AAPI: April 2018

DELHI, 20th April 2018

Index of this Newsletter

INDIA

INDIA & THE WORLD

21. NHAI inks pact for maiden Rs 1,177 cr ($180 million) global project
22. US political rhetoric is the IT industry’s biggest threat, says Debjani Ghosh
23. India, Russia sign 7 defense deals
24.1. French defence major Thales sees India as manufacturing, export hub
24.2.Boeing, HAL, Mahindra to make F/A-18 Super Hornet fighter jets in India
25. Saudi Aramco inks MoU for ₹3-lakh crore ($44bn) mega refinery at Ratnagiri

* * *

DELHI, 20th April 2018

NEWSLETTER, 20-IV-2018

INDIA

– GENERAL POLICY, INFRASTRUCTURES, COUNTRY FINANCES, ETC.

1.1. Emerging powers must be at the global high table

Livemint, 20 Mar. 2018, Shashi Tharoor

If countries like China and India are denied, they have only two choices: either continue to accept a second-class seat in the existing system, or challenge the system itself

Amid the understandable focus on the backlash against globalization so apparent around the world, with the increasing conviction that “Davos Man has no clothes”, anguished op-eds ask: Can globalization be saved? But in the process, we seem to have lost sight of a larger development—that the future of the international system that arose in the immediate aftermath of World War II is itself being called into question.

After two World Wars, numerous civil wars, colonial oppression, and the horrors of the Holocaust and Hiroshima, the far-sighted statesmen of the mid-1940s decided that liberal internationalism, based on the United Nations charter and allied institutions, was the only way to prevent more carnage. For seven decades, that system has largely achieved its goals.

The “old world order” built in 1945 broadly ensured world peace and prevented a third World War, although at the cost of shifting many conflicts to the global periphery. And it did not benefit only the developed world; it also ensured decolonization, promoted development, and found ways to accommodate the voices of newly emerging countries, even if it hasn’t always accommodated their aspirations.

Yet, it is clear that existing arrangements are no longer adequate, as countries like China and India have demonstrated in their demand for greater clout—and in their willingness to explore smaller groupings like Brics (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) to pool their resources and push for a new order. The existing world powers, however, have made it clear they will not cede influence so easily, even if their leaders complain about the very institutions where their influence is exercised.

Change has been excruciatingly slow in coming. It is absurd that China’s voting power in the World Bank was the same as Belgium’s till 2010 and at the International Monetary Fund (IMF) the same till just over two years ago. But the G20’s effort to create parity in these institutions between the advanced economies and the emerging and transition countries had ground to a halt. Although US leaders technically agreed to IMF voting reforms at the Pittsburgh meeting of the G20 in 2008, the US Congress did not ratify them till a modest change finally occurred in December 2015, nearly eight years later.

It is important to note that countries like China and India— unlike, say, Germany and Japan a century ago—are not seeking to overturn the world order. They seek to obtain redress within the broad framework rather than destabilize the framework itself. All that the “emerging powers” want is a place at the high table. After all, countries realize that in the global system, you are either at the table or on the menu. What the emerging powers have been doing so far is not challenging the global system as much as calling for a new design for world order.

They are entitled to play a key role in helping shape the global order. The international system of the 21st century will have to be more like the World Wide Web: a place of networked partnerships, with links in all directions, some overlapping, others not. The leading lights of the new global system will need to renegotiate its rules of the road; those who have been rule takers for long now feel ready to be rule makers.

India is well qualified, along with others, to help write those rules and define the norms that will guide tomorrow’s world. Rather than confining itself to being a subject of others’ rule-making, or even a resister of others’ attempts, it is in the interests of a country like India (and within India’s current and future capacity) to take the initiative to shape the evolution of these norms as well as to have a voice in the situations within which they are applied. We have the capacity, the resources and the technological skill to help craft global approaches in a variety of areas from cyber space to outer space. But right now, we have no locus standi to do so.

If countries like China and India are denied a place at the global high table, they have only two choices: either continue to accept a second-class seat in the existing system, or challenge the system itself. China, confronting the inadequacies of Bretton Woods, has made it clear that it has little choice but to build its own structures, in its image and in a different mould. The Brics’s New Development Bank is essentially the Chinese showing the world that in the absence of a level-playing field within the existing system, they are prepared to construct their own playing field. In this case, India was happy to play along: it had an interest in sending the same message, though its capabilities are very different from China’s.

This is not surprising. As countries acquire economic and military power, they start exercising their geopolitical muscle. The challenge for advocates of world order is to accommodate emerging powers within a framework of universal and stable rules and global structures that ensure everyone a fair deal, appropriate for their size, capabilities, and contributions to the international system. The leaders of the developed West will have to reconcile themselves to this, and make room with grace, instead of undermining these institutions by stubbornly clinging on to their positions of privilege within them.

They are not, however, doing so. Today’s world leaders appear to lack the breadth of vision and the generosity of spirit of those who created the post-1945 world order. By controlling access to the system they dominate and barring the door to new entrants, they have left those outside little choice. A country like China has shown, through its Belt and Road Initiative, that it is capable of constructing an entirely alternative global system to the prevailing one. What that might mean for the world order established in 1945 is anybody’s guess.

Globalization can still be rescued, but we need to allow new players to do the rescuing. Don’t send in the Marines.

Shashi Tharoor is a member of Parliament and chairman of the Parliamentary standing committee on external affairs.

1.2. How liberal democracies are born

Livemint, 20 Mar. 2018, Ricardo Hausmann

A basic bargain at the core of liberal democracy is the recognition of rights that key minorities value and that are fundamental to generating broader benefits

Much in life looks obvious after the fact. The challenge is to understand events and trends earlier, which is especially important when the issue is the demise of democracy.

In their excellent new book How Democracies Die, Harvard professors Steven Levitsky and Daniel Ziblatt use international experience to examine the question. In recent cases, the cause was not the overthrow of an elected government, but the actions of elected leaders.

The modus operandi is surprisingly similar. An elected populist demagogue eliminates or weakens the checks and balances on his authority by undermining the independence of the courts and other bodies, severely restricting the freedom of the press, tilting the playing field to make elections easier to win, and delegitimizing and imprisoning political opponents.

Venezuela provided many of the lessons that Levitsky and Ziblatt cite: its democracy is already a corpse. The question there is how to resurrect it—a challenge complicated by the country’s ongoing hyperinflation and humanitarian catastrophe. Should Venezuela postpone the re-establishment of democracy and focus on ousting President Nicolás Maduro and reviving the economy, or should it re-establish democracy before tackling economic matters?

Historically, liberalism preceded democracy in Europe. As Princeton University’s Jan-Werner Mueller argues in his book Contesting Democracy, combining the two principles, by extending the franchise at the end of the 19th century, made for an unstable compound. On one hand, there is the danger of what Fareed Zakaria called “illiberal democracy”: elected governments that do not respect civil rights. On the other, there is what Harvard’s Yascha Mounk calls, “undemocratic liberalism”: regimes that protect individual rights and legal equality, but delegate public policymaking to unelected technocratic bodies like central banks and the European Commission.

In most countries, the wellbeing of the majority depends on the willingness of capitalists, entrepreneurs, managers, and professionals to organize production and create jobs. But these elites are unlikely to do so if their property and civil rights are not protected. Communism can be understood as an attempt to eliminate dependence on these elites by organizing production through the state. But excluding these elites causes a shortage of financial capital and know-how. So, a basic bargain at the core of liberal democracy is the recognition of rights that key minorities value and that are fundamental to generating broader benefits.

What happened in Venezuela was near-elimination of property rights, which caused a massive exodus of those who could organize production. Not coincidentally, this process coincided with an oil boom and massive external borrowing. Dollar abundance convinced the ruling clique that the state could substitute for the productive elite, through nationalization and other forms of collective property. While the mirage lasted, the system could tolerate moderately competitive elections: it had become an illiberal democracy. When the price of oil plummeted in 2014, the mask slipped, and the economy imploded. By December 2015, voters elected a national assembly with a two-thirds opposition majority, signalling to Maduro that even a highly illiberal democracy would not suffice to maintain them in power. At this point, Venezuela descended into outright dictatorship.

So how can democracy be revived? Given the humanitarian crisis, Venezuela needs a rapid economic recovery, which is unlikely unless property rights are credibly re-established. But how is this possible in the context of majority rule? What will prevent a future electoral majority from grabbing assets again after the economy recovers?

Levitsky and Ziblatt warn that democracy requires political competitors to refrain from acting too uncooperatively. Such a system, based on mutual recognition and forbearance, was formalized in Venezuela in 1958, through the Punto Fijo Pact, which stabilized democracy for 40 years, before Chávez denounced and destroyed it. Such pacts cannot extend recognition to organizations that oppose democracy.

Spanish democracy died in the 1930s because a system of mutual recognition among fascists, conservatives, liberals, and Communists was impossible. Democracy in West Germany after World War II required a denazification process that banished the worldview that had led to disaster. As Frederick Taylor discusses in his book Exorcising Hitler, society-wide rejection of Nazi ideology did not happen overnight. It required concerted political action. After all, in 1952, 25% of West Germans still had a positive view of Hitler, and 37% thought that their country was better off without the Jews.

Likewise, in Venezuela today, it will be impossible to re-establish liberal democracy if the current regime is allowed to return and expropriate again. Venezuela’s recovery depends on its capacity to translate the current catastrophe into a set of new social norms of the form: “never again shall we…”

There can be no stable democracy in Venezuela if it must co-exist with a large, totalitarian political party that can rely on funding from a corrupt, money-laundering elite. And such co-existence would rule out a robust or long-lasting economic recovery, because it would limit the credibility of individual rights. To secure liberal democracy, Venezuela must exorcise not only the regime and its henchmen, but also the world view that put them in power. ©2018/Project Syndicate

Ricardo Hausmann is director of the Center for International Development at Harvard University and a professor of economics at the Harvard Kennedy School.

2.1. Several landmark initiatives launched by the Government to improve quality of Higher Education

Press Information Bureau, Apr. 03, 2018

New Delhi: The Central Government, the University Grants Commission (UGC) and All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) are constantly endeavouring to improve quality of higher education and make higher education practical in the country. The Central Government has launched several initiatives viz. National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF), Impacting Research Innovation & Technology (IMPRINT), Uchhatar Avishkar Yojana (UAY), Global Initiative of Academic Networks (GIAN), Study Webs of Active-Learning for Young Aspiring Minds (SWAYAM), National Academic Depository (NAD), Technical Education Quality Improvement Programme (TEQIP), Pandit Madan Mohan Malaviya National Mission on Teachers and Teaching (PMMMNMTT), National Digital Library, Campus Connect Programme etc. in the field of higher education for qualitative development of education in the country.

The UGC undertakes maintenance of standards in teaching, research and quality assurance in Universities, Deemed to be Universities and Colleges through framing and notifying regulations, schemes and disbursing grants to the eligible institutions. With a view to sustain and improve the quality of higher education and to undertake academic reforms, the UGC has notified UGC (Minimum Standards and Procedure for Award of M.Phil./ Ph.D Degrees) Regulations, 2016; UGC (Promotion and Maintenance of Standards of Academic Collaboration between Indian and Foreign Educational Institutions) Regulations, 2016; UGC (Open and Distance Learning) Regulations, 2017; UGC (Institutions of Eminence Deemed to be Universities) Regulations, 2017; UGC (Conferment of Autonomous Status upon Colleges and Measures for Maintenance of Standards in Autonomous Colleges) Regulations, 2018 and UGC (Categorization of Universities (only) for Grant of Graded Autonomy) Regulations, 2018.

In order to encourage research and development in the country, UGC is implementing schemes, awards, fellowships, chairs and programmes under which financial assistance is provided to institutions of higher education as well as faculty members working therein to undertake quality research covering areas of knowledge across disciplines. Some of the initiatives taken by UGC are (i) Universities with Potential for Excellence; (ii) Centre with potential for excellence in particular area; (iii) Special Assistance Programme (SAP); (iv) Research Projects and (v) Basic Science Research.

UGC has also requested the Vice-Chancellors of all Universities to upgrade and review their curriculum every three years for making them more skill oriented and interdisciplinary and with a purpose of making the students employable. The introduction of Choice Based Credit System (CBCS) is another important measure taken by UGC to enhance academic standards and quality in higher education through innovation and improvements in curriculum, teaching-learning process, examination and evaluation systems. CBCS provides a ‘cafeteria’ type approach in which the students can take courses of their choice, learn at their own pace, undergo additional courses, acquire credits and adopt an interdisciplinary approach to learning.

Further, Government is implementing a Centrally Sponsored Scheme namely Rashtriya Uchchatar Shiksha Abhiyan (RUSA) with the aim of promoting access, equity and quality. The focus of the scheme is on serving the unserved and underserved areas. Under the scheme, central assistance is provided, inter alia, for components such as Infrastructure grants to colleges and universities, upgradation of existing colleges to model degree colleges etc. Under these components, funds are provided to institutions for strengthening of infrastructure facilities for construction/renovation of libraries, laboratories, hostels etc and for purchase of equipment in State Higher Educational Institutions (HEIs).

This information was given by the Minister of State (HRD), Dr. Satya Pal Singh today in a written reply to a Lok Sabha question.

Disclaimer: This information has been collected through secondary research and IBEF is not responsible for any errors in the same.

2.2. Union HRD Minister Shri Prakash Javadekar Releases 'NIRF India Rankings 2018' for Higher Education Institutions

Press Information Bureau, Apr. 04, 2018

NIRF rankings help set new benchmarks of performance and improve quality of Higher Education: Shri Prakash Javadekar Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru bags 1st Position in Overall Ranking IIT Chennai tops in Engineering and IIM Ahmedabad tops in Management Category

The Union Minister of Human Resource Development, Shri Prakash Javadekar, released the NIRF India Rankings 2018 in various categories on the basis of performance of Higher Educational Institutions in a programme held in New Delhi today. Minister of State Human Resource Development, Dr. Satya Pal Singh released the report on the NIRF Rankings during the event. 69 top institutions in 9 categories were given awards at today’s event. Shri R. Subrahmanyam, Secretary, Higher Education, M/o HRD; Shri Surendra Prasad, Chairman NBA; Prof. D. B. Singh, Chairman UGC; Shri Anil Sahsrabudhe, Chairperson AICTE and representatives of award winning higher education institutions were present on the occasion.

Speaking on the occasion, Shri Prakash Javadekar said that the idea behind these rankings is to promote quality in education and encourage competition to perform better and to set up new benchmarks of performance in Higher education space. He lauded the efforts of the team under National Institutional Ranking framework (NIRF) for bringing out the most authentic ranking system of the country. The Minister also congratulated all the winner institutions for their excellent performance.

The Minister said that to promote quality education, we are providing support for setting up and upgrading of 10 public and 10 private Institutions of Eminence (IOEs) so as to enable them to reach amongst top 100 of world institutions ranking. The list of 20 IOEs will be released soon. He further said that various initiatives of the HRD Ministry like GIAN, RUSA, SWAYAM, SWAYAM Prabha, TEQUIP III, Smart India Hackathon, etc are in direction to further boost the Quality, Research and Innovation in education.

While addressing on the occasion, Dr. Satya Pal said that to become global leader in education we have to create our own brands so that other countries may follow us. He said that healthy competition gives us a chance to improve and opportunity to excel in various aspects of life. He further said our main focus should be on quality of research which can contribute to the development of the society as a whole. He stressed upon a mechanism which can develop holistic campus in the country.

Secretary, M/o HRD said that the NIRF rankings are the corner stone of various higher education reform measures taken up by the HRD Ministry over the last four years. New categories i.e. law, architecture and medical have also been added in this year’s rankings, Shri Subrahmanyam disclosed.

In this third edition of India Rankings, a total of 2809 institutions have participated in 9 categories. Collectively they have submitted 3954 distinct profiles, some in multiple disciplines/categories. This includes 301 Universities, 906 Engineering Institutions, 487 Management Institutions, 286 Pharmacy Institutions, 71 Law Institutions, 101 Medical Institutions, 59 Architecture Institutions and 1087 General Degree Colleges.

“India Rankings 2018” have ranked institutions in the disciplines/categories mentioned above, and have also provided a common overall rank across all disciplines for those institutions which have more than 1000 enrolled students.

The parameters used for India Rankings 2018 are broadly similar to those used in previous years. However, some of the sub-parameters have been further tweaked for greater robustness and accuracy. In particular for evaluating Research Impact, parameters for quality of publications have been enhanced to include the number of highly cited papers, (i.e., number of papers lying in the top 25 percentile of citations) in addition to the usual parameters of publications per faculty and citations per paper.

The performance metrics have been optimized to provide a good discrimination over a large range of possible values. All research related information, including publications, citations, highly cited papers and even patent information about institutes was collected from third party databases to obtain an objective and unbiased picture. For this year’s Perception inputs, a large database of eminent academic and industry peers and employers was deployed.

The data received from both institutional and third party sources were subject to extensive scrutiny for consistency and correctness by a team of experts. The Rankings List includes 100 institutions each in the Overall, University, Engineering and General College Categories, and 50 each in Management and Pharmacy, 25 in Medical and 10 each in Architecture and Law. Additional rankings in suitably bunched forms are also being provided. Four institutions, which could not easily fit into any of the above categories, have been chosen for a special mention for excellence on a few parameters like Research etc.

Although the Central Government funded institutions, in general continue to do well, some of the state-funded and private universities also appear prominently. Some private institutions and universities have consistently occupied good positions, and some have been rising in their ranks, thus indicating that they offer value for money to their students. Maintenance of consistent or improved positions over previous years clearly indicates that it has not been a one-time random event. This should augur well for Higher Education.

The ranking of General Degree Colleges which was started last year, saw a much more enthusiastic participation this year, with 1087 colleges in the fray. This represents an increase by almost 100% over last year. The ranking list throws interesting light on their geographical spread. Almost all renowned institutions are represented in this year’s ranking. Similarly participation for a place in the overall rank increased nearly 25% over the last year.

This year also saw the beginning of limited ranking of institutions in new areas like Medicine, Law and Architecture.

List of top 10 India Rankings 2018 is as follows:

Overall:

Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru
Indian Institute of Technology Madras
Indian Institute of Technology Bombay
Indian Institute of Technology Delhi
Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur
Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi
Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur
Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee
Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi
Anna University, Chennai

Management

Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad
Indian Institute of Management Bangalore
Indian Institute of Management Calcutta
Indian Institute of Management Lucknow
Indian Institute of Technology Bombay
Indian Institute of Management Kozhikode
Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur
Indian Institute of Technology Delhi
Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee
Xavier Labour Relations Institute, Jamshedpur

University

Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru
Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi
Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi
Anna University, Chennai
University of Hyderabad
Jadavpur University, Kolkata
University of Delhi
Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham, Coimbatore
Savitribai Phule Pune University
Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh

Colleges

Miranda House, Delhi
St. Stephens`s College, Delhi
Bishop Heber College, Tiruchirappalli
Hindu College, Delhi
Presidency College, Chennai
Loyola College, Chennai
Shri Ram College of Commerce, Delhi
Lady Shri Ram College for Women, New Delhi
Ramakrishna Mission Vidyamandira, Howrah
Madras Christian College, Chennai

Pharmacy

National Institute of Pharmaceutical Education and Research Mohali
Jamia Hamdard, New Delhi
Panjab University, Chandigarh
Institute of Chemical Technology, Mumbai
Birla Institute of Technology & Science, Pilani
National Institute of Pharmaceutical Education and Research Hyderabad
Manipal College of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Manipal
Bombay College of Pharmacy, Mumbai
SVKM`s Narsee Monjee Institute of Management Studies, Mumbai
JSS College of Pharmacy, Mysore

Medical

All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi
Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research, Chandigarh
Christian Medical College, Vellore

Architecture

Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur
Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee
School of Planning & Architecture New Delhi

Law

National Law School of India University, Bengaluru
National Law University, New Delhi
Nalsar University of Law, Hyderabad

Engineering

Indian Institute of Technology Madras
Indian Institute of Technology Bombay
Indian Institute of Technology Delhi
Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur
Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur
Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee
Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati
Anna University, Chennai
Indian Institute of Technology Hyderabad
Institute of Chemical Technology, Mumbai

Disclaimer: This information has been collected through secondary research and IBEF is not responsible for any errors in the same.

3.1. Private banks to account for half of India’s banking sector in 5 years: Uday Kotak

Livemint, 21 Mar. 2018, Gopika Gopakumar

The change will be facilitated by the shift in loan growth towards private banks from public sector banks—from 70:30 now to 50:50 in five years, says Uday Kotak

Mumbai: Billionaire banker Uday Kotak on Tuesday said private sector lenders will account for half of India’s banking industry in the next five years, facilitated by the shift in loan growth towards the private sector.

“On a delta basis, the entire growth in loans is happening as private sector banks are growing significantly. In the next five years, 70:30 ratio will move towards 50:50,” said Kotak, executive vice-chairman and managing director of Kotak Mahindra Bank, at an event.

Kotak added that with the broadening of the financial sector, he expects to see fewer public sector banks in future.

“We are seeing a fundamental, sustainable change that is coming in. We are moving towards a time—and I’m not going into the debate over privatization of state-owned banks or otherwise. But in general, I do believe we should be seeing fewer state-owned banks.”

Kotak also added that big corporates are largely responsible for today’s challenges in the banking sector. With the implementation of the Reserve Bank of India’s new bad loan resolution framework that seeks greater disclosures from banks, Kotak warned small and medium enterprise entities could also be hit and banks will have to improve their underwriting standards.

“I think we have also a pretty sensitive underbelly of the SME business, which has not revealed its hands yet. The underwriting standards in that also will come up for question as we go down this path of much faster disclosures being required by RBI, including one-day overdue. The 12 February circular is a significant game-changing event. It will have its implications not only for the big guys, but also the SMEs,” he added.

RBI on 12 February said starting 1 March, lenders must implement a resolution plan within 180 days for accounts of at least Rs2,000 crore.

Kotak also said there is a need to tweak insolvency proceedings after 18-24 months to ensure large assets don’t lose value. He said banks should look at getting 40% of the principal value from such assets undergoing insolvency proceedings.

“These are teething problems that will inevitably come and I believe there are some sectors like steel where valuations are decent. Looking at the levels of bloating in the system, we should be happy if 40% of the principal value comes back. Thereafter, down the road, ask tougher questions because of moral hazards, do we need to tweak the process where we can improve the value,” Kotak added.

Kotak’s remarks come at a time when the top 12 accounts referred by RBI are in the final stages of resolution process.

In June last year, the central bank had identified accounts like Essar Steel Ltd, Bhushan Steel Ltd and Amtek Auto Ltd which together account for 25% of bad loans to be referred for early insolvency proceedings. The second list consisting of 28 cases was identified in August.

3.2 Nilekani bats for PSB privatisation, cites interest of taxpayers

PTI, Mar 20, 2018

Nandan Nilekani said the privatisation of public sector banks would benefit the taxpayer and the state

Introduction of technology-based solutions also makes it possible to cater to the requirements of the smaller borrowers, he said.

MUMBAI: Infosys chairman and Unique ID project architect Nandan Nilekani on Tuesday said the "original rationale" for bank nationalisation has ceased to exist and that privatisation is the way forward for the public sector lenders.

Nilekani, who contested the last Lok Sabha polls on a Congress ticket, said banks were nationalised over five decades ago because they were focusing only on big industries and ignoring smaller ones. The 21 state-run banks had suffered reverses because of lending to large companies.

Introduction of technology-based solutions also makes it possible to cater to the requirements of the smaller borrowers, who were neglected in the pre-nationalisation era, the technocrat said.

"The original rationale has gone away and so let most banks function on market principles owned by the general public," he told reporters, adding privatising them is also in the interest of taxpayers.

"We should privatise. We have a choice between some of the value is captured by the taxpayers, by the state or privatisation," he said, adding it is better to give the upside to taxpayers when state-run banks hold a 70 per cent market share.

The technocrat pointed out that the pace of losing market share has increased and in 10 years from now, they will hold 10 per cent market share.

In a year from now, it will be commonplace for one to make merchant payments for very small purchases like paan by scanning a QR code on your mobile phone, Nilekani said.

"There will be a sudden movement to QR-code based payments using the unified payments interface (UPI) in six to nine months. In a year, payments at the paan shop will happen through this," Nilekani told reporters here.

Nilekani, the architect of the unique ID project Aadhar, said there will be a "massive dissemination" of UPI QR codes in the next few months.

He said unlike the card-based payments, merchant payments will be the last level for the UPI journey, which started with peer-to-peer payments.

UPI-based transactions, which have risen to 172 million in February from 0.1 million in October 2016, will shoot up to 1 billion a month by December 2018, he said.

Top Comment

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Nilekani said with the deepening of the digital journey in everyone's lives, even businesses have gotten digital, courtesy the GST, India will transform to a postpaid economy from a prepaid one.

This will be possible because lenders and vendors or creditors will be able to assess a borrower or buyer better, he said, adding a lot of lending will take place on cash flows and not the present collateral-based system.

4.1. The great migration: Talent from the north heads south

TNN, 15 Apr. 2018, Namrata Singh

MUMBAI: Recruitment agencies are facing a new challenge: While there are more job opportunities in the south thanks to a surge in startups, e-commerce and retail firms, the talent is in the north.

The south accounts for close to 40% of Randstad India’s recruitment for its clients, followed by the west at 28%, north at 25% and the east at 7%. For TeamLease Services, 40% of overall job positions are for the south. The figure would touch 70% if south and west are combined. Rituparna Chakraborty, co-founder, TeamLease Services, said: “People follow jobs and move where there is surplus demand for talent. At this point, that’s from north to south.”

Tally Solutions, a Bengaluru-based company that offers business management software solutions, has been recruiting from north India. Kankana Barua, chief people officer at Tally Solutions, said: “Companies facing a crunch in talent above mid-levels are looking for talent across India, especially from the north.”

The old reluctance to move to a city with a different language and cuisine is also eroding. Barua said that if a company provides good growth opportunities, people are ready to relocate. The influx of people from different regions to Hyderabad, Bengaluru and Chennai is creating cultural diversity. “I now see people conversing in Hindi in Chennai, for instance,” said Barua.

The south is home to three of India’s seven largest urban centres and accounts for more than half the total jobs created in the formal sector. The emergence of the IT industry as the single largest employer of graduates has played a significant role.

The three southern IT hubs of Chennai, Hyderabad and Bangalore account for more than 60% of the workforce employed by the sector, as per industry estimates. Chennai and Hyderabad are hubs for manufacturing and infrastructure too.

5.1. India can play major role in shaping global 4th industrial revolution: WEF

PTI, Apr. 16, 2018

New Delhi: India is well positioned to play a key role in shaping the global fourth industrial revolution with a young labour force, a large English-speaking population and the second largest numbers of internet users, top WEF official said.

But, the country will need access to infrastructure, electricity, and stability in monetary and fiscal policies, World Economic Forum (WEF) President Borge Brende told PTI here.

Fourth industrial revolution -- a technological revolution through artificial intelligence, blockchains and Internet of Things -- is changing the scale, scope and complexity of the opportunities and challenges people face today.

"India can play a major role in shaping the global fourth industrial revolution as more than half of India's population is under the age of 27. Besides, the country has the second largest English speaking population as well as the second largest number of internet users on mobile devices," the president said.

However, the country is lagging behind when it comes to skills and education, he added.

According to Brende, India can lead the fourth industrial revolution and simultaneously enhance the quality, equity and sustainability of its own growth and development outcomes.

The WEF has already partnered with the Indian government to set up the Centre for the Fourth Industrial Revolution India in Mumbai.

"The centre will become operational in the second half of this year," Brende noted.

It will work to accelerate the development and implementation of governance protocols for emerging science and technology to serve citizens, society and the public at large.

The forum has identified India as a partner since it is a key economic, political and social shaper of the 21st century's global, regional and industry systems.

Disclaimer: This information has been collected through secondary research and IBEF is not responsible for any errors in the same.

5.2. Which are the jobs that the robots will steal?

Livemint, 17 Apr. 2018, Manas Chakravarty

The Fourth Industrial Revolution—automation, robotics, biotechnology, artificial intelligence, blockchain and 3D printing—is already impacting jobs in labour-intensive manufacturing and textile industries

Will the Fourth Industrial Revolution and widespread automation lead to job losses in countries such as India? Some reports have been alarming—a paper by Frey and Rahbari said China risks losing 77% of jobs to automation, while India risks losing 69%. Thankfully, a new study by the Asian Development Bank on how technology affects jobs gives us hope.

Since fears of job losses have been with us since the days of the Luddites, the key question is: is the Fourth Industrial Revolution—technological advancements in robotics, biotechnology, artificial intelligence, quantum computers, blockchain and 3D printing—different from the ones that preceded it?

Sure, technology will displace jobs. But automation also increases productivity and lowers production costs, increasing demand in the economy. It could also lead to new jobs. A study shows that in India, between 2004 and 2015, electrical trade workers had a significant share of new job titles. Examples of these new job titles are computerized numerical control (CNC) operator, machining technician, CNC setter-cum-operator–vertical machining centre, CNC programmer, smartphone repair technician, solar panel installation technician, and optical fibre technician. These are all new jobs.

A paper has said that China and India stand to lose 77% and 69% of jobs to automation, but another study on how technology affects jobs gives us hope

On the effect of rising demand, the study says if the Indian economy grows at 7% over the 16 years from 2015 to 2031, annual per capita income will rise from $1,500 to $4,900. Given the rate of growth of per capita income, India’s textile market can be expected to grow 2.5 times over that period. This would offset job displacement from future automation in the garment industry.

Moreover, automation is used the most in capital-intensive industries. “The two largest users of industrial robots in Asia, electrical and electronics industries and automotive manufacturers, each accounted in 2015 for 39% of Asia’s robot stock but only 9.2% and 4.2%, respectively, of manufacturing employment,” according to the study. If robots have to be deployed in a labour-intensive industry, they will have to be cheap enough to compete with very low wages. The problem with that argument is, even in Bangladesh, automation has started in the garments industry.

As automation is adopted more widely, some classes of workers will certainly be displaced. The study found that robotics reduce hours worked and wages for low- and middle-skilled workers, but has no significant effect on high-skilled workers. Unfortunately, International Labour Organization estimates show that in India, only 15.5% of employment is in the highly skilled category, with the rest in the medium- and low-skilled group.

If robots have to be deployed in a labour-intensive industry, they will have to be cheap enough to compete with very low wages. The problem with that argument is, even in Bangladesh, automation has started in the garments industry

The research shows that, with technological advances in global value chains, the share of non-routine cognitive occupations increases; for non-routine manual occupations, half the economies showed increased employment share; and for both cognitive and routine manual occupations, the employment share is decidedly negative for manufacturing and mainly negative for services.

What about wages? While wages of skilled and managerial workers would rise, those in routine and manual labour would decline. The worst case would see the wages of less skilled workers not rise at all—this happened during the first Industrial Revolution, says the report, when “the average wage of workers barely increased over several decades despite a dramatic increase in labour productivity in manufacturing.” Trouble is, for many in India, it’s the first, second, third and fourth industrial revolutions combined, all at one shot.

Due to automation, while wages of skilled and managerial workers would rise, those in routine and manual labour would decline

What is to be done? An ILO Employment Policy brief had pointed out that “the challenge of technical change may not be so much whether there will be more jobs destroyed than created, but the facility with which workers are able to transition from old to new jobs in a period of rapid change and to equitably share in productivity gains.” The need to upgrade skills is obvious. In 2016, 46% of employers in Asia and the Pacific reported difficulty in filling vacancies for skilled positions. Moreover, rapidly changing technologies imply workers will continually have to learn new skills. The rise in contract work will result in many being intermittently unemployed. They will need protection. Unfortunately, India’s social protection system is totally inadequate. The ILO says the population covered by any one social security scheme in India is 19%, compared to 63% in China, 28.4% in Bangladesh and 37.9% in Vietnam.

We are already seeing the social consequences of the lack of decent jobs and rising inequality in India. It’s time we heed the warnings

How will increased social security be funded? The ADB recommends taxes on property, inheritance and capital gains. That is unlikely to go down well with our elites.

We are already seeing the social consequences of the lack of decent jobs and rising inequality in India. It’s time we heed the warnings.

AGRICULTURE, FISHING & RURAL DEVELOPMENT

6.1. FDA-like agency needed for agriculture: commerce ministry

Livemint, 20 Mar. 2018, Asit Ranjan Mishra

Draft agri-export policy aims at doubling agri-exports to $60 billion by 2022

India needs to form a US Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-like agency to have an integrated approach to both agricultural production and trade, to double agri-exports to $60 billion by 2022 from $30 billion now, according to the draft agri-export policy released by the commerce ministry on Monday.

“It may be worthwhile to work towards a similar agency in India which is all encompassing in nature, covering both domestic and international market, so as to have a calibrated approach in export and imports,” the report released for stakeholder consultation said.

Commerce minister Suresh Prabhu, who had announced the need for such a policy on his first day in office, had said that a stable agri-export policy is needed to fulfil Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision to double farm income by 2022.

India’s domestic agricultural policies are largely aimed at food security and price stabilization and often put export restrictions to control food inflation.

For example, the three-year (2008-11) ban on non-basmati rice exports to control retail inflation despite sufficient stocks led to a notional loss of $5.6 billion to the industry and forex losses to the government.

“Over the three years, 14.6 million tonnes of non-basmati rice could have been exported,” the report said.

India’s agricultural exports basket is a diversified mix led by marine products ($5.8 billion), meat ($4 billion) and rice ($6 billion), which together constitute around 52% of its total agricultural exports. India’s share in global exports of agriculture products has increased from 1% a few years ago to 2.2 % in 2016.

The draft policy also advocated promoting export-oriented clusters and agriculture export zones (AEZs) in partnership with private exporters who will have a natural incentive to promote such clusters. This will be key to ensure surplus produce with standard physical and quality parameters which meet export demands.

“There are opportunities for developing agriculture export SEZs mainly aimed at producing agriculture commodities for certain countries which are largely dependent on import of agriculture products. The interest of some countries (having substantial gap in domestic availability of grains, vegetables and fruits) can be explored for bringing in foreign direct investment (FDI) into agriculture export SEZ in order to ensure food security of that country. There can be complete buyback arrangements by the countries which are bringing in FDI, thus providing a stable market for Indian exports,” it added.

The commerce ministry has also sought to provide policy assurance to producers that processed agricultural and organic products will not be put under export restrictions such as minimum export price, export duty even when the primary agricultural product or non-organic agricultural product is brought under some kind of export restrictions to stabilise domestic prices.

The commerce ministry has provisionally identified 50 unique product-district clusters for export promotion. It has also shortlisted 10 commodities as focus items for specific farm, infrastructure and market intervention. They are shrimps, meat, basmati rice, bananas, pomegranate, vegetables including potatoes, cashew, plant parts/medicinal herbs in value added forms including herbal medicines, nutraceuticals, aromatics, spices (cumin, turmeric, pepper) and organic food.

6.2. Indian farmers call for free markets

Livemint, 21 Mar. 2018

For decades, the Indian farmer has been at the mercy of government doles. Now there are voices demanding just prices in open markets

At a time when some Indian business leaders have begun to make protectionist noises, it is significant that the Kisan Coordination Committee (KCC) has released a liberal eight-point charter of demands ahead of a meeting to be held in New Delhi this week of various members of the World Trade Organization. The farmers have called for the liberalization of agriculture, the end of government intervention in the farm economy, scrapping of the National Food Security Act, direct benefit transfers to the poor, free trade in farm products and the removal of restrictions of rural land markets. The legacy of Shetkari Sanghatana leader Sharad Joshi is still alive.

These demands deserve attention when the limitations of the recent cycle of higher procurement prices as well as farm loan waivers are evident. Joshi often said that the internal terms of trade discriminated against farmers, who were not allowed to export and had to operate under tight controls in the domestic market.

The first problem is the subservience of the farmer to the licensed trader in the mandi system. These traders collude to determine the purchasing price in a non-transparent fashion, virtually dictating terms to the farmer. This was apparent in Madhya Pradesh recently, where the price of commodities covered by the Bhavantar Bhugtan Yojana was depressed by the traders as the farmers were promised compensation for the shortfall by the government. This hegemony can be broken by allowing private mandis and delisting farm products from the Agricultural Produce Market Committee (APMC) Act, but there has been little progress on this front. For example, while many states have amended the APMC to delist fruits and vegetables, the rules are still to be notified and several entry barriers remain.

The government has established e-NAM (electronic national agriculture market) to create a national market and price discovery by trading. But the platform has not been successful as there is limited intra-state and negligible interstate trade. Given the massive disparity between producer and consumer prices, one would imagine that arbitrage would be highly profitable. But the slew of permits someone in Madhya Pradesh would have to furnish in order to bring a truck of tomatoes to Delhi would prevent any such attempt.

The second reason for the farmer’s plight is the excessive risk he has to bear in order to do business. Government policy, through the Essential Commodities Act, restricts farmers and traders from transporting and storing their produce, in order to prevent alleged hoarding and profiteering in times of shortages. The stock-holding limits preclude investments in supply-chain as the food processing and retail companies need stocks in order to shield themselves from price shocks. Moreover, stock-holding allows a smooth supply of produce, reducing price volatility. Unfortunately, the Narendra Modi government started its term by bringing onions and potatoes under the Essential Commodities Act in 2014, reducing the likelihood and credibility of future reform.

Third, given the monsoon-dependent nature of farming, farmers are at a constant risk of falling into poverty and a number of measures can distribute this risk between peasants and traders. Futures markets, for example, would allow traders to incorporate information about seed purchase volumes, area under harvest, weather forecast, etc., to predict future shortages or glut and enter into pre-purchase agreements with farmers. Low futures prices will allow farmers to foresee a glut and shift production to substitute crops, preventing the yo-yo-ing of crop prices every alternate year. Contract farming and land lease laws will similarly allow farmers to share the risks associated with farming, and allow them access to cheaper credit and farm inputs.

Joshi had been demanding equal treatment for agriculture and industry since the 1980s. Yet today, while the industrial policy remains stable in promoting exports, farmers are not free to do so. He supported foreign direct investment to integrate our farmers in the global supply chain and was fanatically in favour of the latest seeds and farm technology, arguing that these would improve productivity. In contrast to the political class, he didn’t glorify the village life, and wanted farmers to have the freedom to exit. Alas, state land laws prevent the transfer of land to non-farmers, prevent formal land lease arrangements and enforce land ceiling. Finally, he was an optimist about free trade; an early advocate of WTO-led liberalization.

For decades, despite rising production, the Indian farmer has been at the mercy of government policy, which has transformed over the years from bring directed at capital formation to providing subsidies and transfers. Joshi spent his life fighting this subservience, demanding, “We don’t want alms, we want the price of our sweat and toil.” Ultimately, his was a cry for their dignity. Realizing his dream would require trusting the farmer to make his choices, but that requires institutional changes that can allow price discovery and free avenues for trade.

7.1. Notable turn around in Mining sector under NDA Government - Tomar

Press Information Bureau, Mar. 21, 2018

Govt launches a ‘Sand Mining Framework’ to check illegal mining.

New Delhi: The Union Minister of Mines Shri Narendra Singh Tomar has said that there has been a notable turn around in the mining sector ever since government has taken initiative for policy reforms. In the current year up to January, 2018 the mineral production in terms of volume has registered a growth of 6% when compared to same period last year, which he described is a robust one. Addressing the 3rd National Conclave on Mines & Minerals today in New Delhi, he emphasized the underlying importance of the mining sector as it provides basic raw materials to many important industries.

Shri Tomar said that to make the auction process less cumbersome and help states auction mineral blocks quickly, the Ministry of Mines has amended the Mineral Auction Rules 2015 in November 2017. The amendment has facilitated the auctions in a big way. A record number of 41 mineral blocks have been put on auction within 3 months of the amendment, whereas 27 blocks were put up on auction earlier in 8 months from April to November 2017. Total estimated revenue to the state government over the lease period from the blocks already auctioned is Rs.1,43,893/- crores.

The Portal for Pradhan Mantri Khanij Kshetra Kalyan Yojna (PMKKKY) monitoring along with Registration and Returns module of Phase I of the Mining Tenement System (MTS) was also launched by the Shri Tomar during the award function in the conclave. MTS primarily involves automating the entire mineral concession life-cycle, starting from identification of area and ending with closure of the mine; and connecting the various stakeholders for real-time transfer of electronic files and exchange of data. MTS will facilitate end to end national scale accounting of all the minerals produced in the country from the pithead to its end use, reducing the scope for illegal mining.

The PMKKKY scheme is to be implemented by the funds collected under District Mineral Foundations (DMF) to be utilized for the welfare and development of the mining affected areas. The module for monitoring portal of PMKKKY implementation captures from the collection and accrual of funds, to its utilization and monitoring for implementation of projects. Over Rs.17,000/- crores have been collected under PMKKKY and 56,000 projects launched.

A ‘Sand Mining Framework’ was also launched by the Shri Tomar. This Framework has been prepared by the Ministry of Mines from the study conducted on sand mining in various States and intensive consultations with institutions like National Council for Cement and Building Materials (NCCBM), Cement Manufacture Association (CMA), Public and other stakeholders while preparing the sand mining framework. The suggestions in the Framework will provide a roadmap to the States helping them to frame their policies and act as a check on illegal mining of sand.

Shri Tomar and Minister of State for Mines Shri Haribhai Parthibhai Chaudhary felicitated the 5 Star rated mines in the Conclave to the top 20 mines in the opening session and remaining 37 mines in the valedictory session. During last conclave held at New Delhi on 15th Feb 2017 total 32 mines were awarded with 5 stars on the basis of performance during 2015-16. The performance of mines during 2016-17 has improved and total 57 mines have been awarded 5 star ratings. The star rating system has led to a self-driven mechanism for adoption of best practices and for exhaustive and universal implementation of Sustainable Development Framework in mining. This would substantially address the ill ecological impacts associated with mining activities and will eventually result in ensuring the handing over of mining area to the community in a better ecological condition. The Hon’ble Minister also urged the states for adoption of the star rating system for minor minerals. The model template for the same has been circulated by the Union Mines Ministry on 30.01.2018.

The conclave will strengthen the efforts of the Ministry in enabling the mining sector to contribute its fullest to foster the rapid growth of national economy and employment generation. It will help the Central Government to further improve the policy environment to promote best practices and addressing various issues in the mining sector.

The last two conclaves were held at Raipur and New Delhi in 2016 & 2017 respectively. The representatives of State Governments, mining industries, industry associations, academic institutions and others participated in the conclave and raised various issues, challenges and opportunities in the mining sector to realize its optimum potential for the sustainable development.

Disclaimer: This information has been collected through secondary research and IBEF is not responsible for any errors in the same.

7.2. Indian Oil, HPCL, BPCL to invest Rs10,000 crore ($1,5 bn) for Bio-CNG plants

Livemint, Apr. 10, 2018

Mumbai: State-run oil marketing companies Indian Oil Corporation (IOC); Bharat Petroleum Corporation (BPCL) and Hindustan Petroleum Corporation (HPCL) plan to spend nearly Rs10,000 crore to set up Bio-CNG plants across India to promote clean fuel and reduce the country’s fuel import bill, two people aware of the development said.

The Bio-CNG plan will be detailed in the national biofuels policy to be released this month, the people added.

The policy will detail a Rs1 trillion investment opportunity under Waste-to-Wealth projects.

Bio-CNG is a purified form of biogas with over 95% pure methane. It is similar to natural gas in its composition (97% methane) and energy potential.

While natural gas is a fossil fuel, Bio-CNG is a renewable form of energy produced from agricultural and food waste.

“IOCL is taking the lead in terms of setting up plants for generation of Bio-CNG so that farmers can supply biomass instead of burning it. IOCL will buy back Bio-CNG and sell the same,” said one of the people aware of the development, the first person quoted above.

He spoke on condition of anonymity as he is not allowed to speak to the media.

He added that while IOCL will execute the plan in north India, BPCL and HPCL will replicate the model in western, southern and eastern India.

This January, IOCL signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Punjab government to set up biogas and Bio-CNG plants in the state.

IOCL will be setting up a plant in Haryana shortly. In 2018, 42 plants will become operational which will be scaled up to 400 over the next three to four years.

“These Bio-CNG plants would be multiple in number and would be phased evenly so that 100-150 tonne per day rice straw becomes available. Converting bio-mass to compressed biogas and bio-CNG will not only help curb the menace of stubble burning but also create additional income for farmers,” said the second person mentioned above, also speaking on condition of anonymity.

IOCL, BPCL and HPCL did not reply to Mint’s queries sent on 2 April.

Bio-CNG is seen as an environment-friendly alternative to diesel.

It can be transported either through injecting fuel into the CNG grid or by trucks or in cylinders from the filling stations. The average cost of setting up a Bio-CNG plant is around Rs40-50 crore.

“In the long run, the overall oil bill, which is pinching us is a challenge. And on the other hand, we have so much of renewable biomass available that we can definitely look at reducing the imports by 20% if not more by 2022,” said the first person quoted above.

The cost of production of Bio-CNG could be around Rs23 a litre, cheaper than compressed natural gas (CNG), petrol and diesel.

“Today we are using CNG which is imported. Bio-CNG will easily replace that. This will save us nearly Rs40,000 crore in imports. Bio-CNG replaces both, diesel and petrol. Also, the static consumption for generating power, in remote places, today either consume diesel or CNG. But Bio-CNG can replace these too,” added the second person quoted above.

India currently imports one-third of its energy requirement. The world’s third-largest crude oil importer targets halving its energy import bill by 2030.

The government aims to increase the contribution of gas in India’s energy mix to 15% from the current 6.5%.

At present, fossil fuels meet 95% of India’s transportation fuel requirement.

Disclaimer: This information has been collected through secondary research and IBEF is not responsible for any errors in the same.

8.1. 312,0 million accounts opened under Pradhan Mantri Jan-Dhan Yojana (PMJDY) with aggregate deposit balances Rs. 75,572.09 crore ($11,7bn) as on 28.2.2018.

Press Information Bureau, Mar. 23, 2018

New Delhi: As informed by banks, as on 28.2.2018, 31.20 crore accounts have been opened under Pradhan Mantri Jan-Dhan Yojana (PMJDY) with aggregate deposit balances Rs. 75,572.09 crore. Of these, 25.18 crore (81%) Jan-Dhan accounts are operative. Banks are committed to enhance the number of operative Jan-Dhan accounts.

Public Sector Banks (PSBs) have reported that no such incidence has been observed presently. Moreover, Jan-Dhan accounts do not have any requirement of maintaining minimum balance.

Public Sector Banks have reported that by February 2018 only about 59 lakh (1.9%) Jan–Dhan accounts have been closed since launch of the scheme. Jan–Dhan accounts are closed as per request of the account-holder. Some of the Jan-Dhan accounts are closed due to conversion of Jan-Dhan accounts into normal savings account as per request of the account-holder. In some cases accounts are closed due to account-holder having multiple accounts in his/her name in the same bank, as per Reserve Bank of India guidelines dated 10.8.2012 applicable to Basic Savings Bank Deposit (BSBD) accounts including Jan-Dhan accounts.

This was stated by Shri Shiv Pratap Shukla, Minister of State for Finance in written reply to a question in Rajya Sabha.

Disclaimer: This information has been collected through secondary research and IBEF is not responsible for any errors in the same.

8.2. Pradhan Mantri Aawas Yojana (Gramin) (PMAY (G) shall complete one crore houses by March, 2019.

Press Information Bureau, Mar. 23, 2018

New Delhi: Hon’ble Prime Minister launched PMAY (G) on November 20, 2016 (14 months ago) from Agra, Uttar Pradesh. The target was to complete one crore houses by March 31, 2019. Since some Indira Awaas Yojana (IAY) houses were still incomplete, Department of Rural Development was given a target of 1.02 crore houses, which included completion of two lakh incomplete IAY houses. This was broken up in 51 lakh houses in 2017-18 and 51 lakh houses in 2018-19.

Against the target of 51 lakh houses in 2017-18, a total of 34.99 lakh houses (29.33 lakh PMAY (G) houses and 5.66 lakh incomplete IAY houses) have already been completed and uploaded on the public website www.pmayg.nic.in. The number can be checked online in report A2. This comes to 68.7% of the target for the year. Since more incomplete IAY houses were there, they had to be completed.

When completed houses are uploaded on the website, it is not only physical completion but also geotagging of the completed houses with photograph and other details. These can be seen in D1 of the GIS reports on www.pmayg.nic.in. Since the process of uploading, geotagging and closure of accounts take a few days, it takes 10-15 days for uploading on site after actual physical completion. It is for this reason that the final figures of completed houses duly uploaded on the site would be available by 10-15 April, 2018.

The Department is confident of reaching very close to the target on the basis of performance in PMAY (G). In A1 report on www.pmayg.nic.in, releases of instalment details are also available. The current position as shown on the public website is as follows:

As is evident from the statement, over 47.21 lakh PMAY (G) houses are at an advanced stage of completion. The target of one crore PMAY (G) houses completion by March, 2019 is easily achievable as it is expected that 60 lakh houses where first instalment has already been released and work is in progress, will get completed by 30.6.2018. The effort of the Department is to try and complete on crore houses by 31.12.2018, even though the target is 31.3.2019.

While most major States have performed well in the programme, Assam and Bihar had a very large number of incomplete IAY houses. Assam also had the NRC process where Block administration was fully involved. Bihar had the problem of availability of sand for many months. While these two States have done well in completing old incomplete houses, their performance in PMAY (G) has started picking up now and it is hoped that they too would equal some of the other better performing States. Likewise, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana have their own MISs and as such the uploading of their data on www.pmayg.nic.in is incomplete.

Number of houses completed as per the PMAY (G) website (www.pmayg.nic.in) in reports section A2 year-wise house completion report all central schemes) from 2014-15 to 2017-18 are as follows:

As is evident from the facts above, the thrust in 2015-17 was to get incomple IAY houses completed and over 50.47 lakh houses were completed which had been under construction for many years. The pace of construction is many times of what it was earlier as is clear from the data presented above. With improved cost, better designs, IT/DBT, training of rural masons and continuous effective monitoring in partnership with beneficiaries, local governments, State Governments and Central Government, significantly better performance has been achieved. Department of Rural Development is certain that by March, 2019, given the cooperation of all the States, it will be able to achieve the target of one crore PMAY (G) houses. Even the target for the current financial year would be nearly achieved once uploading on the website is completed.

Disclaimer: This information has been collected through secondary research and IBEF is not responsible for any errors in the same.

9. India to be Self-Reliant in Silk Production by 2020

Press Information Bureau, Mar. 23, 2018

New Delhi: The Minister of Textiles Smt. Smriti Zubin Irani interacting with media today regarding efforts of the Govt. of India to make the country self-reliant in silk production

India will be self-reliant in the production of silk by 2020, said the Minister of Textiles Smriti Zubin Irani in a media interaction today. The Union Cabinet’s decision approving the Integrated Scheme for Development of Silk Industry will help increase the production of Bivoltine silk (high quality) by 62 percent by 2020. The Minister further said the aim of the government is to increase the number of people engaged in the silk sector from 85 lakhs to one crore in the next three years. She said, 50 thousand people will be trained in this sector. Smt. Irani told media that an inter- ministerial committee of related ministries will be set up under the Textiles Ministry to disburse a sum of Rs. 1000 crores for development of Research & Development.

Seed production units will be equipped and strengthened, besides increasing the production capacity to cater to the increased demand for silk in the future. Elaborating further the Minister said that under Digital India, web-based solutions will be provided to farmers engaged in seed production and other allied activities. Farmers and seed producers will get all subsidy by Direct Benefit Transfer.

The minister informed that market development is a very important area and 21 cocoon testing centres are being set up in the main silk producing states of the country. Apart from this, 19 basic silk seed farms, 20 silk worm seed production centres, 131 chawki rearing centres and 500 acres of land is being set aside for improved varieties.

Infrastructure development by individual farmers and silk producers will be financially supported by the Central Government which will bear 50% of the costs. For beneficiaries belonging to SC or ST category, the Centre will bear 65% of the cost. In case of beneficiaries from North East States, J&K, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh, the Centre will bear 80% of the cost. A Helpline will be set up for timely redressal of grievances and all outreach programmes.

Smt. Irani informed that the State Governments have been urged to participate in implementing the Scheme as they have an important role to play in increasing the silk production of the country. The Minister said that out of 26 silk producing and consuming states, only 17 have a separate Department or Directorate of Sericulture.

Disclaimer: This information has been collected through secondary research and IBEF is not responsible for any errors in the same.

10.1. Amul launches Irish drink mocktail in time for summer

BusinessLine, 26 Mar.2018, Rutam Vorat

With summer setting in, India's largest dairy brand Amul has launched an Irish drink mocktail with a blend of flavours of rich milk cream, coffee, chocolate, hazelnut and caramel. With young consumers looking for options beyond carbonated beverages and sugared juices to quench the summer thirst, Amul on Saturday launched Amul Irish Drink mocktail. The 200 ml can is priced at Rs 40.

"Coming from the house of Amul, this Irish drink is bound to disrupt the beverage category and become the new high of 2018," said R S Sodhi, Managing Director of Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation (GCMMF) Ltd, which sells Amul. This first-of-its-kind mocktail from Amul is made to provide young consumers an international experience. Amul Irish Drink has the finest blend of flavours i.e rich milk cream, coffee, chocolate, hazelnut and caramel, thereby, "making it heavenly delicious and bound to give a true Irish experience. The Irish drink is inspired from the famous Irish coffee having its origins in Ireland, thus, making this mocktail as exciting as it could get," said Sodhi.

The addition of a new beverage category makes the Amul range of milk beverages among the largest and fastest growing categories in the beverage market. On Saturday, Amul also launched two variants of flavoured milk, namely, Haldi Doodh and Kadhai Doodh, which are positioned as healthy, tasty drinks for a 'fast-paced stressful life'.

Haldi Doodh is celebrated globally and famously called “Turmeric latte”. Amul Haldi Doodh is a combination of haldi and milk, with the added flavours of kesar-badam. Amul Kadhai Doodh is an all-natural drink with milk as the key content, with no added flavours/ preservatives. The natural caramel flavour comes from cooking the milk before it is packed for a long shelf life under ambient conditions. The 200 ml cans are priced at Rs 30 each. The products have been launched across the country simultaneously.

Currently, Amul markets a range of milk beverages under the brand name Kool and cultured milk drinks like lassi and buttermilk. The 'Kool' portfolio comprises 35 flavours and variants of flavoured milk such as Kesar, Rose, Elaichi, Badam, milk Shakes of Vanilla, Mango, Strawberry, Badam flavours, besides Kool Cafe, Kool Koko, Amul PRO Chocolate drink, Memory Milk, Smoothies, whey-based drink Stamina. The lassi is available in two flavours.

10.2. Nestle India moves to fortify mass consumption products

BusinessLine, 17 Apr.2018, Meenakshi Verma Ambwani

Launches iron fortified Maggi Noodles, vitamin-added Milo

Nestle India has dialled-up fortification of its mass consumption products with micronutrients.

This is also in keeping with demands of the food regulator Food Safety and Standards Authority of India, which is pushing packaged food companies to fortify their products, especially staples.

In its annual report for 2017, Nestle India said: “Micronutrients such as iron, Vitamin A, iodine and zinc are essential for growth and development. We have been fortifying many of our mass consumption products with micronutrients to counter under-nutrition specially among the lower income consumers.”

As part of its “Good Food, Good Life” initiative, the company said it launched products such as iron-fortified Maggi Masala Noodles, fortified milk under Nestle a+ and minerals and vitamin fortified ready-to-drink malt beverage Milo.

Reduce salt

The company also said it plans to further reduce salt in its Maggi portfolio.

“We have been making continuous efforts to reduce sodium (salt) in the Maggi portfolio. We are committed to further bringing it down by 10 per cent per serve by 2020,” the company stated in the annual report.

Nestle India also said that Maggi Noodles (the core category under brand Maggi) saw a double-digit volume growth in 2017.

In a letter to shareholders, Suresh Narayanan, Chairman & Managing Director, Nestle India, said: “2018 is going to be about bringing consumers closer by being responsible, transparent and focusing on sustaining long-term relationships that add value. The industry is evolving at a tremendous pace and we would like to ride the tide and be ahead of the curve. India as a country is undergoing a digital revolution and we will embrace this positively.”

Talking about the economic scenario during 2017, the company said: “Beginning of 2017 was slow because of the effects of demonetisation that made consumers restrict their consumption.

“There was a slow revival of consumption with the urban market being more resilient compared to rural India. Towards the middle of the year, the economic growth improved.”

INDUSTRY, MANUFACTURE

11.1. TAFE - the First Indian Tractor Manufacturer to Win Frost & Sullivan Global Manufacturing Leadership Award 2018

PTI, Mar. 23, 2018

CHENNAI: First Indian manufacturing company to win Enterprise Integration and Technology Leadership Award TAFE - Tractors and Farm Equipment Limited, today announced that it has won 3 Awards in the 'Frost & Sullivan Global Manufacturing Leadership Award' in two different categories covering Supply Chain Management, and Enterprise Integration and Technology, for the year 2018. Frost & Sullivan's Manufacturing Leadership Awards, now in their 14th year, honor companies and individual leaders that are shaping the future of global manufacturing. Winning projects and individual manufacturing leaders have demonstrated achievement in clearly defined categories, and are chosen by a panel of expert judges for results that have delivered clear and compelling value, return on investment, and other tangible outcomes.

(Logo: http://mma.prnewswire.com/media/515720/TAFE_Logo.jpg )

(Photo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/657585/TAFE_Madurai_Plant.jpg )

The awards are as follows:

- Enterprise Integration and Technology Leadership Award for 'TAFE Digital Quality Management System'

- Supply Chain Leadership Award for 'TAFE Supplier Risk Management Model'

- Supply Chain Leadership Award for 'TAFE Differential Engagement Model'

To quote Frost & Sullivan 'TAFE is now among an esteemed group of leaders who are shaping the future of global manufacturing'.

The winners will be awarded at the Frost & Sullivan Manufacturing Leadership Awards at Huntington Beach in California, USA, in June 2018. mlsummit.com

About TAFE: tafe.com

The world's third largest tractor manufacturer and second largest in India by volumes with an annual sale of over 150,000 tractors; TAFE is one of the leading exporters of tractors from India with a turnover in excess of INR 93 billion. TAFE manufactures a range of tractors in the sub 100 hp segment in both the air-cooled and water-cooled platforms, and markets them under its three iconic brands - Massey Ferguson, TAFE and Eicher. Its over 1000 strong distribution network covers the entire length and breadth of India. Apart from India, its products have found excellent acceptance in over 100 countries across the world, including developed countries in Europe and the Americas.

Besides tractors and farm machinery, TAFE manufactures diesel engines, silent gensets, batteries, hydraulic pumps and cylinders, gears and transmission components, and has business interest in vehicle franchises and plantations. TAFE is committed to the Total Quality Movement (TQM) and three of its tractor plants are certified under ISO 9001 and ISO 14001.

TAFE has been presented the Star Performer Award by the Engineering Export Promotion Council (EEPC) of India for 21 consecutive years, the TPM Excellence Award by the Japan Institute of Plant Management (JIPM) several times, the Frost & Sullivan - IMEA Award for significant progress towards reliable processes, the Regional Contributor Award for quality supplies from Toyota Motor Company, Japan, the Manufacturing Supply Chain Operational Excellence - Automobile Award at the second Asia Manufacturing Supply Chain Summit, the Agriculture Leadership Award by Agriculture Today magazine, the Corporate Citizen of the Year Award by Public Relations Council of India, and has also received Commendation for Significant Achievement on the journey towards Business Excellence by the CII-EXIM Bank - Business Excellence Award jury, etc. to name a few.

Media Contact : Sunitha Subramaniyam corporate@tafe.com +91-4466919163 Head - TAFE Corporate Communications Tractors and Farm Equipment Limited Source: TAFE - Tractors and Farm Equipment Limited.

Disclaimer: This information has been collected through secondary research and IBEF is not responsible for any errors in the same.

11.2. BMW begins production of all-new X3 in India

PTI, BusinessLine, 27 Mar. 2018

German luxury carmaker BMW today said it has started production of all-new X3 model in India.

The company plans to launch the model in the country next month.

“The all-new BMW X3 is now set to continue the success story, with even more striking and dynamic styling and a luxurious interior,” BMW Group India President Vikram Pawah said in a statement.

BMW Group Plant Chennai MD Jochen Stallkamp said the company is confident that the new X3 produced in Chennai will increase its momentum further in the Indian luxury car segment.

The company’s Chennai plant produces the 3 Series, 3 Series Gran Turismo, 5 Series, 6 Series Gran Turismo, 7 Series, X1, X3 and X5.

It will start rolling out MINI Countryman this year as well.

12.1. India is now world's second largest mobile phone producer: ICA

PTI, Apr. 02, 2018

New Delhi: India is now the second largest mobile phone producer in the world after China, as per information shared by Indian Cellular Association with Telecom Minister Manoj Sinha and IT Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad.

"We are happy to inform you that with the strenuous and calibrated efforts of government of India, ICA and FTTF, India has now emerged as the second largest producer of mobile handset by volume," ICA National President Pankaj Mohindroo said in a letter to both the union ministers on March 28.

ICA referred to data available from market research firm IHS, China's National Bureau of Statistics and Vietnam General Statistics Office.

According to data shared by ICA, India accounted for 11 per cent of global mobile production in 2017 compared to 3 per cent in 2014.

India replaced Vietnam to become second largest producer of mobile phones in 2017.

With the rise in mobile phone production, imports of the devices in the country also reduced to less than half in 2017-18.

"We are also happy to inform you that our completely build units as percentage of domestic market has now come down from 78 per cent (2014-15) to 18 per cent (2017-18)," Mohindroo said.

The fast track task force, a body under Ministry of Electronics and IT, has set target to achieve around 500 million mobile phone production in India by 2019, with value estimated to be around USD 46 billion.

The FTTF, which has members from industry and government, has set target to create USD 8 billion component manufacturing as result of growth in mobile phone production and create 1.5 million direct and indirect jobs by 2019.

The body has set the target to export 120 million mobile phone units with an estimated value of USD 1.5 million by the end of next year.

"As long as we bring the right focus on exports, we will be able to achieve these numbers," Mohindroo said.

Disclaimer: This information has been collected through secondary research and IBEF is not responsible for any errors in the same.

12.2. World's largest solar park to come up in Gujarat: CM

PTI, April 11, 2018

Ahmedabad: Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani today approved setting up a 5000 MW capacity solar park at the Dholera Special Investment Region (SIR), which would be the largest such entity in the world after its completion.

The proposed solar power generation project would be set up in 11,000 hectares of land with an investment of Rs 25,000 crore ($3,87 bn), said an official release.

The project will contribute significantly in achieving Prime Minister Narendra Modi's target of producing 175 gigawatt of electricity through renewable energy sources by 2022, said Rupani.

The chief minister exuded confidence that the solar park would not only provide employment to over 20,000 people, but also open new manufacturing avenues for the entire supply chain in and around the Dholera International City.

Disclaimer: This information has been collected through secondary research and IBEF is not responsible for any errors in the same.

13.1. Renault plans to make India a hub for electric vehicle components

Livemint, 16 Apr.2018, Malyaban Ghosh

Renault India has placed orders for electric motors and transmission with Rico Auto Industries and is also working on developing electric vehicles at its Chennai plant

New Delhi: Renault SA has placed orders for manufacturing electric motors and transmission parts for its electric vehicles with one Indian automotive component manufacturer and have plans to make India a manufacturing hub for electric vehicle (EV) components in the long term. The local unit of the French car maker is also working on developing EVs for the global market in Chennai, two people aware of the developments said.

This is the first time any global vehicle maker with operations in India has given an order to an Indian company for making parts of EV which will be exported to the European and American countries and also possibly to China.

One of the companies that got the contract through a global tender process is Rico Auto Industries Ltd, a Gurugram based two-wheeler and four-wheeler parts maker. The names of the other auto parts maker could not be ascertained.

According to one of the two people cited above, Renault wants India to become a hub for EV parts. This is not something new for the company as it also exports internal combustion engines and other parts from India.

“The company wants to make India a hub for its electric vehicle component manufacturing since the cost is less and the Union government is expected to give exemptions and subsidies for manufacturing parts of these vehicles which requires a different ecosystem under the second avatar of the FAME scheme,” said person aware of the development requesting not to be named.

Renault is one of the leading vehicle manufacturers in the domain of EVs globally and has already invested heavily in electric mobility.

Later this year, the French car maker will launch the electric variant of its small car Kwid in China and Mint reported earlier that the company has plans to bring the electric version of Kwid in India as well given the infrastructure available.

According to the second person aware of the development, Renault has been working on its plan to make India one of the development hubs for its EVs globally. Its R&D centre in Chennai is a part of the car maker’s global plan for developing EVs and work has already been started by the company.

A detailed questionnaire sent to Renault India remained unanswered till press time.

Other foreign car makers are also looking to use India as a hub for manufacturing the component of electric vehicles which is a huge statement for the automobile sector in India, according to the first person mentioned above.

“Component manufacturers are the bedrock of the industry and the Renault already has experience of exporting components from India. So, this step by the company does not surprise me. It is a very significant step for the electric vehicle component manufacturing in India,” said Puneet Gupta, associate director, vehicle sales forecasting, IHS Automotive.

13.2. Ola to roll out 10,000 electric vehicles over the next 12 months

Livemint, 16 Apr. 2018, Anirban Sen

Ola to mostly deploy three-wheelers in first leg of bid to introduce 1 million electric vehicles by 2021

Bengaluru: Ola, the cab-hailing service that is in talks to raise at least $1 billion in fresh funds, will introduce a fleet of 10,000 electric vehicles (EVs) over the next 12 months.

On Monday, Ola, run by ANI Technologies Pvt. Ltd, said that as part of its Mission: Electric initiative, it would look to deploy 1 million electric vehicles on the roads by 2021.

As part of its latest launch, Ola will mostly deploy three-wheeler vehicles, or what the company calls e-rickshaws and electric auto-rickshaws.

“Three-wheelers are a vital means of transportation and a source of livelihood for millions of people every day. It also represents an immediate opportunity to improve outcomes for all stakeholders, while reducing pollution across towns and cities,” said Bhavish Aggarwal, founder and chief executive officer of Ola.

In an interview in December 2016, Masayoshi Son, chairman of SoftBank Group, which is the largest investor in Ola, had said that the cab-hailing start-up might introduce a fleet of one million electric cars in partnership with an electric vehicle maker and the government.

In an interview in May last year, Aggarwal had said that the start-up would introduce fully electric cabs on a pilot basis in major cities in India.

Last month in Nagpur, Ola launched a pilot project to test a fleet of its electric vehicles. Ola had also launched its first electric vehicle project in Nagpur in May last year.

“Less than a year ago, we launched India’s first multi-modal electric pilot in Nagpur. After more than 4 million electric kilometres travelled and many lessons learned, we are significantly expanding our commitment to electrify mobility in India. Ola leads by example, and we look forward to working with state governments and other partners to introduce accessible, affordable, and sustainable mobility solutions at scale.”

So far, electric vehicles have not taken off in a big way in India because of the high cost of manufacturing and the lack of sufficient infrastructure such as battery-charging stations—despite Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ambitious 2030 goal of making all new vehicles electric by then.

Ola has also encountered initial struggles to get its electric vehicle project up and running. However, that situation is expected to change for the better over the coming months and years as large investors such as SoftBank place massive bets on the electric vehicle sector.

Bengaluru-based Ola is not the only company that is making a massive foray into the electric vehicle segment. In November, India’s only electric car maker, Mahindra and Mahindra Ltd, forged a non-exclusive partnership with Ola’s arch-rival, Uber Technologies Inc., to deploy its electric vehicles on the Uber platform in select cities.

In February, Mahindra Group, which also has a partnership with Ola, said it would invest Rs900 crore in electric vehicles over the next four years.

Since starting out in 2010, Ola has raised roughly $2.5 billion in capital from SoftBank, Tiger Global, DST Global, Matrix and others. It last received $1.1 billion mostly from SoftBank and Tencent last year, and said it is looking for $1 billion more.

14. India's inclusion in NSG will boost global export control system: Germany

PTI, Apr. 17, 2018

New Delhi: Strongly pitching for India's inclusion in the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG), Germany today said the global export control system will benefit a lot from New Delhi's participation in all its four regimes.

Out of the four export control regimes that work to keep proliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD) in check, India is a member of the Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR), the Wassenaar Arrangement and the Australia Group.

India's membership to the 48-member NSG is being primarily opposed by China on the pretext that it is not a signatory to the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT).

"Germany has strongly supported India in its efforts to become a member of the export control regimes just as we continue to strongly support India's membership in the Nuclear Suppliers Group," Jasper Wieck, the Deputy Head of the German mission here, said.

"We are convinced that the global export control system will benefit a lot from India's participation in all four regimes," he said while speaking at the inaugural session of India-Wiessbaden Conference 2018, organised jointly by the Ministry of External Affairs in cooperation with Germany and the United Nations Office for Disarmament Affairs.

Representatives from the government and industry of 39 countries, as well as experts from the UNSC 1540 Committee and UN Office for Disarmament Affairs in New York, are participating at the two-day conference titled Securing Global Supply Chains through Government-Industry Partnerships towards Effective Implementation of UNSC Resolution 1540'.

The UN Security Council Resolution 1540 (2004) establishes legally binding obligations on all states to adopt and enforce appropriate and effective measures to prevent the proliferation of nuclear, chemical, and biological weapons and their delivery systems to non-state actors.

It requires, therefore that countries implement appropriate and effective measures to prevent non-state actors such as terrorists, from obtaining access to WMDs.

"We consider this initiative (the conference) as yet another example of India's engagement with regards to international cooperation in the areas of export controls," Wieck said.

Disclaimer: This information has been collected through secondary research and IBEF is not responsible for any errors in the same.

15.1. 60% of India's GDP to come from AI, other digital services by 2021: Study

Business Standard, Apr. 12, 2018

New Delhi: By the year 2021, around 60 per cent of the country's Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is expected to be derived from digital products and services. Created through the use of technologies such as Artificial Intelligence (AI), the Internet of Things and cloud computing, among others.

So says a study commissioned by information technology major Microsoft. It says digital transformation will add an estimated $154 billion to our GDP by 2021. "India is clearly on the digital transformation fast track," says Anant Maheshwari, president, Microsoft India.

Organisations, he said, are increasingly deploying emerging technologies such as AI and that will accelerate this change-led growth even further, with the application of this in sectors such as education, health care and agriculture. "(Such) Technologies can really solve some fundamental problems and if applied the right way, could unlock a lot of potential," Maheshwari told Business Standard.

The catch, he says, is the need for a supportive framework in place that allows free and fair use of such technology.

To illustrate, he said Microsoft had applied AI in Andhra Pradesh schools, where the government wants to address the issue of high numbers of students exiting in class 10. "About 25 per cent of students drop out at 10th standard. If you can use AI to predict and identify why students want to drop out, you can pro-activel engage with the students or their families to keep them back in school...you can do so much for the economy," he said.

Similarly in health care. "Technology can play a role in providing facilities like preventive health care and augmented diagnosis to the needy. Then, there is agriculture, where productivity can be increased by 20-30 per cent, simply by using predictive technology."

The central government has formed a committee on AI to suggest a technical framework or platform for the emerging technology. It is chaired by P P Chakraborty, a professor at IIT, Kharagpur, and has representatives from Google, Microsoft, NVIDIA and TCS. Also, from Nasscom, the apex association of the information technology (IT) sector, beside the National Informatics Centre and the ministry of electronics and IT. Its recommendations are expected by the end of this month.

Disclaimer: This information has been collected through secondary research and IBEF is not responsible for any errors in the same.

SERVICES (Education, Healthcare, IT, R&D, Tourism, etc.)

16.1. India in focus, Walmart aims to double down on its e-commerce investments

Livemint, 21 Mar. 2018, Anirban Sen

Walmart plans to acquire Indian start-ups and hire tech talent from here to lend it firepower against Amazon, even as it inches closer to acquire a majority stake in Flipkart

Bengaluru: Walmart Inc., the world’s largest retailer, is looking to double down on investments in its e-commerce business, hire more top tech talent from countries like India, and invest in or acquire Indian tech start-ups, amid a bruising global battle against Amazon.com Inc., even as it inches closer to a deal to acquire a majority stake in India’s largest internet start-up, Flipkart Ltd.

In an interview on Monday, Walmart’s chief technology officer Jeremy King said the company would continue to expand aggressively in India, where it built out its largest technology centre outside its home market a few years ago. King, however, declined to comment on Walmart’s current talks with Flipkart.

“My focus is really taking some of the same strategy we have from a tech perspective—we’ve acquired 13 companies and we would love to do that here in Bengaluru as well. The last time we were here, we met a bunch of start-ups. My goal is to pick up somewhere between three and five start-ups in the next year or so, because we’ve had a lot of success in the US with that. It never ceases to amaze me to see how many start-ups are getting cranked out from Bengaluru,” said King.

Mint first reported on 17 February that the Arkansas-based retailer may end up taking a large stake in Flipkart at a price that could value India’s largest e-commerce firm between $20-23 billion. The Economic Times had reported on 31 January on the initial talks between Walmart and Flipkart.

Over the past few years, Walmart has made significant strategic investments and acquisitions to advance its e-commerce ambitions. In 2016, Walmart bought US-based online retailer Jet.com for $3.3 billion, while the same year, Walmart acquired a 5% stake in China’s second-largest e-commerce firm JD.com.

“The Jet acquisition was a big moment for Walmart.com. The teams have all been integrated now. It has been a great acquisition. We got some very strong business talent,” said King.

The chief technology officer, who has been at the centre of Walmart’s e-commerce push over the past 7-8 years, indicated that the company would continue to advance its e-commerce ambitions at the same pace over the next few years, with its technology centre in India playing a key role in that push.

“We use India as a tech centre. We’ve been more than happy with the talent here and how fast we’ve grown. We have strong technology teams in Arkansas, New Jersey and California, and Bangalore is our one main remote site outside the US. We’re hoping to grow the team here more,” said King.

“The appetite is very strong. The key is to find start-ups that are aligned to our strategy from a product perspective or that have very strong talent,” said Hari Vasudev, vice-president of technology at Walmart.

The aggressive investments in e-commerce and the current talks with Flipkart come at a time when the growth of Walmart’s global e-commerce sales witnessed a slowdown in the December quarter, declining to 23%, compared to 50% growth in the preceding quarter.

Over the past five years, Walmart has spent several billions of dollars to expand its e-commerce business, as part of a broader strategy to close the gap with Amazon, the world’s largest online retailer. While those efforts have borne fruit, the company still trails Amazon significantly in the e-commerce business.

According to digital research firm eMarketer, Amazon currently holds a 43% share of the US e-commerce business, while Walmart has less than a 4% share.

King, however, indicated that Walmart was happy with its e-commerce growth so far.

“Our growth (in e-commerce) really speaks for itself. Over the last year, we talked to the Street about growing the e-commerce business by 40% and next year our ambitions are to grow another 40%. We are happy with that,” he said.

“Having physical locations and stores and great associates is a competitive advantage in e-commerce—it sounds counter-intuitive but it’s true,” King added. “The number one asset that we have as a company for e-commerce is our stores. Being more customer focused is really what we’re after.”

As part of its push to grow out its e-commerce business, Walmart is investing heavily on its online grocery business, King said. “We’re spending a huge amount of time and resources on online groceries. The experience is great, it could be even better. We’re growing extremely fast over there,” he said.

16.2. Walmart may reach deal with Flipkart by June-end

TNN | Apr 13, 2018

HONG KONG/MUMBAI: Walmart is likely to reach a deal to buy a majority stake in Indian e-commerce player Flipkart by the end of June in what could be the US retail giant’s biggest acquisition of an online business, two people with direct knowledge of the matter said.

It was reported last week that Walmart completed its due diligence on Flipkart and had made a proposal to buy 51% or more of the Indian company for $10-12 billion. A deal with Flipkart would step up Walmart’s battle with Amazon.com for a bigger share of India’s fledgling e-commerce market, which Morgan Stanley estimates will be worth $200 billion in a decade.

Local media have reported that Amazon is exploring a possible counter offer for Flipkart. Both sources declined to be named as the talks are private.

Walmart will buy both new and existing Flipkart shares, with the new shares expected to give a valuation of at least $18 billion to the Bengaluru-based firm, the sources said.

The price for existing shares would value the firm at about $12 billion, one of the people said. Japan’s SoftBank Group, which owns roughly one-fifth of Flipkart via its Vision Fund, is unlikely to sell any of its shares due to the low price being offered for the existing shares, this source said.

Early investors such as Tiger Global, Accel and Naspers will reportedly sell their entire stakes in Flipkart to Walmart if a deal is reached.

17. Organised retail sector to see strong growth: Jefferies

PTI, Apr. 16, 2018

New Delhi: Organised retail sector in India is expected to witness strong growth in the coming years, and segments like grocery and apparels are best positioned to reap the benefits, says a Jefferies report.

According to the brokerage, organised retail account for only 7 per cent of the current market size and is set for robust growth in the years to come as per capita income of the country also increases.

"We believe that Indian organised retail is in a sweet spot, especially post demonetisation and GST, given the under-penetration at 7 per cent of total trade and favourable macro," Jefferies said in the report, adding that grocery and apparel segments should do well for several years.

Besides, India's favourable demographics in terms of a young population (average age of 28) and increasing urbanisation are added advantages and in such a scenario, retailers with higher discretionary categories should benefit, the report added.

"Organised retail is still in the midst of a secular growth journey with several segments on the cusp of strong growth as per capita income rises past the crucial USD 2,000 threshold that has heralded strong growth in most other markets," the report said.

Moreover, most retailers have also changed their business models, and instead of reckless expansion, they are shutting loss-making stores, increasing private label mix and are using data analytics better, it noted.

The brokerage said more consolidation and M&A activities are likely in the sector, particularly between online and offline players, benefiting large players in the industry.

The report said strong growth prospects for the retail sector will keep the valuations expensive.

"In the current business environment, post the implementation of GST, we expect organised players to gain market share from unorganised players at a faster pace," the report noted.

Though competition from online retail players is expected to continue but "sanity is expected to prevail in the near term" it added.

"We have already started witnessing consolidation in the online retail space (Flipkart acquiring Myntra and Jabong, among others) and believe that only a few online retailers will ultimately survive," the report noted.

Disclaimer: This information has been collected through secondary research and IBEF is not responsible for any errors in the same.

18. Indira Gandhi International Airport breaks into world's top 20 busiest

Business Standard, Apr. 10, 2018

New Delhi: New Delhi's Indira Gandhi International Airport has jumped six notches to break into the league of the top 20 busiest airports in the world for 2017 in terms of traffic volumes.

The GMR-group-run New Delhi airport jumped from 22nd rank in 2016 to 16th rank, solidifying its status as one of the fastest growing airports in the world for passenger traffic, as per the Airports Council International (ACI).

The ranking is based on the preliminary passenger traffic results for the most-travelled airports in 2017, released by the ACI on Monday.

Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport (ATL) was ranked the busiest airport in the world with 103 million passengers (both departing and arriving) despite a 0.3 per cent decline in traffic volumes over 2016.

Founded in 1991 with the objective of fostering cooperation among its member airports and other partners in world aviation, ACI is the trade association of the world's airports, currently serving 641 members operating from 1,953 airports across 176 countries.

ACI's World Airport Traffic Forecasts also predicts that the country will represent the third largest aviation market, in terms of passenger throughput, after the US and China by 2020.

"Delhi, the country's busiest airport for passenger traffic, grew by 14.1 per cent year-over-year at 63.45 million, pushing it up from 22nd to the 16th busiest airport in the world," the ACI said in the release.

Even with this rapid growth in throughput, Delhi was also ranked first in Airport Service Quality for airports above 40 million passengers per annum along with the Mumbai airport, it said.

Besides, Kolkata, Hyderabad, Bengaluru and Chennai were also ranked among the fastest growing airports in the world with an year-over-year growth of 26.9 per cent, 19.6 per cent, 12.9 per cent and 10.5 per cent, respectively during 2017, the ACI said in the release.

Growing rapidly in relatively short period of time, India is poised to be one of the largest aviation markets in the world in the years to come, the ACI said.

"With an astounding population base of over 1.3 billion inhabitants, the move towards a more liberalised aviation market coupled with stronger economic fundamentals has helped to awaken the Bengal tiger to become one of the fastest growing markets in the world," the ACI said.

ACI's World Airport Traffic Forecasts predicts that the country will represent the third largest aviation market, in terms of passenger throughput, after the US and China by 2020, it added.

Here's list of top 20 busiest airports:

Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport (Georgia) — 104 million passengers
Beijing Capital International Airport (China) — 96 million
Dubai International Airport (United Arab Emirates) — 88 million
Tokyo Haneda International Airport (Japan) — 85 million
Los Angeles International Airport (California) — 84.6 million
Chicago's O'Hare International Airport (Illinois) — 80 million
London Heathrow Airport (United Kingdom) — 78 million
Hong Kong International Airport (China) — 73 million
Shanghai Pudong International Airport (China) — 70 million
Aéroport de Paris-Charles de Gaulle (France) — 69 million
Amsterdam Airport Schiphol (Netherlands) — 68.5 million
Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport (Texas) — 67 million
Guangzhou Bai Yun International Airport (China) — 66 million
Frankfurt Am Main Airport (Germany) — 64.5 million
Atatürk International Airport (Turkey) — 64 million
Indira Gandhi International Airport (India) — 63.5 million
Soekarno-Hatta International Airport (Indonesia) — 63 million
Singapore Changi Airport (Singapore) — 62.22 million
Incheon International Airport (South Korea) — 62.16 million
Denver International Airport (Colorado) — 61 million

Disclaimer: This information has been collected through secondary research and IBEF is not responsible for any errors in the same.

19.1. India completes NavIC constellation with 7th satellite

TOI, 12 Apr. 2018, Chethan Kumar

Isro completed the constellation NavIC which needed seven functional satellites to provide foolproof satellite-based navigation signals

The 1,425-kg satellite is the second satellite to be actively built by private industry

Like its predecessors, IRNSS-1I carried two types of payloads: Navigation and Ranging

BENGALURU: India early on Thursday put into space a new satellite under its regional navigation satellite system — also called NavIC — adding to the constellation of six operational satellites. The Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro) thus completed the constellation, which needed seven functional satellites to provide foolproof satellite-based navigation signals.

Isro carried out a textbook launch of the Indian Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System-1I (IRNSS-1I), the latest satellite for the NavIC system, which replaces a faulty spacecraft (IRNSS-1A) in orbit more than seven months after its intended replacement could not be deployed due to a heat-shield failure of the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV).

"I am confident that the NavIC constellation will serve the underprivileged and unserved for years to come. I am really grateful to the entire Isro family for having worked this hard and making IRNSS-1I a success," Isro chairman K Sivan said after the mission was declared a success.

The 1,425-kg satellite made by Bengaluru-headquartered Alpha Design Technologies, in collaboration with Isro, is the second satellite to be actively built by private industry. The first one, IRNSS-1H, could not be put into space because of its failure in August last year.

On Thursday, the PSLV-C41 lifted off at 4.04am, and the spacecraft’s final separation happened about 20 minutes later putting it into a geosynchronous orbit, exactly as planned by Isro.

Like its predecessors, IRNSS-1I carried two types of payloads: Navigation and Ranging.

The navigation payload of IRNSS-1I transmits signals for the determination of position, velocity and time and operated in the L5-band and S-band.

The Rubidium atomic clocks are part of the navigation payload of the satellite, while the ranging payload consists of a C-band transponder, which facilitates accurate determination of the range of the satellite and it also carries Corner Cube Retroreflectors for Laser ranging.

Serving both military and civilian needs, NavIC’s seven satellites will broadcast highly-accurate timing signals that a receiver can use to triangulate its location.

“The NavIC system enables providing position, navigation and timing information that could be utilised for a large range of civil and strategic applications and services that include terrestrial, aerial and marine navigation; precise timing; disaster management and alert messages; mapping and Geodetic data capture; vehicle tracking and fleet management; visual & voice navigation for drivers, etc,” according to the Department of Space (DoS).

19.2. Reliance Jio sees wired broadband internet as the next battleground

Livemint, 16 Apr. 2018, Navadha Pandey

Reliance Jio has initiated beta trials of ifs wired broadband service in Delhi and Mumbai, providing unlimited internet at 100 mbps for Rs4,500, and is likely to commercially launch the service by the end of 2018

New Delhi: After disrupting the wireless telecom sector, Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Jio Infocomm Ltd is set to make fibre-to-home its next battleground with the formal commercial launch likely towards the end of this year.

“Jio’s main focus now is fibre to home...it has reached a sizeable base of wireless subscribers at 168 million...all efforts now are to successfully deploy wired internet to homes...the full-fledged commercial launch is likely to be announced on 28 December, which happens to be late Dhirubhai Ambani’s birthday,” a person familiar with the development said seeking anonymity.

Reliance Jio has already initiated beta trials for its wired broadband service across a few locations in the country. It has offered free broadband across regions in New Delhi and Mumbai, with unlimited internet at 100 mbps for a security deposit of Rs4,500.

“We are still deprived as a nation from a fixed mobile standpoint...we have only about 18 million connected homes in India...we would like to see at least 200 million,” Mathew Oommen, president of network, global strategy and service development at Reliance Jio, had said recently at the CNBC’s Indian Business Leaders Awards.

Brokerage firm CLSA India expects a Rs4,000-crore boost to Reliance’s earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization in three years on the back of the roll-out of broadband internet services, a Bloomberg report said.

The low penetration of wired internet services is another factor that could boost Jio’s efforts. According to Telecom Regulatory of India (Trai) data, as on 31 December, India had only 21.28 million wired internet subscribers, compared with 424.67 million wireless internet subscribers. In the wired internet segment, Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL) holds a 52.53% market share with 9.38 million subscribers, followed by Bharti Airtel Ltd with a 10.12% market share and Atria Convergence Technologies Pvt. Ltd (ACT) with 6.02% share.

Jio’s focus on fibre also comes with the rise in data usage seen in the past year. According to data from Trai, for October-December 2017, the average data usage per subscriber per month was 1,945 MB, much higher than 878 MB in October-December 2016. To cash in on this surge in data, RIL recently announced an integration with leading music app Saavn for its digital music service JioMusic, apart from separately buying a 5% stake in film firm Eros International Plc.

“Given the huge demand for content, fibre is the better bet than wireless, which can provide only a fraction of the capacity of fibre. Fibre capacity can also be enhanced easily. However, fibre is a tough business: the fibre has to reach every single location physically. That is a nightmare, given the challenges of installing underground fibre. Permissions for digging involve huge costs and delays. However, those who do succeed can expect huge rewards from the market,” Mahesh Uppal, director at consulting firm ComFirst India, said.

Jio’s rival Airtel provides high-speed wired broadband up to 100 mbps to 2.1 million users across 89 cities in India. As of December end, Airtel’s average revenue per user from its ‘Homes Services’ segment was Rs948. Broadband customers account for 93.5% of its ‘Homes Services’ segment.

“Wired internet is not a pan-India game, Airtel has consciously only focused on regions where it saw good revenue coming in,” a person aware of the matter said.

Last week, Airtel also upped its game and introduced an all new superfast home broadband plan with speeds of up to 300 mbps at a monthly rental of Rs2,990 with 1,200GB of data. This plan also comes with free subscription to Airtel’s OTT apps—Wynk Music and Airtel TV.

Emails sent to Jio and Airtel seeking details of their broadband expansion plan were unanswered till press time.

Meanwhile, as bigger players capture the pie in metros, cable TV distribution company DEN Networks Ltd has shifted focus on small towns and will push its broadband offerings across tier 2 and tier 3 cities over the next three years by roping in local cable operators to use their existing infrastructure for last-mile delivery of internet.

“The tariff and stress of telcos is as of now is focussed on the main metros. So we have made the game plan for tier 2 and tier 3 cities. We don’t want to be trapped in this (war between telcos),” DEN Networks chief executive officer S.N. Sharma said in an interview.

According to Trai data, there are 156 internet service providers in the country as of December end and even without its formal presence in the wired internet segment, Jio has the lion’s share of overall internet subscribers with 35.9% of the market share followed by Bharti Airtel at 22.12%.

20.1. Hospital sector may see 12-14% revenue growth over 5 yrs: Icra

PTI, Apr. 02, 2018

Mumbai: The long-term outlook for the hospital sector is stable with annual revenues likely to grow at 12-14 per cent over the next five years on rising demand and medical tourism, rating agency Icra said today.

The agency expects the growth momentum to improve the credit metrics of the companies operating in the sector.

"The long-term outlook remains stable notwithstanding the current headwinds and regulatory challenges in the sector," it said.

Icra expects demand to continue rising at a steady pace owing to the underlying fundamentals, including growing population, increasing life expectancy, rising incidence of non-communicable diseases related to lifestyle, and increasing health insurance coverage.

Medical tourism is also expected to boost revenues, according to the agency, given the affordability and quality of care in the country.

"We expect an annual revenue growth of 12-14 per cent over the next five years, which is also likely to result in the improvement in credit metrics of the companies operating in the sector," it said.

Over the last few quarters, the performance of the hospital sector has been affected due to multiple regulatory interventions in the form of demonetisation, price caps on medical devices and the goods and services tax (GST).

The performance of five listed hospital chains in the country, which together operate more than 20,000 beds suffered as a result of regulatory interventions, according to Icra.

"In nine months of FY18, the growth in aggregate revenues of the sample set slowed down to around 9 per cent against growth of around 15 per cent in the first nine months of FY17," said Shubham Jain, vice-president, Icra.

The operating profits before interest, tax, depreciation, amortisation (OPBIDTA) growth was around 15 per cent in first nine months FY17, which fell sharply to minus-3 per cent in first nine months FY18.

The aggregate operating profit margins also declined from 15.1 per cent in the first nine months FY17 to 13.7 per cent in the first nine months of FY18, resulting in decline in absolute OPBIDTA from Rs 15.02 billion to Rs 14.90 billion during the same period.

Jain noted that additionally, on a year on year basis, all quarters of the first nine months FY18 saw weaker revenue growth and decline of over 100 bps in operating margin.

According to Icra, a major development for the industry has been the announcement of the National Health Protection Scheme (NHPS) in the 2018-19 budget that envisages health insurance cover for 100 million families (around 500 million beneficiaries) for a sum of up to Rs 0.5 million per family per year.

"Launch of a government-funded healthcare plan of this scale has the potential to significantly increase the healthcare spend in the country," it said.

The agency expects the introduction of NHPS to likely improve the occupancies at implementing hospitals albeit with lower profit margins.

Jain said regulatory intervention in terms of pricing caps are expected to continue to exert pressure on the margins in the near term.

"However, the hospitals may gradually offset these costs over the medium term by general hike in tariffs and by re-looking at the pricing of various procedures, products and services," he added.

Disclaimer: This information has been collected through secondary research and IBEF is not responsible for any errors in the same.

20.2. Foreign Tourist Arrivals in India for the medical purpose have shown a substantial increase from 2014 to 2016: Tourism Minister

Press Information Bureau, Apr. 03, 2018

The Ministry of Tourism has recognized Medical and Wellness Tourism as Niche Tourism Products and offers various facilities as given below to promote India as a preferred destination as well as facilitate the visit of medical tourists to the country:

(i) The Ministry offers financial support as Marketing Development Assistance for Publicity and for organising Wellness and Medical Tourism Promotion shows as well as workshops/events/seminars to accredited Medical and Wellness Tourism Service Providers and Chambers of Commerce, etc.

(ii) A film on Medical Tourism has been produced in association with BBC and is used at various fora for promotional purposes.

(iii) Medical and Medical attendant visa has been introduced to streamline and ease the travel process of Medical Tourists. The e-tourist visa regime has also been expanded to include medical visits as well.

(iv) It has been decided to set up facilitation counters at the major airports of Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata, Hyderabad and Bengaluru for tourists arriving on Medical Visas.

Apart from the above, the Department of Commerce and Services Export Promotion Council (SEPC) has launched a Healthcare Portal www.indiahealthcaretourism.com in English, Arabic, Russian and French languages as a single source platform providing comprehensive information to medical travellers on the top healthcare institutions in the country.

A National Medical and Wellness Tourism Board has also been constituted under the Chairmanship of the Minister for Tourism to provide a dedicated institutional framework to take forward the cause of promotion of Medical and Wellness Tourism including Ayurveda and any other format of Indian system of medicine covered by Ayurveda, Yoga, Unani, Siddha and Homeopathy (AYUSH). The Board has members from the Ministries of Health, Commerce, External Affairs, AYUSH, Home Affairs, the National Accreditation Board for Hospitals and Healthcare Providers (NABH) as well as representatives from the major chambers of commerce, Hospitals and independent experts in the field of Medicine and Wellness. It works as an umbrella organization to promote this segment of tourism in an organized manner. The Board has formed sub-committees on visa issues, accreditation and standards and marketing and promotion. The Ministry of Tourism collates data regarding the arrivals on Medical and Medical Attendant visas provided by the Ministry of Home Affairs.

Following are the foreign tourist arrivals in India for medical purpose during 2014 to 2016:

This information was given by Shri K. J. Alphons, Union Minister of State (I/C) for Tourism in a written reply in Lok Sabha today.

Disclaimer: This information has been collected through secondary research and IBEF is not responsible for any errors in the same.

INDIA & THE WORLD

21. NHAI inks pact for maiden Rs 1,177 cr ($180 million) global project

PTI, April 12, 2018

New Delhi: The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) today inked a pact for its maiden international project, part of the India-Myanmar-Thailand Trilateral Highway.

India, Thailand and Myanmar are working on the about 1,400 km long highway that would boost trade, business, health, education and tourism ties among the three countries.

"NHAI has signed an agreement for upgradation of Yagyi - Kalewa section in Myanmar to Two Lane with Earthen Shoulder. The agreement was signed today by NHAI with Punj Lloyd Ltd - Varaha Infra Ltd (JV)," the NHAI said in a statement.

The development comes against the backdrop of Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari recently saying that the India-Myanmar-Thailand Trilateral Highway (TH) is likely to be operational by December 2019.

"The project has been funded by Ministry of External Affairs, Government of India and would be executed on EPC (engineering, procurement and construction) mode at a cost of Rs 1,177 crore," the statement said.

The project includes three new major bridges, repair and strengthening of four existing major bridges, two new minor bridges, reconstruction of six existing minor bridges, repair and strengthening of nine existing minor bridges, reconstruction of 226 existing culverts, 20 bus bays and passenger shelters besides one rest area.

"Next year by the end of December, we will be in a position to get connectivity...We are giving highest priority to this (India-Myanmar-Thailand TH project). This will boost trade and ties among the nations in the region," Gadkari had earlier said.

Disclaimer: This information has been collected through secondary research and IBEF is not responsible for any errors in the same.

22. US political rhetoric is the IT industry’s biggest threat, says Debjani Ghosh

BusinessLine, 12 Apri. Varun Aggarwal and Thomas K. Thomas

Debjani Ghosh, the newly-appointed President of Nasscom, is not new to the technology sector. After having spent nearly two decades at Intel, including five years as the Managing Director of Intel’s India operations, Ghosh has moved into a role that has brought her closer to what she always wanted to do. But her appointment at Nasscom comes at a tricky time for the industry.

On the one hand, the industry faces the need to transform itself to adapt to evolving technologies and newer business models, on the other, the Indian IT industry has been hit by tightened visa rules as a result of political rhetoric influencing US policy decision making. In a candid chat with BusinessLine, Ghosh outlines her key focus areas and how she plans to take Nasccom to the next level. Edited excerpts:

What is the biggest challenge facing the Indian IT industry today?

This is one of those rare times in the industry where on the one hand you have the best of opportunities with the advancement in technology, the digital transformation opportunity; and on the other hand, you have never before had the political rhetoric for all the wrong reasons. That is the single biggest threat the industry is facing. It is not skills, it is not technology but really the political rhetoric.

We were with a delegation of US Congressmen last week. Both Republicans and Democrats agree that unfortunately there is no data to support the rhetoric. What scares me the most in this job is that it’s not the impact on Indian IT. If you look at Indian IT companies, only 13 per cent of H-1B visas are going to Indian companies. About 83 per cent is going to US companies.

In India, one area where we definitely have a surplus is STEM skills. Our education system does a fantastic job in creating the foundation.

Given the strength that we have, India’s focus should be to shift the rhetoric and amount of time we are spending talking about job losses to focus on skill development, job creation with the new technologies. We have the capability to create jobs with new technologies and these will be highly paid jobs. For other countries to catch up, it’ll take long. We have a golden opportunity.

Do you think this is a bigger crisis for US companies rather than Indian IT services companies?

It is both. But I think the US will hurt itself a bit more. Skill development cannot keep pace with the emergence of new technologies. There will always be a gap with what the technology opportunities are and the ability to use those opportunities.

H-1B intake has been going down every year. Are the same number of jobs being generated locally in the US? No. The skill gap is increasing.

The US has had the best strategy by becoming a talent magnet and creating an environment wherein the talent will stay back. When you bring highly skilled people, you create more jobs. If you stop that, your overall talent and economy is going to go down.

Therefore, I’m hopeful that sooner rather than later, the data will have to match their (US law makers’) thinking.

This was a big talking point for us with the US Congressmen last week. They identified skill gaps as their main concern. One was the quality and the other was the high dropout rate in STEM education. We were presenting to them the data to clarify the misconceptions around Indian IT. The biggest investment made by Indian IT is in schools and colleges in the US.

Given the geopolitical situation as it is do you think the rhetoric will go down anytime soon or should we take it as the new reality?

Accepting the current situation as reality will be dangerous. I think you just have to up the ante in terms of getting the data out there and at some point it will resonate. Historically, data have taken over emotions.

The new tech ecosystem is all about co-creation. At the centre of the new technology world is data, which has to flow across countries. Borders, therefore, need to go. You need to have cross-border talent mobility. These are short-term skill mobility and that’ll be the new world order. Wherever the work is required, they’ll move, get the work done and come back.

At this point, there are two big mistakes the country can make: one is treating high skilled movement as an immigration and not a trade issue. It is one of the costliest mistakes that the US can make because it’ll mean that they get left out of the co-creation. I’m quite sure the business community in the US will speak out on that.

Meanwhile, a lot of students here don’t want to get into IT education because they feel the door is shutting and there isn’t much scope left in IT...

I disagree. Banks are hiring coders, hospitals want algorithm creators. The demand for new skills is going up. Earlier, only the IT industry was hiring techies but now banks, hospitals, retailers, governments are hiring this talent.

Earlier most of the people we trained used to get hired by the IT industry. Now, the majority of the people are getting hired by the non-IT industry.

How are the re-skilling efforts paying off?

At Nasscom, our biggest priority for this year is to get our skilling platform running. We have already made a commitment that we are going to train a minimum of two million people in the next four years. We have identified around 40 new job skills. We are starting backward.

We’ve identified eight technologies, AI, robotics, cyber security, data analytics etc.

We’ve looked at what new jobs these eight technologies will create. These eight technologies will create 40 new roles that do not exist today. And these will be critical to companies’ success.

Since we’ve announced it, we’ve had a lot of interest from other countries. They want to work with us to take this platform to their country and to their employees. That tells me that we are on the right track.

When you’re looking at these new technologies, how do you deal with the social impact, such as with privacy?

As a country we need to insist on two things — one is simplified terms and conditions — a one pager. And you should have the ability to opt out. For a country where we have so many first-time tech users coming in, we need to have an opt-out option available and the terms have to be available in multiple local languages. If people realise their data have value, they’ll be careful sharing it. We also need a regulatory framework in place.

How do you see Indian start-ups in terms of IP creation? Do you plan to scale up Nasscom’s work with start-ups?

I plan to change it. I don’t think we need to do what everyone else is doing. We don’t need to build for mass scale because today governments and hundreds of accelerators are doing this. Nasscom’s biggest contribution will be to work with high-potential, big start-ups and take them to the next level.

What I want to do is to shift our focus from reach to quality. We are working towards changing the elements of the programme.

I would love to see the next AI or blockchain global disruptor to come from India. We have the skills and potential. I don’t see funding as a problem. Tech mentorship is where I see the value.

23. India, Russia sign 7 defense deals

Business Standard, Apr. 16, 2018

Chennai: As a result of year-long talks between the governments of India and Russia on availability of spare parts for defence equipment this country had bought from there, seven agreements were signed between Indian and Russian companies on Friday at the Defence Expo in Chennai, for indigenous manufacture.

The ministry of defence had identified 48 items covering all major platforms which can be made in India with Russian collaboration. The products to get support include helicopters, aircraft and naval systems.

In the Third India-Russia Military Industrial Conference between the two countries, held at DefExpo 18, the Indian manufacturers and Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) from Russia had discussion on the final aspects before the signing.

Larsen & Toubro signed one deal for various programmes of the navy and for Future Ready Combat Vehicles (FRCV) and rockets' co-production on Indian territory. Ananth Technologies signed an agreement for opto-electric sighting and navigation for Su-30MKI aircraft. Ananth also signed one to to set up technical and logistics support in India for the T90-S and T72 tanks in service with the army.

Russian Company JSC AGAT signed agreements for after-sale support and modernisation of the Fregat radar, installed on Indian naval ships.

Ajay Kumar, secretary, defence production, said the first meet was in Delhi in March 2017, to address the issue of maintenance and lifecycle support of Russian-origin defence platforms in India, by facilitating production of spare parts in the country.

Several procedural issues related to transfer of technology, setting up of joint ventures (JVs), intellectual property rights, and others have been discussed.

Four platforms - 231 Mark-I aircraft, INS Vikramaditya, MiG-29K aircraft and Mil Mi-17 helicopters - were identified for manufacturing of components and spares in India through transfer of technology, partnerships and JVs with the Russian OEMs.

At the second conference in August 2017, as many as 39 Indian companies and 32 Russian ones were engaged in discussion, apart from the Indian and Russian authorities. The armed forces in India and Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd undertook an exercise, to identify Indian industry partners which could manufacture the specific spares and components. The list was shared with the Russian counterparts and further discussion has been held by industry representatives from both sides.

The new deals would pave way for transfer of technology for some identified spares and there would be concerted effort for more such initiatives, it was stated.

DRDO outlines investment plans

The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) has earmarked 25-30 per cent of its ~180-billion Budget allocation for new projects, including developing an unmanned aerial vehicle for border surveillance. It has lined up several projects in various verticals for future development, including missiles, said S Christopher, chairman of DRDO.

C P Ramanarayanan, director-general (aeronautical systems), said the organisation is planning to complete the payload trials by this year end.

The department has received 270 patents in the last three years.

DRDO, along with two private agencies as production partners, has designed and developed an advanced Towed Artillery Gun System.

On exports, he said the organisation has exported naval system worth $37.9 million. DRDO is in talks to export some of the missiles. It is planning to develop an anti-tank missile, which can be launched from both helicopter and from the ground.

Disclaimer: This information has been collected through secondary research and IBEF is not responsible for any errors in the same.

24.1. French defence major Thales sees India as manufacturing, export hub

BusinessLine, 15 Apr. 2018 Abhishek Lawt

Hopes to double India headcount, treble turnover from country to €1 billion

French multinational Thales, which has businesses in defence, aeronautics, transport and security, sees its India headcount doubling and its turnover trebling to €1 billion over the next 3-5 years.

While that is the immediate objective, the long-term plan is to employ India as a manufacturing base and also export ‘Made in India’ products and solutions.

According to Patrice Caine, Chairman & CEO, Thales SA, India is among the company’s top three priority countries, after the US and China. Reforms by the Narendra Modi government — that include opening up the defence sector for FDI — will only aid growth here, he added.

Caine points out that considering the challenges in the country (where no one size fits all) and the level of specialisation required to overcome it, Indian solutions could act as a global prototype which can be redesigned to suit requirements in other countries.

Opportunity in Rafale

The off-set clause in the Rafale fighter jet deal is a classic example, he said, of how it provides an opportunity and a “strong incentive” to Thales to “move its supply chain from Europe”.

“Many companies would have said that the offset clause in the Rafale deal is a constraint and life could be much easier with a straight sale. That’s not my opinion. It is for us a strong incentive to move our supply chain from Europe to India. But, more importantly, we can set up our engineering capabilities so that tomorrow we can develop in India genuine products serving both Indian and export market,,” he told BusinessLine on the sidelines of Thales Media Day.

Currently, Thales’ turnover from its India operations is to the tune of €300 million, and over the next “three to five years” it will more than treble to €1 billion.

While defence accounts for the lion’s share of the company’s turnover at present, other segments too will grow in future.

But it is not just defence that will aid top-line growth. The other four verticals that include space, aeronautics, ground transportation, security (including cyber security) are expected to see good traction.

So it is obvious that the company will make “significant investments” in the country. “We need also to win some customers and markets. So we need to invest more than what we had in the past,” Caine said.

Some of the joint ventures that the company has currently had or are working on include ones with MKU, HAL and Reliance Defence, among others.

Increasing headcount

With India being among the key markets, Thales intends to increase its headcount in the country.

According to Caine, the number is likely to double to 3,000 over the next 2-3 years.

In fact, the company’s current headcount break-up here includes 320 people being employed by itself and another 130-odd by Guavus — a US-based real-time big data analytics firm. The remaining are through its ecosystem (900) and JVs (150).

“We will leverage our acquisitions (Guavus and Gemalto) in India and double the headcount in the near future,” he said.

(The writer was in Paris recently at the invitation of Thales SA)

24.2.Boeing, HAL, Mahindra to make F/A-18 Super Hornet fighter jets in India

Livemint, 13 Apr. 2018, Rhik Kundu

Boeing’s partnership will Hindustan Aeronautics and Mahindra will help it optimize the full potential of India’s public and private sector to deliver F/A-18 Super Hornet fighter jets

Mumbai: Aerospace firm Boeing Co. on Thursday said it has entered into a partnership with state-run Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL) and Mahindra Defense Systems Ltd (MDS) for manufacturing the F/A-18 Super Hornet fighter jet in India, the company said in a statement.

“Our partnership with HAL and Mahindra will enable us to optimize the full potential of India’s public and private sector to deliver next-generation F/A-18 fighter capabilities,” Boeing India president Pratyush Kumar said at DefExpo 2018 in Chennai, adding, “together we can deliver an affordable, combat-proven fighter platform for India, while adding growth momentum to the Indian aerospace ecosystem with manufacturing, skill development, innovation and engineering, and job creation.”

Boeing’s Make in India proposal involves building a new, state-of-the-art facility that can be used for programmes such as India’s Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft policy, a note issued by the US firm said.

25. Saudi Aramco inks MoU for ₹3-lakh crore ($44bn) mega refinery at Ratnagiri

BusinessLine. 11 Apr. 2018

The partnership brings together crude supply, resources, technologies, experience and expertise of these multiple oil companies. - Reuters

Project will be 50:50 joint partnership with an Indian consortium of IOC, BPCL, HPCL

Taking another step towards making the proposal for a mega refinery in the country’s west coast a reality, an Indian consortium consisting of Indian Oil Corporation, Bharat Petroleum Corporation and Hindustan Petroleum Corporation signed an MoU with Saudi Aramco here on the sidelines of the16 International Energy Forum Ministerial.

Speaking to mediapersons after signing of the MoU to jointly develop and build an integrated refinery and petrochemicals complex, Ratnagiri Refinery and Petrochemicals Ltd, in Maharashtra, Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas, Dharmendra Pradhan, said, “The project cost is estimated at around ₹3 lakh crore ($44 billion). The refinery will be capable of processing 1.2 million barrels of crude oil per day (60 million tonnes per annum).”

The project will be set up as a 50:50 joint partnership (50:50) between the consortium from India and Saudi Aramco, Pradhan said. The plan is to finish the project by 2025.

Khalid Al Falih, Minister for Energy, Industry and Mineral Resources, Saudi Arabia, who was present on the occasion, said: “Saudi Aramco may include a strategic partner to co-invest in the project”.

Elaborating on the refinery project, he said, the partnership brings together crude supply, resources, technologies, experience and expertise of multiple oil companies with an established commercial presence around the world.

A pre-feasibility study for the refinery has been completed, and the parties are now finalising the project’s overall configuration including the formation of a joint venture that would provide for joint ownership, control and management of the project.

In addition to the refinery, cracker and downstream petrochemicals facilities, the project will also include the development of associated facilities such as a logistics, crude oil and product storage terminals, raw water supply project and centralised and shared utilities.

Amin H. Nasser, Saudi Aramco’s President and CEO, said participating in the mega project will allow the Saudi Arabian oil company to go beyond the role of crude oil supplier to a fully integrated position which supports India’s future energy demands.

It will produce a range of refined petroleum products, including petrol and diesel meeting BS-VI fuel efficiency norms. The refinery will also provide feedstock for the integrated petrochemicals complex, which will be capable of producing approximately 18 million tonnes per annum of petrochemical products.

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AAPI

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Friday 20 April 2018

NEWSLETTER, 20-IV-2018

– GENERAL POLICY, INFRASTRUCTURES, COUNTRY FINANCES, ETC.

– AGRICULTURE, FISHING & RURAL DEVELOPMENT

– INDUSTRY, MANUFACTURE

– SERVICES (IT, R&D, Tourism, Healthcare, etc.)

NEWSLETTER, 20-IV-2018

– GENERAL POLICY, INFRASTRUCTURES, COUNTRY FINANCES, ETC.

AGRICULTURE, FISHING & RURAL DEVELOPMENT

INDUSTRY, MANUFACTURE

SERVICES (Education, Healthcare, IT, R&D, Tourism, etc.)

INDIA & THE WORLD