Slowdown effect? Salary increase in 2020 may be lowest in a decade at 9.1%

Current Affairs
The financial lull is starting to reflect in the pay climbs of India Inc. The normal pay increment in 2020 is anticipated to be 9.1 percent, the least in 10 years, as indicated by the 24th release of Aon Plc's yearly pay increment study. In 2018 and 2019, organizations expanded normal pay by 9.5 percent and 9.3 percent, individually. After the monetary emergency of 2008, the normal climb had drooped to 6.6 percent.
The anticipated increment for 2020 is lower than the normal pay climb that alumni of top Business schools have overseen at around 12 percent. The uplifting news, nonetheless, is that notwithstanding total national output (GDP) development gauges getting amended descending, the normal pay increment for 2020 will be just 20 premise focuses lower than that of the earlier year.
In addition, twofold digit pay increases have not evaporated completely. While the normal for the nation has descended, 39 percent of the organizations are as yet ready to give twofold digit compensation increments in 2020. The current year's number is with regards to the long haul pattern. "The pattern throughout the years has been descending. Up to 2011, the normal pay addition was in high twofold digits. Somewhere in the range of 2012 and 2016, it was at 10 percent in addition, and as of late, it has come down to the 9 percent in addition to stamp," said Tzeitel Fernandes, accomplice and head of remunerations arrangements, India, Aon. She included they saw a state of mind of alert among firms this year.

The study by Aon, a worldwide expert administrations firm, secured in excess of 1,000 organizations, across in excess of 20 businesses. The organizations were part similarly among assembling and administration segments. The temperament inside India Inc, however somewhat tainted than a year ago, isn't totally downbeat...READ MORE

India Inc's low confidence reason for drop in investments: Analysts

Current Affairs
Starting on Monday, YouTube will overhaul its systems to comply with a landmark privacy ruling, a move that could dent revenue for the Google video giant and thousands of its creators.
Alphabet Inc.’s Google settled with federal regulators in September for violating laws on collecting data from minors, and YouTube agreed to a series of changes. Videos designed as “made for kids” would be stripped of targeted ads, which fetch higher prices, and other valuable features, such as user comments and live chats.
The Federal Trade Commission, which fined Google over the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act, or COPPA, has given broad directives about what it considers child-directed video, including clips with popular animations and kids play with toys. Individual video creators will face fines for violating COPPA going forward, which has sparked panic.“YouTube now treats personal information from anyone watching children’s content on the platform as coming from a child, regardless of the age of the user,” the company wrote in a Monday blog post.
These changes have been expected for months, but their impact is still unknown. Google has warned that some video creators could lose a bulk of their ad sales. The company hasn’t shared its sales or how much of its massive catalog comes from videos “made for kids.”“We’re committed to helping creators navigate this new landscape and to supporting our ecosystem of family content,” YouTube said.
“We’ll share more in the coming months.”

In addition to the restrictions on videos, YouTube will begin placing a text below “made for kids” videos directing viewers to YouTube Kids, an app that’s designed for children. The app has a much smaller audience than the main YouTube service....Read More

India tycoons running out of time with debt dagger hanging over stocks

International News

Indian media giant Essel Group, run by industry mogul Subhash Chandra, is seeking an extension to repay debt in order to avoid creditors liquidating its shares.
The company faces a month-end debt repayment deadline. If that’s not met, creditors can sell shares in the group’s flagship Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd. kept as collateral against loans. The case highlights broader risks that borrowings backed by stock pose to the equity market. There’s a lot at stake with share-backed loans currently at about 1.9 trillion rupees ($26.5 billion).
Essel Group’s Chandra is seeking to sell assets ranging from a stake in the nation’s most valuable publicly traded TV network to roads. Shares of his Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd. have plummeted to the lowest level in five years.“We have certainly discussed the point pertaining to the extension as well, purely in the interest of deriving the right value for the precious assets,” said Punit Goenka, managing director and chief executive officer at Zee Enterprises in an emailed response, “The lenders have noted our view and have been extremely supportive.”
The media tycoon’s challenge is the first of what could be a string of tests this year for beleaguered business titans from Anil Ambani to the founders of the Emami Group. They have raised funds to expand their empires by pledging equity stakes in their firms and the clock is ticking as repayment dates loom.
Risks Mount

 “Not everybody is going to come out of this alive,” said Jayanth R Varma, a professor at the Indian Institute of Management in Ahmedabad, referring to the founder’s funding predicament. “I can’t imagine that all the groups that are in trouble today will be able to sort out their mess.”...Read More

PM Modi's message to India Inc, banks, auto firms: All will be well

Company News

We will do everything possible to make India the world's best investment destination and a better place to do business in, apart from going "as far as possible" to revive the "animal spirits" and make the "entire private sector bullish", Prime Minister Narendra Modi said in an interview with the Economic Times on Sunday .
The prime minister's interview, which focused on key economic topics such as reviving growth, banking, ease of doing business, slowdown in demand and the US-China trade war, among other things, comes amid increasingly vocal concerns over a slowdown in the Indian economy, especially in the automobile sector, which has reported significant job losses.
Here are the top five things the PM said in his interview:
1) All possible support for honest, law-abiding businesses
In a bid to reassure India Inc, Modi said that the government wanted entrepreneurs to enjoy higher productivity and better profits.
The PM said that he wanted to motivate the country's industrialists to "believe in the India story" and in the "long-term potential of the Indian market". Further, he said that entrepreneurs should carry on with their businesses and complete their investment plans without any confusion.
The PM's reassurance comes amid allegations of so-called 'tax terrorism'. After the apparent suicide of Cafe Coffee Day founder V G Siddhartha, who was under investigation by tax authorities, business leaders had expressed anger over the government going too far in its crackdown on tax evasion and fraud.

2) Decisions taken by bankers in good faith won't face 'witch hunt'...Read More