Nykaa on its way to become the next billion-dollar Indian company

Company News

Nykaa, an omni-channel retailer of beauty products, could well be on its way to become the next billion-dollar Indian company. The Mumbai-based start-up has raised Rs 100 crore from private equity firm TPG Growth at a valuation of $724 million, company filings sourced from business intelligence platform Paper.vc, showed.

This means, in just six months, the company’s valuation has more than doubled. In September 2018, when Lighthouse Advisors invested Rs 113 crore to buy out early investor TVS Capital, Nykaa was valued at $330 million. Earlier, in 2018, the start-up had also raised Rs 160 crore through primary and secondary share sale.

TPG comes in as the first large foreign investor in the company. As a growth-stage investor, TPG has backed several businesses in India including Lenskart, BookMyShow, Janalakshmi Finance and Manipal Hospitals. The round marks a renewed interest by investors in niche e-commerce firms, especially when some players in the beauty category are struggling.

“TPG Growth’s Rs 100 crore investment gives Nykaa a spectacular jump in post-money valuation. The private equity firm’s investment gives Nykaa a Rs 5,027 crore ($724 million) valuation. The raise comes after a long hiatus in institutional investment in the cosmetic platform,” said Vivek Durai, founder of Paper.vc.

Durai said, the handsome jump in valuation can be attributed to Nykaa’s strong performance in the recent years. It more than doubled its revenue in FY17-18 to Rs 578 crore and narrowed losses 23 per cent at Rs 28.8 crore year-on-year, according to Paper.vc.


 Nykaa was started in 2012 by former investment banker Falguni Nayar. She was the managing director at Kotak Investment Banking...Read More

Metropolis Healthcare open to acquisitions; IPO to hit Street on Wednesday

Company News

Diagnostic firm Metropolis Healthcare, which is launching its Rs 1,200 crore initial public offering (IPO) next week, is open to make further acquisitions in this space. The company has used the inorganic route to growth in its initial years and made around 25 acquisitions in the past 18 years.

Sushil Shah, chairman of Metropolis Healthcare, said if a good acquisition opportunity came up, they were open to evaluate it. “We are growing at a decent pace and generating good free cash flow. With the IPO, around 50-60 per cent debt at the holding company level would be gone. It is also easier to raise funds when an entity is listed. Therefore, as and when a good opportunity comes up, we would be better prepared to crack the deal,” he said.

The Rs 650-crore company is focussing on business-to-customer (B2C) expansion in the coming years and would need to bolster its retail presence. “We have made several acquisitions in the past. These have all been leaders in the markets where they operated. It helps to make a strategic entry into a market,” said Ameera Shah, daughter of Shah.

She said that from a 43 per cent share of revenue from the B2C segment, Metropolis was targeting to take that up to 60 per cent in the coming years.

At present, it draws a significant chunk (57 per cent) of revenues from the business -to-customer, which comprises hospital outsourced pathology tests and institutional sales.


 According to Frost & Sullivan, the Indian diagnostics market was valued at about Rs 59,600 crore in the FY18, and is projected to grow at Rs 80,200 crore by FY20, driven by favorable changes in demographics, improvements in health awareness, increased spend on preventive care and wellness, increase in medical tourists, increase in lifestyle-related ailments and rising penetration of insurance in India.

India slams Pak after Security Council resolution against terror financing

Current Affairs

In a veiled reference to Pakistan, India said countries that are "apologists for terrorists" will continue to provide "alibis" justifying their actions and inaction, as it called on the Security Council to ensure crucial sanctions measures against the UN proscribed terrorists and entities are strictly enforced.

The Security Council on Thursday unanimously adopted a resolution calling upon Member States to step up efforts to combat and criminalise the financing of terrorists and their activities.

India welcomed the adoption of the resolution, describing it a "milestone" in global efforts to set up a normative framework to criminalise terrorist financing.

India's Permanent Representative to the UN Ambassador Syed Akbaruddin, participating in the Security Council open debate on 'Preventing and Combating the Financing of Terrorism', said New Delhi specifically welcomes the recognition in the resolution of the essential role of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) in setting global standards, especially in the context of preventing and combating money laundering, terrorist financing and proliferation financing.

Akbaruddin, however, asserted that the Council "can and needs" to do a better job of overseeing the implementation of its resolutions relating to terrorist financing and of the various sanctions measures under the 1267 Al- Qaida and 1988 sanctions regimes.


 India warned that "non-compliance of crucial sanctions measures in case of the UN proscribed terrorists and entities renders all of us, Member States, at a high risk of facing challenges from these terrorist organisations who are well funded and armed despite international measures."

Arun Jaitley to present Business Standard Annual Awards today

Current Affairs

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley will present the Business Standard Annual Awards in the presence of top India Inc leaders and senior government officials who will gather at the ITC Maurya in New Delhi on Friday to celebrate excellence in the corporate, banking and social sectors.

This year’s awards will be given to outstanding organisations and individuals who took their respective fields of operations to newer heights while delivering on scale, sustainability, leadership, and innovation.

They were chosen by three separate juries comprising some of the most respected names in India Inc. While the corporate excellence awards were chosen by a jury led by Aditya Birla Group Chairman Kumar Mangalam Birla, the Banker of the Year was selected by a jury led by former Reserve Bank of India deputy governor S S Mundra. The CSR awards were chosen by a jury headed by Tata Institute of Social Sciences Chairman S Ramadorai.

The jury chose Ashok Leyland Managing Director and CEO Vinod K Dasari the CEO of the Year for drafting the company’s growth strategy and focusing on three verticals to address the cyclical challenges of the trucking business.

He introduced new products and focused on light commercial vehicles and built a strong intermediate commercial vehicle franchise, all of which led to its market share increasing from 12-14 per cent four years ago to around 25 per cent.


 chart One of India’s oldest success stories of foreign investment, Hindustan Unilever (HUL) has changed the way Indians go about in their daily life – ranging from home care, beauty and personal care, to foods and refreshments. HUL’s hard work was recognised by the jury, which awarded it the Company of the Year...Read More

DD, AIR respond to Election Commission's queries on PM Modi's address

Current Affairs

After the Election Commission (EC) wrote to Doordarshan and All India Radio (AIR) to gather more information on the feed of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s address on India successfully testing an anti-satellite missile on Wednesday, the state-owned brodcasters have sent their replies. The EC hopes to conclude its examination of the matter by Friday. However, the EC officials said no explanation had been sought from the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) on the matter.

They also said the PMO did not approach the EC before Modi’s address to the nation.

“We are hopeful that we will be able to complete the examination of the matter soon. We are hoping to complete it by Friday. AIR and Doordarshan have responded. We are examining their response,” Deputy Election Commissioner Sandeep Saxena said. When asked whether there was any intimation or permission sought by the PMO, he replied in the negative. “This issue requires analysis of what really happened. We have collected various facts related to the matter. There are three aspects, the model code of conduct (MCC), the law, and the media. We have written to AIR and Doordarshan to ask what was the source of the feed, and we are going into the entirety of the matter to see whether there was violation of the MCC,” Saxena said at a media briefing on Thursday. Senior Deputy Election Commissioner Umesh Sinha was also present.


 After the PM’s announcement on ‘Mission Shakti’, the EC had formed a committee of officers to investigate the speech with regards to the MCC. Saxena heads that panel.Saxena was also asked whether pending the EC’s decision, the PM was allowed to speak on Mission Shakti in his political rallies, as he did in Meerut on Thursday, to which the official replied that clarity will only be given once the panel had made its decision, and each supposed breach of MCC was a separate matter.

Mission Shakti: India's anti-satellite test sends a stark message to China

Current Affairs

One month after an ageing Indian Air Force jet was shot down in a dogfight with neighboring Pakistan, New Delhi has demneighbouring new weapons capability aimed at another, more powerful geopolitical rival: China.

On Wednesday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi used a national address to announce India had “established itself as a space power” by sending an indigenously designed ballistic-missile interceptor up 300 kilometers (190 miles) to destroy a satellite orbiting the Earth.

The move -- with political overtones just weeks ahead of a national election -- sends a stark message to India’s nuclear-armed rivals, China and Pakistan, and changes Asia’s strategic calculus by proving India has the ability to knock out enemy satellites.

The development suggests India, which has long struggled with a lethargic military-procurement process and outdated defense technology, is getting closer to sitting alongside China, Russia and the U.S. as countries with the ability to disrupt enemy communications networks.

The move comes weeks after India sparred with arch-foe Pakistan in the skies over Kashmir, a disputed border region where China also has territorial claims.

“Essentially, India is saying that we are a strong and capable military power -- it’s not specific to any one country, but it is a message to all of India’s adversaries,” said Ajey Lele, a retired Indian Air Force group captain who’s now a senior fellow at the Ministry of Defence-funded Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses.


 “If somebody wants to do something to our satellites, we have the capability to do this to your satellites.”

Mahindra to increase price of vehicles by up to Rs 73,000 from April

Company News

Auto major Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M) Thursday said it will increase the price of its passenger and commercial vehicles by Rs 5,000 to Rs 73,000 from April to partially offset the impact of rising input costs.

The price of the company's vehicles will go up by 0.5 per cent to 2.7 per cent from next month due to the price hike, the company said in a statement.

"This year has seen record high commodity price increases. Further there are regulatory requirements effective April 1 that have also led to cost increases.

While we have made efforts to reduce our costs, it has not been possible to hold back the price increase," M&M President Automotive Sector Rajan Wadhera said in the statement.
Consequently, the company is taking a price increase from April 1, he added.

The company sells various utility vehicles ranging from newly launched compact SUV XUV300 to premium SUV Alturas G4. M&M also sells various commercial vehicles including Supro and Jeeto in the domestic market.

Earlier this week, French car maker Renault had announced increase in price of Kwid range in India by up to 3 per cent from April.

Last week, Tata Motors had also announced increase in price of its passenger vehicles by up to Rs 25,000 from April on account of rising input costs and external economic conditions.

 M&M joins the likes of Toyota and Jaguar Land Rover which have also stated that they would raise price of select models from April.

PFC completes REC acquisition, pays Rs 14,500 cr to government

Company News

State-owned Power Finance Corporation (PFC) on Thursday completed the acquisition of majority stake in REC Ltd by transferring Rs 14,500 crore to the government, an official said.

The transaction has helped the government meet its disinvestment target of Rs 80,000 crore for the current financial year.

"The entire consideration of Rs 14,500 crore for acquiring 52.63 per cent equity of the Government of India in REC is paid by PFC through RTGS (real-time gross settlement) mode this morning," the official told PTI.

The official said PFC Chairman and Managing Director Rajeev Sharma handed over the RTGS advice to Power Secretary A K Bhalla on Thursday to complete the acquisition.

The money has been transferred into the government's account online.

The official further said the government's 52.63 per cent equity in REC would be transferred in the name of the PFC by the closing of the stock market on Thursday.

PFC has raised money from Bank of Baroda, Life Insurance Corporation and State Bank of India, among others, to make the payment.

Earlier on March 20, PFC had inked a share purchase agreement to acquire 103.94 crore equity shares of Rs 10 each of REC Ltd.


 This deal was in pursuance to the in-principle approval from the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs for strategic sale of 52.63 per cent of paid-up equity shareholding of REC held by the government to PFC, along with the transfer of management control.

Going beyond digital: Google Pay goes offline to take on Amazon Pay, Paytm

Company News

Google showcased an innovation for its mobile payments app Google Pay on Wednesday, wherein merchants at stores can initiate payment requests by punching in a customer’s mobile number on their point-of-sale (POS) terminals.

With this the California-based firm is taking on PhonePe and Paytm in their own home ground and is also challenging its US rival Amazon.

Google also unveiled two other services through which its payments application users can book train tickets and buy gold.

“Digital payments has been a phenomenal story for India,” said Ambarish Kenghe, director, product management, Google Pay, India. “We want to address use cases that are close to our (customer’s) heart.” Unified Payments Interface (UPI) transaction volumes have outpaced all other forms of digital payments including wallets, mobile banking, and credit and debit cards. It has grown 40 times in 18 months, from 17 million transactions in August 2017 to 673 million in February 2019.

Chart Google Pay’s monthly active users have grown three times, from 14 million in March 2018 to 45 million in March 2019. Total money value flowing through Google Pay equals $81 billion at an annualised run-rate level. Google Pay is betting big on this growth and has formed partnerships with payments companies Pine Labs and Innoviti to enable UPI payments across a massive footprint of POS terminals spanning 200,000 stores in over 3,500 cities and towns.


 “The reality is that hundreds of millions of Indians still go into the stores to buy and transact. We are going to enable thousands of large-format retail stores (transact) through Google Pay,” said Sajith Sivanandan, Business Head, Google Pay, India.

Crackdown on hate speech: Facebook to curb white nationalism, separatism

Technology News

Facebook announced Wednesday it will ban praise or support for white nationalism and white separatism as part of a stepped-up crackdown on hate speech.
The ban will be enforced starting next week at the leading online social network and its image-centric messaging service Instagram.
"It's clear that these concepts are deeply linked to organized hate groups and have no place on our services," the social network said in a statement.
Facebook policies already banned posts endorsing white supremacy as part of its prohibition against spewing hate at people based on characteristics such as race, ethnicity or religion.
The ban had not applied to some postings because it was reasoned they were expressions of broader concepts of nationalism or political independence, according to the social network.
Facebook said that conversations with academics and "members of civil society" in recent months led it to view white nationalism and separatism as linked to organized hate groups.
"Going forward, while people will still be able to demonstrate pride in their ethnic heritage, we will not tolerate praise or support for white nationalism and separatism," Facebook said.

 People who enter search terms associated with white supremacy will get results referring them to resources such as Life After Hate which focus on helping people turn their backs on such groups, according to the social network.

Huawei P30 Pro unveiled: Key things to know about 'best camera smartphone'

Technology News

Chinese smartphone manufacturer Huawei on March 26 announced the P30-series smartphones in a global unveiling event from Paris. The series includes two devices – the Huawei P30 Pro and the Huawei P30 – both boasting OLED screen, triple camera module on the back (excluding time-of-flight 3D sensor in the P30 Pro), and in-display fingerprint sensor. Taking forward the imaging capabilities that the P-series stands for, the premium P30 Pro has been rated the best camera smartphone with an overall score of 112 by camera benchmark company DxOMark.

Huawei P30 Pro camera specifications and features

The P30 Pro is Huawei’s first to boast a periscope telephoto lens capable of 5x optical zoom, 10x hybrid zoom and up to 50x digital zoom. The phone boasts a 40-megapixel primary sensor of f/1.6 aperture on the back, mated with a 20MP ultra-wide angle lens, 8MP telephoto lens, and a ToF sensor for 3D mapping. The phone’s primary sensor and the telephoto lens are backed by optical image stabilisation and the rear camera module supports artificial intelligence-based stabilisation for shake- free photography and videography. On the front, the phone has a 32MP selfie camera of f/2.0 aperture.

Called the Huawei SuperSpectrum sensor, the primary 40MP sensor on the P30 Pro has a new RYYB (red-yellow-yellow-blue) pixel matrix, instead of the traditional RGGB (red-green-green-blue) bayer filter. This allows the sensor to capture more light and achieve higher ISO speed of up to 4,09,600, resulting in better hand-held low-light imaging.


 Interestingly, the Huawei P30 Pro is capable of using all camera lenses while recording a video. Besides using the primary 40MP lens for improved low-light video recording, the phone also uses its 8MP periscope telephoto lens for quick close-up zoom.

Fugitive diamantaire Nirav Modi's art sold; taxmen to get Rs 55 crore

Current Affairs

Despite an objection filed by fugitive Nirav Modi’s company Camelot Enterprises, leading Indian art auction house Saffronart went right ahead and auctioned 68 lots of art for sale at its Spring Live Auction on Monday evening in Mumbai.

The catalogue, which was estimated to generate between Rs 30 crore and Rs 50 crore, did better with net sales of Rs 55 crore that will go to the tax authorities.

Of the 68 works, 55 were sold, Saffronart representatives say. The art was auctioned in a bid to recover around Rs 96 crore due from Camelot Enterprises, one of the dozens of subsidiaries and shell companies Nirav was operating, according to a sale notice on the website of the income-tax department in Mumbai.

Dinesh Vazirani, who heads SaffronArt, was also the auctioneer for the event and presented Nirav’s seized collection to an audience of around 100 people, amidst a plushly decorated hall featuring marbled floors and designer furniture, and emulated an ambience eerily similar to Nirav’s Kamala Mills office, with good reason - the art on the walls was all his.

chart As the auction for the evening proceeded, the sales started briskly with the second painting in the catalogue, a Jogen Chowdhury selling for Rs 46 lakh much higher than the projected high estimate of Rs18 lakhs. A few lots later, a 1955 ink on paper work by F N Souza, who was one of Nirav’s favorite artists, sold for Rs 32 lakhs and almost two and a half times the high estimate of Rs12 lakhs. The buyer? A caller from London.


 While a few paintings went higher than a crore, the highlight of the evening was 60 inches x 40 inches 1973 oil on canvas by V S Gaitonde that netted Rs 22 crore. Earlier, there had been some conjecture as to whether the paintings would be able to fetch serious buyers.

Cathay Pacific to buy HK Express for $628 mn, enter budget airline segment

International News

Cathay Pacific Airways said on Wednesday it had agreed to buy Hong Kong Express Airways Ltd from cash-strapped Chinese conglomerate HNA Group for HK$4.93 billion ($628 million), giving it a foothold in the fast-growing budget travel market.

A lack of slots at Hong Kong International Airport until an expansion is completed in 2024 had constrained Cathay's ability to follow peers like Singapore Airlines Ltd and Qantas Airways Ltd and set up its own budget brand.

Cathay said it would continue operating HK Express as a standalone carrier using a low-cost business model.

The purchase price comprises HK$2.25 billion of cash and HK$2.68 billion of non-cash consideration through promissory loan notes, Cathay said in an statement to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. The transaction was expected to be completed on or before Dec. 31, it added.

HK Express reported a HK$141 million net loss in 2018 and had a net asset value of HK$1.12 billion, Cathay said.

Cathay shares rose 3.4 per cent in early trade on Wednesday, outpacing a 0.1 per cent gain in the benchmark Hang Seng Index.

"It seems like a good deal given the value of the slots and the strategic importance of fast-tracking a low-cost carrier, multi-brand strategy and preventing a competitor from making a move in its home market," CAPA Centre for Aviation Chief Analyst Brendan Sobie said.

 "But a proper valuation is hard to figure out given the debts and complex structure of the HNA Group.

Now you can access 300 magazines with Apple News Plus subscription service

Technology News

Apple, a Cupertino, US-based technology giant, on March 25 announced the Apple News+ -- a news subscription service with content from over 300 magazines, newspapers and digital publishers. Available only in the US and Canada currently, the service is available via app for iPhone, iPad and Mac. The app will be available in UK and Australia from later this year.

Apple News+ subscribers can access current and past issues and individual articles from magazines such as The Atlantic, Better Homes & Gardens, Bon Appétit, Condé Nast Traveler, ELLE, Entertainment Weekly, ESPN The Magazine, Esquire, Food & Wine, Good Housekeeping, GQ, Health, InStyle, Martha Stewart Living, National Geographic, New York Magazine, The New Yorker, O, The Oprah Magazine, Parents, People, Real Simple, Rolling Stone, Runner’s World, Sports Illustrated, TIME, Travel + Leisure, Vanity Fair, Vogue, WIRED and Woman’s Day.

In addition, Apple News+ includes The Wall Street Journal, Los Angeles Times and Toronto Star, Canada’s largest daily newspaper. Apple News+ also provides access to premium online publications such as theSkimm, The Highlight by Vox, New York Magazine’s sites Vulture, The Cut and Grub Street, and Extra Crunch from Verizon Media’s TechCrunch.

Pricing and availability

Apple News+ is currently available in the US for $9.99 a month and in Canada for $12.99 a month. Customers can sign up for a free one-month trial, and the plan automatically renews after the trial ends.


 To sign up for Apple News+, customers must update to iOS 12.2 or macOS 10.14.4. Through Family Sharing, up to six family members can share one Apple News+ subscription. Apple News+ will be available in the UK and Australia later this year.

Apple Arcade: Things to know about world's first game subscription service

Technology News

US-based technology behemoth Apple on March 25 announced Apple Arcade, the world’s first game subscription service for mobile, desktop and the living room. The service that will be launched later this year, will feature over 100 new and exclusive games, including original releases from creators Hironobu Sakaguchi, Ken Wong, Will Wright and dozens more.

Apple Arcade will be launched as a dedicated tab in the App Store. It will have access to a collection of brand new games that will not be available on any other mobile platform or in any other subscription service. Being a game subscription service, the Apple Arcade would give gamers the opportunity to try any game before purchase and get access to the full experience by paying subscription amount, which would include all game features, content and future updates, and no additional in-game purchases.

Every game that will be available in Arcade will support offline play. It will also feature games with support for game controllers. Apple Arcade games would be available across iPhone, iPad, Mac and Apple TV, allowing gamers to pick up where they left off in a game, even if they switch devices.
The game subscription service will boast a curated list of gaming titles based on originality, quality, creativity, fun and their appeal to players of all ages. Gamers will have the option to try any game from the collection of titles with no ads, ad tracking or additional purchases, and respect to user privacy.


 For Arcade, Apple is not just handpicking the games, but also contributing to the development costs and working closely with creators to bring the games to life. The service will feature games from Annapurna Interactive, Bossa Studios, Cartoon Network, Finji, Giant Squid, Klei Entertainment, Konami, LEGO, Mistwalker Corporation, SEGA, Snowman, ustwo games and dozens more.

Apple has News: Launches $10 monthly magazine, subscription service

Technology News
Apple Inc. presented its long-anticipated magazine subscription service on Monday, bundling access to selected glossy titles, websites, and newspapers for $10 a month.

The new service, called Apple News+, will be incorporated into the existing Apple News app that comes pre-installed on iPhones, iPads, and Macs, Roger Rosner, vice president of applications, said Monday at an event at Apple’s Cupertino, California, headquarters.

More than 300 magazines will be part of the service, he said. It will also include The Wall Street Journal and Los Angeles Times, but not The Washington Post or The New York Times. Bloomberg Businessweek will be part of the magazine section. A demonstration showed that some magazines, like National Geographic, have dynamic, moving covers.

The service launches today for $9.99 a month, with the first month free. It will be available in the U.S. and Canada, with the U.K. and Australia coming later in the year.

The News+ service will be its own tab in the existing News app and won’t interrupt the free section, the demo showed. Magazines can be downloaded automatically for offline reading. The News+ tab features access to magazine cover stories, new issues, and individual articles. Magazine creators are tweaking their issues depending on whether the story is read on an iPhone or the bigger iPad screen.
The magazine bundle is part of a collection of new services Apple is rolling out as it seeks to boost revenue from sources other than the iPhone.


 The magazine service is based on an application called Texture, which Apple acquired about a year ago. Texture had agreements with more than 200 magazines...Read More

PUBG ban: This 'epidemic' game can turn kids into psychopaths, says India

Technology News
India doesn’t have much of a history with popular computer games, unlike the U.S. or Japan. But now one of the industry’s kill-or-be-killed titles has become a smash hit -- and the backlash from the country’s traditionalists is ferocious.

PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds is a Hunger Games-style competition where 100 players face off with machine guns and assault rifles until only one is left standing. After China’s Tencent Holdings Ltd. introduced a mobile version of the death match that’s free to play, it has become the most popular smartphone game in the world, with enthusiasts from the U.S. to Russia to Malaysia.

Nowhere has resistance to the game been quite like India. Multiple cities have banned PUBG, as it’s known, and police in Western India arrested 10 university students for playing. The national child rights commission has recommended barring the game for its violent nature.

One of India’s largest Hindi newspapers declared PUBG an “epidemic” that turned children into “manorogi,” or psychopaths. “There are dangerous consequences to this game,” the Navbharat Times warned in a March 20 editorial. “Many children have lost their mental balance.”

Computer games have outraged parents and politicians for at least 20 years, since Grand Theft Auto first let players deal drugs, pimp out prostitutes and kill off strangers to steal their cars. Just last year, China went through its most serious crackdown on games, freezing approval of new titles and stepping up scrutiny of addiction and adverse health affects.

Inside Tencent’s Struggle to Bring World’s Hottest Game to China

 What’s different about India is the speed with which the country has landed in the strange digital world of no laws or morals...Read more

Ogossagou massacre: Mali President vows security beef-up as toll hits 160

International News

Malian President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita vowed Monday to beef up security as he visited a village where more some 160 people were killed by suspected militiamen from a rival ethnic group.

"We need security here -- this is your mission," Keita said, giving a public order to military chief General Aboulaye Coulibaly, who was abruptly appointed on Sunday after the massacre.

"Justice will be done," he vowed.

The deadly raid took place on Saturday in the village of Ogassogou, home to the Fulani herding community, near the town of Mopti in central Mali.

A militia from the Dogon ethnic group -- a hunting and farming community with a long history of tension with the Fulani over access to land -- is suspected to have carried out the raid.

State television ORTM on Sunday gave a "provisional toll" of 136 dead. Late Monday a local official and a Mali security force source said the toll had risen to 160 and could rise further.

"The new count is 160 dead and it will probably be higher still," local councillor Amadou Diallo told AFP, denouncing an attack he said amounted to "ethnic cleansing."

An AFP reporter on Monday said many homes in the village had been burned down and the ground was littered with corpses.

"I have never seen anything like that. They came, they shot people, burned homes, killed the babies," said 75-year-old survivor Ali Diallo.


 The perpetrators "are not jihadists. They are traditional hunters," a health worker told AFP...Read More

Brexit in numbers: The key amendments and how the British Parliament voted

International News

British lawmakers on Monday used a vote on the government's next steps on Brexit to wrest control of the process so that they can then try to find a majority for an alternative that would break the parliamentary deadlock.

Lawmakers are voting on amendments to a government motion saying that parliament has considered a statement made by May on March 15 which set out the government's next steps on Brexit, including its plan to seek a delay.

That March 15 statement also noted the government believes the best way forward is for Britain to leave the EU "in an orderly manner" with a deal, and that parliament had rejected leaving without an agreement.

Below is how parliament voted on Monday:
Amendment D - Withdrawn before voting

This has been put forward by opposition Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn and calls on the government to provide parliamentary time for lawmakers to find a majority for a different approach on Brexit, noting that the alternative proposals include holding a second Brexit referendum or seeking a customs union with the EU.

Amendment A - Passed 329 to 302

This has been proposed by a cross-party group of lawmakers, led by Oliver Letwin, a member of May's Conservative Party. It has been signed by more than 120 lawmakers.

 It seeks to change the rules of parliament on March 27 in order to provide time for lawmakers to debate and vote on alternative ways forward on Brexit, a process often referred to as 'indicative votes'...Read More

Apple launches TV app, video gaming service and credit card

International News

Apple on Monday launched streaming and videogame services, looking to tap into 1.4 billion users of its gadgets to counter slowing demand for its iPhones. At a special event held at the Steve Jobs Theater at its Cupertino, California headquarters, the company also unveiled News Plus subscription service and a credit card.
Apple Card
Credit card to be approved in minutes and to be used with Apple Pay
No international fee, no penalties and no sign-up fee
Goldman Sachs to be issuing bank for the card and MasterCard to manage payment processing
Apple Pay to be available in more than 40 countries by end of the year
Apple Arcade
Television

• Apple unveils 'all New' TV app

• App to include streaming services Amazon Prime Video, Hulu, and PlayStation Vue
• Will feature shows from HBO, Showtime and Starz in Apple TV channels
• Users can buy or rent movies on Apple TV
• Apple TV app will be available as a software update in May, including Apple TV channels
• Apple TV app will be available on Macs as well as televisions from Sony, LG, and Vizio, and devices from Roku and Amazon FireTV
• Apple TV app to be available in more than 100 countries

Gaming
Launches Apple Arcade service with game developers
Apple Arcade to work on mobile devices, desktop computers, and televisions

 Apple working with Walt Disney, SEGA Games and Annapurna Interactive on new games.

Charticle: How Jan Aushadhi stores are disrupting the Indian pharma market

Companies News

* The growth of the Indian Pharma market has come down from 13.5 per cent in FY15 to 10 per cent YoY in FY18

* Analysts point out that growth from product introductions has nearly halved over the last two years as the drug regulator has been more stringent about new combination drugs

* Growing awareness about cheaper alternatives to branded generics and more channels providing access to them has started to impact volume growth for branded generics

* The Government's push towards Jan Aushadhi stores has started to impact volumes of branded generics

* The Pradhan Mantri Jan Aushadhi scheme aims to provide quality drugs at almost 50-90% discount to their branded counterparts

* Jan Aushadhi stores cover a list of 800 plus drugs, both chronic and acute, across therapies like anti-cancer, anti-infective, reproductive and gastro intestinal medicines

* There are 5000+ Jan Aushadhi stores now and another 2500 to be opened by 2020

* Edelweiss noted revenue of the Jan Aushadhi scheme is expected to double YoY in FY19. Revenue of Rs 300 crore expected in FY19

* Can potentially disrupt 1% of IPM


 * Edelweiss noted that the Rs 120 crore sales of BPPI in FY18 corresponds to Rs 600 crore of branded products.

Cong picks 3 agencies to manage digital, social media campaign for LS polls

Opinion News
The Congress party on Tuesday identified three agencies that would manage its digital and social media campaign for the 2019 Lok Sabha polls. Some more would be hired in the coming days and assigned other tasks.

The publicity committee of the party is headed by party leader Anand Sharma. But there was much disgruntlement in the team — some members complained to Congress President Rahul Gandhi that they were not being kept in the loop. The Congress chief first asked senior leader Jairam Ramesh to take part in the meetings, and when that alone did not help, overseas Congress Chief Sam Pitroda was summoned hastily, which helped break the stalemate.

Scramble to lose

It is unusual for leaders to fight for seats when the chances of victory are bleak. But that's exactly what is happening in the Kerala unit of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). State leaders are jockeying to contest from Pathanamthitta, the epicentre of the Sabarimala issue.

At least four top leaders including Union Ministers K J Alphons and senior leader K Surendran are vying for a ticket to contest the seat. Interestingly, the BJP has never won a Lok Sabha seat from the state. Also the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh and BJP cadres in Kerala do not see eye to eye. Given that, political observers are betting on either the Congress or the Left, despite the mileage BJP gained out of the Sabarimala stir.

Don’t gatecrash


 It’s not unusual to hear stories about students in India gatecrashing weddings. Just for fun or to indulge in a hearty meal when hostel mess food is nothing but torture and the monthly allowance from home is diminishing rapidly. A premier institution in the country has had enough of this...Read More

Oil prices near 2019 highs amid supply cuts by OPEC, US sanctions

International News

Oil prices on Friday hovered close to 2019 peaks reached the previous day, propped up by supply cuts led by producer club OPEC and by US sanctions against Iran and Venezuela.

Brent crude oil futures were at $67.82 per barrel at 0122 GMT, down 4 cents from their last close but within a dollar of the $68.69 per barrel 2019-high marked the day before.

US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) futures were at $60 per barrel, virtually unchanged from their last settlement and not far off their 2019 peak of $60.39 touched on Thursday.

Prices have been propped up by supply cuts by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and non-affiliated allies such as Russia, often referred to as 'OPEC+'.

Despite a more than a quarter increase in crude prices this year, Canadian investment bank RBC Capital Markets said oil was "still below the fiscal breakeven level in a number of OPEC countries", meaning that many producers have an interest in further propping up the market.

"With the driver of the OPEC bus, Saudi Arabia, showing no signs of wavering in the face of renewed pressure from Washington, we believe that OPEC is likely to extend the deal for the duration of 2019 when they next assemble in Vienna in June," RBC said.

RBC said Russia was only a reluctant partner in the supply cuts, but would "ultimately opt to preserve the arrangement and retain a leadership role of a 21-nation group that accounts for around 45 per cent of global oil output".


 Beyond OPEC and Russia's supply policy, oil prices have also been boosted by US sanctions on OPEC-members Iran and Venezuela...Read More

China chemical plant explosion death toll climbs to 44; 32 others critical

International News

The toll in the explosion at an industrial park in eastern China climbed steeply to 44 on Friday morning as a number of people succumbed to their injuries.

The explosion occurred on Thursday following a fire in a fertilizer factory in a chemical industrial park in Yancheng, Jiangsu province, according to the government of Xiangshui county.

The death toll till early Friday morning was officially stated to be 44, reported state-run China Daily.
The blast left 32 people in a critical condition and while 58 were seriously injured, the local authority stated. The Ministry of Emergency Management said 88 people have been rescued from the site of the incident.

Eye-witnesses said several workers were trapped after buildings were knocked down by the shockwave stated to be a mild tremor caused by the blast which took place in a pesticide plant. The blast also shattered windows of nearby residential houses.

The fire fighter brigade of Jiangsu has mobilised 176 fire trucks with 928 personnel to join the rescue mission, the Ministry of Emergency Management said.

A professor of applied chemistry at Beijing University of Chemical Technology, in an interview with CCTV, said the leak of toxic chemicals might have affected the people and environment in the surrounding areas.


 The residents should be evacuated from the place as soon as possible, the profesor said...Read More

Levi's, whose jeans are a rugged symbol of Americana, prepares to go public

Company News

In San Francisco, where start-ups dream of populating the world with self-driving cars and robots, another breed of company is aiming for riches this week: Levi Strauss & Company.

The maker of denim and Dockers, which traces its roots to the California Gold Rush, Levi's is expected to start trading on the public markets on Thursday for the second time in its 165-year history. The listing is a milestone for Levi's, which has experienced a resurgence in the past decade, overhauling its image, operations and the stretch in its jeans to resonate with today's shoppers who are increasingly disposed to athleisure wear.

Levi's, some say, might even be cool again.

"It took them time but they've been able to restore a lot of brand equity," said Marie Driscoll, a managing director who covers fashion and luxury at Coresight Research. "They have their authentic product that they've been making forever but adapted to what consumers want today."

This week's stock offering, which the company anticipates will raise more than $100 million, is an accomplishment for the chief executive, Charles V Bergh, and highlights Levi's ambitions to expand its apparel lines both in the United States and worldwide. Shares of the company are expected to sell for $14 to $16, which would value Levi's between $5.4 billion and $6.2 billion.


 Levi's, which invented the blue jean in 1873, is woven into America's history. Once the uniform of cowboys and miners in the American West, the company's denim went on to be worn by Hollywood stars like Marlon Brando, concertgoers at Woodstock and the young nationwide. But the company hit a series of challenges starting in the 1990s beyond the usual fluctuations in consumer tastes...Read More

Was offered bags of money to give Mindtree away, CEO Subroto tells staff

Company News

Ahead of MindTree board meet on Wednesday, Mindtree founding promoter Subroto Bagchi said he and three other promoters — Krishnakumar Natarajan, Rostow Ravanan, and Parthasarathy NS — were offered “huge bags of money” to give away Mindtree but they turned it down and urged employees to remain focused on work. In a letter, Bagchi attempted to reach out to the employees with an emotional plea urging them to 'stay focused on what must go out of the door today.'

On Tuesday, co-founders of the company, Subroto Bagchi, Krishnakumar Natarjan and Rostow Ravanan univocally called the takeover bid 'a grave threat to the unique organisation collectively built over 20 years'.

Here's FULL TEXT of Subroto Bagchi's letter to MindTree employees

My very dear Mindtree Minds,

I have never written to you in the last three years. Hence it may be somewhat of a surprise for you. Of course, there are attendant, unusual circumstances; of an imminent threat to Mindtree’s independence that has made me to write to you today. Please be patient with me because this is going to be a long letter, the situation asks for it. But first, I must give you a context that goes well beyond Mindtree.

 In 1994, after setting up Wipro’s Global R&D in the Silicon Valley, I came back to India. Wipro’s R&D had the best people, working on mission critical applications for India because a lot of technology was banned for export to India at the time.

Yet, Indian economy was opening up and global IT companies were suddenly coming into India, threatening the very existence of the same R&D that had worked on India’s space and defence needs. There was only one way to save it. Grow it beyond Indian shores. Make it world-class...Read More

Xiaomi enters digital payments market, expands handset manufacturing

Company News

Leading smartphone player Xiaomi has entered the fast-growing digital payments market with its Mi Pay service, the company announced on Tuesday. Primarily an UPI (Unified Payments Interface) —based mobile application, the Mi Pay service will be accessible to all MIUI — its mobile user interface — users in India.

The MIUI interface — spread across SMS, contacts, scanner, app vault, and settings in Xiaomi handsets — will also allow several utility payments ranging from phone bills, phone recharges, water or electricity bill payments through the payments service. The firm has partnered ICICI Bank as its payment service provider. Consumers can effectively make payments using UPI and other debit cards, credit cards and internet banking across 120 banks and over 120 billers, Xiaomi said.

“Mi Pay UPI has been approved by NPCI under the multi bank API model and it has been audited by CERT-IN empanelled auditors E&Y and Lucideus. Mi Pay provides the safest and secure transactions with all data stored locally in India servers in an encrypted format,” it said in a statement.

The move comes a year after the Chinese consumer electronics major had entered the digital lending space in India, with the launch of a ‘Mi Credit’ product, earlier in 2018. The company began offering instant personal loans to its users, through offers that appear on their lock screen while they are using the phone.

Adds seventh plant

 To match the growing demand for its handsets, Xiaomi has partnered Flex — an original equipment maker — that would manufacture smartphones for it in Tamil Nadu. The new Flex plant is the seventh plant to manufacture Xiaomi phones here. It already has six dedicated units from Foxconn and HiPad that are producing Mi and Redmi devices in India.

Jet Airways fate hangs in balance over funding delays, depleting sales

Companies News

Jet Airways' fate hangs in balance with fast depleting sales and non-committal stance by Etihad Airways on fresh infusion of funds.

On Monday, the airline's founder chairman Naresh Goyal wrote to staff seeking more time to finalise a resolution plan given its complexities. Goyal's email said he is still in talks with lenders and Etihad, but aviation sources indicated that he is looking for a new investor to keep the company afloat.

On Tuesday morning, civil aviation minister Suresh Prabhu directed the department secretary to hold an emergency meeting on grounding of Jet's flights and asked for a status report.

The delay in fund infusion is leading to massive cancellations and employees are increasingly losing confidence in management commitments. Travel agents too are becoming apprehensive about the future of the airline and a few corporate houses have asked their employees to follow discretion while booking Jet tickets.Jet insiders say its truncated schedule of 200 flights each day is not sustainable to meet expenses.

Amit Kelkar, vice president of Jet Aircraft Maintenance Engineers Welfare Association, wrote to the civil aviation ministry on Tuesday, stating that with repeated payment defaults, members had lost confidence in the management. The letter also warned of safety risks, as engineers were not getting paid.

The National Aviators Guild which represents pilots is meeting this afternoon to decide its future course of action. Earlier this month, the union had written to labour minister Santosh Gangwar about pay delays.


 A section of employees however is still hopeful of a positive outcome over the course of the next few days...Read More

L&T CEO calls Mindtree takeover 'pyaar, not war'; says Siddhartha made move

Companies News

Larsen & Toubro MD and CEO S N Subrahmanyan on Tuesday said that V G Siddhartha approached the construction major to sell his stake in Mindtree. He said the deal shouldn't be seen as hostile as it's "pyaar, not war and protects Mindtree against hostile takeover" as someone else would have moved if L&T didn't.

On Monday, L&T made a bid at hostile takeover of the multinational information technology and outsourcing company headquartered in Bengaluru by buying Siddhartha's stake and offering shareholders Rs 980 apiece via an open offer.

Mindtree on Tuesday came out with a scathing condemnation saying: "The attempted hostile takeover bid of Mindtree by L&T is a grave threat to the unique organisation we have collectively built over 20 years."

The L&T chief said that the group doesn't plan to integrate MindTree with its IT services firm L&T Infotech and it will be run as an independent company.

Subrahmanyan added, "The money that L&T has put in is important for us. It is the blood and sweat of L&T employees-- some of the tallest projects... To earn a return is important for us. Based on a particular shareholder who was very keen, we have gone ahead.

It's an 80-year old company. We will go out of our way to make the investment succeed."

 On possible conflicts of interest between Mindtree and L&T Infotech, he quipped: "There are groups that have multiple IT companies. Tatas, Hindujas etc have got the same. There are matured people who will sort out the matter if there are such conflicts..."Read More

MRF can avail input tax credit only for invoice value: Tamil Nadu authority

Economy & Policy:

The Tamil Nadu Advance Ruling Authority (ARA) has said tyre major MRF may avail of input tax credit only to the extent of the value of the invoice in question, not on the discounts offered by vendors on interface software.

In the MRF case, the company intended subscribing to an online platform, C2FO, which would connect the buyer with vendors. Those of the latter that are registered with the e-platform place a discount offer, either annual percentage rate or a flat discount, to receive early payment. Invoices for discount are picked up by the software algorithm, based on which the discount offers can be varied.

MRF approached the ARA to check if it legally could avail of the input tax credit on the entire GST charged on the supply of invoice. Or if a proportionate reversal of the tax was required if the vendor gave a post-purchase discount, based on their early payment. The ARA said the company can avail of the input tax credit only to the extent of the invoice value raised by the suppliers, less the discounts as given by the C2FO software. If input tax credit was taken on the full amount, it should reverse the difference, the order from Manasa Gangotri Kata and S Vijayakumar said.

An expert says companies currently issue a commercial credit note (one without GST adjustment) for price adjustments in scenarios like a post-supply discount. In such a case, the companies would have discharged GST on the full value of supply. In the case of MRF, the ARA has said that even though GST is paid on the full value, proportionate credit (as much as pertains to the GST applicable on the value of the commercial credit note) would not be available to the recipient of supply.


 Abhishek Jain, tax partner at consultants EY India, said: “Most businesses had taken a contrary position on this and claimed input tax credit of the entire GST paid by the supplier...Read More

Bangalore, Chennai, Delhi among world's cheapest cities to live in: Report

Economy & Policy:
Move over Singapore — the world's most expensive city has two new rivals.

After topping the Economist Intelligence Unit's Worldwide Cost of Living Survey for five years, Asia's Lion City has been joined by Paris and Hong Kong in a tie at the top of the table.

Zurich and Geneva rounded out the top five, while New York and Los Angeles reclaimed spots in the top 10 — ranking in seventh and 10th respectively — after slipping to 13th and 14th last year thanks to a weakening dollar.

The survey is designed to help companies calculate cost-of-living allowances and build compensation packages for expatriates and business travelers.

The trio of cities sharing the top spot are 7 percent more expensive to live in than New York, according to the EIU, which compiles its list from a survey of 160 products and services across 93 countries.

The Japanese port city of Osaka was another re-entry, moving up six spots to number five. Seoul (joint seventh place), Copenhagen (also seventh) and Tel Aviv (10th) round out the top 10 — which actually consists of 11 cities thanks to tied places.

"Weaker local currencies have pushed all five Australian and two New Zealand cities surveyed down in the ranking," the EIU said, accounting for Sydney's absence after it scraped into 10th position in last year's report.


 Outside the top 10, the EIU said the cost of living in Chinese cities remains relatively stable, while Southeast Asian destinations were moving up the ranks...Read More

Housing GST rule must be changed, says West Bengal FM Amit Mitra

Economy & Policy:
Ahead of the GST Council meeting on Tuesday, West Bengal Finance Minister Amit Mitra has proposed that the new goods and services tax (GST) rate for ongoing residential housing projects be made optional.

The GST Council meeting slated for Tuesday will take up the issue of finalising the rules and procedures to implement the decisions of the last Council on real estate.

In his latest letter to Union Finance Minister, Arun Jaitley, Mitra has said that while the basic decision of bringing the effective rates of affordable housing and non-housing to 1 per cent and 5 per cent without input tax credit (ITC) was something everyone agreed upon, the mechanism being proposed was highly cumbersome and mind boggling.

Mitra said if the developer had purchased material and taken the ITC, he would be permitted to use only the percentage he had invoiced and had to reverse the rest. This needs to be done project wise though earlier accounts were not maintained project wise, he said. The net result would be that the cost of the project would increase immediately and the consumer would end up actually paying more rather than less, he added.

Also, according to him, the formulae specified would leave a lot of discretion with the tax authorities and might encourage rent seeking.

In the previous meeting, held on February 24, the GST Council had slashed tax rates for under-construction flats to 5 per cent and affordable homes to 1 per cent, effective April 1.

 Currently, GST is levied at 12 per cent with an ITC on payments made for under-construction property or ready-to-move-in flats where completion certificate is not issued at the time of sale. For affordable housing units, the existing tax rate is 8 per cent...Read More

IPL 2019: RCB partners with an Israeli sports tech firm to engage fans

Techonology News

Ahead of the upcoming 2019 Indian Premier League (IPL) season, Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) has collaborated with an Israeli firm for building a technology platform to engage with the fans and also get an edge over its rivals.

Virat Kohli-led RCB has formed the strategic collaboration with Israel-based Interacting Technology Sports to place the fans at centre stage and unite them on an innovative digital community platform. This includes RCB mobile application where fan groups and communities from varied parts of the country support the team not only during the season but throughout the year. This platform is powered by Interacting Technology Sports, that has expertise about how communities interact within the digital community.

“I met RCB months back and we discussed a lot about their values, what they wanted to promote and how they wanted to (engage) with fans as a brand and I felt it is a nice project,” said Liav Eliash, chief executive of Interacting Technology Sports. He said although Israel is a small country, cricket is very much popular there. Eliash said that his firm is also offering technologies such as data analytics and machine learning to help RCB understand the rival teams better and get a competitive edge.

The new platform unveiled by RCB would enable the fans to follow each other, post, like and share each other’s thoughts about the team. Fans will be able to discover new content, interact with the players and influencers. They would also be able to participate in one-on-one and group chats, get access to exclusive content like behind the scene, training, a day in a life of the players and lifestyle.

  The fans can follow ball by ball commentary, see a live scorecard and league standings. Within the e-commerce engine, they will be able to purchase tickets and merchandise, receive updates and notification on special offers on a single platform...Read More

Shinco 65-inch 4K TV review: Brilliant display and rocking audio

Techonology News
A thin-screen TV in your living your room has snob value—if you can afford one. Noida-based Videotex International recently launched Shinco: a 65-inch LED TV for Rs 49,990. We take a look at how the fares in terms of viewing experience and quality.

Design and display

The TV has thin bezels but the slim panel and the plastic finish give it a cheap and flimsy look. The back and the right panel houses all the input ports and connectors. The ports are pretty standard: 3 HDMI, 2 USB, VGA, and a Rj45 port for internet connectivity. The simple and clutter-free design is something I liked the most, but this might not appeal to many.

For the price, the picture quality is great and there is no doubt about that. The clarity and colours that are produced on screen give you a brilliant viewing experience. I did not feel that any colour was too dominant and the colour balance was at par with higher range products. The viewing angles are not bad, either: I noticed minimal contrast degradation when viewing from extreme angles. However, the TV's processor stuttered a lot while playing 4K videos from the YouTube app present in the TV with the audio-video getting desychronised and even stopped at times.

Sound


 Shinco 65-inch 4K TV review The TV from Shinco amazed me with its sound output. The mids and highs were clear and the lows were belted out with great ease. The bass was also up to the mark and I rarely used my speakers while using the TV. While surround sound while watching movies is something that needs a 5.1 channel speaker's expertise, movie watching is not bad and infact upto the mark thanks to the 20W inbuilt speakers of the TV.

Kerala: Migrant labour faces worst effects of post demonetisation slowdown

PTI11_13_2016_000206A

Current Affairs

When illiterate mason Jalaluddin Shaikh sought a better life seven years ago, he journeyed nearly 2,500 km south from his home in Murshidabad, Bengal, to this riverine town in the greater Kochi agglomeration, known for its farm produce, plywood and sundry small-scale industries.

Jalaluddin, 40, had heard stories of the opportunities in prosperous Kerala, and nearly five years, he was happy, earning Rs 22,000 every month at construction sites, saving enough to send Rs 15,000 back home.

Everything changed on November 8, 2016, when Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s demonetisation order invalidated 86% of India’s currency.

Jalaluddin’s life worsened in June 2017, when the Goods and Services Tax (GST)--widely criticised for its hasty, often chaotic, implementation--came into effect. With the absence of cash and the complexities of the GST, business dropped and uncounted industries closed.

The downturn was exacerbated by tensions in the Arabian Gulf--the source of 36% of Kerala’s income--when many Arab countries turned against Qatar. That crisis was preceded by a general slowdown in the Gulf states since 2010, when the price of oil had dropped. As wages went unpaid and jobs and incomes were lost in the Gulf, Kerala’s construction industry suffered, as did opportunities for migrants in Kerala.


 Here in India’s seventh-richest state by per capita income, 2.5 million of 33 million people--one in 14--were migrants, according to a 2013 study by the Gulati Institute of Finance and Taxation for the Kerala labour department. Mostly manual labour, they sent Rs 17,500 crore home every year. The government now believes about a million migrants are left, a quarter of the number projected for 2018. Although some questions were raised over the study’s accuracy, it is the only available data on migrants like Jalaluddin.

NGT directs CPCB to prepare noise pollution maps within three months

Current Affairs

The National Green Tribunal has directed the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) to prepare a noise pollution map and remedial action plan to solve the issue across the country.

The green panel said the absence of implementation of noise pollution norms affects health of citizens, especially infants and senior citizens.It also affects sleep, comfort, studies and other legitimate activities, it said.

A bench headed by National Green Tribunal (NGT) Chairperson Justice Adarsh Kumar Goel directed the CPCB to prepare the map, identify noise pollution hotspots and categorise cities with specified hotspots and propose a remedial action plan within three months

Noting that the CPCB has established a noise monitoring mechanism, which is functioning on a continuous basis, in seven cities, the NGT asked the board to consider setting up of such mechanisms in all cities where noise pollution is beyond permissible limits.


 "The state pollution control boards may undertake noise level monitoring in conjunction with police and take remedial action."The police departments of all the states and Union territories may obtain the noise monitoring devices within a period of three months and specification of such devices may be finalised in consultation with the respective state pollution control boards," the green panel said...Read More

Parrikar's last rite, full IPL schedule, new Goa govt : Today's top events

Current Affairs

Before you start the day, take a look at the major events in the country that are likely to make headlines today. From Manohar Parrikar's last rites to full IPL schedule, here are some of the most important news events scheduled for today that will be keenly watched.

Muzaffarpur shelter home case: Delhi court to pass order on framing of charges today

A Delhi court is likely to pronounce on Monday its order on framing of charges in the Muzaffarpur shelter home sexual assault case in which 21 accused have been chargesheeted by the CBI.

Several girls were allegedly raped and sexually abused at an NGO-run shelter home in Muzaffarpur, Bihar, and the issue had come to light following a report by the Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS).

All the accused have denied the allegations levelled against them by the CBI and said there was not enough evidence to prosecute them.

Blackstone-Embassy to launch India's first REIT on Mar 18 to raise up to Rs 4,750 cr
Global investment company Blackstone and realty firm Embassy will hit the capital market with the country's first real estate investment trust (REIT) to raise up to Rs 4,750 crore, while it has received Rs 876-crore commitment from strategic investors.


 Embassy Office Parks, joint venture of Blackstone and Embassy, has entered into unit subscription agreements with strategic investors to allot them 2,92,08,800 units for Rs 876.3 crore.The REIT issue will open on March 18 with a price band of Rs 299-300 per unit. The issue closes on March 20. Read on...

Solar panels floating on liquid waste: How a mine in Chile powers itself

International News

Chile has found another use for dams that hold the liquid waste from massive copper-mining operations: power generation.

Calling it the first project of its kind in the world, Anglo American Plc has installed 256 photovoltaic panels at the tailings dam for its Los Bronces complex in Chile. The panels are floating atop the sometimes-toxic ground minerals and effluents blasted out of rocks dug up at the mine.

The pilot project is expected to generate 150,000 kilowatt-hours a year and help power the operations there, the company said in a statement on Thursday.

While it’s not much electricity in the grand scheme of things, Chile Mining Minister Baldo Prokurica hailed the solar project as yet another example of how the country -- the world’s largest copper producer -- is leading the way in improving how miners treat waste. Chile was the first to ban so-called upstream dams, which are cheaper to maintain but have led to deadly accidents, such as the collapse of one at a Vale SA mine in Brazil that killed at least 180 people in January.

“We are advancing toward a more sustainable mining activity by actively developing new solutions and stimulating other ways of thinking and working,” said Patricio Chacana, vice president of operations at Los Bronces.

The panels at Los Bronces were specially designed to resist the extreme conditions of the Andes mountains where the mine sits.


  At 3,400 meters (more than 11,000 feet) above sea level, the area is constantly hit with snow and heavy rains. The panels can withstand winds of 210 kilometers (130 miles) an hour, according to the company.

3 days, 3 key votes: How the Brexit unicorn has damaged British democracy

International News

On March 12, the British Parliament overwhelmingly rejected – for a second time – a Brexit plan worked out by Prime Minister Theresa May.

A day later, the lawmakers voted against a “hard Brexit” – one without any approved plan.
Then, on March 14, British lawmakers voted 412 to 202 to delay an exit from the European Union, which had been planned for March 29. They also voted not to call a second referendum to allow the British people to accept or reject Prime Minister May’s Brexit plan.

Three experts on the European Union consider the lasting effects of the delay and uncertainty.

A damaging spectacle

Garret Martin, American University, School of International Service

Another week of drama at the Palace of Westminster, host of the United Kingdom’s two houses of Parliament. The last three days witnessed a flurry of Brexit activities. Parliament scheduled multiple votes, debates, amendments.

Factions inside Westminster jockeyed for control and Ministers resigned. And Prime Minister Theresa May literally lost her voice.

With the dust now settled, this much is clear. Members of Parliament (MPs), from across the major parties, still greatly dislike the withdrawal deal from the EU negotiated by Theresa May.

 These same MPs also reject the option of crashing out of the EU without a deal.