three resolutions adoption of standalone and consolidated accounts for FY21, re-appointment of non-executive and non-independent director Ashok Kurien and ratifying the remuneration of cost auditors.

Earlier AGM of Dish TV was postponed twice, as it was facing a notice from its single largest shareholder Yes Bank Ltd (YBL) for reconstitution of the board by removing its Managing Director Jawahar Goel and four other directors from the board.

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YBL, which holds a 24.19 percent share of Dish TV, has moved to NCLT after the board of Dish TV had rejected YBL’s requisition notice to convene EGM to reconstitute the board.

Over this, three advisory firms Stakeholders Empowerment Services (SES), Institutional Investor Advisory Services (IiAS) and InGovern – has commented. While SES and IiAS had recommended voting against the resolution for the adoption of financial statements for FY 21 and the proposal of reappointment of Ashok Kurien to the board of Dish TV but InGovern had supported the management.

Earlier Yes Bank had sent a requisition notice to hold an extraordinary general meeting (EGM) to reconstitute the board of the company. The bone of contention between YBL and Dish TV is Rs 1,000 crore right issues by the Subhash Chandra-led Essel group firm.

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YBL, which holds 47.19 crore equity shares of the company has sought to remove Rashmi Aggarwal, Bhagwan Das Narang, Shankar Aggarwal and Ashok Kurien from the board of Dish TV besides Jawahar Goel. YBL has also sent the name of seven people – two Non-Executive Directors and five Independent Directors – to be nominated on the board of the company.

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

Cellular operators’ body backs deploying 5G ‘small cells’ on electric poles

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

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Industry body COAI today said it fully supports the idea of deploying 5G ‘small cells’ on electric poles. The association noted that a key driver of effective 5G implementation is deployment of small cells, which is a critical part of upgrading and expanding 4G networks.

“In line with this, the committee led by Senior DDG, Kerala LSA, and members from State Electricity Department and COAI, telecom service providers and Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) provided a concrete proposal for the use of electric pole for 5G small cell deployment,” SP Kochhar, director-general of COAI, said in a statement.

COAI emphasised that to combat the challenges of laying aerial OFC (optical fibre cable), which serves as the backbone for ‘small cell towers’, it is important to enable initiatives for sharing existing infrastructure.

“…we completely support the idea of deploying 5G small cells on electric poles and have provided the international best practices to the committee,” Cellular Operators’ Association of India (COAI) said. “With regard to the deployment of small cells over poles, we’re in close contact with Department of Telecom and coordinating with OEMs to provide inputs on technical specifications, aesthetics, power requirements, backhaul requirements,” it added.

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

Centre tells power plants to import 10% of their coal demand for next year: Report

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

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The Centre has asked power plants to import coal in preparation for the summer and monsoon seasons.

The power ministry has advised NTPC and DVC to arrange coal imports of 10 percent of their demand for blending, so that there is sufficient stock in case there is a disruption in coal supply. IPPs and state gencos have been asked to manage coal imports of 4 percent for blending purposes, The Economic Times reported.

While coal-based generation will decline in the near future, it will still play an important role, Union Power Secretary Alok Kumar, said in an interview.

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He said that coal stocking norms have been updated, and monthly stocking limits have been established. The Centre is keeping an eye on the ball, and the coal ministry has assured that stockpiles at power plants will be 47 million tonnes by the end of March, up from the current 23 million tonnes.

He clarified that imports will be done depending on the price of imported coal, if necessary. Importing coal for blending and maintaining sufficient stocks is not ruled out if domestic coal production does not improve. This is a backup plan that is suitable to deal with supply disruptions.

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The secretary asserted that India is committed to energy security as well as energy transition. The country has paved the way for renewables and non-fossil fuels to account for a larger share of electricity generation. If India aims for non-fossil electricity to account for 50 percent of installed capacity by 2030, the share of coal in the total energy mix will decline in this decade.

However, because our energy needs are growing, the electricity generated from various sources will be able to meet the demand in absolute numbers.

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He added that the government is working to improve payment to gencos and ensuring that states do not forget about the commercial principle. If a state wants to provide subsidised or free electricity, it must follow Section 65 of the Electricity Act (advance subsidy payment).

”You will be losing your grant under the new discom revamp scheme if you do not comply, and you will also be unable to borrow from Power Finance Corp and REC,” said the secretary.

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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

From higher ATM withdrawal charges to costlier food delivery; here are 5 big changes that kick in the New Year

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

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From costlier ATM transactions to shelling out more for food delivery, the New Year will bring a slew of changes to our lives.

Starting the first of January, one might have to shell out more fees for ATM transactions. Once you exceed the first five free transactions, you will now have to pay the revised fee of Rs 21 per transaction versus Rs 20 earlier.

Secondly, from the coming year lockers with banks are set to get safer, as banks will also now have to bear some liability. Starting 2022 banks will be liable to pay up to 100 times the prevailing annual rent for the locker to customers if the locker is compromised because of the bank’s own negligence.

Thirdly, cash deposits in India post payment bank beyond a certain limit will no longer be free from next year. While basic savings account customers don’t really have to pay any much, other savings account customers will now have to pay 0.5 percent of the value subject to a minimum of Rs 25 per transaction after exceeding deposits of Rs 10,000 per month.

Fourthly, prices of readymade garments and shoes could also go up from next year as the government is looking to charge 12 percent GST on it instead of 5 percent currently, but it is possible the government may do a rethink on this. So we have to watch how this one unfolds.

And lastly, online food delivery and two and three-wheeler transport services booked via online platforms will also come under the GST ambit, starting January 1st. So it is quite likely food aggregators will pass on this cost to consumers.

Watch the accompanying video of CNBC-TV18’s Ritu Singh for more details

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

Over 6 lakh Indians surrendered citizenship in last 5 years; 40% are in US: Report

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

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Over six lakh Indians have surrendered their citizenship in the last five years to settle in a foreign country, data by the ministry of external affairs showed. Around 40 percent of them are living in the US, The Economic Times reported.

As India does not have the provision for dual citizenship, those who become citizens of other countries have to surrender their Indian passport. However, they can also apply for an Overseas Citizen of India (OCI) card, which would allow them to stay, work or conduct business in India.

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After the US, the highest number of renunciation requests came from Indians in Australia and Canada, which amounts to about 30 percent of such requests, The Times of India reported. Some Indians also accepted the golden visa, which is given to those who invest in countries like Portugal, Malta or Cyprus in return for residence or citizenship.

In 2019, 1,44,017 Indians had given up their citizenship, the highest in the last five years. The number has been rising steadily from 2017. The year 2020 saw a sharp drop in renunciations to 85,248 which is likely owing to the pandemic lockdowns, ET reported. However, the numbers are on the rise again in the first nine months of this year at 111,287.

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According to statistics by the Global Wealth Migration Review, 2 percent of India’s millionaires or 7,000 high net worth individuals (HNWIs) exited the country in 2019, The Times of India reported. The highest number of HNWI exits came from China at 16,000. India stood second, while Russia came in third with 5,500 exits.

Meanwhile, the number of Indians enquiring about investment migration programmes or the golden visa has gone up over the years, TOI quoted global citizenship and residence advisory Henley & Partners as saying.

The number of enquiries increased 30 percent year-on-year in the first six month of 2021 against 62 percent for 2020.

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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

UP polls: Yogi promises tourism boost; Rajasthan CM takes potshots at Modi, Shah

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

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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