NEW DELHI, MUMBAI, BENGALURU, KOLKATA, CHENNAI, AHMEDABAD, HYDERABAD, CHANDIGARH*, PUNE*
297
SENSEX NIFTY
40,412.57 11,910.15
172.69 53.35
mint primer
The link between
NPAs and frauds
at govt-run banks
BY PUJA MEHRA
The finance minister informed Parliament last month that state-run
banks reported frauds of over ₹95,760 crore in April-September. Mint
explains why rising incidence of bank frauds is a cause of concern for
RBI, the Centre and people with savings and deposits in these banks.
Fraud files
Even as India’s NPAs have been one of the highest among major economies, the
number of fraud cases and the amount involved have also risen in the country.
18 Gross NPA ratio 2016 2017 Q3 2018*
(in %)
16
14
12
10
8
6 6,801
4 5,916
2
0
US China South Italy
Africa
*For Italy and China, data pertains to Q2 2018. Q2 and Q3 refer to
calendar year quarters ending in June and September, respectively.
#Data only for state-run banks
Are frauds rising at
1 state-owned banks?
Public sector banks (PSBs)
reported frauds of over ₹95,760
crore from April to September this
year. According to the Reserve
Bank of India’s latest annual
report, all banks, including PSBs,
reported frauds involving losses of
₹71,542.93 crore over the 12-
month period of FY19. RBI data
shows that the bulk of the frauds
relate to loans and take place at
PSBs. The incidence and cost of
frauds is increasing year after year,
posing threats to the financial
stability and eroding the
credibility of PSBs, auditors, credit
rating agencies and the regulator
RBI, as well as the trust of savers
and depositors.
4 Why do frauds take
place more at PSBs?
The study found that big loan
advance frauds happen as bank
officials collude with borrowers
and sometimes even with officials
of third parties such as advocates
and chartered accountants. Post
loan sanction, the monitoring is
weaker than at private banks due
to lack of expertise and modern
tech resources. Officers retire
before they can be booked for
fraud. Weak selection process and
lower pay than at private banks are
among key reasons. PSB staff are
not offered appropriate incentives
to prevent or detect frauds early.
m MINT SHORT
Greta Thunberg named ‘Time’ person of the year
BLOOMBERG
THURSDAY, DECEMBER 12, 2019
LIVEMINT.COM
DOLLAR
₹70.84
₹0.09
Number of cases
Fraud amount (in  cr)
41,167 71,543
India Russia
FY18 FY19
Source: Financial Soundness Indicators, IMF, finance ministry, RBI
PARAS JAIN/MINT
Why is the incidence
2 of fraud increasing?
Studies have shown that
fraudsters, big and small, are able
to take undue advantage of a
number of well-documented
weaknesses in the system. The
central bank has an early warning
signals system but, as had
happened in the Nirav Modi case,
PSBs do not always take advantage
of it. Former RBI governor Urjit
Patel made a presentation at
Stanford University in June that
showed most of the frauds are
related to loans and occur due to
poor operational risk management
and ineffective internal audits at
state-owned banks. These banks
apply little risk analysis or due
diligence.
3 Are frauds related to non-
performing assets (NPAs)?
A 2016 study by the Indian Institute of
Management, Bangalore, found a
correlation between rising frauds and
NPAs, which indicates lack of requisite
standards of corporate governance,
leading to more instances of loan defaults
involving over ₹1 crore. The study said
this is suggestive of collusion between
corporate entities and top PSB officials.
5 What should be done
to prevent frauds?
There is little deterrence for
fraudsters as conviction rates are
low due to the lack of specialized
financial sleuths. PSBs should set
up an internal rating agency for
stringent evaluation of big-ticket
projects before sanctioning loans.
Banks must evaluate projects on
the basis of the business model
and not get influenced by the
brand name or creditworthiness of
the parent firm. Strict punitive
steps for bank staff and others who
collude with fraudsters can help.
Puja Mehra is a Delhi-based
journalist.
AFP
feedback@livemint.com
NEW YORK
G
reta Thunberg, the Swedish teen-
ager who became the voice of con-
science for a generation facing the
climate change emergency, was announced
on Wednesday as Time magazine’s 2019 Per-
son of the Year.
The 16-year-old first hit the headlines for
her solo strike against global warming out-
side Sweden’s parliament last year.
“We can’t just continue living as if there
was no tomorrow, because there is a tomor-
VOL. 13 NO.
EURO GOLD OIL
₹78.58 ₹37,564 $64.03
₹0.06 ₹26 $0.31
QUICK EDIT
Facebook
says no
It’s a rare intelligence agent
who does not want access to all
that you have revealed about
yourself online. The itchier the
fingers of spooks get, the more
social media users worry about
being spied upon. Of late, Face-
book Inc. has been displaying
greater sensitivity to the market
need for privacy. The unique
selling proposition of its chat
platform, WhatsApp, after all, is
its end-to-end encryption,
which ensures that messages
can only be read on the devices
95,760
of the sender and the recipient.
It is in Facebook’s own interest,
therefore, that it has turned
down a plea from the US attor-
5,743
ney general, William Barr, to let
the US government access and
decrypt messages. The authori-
ties wanted data access to fight
H1 FY20 # crime, but Facebook’s stance is
that getting rid of encryption
would turn its users vulnerable
to malicious actors online.
The social media company’s
argument has merit. Why
expose all WhatsApp users for
the sake of identifying just a few
evil-doers? Private communi-
cation goes back to the early
days of the human species.
Conversation helped us evolve.
Today, we use the internet to
converse. If confidentiality is
taken away, we could lose big
part of what makes us human.
MINT METRIC
by Bibek Debroy
We may not give a fig
To crossing a monkey with a pig.
The Chinese chimera sounds vile,
But as humanity turns senile,
For longevity, the idea can be big.
QUOTE OF THE DAY
We knew our dream well and
we had the right things, but
how to win is where we went
wrong. We should have never
gone to the commuter bike
side.
ANAND MAHINDRA
CHAIRMAN OF
MAHINDRA GROUP
row. That is all we are saying,” Thunberg
told Time.
The magazine interviewed Thunberg
aboard the sailboat that took her from the US
to Europe after a hectic 11-week North
American trip to several US cities and
Canada.
Thunberg has taken her disarmingly
straightforward message—“listen to the sci-
entists”—to global decision-makers, accus-
ing them of inaction.
The Swedish activist was in Madrid as the
award was announced, at a UN climate
forum tasked with saving the world from
runaway global warming.
 FLIP SIDE

EU puts environment at
centre of economic future
The ‘Green Deal’ will be presented by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. REUTERS

Ewa Krukowska & Jonathan Stearns earlier this year by a fragmented European Parliament. The
BRUSSELS assembly’s political groups, which differ on everything
from data protection to migration, largely united behind

E
urope is set to stake its economic future on an envi- her environmental program.
ronmental clean-up that will overhaul the way the Following a debt crisis that almost shattered the euro, a
world’s biggest single market polices businesses and Middle East migration wave that rattled governments and
manages trade relations. a populist uprising that helped propel Brexit, the grand
The new order to be outlined by the European Union on plan to green the economy may be seen as a way to “give
Wednesday in Brussels will centre on a goal to eliminate by new purpose and unity to the EU,” Jonathan Gaventa at
mid-century the bloc’s net discharges of greenhouse gases. environmental think tank E3G wrote in a research note.
Such pollutants cause the more frequent heatwaves, The first actual step on the road to net-zero emissions
storms and floods tied to climate change. will be a proposal due in February to enshrine the 2050 cli-
Under the “Green Deal” being presented by European mate-neutrality goal in European law and make it irreversi-
Commission President Ursula von der Leyen less than two ble, according to an EU document seen by Bloomberg.
weeks after she took office, the EU transition to climate The climate neutrality target may get the political green
neutrality would start next year and involve: stricter emis- light from EU government heads when they meet this
sion limits for industries from cars to chemicals; revamped Thursday and Friday in the Belgian capital. In a bid to avert
energy taxes; new rules on subsidies for companies; a veto by a group of eastern European countries led by
greener farming; and a possible environmental import tax. Poland, which relies on high-polluting coal for energy, the
Everything from finance to the design of cities would need commission intends to propose a €100-billion ($111 billion)
to become more sustainable. tool to help finance the economic transition in the most
“The message is: Europe is prepared to put its money affected regions. Warsaw has estimated the shift would
where its mouth is,” said Peter Vis, a cost Poland more than €500 billion until
former top EU climate official who is now EU aims to eliminate 2050.
a senior adviser at Rud Pedersen Public
Affairs in Brussels. “The commission is by mid-century LEGISLATIVE FRENZY
putting the green transition upfront as the bloc’s net The EU government heads have a political
Europe’s new growth strategy. That is incentive on the global front to weigh in
new. That is significant.” discharges of this week, when talks are wrapping up at
As it seeks to create an environmental greenhouse gases a high-level United Nations climate con-
profit motive for businesses across the ference in Madrid.
board, the EU also aims to spur action worldwide and “An EU agreement on climate neutrality would encour-
uphold the landmark Paris Agreement to fight global age competition for ambition worldwide,” said Isabella
warming. The US has turned its back on the accord and Alloisio, a researcher at the Florence School of Regulation,
other major emitters, including China, India and Japan, part of the European University Institute.
have so far failed to translate their Paris pledges into the In the ensuing months, the Green Deal legislative frenzy
necessary domestic actions. will include a plan to tighten the EU emissions-reduction
“The commission is essentially proposing a complete target for 2030 from the current 40% to 50% or even 55%,
transformation of the European economy, starting with a compared with 1990 levels.
shift in policy priorities from growth toward sustainabil- Much more will follow in 2021, when draft laws are due
ity,” said Dimitris Valatsas, a London-based analyst at to upgrade Europe’s goals for deriving energy from renew-
Greenmantle LLC, an advisory firm. “It’s hard to think of able sources and improving energy efficiency. That’s the
any European asset class that will not be affected by this.” timetable too for proposals to revise European energy taxa-
While von der Leyen’s package will pave the way for tion, widen the EU cap-and-trade market for pollution per-
months of lobbying and political fighting over a slew of mits (covering power plants, factories and airlines) to
underlying draft laws still in the works, the EU policymak- include shipping, and reduce the number of free carbon-
ing establishment is confident it has support on the street. dioxide-emission allowances that carriers receive.
Climate protection has risen on the EU agenda as people’s The year after next is also when the commission aims to
concerns about the risks of failing to act have grown, with propose an environmental import tax—one of the most
93% of Europeans regarding global warming as a serious controversial ideas. The so-called carbon border adjust-
problem. ment mechanism would seek to ensure that European
For von der Leyen, the first woman to the lead the Brus- manufacturers have a level playing field with competitors
sels-based commission, the 28-nation EU’s executive arm, based in countries without emission curbs. BLOOMBERG
the Green Deal helped ensure she was approved for the job feedback@livemint.com

BINGE ON
How to self-consciously uncouple
Noah Baumbach’s divorce-drama Marriage Story has enough comedy as
well as emotional warfare and tough legal procedures

N
oah Baumbach’s new film, Marriage Story,
starts with the end of a marriage. Charlie
(played by Adam Driver) is a director in the
world of off-Broadway theatre, and Nicole (Scarlett
Johansson), a former teenage actor, is a leading stage
performer. The couple lives in Brooklyn with an
eight-year-old son, Henry. On the surface, they have
made it. But Nicole is unhappy. She resents moving
to New York from Los Angeles, where she grew up, to
take care of their child and her husband’s ego.
Though the film documents the messy separation of
a once-perfect couple, it shows with great care how
and why Charlie and Nicole drifted apart and why
they can’t turn back. It’s a true tear-jerker, with
enough love and some humour thrown in the mix.

Write to us at businessoflife @livemint.com

POOJA SINGH

PEANUTS by Charles M. Schulz

 NEW DELHI, MUMBAI, BENGALURU, KOLKATA, CHENNAI, AHMEDABAD, HYDERABAD, CHANDIGARH*, PUNE*
Citizenship bill clears Rajya
Sabha test in big win for BJP
Bill passed with 125 votes in favour and 105 against it, with the Shiv Sena deciding to walk out
Anuja & Shaswati Das
NEW DELHI
I
n a historic move, Parlia-
ment on Wednesday gave
its assent to the Citizenship
(Amendment) Bill, 2019 as
it passed the Rajya Sabha
test even as violent public pro-
tests broke out in the north-
eastern states of Assam and
Tripura over opposition to the
bill.
The controversial legisla-
tion, which has been fiercely
resisted by opposition parties
for being unconstitutional and
discriminatory, will now need
President Ram Nath Kovind’s
assent for it to become law.
The bill was approved by the
Lok Sabha on Tuesday where
the ruling National Demo-
cratic Alliance (NDA) govern-
ment is in a majority.
During voting in the Rajya
Sabha, 125 votes went in favour
of the bill and 105 against it.
Despite NDA being in a minor-
ity in the upper House, the bill
DON’T MISS
Steep hike in penalties for
violating air safety rules
THURSDAY, DECEMBER 12, 2019
LIVEMINT.COM
m MINT GRAPHITI
LANDMARK DAY, SAYS MODI
Today marks a
dark day in the
constitutional
history of India. The
passage of the bill
marks the victory of
bigoted forces over
India’s pluralism.
SONIA GANDHI
Congress president
A landmark day for India and our nation’s
ethos of compassion and brotherhood!...
This Bill will alleviate the suffering of many who
faced persecution for years.
NARENDRA MODI, Prime Minister
received support from friendly
parties including the AIADMK,
which has 11 MPs in the Rajya
Sabha, while the Shiv Sena
walked out before voting com-
menced.
“This bill is not to hurt any-
one or person of any religion.
There will be no injustice
Which telecom operator has
P5 the cheapest tariffs now? P5
Nobody is
taking citizenship
away from India’s
Muslims. This is a
bill to give
citizenship, not
take citizenship
away.
AMIT SHAH
Home minister
caused to the Muslims of our
country. CAB will not hurt citi-
zenship of Muslims. It is about
granting citizenship and not
taking away their citizenship,”
Union home minister Amit
Shah said in the upper House.
In an apparent attempt to
justify the intention of the bill,
Joint House panel to study
data protection bill: Prasad P16
VOL. 13 NO. 297
HOW RS VOTED
BESIDES BJP and its allies,
the bill was supported by
AIADMK, BJD, TDP and
YSR-Congress.
THE RAJYA Sabha
earlier rejected motions
to send the bill to a
select committee
THE HOUSE also
rejected several
amendments moved by
opposition members.
Shah said earlier in the day:
“Should the Muslims of Paki-
stan be made citizens? Should
Muslims from Bangladesh and
Afghanistan and the rest of the
world also be given citizen-
ship? The country cannot run
like this.”
The bill aims to provide citi-
The 10 landmark events that
defined the past decade
Rs 5.00 IN DELHI-NCR; Rs 6.00 OUTSIDE DELHI-NCR. PRICE WITH HINDUSTAN TIMES Rs 9.50 (FOR DELHI & NCR)
THE FUTURE IS HERE
5G WILL ALTER HOW WE ENGAGE
WITH TECH: ONEPLUS CEO uP6
zenship to “any person belong-
ing to Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist,
Jain, Parsi or Christian com-
munity from Afghanistan,
Bangladesh or Pakistan, who
entered into India on or before
31 December, 2014”. The gov-
ernment has pitched it as citi-
zenship for minority commu-
nities forced to seek shelter in
India because of religious per-
secution or its fear in their
home countries.
Q
The debate in the Rajya
Sabha, which lasted more than
seven hours, largely focused
on the opposition parties ques-
tioning the constitutional
validity of the proposed
amendments, reasons behind
the choice of only three coun-
tries and the cut-off date, dis-
crimination against Muslims,
seeing the bill in conjunction
TURN TO PAGE 17
FULL COVERAGE INSIDE
¢Long Story: New fault lines P8
¢N-E erupts in protest P18
P17
INDIA’S JUSTICE SYSTEM
LETS WOMEN DOWN
Gautam Adani, chairman of
Adani Group. REUTERS
Qatar to invest
$450 million in
Adani’s Mumbai
power business
Tanya Thomas
tanya.t@livemint.com
MUMBAI
atar Investment
Authority (QIA) is
investing $450 mil-
lion (about ₹3,200
crore) in Adani Electricity
Mumbai Ltd (AEML), the flag-
ship power transmission asset
of billionaire Gautam Adani.
Adani Transmission Ltd
(ATL), the parent of AEML,
said in a stock exchange filing
that the investment is for
AEML’s 25.1% stake and subor-
dinated debt. It did not pro-
vide the quantum of equity
and debt.
As part of the transaction,
Adani Transmission and QIA
have also agreed that more
than 30% of the electricity
TURN TO PAGE 5
PLAIN
FACTS
Tweaks to non-banks
liquidity scheme, IBC
get cabinet’s approval
Gireesh Chandra Prasad
& Shreya Nandi
NEW DELHI
T
he Union cabinet on
Wednesday moved to
prevent frivolous bank-
ruptcy filings and shield
potential bidders from the
crimes of previous manage-
ments, besides liberalizing a
budget initiative to boost
liquidity for non-bank lenders.
Financial creditors such as
homebuyers and bondholders
represented by an autho-
rized representative will
now have to meet an
additional threshold—
which is yet to be speci-
fied—to take a company to
bankruptcy courts. The large
number of such creditors and
the existing low threshold of ₹1
lakh exposure had made many
corporate debtors vulnerable
to bankruptcy cases even for
the slightest delays.
A statement issued after the
cabinet meeting said the idea
was to prevent frivolous trig-
gering of the corporate insol-
vency resolution process. A
bill to amend the Insolvency
NOTE TO READERS The Media Marketing Initiatives on
Page 11 and the two-page pull-out are the equivalent of paid-for
advertisements and no Mint journalists were involved in creating
them. Readers would do well to treat them as advertisements.
22 PAGES
uP2
and Bankruptcy Code (IBC)
may specify the additional
threshold or enable the gov-
ernment to notify it subse-
quently.
The change is expected to
deter creditors, who have
aggressively used IBC as a loan
recovery tool.
The second major change is
to ring-fence a company
undergoing bankruptcy pro-
ceedings so that a successful
bidder bringing in the much-
needed investment to turn it
around is protected from
criminal proceedings
against offences commit-
ted by the previous
management and pro-
moters. Mint reported on
2 December that IBC will
soon be the final word on mat-
ters relating to the rescue of
sinking companies, despite
investigating agencies probing
fraud by their owners and
executives claiming company
assets.
The amendments will make
IBC prevail over other laws
including the Prevention of
Money Laundering Act.
TURN TO PAGE 16
02 THURSDAY, 12 DECEMBER 2019
NEW DELHI
PLAIN
FACTS

JUSTICE SYSTEM LETS WOMEN DOWN

Despite efforts to expedite trial in cases of sexual violence against women, a huge backlog remains which could be eroding trust in the police and the law
Sneha Alexander &
m MINT GRAPHITI
ment over 2016, but signifi- Chart 1a Chart 2 Chart 3
Vishnu Padmanabhan cantly worse than the 2001 fig- Police are closing rape cases Delhi and Jharkhand have the biggest relative Courts in eastern India have the highest rate
ures. (See charts 1a and 1b) faster now but slower than in 2001 backlog on crimes against women of pendency for all crimes
MUMBAI/NEW DELHI This pendency persists even
after concerted efforts to expe- Pendency rate in police investigations* (in %) Cases pending* in police investigations at the end of 2017 (in %) Cases pending* in courts at the end of 2017 (in %)

S
even years after the dite rape cases. For instance, Rape Crimes against women IPC crimes
crime, the infamous the Delhi gangrape in 2012 40 Seven states with highest pendency^
Delhi gangrape case triggered several initiatives to 29.3 Manipur Arunachal Pradesh
labours on in the prioritize resolving rape cases. 30 25.3 Meghalaya Meghalaya
Supreme Court with They may have had an Assam West Bengal
the filing of a fresh review peti- immediate effect with pend- Jharkhand Manipur
tion. In the Unnao case, the rape ency rate for rape cases falling 20 Delhi Bihar
victim was killed before the between 2012 and 2013. How- Punjab Odisha
All IPC crimes Tamil Nadu Gujarat
final verdict. In India, justice, ever, the pendency rate on 10
even in high-profile cases of rape cases is no better than the Seven states with lowest pendency
rape, can take time. The delays pendency for other crimes. 0
Haryana Haryana
hurt victims and affect the soci- Even the fast-track courts 2001 2017
Chhattisgarh Telangana
ety by eroding trust in institu- established to expedite cases Mizoram Punjab
tions and increasing the clam- have a pendency problem. Madhya Pradesh Mizoram
Chart 1b Gujarat Nagaland
our for extrajudicial justice. Though the government pro-
Cases of rape posed establish- In the courts, the backlog of Sikkim Sikkim
Rajasthan Andhra Pradesh
in India fell in Delays in justice ing 1,800 fast- rape cases is even higher 0 20 40 60 80 100 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100
2017 to 52 inci- hurt victims, track courts, only Pendency rate in courts* (in %) *Pending cases at the end of the year as a share of total cases. ^Arranged in the order of pendency for crimes against women
dents per million eroding trust in 700 are opera- 87.5 Chart 4 Chart 5
women from 63 institutions and tional with the 88
in 2016, accord- total number of
Women trust the police Most cops believe violence towards criminals is justified, with
increasing dem- All IPC crimes slightly less than men do about one-fifths believing even killing them is acceptable
ing to the latest pending cases in 86
available data and for extra- these courts 86.5 Level of trust in police force* (in %) Police* agreeing/disagreeing with statements (in %)
from the National judicial justice standing at Highly trust Somewhat trust
84 Agree Disagree No response
Crime Records around 700,000. 82.4 Somewhat distrust Highly distrust
Bureau (NCRB). Police and Non-committal Police being violent towards
However, this figure is likely to courts take time to process all 82 criminals is justified 75 21 4
82.3 Rape 9 2 61
be an underestimate. An ear- crimes against women, not just 22 25
lier Plain Facts analysis had rape cases. As law enforce- 80 22
23 Killing dangerous criminals
estimated that 99% of cases of ment is a state subject, the time Women Men
is better than legal trials 19 78 3
sexual violence in India go taken to process the crimes,
unreported (bit.ly/2Pzh6Vf). which include acid attacks and
78 44 *Based on responses from 11,834 police personnel
2001 2017 46
Even when rapes are dowry deaths, can vary signifi- *Pending cases at the end of the year as a share of total cases *Based on responses from 7,081 women and 8,482 men. Source: National Crime Records Bureau, State of Policing in India (2018), Common Cause and CSDS
reported, their resolution is cantly across India. For
AHMED RAZA KHAN/MINT
delayed. Like with any crime, instance, police forces in
rape-related crimes are first Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh instance, has a minor pend- also among the most under- women, which could have false and motivated. Little police force believes that strated, this is a view shared by
dealt with by police and then and Gujarat seem to be the ency issue, but also the lowest staffed in the country increased the caseload for wonder then that women trust extrajudicial killings and vio- even those outside the police.
by courts. Both processes can most efficient at disposing of levels of gender crimes (bit.ly/2LJtFMO). (See chart 3) both the police and courts. the police less than men. In a lence towards criminals are The 2018 CSDS survey sug-
be slow. According to NCRB both crimes against women reported among Indian states. Understaffing is a major There may also be differences 2018 survey on police percep- justified. The 2019 CSDS sur- gested that 50% of all Indians
data, 29% of all cases of rape in and general crimes. In con- (See chart 2) driver of pendency in both in how gender crimes are tions, CSDS found that 66% of vey found that 19% of police believe there is nothing wrong
India at the end of 2017 were trast, the police in Jharkhand, In courts, pendency is a big courts and police forces. How- treated. A 2019 survey of women said they trusted the personnel believe that killing with violence towards crimi-
unresolved by police. The Delhi and Punjab are among issue in every state, but courts ever, for crimes against police personnel across India police compared to 71% of dangerous criminals was bet- nals. As police and courts
court backlog was worse. the worst at processing crimes in eastern India, such as West women, there could be other by the Centre for the Study of men. (See chart 4) ter than a legal trial, while 75% strain under a backlog, and
Nearly 88% of all rape cases in against women, compared to Bengal and Odisha, suffer factors. The Criminal Law Developing Societies (CSDS), Delays in the system could feel that violence towards women continue to suffer, the
courts were pending resolu- other crimes. The differences, from bigger backlogs for both (Amendment) Act in 2013 shows that around 20% of all also be encouraging support criminals was justified. (See clamour for extrajudicial jus-
tion in 2017. These figures, though, could reflect levels of crimes against women and expanded the definition of personnel believe that gender- for extrajudicial justice. A sig- chart 5): as reactions to the tice could get stronger.
however, were an improve- reporting in states. Gujarat, for other crimes. These courts are sexual violence crimes against based violence complaints are nificant proportion of India’s Hyderabad encounter demon- sneha.a@livemint.com

m FOOTBALL DASHBOARD Why softer language matters in job ads

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10. Marcus Rashford Manchester United 16 10 4 0.73 EPL in job postings encourages broadening words such as “flu- ads where the language was a dissuading factor and may
11. Rouwen Hennings Fortuna Duesseldorf 14 10 0 0.56 Bundesliga more applications and can ency” to more general terms simplified reduced the gender lead to under-reporting of
12. Romelu Lukaku Inter 15 10 0 0.67 Serie A even help reduce the gender such as “experience” to indi- skill gap by generating more skills, especially among
skill gap between male and cate knowledge of language applications from equally-cre- women candidates.
13. João Pedro Cagliari 15 10 0 0.35 Serie A female applicants. skills dentialed women. Also read: Words Matter:
14. Moussa Dembele Lyon 16 10 0 0.4 Ligue 1 In the study, researchers At an overall level, simpli- The study highlights the Experimental Evidence from
15. Sergio Agüero Manchester City 12 9 2 0.94 EPL Lisa Abraham and Alison fied job postings witnessed a importance of perceptions Job Applications
Stein, use 616 job postings for 7% increase in the number of among job seekers when they (bit.ly/34a0LeT)
xG90 is the expected goals per 90 minutes for a player. Expected goals (xG) is a relatively new metric that measures the quality of chances created in a football match.
If a player has a xG90 of 0.5, this implies that, based on the shots he takes during a game, he is expected to score 0.5 goals every 90 minutes (or 1 goal every 2 games). Uber’s US corporate offices. responding applicants. While assess their suitability for a Snap Fact features new and
*Bundesliga, EPL, La Liga, Ligue 1 and Serie A. The postings, which were applications from women can- position. The researchers interesting reads from the
open for a four-month period didates went up by 5%, male argue that the choice of words world of research.
EUROPE’S BEST CLUBS
Comparing team quality across leagues is always difficult but one useful tool is an Elo rating. In the Elo system, which is
famously used for ranking chess players, each player or team is assigned a ranking based on their performance against other
players/teams. Points are awarded and deducted for victories based on rankings. A lowly-ranked team upsetting a
higher-ranked team will result in a large point addition for the winner while the loser will lose more points. In these Elo ratings
for European football clubs, calculated by clubelo.com, each club is assigned a rating, which is updated after every match
they play. The higher the rating the better the club. The table below shows how Europe's five highest-rated clubs fared in the
past year.
m NEWS IN NUMBERS CORRECTIONS AND
CLARIFICATIONS
REUTERS

2100
Liverpool Manchester City Barcelona Bayern Munich Juventus $5.2 billion 1 Mint welcomes comments,
What is it? The economic cost of What is it? The suggestions or complaints
Indonesia’s 2019 forest fires, according to number of Indian about errors.

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burned more than 2.3 million acres of World Tour Finals paper by emailing us, with your
forests and lands, the worst since the 2015 in China from full name and address to
2000
1992 pts South-East Asian haze. The fires and the 11-15 December. feedback@livemint.com.
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in direct damages and $5 billion in important? The It is our policy to promptly
respond to all complaints.
1950 economic activities—that included closing eight contestants in the tournament are Readers dissatisfied with the
airports and schools due to smog. The selected based on the points scored that response or concerned about
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1891 pts Tell me more: In Indonesia this year, more win in this year’s World Championships. sending an email to
than 885,000 people reported having Tell me more: India had started off the asktheeditor@livemint.com

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11 Dec 2018 11 Dec 2019 haze. and Srikanth Kidambi. Conduct that governs our
All data as of 11 December 2019, 4pm. newsroom is available at
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 DEALS THURSDAY, 12 DECEMBER 2019
NEW DELHI 03

CLICK MOMENT 3one4 Capital raises Fresh produce startup

There was one moment when fate turned their way, a Ninjacart raises funds
moment that they can look back upon and say, that
was when it started. Capturing click moments.
₹445 cr across 2 funds from Walmart, Flipkart
“We raised debt
Nandita Mathur
from NBFCs on a
Firm raises ₹400 cr for opportunity fund and a ₹45 cr seed stage fund nandita.m@livemint.com
pay-per-mile-basis” NEW DELHI

M. Sriram

I
ndia’s largest online retailer
VIVEKANANDA sriram.m@livemint.com Flipkart and global retail
HALLEKERE MUMBAI major Walmart Inc. have
Co-founder and CEO, Bounce
jointly invested an undisclosed

V
enture capital firm amount in Bengaluru-based
3one4 Capital, backed fresh produce startup Ninjac-
by former Infosys execu- Tesla’s art. Walmart, which also owns
German
tive T.V. Mohandas Pai, plant to
Flipkart, said the move will
has raised ₹445 crore produce 5 ensure the Indian farmer gets

B
ounce started operations 13 months ago as a dock- across two funds, indicating contin- lakh cars a more economic opportunities,
less scooter sharing company. In India, only 18% ued interest in early-stage investing year: Report while retailers and consumers Thirukumaran Nagarajan, co-
have access to personal mobility, while the rest in the Indian startup ecosystem. bit.ly/35eR3tg get better access to high-qual- founder and CEO, Ninjacart
depend on broken modes of commute. Cabs are not The firm has raised ₹400 crore for ity fresh produce.
affordable to more than 90% of the population and public an opportunity fund, Continuum I, Partnering with Ninjacart uses big data, predictive ana-
transport is either not scaled or non-existent in most cities. targeted at investing selectively in will allow Walmart and Flip- lytics, mobile applications and
Therefore, there is a lot of latent demand, and Bounce has the best-performing portfolio com- kart to strengthen direct sour- the Internet of Things for its
been able to scale massively. In just 13 months, we have panies, and a ₹45-crore seed stage cing of fresh produce for Wal- supply chain connecting farm-
crossed 10 million rides, or more than 100,000 daily rides. fund, Rising I, for fresh investments, mart India’s Best Price B2B ers to retailers through over
However, in a country of more than a billion people, we 3one4 Capital founding partner Pra- cash-and-carry stores, and 200 collection centres and
need millions of scooters to truly make mobility funda- nav Pai said. 3one4 Capital founding partners Pranav and Siddharth Pai. The VC firm is Flipkart’s online grocery busi- 1,200 warehouses. It claims to
mental. How do we increase supply without billions of dol- Mint had reported on 6 February backed by their father, former Infosys executive T.V. Mohandas Pai. ness, Supermart, the compa- transport over 1,400 tonnes of
lars in investment? India is not a demand-constrained that 3one4 is raising a ₹350 crore nies said in a statement on fresh produce daily, and dou-
market. To be a successful mobility player, what matters opportunities fund. This fund has achieved critical mass and now sup- Open, and HR tool Darwinbox. Wednesday. The deal is bled its volumes in the last four
is supply and the cost of supply. Scooter rental models out- now been oversubscribed to ₹400 ports the development of market- 3one4 raised its first fund of ₹100 expected to close by the end of months.
side India have taken the approach of buying the vehicle crore. leading businesses at scale. These crore in 2016, and a ₹250-crore sec- 2019. Ninjacart’s CEO and
with equity money. We did not want to do this as we felt Continuum will write cheques of companies combine deep domain ond fund in early 2018. The investment will also co-founder Thirukumaran
this model of buying a depreciating asset using equity $3-5 million in existing portfolio expertise, sustainable competitive A number of domestic and inter- help Ninjacart Nagarajan said
money is not scalable. firms in their Series B rounds, and advantages, and uncompromising national venture capital funds are grow its customer Partnering with the support of
We wanted a solution for millions of scooters on our beyond, while Rising I could invest customer experiences to build a currently mopping up India-focused base and reach Ninjacart will Flipkart and Wal-
platform and not just a few thousands. We believe India’s between $100,000 and $1 million as gravity well around themselves,” said early stage funds. Accel, an early new cities. allow Walmart mart will let the
market complexity makes it more amenable with decen- the first cheque (seed) in a startup. Siddarth Pai, also founding partner backer of startups such as Flipkart, “As a home- and Flipkart to startup explore
tralization and local ownership. We had to innovate and The new limited partners (LPs), or at 3one4 Capital. Swiggy and UrbanClap, raised $550 grown e-com- new possibilities
strengthen
create a symbiotic ecosystem of financiers, partners, and investors in the fund, are Emory The firm is managed by Mohandas million for its sixth India focused merce company, to improve the
vendors. This is where vehicle financing as opposed to Investment Manage- fund earlier this it is in our DNA to direct sourcing of lives of farmers,
owning the asset makes it a win-win proposition for all ment, a large US INVESTMENT ROADMAP month. Similarly, drive change and fresh produce retailers and res-
stakeholders. One of the ways we are innovating on our endowment that India Quotient, an solve complex taurant partners.
financing is by raising debt from captive original equip- manages the assets of THE opportunity RISING, the seed THE LPs include US- early backer of start- local problems This deal reso-
ment manufacturer non-banks on a pay-per-mile-basis. Emory University, fund, Continuum, will stage fund, could
invest $3-5 million invest between
based Emory, Japan’s
Sojitz, and Narayana
ups such as regional in-house through technol- nates well with Walmart’s aim
Mobility as a service is a natural fit for manufacturers Emory Healthcare in portfolio firms in $100,000 and Murthy’s Catamaran, language social net- ogy.... we have focused on cre- to source a quarter of produce
who have seen that the next generation rely less on private and The Carter Cen- Series B and beyond $1 mn in startups among others work ShareChat and ating the right infrastructure, for its Best Price cash-and-
vehicles and are facing a downward trend in sales. We ter; Sojitz, a Japanese digital lender Lend- supporting local farmers, pro- carry stores directly from
have also been able to get debt from investors in the US corporation; Catama- ingkart, has closed its ducers and food processors, farmers by 2023.
and Japan at very low interest. We are now in the process ran Ventures, former Infosys CEO Pai’s sons Pranav and Siddarth. third fund of $60 million and is rais- and building sustainability “Our partnership with Nin-
of creating instruments that will help the bearer be a part Narayana Murthy’s private invest- 3one4 plans to invest in automa- ing a $40 million opportunities fund, into the ecosystem, all while jacart will help us create more
of the growing Indian micro-mobility story, while the high ment arm; and Infina, a private tion, media and content develop- Mint reported on 20 November. creating thousands of new jobs opportunities for smallholder
resale value of vehicles because of their quality and a ready investment company owned by the ment, fintech, and health. Other new The fundraise also indicates a and bringing quality, conve- farmers while improving
second-hand market will insure their investment against Kotak family; besides other Indian sectors it is looking at include agri- largely positive environment for nience and value to consum- access to high-quality produce
any risk. institutions and family offices. tech and logistics, Pranav Pai said. startups and investors in India for ers,” said Kalyan Krishnamur- for our members...,” said Krish
“At 3one4, we firmly believe that Its current portfolio includes meat most of this year, although driven thy, CEO, Flipkart Group. Iyer, president and CEO, Wal-
the Indian startup ecosystem has delivery firm Licious, “neo-bank” only by a few select investors. Founded in 2015, Ninjacart mart India.
04 THURSDAY, 12 DECEMBER 2019
NEW DELHI MARK TO MARKET

S&P BSE Sensex Nifty 50 Nifty 500 Nifty Next 50 Nifty 100 S&P BSE Mid-cap S&P BSE Small Cap
CLOSE PERCENT CHANGE CLOSE PERCENT CHANGE CLOSE PERCENT CHANGE CLOSE PERCENT CHANGE CLOSE PERCENT CHANGE CLOSE PERCENT CHANGE CLOSE PERCENT CHANGE

40,412.57 0.43 11,910.15 0.45 9,636.25 0.43 27,594.25 0.48 11,999.95 0.45 14,595.45 0.52 13,146.61 0.01
PREVIOUS CLOSE OPEN PREVIOUS CLOSE OPEN PREVIOUS CLOSE OPEN PREVIOUS CLOSE OPEN PREVIOUS CLOSE OPEN PREVIOUS CLOSE OPEN PREVIOUS CLOSE OPEN

40,239.88 40,285.20 11,856.80 11,867.35 9,595.40 9,605.60 27,463.65 27,509.70 11,945.80 11,957.75 14,519.78 14,552.88 13,145.27 13,161.80
HIGH LOW HIGH LOW HIGH LOW HIGH LOW HIGH LOW HIGH LOW HIGH LOW

40,466.13 40,135.37 11,923.20 11,832.30 9,645.95 9,574.85 27,629.10 27,347.30 12,013.30 11,918.95 14,608.50 14,493.41 13,182.17 13,103.54

m SHORT TAKES
EM or DM?
Why a recovery in commercial
vehicle sales is still proving elusive
Emerging markets are seen to outperform
developed ones in all asset classes.
Developed markets Emerging markets

34 34
29

20 Vatsala Kamat viability of operations. As a result, freight rates as on 1

18 18 18
vatsala.k@livemint.com This does not look encouraging in
December on key routes contracted
No takers Rental on
1 December
Change
(in ) (month-on-month in %)
the near term. India’s core sector out-
from a month ago. That apart, rates With weak

T
he mood is far from upbeat put, which makes up 40% of the over-
have been trending down almost cargo 86,500 -2
Delhi-Mumbai-Delhi
movement
Currencies Bonds Stocks in the commercial vehicle all Index of Industrial Production, fell
through 2019, barring some improve-
and a
Survey of 57 investors, traders and strategists. Total numbers IIFL bets on (CV) industry. Within this 5.8% in October from a year ago. ment in sales seen in festive season in slowdown in Delhi-Nagpur-Delhi
vary as not all surveyed responded to all questions India’s
category, the truck seg- Prolonged weakness in sectors October. 85,000 -1.5
Source: Bloomberg beleaguere economic
d financial ment (medium and heavy such as automobiles, home sales and Meanwhile, a slowdown in govern- activity,
SATISH KUMAR/MINT sector CVs or M&HCVs) is among the worst- consumer goods, along with a liquid-
ment capital expenditure also implies medium Delhi-Kolkata-Delhi 83,200 -1.5
bit.ly/35aMfVv hit by the economic slowdown. ity crunch, is now mirrored in weak
lower utilization of trucks for the and heavy
Data from the Soci- infrastructure sector. commercial
The $11 trillion EM rally ety of Indian Automo- SLOWDOWN PANGS Latest data from the vehicle Delhi-Chennai-Delhi 1,17,000 -2
has big backing for 2020 bile Manufacturers Federation of Dealers’ truck rentals
have been
shows that M&HCV M&HCV production PAUSE in capex and HEADWINDS are still Association shows an
falling.
Emerging markets (EMs) are about to embark production in Novem- in November dived
45.6% year-on-year,
declining freight
rates amid lower
strong and recovery
in truck sales may be
8% year-on-year con- Delhi-Kandla-Delhi 85,000 -1.5
on another year of wealth creation after adding ber plummeted 45.6% while that of overall farm production seen only by the traction in November
Source: Indian Foundation of Transport Research and Training
$11 trillion to investor portfolios in the past dec- year-on-year, while CVs fell 16.4% impacted truck sales second half of FY21 retail sales of CVs,
ade. Developing-nation assets will outperform overall CV output fell while all other seg- SANTOSH SHARMA/MINT

their developed peers, with Asia having the by 16.4%. ments showed an ond half of FY20 to beat high-cost Leyland Ltd, which has about 60% of
best prospects, according to Bloomberg’s sur- Indeed, truck manufacturers are gross domestic product growth. The increase. BS-VI truck purchases from April. its total sales from trucks, will be
vey. Total wealth in EM stocks and bonds now striving hard to trim inventory levels. Indian Foundation of Transport Mitul Shah, vice president Inventory is still too high at 35-40 worse off in terms of revenue and
exceeds $25 trillion, bigger than the economies But here are the reasons why the pain Research and Training said: “The (research) at Reliance Securities Ltd, days for manufacturers to consider margin traction.
of the US and Germany combined. in this segment will be more pro- monthly fleet utilisation in the last 18 said: “Overall retail sales were production increase. Analysts say that CV sales slow-
The US-China trade dispute will remain the longed than in other segments. months has plummeted by 30-35% impacted due to the pause on incre- There is some solace in the light CV down usually takes 7-11 quarters to
biggest driving force, while China’s growth Unlike cars and two-wheelers, on trunk routes. So, reduced round mental capex and falling freight rates segment, which posted only a mar- recover. Given that it is the fifth quar-
outlook eclipsed Federal Reserve monetary where the buyer’s decision can be trips and longer waiting period for amid lower agri-production.” ginal sales contraction of 6% in ter of slowdown and the headwinds
policy to be the second-most important factor. influenced by lower financing costs return cargo have translated into a The trend even belies expectations November. This will partially allevi- are still strong, a firm recovery in
After a wave of global easing led to more than and attractive offers, truck sales hinge 30-40% drop in monthly revenue of a spurt in BS-IV emission norms- ate the pain for Tata Motors Ltd, and truck sales may be seen only in the
$11 trillion in negative-yielding debt, the haven on revenue earned and commercial from trucks.” compliant truck purchases in the sec- Mahindra and Mahindra Ltd. Ashok second half of FY21.
pile will be less of a focus as some central banks
enter holding patterns from easier monetary
policies. BLOOMBERG

European shares open flat

ahead of Fed, UK vote Inox Leisure shareholders are Life insurers could cut some premium
European shares were little changed on
Wednesday ahead of a Federal Reserve meet-
ing, UK elections on Thursday and as China
looking at the brighter picture on valuations as stocks at tipping point
anticipates the US will delay new tariffs. The
Stoxx 600 Index moved between little gains Pallavi Pengonda Aparna Iyer tional return guarantee products. its, and growth is bound to get slow.
and losses, with telecom and media shares pallavi.p@livemint.com Good show Footfalls Occupancy (in %)
aparna.i@livemint.com “We believe that the sharp increase Given the sharp run-up in share
retreating, while the basic resources sector Inox Leisure’s (in million) (Right-hand scale) in this segment is an opportunistic prices, analysts say valuations do
footfalls have

T I
advanced the most. hings may be glum all 20 19 35 nsurance, specifically life insur- play by life insurers at a time when not price in the potential slowdown
Chinese officials expect the US to delay a tar- around, but investors grown substantially 15.6 ance company stocks, have been bank deposit rates are low. Net in growth. In fact, valuations also
over the past few
iff increase set for Sunday, which would allow are opting for a bright quarters.
16 28 on fire so far in 2019. The 41-62% returns offered to policyholders are don’t reflect potential compression
more time to negotiate a trade deal, while view of multiplex company gains the three large listed life 4-5.5% in return guarantees and in margins, they say.
White House adviser Peter Navarro said he had Inox Leisure Ltd. Among 12 21 insurers raked in so far this year even less in annuities,” Consider the stellar
no indication that President Donald Trump has other things, analysts and 29 30 sprung from the enviable business said the brokerage Valuations do not 62% rise in the stock
made a decision either on a deal or on proceed- investors are pleased that the 8 14 margins the companies reported. firm. price in potential price of largest private
ing with the hike. BLOOMBERG company has launched a loy- Growth, too, has been robust as pri- As the adjoining growth slowdown. insurer SBI Life Insur-
alty programme, Inox 4 7 vate sector insurers continued to chart shows, the They also don’t ance Co. Ltd. At this
Rewards. This will help the claw market share from public sec- pickup in growth in
Source: Company, reflect potential level, the stock trades
firm understand its viewer 0 0 tor behemoth Life Insurance Cor- new business pre- at a multiple of nearly
Diamonds disappoint better, as and when it collects
Edelweiss Research Q1 FY19 Q2 FY20
poration of India. Close on the heels mium, and even on the cut in margins, three times the esti-
De Beers has curbed its plan to expand data from customer usage, NAVEEN KUMAR SAINI/MINT of the massive rise in valuations, the basis of annualized say analysts mated embedded
diamond production over the next two years.
goes the theory. programme) is a step in the ies. The multiplex company first warning bells have been premium equivalent, value for FY21, pointed
Sales in Jan-Nov (in $ billion)
5.17 The optimism, justified or right direction and may help intends to close FY20 with sounded by analysts now. was higher in Novem- out Nomura Financial
4.85 4.85 not, has helped Inox Leisure’s drive ad revenue, cross-selling, 642 screens. Investors seem to Jefferies India Pvt. Ltd, in a note ber, largely due to a low base. Advisory and Securities India Ltd.
shares trade near their all-time and food and beverage sales. be betting on its expansion dated 8 December, said a cyclical The slowing savings rate in the That is steep in light of the slower
3.61 highs. The stock has risen Analysts are also excited and other revenue maximiza- downturn was expected in the economy could be a damper for life pace of growth and the expected
about 50% this year, and now because the company is look- tion plans. insurance sector as the allure of insurers. After all, if the overall sav- compression in margins.
trades at 28 times estimated ing to boost its occupancy As far as its financial per- bank deposits would be back once ings pie shrinks, the share of insur- To be sure, insurance penetra-
earnings for FY20. rates. “Inox is also working formance goes, for the half- the interest rate cycle turns. This ance is likely to get affected too. Add tion in India is low compared with
“It is pertinent to note here aggressively to improve occu- year ended September, the would be especially true for tradi- the returning allure for bank depos- other markets, and that will have to
that Jet Airways, pancy via alterna- company’s net box-office rev- be factored into the valuations. Still,
2016 2017 2018 2019
which shut down At the time of tive uses of its enue increased by 33% year- Coming up a slope analysts say going forward, these
Source: Company, Bloomberg recently, had announcing Q3 properties for on-year. The September quar- stocks are not likely to witness a sig-
SATISH KUMAR/MINT successfully cre- seminars, confer- ter performance was better, Private sector life insurers have seen a pickup in growth in November nificant upside. “We had lowered
results, Inox had but it was largely due to a low base.
ated a loyalty 598 screens in 68 ences, meetings, what with net box-office reve- Year-on-year growth (in %)
our growth expectations for FY20F
Diamond crisis gets worse programme, Jet
cities. It intends etc.,” said Edel- nues increasing by 51% com- New business premium Total annualized premium equivalent for select insurers (SBI Life and
Privilege, which weiss Securities pared to the corresponding 70 HDFC Life) in October and expect a
for global giant De Beers helped it raise to close FY20 with Ltd in a note on 10 quarter last year, helped by 60
Individual annualized premium equivalent
moderate growth of 4-15% for insur-
funds by unlock- 642 screens December. better movie content perform- 50
39 ers, except for HDFC Life, which we
40
Anglo American Plc curbed its plan to expand ing value and was Meanwhile, the ance. Footfall growth was 30 26 believe will have a favourable base
diamond production over the next two years instrumental in company is also strong last quarter. 20 27 from Nov-2019,” said Nomura.
after sales slumped in 2019. Anglo’s De Beers driving repeat purchase,” said on an ambitious expansion Having said this, since opti- 10
15 It is clear that from here on listed
unit will mine 1 million carats less than previ- analysts at SBICAP Securities programme. At the time of mism on the Street is already 0 7 private sector life insurers are likely
-1
ously forecast in 2020 and 2021, according to Ltd in a report on 9 December. announcing its September high, it’s imperative that Inox -10 to see sedate pace of gains in their
Nov 2018 Nov 2019
an investor presentation. That equates to less The broking firm added quarter results, Inox Leisure Leisure delivers on its high share prices. The outlook on their
Source: Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India, ICICI Securities
than 1% of global output, but slows the pace of that data collection (loyalty had 598 screens across 68 cit- growth plans. business growth, too, is similar.
the company’s expansion as an oversupply of SATISH KUMAR/MINT
rough diamonds weighs on the industry.
De Beers’s buyers have grown increasingly
frustrated with the cost of rough stones as the
price of polished gems slumps. That’s led to
wafer-thin margins and losses for some of the
traders buying stones from De Beers and Rus-
sian rival Alrosa PJSC. BLOOMBERG
Steel prices recover, but demand slowdown will continue to test nerves
Clifford Alvares growth for steel slipped into neg- ore prices, and that could be a Additionally, some of the sur-
No steely recovery
Traders buy hedges ‘like clifford.a@livemint.com ative territory in the first two A demand pickup remains elusive in the steel sector, hence sore point for the sector. “A delay plus domestic steel production is
months of Q3 FY20, recording a in the auction process is a major being diverted to the export mar-
world is about to end’ price increases may not help much.

T
he modest recovery in steel
prices in November may
US stocks have barely budged this week, but not quite reverse the for-
the calm in equities contrasts with a frenzied tunes of the sector. However, the
bout of hedging in options markets. Faced with stock market seems to be pricing
a loaded event calendar that will bring central- in a swift recovery as most steel
bank decisions, trade deadlines, a UK election stocks clocked decent gains in
and possibly an impeachment vote, traders are the last one month.
piling into protection “like the world is about Steel firms have hiked domes-
to end,” said IPS Strategic Capital head trader tic prices following a rise in inter-
Patrick Hennessy on Twitter. The S&P 500 national rates. In fact, domestic
drifted for a second straight day in thin volume. hot rolled coil steel prices have
The divergent behaviour is reminiscent of risen by about 3% in the past two
trends ahead of the Brexit referendum and US months. Prices of bars have also
elections in 2016, Hennessy said, when there increased by as much.
was a chasm between the S&P 500’s low real- But demand conditions must
ized volatility and high demand for puts rela- be viewed with a steely eye. Rat-
tive to calls. BLOOMBERG ing agency Icra Ltd said demand
fall of about 1.8% year-on-year.
“Domestic steel demand growth
has steadily decelerated through-
out the current fiscal, declining
from 6.9% YoY in Q1 FY20 to 3.1%
YoY in Q2 FY20,” it added.
Further, steel consumers such
as auto and infrastructure, con-
tinue to reel under a slowdown.
“There are no visible signs yet of
demand revival in auto and capi-
tal goods sectors and hopes are
pegged on construction demand
from the infrastructure sector as
the peak season has begun,” said
SBI Capital Markets Ltd.
One positive for the steel sec-
tor, however, is that input costs
Real consumption growth Hot rolled coil price risk to an adequate supply of iron ket, which has posted a year-on-
(year-on-year in %) (in /tonne)
10 46000 ore in the domestic market, year growth since August.
8.5
8 44000
44,000 despite few mitigating measures, Although export volumes, at
6 such as allowing warehouses for about one million tonnes per
42000
4 miners and permitting SAIL month, were not much to high-
40000 (Steel Authority of India Ltd) to light, this is helping alleviate
2 0.8
0
38000
35,800
sell low-grade ore,” said IIFL pressure on the domestic steel
-2 36000 Securities Ltd in a client note. market.
-3.4 Another factor that weighs on But a bigger demand push is
-4 34000
Nov 2018 Nov 2019 7 Dec 2018 6 Dec 2019 a global demand revival is the needed in the domestic market,
Source: SBI Capital Markets Source: Kotak Institutional Securities
China factor. Capacity expan- particularly from the infrastruc-
SANTOSH SHARMA/MINT
sions in China have been slow ture and auto sectors. So, even
are on the decline. Prices of raw the last six months. This should lately, hence, Chinese steel is not while the rise in share prices of
materials iron and coking coal help alleviate the pressure on expected to derail the steel mar- steel producers suggests an
have slipped. Iron ore, for operating margins. ket. “Expectation of a stable mar- improvement in the steel market,
instance, dropped by 15-17% over Note that the delay in auctions ket balance in China is a major ground conditions point to the
the past four months, while cok- of iron ore mines in Odisha may positive,” said Edelweiss Securi- contrary. A recovery, at best,
ing coal prices fell about 32% in lead to a spike in domestic iron ties Ltd in a client note. could be very slow and gradual.

Mark to Market writers do not have positions in the companies they have discussed here
 CORPORATE THURSDAY, 12 DECEMBER 2019
NEW DELHI 05

Fine for breaches in aircraft Who’s the cheapest of them all?

After years of plunging voice and data charges, private telecom operators hiked pre-paid tariffs
by up to 47% last week. While the move has resulted in brokerages upgrading their outlook on

safety may be hiked tenfold Bharti Airtel, Vodafone Idea and Jio’s parent RIL, what does it mean for users? Jio claims it still
offers the cheapest prices, but Vodafone and Airtel don’t have a fair usage limit on their packs.
Mint looks at how these operators' plans stack up. Their post-paid tariffs remain unchanged.

Old tariff New tariff Change

Validity
Govt moves to amend law to raise fines in wake of multiple instances of technical snags 28 days ₹169 ₹249 47% ₹149 ₹199 33% ₹199 ₹249 25%
1.5 GB/Day 1,000 FUP minutes, 1.5GB/day
Gireesh Chandra Prasad & 1.5GB/day

Biman Mukherjee 84 days ₹448 ₹598 ₹399 ₹555 ₹458 ₹599

33% 39% 31%
NEW DELHI 1.5 GB/Day 3,000 FUP minutes, 1.5GB/day
An Audi car 1.5GB/day

T
will now be
he Centre on Wednesday cheaper
decided to amend an than Apple’s
365 days ₹1,699 ₹2,398 41% ₹1,699 ₹2,199 29% ₹1,699 ₹2,399 41%
eight-decades-old law to new Mac 1.5 GB/Day 12,000 FUP minutes, 1.5 GB/Day
raise the maximum fine Pro 1.5 GB/Day
computer.
by tenfold for breaches Here’s why.
in aircraft safety. The move comes
bit.ly/36vO7st All Jio plans come with a fair usage policy (FUP) limit for calls to other networks
amid several instances of technical
Airtel, Vodafone Idea packs offer unlimited voice calls.
snags reported by airlines. Airtel's previous 169 plan offered 1GB/day.
The Aircraft (Amendment) Bill, All service providers offer at least 100 SMSs per day.
Source: Companies’ websites, Goldman Sachs
2019, raises the maximum limit of
PARAS JAIN/MINT
fine from the existing ₹10 lakh to ₹1
crore, and extends the law to all
areas of air navigation, according to
an official statement.
The amendments will also ena-
ble regulatory bodies, including the
Directorate General of Civil Avia-
tion (DGCA), the Bureau of Civil
Airbus A320neo planes using Pratt and Whitney engines are facing several on-ground and mid-air glitches.

need some more time. Meanwhile, The aircraft was cleared for take-off
MINT

The overall in-service P&W fleet

Aviation Security and the Aircraft
Accident Investigation Bureau, to
become more effective, it added.
Air safety-related issues have
recently grabbed public attention
with the Airbus A320neo planes
using Pratt and Whitney engines
facing several on-ground and mid-
air glitches. This prompted the
Retail PV sales rise marginally in
some procedures have been put in on Tuesday, a GoAir spokesman performance continues to improve
place to ensure safety. For us, for said, adding that the incident was significantly and demonstrates
the moment, it is wait and watch. caused by a glitch and not an engine high level of operational reliability,
Nov despite discounts, low base
However, as the regulator, we will problem. said an Airbus spokesperson. “For
guarantee complete safety for all GoAir is on the verge of complet- India, the P&W fleet’s operational BLOOMBERG
our travellers,” said Kumar. ing the replacement of engines reliability stands at 99.83% at a Malyaban Ghosh patches data issued by the Soci-
On Monday, an 12-month rolling malyaban.g@livemint.com ety of Indian Automobile Man-
IndiGo flight that SKY-HIGH PENALTIES average…,” said the NEW DELHI ufacturers on Tuesday, passen-
took off from Delhi spokesperson. ger vehicle wholesales fell 0.8%

DGCA to direct IndiGo and GoAir,
which use these aircraft, to install
modified engines.
DGCA is in touch with original
equipment manufacturers (OEMs),
airlines and other regulators, its
chief Arun Kumar said in an inter-
view. “We had asked the operator
to get modified engines and they
are working with OEMs. They are
racing against time and making
serious efforts to comply. They may
R
for Hyderabad THE Aircraft THE amended bill THE amendments will “P&W keeps etail sales of passenger year-on-year to 263,773 units
returned to the cap- (Amendment) Bill,
raises the maximum
also extends the law
for safety breaches
help regulator DGCA
and other aviation
updating inspec- vehicles (PVs) in India last month.
ital after the second fine from the existing to all areas of air safety bodies to be tion requirements. grew a marginal 1% year- A 10.8% drop in passenger
engine experienced ₹10 lakh to ₹1 crore navigation more effective DGCA has even on-year to 257,271 units in car sales to 160,306 contrib-
high vibrations more stringent November despite heavy dis- uted the most to the overall
mid-air, Hindustan requirements. counts from manufacturers to decline. Sales of utility vehicles
Times reported Wednesday. The with modified ones, said one per- IndiGo complies with all these rec- clear piled up inventory at though rose almost by a third
aircraft landed safely. son close to the company. IndiGo ommendations... it is engaged with dealers. from a year ago to 92,739 units.
A GoAir flight from Singapore to has to modify the engines by 31 Jan- both P&W and Airbus to provide The demand scenario Overall, retail sales of vehi-
Bengaluru had to return to Singa- uary. It may get a grace period to spare engines,” said IndiGo. underscores continued weak cles across categories rose a
pore on Monday because the cock- comply if there are practical delays P&W did not reply to emailed consumer sentiment in a coun- modest 2% to 2.10 million units
pit and cabin was smelling of oil. in procuring enough engines. queries till press time. try that grew at the slowest pace Retail sales of motorcycles in November. This was the sec-
since March 2013 in the Sep- rose 3% year-on-year. ond consecutive month of
tember quarter. The meagre increase in retail sales of auto-
pace of sales increase came in by companies to clear dealer mobiles since Fada began shar-
spite of a low base of the year- stocks aided growth. ing the data from November
earlier month, when automak- The prevailing economic last year.

ReNew, Korean firm in JV for Rajasthan project ers experienced their worst fes-
tival season sales during Diwali
in nearly five years due to the
slowdown and consequent lack
of activity in the infrastructure
and manufacturing sectors led
Fada president Ashish Kale
said the spill-over demand after
the festive season in November
lack of liquidity following the to a 8% drop in retail sales of extended the cheer for dealers
Utpal Bhaskar ous government and delayed Energy Corporation of India from generation companies. bankruptcy of Infrastructure commercial vehicles to 77,394 with retail sales recording mar-
utpal.b@livemint.com payments by state utility under its tranche IV auctions Banks are also wary of lend- Leasing and Financial Services units. ginal growth in all segments
NEW DELHI boards, which has brought the concluded earlier this year,” ing to renewable energy devel- (IL&FS). Despite improving retails, except commercial vehicles,
working capital cycles of gen- the companies said. opers as they suspect the via- Retail sales of motorcycles companies have been reducing where demand remains weak.

R
eNew Power Ventures
Pvt. Ltd has formed a
joint venture with South
AEML has a market share of Korea-based engineering, pro-
approximately 87% by licence curement, and construction
area in Mumbai. REUTERS (EPC) firm GS E&C to build a
300 megawatt solar power
Qatar to invest plant in Rajasthan, according
to a joint statement released by
$450 million in the companies on Wednesday.
The alliance comes even as
Adani’s Mumbai India’s clean energy sector
faces several challenges, such
power business as the Andhra Pradesh govern-
ment’s decision to renege on
contracts signed by the previ-
FROM PAGE 1
erators under stress. ReNew The Andhra Pradesh gov- bility of projects, with solar rose 3% year-on-year in production and wholesales to “With some recovery in sen-
Power will have a ernment’s deci- and wind power tariffs being at November to 1.7 million units, cut stocks of Bharat Stage IV timent in November, inventory
51% stake in the ReNew Power and sion to relook a record low. Other problems showed data issued by the Fed- vehicles ahead of the imple- at showrooms remained more
JV, while GS E&C South Korean EPC contracts signed include non-allocation of land eration of Automobile Dealers mentation of BS VI emission or less at the same levels in both
will own the rest. firm GS E&C by the previous to wind power projects and Associations (Fada) on norms from 1 April 2020. two and four-wheeler catego-
GS E&C’s entry will develop a government has transmission and connectivi- Wednesday. Special discounts According to the factory dis- ries,” said Kale.
into India’s hit firms such as ty-related challenges.
300 megawatt
renewable ReNew, Greenko,
energy sector also solar power plant Adani Power,
Mint reported on 5 Decem-
ber that the Centre is consider-
comes at a time
that ReNew
in Rajasthan PTC India Ltd, SB
Energy, Mytrah,
ing a plan to offer state govern-
ments concessional loans from
Power is putting and Hero Future
300MW of solar assets on sale, Energies. To add to the woes,
public sector lenders Power
Finance Corp., Rural Electrifi-
Mint reported on 7 October. electricity distribution compa-
“The project is part of the nies owe ₹67,237 crore at
cation Corp. Ltd and Indian
Renewable Energy Develop-
capacity auctioned by Solar October end for power bought ment Agency.

supplied by AEML will be

sourced from solar and wind
power plants by 2023.
QIA chief executive Man-
soor Bin Ebrahim Al-Mah-
moud said in the statement:
Virgin’s Branson to meet Maharashtra CM
amid uncertainty over Hyperloop project
“We look forward to a long-
term partnership with the
Adani Group, with whom we
share an intergenerational
perspective on investments
and a common vision for the Tanya Thomas review of infrastructure pro-
sustainable growth and the tanya.t@livemint.com jects as part of a wider audit and
continued success of AEML.” MUMBAI to determine priorities for his
AEML is the licensee for an government. The projects

integrated power distribution,
transmission and generation
business that currently serves
more than 3 million consum-
ers in Mumbai. Adani Trans-
mission said AEML has a mar-
ket share of around 87% by
licence area in Mumbai, 67%
by consumers served and 55%
by electricity supplied.
The transaction is expected
to be completed in early 2020,
subject to regulatory approv-
als and customary conditions.
This follows the August
2018 deal of Anil Ambani, who
sold his Mumbai power distri-
bution business to ATL for
₹12,700 crore. The QIA invest-
ment values the AEML busi-
ness at roughly ₹13,000 crore.
For the second half of FY20,
Adani’s power distribution
business reported revenue of
₹4,103 crore and operating
profit of ₹1,043 crore.
Adani Group chairman
Gautam Adani said in the
statement, “We believe this is
a significant step in the jour-
W
ith Maharashtra’s
new coalition gov-
ernment taking a
dim view of mega infrastruc-
ture projects approved by the
previous Bharatiya Janata Par-
ty-led administration, Richard
Branson, billionaire founder of
Virgin Atlantic group, is in the
city to protect his local inter-
ests. Branson is meeting Maha-
rashtra’s new chief minister,
Uddhav Thackeray, on Thurs-
day to clear “misunderstand-
ings” over the proposed Mum-
bai-Pune Hyperloop project.
Virgin Hyperloop One had
been working closely with the
previous government to build
the world’s first operational
hyperloop on this route.
“It was just a courtesy call
(with Thackeray) and also to
ensure that any misunder-
standings regarding the project
are cleared,” Branson said at a
press conference. “We just
need to see whether the new
government is as keen as the
old government.”
include some big-ticket num-
bers, and the lack of clarity has
made investors jittery. The
government has already indi-
cated that it is not keen on the
₹5 trillion refinery and petro-
chemicals complex in Raigad
and the ₹1.2 trillion Mumbai-
Ahmedabad bullet train.
“When there is a change in
administration and you have a
Virgin group founder Richard Branson with M&M boss Anand big project going on, it is
Mahindra in Mumbai on Wednesday. PTI important to have a courtesy
call,” Branson said. “Uddhav DELHI JAL BOARD, GOVT. OF NCT OF DELHI
approved Virgin Hyperloop through electric propulsion Thackeray and the various coa-
One-led consortium’s plans to and picks up speed due to lition people that he has around OFFICE OF THE EXECUTIVE ENGINEER (C) DR-VI
develop a high-speed line extremely low friction in vac- them need to meet people who DELHI JAL BOARD, JAL SADAN, LAJPAT NAGAR, NEW DELHI-110024
between Mumbai uum. are doing big projects or those Contact No. 011-29818103
and Pune. Hyper- Virgin’s proposal Virgin’s pro- wanting to do big projects in N.I.T. No. 04 (2019-20)
loop is still an for the Mumbai- posal for the their state.” Item Name of Work Estimated Cost/ Date of release Last date/time of
untested mode of Pune hyperloop hyperloop will be “One of things we need to No. Earnest Money/ of tender in download and receipt
transportation, will be funded by entirely funded make very clear, because there Non-refundable e-procurement of tender through
Tender Fees solution e-procurement solution
based on an idea
private investors, through private has been some misreporting 1. Providing and laying rising main and construction Lump Sum 09.12.2019 30.12.2019 at 3.00 PM
mooted by bil- investors, with the and political ramblings, there is of 5 MGD pump house at Aya Nagar in Chattarpur Rs. 33,16,430/- and
lionaire entrepre- with the state state providing no money expected from the Assembly Constituency on DBO basis. 30.12.2019 at 3.10 PM
Civil Work Rs. 1500/-
neur Elon Musk. providing land land. Mint government at all, it is all going E&M Work
It involves build- reported on 4 to be private money. The public Tender ID: 2019_DJB_185265_1
ing a near-perfect November that will benefit massively from the Further details in this regards are available on website http://govtprocurement.delhi.gov.in
vacuum tunnel or tube, a rail- work on the project had slowed service,” Branson added. ISSUED BY P.R.O. (WATER) (R.S. Arya)
way track and a vehicle that because of the lack of a safety Branson was in the city to Advt. No. J.S.V. 643/2019-20 EXECUTIVE ENGINEER (C) DR. VI

ney of the Adani Group, mark- In 2018, the previous Maha- magnetically floats above the regulator. announce the recent launch of
ing the start of a long-term rashtra government led by track. A payload—passengers On 1 December, Thackeray a Mumbai-London direct flight
partnership with QIA.” Devendra Fadnavis had or cargo—then accelerates said his government ordered a by Virgin Atlantic.
06 THURSDAY, 12 DECEMBER 2019
NEW DELHI CORPORATE

We will open much more than ORDINARY

POST
25 stores in India: IKEA’s Betzel SHUCHI BANSAL

Respond to this column at

shuchi.b@livemint.com
RAMESH PATHANIA/MINT
Suneera Tandon &
Saumya Tewari
We will not
are organizing the space on a
smaller scale. This is maybe more
extreme in India. Mumbai is one
CAN SALMAN KHAN
NEW DELHI
change our price
points—we need
market with small living spaces. It
is fantastic for us because our CONNECT WITH
I
KEA India chief executive product range is meant for people
Peter Betzel was in New Delhi
to attend a Business Sweden
event last week. He spoke of
to be for many
people and not
who are living in small spaces as it
offers unique storage opportuni-
ties and flexible furniture options.
PEPSI CONSUMERS?
the impressive consumer for the last 10% of From a consumer perspective,
the people.
B
response to the furniture giant’s affordability in India is different everage and snacks maker PepsiCo. India Holdings plans
Hyderabad store, future expan- than in the US. Customers here to build its flagship cola brand, Pepsi, with Bollywood star
sion plans and the need to remain PETER BETZEL demand affordability more. Salman Khan in the coming year. In a surprising
Chief executive, IKEA India
affordable in India. Edited Also, the demand for services is announcement on Tuesday, the company said that it will build
excerpts from an interview: very unique in India. We have further on its ‘Har Ghoont Mein Swag’ proposition with the pop-
IKEA in India has done busi- established brand IKEA on the Vodafone ular actor. An earlier column in this space analysed how brands
Idea denies
ness worth ₹400 crore in do-it-yourself (DIY) principle, talks with
are cashing in on the “swag” factor among youth which was syn-
FY19. Is that standard for the which we would like to bring in Brookfield, onymous with their confident spirit.
company? India. We would like to show our Edelweiss to Predictably, the announcement was received with shock and
You cannot say it is standard. I Indian customers how to assemble sell assets disbelief. Anuja Chauhan, the former creative head at JWT who
think it is fantastic for India their furniture because then, they bit.ly/2LEQC3B created some iconic taglines for Pepsi including ‘Nothing Official
because it is right on the way of our will have a personal relationship About It’ and ‘Yeh Dil Maange More’, says Pepsi has been associ-
expectation in a brand new mar- with it. But assembling furniture ated with youthful irreverence.
ket. We have worked for a long by oneself is not common here. “The news about its association with 53-year-old Khan does
time to get here. There are many That is why we need to have these blow your mind,” says Chauhan.
people who know IKEA because services in place. In Hyderabad For several years, Salman was the ambassador for rival Coca
they have been living abroad or store, we offer this service partly Cola India’s home-grown brand Thums Up. That was a great fit
are generally interested, but we to digitization. While India, one of I said we were changing when range between 5,000 sq.m to in-house, and we are also working as Thums Up with its distinct strong taste (‘Taste The Thunder’)
would like to create a better every- the fastest-growing countries in we talk about accessibility. If we 10,000 sq.m. So, there will be with UrbanClap. was endorsed by the macho man seen as being overtly masculine.
day life for many people who have the world, comes with the excite- look at how many physical meet- many more opportunities for our Besides, Indians like colour and “While we did not call Pepsi a feminine brand, it was the
not known IKEA so well. So, we ment, it has its own challenges in ing places we will have, may be in consumers to meet IKEA, and design. The range here is less of sweeter drink. It was liked both by men and women,” says a
need to introduce them to IKEA, terms of society, affordability, 8, 10 or 15 years, it would be much there will be many more meeting heavy wood and the collection former Pepsi executive, who did not want to be named. “How-
build the brand and explain what shopping habits and accessibility. more than 25. places than just 25. itself is very colourful. ever, with Salman, the brand seems to have taken a completely
we stand for. From that perspec- From an IKEA perspective, we Whether it will be 25 ‘We need to be What sets Indian Will you change your price different direction,” he adds.
tive, we had decided one-and-a- big stores, I cannot more accessible consumers apart points as you enter Mumbai? Marketing requires strategic thinking. In the 1980s, colas were
almost five million m INTERVIEW half years ago that we say today. We will to many people, from their global No, we need to be affordable for cool, represented youth, and were mascots of change. “Now they
visitors in one need to transform our open (the big store) in which means counterparts? the many people we try to service. are irrelevant and technology is cool. However, cola marketers
year—which is amazing. It’s a fan- business model. We need to be Mumbai next year We visited more I learnt that if you are a foreign still think that celebrities are the only route to excitement,” says
adopting an
tastic number, something we don’t much more accessible to many and then Bengaluru than 1,000 homes in brand in India, people think you the former Pepsi executive.
have in many other countries people, which means adopting a will happen in one- omni-channel India before opening are expensive. We would like to Salman, who plugged Thums Up for
when we open our first store. true omni-channel approach. This and-a-half years. We approach.’ the business here. turn it around. We would like to Though Salman many years, will now sell Pepsi. Deep-
When IKEA came here, you means the big stores and small for- have sites in Delhi Let’s start with the really tell the people that our ran- has a lowbrow ika Padukone and Ranbir Kapoor, who
spoke of 25 stores. But glo- mats in the big cities of Mumbai, where we will open commonalities. Many ges are affordable, functional and earlier endorsed Pepsi, are now with
bally, you are pivoting to Delhi and Bengaluru and then also stores including our shopping people around the world have sim- sustainable. We will not change image, his Coke. This confuses the consumers as
smaller stores and e-com- having an online approach. This is centre and meeting place. So, we ilar challenges—normally, they price points—we need to be for the campy appeal they are unsure of what the celebrity
merce. Does that change your exactly what we need in India. have plans for the big store but we don’t have enough money, they many people and not for the last cuts across actually stands for.
India strategy? Will you still have 25 stores have many more plans for smaller have smaller rooms, they are living 10% of the people. demographics “The brand endorsement industry is
The world is changing fast due as promised? store formats in the city which will with family and children and they suneera.t@livemint.com mirroring politics. Celebrities are get-
ting into bed with brands without
thinking. It is like a game of musical chairs,” feels Chauhan.
Surprisingly, in 2008, Pepsi found Shah Rukh Khan, then 43,
too old for the brand and did not renew his contract. It also
dropped Sachin Tendulkar at the age of 35. So, signing up Salman
m SHORT TAKES IIFL Wealth, Piramal tie up for ₹2,000 cr AIF at 53 is perplexing. Also, Salman is a polarizing figure. People
either love him or hate him. He has had several brushes with the
law, including a couple of poaching cases as well as a hit-and-run
case. Brand Pepsi, meanwhile, is a unifying force. It stands for
Tara Sinha, doyen of Indian Madhurima Nandy around 1,600 stalled projects equality, say experts.
advertising, dies at 87 madhurima.n@livemint.com with 458,000 incomplete Yet, some see the development as more nuanced. With rising
BENGALURU housing units. health consciousness, there is an increasing number of consum-
New Delhi: Advertising veteran Tara Sinha died on Wednesday. While the government will ers in the higher socio-economic segments who are eschewing

I
She was 87. Best known as the mother of Indian advertising, IFL Wealth Management
Sinha was one of the earliest women in the field who worked Ltd is partnering Piramal
across India, the US and the UK. She started her career with Group for an alternative
advertising company SH Benson in London in 1952. investment fund (AIF) that will
Sinha also co-founded Clarion Advertising Services Ltd—later offer structured debt mainly to
known as Clarion McCann Advertising Services Ltd—at the age residential projects which are
of 27. Contemporaries remember her as a woman of impeccable at an advanced stage of con-
taste and great aesthetics, besides someone who broke the glass struction and need last-mile
ceiling in advertising in the 1980s by setting up her own advertis- funding.
ing agency, besides servicing many well-known clients, includ- The AIF with a targeted cor-
ing Nestle. LATA JHA pus of ₹2,000 crore, will offer
capital to established property
developers in key cities. IIFL
Facebook, Google drop out of Wealth is the investment man-
ager for the AIF, that will raise
top 10 ‘best places to work’ list and deploy the capital over 3-5
BLOOMBERG years.
IIFL and Piramal are joining
hands at a time when the tally
of incomplete realty projects is
rising because of a credit
squeeze and an overall slow-
down in the real estate sector.
The fund will capitalise on
IIFL’s core strength of raising
capital from investors and
Piramal’s lending experience
to source deals given its large
developer network. IIFL
Wealth, which offers invest-
ment and financial advisory
services to its clients, has
aggregate assets of around $24
San Francisco: Big tech companies like Facebook Inc. and billion under management,
Alphabet Inc.’s Google, long seen as some of the world’s advice and distribution.
most desirable workplaces offering countless perks and “Piramal’s deep domain
employee benefits, are losing some of their shine.
The Silicon Valley companies dropped out of the Top
10 “best places to work” in the US, according to Glass-
door’s annual rankings released Tuesday. HubSpot Inc.,
a cloud-computing software company, grabbed the No. 1
ranking. Facebook, which has been rated as the “best place
‘DEVICES WILL DRAW DATA FROM ALL ASPECTS OF A PERSON’S LIFE’
to work” three times in the past 10 years, was ranked 23rd.
Google, voted “best place to work” in 2015 and a Top-10
finisher the previous eight years, came in at No. 11 on
Glassdoor’s list. BLOOMBERG
THE FUTURE IS HERE
Netflix tests cheaper, yearly UNLEASH THE
POTENTIAL OF 5G
subscription plan in India 5G can drastically alter the
way we engage and interact
Bengaluru: Netflix Inc. is testing longer subscription plans in with technology. It has the
India as it looks to attract more users in a highly competitive mar- potential to transform sec-
AP ket where smartphone and inter- tors—communication,
net usage is soaring. health, agriculture, automa-
New users of Netflix in India tion, financial services, gam-
may have the option to choose ing, connected devices and
from three-, six- and 12-month much more. It is difficult to
plans at discounts of up to 50%, a predict the extent of impact
person familiar with the matter on our economy and lifes-
told Reuters. The Los Gatos, Cali- tyle. The onset of 5G will
fornia-based company has previ- lead to a whole new spec-
ously used India as a testing trum of use cases probably
ground for new features, launch- not even conceptualized at
ing a mobile-only monthly plan the moment.
starting at ₹199 this year. REUTERS
initially pump in ₹10,000 carbonated beverages (or sodas as they are called in the US) in
crore, it plans to raise the favour of healthier alternatives.
remainder through other “Growth in this category, therefore, needs to come from mar-
institutional investment firms ket expansion and penetration, which necessarily means
and sovereign funds, includ- addressing the masses,” points out Samit Sinha, managing part-
ing State Bank of India and ner Alchemist Brand Consulting.
Life Insurance Corp. of India. In that context, the choice of Salman is an interesting one.
Several private equity inves- “While he is clearly not the darling of the intellectual elite, his
tors are either setting up plat- appeal among the masses is undeniable and cannot be underesti-
forms for financing real estate mated. He has the ability to deliver a Bollywood blockbuster
The tally of incomplete realty projects is rising due to a credit projects, which are in the late almost at will,” he feels.
squeeze and a slowdown in the sector. MINT or final stages of construction, Salman will soon be seen in Dabangg 3 releasing during Christ-
or looking to offer capital for mas. Pepsi, which is tying up with the film, promises that it will
expertise in real estate and strategy to build newer plat- such projects from existing give consumers a sneak peek into what the Pepsi 2020 campaign
IIFL Wealth’s ability to seize forms for co-lending with funds. Mint reported in will look like.
the best market opportunities liked-minded reputed institu- December that a number of In 2010, Dabangg made ₹141 crore and was one of the earliest
have resulted in a well-struc- tions. We will initially seed the private equity investors are entrants to the ₹100-crore club. It’s also considered quite the cult
tured investment idea which fund with existing loans from either setting up platforms to film in pop culture discussion, given how it established him as the
will provide clients an ideal Piramal Group’s portfolio, finance realty projects in late hero of the masses and also made the small-town setting cool.
risk-adjusted while continuing stages of construction, or look- Dabangg 2 did well, too, but didn’t enjoy the same cult status.
return,” said The fund will offer to explore quality ing to offer capital for such While Dabangg 3 is much awaited, the franchise may be losing
Karan Bhagat, structured debt deals from the projects from existing funds. its sheen. In fact, Salman has had a chequered couple of years at
founder, manag- mainly to market in future,” Alternative investment the box office with none of his last few films (Bharat, Race 3)
ing director and residential said Khushru manager Investcorp is setting recovering their production costs.
CEO of IIFL Jijina, managing up a new realty platform that Sinha feels that though Salman has a lowbrow image, he also
projects which
Wealth. director, Piramal will look at opportunities for has a certain campy appeal that cuts across demographics, some-
The market are at an Capital & Hous- last-mile funding besides serv- what like actor Govinda in his prime.
today presents advanced stage ing Finance Ltd. ing other credit requirements. “Also, the Pepsi brand stands for irreverence and taking on the
many opportuni- Finance minis- In November, Edelweiss Alter- establishment, which Salman is able to pull off effortlessly on
ties for last-mile ter Nirmala native Asset Advisors part- screen,” he adds. All things considered, the choice of Salman is
finance in projects that require Sitharaman recently nered with South Korean not as counter-intuitive as one might think. The main problem
a minimum amount of funding announced the setting up of a Financial services conglomer- could be his age. Can being 50 plus still make him the choice of
for their completion, Piramal ₹25,000 crore AIF to provide ate Meritz Financial Group to the new generation?
said in a press release. last-mile funding for stalled launch a late-stage funding Shuchi Bansal is Mint’s media, marketing and advertising edi-
“The creation of this AIF is housing projects. According to platform to buy out existing tor. Ordinary Post will look at pressing issues related to all three.
in line with Piramal Group’s the government, there are residential real estate loans. Or just fun stuff.
With 2020—a year that once seemed so far in the future that people set targets for transformation—just
weeks away, Mint invites corporate leaders to share five ideas that will impact the decade ahead.
Pete Lau, CEO, OnePlus, tells Prasid Banerjee that 5G, IoT and improved networks will eventually lead
to our devices collecting information across all aspects of our life.
IoT AND CONNECTED SMART SCREENS ENHANCED USER FOCUS ON SECURITY,
ECOSYSTEMS TO IMPROVE EXPERIENCES DATA MANAGEMENT
IoT adoption is growing glo- Over the next decade, Advancements in virtual As technologies continue to
bally and, by 2025, there smart screens will become reality and augmented evolve, it is imperative for
may be 22 billion IoT devi- larger and more flexible. reality will play a signifi- organizations to build a
ces. The confluence of 5G How screens appear and cant role in altering how strong framework to effec-
and IoT will offer a canvas to their use cases could people engage with the tively manage and secure
build a connected ecosystem change in the coming digital world over the next consumers’ personal data in
that will offer a seamless user years. Your display could decade. This transition will accordance with laws and
experience across smart include advanced haptic allow for intuitive technol- guidelines. Artificial intel-
devices. While we’ve already touchscreen technology, ogy that provides a ligence and machine
begun this journey, with much greater resolution dynamic multimodal and learning technologies
improved networks, our and higher refresh rates for multisensory user experi- will automate the proc-
devices will eventually serve a seamlessly smooth expe- ence. To make this a real- ess of security assur-
as screens gathering infor- rience. This will redefine ity, companies will create ance and compliance
mation from a common how we engage with our technology with a special verification to safe-
cloud across all avenues of TVs, smartphones and focus on accessibility, con- guard data from poten-
an individual’s physical life. other devices in the future. nectivity and ease-of-use. tial harm or misuse.
 CORPORATE THURSDAY, 12 DECEMBER 2019
NEW DELHI 07

Women’s representation YES BANK NEEDS AN ARRANGED

MATCH, ELSE IT’S NO BANK
in Indian companies rises EXPERT
longer. But RBI is so distracted fighting other
fires that it’d rather not have to think about Yes.
If not now, when? It’s been nine months since
former Deutsche Bank AG executive Ravneet
VIEW Gill became chief executive with a mandate to
clean up the bank, whose asset quality was
Gender diversity is higher in tier-I cities, with Bengaluru leading the chart, says study ANDY MUKHERJEE destroyed by the previous owner-manager’s cav-
alier underwriting. It’s been seven months since
PRIYANKA PARASHAR/MINT Respond to this column at RBI used special powers to appoint a former dep-
Meera Vankipuram feedback@livemint.com uty governor as a director. But for all the chaper-
meera.v@livemint.com oning and assurances from Gill, especially about

Y
BENGALURU es Bank Ltd’s latest $2 billion rescue plan raising funds, the outlook is getting bleaker.
was perfect except for one minor detail: Gross non-performing loans jumped to 7.4% of

P
rioritization of gender Most suitors for the beleaguered Indian total assets in September from 5% in June. Last
diversity and concerted Facebook lender aren’t the kind the board can really take to month, the bank disclosed that the regulator had
tells US govt
efforts, such as return-to- it won’t
meet the regulator for tea. Yet in a five-hour found its non-performing assets on 31 March to
work and mentoring pro- remove meeting Tuesday, the directors decided to do be $460 million higher than it had reported ear-
grammes for women, encryption exactly that. Jane Austen would have been proud lier. “This is the third year when RBI has identi-
implemented by companies across bit.ly/2E68eRH of their desperation to marry off Yes. fied a divergence in the bank’s reported finan-
India have had a positive impact on Take Erwin Singh Braich, a mysterious Cana- cials,” Moody’s Investors Service said, while low-
gender diversity ratios, according to dian tycoon offering to post three-fifths of the ering the bank’s credit rating by two levels to B2,
the Zinnov-Intel Gender Diversity money together with a partner. Braich says he’s deep into junk-bond territory.
Study 2019. Canada’s richest man, but he “has no headquar- That cut is bound to complicate the bank’s
Representation of women in cor- ters, no banker to manage his money, and is cur- ability to attract fresh deposits from institutions
porate India has increased from 21% rently living in a three-star motel in the Canadian at a time when current account and savings
five years ago to 30% now, with prairies”, write Bloomberg News reporters Natalie account deposits—the cheapest source of financ-
higher representation in non-tech- Obiko Pearson and Suvashree Ghosh. ing—plunged 14% from a year earlier in the Sep-
nical roles (31%) over technical roles Braich, they show, is also the subject of a 1999 tember quarter. A $273 million share sale in
(26%), the study by management involuntary bankruptcy—orchestrated, he August has shored up
consulting firm Zinnov, in collabo- claims, by opponents, including his brother — A merger with a the tier-I equity ratio
ration with Intel India, has shown. Only 11% of senior leaders in companies are women, compared with 20% in mid-level roles and 38% in junior roles. which remains undischarged with more than bigger franchise to 8.7%, but it’s a tem-
However, only 11% of senior leaders C$13 million ($10 million) in total liabilities. But porary reprieve. Yes
are women, compared with 20% in tional origin that have a presence in It also revealed that the increase Intel Corp. Yes Bank believes his binding offer deserves to would be better has a quarter of its
mid-level roles and 38% in junior India), are women, while women in gender diversity ratios is steepest “A key initiative that we have remain on the table, so there it will be. than the assets tied up as credit
roles, it said. make up only 30% of the workforce in the non-MNC category, especially taken up in this space is Be-WISE Two other interested buyers — Hong Kong- ongoing fund- to shadow banks,
The number of women on com- in domestic MNCs and 31% in non- in startups. Startups typically do not (Women Innovators, Social Leaders based SPGP Holdings, bidding jointly with raising charade realty, and engineer-
pany boards has increased from 5% MNC firms. focus on gender-based hiring when and Entrepreneurs), which aims to Braich, and London-based Citax Holdings Ltd ing and construction
in 2012 to 13% in 2018, according to Gender diversity is higher in tier-I at small scale, as they aim to quickly accelerate inclusive participation of —have previously shied away from putting up firms, some of India’s
the study, which evaluated 60 com- cities at 31%, while it is around 25% in take on the best talent regardless of women in the workplace,” she said. small sums to acquire Indian businesses in bank- most fund-starved industries. IDFC Securities
panies, including global capability tier-II and tier-III cities. Bengaluru gender, the study added. Commitment to diversity and ruptcy. In a note, Suresh Ganapathy, the Mac- Ltd estimates $7 billion of stressed loans at Yes.
centres (GCCs), technology service leads with 34%, followed by Mumbai Intel India has made efforts to inclusion is also critical to the suc- quarie Capital Securities banking analyst in Assuming 65% eventually goes bad, the slippage
providers and start- reduce the gender cess of SAP Labs India, according to Mumbai, expressed “serious reservations regard- would be more than the bank’s net worth. It’s
ups, and analysed PROGRESS REPORT gap, as a result of Sindhu Gangadharan, its senior ing the quality of the board of directors who are perhaps time to work off that very assumption.
various organisa- which 25% of its vice-president and managing willing to consider these kinds of investors to be Merging the bank with a bigger franchise such as
tional policies and REPRESENTATION WOMEN see higher THE number of employees are director. “To make SAP an employer large shareholders”. The board doesn’t express ICICI Bank Ltd or Kotak Mahindra Bank Ltd at a
practices. This, it of women in Indian representation in
companies increased non-technical roles
women on company
boards has increased
women. “At Intel of choice for more women, we have an iota of self-doubt. It’s “willing to favourably next-to-nil equity value would be a better option
said, was primarily from 21% five years (31%), compared with from 5% in 2012 to India, our gender introduced a series of programmes consider” the $500 million offer by Citax, and than continuing the ongoing fundraising cha-
because of the man- ago to 30% now technical roles (26%) 13% in 2018 diversity efforts go and policies that support the needs decide on allotting shares in the next meeting of rade. In other words, Yes, which has lost 87% of
date of having at beyond hiring, of our women employees at every directors, Yes said. If those permissions material- its market value since August 2018, needs an
least one woman on retention and devel- stage of their career, paying particu- ize, they’ll show the Reserve Bank of India, the arranged match, brokered by RBI.
every company’s board of directors. with 33% and Pune 32%. opment of talent, to also include lar attention to their times of transi- regulator, to be even more desperate than Yes. Braich, the Canadian suitor, said he loves the
Large firms, the study said, have The study focused on the huge gen- supporting women innovators and tion like life events or critical career As I’ve written before, Yes is skating on a thin logo: “If it was called ‘No Bank,’ I wouldn’t have
the highest gender representation at der disparity that continues to exist in entrepreneurs and strengthening moments to help them navigate layer of capital. And that’s scary. Confidence in been interested.” Even if a joke, this is serious.
33%, while medium-sized ones have Indian workplaces, and pointed out the technical pipeline to encourage these changes,” Gangadharan said. India’s bad-loan-laden banking system is ebbing; The shock to India’s broken financial system
27%, and small companies only 21%. that most companies surveyed have more women to enter and succeed “We have 26% women in the sen- depositors are seething over regulatory restric- risks being even bigger than the collapse of
About 25% of the employees of been running diversity programmes in the workplace,” said Nivruti Rai, ior leadership team, and we are tions placed on accessing their own money in a IL&FS Group in September 2018. The regulator
global multinational corporations, for many years, which has led them to country head, Intel India, and vice- working towards increasing that,” failed cooperative bank. Yes, India’s fifth largest must act before Yes Bank becomes, for all practi-
or MNCs (organizations of interna- make modest progress. president of the Data Center Group, she said. private sector bank, can’t be left adrift much cal purposes, no bank at all. BLOOMBERG

Non-banks’ AUM may grow at 10-yr-low in FY20 KredX raises $26 mn

Shayan Ghosh
shayan.g@livemint.com
tember 2019 were the lowest tured credit, remain affected
in the last four quarters since more in terms of access to
in round led by Tiger
MUMBAI September 2018. funds, it said.
“The incremental cost of “In terms of asset quality, M. Sriram their lease or rental pacts.

N
on-banking financial borrowings has also increased delinquencies are expected to sriram.m@livemint.com The startup, founded by
companies (NBFCs) despite the interest-rate cycle inch up, albeit marginally, for MUMBAI Manish Kumar and Anurag
and housing finance turning south,” said Crisil in its retail asset classes such as Jain in 2014, had raised a

companies (HFCs) are
expected to report 6-8%
growth in assets under man-
agement (AUM) in FY20, the
lowest in a decade, compared
with around 15% last fiscal, rat-
ing agency Crisil said on
Wednesday.
Constrained funding access
with rising borrowing costs,
de-risking of the loan book
and a slowing economy are
behind this slow growth of
non-banks, according to Crisil.
“Confidence deficit of
investors, which was initially
focused on the asset-liability
maturity (ALM) profile, has
firmly shifted to concerns over
asset quality—especially for
the wholesale book,” it said.
Non-banks, especially whole-
sale-focused ones without
strong parentage, would need
Retail-oriented non-banks are
faring relatively better. MINT
to make structural changes
and reorient their business
models, the rating agency said.
Challenges remain on the
liabilities side 15 months since
liquidity problems surfaced,
though steps by the govern-
ment and regulators to sup-
port and structurally
strengthen the sector have
provided some relief, the Crisil
said.
Overall borrowings by the
sector between July and Sep-
T
report. home loans and vehicle iger Global Manage- ₹40-crore Series A round in
“Non-banks with strong finance, which together ment Corp. has led a 2016 led by Sequoia, with par-
parentage, which account for account for more than half of $26-million round in ticipation from early backer
around 70% of the overall sec- invoice discounting platform Prime Venture Partners.
the sectoral Constrained toral AUM. The KredX, the investment firm Mint had first reported on
AUM, have been funding access, economic slow- said on Wednesday. The New 26 September that Tiger
less impacted on rising borrowing down has con- York-based company is one of Global is in talks to back
the funding costs, slowing tributed to a cycli- the most active investors in KredX.
front. They are cal uptick in Indian startups and has backed “(The) KredX platform
economy will lead d e l i n q u e n c i e s
likely to drive 20 companies so far this year. works with suppliers, corpo-
sectoral growth to slow growth, across retail seg- Invoice discounting is the rates, and investors to make
over the medium says report ments,” the practice of using a company’s the money flow in a supply
term,” according report said. unpaid dues as collateral for a chain ecosystem more effi-
to Gurpreet However, Crisil loan, which helps companies cient. A vendor is able to
Chhatwal, the president of also said that non-banks are better manage their working unlock working capital tied-up
Crisil Ratings. adapting to the changing envi- capital. KredX provides a mar- in invoicing, in turn benefiting
The report also pointed out ronment and a business model ketplace for business owners the associated corporate with
that retail-oriented non-banks reset is in order. This includes to sell and investors to pur- higher efficiency,” said KredX
are faring relatively better embracing funding-light chase invoices, in which the chief executive Manish
than the others and funding models, shift of funding for counter-party is a blue chip Kumar.
challenges are abating here. wholesale asset classes to company. “For our investors, it is a
However, wholesale-oriented alternative investment funds KredX also offers capex for problem-free alternative
ones, primarily real estate (AIF) structure and de-risking large enterprises that aim to investment with high returns,”
developer financing and struc- of loan books. raise funds by discounting he said.

Saudi Aramco soars 10% in debut to hit market value of $1.88 trillion
Filipe Pacheco , Matthew valuation within reach. Aramco will be added to sold 1.5% of the company’s
Martin & Will Kennedy Aramco raised $25.6 billion emerging-market bench- capital, meaning that barely
in the biggest-ever IPO, selling marks. any of its shares will trade.
DUBAI/LONDON shares at 32 riyals each and “Aramco should easily get to Final orders surpassed $119 bil-
overtaking Microsoft Corp. the $2 trillion valuation as lion, with authorities allowing

S
audi Aramco shares
surged after the oil pro-
ducer’s initial public
offering, valuing the company
at a record $1.88 trillion in the
culmination of a four-year
effort by the kingdom to list its
crown jewel.
The stock jumped the daily
10% limit to 35.20 riyals when
trading began at 10.30am in
Riyadh as Aramco board mem-
bers, Saudi officials and
invited guests cheered at a cer-
emony at the Fairmont Hotel
in the kingdom’s capital. The
shares stayed there through
the market close, putting
Crown Prince Mohammed bin
Salman’s goal of a $2 trillion
and Apple Inc. as the most val-
uable listed company.
The start of trading in
Riyadh marks the end of a saga
that’s been intertwined with
the crown prince’s rise to
global prominence and his
Vision 2030 plan to reform the
Saudi economy. First
announced in an interview
with The Economist in January
2016, the IPO came after a
tumultuous period that
included the murder of gov-
ernment critic Jamal Kha-
shoggi and the imprisonment
of prominent Saudis in
Riyadh’s Ritz Carlton. The sale
ultimately fell short of the
$100 billion international
soon as tomorrow; there is
plenty of appetite for it,” said
Marie Salem, the head of insti-
tutions at Daman Securities in
Dubai. “And more money
should flow soon with the
international index inclusions.
The start couldn’t be better.”
Aramco, the world’s largest
oil producer, easily dwarfs the
Saudi Aramco president Amin H. Nasser rings the bell during a rest of the companies in the
ceremony marking the company’s IPO debut on Wednesday.REUTERS Saudi market, which have a
combined value of about $500
offering with a valuation of $2 investors largely rejected, cit- billion. Adding in Aramco at its
trillion that the prince once ing the valuation and concerns current market value, the
proposed. including governance issues kingdom’s bourse becomes
Saudi officials pulled out all and possible security threats. the world’s seventh-biggest
the stops to ensure that the The stock price also should be stock market, overtaking
stock traded higher after an underpinned by demand from Canada, Germany and India.
offering that international index-tracking funds, since Saudi Arabia, though, only
lenders to boost loans beyond
usual to support the sale.
Not everyone is convinced
the share price surge will last.
Many international investors
are avoiding the stock because
of environmental, social and
governance concerns, while
others say the company is
overvalued given its dividend
yield versus peers.
“Fundamentally, especially
when taking ESG considera-
tions into account, the valua-
tion is stretched,” said Sid-
dharth Sanghvi, head of
emerging markets equity
research at Amundi.
BLOOMBERG
feedback@livemint.com
08 THURSDAY, 12 DECEMBER 2019
NEW DELHI

REPORTAGE | TALKING POINTS | IDEAS | INSIGHT | THE BOTTOMLINE

THE NEW FAULT LINES

IN THE NORTH-EAST
Starting with Assam, the Citizenship Amendment Bill will upset two decades of relative peace in the region

Members of the All Assam Students’

Union at a protest rally against the
implementation of the Citizenship
Amendment Bill, in Guwahati on
8 December. PTI

Patricia Mukhim and home to almost 238 indigenous tribes
feedback@livemint.com that are not Hindu by faith. The region
SHILLONG consists of many “nations” that have
somehow been integrated with India.
The feeling among indigenous Assam-
ese, who have invested decades of their
life into the Assam Movement, is that the
BJP has ignored the Assam Accord which
ment, saw her effigy being burnt at several
mint
SHORT places. Sangma is from the National Peo-
STORY ples’ Party, a constituent of the National
Democratic Alliance. She made a weak
unrest is a given and it is also likely that
home minister Shah might resort to force
to quell such unrest. The Armed Forces
Special Powers Act is already applied to

O
n the night of 9 December, While large sections of the people of the puts 1971 as the cut-off year for detection appeal to the home minister in Parliament many states of the region. It should not be
as Parliament sat down to North-East are of Tibeto-Burman origin, and deportation of foreign nationals. CAB WHAT on Monday that CAB should be exempted difficult to extend that Act wherever
discuss sweeping changes the Khasi-Jaintia group is Austro-Asiatic, takes 2014—a difference of 43 years—as from Meghalaya, but still voted for the bill. trouble is brewing.
to the country’s citizenship and the Mon-Khmer group is more akin to the cut-off year for granting Indian citi- Even before Lok Sabha cleared Many of her colleagues from the multi-
law, thousands of univer- their brethren from Cambodia in habits zenship to Hindus, Sikhs, Parsis, Chris- the Citizenship Amendment Bill, party North-East Democratic Alliance, IN CONCLUSION
protests had started in several
sity students were marching on the streets
of Guwahati. It was a repeat of similar pro-
tests which rocked Assam just a few
and language.
Centuries of interaction have dimmed
the stark cultural differences but have not
tians and Buddhist who are persecuted in
their own countries, namely Pakistan,
Afghanistan and Bangladesh.
North-Eastern states. Tripura
became a phone and internet
helmed by the BJP, also voted in favour of
the bill. T o be fair to the BJP, CAB was never
pushed through furtively. The party
was upfront and put it in its manifesto.
months ago. The slogans were the same: obliterated them completely. While the Bhattacharya’s contention is that dark spot from 2pm on Tuesday. POLITICAL CALCULATIONS However, instruments like CAB lead to
Joi Aai Axom. The concern was the same—
the rights of the Khilonjiya, a difficult to
translate Assamese word which can at best
tribes are largely agreeable about coexist-
ence with those from the sister states of
the region, they become highly suspicious
Assam has already borne the burden of
putting up with illegal migrants for dec-
ades. What angers him is that the BJP has WHY
W hat most political observers fail to contestations that the country could well
understand are the strategic calcu- do without because the North-East is also
lations that the BJP might be making by a region which is only just emerging out of
be described as “indigenous”. about any attempt to open up the region very ingenuously tried to divide the peo- antagonizing the people of Assam, in par- its many conflicts.
Even before the Lok Sabha cleared the to the “outsider”. ple of the North-East by exempting CAB In the borderlands on India’s ticular, who had voted the party to power It would have been prudent for the
contentious Citizenship Amendment Bill And that tag is all that matters in the from states with ILP and the Sixth Sched- north-eastern edge, the BJP’s in the state in 2016 and also sent a huge Centre not to meddle in this region
(CAB) by midnight on Monday, protests North-East; the religion of the “outsider” ule. The BJP believed this would break the renewed attempts to redefine chunk of MPs from the party to the Lok beyond a point. The fact is that the people
had broken out in other neighbouring hardly matters. Arunachal Pradesh, for back of anti-CAB protesters in the region. citizenship has only reopened Sabha. How much will the BJP gain from of the North-East have not yet emotion-
states. Tripura became a phone and inter- example, is not intent on giving citizen- That way, it is easier for the ruling party to an age-old, volatile question: CAB? Is CAB intended to win elections in ally integrated with the rest of India to the
net dark spot post 2pm on Tuesday. In the ship status to Buddhist Chakmas. The deal with Assam separately instead of a who belongs and who doesn’t? Assam or is the target actually West Ben- point of giving up their rights as indige-
borderlands on India’s north-eastern Mizos don’t want the Brus and Reangs (all united North-East. gal? nous people. Issues like CAB and the
edge, the Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP’s) three tribes are from the Chittagong hill But the BJP seems to have miscalcu- There is a substantial Hindu Banglade- National Register of Citizens have raked
renewed attempts to redefine citizenship tracts of Bangladesh). lated CAB’s impact. The tribals, who are SO WHAT shi population settled in West Bengal up the past, which most people of the
has only reopened an age-old, volatile Within this volatile environment of mostly Christians, are suspicious of CAB. whose citizenship status is uncertain. By north-eastern states had allowed to lie
question: who belongs and who doesn’t? contested identities, CAB will only intro- Despite the euphemism of bringing in The North-East is home to almost granting citizenship to a few lakh Hindus, buried somewhere in their subconscious
That the protest is loudest and most vis- duce new fault lines and worsen existing people of other faiths, barring the Mus- 238 indigenous tribes that are not the BJP will have a grateful citizenry as a mind.
ible in Assam is no surprise. The people of ones. What will happen to the past two lims, the bill is actually intended to Hindu by faith. Their fears are permanent vote bank. This is also one way CAB will bring out all these differences
Assam feel cornered after home minister decades of relative peace in the North- accommodate the Hindus of Bangladesh. about ‘outsiders’, irrespective of of countering Mamata Banerjee’s Trina- to the fore and provide ammunition to
Amit Shah said CAB will not be imple- East? And will the new national law end up Whether the Hindus of Bangladesh are religion. What will happen now to mool Congress, which is overtly patroni- groups that have always been antagonistic
mented in states where the Inner Line fuelling a slew of sub-nationalisms in actually persecuted is also an unaddressed two decades of relative peace? zing Muslims because they too form a for- to the idea of one nation, one language,
Permit (ILP) or the Sixth Schedule (which these states, with the issue of refugees question. Last year, Bangladesh Prime midable vote bank in the state. West Ben- one religion, and a uniform civil code.
grants a degree of autonomy to tribal becoming a permanent poll issue? Minster Sheikh Hasina had dismissed gal sends 42 MPs to Parliament as against And, for once, there will be many who will
councils) operates. Assam has a few dis- CAB as merely an electoral strategy of the Bangladeshi-origin (visible from their lan- Assam’s 14. Interestingly both Assam and agree that the idea of uniformity in India
tricts where the Sixth Schedule is in place. AIR OF SUSPICION BJP. guage and profiles). West Bengal are going for polls in 2021. is anathema.
It is not an ILP state. Hence, it will become
the only state in the North-East where ille- T he anti-CAB protests are only likely
to get more vociferous as the percep-
gal Hindu migrants from Bangladesh tion that the BJP will dig in its heels fur-
Whether it reaps electoral returns or
not, there is little doubt that the ensuing
tensions will leave the North-East devas-
The anti-CAB protesters in the state
know that 17 million Bangladeshi Hindus,
who claim to be persecuted in their coun-
In Assam’s Barak Valley, whose land- India lends itself to multiple definitions.
scape resembles Sylhet that is now in It is many nations due to geographical,
Bangladesh, the religious and cultural racial and linguistic diversities. How can
could potentially be set- ther solidifies. After all, tated. Tripura is the red flag that reminds try, would want to settle in Meghalaya and affinities with the people that multihued diversity
tled. it is a manifesto promise the people here how a tribal state could be the Barak Valley in Assam due to language on the other side of the be bottled up in the idea
Shah has quietly While the tribes are largely made by the party dur- transformed in just a few decades into a and cultural proximity with the Bengalis, border are still very Whether it reaps electoral of one nation or one reli-
assured Manipuris that agreeable about coexistence ing the 2019 national one where the indigenous people make who already reside in these locations. prominent. The borders returns or not for the gion? Why is the India of
the state will be granted polls. Since the number up only 32% of the population. The state The government of Meghalaya has are porous and easily today incubating ideas
an ILP system. Naturally, with those from the sister of BJP parliamentarians has been overrun by migrants, first from already come under pressure to push the penetrable. Kinship ties Bharatiya Janata Party, there that have proved disas-
the All Assam Students’ states in the region, they went up in the Lok East Pakistan and later from Bangladesh. Centre for ILP. To bring down tempers, exist on both sides and is little doubt that the trous and resulted in the
Union (AASU) and sev- Sabha, the party may Now, the Bengali-speaking population is the state has come up with the amended the people yearn to Balkanization of the
eral other citizens’ bod- become highly suspicious have reasonably calcu- a majority in Tripura and runs the affairs Meghalaya Residents Safety and Security reconnect. It is a better ensuing tensions will leave erstwhile USSR? India is
ies feel cornered. AASU lated that people might of the state. Fears of a similar fate are real Act, now pending with the governor. The option for Bangladeshi not China where 94 % of
adviser, the formidable about the ‘outsider’ support the passage of and widely held across all states in the Act requires a visitor, who desires to stay Hindus to come to India. the North-East devastated the population is of Han
Samujjal Bhattacharya, the bill. region. for more than 24 hours in the state, to fill It’s also important to ancestry.
who was also the union’s president for It would, after all, be prudent to assume an online application and get permission remember the long-term complications We are in dangerous territory. Those
many years, says that the Assam Accord that the voters in Assam who elected BJP RISING CALLS FOR ILP for entry. This is ILP by another name. due to climate change, which is projected who rule this country must have both
had agreed on 1971 as the cut-off year for MPs also voted for CAB. But this seems to
granting citizenship to illegal migrants in be a misstep. The Barak Valley in Assam,
Assam. “Now, the BJP has shifted the goal which is largely Bengali populated, votes
I n Meghalaya, there is a large area (10x10
sq. km) within Shillong city called the
European Ward, which is out of the pur-
This has irked hoteliers and tour opera-
tors because tourism is on the upswing
and the Act, if passed, will kill tourism in
to push large parts of Bangladesh into the foresight and large-heartedness to accom-
sea. The hills of Meghalaya, Mizoram and modate differences—and care about the
Tripura beckon. CAB will be an added sentiments of the people of the North-
post to 2014, thereby giving citizenship to very differently from the Brahmaputra view of the Sixth Schedule. This is already Meghalaya. bonus for those who want to slip into the East.
lakhs of people in Assam alone,” he says. Valley inhabited by indigenous Assamese- overpopulated and some localities have On Tuesday, the Garo Hills of Meghal- North-East under the cover of darkness. Patricia Mukhim is a journalist and edi-
The North-East is a melting pot of races speaking people. become slums occupied by people of aya, which sent Agatha Sangma to Parlia- That CAB will lead to further public tor of The Shillong Times.
 INESS O
US THURSDAY, 12 DECEMBER 2019
NEW DELHI 09

F
Life
WHEN SILENCE HELPS
CEOs STAY SHARP
It isn’t easy heading a company and dealing with numerous responsibilities. Some
founders have been using vipassana meditation techniques to remain calm and focused

Floh Network’s Siddharth

Mangharam starts his day with
vipassana at home. RAJ SAM/MINT

Scott A. Snell is a professor at the University of Virginia’s Darden School of Business.

‘Don’t ever let talent

trump teamwork’
Sohini Sen four steps in their job?
sohini.s@htlive.com Alignment is key for leaders. Align-
ment conveys the deceptively simple

I
f you consider all the successful notion that execution depends on
companies around us, none of them everyone working together toward the
is successful for just one reason. Suc- same goal. As a leader, it is very impor-
cessful strategic execution depends on tant that they bring the teams together.
a system of interrelated and interde- Teams come together when communi-
pendent factors, according to Scott A. cation flows, when various depart-
Snell, E. Thayer Bigelow Research pro- ments understand the other jobs and
fessor in business administration, at trust is created. A good example of this
University of Virginia’s Darden School is Microsoft. Each week the CEO leads
of Business in the US. a 4-hour meeting with his executives.
From establishing a clear strategic The executives then follow and hold
intent to raising shared expectation, meetings with their teams. This keeps
Professor Snell believes there are les- the teams aligned and focuses on team-
sons every company stands to learn. work and collaboration.
In an interview with Mint, Snell, who A second tip is, don’t ever let talent
has co-authored Strategic Execution, trump teamwork. As important as tal-
talks about the 4As of strategic execu- ent is for success, if you’re a leader who
tion and how collaboration is affecting just gets the most talented people on
the modern office. Edited excerpts: their team, but they don’t work
together, then they
In ‘Strategic Exe- will fail.
cution’, you speak Collaborations
about a four-part have been impor-
Sandhya Soman increased awareness about how exer- towards them and leave the rest to reinforced my inner nature with vipas- model for execut- tant in the work-
cise, mindfulness and meditation can nature,” says a senior business leader sana practice,” says Kumar, who finds ing strategy. Can it place. But has its

W
hen startup founder
Siddharth Man-
gharam lost his lap-
top bag in a crowded
shop in Bengaluru
nine years ago, he realized he had a
secret superpower—equanimity.
There he was, fresh from the fitting
of his wedding suit, a few days before
the big event, facing the theft of his lap-
top with confidential data and a per-
sonal journal.
“I was intensely aware of rage, disap-
pointment, guilt and finally, accept-
ance flashing before me in a few sec-
onds,” says Mangharam, 45, chief exec-
utive of Floh Network, a singles
community. He quickly moved on to
file a police complaint and get home for
dinner. His family was aghast at his
seeming nonchalance. “Why aren’t you
upset,” they asked. Mangharam real-
ized that he was composed, thanks to
his vipassana meditation practice.
Some corporate leaders like Man-
gharam have been quietly going about
their vipassana practice long before
Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey gush-
tweeted about his “10-day silent medi-
tation” for his birthday. They say it is
one of the surest ways to beat the stress
that comes with having to make many
decisions in increasingly complex and
dynamic workplaces.
PRESSURE POINTS
“From coaching conversations I’ve had
with leaders, it is clear that there are
high levels of stress brought on by mul-
tiple factors,” says Sridhar Laxman,
executive coach, Lucid Minds, a coach-
ing company.
On the other hand, he adds, there is
help. who has been practising vipassana for some time early in the morning for be applied by any significance
Anirudh Gupta, CEO of social travel 20 years. One is free to reject the theory meditation. company? changed in the
platform Tripoto, finished his first behind the technique, as the late Strategy is a plan present scenario of
10-day vipassana course recently in Goenka says in one of his talks. GROWING INTEREST? until it is actualized. startups and a
Mumbai. “I had been thinking about it Once one settles into the practice, According to Lokesh Goenka, grand- The greatest chal- more mobile work-
for a long time but never got the time to there is a sense of calm and greater son of vipassana guru Goenka and trus- lenge of chief execu- force?
do it,” says Gupta, 33, a veteran of two awareness of oneself. “A CEO of a com- tee of Mumbai’s Vipassana Research tives and top manage- The traditional
startups. He says his stress had been pany is like a king. There are rules and Institute, the practice has always ment teams is helping organization where
building up since 2016. limitations and you are responsible for attracted corporate leaders. “In fact, a their organizations all the work is done
“Nothing seemed to work. My wife a whole lot of people. Situations require few years ago, Guruji (S.N. Goenka) was execute better. Strat- within the bounda-
suggested mediation and I tried on my you to be calm and that’s where vipas- invited by the World Economic Forum egy alone does not ries of an organiza-
own using soothing music to focus my sana helps me,” says Udai Kumar, CEO because there was a lot of interest determine top versus Strategic Execution: tion, that traditional
mind,” says Gupta. He took to reading of Ohum Healthcare Solutions, a digital among business and political leaders bottom performance Driving Breakthrough sort of hierarchical
scriptures and interpre- health startup. worldwide to understand the benefits in an industry; it is Performance in Business— model is decaying.
tations of them, and ‘There is a lot of It could also make of vipassana,” he writes, in an email. execution that is key. By Kenneth J. Carrig and It’s transforming to
finally settled on a decision-making easier, Tripoto’s Gupta attracted some Four primary fac- Scott A. Snell; Stanford something that’s
vipassana course after talk around grit says the senior leader, amount of curiosity and scepticism on tors determine exe- Business Books, US; 240 much more of an
hearing about it from a and resilience in who sets aside an hour a his return from Mumbai. “After I came cution excellence. pages; ₹2,849. open network form of
friend. The technique
the startup world. day for vipassana. “You back, many asked me about it. Some The more we engage organization. As a
seems helpful, says become so aware that were curious, others sceptical, rightly with companies on their own execu- whole, organizations are getting flat-
Gupta. “If something What really gives the process of choice- so,” says Gupta. He adds that it would tion journeys, the more our work has ter. This makes collaboration even
happened the way I you an edge is making becomes spon- be worthwhile for everyone to give zeroed in on these four more important. As well
didn’t want it to, I used taneous and smooth,” vipassana a shot. factors. Where compa- m INTERVIEW as alignment and agility.
to get stressed out. equanimity.’ he says. Mangharam says it is not impossible nies have problems, By implementing the
Now, I don’t rationalize In his case, he is now to take time out for 10 days. “People go these are the most troublesome areas. 4As framework, leaders can prioritize
it, I am okay with it.” able to choose the most important on vacations or spend time on fitness. When they achieve performance the key areas of focus for the business.
problems out of the several presented Some go away for two years to do an breakthroughs, these are the areas that The challenge of keeping employ-
PRACTICE MAKES PERFECT to him at the beginning of the day and MBA, which is essentially to get an drive improvement. We refer to them ees motivated and engaged has
It has been 50 years since the late S.N. solve just those. “I was able to consist- edge. But if they really want to do vipas- as the 4 As: Alignment, Ability, Archi- reached a new dimension as far as
Goenka moved to India from Myanmar ently deliver a better performance over sana, it is not a big deal to take 10 days tecture and Agility. gig economy is concerned. How
to teach vipassana meditation, which 10 years, which spanned the time I was off, remain completely disconnected The 4A framework can help you see does one still build a workforce
derives from Buddhist practices. The a vipassana practitioner,” he says. from the world, maintain silence and your business through the lens of exe- where everyone has a shared goal?
various centres he has established in Sometimes, it could help in keeping focus on breath and sensations in the cution requirements and how it can Whether the company and its
India and abroad offer free, non-reli- oneself afloat during serious personal body,” he says. serve as a platform for engaging others employees are confined to one build-
gious courses, but the format is rigor- and professional crises. Mangharam, whose nine-year-old in important discussions to prioritize ing or spread out among several areas
ous. Beginners have to sign up for a Kumar, 58, had his first heart attack daughter sometimes joins his daily action and intervention. This frame- and regions, the core principals of
10-day silent monkish existence—they in 2003. There were financial setbacks practice, says there is a lot of talk work is especially important as compa- communication and collaboration are
can’t read, write or speak, but must and he lost his previous startup to part- around grit and resilience in the startup nies grow and evolve. The practices equally essential.
practice for close to 17 hours. ners. “There were problems at every world. “What really gives you an edge is may change, but the principles remain With tools like Slack and Zoom,
Those who persist swear by the prac- level but nobody looking at me now equanimity.” the same. leaders have the ability to communi-
tice. “At the end of the day, it is a tech- would realize it. I am always positive Could you share some tips on how cate with their teams regularly to col-
nique—you observe your breath, sen- and full of energy. I don’t think this Write to us at leaders can learn and apply these laborate and build out shared goals.
sations in your body, be neutral would have been possible if I hadn’t businessoflife@livemint.com

WHY YOUR MENTOR SHOULD FOLLOW THE OMNIPOTENT, NEAR UNIVERSAL 80:20 RULE GETTY IMAGES

effective, you need to have some degree of expertise in the unless absolutely necessary. In most situations, your questions
domain in which the individual is seeking mentoring. are a sufficient trigger for the person to reflect on it in solitude.
AROUND THE Then follow the omnipotent and near universal 80:20 rule.
Spend 80% of the time listening and 20% of the time sharing
Provide feedback on the changes you are seeing as you progress.
Encourage and applaud. Nothing is more satisfying than receiv-
WORKPLACE insights or advice. ing positive and heartfelt feedback.
Mentoring works best if the person seeking mentoring
T. N . H A R I The art of listening approaches you and is reasonably clear why she is coming to you.
It is important to listen and ask open-ended questions. By doing It also works if someone who knows both of you well makes the
Write to us at this, you are helping the other person explore her own inner connection. It usually doesn’t work when it is forced. Mentoring
businessoflife@livemint.com thoughts. Develop the art of asking the right kind of questions can be time-bound and for a specific objective. It could also be a
and having meaningful conversations. People don’t need lifelong relationship. Often in lifelong

O Building
ver the past several years I have played the role of a men-
tor to many people, both in the companies I worked at as
well as for entrepreneurs from the startup world. In the
process, my view on the role of a mentor has evolved.
The most important lesson I learnt was that one has to be a
mentor and an intern at the same time—as a mentor, one teaches
but also learns, and it’s vital to be open to that learning. You can
never be a great mentor if you go into the relationship assuming
you need to provide all the answers or that it is akin to a teacher-
student relationship.
Every relationship is a two-way street. You give something and
you take something. When you acknowledge that you are gaining
something from the relationship, and your body language also
communicates this, the effectiveness of what you give multiplies
manifold.
This may seem like a no-brainer but it has to be said: To be truly
answers most of the time. They just need you to help them find
their own answers or sometimes structure their thoughts. The
questions should be filtered for any unconscious biases you may
carry from your own experiences or your assumptions about the
other person.
Do, of course, share some relevant insights and specific advice
if you think it would help. Don’t hesitate to say, “I don’t know” on
a topic you do not understand well, and point the person to some-
one you feel may know something relevant. Helping make the
right connections is an important role that a good mentor plays.
Building mutual trust is an essential component of effective
mentoring. In the absence of trust and open sharing, the diagno-
sis of a situation will always be incomplete and often incorrect.
Like in any relationship, trust is the lubricant. While trusting in
the first interaction is not easy for most individuals, reciprocating
trust is far easier. Therefore, spend time in the early stages to
build mutual trust. Trust is built if you are non-judgmental and
treat whatever the other person shares with you with the confi-
dentiality it deserves. Trust is built if there is mutual respect.
Be encouraging and warm, but do not shy away from nudging
the person to explore blind spots or gaps in self-awareness by ask-
ing some of the difficult questions. There may be some defensive-
ness when facing the difficult questions, but don’t force the issue
mentoring relationships, the roles
mutual trust is change with time from one of mentor-
mentee to that of an enduring friendship.
an essential It is up to the individual you are men-
component of toring to decide the frequency of meet-
effective ings, the duration of mentoring and the
mentoring form the mentoring needs to take. It
could be intense in the beginning and
may peter off as the person finds that
the reasons she came to you for mentoring in the first place no
longer exist. She may have outgrown you or just developed wings
and flown off. Just sit back and enjoy the memory.
T.N. Hari is head of human resources at Bigbasket.com and adviser
to several venture capital firms and startups. He is the co-author of
Saying No To Jugaad: The Making Of BigBasket.

10 THURSDAY, 12 DECEMBER 2019
NEW DELHI
‘You do not get out of a consumption or a
demand side slowdown by increasing taxes’
Latha Venkatesh &
Sonia Shenoy
CNBC-TV18
W
e can’t get out of a
demand or con-
sumption-led
slowdown by
raising taxes, say
former chief statistician Pronab Sen
and economist Haseeb Drabu.
Edited excerpts of a conversation:
If the goods and services tax
(GST) rates were to rise, what
would happen to the economy?
Are we likely to go below 5% in
terms of gross domestic prod-
uct (GDP)?
Sen: The rates that we are talking
about, particularly the 6% rate, that
is not a very good idea at this stage.
However, in any case, we were
expecting over time a reduction in
the bandwidth of the GST rates and
this would be a part of it. So in itself
it does not disturb me very much.
However, the 6% is applied to
what are considered to be necessi-
ties. It is the items of common con-
sumption that are hurting people
today. So an increase in the GST
rate at this point may be a little dis-
ruptive. Under normal circumstan-
ces, I would not have bothered
about it at all.
That is precisely the point.
These are not normal circum-
stances. This is a time where we
have seen the personal final
consumption expenditure
(PFCE) decline a lot. Therefore
I am asking you if this is going to
mean a further demand crunch.
Will it become a policy issue,
because after all, the governor
clearly said that he wants to see
the next budget before the next
cut. If optically telecom tariffs
go up and some necessities also
go up, we could be looking at a
5.5% CPI for some time. How
does all this play out for the next
six months?
Sen: As far as the consumer price
index (CPI) is concerned, we need
to get into the mode of factoring out
‘A lot of sectors are under stress today, leading to lower collections from GST’
Latha Venkatesh &
Sonia Shenoy
CNBC-TV18
I
n the backdrop of tax reve-
nues falling woefully short of
targets in the first six months
of the financial year, there are
expectations that the Goods
and Services Tax Council (GST
Council) is set to bump the indi-
rect tax rates in some tax cate-
gories. In a discussion, H.M.
Bharuka, vice chairman and
managing director at Kansai
Nerolac and M.S. Mani, Part-
ner-GST at Deloitte India
shared their thoughts on the
impact of higher rates and the
options before the govern-
ment. Edited excerpts of a con-
versation:
Let us speak about the rates
rejig. If they are raised from
12% to 15% or from 5% to 8%,
will that be extremely dis-
ruptive for the industry?
Bharuka: There are two
aspects. Let us look from a busi-
ness perspective and economic
perspective.
From a business perspective,
it is a wrong timing when there
is a slowdown, when gross
domestic product (GDP) rates
are going down, we are con-
cerned about revenue collec-
tion and everything. So raising
from 5% to 8% or from 12% to
15% is going to have an effect on
the slowdown. So, from a busi-
ness perspective, it’s definitely
negative.
Let us look at it from an eco-
nomic perspective. The fact is
that when the GST was intro-
duced, we were expecting
almost 25% year-on-year (YoY)
growth shifting from unorgan-
ized to organized and parallel
economy perhaps getting
reduced, which has not hap-
pened. On top of that, there is a
drop in collection so the fiscal
deficit is going up. From an
economic perspective, govern-
ment has no choice but to raise
the revenue.
Whether it should be raised
from 5% to 8% or from 12% to
EXCLUSIVE FROM
PRIYANKA PARASHAR/MINT
PRADEEP GAUR/MINT
tax effect. It is not a good idea to I want you to come in on the fact is short on cash and is not giving
have tax effects as a part of the CPI that the genesis of this whole money to the states, who are the
because these are one-offs and not problem is that GST collections people who actually spend
trendsetters. One should adjust for have fallen short by at least 40% money? Are we getting out of
that. of the budgeted estimates. That this 5% rut anytime soon or are
I would not worry too much is an alarming statistic. How we going to see further trough-
about the CPI at the moment. I am much of that is courtesy the ing of the economy before it
much more worried about the fact subdued consumption that we picks up?
that private final consumption have seen and do you think that Sen: You don’t get out of a con-
expenditure (PFCE) is down. If you collections will pick up as the sumption or a demand side slow-
had been raising the middle rate, I cycle turns and the festive down by raising taxes. That is about
would have worried less. However, demand gets recorded? What is the worst economics that I can
what you are doing is raising the your sense of which way things think of. Even a third year BA stu-
lower rates. could head? dent will tell you that it sounds
This means that precisely those Sen: If you actually think of the wrong.
segments of the society that are way GST works, the bulk of the GST If the real issue is really GST
having a hard time buying their collection is really in intermediates evasion and that has to be fixed,
necessities today are going to be hit and not in final consumption. We how do you think the monitor-
even harder. do get fair amount from final con- ing tools can be strengthened
So your advice would be raise sumption, particularly at the higher hereon and what do you think
12% to 15% and raise the 18% to end. However, for the rest the bulk the next course of action could
20%, but do not raise the 5% to comes from the intermediate goods be?
8%? and services. Drabu: A huge administrative
Sen: Yes, do not raise the 5% to Given that, what this is saying in structure had been created where
8%. Former chief statistician of India Pronab Sen (left) and economist Haseeb Drabu. effect is that possibly two things are sharing of the implementation
If the rates go up, what would happening. One, for those that are responsibilities were divided
the impact be on growth and do where you go to 14-14.5 and basi- ernment to the Supreme Court they don’t fall short. That is why directly business-to-consumer between centre and states. How-
you think the states will take it cally reclassify commodities rather because they promised 14%, and the rate hike has been even pro- (B2C) sales, we may be in a situation ever, please remember that it is a
at all? Don’t you see the states than make rate changes. it was on the basis of that 14% posed. where parallel channels of distribu- self-assessment system.
going up in arms because of this As it is, there has been 1,200 increase that the states gave up Drabu: What I am saying is that tion are being set up where GST is So, you have to give it time for it
whole problem of raising the changes that have happened in the their right to tax what was their when you go back to the origins of it simply being ejected. to develop. You need to look at the
rates? past three or four months. So, it is most lucrative item—sales tax. and how it ought to function, rate That is a problem that has to be ways being used to avoid it but this
Drabu: I will go along with Dr now becoming a real problem when So, reneging on 14% is unac- change should not be done to fixed administratively. It is not a whole issue that Sen is raising about
Sen in terms of the impact. How- the original advantage is being ceptable according to them. finance compensation. rate change issue. In a sense I am the sales tax force, the whole idea
ever, what I want to highlight is that diluted and this is becoming a prob- There will be these kinds of The whole idea really at that not very aware of whether or not was to move away from that kind of
one should not change the rate lem. arguments. There was a great point of time was that you should do the state governments that were a thing to more a regulated and a
basis the level of eco- For the first time, I deal of statesmanship that Arun it out of cess. So, in principle this is responsible for collect- risk based assessment
nomic activity for GST It is the items heard somewhere last Jaitley had shown in getting wrong. ing sales tax, whether By changing rates, thing.
at this point of time of common week in Delhi that peo- everyone on board. Now in the Do you see long skirmishes and they have diluted their you are changing So, it was meant to
when you are still in a consumption ple are now saying that middle of a downturn and states no decision for a couple of sales tax force because the virtue of GST’s be self-assessed and a
transition phase, you that are hurting GST should be killed. not having got the money that meetings? they are the only ones architecture in move away from this
have still not com- So, this is now getting was due to them in the past six Drabu: Yes, I would imagine. who can operate at the whole police type
pleted the whole
people today. B2C level. The central
relation to the actions by the sales
into another zone that months, are we going to face a But I think this is not just restricted
regime change. So a hike in GST at was not expected. I period of inaction? to the GST council. What you see government does not level of economic tax departments of
If you start chang- this point may be would think that the Drabu: The point is why are you adding to the whole thing is the have the wherewithal activity. That’s not the states. However, I
ing rates, you are a little disruptive, way it was designed linking the 14% to the rate changes. finance commission award as and to do it. what GST is meant also feel that it is a
changing the virtue of says Sen was that you would The 14% was supposed to be when it starts coming in. As far as intermedi- to be, says Drabu wrong way to say that
architecture of the have reclassified com- financed through a cess that is the So, you will have a period when ate goods are con- states are not making
GST in relation to the modities in these compensation cess. you will have skirmishes between cerned, that is almost efforts because 14% is
level of economic activity. That is bands. All that is getting linked. From the Centre and the state. I think we entirely in the domain of the Cen- guaranteed.
not what the GST is supposed to be My bigger problem is whether the kind of buzz that we are get- need to go back to the original prin- tre. That is where the Centre has States on their own do actually
in any way. there will be a longish bit of just ting in terms of recommenda- ciple. advantages in collections. There is make efforts to raise taxes, nobody
We are now looking at changing skirmishes and therefore inac- tions, the compensation cess The real problem is that the GST a problem that has to be fixed at wants to kind of get things from the
rate bands. I thought the best way to tion. The Kerala finance minis- also may be hiked but every- Council has not functioned as it had both ends and the problem is not centre as freebies. So, that is a
do it if at all would be to collapse ter, who has of course always thing is on the table. The states in the beginning when the entire one of the rates but it is one of wrong impression that gets created
that band and take it to three levels, been belligerent, said that they are being asked to allow the architecture was laid out. I think administrative efficiency. all the time.
according to the original idea will even take the central gov- Centre to increase this so that that is the key concern. At a time when the government feedback@livemint.com
15%, I am sure government implementing it properly? be tackled? which is taking place when the that is one of the innovative
knows their maths better. Bharuka: I am not disput- Bharuka: It is definitely cash sales are done ultimately. ways to look at the solution and
Maybe it’s just a discussion ing what Mr Mani is saying but possible, we cannot rule it out, Dealers accumulate those perhaps punish the people
which is taking place and at the same time, let us under- but at the same time please look amounts and those bills are those who do not actually com-
maybe marginal tweaking stand as I mentioned, when the at the exports number, and perhaps given to someone else ply with the rules.
would be done. Perhaps, it may GST was introduced, we were they have not gone up signifi- and who takes the credit. So Is there a way to plug leaka-
be required according to me. expecting almost 25% revenue cantly for the evasions I mean these are the bigger leakages ges in services?
That is one aspect of the growth year-on-year (YoY). to take place from exports which are taking place which Mani: I have not come
issue. The other aspect is That was a very conservative front. But certainly, if you look needs to be perhaps controlled. across too many leakages in the
GST evasion, which is the number because we were at invoice matching that is only Officers in the GST Council services sector per se. But on
bigger problem here. What expecting parallel economy to one of the solutions, it is not the have come with recommen- the services sector, I think the
are the administrative tools go down. 14% promise was only solution. When we look at dations like every invoice issue that could be addressed is
or the monitoring tools that given to states purely based on the composite tax, now what carry some kind of a lottery that there are certain services
need to be tightened to that number. are we saying, we are paying 1 number and at the end of which are outside the GST
make sure that GST evasion Has our GDP gone down that percent on turnover of ₹1.5 the month or something, ambit. There are quite a few
is less than what it is right much? Of course, we know crore, what is the value addi- from the invoices the lottery services which are kept out-
now? H.M. Bharuka, vice-chairman and MD of Kansai Nerolac (left), nominal GDP is not growing tion. GST is the tax on the value is picked up. Do you think side, which are exempt.
Bharuka: I think that is the and M.S. Mani, partner-GST at Deloitte India. that much. So while slowdown addition, and if you take aver- scheme like these are too In services sector there
most important aspect and I am is certainly a factor, but it is not age rate of 8% then the 1% holds frivolous or do you think aren’t too many items which
sure government is aware of it. begin with. Third is the com- So cess – if you look at it, one definitely a factor which has good of ₹1.5 crore. Now, 8% is that is the way to go? Make are kept at 5% or 12%, majority
Initially, when it was intro- posite scheme. segment which contributes contributed to such a drop in only value addition on the every Indian demand an are at 18%. So service sector as a
duced, there were a lot of I think these are the three largely to the cess is the auto- the expectation of GST collec- entire turnover, I think your invoice for everything he or whole may not have too much
things, which were suggested areas perhaps where govern- mobile sector. So if car sales tion. So, evasion is definitely a profit itself is perhaps 8% or she buys, do schemes like of leakages per se, but the
and because there were elec- ment can look at apart from don’t pick up, the cess is bound big issue and I definitely see more than that. this work? larger issue remains in terms of
tions and the administrative rejig in the structure to perhaps to go down. Real estate is evasion when I go in the market May be we need to re-tweak Bharuka: Again, you need what we can do to proper col-
inconvenience was eased out, control the evasion. another sector where the gov- and we as a country need to the composite scheme. May be to look from two perspectives. lection, to your question can we
which is understandable His point is e-way bill, ernment rightfully made a lot introduce a system and unless I would say you introduce more Yes, it is frivolous at the same have something like a pre-em-
because it is not easy to intro- invoice matching for the big of positive changes over the last we do it, revenue collection is slabs on the composite, may be time what else you can do, I bossed number on each invoice
duce such a big reform in such ones and composite scheme one year. They brought down not going to go up. increase composite to ₹5 crore mean look at the kind of econ- and can that be electronically
a short time. should bring home the the rates, introduced the Whether you rejig the rates, but have different slabs ranging omy we have and the kind of controlled, yes that is a very
So now government has bacon in terms of less eva- scheme etc. but the sector over- answer is not increase the rate from ₹50,00,000 to ₹2 crore or systems which we have. good way of checking tax eva-
done a lot of administrative eas- sion, can it work reasonably all is not looking up. to get the revenue. The answer 1 crore from 2 to 3, 3 to 5 and At the same time every sion.
ing as far as network is con- quickly? If this is done on So what, to my mind, certain is to control the evasion and increase the com- Indian should But for a country of our
cerned, all those mission mode, structural issues pertaining to according to me, that is a large posite tax because demand invoice, diversity and magnitude, can
issues have been There is a drop in d o w e s e e the sectors of the economy scale and in fact it has gone up that is perhaps In services sector, I mean no one we have a software that is
sorted out. Now is GST collection, so results in six need to be taken care of. GST is compared to what it was earlier where the evasion there aren’t too demands the robust enough to do a match-
the time perhaps the fiscal deficit is months? a resultant impact of that. and that needs to be curtailed. is taking place, that many items which invoice in fact ing across the country, across
to look where the going up. From an Mani: I think Instead of doing tweaks on If that is done, the revenue will is too low. are kept at 5% or people prefer to geographies, which is online,
evasion is and so. I think we can GST to say, let me increase a definitely go up. There a r e 12%; majority are pay in cash real time. Because I get an
economic
where the leaka- see a lot of results rate of this and let me do this, I wanted your point also on 17,00,000 regis- at 18%. So service because they feel invoice today, I may wish to
ges are taking perspective, govt if we start with let me do that. I am very clear in this other issue, I mean for tered GST who are sector as a whole they are saving take a credit tomorrow which
place. has no choice but invoice matching. my mind that in GST, the rates evasion itself is it enough paying composite may not have too the tax. The means it has to figure in the
We know the to raise revenue, E-way bill has which are there today are very that we have a proper tax. I think that also much of leakages problem is actu- portal tomorrow otherwise I
parallel economy says Bharuka already led to reasonable compared to the invoicing matching system needs to be looked per se, says Mani ally they are pay- will get delayed. So can we have
is still running, some g o o d previous rates. They are in place or do you think a lot at and perhaps if ing the tax the IT infrastructure to take
the organized sec- results, invoice extremely reasonable com- more needs to be done? you increase that because the tax care of a system like that, if the
tor is still very large and the matching will certainly lead to pared to the earlier regime. But Someone was telling us ear- composite revenue from ₹1.5 is being collected from them. answer to that is yes, then it is
cash in circulation, despite better results but my sense over a period of time, if we have lier that even worse now is crore to 5 crore and increase Today you go to any market wonderful.
demonetization or GST, has overall is, we have to be very established the rates of certain the fact that some of these the composite tax, perhaps you and you buy the things, you will The only point here I would
not gone down. So I think there clear in terms of the fact that products, let us say at 18, would evasion chains are actually will generate more revenue get a fake invoice there. If you like to mention is business has
are three ways of looking at it when we say there is a stress on it be right today to say that the ending in exports, which rather than increasing the ask for a proper invoice they really undergone a lot of stress
right now. collections or there is a stress 18 should go up? means that not only are rates. That is what we need to will say you have to pay 12% during the GST in order to
One is the e-way bill which on compensation cess, are we There are two-three things these guys not paying taxes look at it. extra on that. Fact of the matter comply with GST. All orga-
was introduced which may get saying it is only due to evasion? that you are saying. Let me but they are actually getting Apart from that, I think as I is the rate which is charged to nised businesses, all large busi-
extended further, all the Possibly the answer, to my first get Mr Bharuka to cash refunds against ITC mentioned, India needs to be a you is inclusive of GST, but you nesses have had a tough time in
administrative issues have mind, is, no. answer first this question. where in sometimes actual system driven economy, the are being told that you have to the last two years. My sugges-
been solved. Number two is the One of the reasons why the How much would you say is business is not even taken bills needs to be demanded, pay extra and then people pre- tion would be let us not
invoicing matching, which is collections are low and why the due to the slowdown? place. Do you think that is there are still manual bills fer not to take invoice. That is increase that stress in a
being talked and again govern- cess is low is because there are Because the slowdown is also one issue that the sys- which are prepared, there are how the country works. moment of economic stress in
ment is sensible, they are look- a lot of sectors, which are there, no two ways, and how tem is facing and how do still cash sales which are taking Perhaps this lottery system India.
ing at larger corporates to undergoing stress today. much is because we are not you think all of this should place and there is a leakage may look frivolous, but perhaps feedback@livemint.com

CORPORATE BUZZ
NMDC PROMOTES AWARENESS ON WOMEN HEALTH & HYGIENE ASTIK KUMAR PANDEY
In order to create awareness on
women health and hygiene pro-
grammes, NMDC is providing 20
sanitary pad machines to women
Self Help Groups in Chhattisgarh
and Karnataka in association with
respective state governments.
Dwayne Bravo, former captain of
HERO MOTOCORP OPENS
NEW DEALERSHIPS
Hero MotoCorp inaugurated two
new state-of-the-art authorised
dealerships – ‘Sapphire Bikes’ in
Lajpat Nagar 2 and ‘Shraman Au-
tomobile’ in Azadpur, New Delhi.
recently. The dealerships were
Mint Media Marketing Initiative
APPOINTED MUNICIPAL
COMMISSIONER,
AURANGABAD
West Indies Cricket team, will as-
sociate with the cause through a
documentary film titled ‘Men Take
Lead’ to create awareness among
women and young girls to counter
poor menstrual hygiene practices in
the tribal areas of Bastar region of
Chhattisgarh.
JK TYRE FLAGS OFF CAR
RALLY 2019
Members of Parliaments and other
dignitaries took part in the pres-
tigious JK Tyre-Constitution Club
of India Car Rally 2019 for Par-
liamentarians in an endeavour to
raise awareness on road safety
THURSDAY, 12 DECEMBER 2019
NEW DELHI 11
IAS of 2010 batch, Astik Kumar
Pandey has taken over the reins
of Aurangabad Municipal Corpora-
tion as new civic chief. Pandey re-
places Dr Nipun Vinayak, who was
transferred as commissioner- cum
–director, Municipal administration,
Mumbai.
Astik Kumar Pandey earlier
worked as a District Collector of
Beed, Akola and also worked
as Chief Officer of Jalgaon Jilla
Parishad. He holds a rich experi-
ence in administration and is known
for running several social drives
,such as water conservation, plastic
free city, etc.
KALYAN JEWELLERS
ANNOUNCES MEGA OFFERS
AND DISCOUNTS
Kalyan Jewellers has announced
exciting offers and heavy discounts
on diamonds and gold, this Christ-
mas. As a part of this offer, cus-
tomers can avail up to 20 per cent
discount on diamond value and 15
per cent – 30 per cent off on making
charges of gold jewellery.
These mega discounts and offers
are valid until January 31, 2020.
Speaking on this occasion, TS
Kalyanaraman, CMD, Kalyan Jew-

  
inaugurated by Hero Motocorp’s and to encourage responsible driv- .:
 > 


 @>@ 

ellers, said, “We are extremely ;73, 3@     ? >> @ ?
 @>
National Sales Head, Naveen ing. Om Birla, Speaker of the Lok overwhelmed with the response ? 
>

>
>
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 >

>

Chauhan. The new dealerships of- Sabha, Rajiv Pratap Rud, Sec- from our customers this season.” @
 

 :
>  >
@
  > 

fer all the services to their custom- retary of the Constitution Club of > >> >?   5
> * 6@> =? )
ers under one roof – from focused India and Anshuman Singhania, UCO BANK REDUCES ITS 
>> @
 
)

@
7 >     ?  > @>
sales consulting, fully equipped
service facility to availability of
Deputy Managing Director, JK Tyre
and Industries Ltd flagged-off the MCLR RATES >


  @

@
* 1 !"-042*3*6942*31<! ' ( 9
UCO Bank has reduced its Mar-
spare parts. rally amidst much fanfare.  = 9  8> 4> 3  8> = 5( 
ginal Cost of Funds Based Lending
/  = 5
> , 8 &(! 3>@
JOYALUKKAS HOSTS DESIGNER JEWELLER FEST Rates (MCLR) by 10 basis points
across various tenors.
: >? 
 @> ? 
>

?
> ' !! ( 

$ 74 7> @> > ? 


 >


Joyalukkas is hosting its Designer chases during the fest. The revised one-year MCLR stands
> ( !! ( >  *4
Jewellery Fest, showcasing the Speaking about the fest, Joy at 8.30 per cent, down from 8.40 + 1 %%-042*3*6942*31<! ' ( 9
largest collection of designer jewel- Alukkas, CMD Joyalukkas Group, per cent existing. The revised over-  9> 8 >  #

> 8 4> 3 

lery. said, “The trends of wedding jewel- night, one-month, three-months 979!$ 5
> , 8 '% $ 3>@
Shoppers will be treated to an lery is constantly changing. Brides and six months tenor MCLR now : >? 
 @> ? 
>

?
> !% !! ( 

all-new and never before explored today prefer exquisite, sophisticat- $ 74 7> @> > ? 


 >


design trends in diamond, uncut
diamond and precious jewellery
with special focus on bridal jewel-
lery. Shoppers will also be rewarded
with free gold coins on their pur-
ed and statement pieces of jewel-
lery. For this particular fest, we have
brought together the finest artisans
to create spectacular designer jew-
ellery to delight diamond lovers.
stands at 7.70 per cent, 7.85 per

> !& !! ( >  *4
cent, 7.95 per cent and 8.20 per 9.5168 4*5*0.8 2*31
cent respectively, 10 basis points 9.,:68 $ 561-*
lower than their existing levels. As
a result, all MCLR linked loans will
become cheaper now.

DEALS
Today’s business world is a little like instant noodles.
Something is always cooking every two minutes.
That’s why we always keep you two steps ahead with the latest
news on mergers, acquisitions, and everything in between.

To get your MINT copy, give a missed call on

7039035039 or visit www.mintreaders.com
or write to us at subscription@livemint.com
12 THURSDAY, 12 DECEMBER 2019
NEW DELHI PERSONAL FINANCE

Jaypee case gives hope to How much a house costs in Bengaluru

A house is probably the biggest spend for most Indians.
And with urban population increasing manifold, buying
a house in a large city, which is where most jobs are likely

buyers in other projects to be, has become difficult—the main obstacle being cost.
Determining a property’s value is difficult. Our compilation
of property prices of prominent localities in major cities and
surrounding areas across India may help you compare and
make an informed decision. Here are the prices of some
properties across four bands.

No. of Average unit Average price Approximate

While this case will set a precedent, all projects may not see a similar resolution plan Location bedrooms size (sq. ft) (₹/sq. ft) price (₹ lakh)
HT PHOTO Under ₹50 lakh
Ashwini Kumar Sharma
Chandapura 1 550 3,300 18.15
ashwini.s@livemint.com
Electronic City Phase-1 2 1,000 3,900 39.00

H
omebuyers in various Electronic City Phase-2 2 1,000 3,700 37.00
projects of Jaypee
Infratech Ltd, a real Linking Gottigere 2 950 4,100 38.95
Aadhaar to
estate arm of Jaipra- property Tumkur Road 2 1,100 4,500 49.50
kash Associates Ltd, sales may
can now see the light at the end of usher Kengeri 2 1,050 4,600 48.30
the tunnel. The insolvency case transparenc
y ₹50 lakh-75 lakh
filed against the company in August
2017 for default in repayment of bit.ly/346cOK9 Kanakapura 3 1,500 4,600 69.00
borrowings has now reached its Varthur 2 1,100 4,700 51.70
final stage of resolution. According
to reports, state-owned NBCC KR Puram 2 1,100 4,800 52.80
(India) Ltd and Suraksha Realty, a Kadugodi 2 1,100 4,700 51.70
Mumbai-based real estate devel-
oper, have submitted their final Bannerghatta 2 1,200 5,500 66.00
bids to complete several under- Thanisandra 2 1,100 5,000 55.00
construction projects of Jaypee
Infratech in Noida, as part of the ₹75 lakh-1 crore
resolution. A voting process, which Sarjapur Road 3 1,500 5,900 88.50
commenced on 10 December, by
the committee of creditors (CoC), Yelahanka 3 1,550 5,500 85.25
including banks and homebuyers,
Haralur Road 3 1,500 6,150 92.25
will now choose between NBCC
and Suraksha Realty. Once that is Marathahalli 2 1,200 6,500 78.00
done, the construction process may nance, 2018 issued on 6 June 2018, comes back to Jaypee Infratech. homebuyers stuck in other such
Whitefield 2 1,200 6,500 78.00
start in a couple of months. homebuyers were given rights as While NBCC is backed by the delayed or stalled projects.
This also comes as a ray of hope financial creditors. government, JSW Group has But should homebuyers of other Bannerghatta 3 1,600 5,500 88.00
for homebuyers of other real estate Thereafter, a large number of expressed its interest to provide such projects expect a similar reso-
projects whose developers have insolvency cases were filed against technical and operational support lution plan? Experts doubt that. “It Above ₹1 crore
insolvency cases filed against them real estate developers. “Since June to Suraksha Realty for the comple- may not be possible to have a simi- Hebbal 3 1,900 9,500 180.50
for non-delivery of apartments. So, 2018 (after getting the financial tion of pending housing projects of lar solution for other projects
will the resolution of projects from creditor status), a total of 1,821 cases Jaypee Infratech. “To its advantage, because one of the major advanta- JP Nagar 3 1,700 7,100 120.70
Jaypee Infratech set a precedent for have been filed by homebuyers NBCC is a public sector unit with ges for this instance is that Jaypee Banashankari 3 1,700 7,500 127.50
other projects as well? against builders under the Code,” the backing of the government. Group has a lot of underlying Look out for real estate data in this space for cities such as Delhi and NCR, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Chennai, Kolkata, Pune and
said minister of state for corporate Also, its previous track records assets. This may not necessarily be Hyderabad. The list is not exhaustive. Data as of December 2019.
THE BACKDROP affairs Anurag Singh Thakur in Par- indicate that it not only has the true for other companies. Jaypee SANTOSH SHARMA/MINT Source: Cushman and Wakefield Research India

Jaypee Infratech was established as liament in November (read more at: required expertise but also the Group spans across various sectors
a special purpose company to bit.ly/2RyH4Lj). manpower to undertake the mas- like infrastructure, power and
develop, operate and maintain the After the initial proceedings in sive task at hand. On the other cement and is not limited only to
Yamuna Expressway in Uttar Pra- the Jaypee Infratech case, the reso- hand, JSW Infrastructure has com- real estate,” said Puri.
desh, connecting Noida and Agra. lution professional failed to outline mitted to provide both financial While all projects may not see a
The company also had the right to
develop more than 6,000 acres of
land along the expressway for resi-
a plan and suggested liquidation of
the company. However, homebuy-
ers were against such liquidation
and technical support for project similar resolution plan, a few of
completion within the timeline. them may. “The Amrapali and the
Thus, the financials of both bidders Jaypee Infratech cases are among
Mix fund styles when investing in MFs
dential, commercial, amusement, and after the apex court’s interfer- seem fairly sound, which is a para- the biggest projects facing insol- ISTOCK
industrial and institutional pur- ence, bidders were asked to submit mount consideration in this case,” vency. If a resolution can be crafted Srikanth Meenakshi investing for the purpose of build-
poses. The company commenced their offers for the completion of said Anuj Puri, chairman, ANA- for these projects, there must be ing wealth over the long term, and
the development of the Noida land Jaypee Infratech projects. ROCK Property Consultants Pvt. ways to complete other projects to I am 25 years old and I earn your risk profile is either unknown
parcel and launched various resi- Ltd, a real estate consultancy firm. give relief to homebuyers,” said ₹22,000 per month. I want to or moderate, then you can go with
dential and commer- THE FINAL BIDS The CoC has to Samantak Das, chief invest in equity mutual funds. I an equity-heavy portfolio—assum-
cial projects in 2008 After several After several rounds of vote and decide who Once the bidding economist and head of am confused about the kind of ing that your time frame is at least
and 2009; most of rounds, NBCC offers, NBCC and Sur- they want to go with process is research, JLL India, a mutual funds I should choose. If five years and you would not need
these projects were and Suraksha aksha Realty have for construction and completed, NCLT real estate consultancy I decide to invest ₹3,000, to stop the SIP or take the money
scheduled to be com- Realty have made made the final bidding completion of the will have 45 days firm. should I invest in one scheme or out in the interim. If these hold true,
pleted by 2012. In offer to complete the projects. As many as Experts also believe three schemes? Please advise. then you can consider a portfolio
final bidding offer project. 13 banks and financial
to streamline the that last month’s
total, more than —Omprakash Suman that is 70-80% in equity funds
35,000 apartments to complete the NBCC in its final bid institutions along process of announcement by the It’s a great time to begin investing (about ₹32,000) and the remaining
were launched under project has offered 1,526 acres with about 22,000 construction government, where it in equity. Starting out early means in debt funds. You have an FD,
various projects. All of of land to the lenders homebuyers and 900 decided to extend last- that even smaller amounts can grow which can be part of your debt port-
them witnessed sub- (banks and financial fixed deposit holders mile funding even for substantially over the years. In folio. Leave it there to be used for
stantial demand and were sold out. institutions), as against the earlier have voting rights in the CoC. The projects against which insolvency equity funds, don’t be influenced by any emergency needs. In a year or
However, the company failed to proposal of 1,426 acres, to settle voting share of a homebuyer is in cases have been filed under NCLT, the one-, three- or five-year returns so, your mutual fund portfolio will
deliver projects as per the promised their dues. Besides, NBCC has proportion to her financial debt as will help many projects and, in only. Look for other metrics as well hopefully grow more than your FD
schedule, and also started default- promised to deliver the 20,000 a percentage of the total financial turn, give respite to lakhs of home- like past returns, volatility and so investment.
ing on repayment of bank borrow- pending apartments within three debt of the company. Buyers have buyers stuck in stalled projects on. Mix different fund types— Regarding schemes, you can con-
ings. and a half years, which is six months nearly 60% voting share. For a bid (read more at: bit.ly/2qzC0em). The large-, mid-, multi- and large-and- ASK MINT sider investing ₹8,000 each in
Four years later, in May 2016, the short of the previous timeline it had to be approved, 66% of the votes are government’s proposed alternative mid-cap. Also, mix fund styles such m MUTUAL FUNDS ICICI Prudential Nifty Next 50 fund
Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code proposed. required. Homebuyers can cast investment fund (AIF), worth as growth-oriented and value-ori- (large-cap, index-driven), Invesco
(IBC) was enacted. In 2017, an IDBI On the other hand, Suraksha their votes online on Jaypee Infrat- ₹25,000 crore, is expected to pro- ented. Don’t sell your fund if India Growth Opportunities fund (a
Bank-led consortium filed an insol- Realty is now offering 2,220 acres ech’s website, www.jaypeeinfrat- vide last-mile funding to stalled returns start to fall; understand why I want to invest ₹45,000 per multi-cap fund) and Kotak Standard
vency case against Jaypee Infratech of land compared to its earlier offer ech.com, between 10 and 16 Decem- projects across the country. they are falling and know that month via systematic invest- Multicap fund (another multi-cap
in the National Company Law Tri- of 1,934 acres, besides increasing ber. According to the government, equity is volatile in the short term ment plans (SIPs). I have a fixed fund). Finally, you should split the
bunal (NCLT) for default in the the upfront cash payment to len- Once the bidding process is com- there are about 1,600 stalled hous- and gives good returns only in the deposit (FD) of ₹5 lakh. What remaining ₹8,000 between DSP
repayment of loans. Until then, the ders to ₹175 crore from ₹25 crore pleted, NCLT will have 45 days to ing projects, consisting of about long term. To start with, go for types of schemes shall I choose? Midcap fund and Franklin India
company had offered only about earlier. Suraksha Realty is also set and streamline the process of 458,000 units, across the country. funds with moderate risk—hybrid —Anirudh Trivedi Smaller Companies fund.
20% of its projects for possession. offering land worth ₹250 crore to construction. If homebuyers in stalled projects aggressive funds, large-cap index The funds that you should For the debt allocation, you can
Jaypee Infratech was among the homebuyers; it had earlier offered of developers that are as big as funds, or moderate multi-cap funds. choose for your SIPs will depend invest in Kotak Savings fund and
first few developers against whom land worth ₹100 crore for this pur- RAY OF HOPE Amrapali and Jaypee Infratech are Consider funds such as ICICI Pru- significantly on the time frame of L&T Ultra Short Term fund in equal
insolvency cases were filed. How- pose. It has also promised to pro- Jaypee Infratech is not the only indeed able to get their houses as dential Equity and Debt, Kotak your investments (that is, how long portions.
ever, it was the Jaypee Infratech vide additional land parcels worth developer to have faced insolvency per the new timelines, it will cer- Standard Multicap or Mirae Asset you plan to invest in the SIP and Srikanth Meenakshi is co-founder,
case that led to a major amendment ₹250 crore to homebuyers, on the proceedings, and the current reso- tainly restore confidence among Large Cap. For ₹3,000, one scheme when you are likely to need your PrimeInvestor.in. Send in your que-
in IBC—by way of Insolvency and condition that 858 acres of land, lution process for the company has homebuyers. Watch this space for will be enough. Add schemes as money back), and your risk toler- ries and views at mintmoney@live-
Bankruptcy (Amendment) Ordi- pledged by Jaiprakash Associates, come as a ray of hope for many more updates. your savings increase over time. ance. If, like many investors, you are mint.com

LACK OF AWARENESS IS THE KEY CHALLENGE ON THE ROAD TO FINANCIAL INCLUSION

ISTOCK
as my CFA Society India colleagues and I cycled through the hin- Bharat Yojana. PMJJBY and PMSBY come at a yearly cost of ₹342
terlands of north western and central India. We cycled for 14 days (less than ₹1 daily). These schemes provide a life cover of ₹2 lakh
POWER and spent time in 50-plus locations between Mumbai and Delhi.
Our main purpose was to reach out to all the sections of the soci-
and an accident cover of ₹2 lakh. Ayushman Bharat is completely
free for the economically weaker societal sections and provides
POINT ety to promote financial literacy. As we went through towns and a medical cover of ₹5 lakh a year.
villages, we noticed that almost everyone we met was low on Not everyone we interviewed was financially unaware. For
SHREENIVAS KUNTE financial literacy. Large city dwellers thought they knew. But instance, Ganguji, from a village near Godhra (Gujarat), is a
many of the urban people we met, especially the well-off ones, mechanic. He is differently abled and uses sign language to com-
Respond to this column at seemed to be in the twilight zone of half-knowledge. For municate. Ganguji has a bright two-three-year-old daughter.
mintmoney@livemint.com instance, most of those we met had invested in “some mutual Despite multiple constraints, Ganguji
fund” without knowing why or what they were really earning. Lack of is well insured and has saved in

S
aving money is a useful habit that most of us still have. But
many I know miss an important question: are the savings
enough? We generally accumulate in bank accounts. The
bank savings rate, however, is often significantly lower than price
rise (inflation). As a result, unaware savers end up with a savings
kitty that is unable to match future expenses. There is one other
separate category of issues many savers overlook. The possibility
of bodily harm to themselves or to the family’s savers-in-chief.
There are some who do buy insurance, but they buy it more as an
investment and not as a protective cover (read: bit.ly/2Pwddk0
and bit.ly/2P5c4kg). Not many I know use two time-tested and
cost-effective choices: term life and medical insurance.
No matter how much one earns, lack of understanding of sim-
ple financial realities results in an inability to use money when it
is required the most. This lack of understanding has a devastating
effect on those who are near the poverty line (those who earn
₹100-300 per day). I rediscovered these and other basic truths
And almost everyone in the well-off category had “invested” in
an insurance scheme bought at a very high cost.
My colleagues and I hosted educational seminars in the places
we visited. We also interviewed people from more than 30 walks
of life. Lack of financial awareness, we found, is widespread. It
affects the poor the most. They are vulnerable to sudden
increases in spending. Loss of life or an unexpected large medical
expense push the economically weak into a poverty trap. Most of
the economically weak we met were unaware of affordable gov-
ernment schemes, expressly rolled out for them. The other major
source of misery we saw was usurious interest people paid on
loans they took to deal with financial emergencies. Some families
we met may remain virtually jailed in poverty—forever. For
instance, Kaloji, a watchman belonging to the Bhil community,
has a ₹1 lakh loan. Kaloji has been paying an interest of 50% per
annum. With his current salary, I doubt if Kaloji would be able to
repay his loan in this lifetime. Worse, Kaloji referred to his loan
giver as “mata” or mother. Udaji, a rag picker, wasn’t even able to
fathom the cost of capital he was paying to earn just ₹200 a day.
Udaji has been taking daily loans of ₹1,000 at 5% interest per day.
Another daily wager had taken a ₹40,000 loan for a medical
emergency at an interest of 10% per month.
Three simple and inexpensive, yet grossly unused, govern-
ment schemes could have lessened the pain for the people we
met: the Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana (PMJJBY), the
Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana (PMSBY) and Ayushman
knowledge can Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana, a govern-
ment scheme meant for girl children.
push people Lack of simple awareness has a mag-
into deep debt nifying effect. It can push people into
traps, which are deep debt traps. The economically
avoidable weak, in particular, can avoid many of
these traps by accessing the right gov-
ernment schemes. Ganguji was hun-
gry enough to find out, and ended up with the right answers. We
could all learn from him. It would help to check and recheck our
financial choices by accessing multiple sources, such as govern-
ment websites, well-regarded personal finance columns and pro-
fessional registered advisers. Separately, policymakers may wish
to use the learnings from our successful national drives (such as
polio eradication) for recruiting people into the right schemes.
Shreenivas Kunte, CFA, CIPM, is director, content and advocacy,
CFA Institute
 PERSONAL FINANCE THURSDAY, 12 DECEMBER 2019
NEW DELHI 13

Gold hallmarking to MINT50 SCHEMES TO INVEST IN

We have hand-picked 50 mutual funds for your portfolio that have jumped through hoops of good returns, low risk,
good portfolio hygiene and our own qualitative research. We have restricted the choice universe to 16 categories out

usher transparency
of the total 32 and given you at least three options to pick from each. In equity, stay with your risk appetite. Match
your investment horizon to the debt fund category you pick. Pick eight to 10 schemes and revisit them every year

3-year return 5-year return 10-year return Corpus Expense

E Q U I T Y (%) (%) (%) (₹ cr) ratio (%)
LARGE-CAP (CORE)
HDFC Top 100 10.74 7.36 10.62 18,507 1.73
ICICI Prudential Bluechip 11.74 8.68 12.45 24,132 1.80
Hallmarking will assure the purity of gold you buy from jewellers Mirae Asset Large Cap 14.55 11.63 14.46 15,897 1.69
Nippon India Large Cap^ 12.01 8.34 11.64 13,091 1.89
ISTOCK NIFTY 100 TRI 13.80 9.10 10.53
Renu Yadav Category average 11.54 8.29 10.65
renu.yadav@livemint.com
LARGE-AND-MID-CAP (CORE)

I
magine going to a jeweller to sell Invesco India Growth Opportunities 14.68 10.53 12.34 1,991 2.17
or exchange your gold jewellery, Mirae Asset Emerging Bluechip 15.49 15.84 NA 8,868 1.78
and finding out that its purity is Principal Emerging Bluechip 10.44 10.99 14.51 2,260 2.13
not of the same level as was NIFTY LARGEMIDCAP 250 INDEX TRI 11.52 9.56 11.13
promised when you bought it. Category average 10.21 8.96 11.17
It’s a scenario that most Indians
would have faced. The malpractice is MULTI-CAP (CORE)
rampant in India, the second biggest Aditya Birla Sun Life Equity 9.95 10.23 11.80 11,594 1.91
consumer of gold in the world after Kotak Standard Multicap 13.09 10.89 13.28 28,348 1.70
China. One of the reasons is lack of Principal Multi Cap Growth 10.97 8.92 11.12 853 2.39
proper certification regarding the
NIFTY 500 TRI 12.24 8.68 9.85
yellow metal’s purity.
This is likely to change soon as the Category average 10.45 8.24 11.90
government is planning to make MID-CAP (CORE)
hallmarking of gold jewellery and DSP Midcap 9.68 10.76 14.74 6,691 1.93
artefacts compulsory from early next
Kotak Emerging Equity 9.58 10.98 14.33 5,341 1.97
year. “The government will issue a
notification with regard to hallmark- L&T Midcap 8.51 10.31 13.89 5,831 1.97
ing of gold jewellery and artefacts on NIFTY MIDCAP 150 INDEX TRI 9.09 9.79 11.99
15 January 2020,” said Raosaheb Category average 7.41 8.52 13.55
Danve, minister of state for con-
sumer affairs, food and public distri- sampling method, where a few pieces SMALL-CAP (SATELLITE)
bution, in a written reply to Rajya of jewellery in the entire batch are
Keep in mind Franklin India Smaller Companies 2.38 6.50 14.56 7,031 1.84
Four things you should look for Nippon India Small Cap^* 8.01 10.03 NA 8,425 2.16
Sabha on 6 December. randomly tested for purity.
while buying hallmarked jewellery
Globally, hallmarking of gold jew- The purity of gold is measured in SBI Small Cap** 13.66 14.78 17.61 2,915 2.29
ellery is compulsory in a majority of caratage. While 24 carats (K) of gold  BIS logo (a triangle) NIFTY SMALLCAP 250 INDEX 0.87 3.72 7.83
countries. “Consumers park a lot of is considered the purest form, it can’t  Purity of gold (say, 22K916 for 22K) Four ways
Category average 4.42 7.57 12.50
to invest in
savings in gold. Also, people often be used for making jewellery as it’s  Mark of the assaying or gold, but
use gold to take loans. So unless the too soft. Hallmarking of jewellery is hallmarking centre should you?
VALUE/CONTRA (SATELLITE)
guarantee is not there, it doesn’t done in three categories of carat-  Jeweller’s identification mark bit.ly/2kni4Zf
Invesco India Contra 12.98 10.56 12.85 4,486 2.15
serve consumers’ interest. It (guaran- age—14K, 18K and 22K—which are L&T India Value 7.47 9.81 NA 8,032 1.87
SANTOSH SHARMA/MINT
tee) is there in every country which suitable for making jewellery. In per- Tata Equity PE 10.03 10.10 12.25 5,485 1.88
deals in gold. This will work in favour centage terms, 14K denotes 58.5% NIFTY 500 TRI 12.24 8.68 9.85
of consumers,” said Somasundaram purity (hallmarked as 14K585), 18K ner—they don’t buy gold from genu- Category average 8.37 7.35 11.27
P.R., managing director, India, denotes 75% purity (hallmarked as ine sources, pay cash to buy gold,
World Gold Council. 18K750) and 22K denotes 91.6% don’t pay goods and services tax, and FOCUSED (SATELLITE)
Hallmarking of gold jewellery was purity (hallmarked as 22K916). accept cash for selling jewellery. All Axis Focused 25 17.60 12.56 NA 8,800 1.95
introduced in India by the Bureau of The hallmarked caratage and the these things will slowly get sorted, Franklin India Focused Equity 10.06 8.37 13.64 8,714 1.82
Indian Standards (BIS), India’s day’s price of gold can help deter- creating a level-playing field for Motilal Oswal Focused 25 12.07 9.64 NA 1,184 2.20
accreditation agency that certifies mine the estimated price of the jewel- everybody,” said Datwani.
NIFTY 500 TRI 12.24 8.68 9.85
assaying and hallmarking centres, in lery you buy. So if the price of 10gm Nothing will change for consum-
April 2000. But, as of gold of 24K is ₹30,000 ers holding gold jewellery that is not Category average 11.24 8.43 11.21
now, hallmarking is vol- The hallmarked and you are buying 22K hallmarked. They can go to any jew- ELSS (CORE)
untary in India. Out of caratage and the jewellery of 10gm gold, eller and get the purity checked. Aditya Birla Sun Life Tax Relief 96 12.08 10.09 11.51 9,814 1.98
around 300,000 jewel- day’s price of gold its price would be 91.6%
IDFC Tax Advantage 10.89 8.73 12.40 2,053 2.14
lers in India, only about can help of ₹30,000, or ₹27,480. PRICES MAY RISE
30,000 sell hallmarked The jeweller may add “The cost of hallmarking jewellery is Invesco India Tax Plan 12.36 10.00 13.67 962 2.38
determine the Tata India Tax Savings 12.88 11.30 12.89 2,009 2.10
jewellery, according to making charges plus nominal and is currently govern-
Prithviraj Kothari, estimated price of taxes to the price of gold. ment-administered at ₹35 per piece,” NIFTY 500 TRI 12.24 8.68 9.85
national president, a jewellery piece said Somasundaram. However, the Category average 10.22 8.24 11.56
India Bullion and Jewel- THE CHANGES logistics and the time involved may
lers Association. “Jewellers who are not add up to the cost for the jeweller H Y B R I D
Absence of hallmarking translates selling hallmarked jewellery will be which may be ultimately passed on to AGGRESSIVE HYBRID (CORE)
into lack of transparency in terms of given one year’s time to clear the the consumers. “The cost is likely to Canara Robeco Equity Hybrid 11.10 9.36 12.28 2,607 2.06
purity of gold. “A fair amount of existing stock. We have made repre- go up as the requirement of working ICICI Prudential Equity & Debt 8.83 8.87 13.27 23,950 1.74
impurities are being sold to consum- sentations to the government to capital for a jeweller may go up as
SBI Equity Hybrid 11.55 10.12 11.81 30,906 1.69
ers right now. This move is in the implement (the hallmarking rule) getting the jewellery hallmarked
CRISIL HYBRID 35+65 - AGGRESSIVE INDEX 11.05 9.11 9.79
right direction and was much first in metro cities and then across involves time. Also, it will put pres-
needed,” said Sandeep Kulhalli, sen- India,” said Kothari. sure on the existing assaying and Category average 8.15 7.78 10.96
ior vice-president, retail and market- Once hallmarking becomes man- hallmarking centres to service all the
ing, jewellery division, Titan Co. Ltd. datory, “they (jewellers who have jewellers across India,” said Kulhalli. CONSERVATIVE HYBRID (SATELLITE)
“Consumers will now be assured that gold that does not fit into the hall- But the price rise may only be a Canara Robeco Conservative Hybrid 6.83 6.72 8.38 209 1.96
the gold jewellery they are buying is mark categorization) may have to short-term phenomenon, said Dat- ICICI Prudential Regular Savings 8.60 8.84 9.62 1,673 1.97
certified for purity,” said Kothari. melt their gold jewellery, which may wani. “The costs may go up margin- IDFC Regular Savings Fund 6.11 7.14 NA 194 2.21
result in losses,” said Ishu Datwani, ally in the short term but will even CRISIL HYBRID 85+15 - CONSERVATIVE INDEX 7.79 8.66 8.57
WHAT IS HALLMARKING? founder, Anmol Jewellers, a Mum- out in the long run. Also, more assay- Category average 5.25 6.60 8.09
Jewellers have to necessarily get a bai-based jeweller. ing centres will come up as they see
#
licence from BIS before they get their There will be no impact on jewel- the business opportunity,” he said. I N T E R N A T I O N A L
jewellery or artefacts hallmarked at lers that are already selling hall- Even before the government Franklin India Feeder - Franklin US Opp. 17.78 12.27 NA 1,005 1.60
any of the BIS-recognized assaying marked jewellery; in fact, they will makes it mandatory, it’s best to buy ICICI Prudential Global Stable Equity 8.98 8.37 NA 88 1.50
and hallmarking centres. There are benefit from the level-playing field. only hallmarked jewellery. After all, ICICI Prudential US Bluechip Equity 15.69 12.45 NA 346 2.69
877 such centres recognized by BIS, “Many of the smaller players are not you would want to ensure the purity
S&P 500 INTL. TOTAL RETURN NET INDEX na na na
as of 31 October 2019. hallmarking jewellery. Some of them of a piece that may someday become
Category average 8.98 6.09 5.28
Hallmarking is done through a also work in an unprofessional man- a family heirloom.
1-year return 3-year return 5-year return Corpus Expense
D E B T (%) (%) (%) (₹ cr) ratio (%)
SHORT DURATION (CORE)
IDFC Bond Fund - Short Term 10.07 7.34 7.80 10,676 0.79

Why it makes sense to deposit physical gold L&T Short Term Bond
SBI Short Term Debt
CRISIL SHORT TERM BOND FUND INDEX
9.63
9.70
9.80
7.14
6.98
7.34
7.69
7.82
8.14
4,674
8,357
0.73
0.84

in government’s Gold Monetization Scheme Category average

CORPORATE BOND (CORE)

6.58 5.93 7.11

ISTOCK
Aditya Birla Sun Life Corporate Bond 9.84 7.60 8.42 16,893 0.38
Ashwini Kumar Sharma don’t have one. The bank will on maturity, the interest rate ICICI Prudential Corporate Bond 9.94 7.35 8.20 10,587 0.56
ashwini.s@livemint.com open a separate deposit equal will be cumulative (com-
Kotak Corporate Bond 9.92 7.92 8.49 3,432 0.61
to the value of gold mentioned pounding annually). You need

O
ne of the major chal- in the certificate, and will to choose the mode of pay- CRISIL CORP. BOND COMPOSITE INDEX 10.64 7.18 8.51
lenges that investors credit the interest rate you ment at the time of deposit. Category average 4.81 5.14 6.71
of physical gold face is earn on your deposits in the Note that you can withdraw
1-month 3-month 1-year return Corpus Expense
safe storage. A common prac- savings account. the physical gold you depos- LIQUID (FACILITATOR) return (%) return (%) (%) (₹ cr) ratio (%)
tice is to store the yellow metal ited only if you are investing
DSP Liquidity 0.41 1.31 6.64 11,722 0.21
in bank lockers for its safety. MAIN FEATURES for the short term, wherein
IDFC Cash 0.41 1.29 6.46 13,603 0.16
But are they really safe? You can deposit gold for the you have the option of with-
Though the Deposit Insurance short term (one to three years), drawing gold or its value in Kotak Liquid 0.44 1.33 6.62 26,459 0.25
and Credit Guarantee Corpo- medium term (five to seven rupees at the prevailing prices. CRISIL LIQUID FUND INDEX 0.46 1.44 6.96
ration (DICGC) provides a years) or long term (12 to 15 In case of medium- and long- Category average 0.44 1.36 6.72
cover of up to ₹1 lakh for your years). The interest rate you term deposit, you will be paid
bank deposits, there is no earn on your deposit depends only in the form of rupees at ULTRA-SHORT (FACILITATOR)
insurance for the contents on the tenure. You will prevailing prices, Kotak Savings 0.51 1.64 8.09 11,281 0.76
kept in a bank locker. earn 0.50% per and cannot with- L&T Ultra Short Term 0.48 1.54 7.88 2,841 0.53
One way to ensure the safety annum over a D id you draw your physi- SBI Magnum Ultra Short Duration 0.53 1.69 8.22 10,925 0.50
of your physical gold is depos- one-year ten-
KN O W cal gold. CRISIL ULTRA SHORT TERM DEBT INDEX 0.50 1.66 8.03
iting it under the govern- ure; 0.55% per The mini- Category average 0.55 1.29 6.93
ment’s Gold Monetization you are required to get your year for a ten- mum gold
Scheme, which also gives a holdings evaluated by an ure above one deposit you LOW DURATION (FACILITATOR)
return on the deposits. But, authorized Purity Testing year and up to can make is 30
ideally, you should deposit Centre (PTC), which can issue two years; and grams in the Canara Robeco Savings 0.49 1.57 8.38 1,119 0.55
only those gold pieces that you a certificate indicating the 0.60% per year for a form of raw gold— IDFC Low Duration 0.48 1.67 8.57 4,974 0.48
don’t want to use in their cur- value of gold. You can deposit tenure above two years bars, coins and jewellery, SBI Magnum Low Duration 0.51 1.70 8.55 7,402 0.96
rent forms. your gold at the same centre and up to three years. In excluding stones and CRISIL LOW DURATION DEBT INDEX 0.53 1.65 8.73
(find a list of specified collec- case of medium- and long- other metals. However, Category average 0.30 1.19 2.41
HOW TO SUBSCRIBE tion centres at bit.ly/35lnEh7). term deposits, you can earn up remember that even if you
The scheme was introduced in You then have to show the to 2.25-2.50% per annum. take back physical gold, it will 9 December 2019; ^Reliance Mutual Fund has been renamed as Nippon India Mutual Fund; There are three schemes in each category except in equity large-cap and ELSS categories,
which have four schemes each because the third and fourth schemes were separated by a negligible margin and we felt both deserved to be included; *Lump sum investment into this
2015 to mobilize idle gold lying certificate issued by PTC at a If you receive the payment not come to you in the form in scheme is currently not possible. Investments can be made through SIPs or STPs with an upper limit of ₹1 lakh per month; **Lump sum investment into this scheme is currently not
with households and putting it designated bank branch, annually, you will get a simple which you deposited it. Banks possible. Investments can be made through SIPs or STPs with an upper limit of ₹25,000 per month; #For satellite portfolio; NA: Not applicable because the fund has not completed the
requisite period; na: Data was not available; Growth option in regular plans has been used; Data up to 31 March 2019 considered for evaluation; Opp: Opportunities; INTL: International
to productive use. where you will need to open a interest (as on 31 March) on return your gold only in the
To register for the scheme, savings account if you already your deposits. If you receive it form of coins or bars. Data and analysis from Quantix by CRISIL Research Compiled by Sunita Abraham Graphic by Santosh Sharma/Mint
14 THURSDAY, 12 DECEMBER 2019
NEW DELHI VIEWS

OUR VIEW MY VIEW | HERE, THERE, EVERYWHERE

MINT

The multiple layers of prejudice

that shape our response to rape
A society that seeks revenge instead of justice tends to express an outrage that’s profoundly amoral

lar experiences in the past, where he
had gone with suspects to recreate the
crime and, uncannily, the suspect
attempted to flee and, remarkably, the
officer managed to kill them.
The nation is grateful. Politicians,
sportswomen and movie stars cheer the
same police who the veterinary doctor
could not trust, the same police who
SALIL TRIPATHI sent the doctor’s sister to another police
is a writer based in New York. Read station while the crime was being com-
Salil’s previous Mint columns at mitted, the same police that speculated
www.livemint.com/saliltripathi on the doctor’s romantic entanglement.
Overnight, they have become heroic.
They have been carried on people’s
band, he has conjugal rights. If she is not
married to the man, the crime is consid-
ered vile because of its sexual nature
and not because of the violence or asser-
tion of power. Prurience dictates our
thinking, not a sense of justice.
So, she is forced to stay indoors.
Dangers lurk outside, on our streets, our
shop floors, in hotel lifts, at toll plazas,
and bus stops. So women are constantly
told what to wear, what to eat, whether
or not to have a mobile phone, whether
to go out to work, by what time they
must come home, and with whom—thus
circumscribing their autonomy and

Don’t let the fear of

shoulders, sweets have got distributed, denying them privacy. Rather than

L
et us go to that toll plaza on that dark and the mass—or the mob—feels vindi- restraining and disciplining men, we
evening, where the 26-year-old vet- cated. Honour has been restored. But want women to cover up, talk softly,
erinary doctor finds that her scooter whose honour is it, anyway? dress modestly, avoid going out at night,
has a punctured tyre. Four young men There are layers of patriarchal pre- and even avoid going out to work. Preda-

flying stage a return approach her, offering help. She is

uncomfortable, and makes a call.
The number she calls is not that of the
police. Such is the credibility of officers
conceptions and prejudices that have
shaped the Indian response to rape. As a
few brave rape survivors have said, soci-
ety reinforces the idea that a woman’s
tors often include men who women have
known—managers, colleagues, friends,
cousins, lovers and, of course, husbands.
Women know that if they complain,
in uniform. She calls her sister. She tells worth is to be judged only by her “hon- few will believe them. If they go to the
her to keep talking, as Snigdha Poonam our” and that honour is preserved only police, well, there is Hyderabad. Little
With so many aircraft snags being reported, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation writes in her account in The Hindustan if she is not attacked sexually. It is the wonder that so few speak up. As my
Times. But the call gets cut off. The sister sexual act that makes rape a heinous friend and former colleague (and Mint
should make it clear that safety is its top priority—for the sake of consumer confidence calls back, but the phone is switched off. crime. Humiliation, insults, harass- Lounge’s founding editor) Priya Ramani
The sister contacts the police, who ment, bullying, violence, beating, asked in her outstanding keynote
tell her that the place where her sister assault—those are not worthy of out- address at the Goa Arts and Literature
has gone missing is not in their jurisdic- rage. The “besmirched” honour belongs Festival last week: “How many women

U
nease over flying used to be a
thing of the past. However, there
are incipient signs of a revival of
that feeling, what with reports of
aircraft snags surfacing a little
too frequently for comfort. Sus-
picions have arisen that Indian flyers are being
ferried on aircraft equipped with engines that
may not be in perfect shape, going by the
glitches that have lately been reported. Aware
of the problem, airlines are working with the
Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA),
the aviation regulator, to find ways to fix it
without having to ground a large section of the
country’s fleet of commercial aircraft. The
DGCA has set a deadline, beyond which
IndiGo and GoAir will not be allowed to fly
their Airbus A320neo aircraft powered by
Pratt & Whitney (P&W) engines, unless these
are re-equipped with suitably modified com-
ponents. Budget airline IndiGo is among the
biggest clients of Airbus’s A320neo narrow-
bodied jets, many of them fitted with these
deemed vulnerable to snags out of operation. tion. Reconstructing the timeline, we to the family, not the woman—her do you think spoke up as part of
The DGCA had directed the airlines in ques- now know how precious moments were agency is conveniently disregarded. It is #MeToo? Thousands? Hundreds? Actu-
lost. Then, an officer offers a gratuitous sharam—of which Salman Rushdie ally, it was 159, of whom 124 were willing
tion to replace all unmodified P&W engines in conjecture—maybe she eloped with astutely pointed out in his eponymous to be named and 35 were anonymous.
their A320neo fleets, setting out a schedule for someone. novel, “shame is a wholly inadequate They called out 90 people. We need to
this to be done. Since new aircraft had been We now know what happened. The translation” because its opposite is have a conversation about consent.”
ordered, the regulator also decided that one veterinary doctor was raped, murdered, “shamelessness”. The woman who steps However, conversations require a
mutilated, and her body was burned. across the line is shameless; she has willingness to listen. Society wants to
trouble-prone A320neo would be grounded Four men were arrested soon, taken asked for whatever happens to her—so shout. It wants revenge, and so it
for each new plane that was inducted. India’s into custody, and there was a mass goes that reasoning. expresses outrage. That outrage is pro-
largest airline IndiGo has ordered new engines upsurge seeking revenge, not justice. A Yet, it is selective shame, for the same foundly amoral. The mob cheering the
for its planes, but their delivery schedule is week later, the four men were taken in mob that is cheering the extrajudicial Hyderabad police reveals hypocrisy,
unlikely to see it over this hump. In the event the middle of the night to the scene of killings in Hyderabad is not calling for vanity, self-righteousness, and class and
the crime to “recreate” the incident. similar retribution over the cases in male privilege. It has nothing to do with
that it is unable to meet its 31 January 2020 The men, who were presumably Kathua or Unnao. Why? Might the women, their autonomy, agency, free-
deadline set by the DGCA, air passengers restrained or shackled, managed to free identity of victims have something to do dom, safety, or rights. Changing male
would probably see a dip in the number of themselves, attempted to snatch guns with it? Besides, not every rape is rape behaviour is a civilizational and genera-
flight seats on offer. Ticket prices may rise. from the police, and in the shoot-out under Indian law. A rape is not a rape tional challenge. To meet it, we must
No doubt, fare inflation would be unpopular, that followed, the four were killed. Curi- when a man has sex with his wife with- teach little boys the idea of equality, and
ously, the officer involved has had simi- out her consent because as her hus- men the meaning of consent.
but the DGCA’s buy-one-ground-one
approach suggests that this consideration has
been given extra weight in its decisions. The
regulator should come clean on whether it has
made an appropriate assessment of the risk
entailed by having engines in service that are
marked out for replacement. Market libertari- www.livemint.com New Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, Kolkata, Chennai, Chandigarh*, Pune* Saturday, December 12, 2009 Vol.3 No.296 Rs. 3.00 12 PAGES
+ 20 PAGES LOUNGE + 4 PAGES MARKETS WATCH

P&W engines that offer the advantage of supe- ans may want to argue that decommissioning Subhash Chandra of
Q&A:
Zee on broadcasting biz >4
RAPID FIRE: Economist Madan Sabnavis

rior fuel efficiency but have given trouble off these jets would amount to regulatory excess,
on the impact of rising food prices >10
EXCLUSIVE PARTNER
QUIZ: Which brand has a combination of
Unitech and Telenor in its name? >8
SENSEX 17,119.03 æ 70.28 NIFTY 5,117.30 æ 17.35 DOLLAR Rs46.53 æ Re0.12 EURO Rs68.50 æ Re0.16 GOLD Rs17,250 Æ Rs175 OIL $71.91 æ $1.01

and on since they entered service about three as market players know better than regulators Saturday reading
IN DEMAND DELAY SIGNAL

There is a higher court

years ago. P&W has reportedly addressed
FIIs go on Industrial production
growth falls short; RBI
what’s good for their customers, reputation,
The death sentence of the main convict, Pawan Kumar
Mittal, in the 2005 Manjunath murder case, was on Friday
commuted to life by the Allahabad high court, which also

BSE stake may hold off rate rise than courts of justice
upheld the life sentence of five others in the case, but
acquitted two other accused—Harish Misra and Sanjay
Awasthi—who had been given life terms. >P11
PHOTO ESSAY B Y K ARTIK G OYAL
feedback@livemint.com RECOVERY PATH

some of the original set of complaints, but and business. Advocates of non-intervention, buyingspree I
·························
NEW DELHI Industrial growth sustains momentum.
Industrial growth (in %)
ndia’s industrial production 12
grew less than forecast, sug- 10.3
gesting the central bank may 10

and that is the court of

wait for more signs of econom-
ABHIJIT BHATLEKAR/MINT ic recovery before raising in- 8
Overseas funds are terest rates.
6
picking up chunks of Output at factories, utilities

pilots are still reporting cases of engine however, tend to overlook the fact that civil
As India gains the top spot in Test cricket, which may not and mines rose 10.3% in Octo-
last long given next year’s limited schedule of matches, India’s premier bourse ber from a year earlier after
4
1.1
we look back at some of the moments that will go down in anticipation of a gaining a revised 9.6% in Sep- 2
in history as the most path-breaking in our 77 years of tember, the statistics agency
international cricket. >P6-7
run-up whenever it lists said in New Delhi on Friday. 0
That was less than the median Apr Oct
B Y A VEEK D ATTA 12% estimate in a Bloomberg Source: Ministry of statistics and programme

conscience. It supersedes
implementation
aveek.d@livemint.com survey of 20 economists.
AHMED RAZA KHAN/MINT
························· “Industrial growth is level-

vibrations. While most flyers may not know aviation is not a classic free market. It is a
KOLKATA ling off,” said Robert Prior- if high food price inflation

F oreign institutional in-

LEADING THE NEWS
India has asked the US to
vestors (FIIs) have been
loading up on shares of
the Bombay Stock Exchange
Ltd (BSE), driving the price
up to Rs300 from around
COLUMNS Rs180 apiece in the last six
Southern Petro- months, as the bourse pre-
Equity gains: Madhu Kannan, BSE
managing director and CEO .
Wandesforde, senior Asia econ-
omist at HSBC Holdings Plc in
Singapore. “A flattening in in-
dustrial growth very much fits
with our view and we expect it
to move in a range of 8-10%
over the next few months.”
The rupee pared gains and
persists.
The Indian currency traded
at 46.58 against the dollar
compared with the day’s high
of 46.49. The Bombay Stock
Exchange’s Sensitive index fell
almost 1%. Bonds rose, re-
bounding from an earlier de-

what exactly is going on, it would serve the licensed business, with the number of airlines
reduce the cost of its
nuclear power technology
being offered at Rs15-16
crore per MW against Rs7-8
crore per MW here. Howev-
er, Central Electricity
Authority chairman
Rakesh Nath said European
and American costs are
all other courts.
chemical Indus- pares to list itself. stocks fell after the report on cline, with the yield on the
tries Corp.’s for- “I am told foreign institutions Some foreign funds are will- investor concerns that India’s benchmark 6.90% note due
tunes reflect those are buying BSE’s shares,” Mad- ing to pay up to Rs350 a share rebound from the worst glob- July 2019 falling to 7.52% from
of most business hu Kannan, the bourse’s man- if they get a large chunk at one al recession since the 1930s 7.57% earlier.
groups based in Chennai in aging director (MD) and chief go, according to the head of a may not be as strong as ex- Policymakers in India are
some way. All remained executive officer (CEO), told private equity (PE) firm that pected. That presents a chal- considering whether they can
modest successes rather Mint. “There is no way for us to recently acquired a substantial lenge to Reserve Bank of India keep interest rates near record
than becoming the leaders verify, but I also hear shares of stake in the exchange. (RBI) governor D. Subbarao, lows without fanning inflation.
they could have become, the exchange are currently sell- who earlier this week said the

market well if their equanimity is not taken for limited to what the aviation infrastructure can
higher than the Indian says R. Sukumar. >P5 ing for around Rs300 each.” TURN TO PAGE 3® central bank may need to act TURN TO BACK PAGE ®
rates, and that Russian ***
prices seem to be fine. >P11 Manas Chakravarty dissects
a study that explores the re-
LEISURE
In Yash Raj’s new film,
lationship between art and
the equity markets, after In- Tata Power EMERGING TREND
Congress on
Rocket Singh: Salesman of
the Year, Ranbir Kapoor
makes an “honest
dia’s art fund, like any oth-
er asset, suffered
grievously from
wins Mumbai New PE firms hedge damage
Reliance users control in AP
granted. Word has begun to spread. If stricter effectively bear. This also means that the self- bets with pledge funds
salesman” believ- the financial cri-
able and heart- sis, and a US
warming. This is study that looks
the year he be-

MA HATMA GA N D HI
at the increasing B Y J OEL R EBELLO B Y L IZ M ATHEW &
came a star—a star contribution of joel.r@livemint.com B Y S HRADDHA N AIR & vested in firms when valuations C .R . S UKUMAR
refreshingly free Indian and Chi- ························· N . S UNDARESHA were at a peak. At the other ··························
of stunt acting, nese immigrants MUMBAI S UBRAMANIAN end, there were people who NEW DELHI/HYDERABAD
says Sanjukta
Sharma. >P9
to innovation in
the US. >P10 A mit Narsana, a business-
man in the Mumbai sur-
·························
MUMBAI
were over-cautious and not
done any deals at all, but were T he ruling Congress party on
Friday embarked on a dam-

action needs to be taken in the interest of regulatory effect of free market competition is
burb of Andheri, is relishing
the prospect of exercising a
rare power in India—the choice
of changing the firm that sup-
QUICK EDIT plies electricity to his home.
He plans to switch to Tata
A
fund without a fund is an earning fees on capital for do- age control exercise as emo-
oxymoron—but not in the ing nothing,” said Swamy. tions ran high in Andhra Prad-
increasingly crowded world of “The second big grievance esh, with political turmoil con-
private equity (PE) and ven- was the lack of transparency in tinuing in the wake of the Cen-
ture capitalism. deal structures. LPs wanted tre’s approval of its break-up
Financiers are using so- more clarity on what deals are and the carving out of a sepa-

Many states, one market Power Co. Ltd from Reliance

Infrastructure Ltd as soon as
he can. The reason—his power
called fundless structures as
their calling card to enter In-
dia, where an estimated
done and why they are done,”
he added.
Eight or nine months ago,
rate state of Telangana.
The party sought to paper over
the sharp divisions that have

passenger safety, it should be taken forthwith. imperfect. As with any other arena with state- T here are two contradictory
forces at work in India
today. On the one hand,
efforts to create a single
national market by ushering
in a coherent goods and sales
tax have gained momentum
in the last one year. On the
other hand, within days of
unified market?
The costs of running a
business would rise greatly.
Small states with poor to
non-existent revenue bases
would find it hard to resist
imposing taxes and levies on
existing businesses. There are
many ways to do this. Cesses on
bills.
“Just to give you one exam-
ple, a couple of months ago I
paid Rs1,630 for using 359
units of power, according to
my bill. But last month they
sent me a Rs1,800 bill for con-
suming 360 units of power,” he
said. “I do not understand the
350-400 PE funds are already
jostling for space.
Jaganath Swamy, a former
McKinsey and Co. consultant
and a Wharton MBA, has used
one such structure when he
headed back to India after a
short stint with a large PE fund
in New York. He chose to
Swamy and his friends started
Ananta Capital Advisors as a
pledge fund, a financing ve-
hicle that came on the scene in
the US in the late 1980s.
A pledge fund is an amalgam
of a traditional venture fund
and a loose grouping of indi-
vidual angel investors who in-
emerged and asked its leaders in
Andhra Pradesh to stop project-
ing the move as a victory or a de-
feat for any one side.
Prime Minister Manmohan
Singh assured members of Par-
liament (MPs) from the coastal
Andhra and Rayalaseema re-
gions of the state, who met him

It remains unclear if concerns over keeping imposed entry barriers, tight regulation is
the move to create the state
of Telangana, many similar
statehood demands have
mushroomed. Internal
political divisiveness has
gathered steam.
What would it be to do
business in an India with
more political jurisdictions,
existing taxes, raising tariffs on
simple things such as electricity,
water and fuel are pretty easy.
Businesses are helpless against
that. Many states have tried to
do away with them to create a
business-friendly environment.
More states will ensure a
movement in the opposite
technicalities of this thing, but
I fail to understand how an ex-
tra unit of power could add
Rs170 to my monthly power
bill. And this is not the first
time, it’s been happening quite
often and the company asks
me to pay the bill before enter-
taining any complains.”
launch a pledge fund after he
saw that a number of limited
partners (LPs) in the US were
unhappy with India-focused
funds.
LPs are investors in a PE
fund, while general partners
(GPs) are the managers who
make deals on behalf of LPs for
vest in start-ups. Investors
provide capital to the fund on
a deal-by-deal basis rather
than putting up money upfront
as is traditionally done: a fund-
less structure, in other words.
In a pledge fund, the man-
agement fee and the “carry” is
calculated on the amount in-
in New Delhi on Friday, that
nothing would be done in
haste. The MPs asked the Prime
Minister as well as finance min-
ister Pranab Mukherjee, whom
they met later, that there was
no consensus on the issue and
that the decision needed to be
reviewed.

the market’s capacity intact and fares in con- necessary. On matters of customer safety,
but with a semblance of a direction. Narsana and his fellow occu- a fee. vested and not on the capital With 130 MLAs and one
“Many Indian GPs have not
Mint is also available for Rs5.50 with Hindustan Times under a combo offer TURN TO BACK PAGE ® been cash conscious and in- TURN TO PAGE 3® TURN TO PAGE 3®

trol have outweighed the need to keep planes this is all the more so.

MY VIEW | THE CORPORATE OUTSIDER

When Indian food cooked up a storm in the West

most popular in the world, followed by Chi-
SUNDEEP KHANNA nese, Japanese, Thai and French. The survey
placed Indian cuisine ninth. To add salt to
our wounds, it trailed even American cui-
sine, which most Indians believe is tasteless
and bland.
that isn’t just bland, but mostly a parody of years ago, initially catering to poor migrants cold chain, is very important. In India,
authentic Indian food. Here’s travel writer who had come to the country in search of approximately 30% of all fruits and vegeta-
Matthew Meltzer from Matador Network work. Today, there are over 40,000 Chinese bles grown in the country are wasted
describing his first reaction (bit.ly/2t2dljr) to restaurants in the US, but just about 5,000 because of lack of storage facilities and
Indian food in the US: “The shiny orange Indian ones. Evidence suggests that Indian energy infrastructure.
layer of slime sitting on top of the chicken restaurants made their appearance in New It isn’t surprising then that Indian food

I
ndian food hasn’t been getting much love
from around the world. Hardly had the
heat generated by US academic Tom
Nichols’s harmless little tweet (”Indian food
is terrible and we pretend it isn’t”) died
down, The Economist newspaper stoked the
dying embers of Indian outrage when it
wrote rather tactlessly that “remove the
The Michelin star system isn’t available in thighs looked suspicious. The sign said ‘but- York only around the first decade of the 20th doesn’t get the respect it deserves world-
India, but there are very few Indian cuisine ter chicken’, but it looked century, and the real spurt wide. This is a real pity, considering how
restaurants with a one, two or three Miche- more like what was left in has only happened in this integral food is to a country’s soft power.
lin-star rating across the world. The Miche- the sink when I was done Often the century. Some countries, such as Thailand, Malaysia
lin site says that, in 2018, of the 1,048 Miche- washing dishes…This, India’s best-known food and South Korea, have actively promoted
lin-starred restaurants around the world, unfortunately, was my— curries and chain abroad is Saravana “gastro-diplomacy” to further the cause of
just 11 were Indian cuisine-based. By con- and many other Ameri- Bhavan, and the contrast their cuisine. In the present climate of
trast, 57 Japanese restaurants were star cans’—first exposure to
tikkas that couldn’t be more telling. hyper-nationalism, promoting Indian food

is former executive
onion and you struggle to imagine Indian
cuisine”.
editor of Mint If The Economist piece was largely unin-
formed and Nichols’s tweet mischievously
provocative, the fault may well lie within us,
in our ability to clearly articulate to the
world the richness and versatility of our
food. Indeed, in the aftermath of the battles
that raised the hackles of thousands of irate
Indian food lovers, it may be useful to pon-
der why what we believe to be food of the
gods is not quite the world beater it should
logically be.
An international YouGov study done ear-
lier this year of more than 25,000 people in
24 countries found that Italian food is the
rated. Of the 2,817 restaurants in the world
with Michelin stars, France alone boasts of
600, followed by Japan and Italy.
That may be part of the problem, as there
aren’t enough outlets to serve as samplers of
Indian food. Unlike other services in which
India has had great success globally, food
cannot be sold remotely. It needs an
on-ground presence. It also needs to be
affordable if it’s to appeal to younger people
in colleges and universities, the usual flag
bearers of new trends.
In addition, often the hackneyed curries
and tikkas that people order and get aren’t
essentially Indian, but customized for a pre-
sumed non-Indian palate. The result is food
Indian food.” Even Nich-
ols, who is after all a self-
people order While the South Indian
vegetarian chain has
may well be an assertion of national pride.
Back to Nichols’s tweet, though, and what
confessed “curmudgeon”,
did clarify later that he was
aren’t just bland around 40 restaurants in
other countries, there are
one commentator called our reaction to
it—an indication of “deep-rooted insecu-
referring to whatever it was but a parody of nearly 400 outlets of Amer- rity”. Here’s the thing: what if there is some
that is called “Indian” in the ican fast food chain McDo- truth in it, and away from the flattering Pin-
US and UK. Indian food nald’s in India alone. Nor is terest and Instagram lenses, Indian food isn’t
If Americans aren’t par- this lack of reach restricted so sexy, particularly for someone who hasn’t
tial to Indian food, Indians to overseas markets. Even been weaned on dal chawal. After all, food,
abroad don’t seem to want it too badly within India, Saravana Bhavan has only 39 like love, isn’t governed by any rules. Just
either. There’s economics behind that trend. outlets. because a billion people like a dish doesn’t
There hasn’t been any large-scale migration Despite our great love for food and the mean that everyone else should too. Instead
of blue-collar workers from India to the US. pride we take in our various regional cui- of trying to force our traditional food on peo-
In most cases, it is these workers who boost sines, the sector is highly fragmented and ple for whom our masalas and chillies are
the demand for indigenous food. Thus, Chi- low-tech. Globally, food is a mature business alien, maybe we need to cook up a slightly
nese restaurants started in the US nearly 170 in which the back end, comprising a crucial different cuisine to conquer the West.
 VIEWS THURSDAY, 12 DECEMBER 2019
NEW DELHI 15

THEIR VIEW M I N T C U R AT O R

Countries should tax the money

that their citizens make globally
This would stop the current international race to the bottom in taxing capital income and allow nations to set fairer taxes

ISTOCKPHOTO

Laurent Simons’ folks allegedly wanted him to get a degree before year-end. REUTERS

The child prodigy who could not graduate

C hild prodigy Laurent Simons has left his university course, following a dispute
over his graduation date. Laurent, 9, made world headlines in November when
news emerged that he was due to finish his studies in electrical engineering at the
Eindhoven University of Technology (TUE) in the Netherlands in December. Now,
a dispute between TUE and the Simons family has seen Laurent terminate his stud-
RICARDO HAUSMANN ies without graduating. TUE said it had recommended Laurent finish his studies
is a professor at the Harvard by mid-2020, rather than at the end of December, because of the number of exams
Kennedy School and director he still has to pass...TUE said Laurent’s father, Alexander Simons, had “repeated
of the Harvard Growth Lab his explicit wish that his son should obtain his bachelor degree at the age of 9, which
means that Laurent must successfully complete his bachelor within ten months
for a study that normally lasts three years.”
CNN

I
f you are a citizen of a country, should you pay
taxes on the income you earn only within that
country’s geographical limits, or on all the
money you earn, independently of where? The
US, Mexico, India, China, and Chile tax global
income. Western Europe, Japan, Canada, Peru
and Colombia tax territorial income. If the world
moved toward global taxation and enhanced some
incipient information-sharing mechanisms, the
impact on inclusive growth, especially in the
developing world, would be very positive.
Who should pay for government and how is an
issue at the heart of any political system. The
answer combines both social preferences and
efficiency considerations, although the former
often masquerade as the latter.
In most polities, people prefer to tax the rich
more heavily than the poor, UK Prime Minister
Margaret Thatcher’s poll tax of the late 1980s being
the exception that proves the rule. Thatcher was
ousted by her own Conservative Party in Novem-
ber 1990, after she tried to tax everybody the same.
By contrast, efficiency considerations suggest
that taxes should be levied on things that are hard
to move or change in response to tax. For example,
land is hard to move, but a municipal tax on gaso-
line can be avoided by filling up the tank in a nearby
jurisdiction that does not tax fuel. Competition
between municipalities would create a race to the
bottom that would have them tax gasoline at close
to zero. The fact that tax bases can move more
easily across municipal borders than across inter-
national borders is one reason why many taxes are
imposed and collected by national governments
and shared with state and local authorities.
Should we tax labour or capital? Because the rich
own more capital than the poor and derive more of
their income from it, if you want to tax the rich, you
must tax capital income. But if capital can move
abroad more easily than labour, efficiency consid-
erations imply that you must tax labour rather than
capital, lest it flee the country or be consumed
rather than saved. In fact, a large literature, started
by a seminal article by Anthony Atkinson and
Joseph E. Stiglitz, argued that the optimal taxation
of capital income should be zero.
Countries that tax territorial income de facto tell
their capital-owning tax residents: either invest in
the country and be taxed, or invest abroad and
escape taxation. No wonder so many residents
choose to put their money abroad. A recent study
by Jonathan Ostry and co-authors at the IMF
shows that the move toward free movement of
capital in recent decades has had little impact on
growth, but a large impact on inequality. But it gets
worse. Optimal taxation theory says that govern-
ments should choose tax rates that are inversely
proportional to how mobile the tax bases are. Since
capital can easily move abroad, this principle
implies that you should tax it less.
Two additional arguments are used to justify
taxing capital even less. The first is the notion that
taxing dividends is tantamount to taxing corporate
income twice: once when it is earned, and again
when it is distributed to shareholders. Countries
like Estonia, Latvia and Jordan do not tax dividends
at all, while several countries in Eastern Europe tax
them substantially less than labour income.
In fact, the double taxation argument is a hoax.
Countries should choose a total tax on capital
income, but they are free to choose what combina-
tion of corporate income tax and dividend tax to
use. For example, Ireland has a very low effective
corporate income tax rate of 15%, but its 51%
dividend tax is the world’s highest.
The second argument is that capital gains should
be taxed less than dividends, with some countries,
including Switzerland, Turkey, the Netherlands,
and New Zealand, taxing them at zero. Because it is
very easy for corporations to transform income
from dividends into capital gains (say, by buying
back shares instead of distributing dividends), this
creates an enormous loophole.
As a result, many countries’ taxes on capital
income are extremely low, leaving them to tax
mainly labour income. But this is also problematic.
Although it is more difficult for labour to leave the
country, workers can move from the formal sector,
where companies withhold their employees’ taxes,
to the informal sector of sole proprietorships and
unincorporated micro-enterprises, where with-
holding does not work and the tax system has
trouble collecting. While eight out of nine workers
in the US work for incorporated businesses, less
than one-half in Latin America do; in India, it’s
fewer than one in ten. Trying to tax labour thus
encourages more inefficient ways of organizing
production, at very significant costs to society.
Historically, the difficulty of enforcement was
P resident Trump has paid $2 million to eight charities as part of a settlement in
one reason not to tax global income. But help is on
the way, because the US, the UK, and several other
OECD [Organisation for Economic Co-operation
and Development] countries that tax their citizens’
and tax residents’ foreign income are pushing for
improvements in information sharing. For example,
the US Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act
(FATCA) requires that all international financial
institutions report to the US on the accounts held by
its tax residents. Moreover, anti-money laundering
and know-your-customer rules require financial
institutions and other businesses to know the ulti-
mate beneficiaries of the entities, including shell
companies, they deal with. Increasingly, developing
countries are pressured to provide relevant infor-
mation to help other countries tax their citizens.
They might as well obtain the benefits that arise
from sharing information with those tax authorities.
In short, for many countries, and especially for
developing economies, a more efficient and fair tax
system would involve higher taxation of capital
income. But this would require taxing global as
well as territorial income, with enforcement
dependent on an international system of informa-
tion sharing that is currently under construction
for the benefit of the US and other OECD coun-
tries. Such a system would allow countries to
choose higher taxation of capital income without
fearing capital outflows, because capital owners
would not be exempt from taxation at home.
More inclusive global growth in a world with
F or nearly 25 years the global trading system has been refereed by a group of
free capital mobility requires global taxation and
tax cooperation. It does not require a “global”
government that taxes and redistributes.
Countries would be free to set their own taxes,
but would be required to share tax-relevant
information. This would stop the current
international race to the bottom in taxing capital
income and allow countries to set fairer,
more efficient taxes. ©2019/project syndicate
Trump had to cough up $2 million to charities
which the president admitted he misused funds raised by the Donald J. Trump
Foundation to promote his presidential bid and pay off business debts, the New
York State attorney general said. The foundation’s giving patterns and manage-
ment came under scrutiny during Trump’s run for office, and last year the New
York attorney general filed a lawsuit accusing the president and his family of using
the foundation as an extension of their businesses and the campaign. The payments
were part of a settlement announced last month that capped a drawn-out legal bat-
tle. In the end, [Trump] admitted in court documents that he had used the founda-
tion to settle legal obligations of his businesses...
The New York Times
A holiday party and a surprise $50,000 bonus
W hen a Maryland real estate company handed out red envelopes to employees
during the annual holiday party on Saturday, no one knew what to expect.
So when the 198 employees of St. John Properties received surprise bonuses aver-
aging $50,000, it was a holiday miracle most didn’t see coming. All the bonuses
totaled around $10 million. “When I opened the envelope, I was in total disbelief,”
Stephanie Ridgway, an assistant project manager at the company, told CNN. “I
couldn’t believe I saw what I saw. I don’t even have words to properly describe how
I felt, it was just amazing and incredible. I’m still in shock. It’s definitely life chang-
ing.” St. John Properties President Lawrence Maykrantz told CNN the company
had reached a major goal of developing 20 million square feet in real estate.
CNN
Get set for fully electric commercial aircraft
T he world’s first fully electric commercial aircraft has taken its inaugural test
flight, taking off from the Canadian city of Vancouver and flying for 15 minutes.
“This proves that commercial aviation in all-electric form can work,” said Roei Gan-
zarski, chief executive of Australian engineering firm magniX. The company
designed the plane’s motor and worked in partnership with Harbour Air, which
ferries half a million passengers a year between Vancouver, Whistler ski resort and
nearby islands and coastal communities. Ganzarski said the technology would
mean significant cost savings for airlines and zero emissions. “This signifies the start
of the electric aviation age,” he said. Civil aviation is one of the fastest-growing sour-
ces of carbon emissions ...
The Guardian
The World Trade Organization loses its teeth
seven judges at the World Trade Organization. They hear appeals over disputes
and grant the right to retaliation where there has been wrongdoing. [On 11 Decem-
ber] the appellate body ceases to function, because America is blocking appoint-
ments to replace two judges who have just retired. The stance is a symptom of Presi-
dent Donald Trump’s suspicion of multilateral institutions, but American unease
predates his administration. The WTO has long been unwieldy. And because each
country has a veto it has been difficult to update the rules. Instead, grumbles have
festered. So now the appellate body will probably die, or at least remain dormant
for years, leading to a deterioration in the way countries conduct trade disputes.
The Economist

GUEST VIEW

The paradox of our rights to information and privacy

The country’s law on our right to infor-
K. SATISH KUMAR mation was enacted in 2005. However,
since 1975, in multiple judgements, the
Supreme Court has recognized the right to
information as a fundamental right of citi-
zens under Article 19(1)(a) of the Constitu-
Consider our right to privacy. This is a
fundamental right and an intrinsic part of
Article 21, which protects the life and lib-
erty of citizens under Part III of the Consti-
tution. On 24 August 2017, a nine-judge
bench of the Supreme Court in Justice K.S.
example is our medical records. Such infor-
mation, the disclosure of which would
invade someone’s privacy, is exempt from
the RTI requirements. According to section
8(1)(j) of the RTI Act, if the information is
personal and would cause an unwarranted
plementary ways to confer individual rights
and promote greater government account-
ability and transparency. However, this
would require the country to work on rec-
onciliation of the two.
There needs to be common definitions

T
he right to information (RTI) and the
right to privacy (RTP) are two impor-
tant rights upheld by the Supreme
Court of India. For the most part, they are
two sides of the same coin. They comple-
ment each other in giving Indian citizens
the rights they value highly and holding the
government accountable to the people.
tion on our freedom of speech and expres-
sion. This has been read together with Arti-
cles 14, 19 and 21 to guarantee our right to
equality, right to freedom of speech and
expression, and our right to life and liberty,
respectively.
It was those judgements, together with
the RTI movements by citizens, that culmi-
Puttaswamy (Retd.) and Anr. vs Union Of invasion of privacy and serves no public and internal consistency within the entire
India And Ors. unani- interest, then it cannot be framework to limit conflict and establish a
mously held that the right disclosed, unless the cen- balance. Since this exercise involves spe-
to privacy is an intrinsic The two rights tral public information cific legal provisions, it might even call for
part of the right to life and officer or the state public legislative efforts.
personal liberty under usually go hand information officer, or any Perhaps, a “conflict resolution strategy’
Article 21 of the Indian other appellate authority, can be adopted to harmonize the two rights.
Constitution.
in hand but is of the opinion that the Even though Section 8(1)(j) of the RTI Act

is a keynote speaker, an author,

and global head of legal and
chief data protection officer of
Ramco Systems
Many presume that when citizens invoke
the RTI, then government bodies can seek
shelter under the RTP. This is a myth that
was recently exposed by the Supreme
Court when it ruled that even the Chief Jus-
tice of India’s office will come under the
Right to Information Act.
The apex court stated that public interest
should be upheld while disclosing any
information under that law. Notably, the
country’s top court had also said that judi-
cial independence and accountability
should go hand in hand, and that one can-
not wear a garb of privacy as protection
from information disclosure requirements
under the RTI Act.
nated in the RTI Act of 2005. This was an
Act of Parliament that set forth a practical
regime and framework to grant citizens this
right and replaced the erstwhile Freedom
of Information Act, 2002.
Under the RTI Act, any citizen of India
can request information from a “public
authority”, including the Chief Justice of
India, and the relevant authority is required
to reply within 30 days. The law also
encourages the dissemination of public
information through digital means to mini-
mize the occasions on which citizens would
need to take recourse to its provision that
lets them lodge a formal request for infor-
mation on some matter.
How does the RTP
square with the RTI? Awk-
there may be a
wardly, as we shall see.
The government stores
way to reconcile
a lot of personal informa- the two when
tion on individuals. This
ranges from income tax they clash
returns and driving
licence details to census
data and medical information. When an
application is made under the RTI Act for
disclosure of some information on an iden-
tifiable individual, there is a conflict
between the RTI and the RTP.
Personal information can be denied if it
infringes an individual’s privacy. A good
disclosure of this informa-
tion would serve a larger
public interest.
In terms of procedure,
before an applicant asks
for the personal informa-
tion of an individual, he or
she has to justify the public
benefit of its disclosure
and the information officer should be con-
vinced of it. If the officer accepts the argu-
ment, public interest trumps the RTP.
Thus, together, the RTI and RTP present
us a paradox. Can it be harmonized? While
the two rights frequently look irreconcila-
ble, they can, as stated earlier, act in com-
explicitly grants exemption from the dis-
closure of personal information, for exam-
ple, it comes with the caveat mentioned
above, public interest may warrant the dis-
closure of such data to an applicant by a
public authority, thereby nullifying the
exemption and disregarding the RTP.
However, challenging as it may be, it is
still possible to demarcate the extent to
which personal information may be dis-
closed in the general interest. As of now,
there is no line of demarcation for disclo-
sure and non-disclosure. This is a bridge
that could resolve at least part of the RTI-
RTP paradox.
These are the author’s personal views
16 THURSDAY, 12 DECEMBER 2019
NEW DELHI POLICY

Joint House panel will study India assures global

investors of payment
data protection bill: Prasad security in green deals
Utpal Bhaskar
IT minister says the committee will finalize report before budget session starts in Jan utpal.b@livemint.com
NEW DELHI

Shreya Nandi

A
Minister for environment, payment security
forest and climate change shreya.n@livemint.com mechanism has been
Prakash Javadekar at COP25, NEW DELHI put in place to protect
in Madrid, Spain. PTI green energy investments,

A
joint select committee India’s secretary in the minis-
Fulfil pre-2020 of both Houses of Par-
liament will study the
Cabinet
authorises
try of new and renewable
energy, Anand Kumar, told
NHAI to set
climate pledges, Personal Data Protec-
tion Bill, 2019, which
up InvIT to
monetise
global investors on Tuesday on
the sidelines of the Madrid Cli-
New Delhi urges was cleared by the Union cabinet
last week. The bill, which has been
highway
projects
mate Conference.
The announcement comes Andhra Pradesh government’s
developed world referred to the select committee,
seeks to build a framework to pre-
bit.ly/349Ii27 amid concerns of global inves- move to relook renewable
tors about the Andhra Pradesh energy contracts has sent the
serve the sanctity of consent in data government’s decision to have wrong signal to investors. MINT
Srishti Choudhary sharing, and penalize those breach- a relook at renewable energy
srishti.c@livemint.com ing privacy norms. contracts. end the impasse.
NEW DELHI The committee will have 30 “Payment security mecha- The Centre has been trying
members—20 from Lok Sabha and nism to de-risk investments in to bring about a solution to the

T
he high-level segment of
the United Nations Cli-
mate Change Summit
began in Madrid, Spain,
on Wednesday with India
urging developed countries to
fulfil their pre-2020 commit-
ments before a global stock-
taking to review the impact of
climate action.
Delegates from 200 coun-
tries including India are
attending the summit, the
25th Conference of Parties
(COP) of the United Nations
Framework Convention on
Climate Change, which is
expected to finalize rules gov-
erning the 2015 Paris Agree-
ment that formally kicks in
next year.
Only six countries are on
track to meet their nationally
determined contributions
(NDCs) announced in Paris,
and India is leading the pack,
according to the Union minis-
ter for environment, forests
and climate change, Prakash
Javadekar.
“Has the developed world
delivered on its promises? Nei-
ther their NDCs reflect ambi-
tions nor have they shown
willingness to enhance their
commitments,” he said. Devel-
oped countries had promised
$1 trillion in the last ten years,
but not even 2% of this has
materialized, he pointed out.
“This is the time for owner-
ship, time for responsible
action. The world that bene-
fited from carbon emissions
that made them developed
must repay. Affordable tech-
nology development is crucial
for developing countries. If we
are dealing with a disaster,
nobody should profit from it,”
10 from Rajya Sabha. renewable have been put in problem against the backdrop
“Since the bill is compassionate place,” said Kumar, according of India’s clean energy sector
(towards the needs of the citizens) to a government statement. going through a crisis. The
and other countries are also look- The statement assumes investors in Andhra Pradesh’s
ing forward to this law, the bill importance as the Andhra Pra- clean energy space, such as
should be discussed by a committee desh government’s move had Goldman Sachs, Brookfield,
comprising members from both sent the wrong signal to inter- SoftBank and CPPIB, are mar-
the Houses of Parliament (Lok and national investors, and has quee names on the global
Rajya Sabha),” information tech- Union information technology minister Ravi Shankar Prasad. PTI serious implications on India’s investment landscape. As
nology (IT) minister Ravi Shankar ability to attract overseas such, a negative signal from
Prasad said, ahead of the introduc- available on the Lok Sabha website. doing an end-run around the Par- cough up as much as ₹5 crore or 2% investment and these investors
tion of the bill in the Lok Sabha. The minister proposed the com- liamentary Standing Committee on of its worldwide turnover, which- the perception IREDA, one of the may jeopardize
Prasad said the committee mittee amid protests from the Information Technology by allo- ever is higher, in case there is a data about the sanctity largest lenders India’s aspira-
should finalize the report before Opposition that the proposed law cating the Data Privacy Bill to a breach or inaction by the fiduciary of legal contracts in India’s green tions.
the budget session of Parliament, compromises citizens’ right to pri- “joint select committee” which the or a minor violation. in the country. energy space, is “We need to
which is expected to begin in the vacy. BJP will chair. I have expressed my In case of major violations such This could also make the projects
launching its
last week of January. Congress leader Shashi Tharoor concerns frankly to the Speaker as data processed or shared without dent India’s bankable and via-
“Let the parliamentary process said that creating a joint select com- earlier today,” Tharoor said in a consent, there will be a penalty of image as a clean own alternate ble, resolve the
examine it in the most detailed mittee to examine the bill, instead tweet. ₹15 crore or 4% of global turnover, energy cham- investment fund uncertainties the
manner possible and the the official said. pion. projects may have
select committee will have THE PRIVACY DEBATE The first draft was pre- Mint reported in terms of bid-
good number from the pared by a high-level expert on Wednesday about state-run ders and bankers, keep proc-
Opposition from both the THE committee PANEL was set up CURRENTLY, there PROPOSED law group headed by former Solar Energy Corp. of India esses transparent, and create
Houses,” he said. will comprise 30 after Opposition are no laws on the gives power to the Supreme Court judge B.N. (SECI) enforcing a tripartite ownership among all stake-
members—20 from said the proposed use of personal Centre to exempt
Committee members Lok Sabha and 10 law compromises data and preventing govt agencies from Srikrishna in July 2018. pact to collect ₹276 crore in holders,” said Manu Srivas-
from the Lok Sabha from Rajya Sabha right to privacy its misuse provisions of the bill However, inter-ministerial dues from the Andhra Pradesh tava, principal secretary in
include Meenakshi Lekhi, consultations delayed its government from the central Madhya Pradesh’s new and
Tejasvi Surya, Saugata Roy, approval. devolution. The agreement renewable energy department
Rajiv Ranjan Singh and Kanimozhi. of sending it to the parliamentary In a first, the proposed law wants The latest draft legislation is in between the Reserve Bank of in the statement.
Rajya Sabha is yet to name the 10 standing Committee on IT (headed social media platforms to create a sharp contrast from the earlier ver- India (RBI), the Union govern- In a related development,
members who will also be a part of by Tharoor), sets a ‘dangerous prec- mechanism that will enable regis- sion as it proposes to give power in ment and state governments Kumar also stated that Indian
this committee edent’ as it will allow the govern- tered users to voluntarily verify to the hands of the Central govern- provides comfort to power Renewable Energy Develop-
“In order to constitute a sitting of ment to bypass the designated their accounts. The provision is ment to exempt government agen- producers against payment ment Agency (IREDA), one of
the joint committee, the quorum standing panel whenever a conten- largely aimed at checking social cies from the provisions of the bill defaults by state electricity the largest lenders in the coun-
shall be one-third of the total num- tious legislation is under considera- media trolling. on grounds of national security, boards. It has been invoked for try’s green energy space, is
ber of members of the joint com- tion. As far as violations are con- raising concerns pertaining to pri- the first time following a com- launching its own alternate
mittee,” according to information “Dismayed by the government cerned, a company will have to vacy. promise reached last month to investment fund.
NHAI gets cabinet approval to set up InvITs Tweaks to non-banks liquidity
Shreya Nandi
shreya.n@livemint.com
scheme, IBC get cabinet’s nod ANIRUDDHA CHOWDHURY/MINT transport and highways Nitin
Gadkari had earlier said.
NHAI will rely on monetiz-
NEW DELHI ing assets as a source of funds
in the coming years, Gadkari

he emphasized.
India also pushed for build-
ing consensus on Article 6 of
the Paris Agreement before
finalizing the rules for the
Agreement.
“If this is not resolved, the
question will hang over next
year’s talks also, when coun-
tries are expected to realign
their emissions—cutting tar-
gets on staying within 2 °C rise
above pre-industrial levels in
global average temperatures,”
said Karan Mangotra, associate
director of earth science and
climate change division at The
Energy & Resources Institute
(TERI).
India also stressed on the
need for more joint research
and collaboration and priori-
tized adaptation as an integral
part of climate actions.
T
he Union cabinet on
Wednesday gave its
approval to the National
Highways Authority of India
(NHAI) to set up infrastructure
investment trusts (InvITs) to
monetize highway assets.
“This will enable NHAI to
monetize completed national
highways that have a toll col-
lection track record of at least
one year and NHAI reserves
the right to levy toll on the
identified highway,” the gov-
ernment said.
InvITs are investment
schemes similar to mutual
funds and allow individuals
and institutional investors to
put money into infrastructure
projects to earn a portion of
the income as return. Such a
model is more attractive for
investors as not only does it
had said. Besides, the need to
build national highways will
reduce with the completion of
the government’s flagship
highway development pro-
gramme, the Bharatmala
project, which would need
investment of more than ₹5
trillion to develop 24,800 km
of roads.
“Given the magnitude of the
Bharatmala programme,
The plan is to monetize the completed and operational national NHAI would need adequate
highways assets to unlock their value, the government said. funds to complete the projects
within the prescribed time-
provide greater flexibility but Authority (PFRDA) can also lines. As a part of this exercise,
the investors also do not have invest in the infrastructure a workable option is to mone-
to build an infrastructure space through InvITs. tize the completed and opera-
project from scratch and are The highways authority tional NH (national highway)
thus protected from construc- plans to raise more than assets to unlock their value
tion risk. ₹85,000 crore by fiscal year and offer attractive schemes to
Mutual funds and institutes 2025 through the toll-operate- private players to invest in
such as the Pension Fund Reg- transfer (ToT) model and construction of national high-
ulatory and Development InvITs, Union minister of road ways,” the government said.
FROM PAGE 1 bankruptcy, which is essential seeks to enable cash-strapped
to sustain the economy and shadow banks to raise money
The move will help in the drive growth,” said Shroff. from banks for on-lending to
rescue of bankrupt Bhushan The government also the priority sector, which
Power and Steel Ltd (BPSL) by cleared tweaking the partial includes small and medium
the second-largest private credit guarantee businesses and
steelmaker in the country, scheme in what The change is the farm sector.
JSW Steel Ltd, a transaction may improve expected to deter The scheme is
which has got complicated due liquidity for non- creditors, who also now made
to a probe by the Enforcement banking financial have used the valid for asset
Directorate and the attach- companies pools rated
bankruptcy
ment of BSPL’s assets. (NBFCs) and “BBB+” or higher
According to Cyril Shroff, housing finance code as a loan as compared to
managing partner at Cyril companies. recovery tool the earlier condi-
Amarchand Mangaldas, the The revised tion of “AA” rated
proposed changes, especially scheme will make assets.
those related to ring-fencing, NBFCs that show signs of According to the latest
should help restore investor stress and have slipped into a announcement, NBFCs with
and banker confidence in the class called special mention lower rating or “investment
IBC process. account in the one year lead- rating” but with good quality
“The government has ing up to August 2018 eligible loans will be included in the
rightly enhanced the focus on for the credit guarantee partial credit guarantee
ensuring sustenance and scheme. The scheme, scheme.
recovery of businesses from announced in the July budget, gireesh.p@livemint.com

against former Dawood Ibrahim aide, Memon Iqbal Mohammed

m SHORT TAKES or Iqbal Mirchi, who died in 2013 in London, the investigative
ADB cuts China, India economic CAG raises concerns over
agency said in a statement. growth forecasts to below 6% government’s Ujjwala scheme
Mirchi, also an accused in the 1993 Mumbai serial blasts case,
CAG report censures Coal India was wanted by the Indian government on multiple charges of mur-
BLOOMBERG
New Delhi: The Comptroller
PRADEEP GAUR/MINT

over environmental concerns
MINT
New Delhi: The Comptroller
and Auditor General of India
(CAG) has condemned Coal
India Ltd for issues including
high pollutant levels at its mines.
This comes amid India expe-
diting efforts for coal mining,
even as the window for fossil
fuels is rapidly closing, and the
global energy landscape has been rapidly evolving.UTPAL BHASKAR
ED attaches 2 floors at Ceejay House,
six other assets in Iqbal Mirchi case
Mumbai: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Wednesday pro-
visionally attached two floors of Ceejay House besides six other res-
idential and commercial properties with a market value of ₹600
crore, in the alleged money laundering and terror financing case
der, extortion and drug trafficking. “These properties were
acquired by Iqbal Mirchi in the name of his family members and
relatives,” said ED. JAYSHREE P. UPADHYAY & BIDYA SAPAM
Telangana encounter: SC proposes
an ex-judge must head probe panel
New Delhi: The Supreme Court (SC) on Wednesday proposed to
set up a commission headed by a retired judge to investigate the
encounter of four suspected rapists in Telangana. The court is
likely to pass an order to this effect on Thursday.
Advocate G.S. Mani had filed a
PRADEEP GAUR/MINT
public interest litigation on
Tuesday, seeking directions for
setting up a special investigation
team to investigate the “fake”
encounter by the police, and to
lodge a first information report
against the officials involved in
the incident. JAPNAM K. BINDRA
and Auditor General of India
(CAG) has expressed concerns
over the Centre’s Pradhan Man-
tri Ujjwala Yojana in terms of low
consumption, diversions and
delays in supply of cylinders.
In its report, CAG said that low
consumption of refills by 9.2
million consumers who had availed loans, hindered recovery of
outstanding loan of ₹1,234.71 crore. UTPAL BHASKAR
Singapore: The Asian Development Bank (ADB) cut its eco-
nomic growth forecasts for China and India to below 6%,
dimming prospects across the continent. India’s growth Bill to universalize social security
forecast for the fiscal year through March 2020 was slashed
to 5.1% from 6.5% previously. China’s economy is seen
introduced in Lok Sabha
expanding 6.1% this year and 5.8% in 2020.
China’s growth downgrade is largely due to the trade war New Delhi: The Centre on Wednesday introduced the Social
with the US and weaker domestic demand as surging pork Security Code Bill, 2019, which proposes universalization of social
prices hit consumer wallets, the ADB said. In India, a credit security benefits and reducing the monthly contribution by work-
crunch and weakening consumption is weighing on the ers of select sectors towards Employees’ Provident Fund (EPF).
economy. BLOOMBERG It, however, will not change the employers’ share of 12% towards
monthly EPF contribution. PRASHANT K. NANDA
 POLITICS THURSDAY, 12 DECEMBER 2019
NEW DELHI 17

Mint launches a series capturing 10 landmark events to define each year of the past decade, starting 2010. Here, we dissect the 12-digit
unique identification number, AADHAAR, to find out how it has changed the Indian landscape
Nanavati panel
gives clean chit
to Modi in 2002
Gujarat riots
PTI
feedback@livemint.com
GANDHINAGAR

T
he Nanavati Commis- India has been demanding the prosecution of Hafiz Saeed for
sion has given a clean being the mastermind of 2008 Mumbai terror attack. PTI
chit to the then Gujarat
chief minister Narendra Modi-
led government in the 2002
riots in the state where over
Pakistan court indicts
1,000 people, mostly of the
minority community, were
killed.
Hafiz Saeed on charge
The commission’s report
was tabled in the Gujarat legis-
lative assembly by minister of
state for home Pradeepsinh
of financing terror
Jadeja on Wednesday, five Elizabeth Roche December as the date for fram-
years after it was submitted to elizabeth.r@livemint.com ing charges against Saeed and
the then state government. NEW DELHI co-accused Malik Zafar Iqbal.
The panel, comprising Analysts were, however,

former Supreme Court judge
Justice G.T. Nanavati and
former Gujarat high court Jus-
tice Akshay Mehta, in its
report observed that police at
some places were ineffective
Aadhaar has become the world’s largest biometric identification, with UIDAI having issued more than a billion cards. PRADEEP GAUR/MINT in controlling the mob
because of their inadequate
H
afiz Saeed, the head of
Pakistan-based terror-
ist organization Lash-
kar-e-Taiba, has been charged
with terror financing by a Paki-
stani court, news reports said
on Wednesday. The charges
were read out while Saeed was
unsure that Saeed would be
brought to justice given his
links with Pakistan’s intelli-
gence agency, the Inter-Servi-
ces Intelligence, or ISI. “It is
doubtful that Pakistani author-
ities will bring clinching evi-
dence to convict Saeed as that

Aadhaar a game changer but

numbers or because they were
not properly armed.
“There is no evidence to
show that these attacks were
either inspired or instigated or
present in the court, govern-
ment prosecutor Abdur Rauf
told news agency Reuters.
The indictment comes
ahead of a meeting of global
could become self incriminat-
ing for the ISI. What Saeed
should be tried for is the Mum-
bai terror attack of 2008 in
which Indians and a number of

concerns on security remain abated by any minister of the

While the unique ID has eased transfer of benefits, there’s a need to plug leakage of data
Shreya Nandi (NDA) government has claimed to
shreya.n@livemint.com have saved ₹51,664.85 crore in
NEW DELHI 2018-19 through direct transfer of
subsidies to genuine beneficiaries.
HITS AND MISSES using Aadhaar card for know your
customer (KYC) formalities. The apex
WHAT WAS THE EVENT court maintained that Aadhaar will be
In 2010, Aadhaar was rolled out needed for various other purposes
state,” the commission said in
its voluminous report.
The commission was
appointed in 2002 by the then
state chief minister Narendra
Modi to probe the riots, that
took place after the burning of
two coaches of Sabarmati
Express train near Godhra rail-
way station, in which 59 ‘kar-
sevaks’ were killed.
“On an overall considera-
tion of the entire material, the
commission finds that the
terror funding watchdog
Financial Action Task Force
(FATF) in February. The
FATF is expected to decide
whether or not to blacklist Pak-
istan for failing to curb terror
financing.
Saeed’s indictment is likely
to be seen as a vindication of
India’s stand, which sought
Saeed’s prosecution for back-
ing terrorist activities against
India, as well as for being the
mastermind of the 2008 Mum-
bai terror attack in which 166
foreign nationals were killed,”
said former foreign secretary
Kanwal Sibal.
India shifted its focus to the
FATF to pressurize Pakistan to
cut terror financing because
Islamabad was ignoring New
Delhi’s requests, one person
familiar with the matter said,
requesting anonymity. In July,
ahead of the FATF’s warning in
October that Pakistan had till
February to clean up its act, the
counter terrorism department
of Pakistan’s Punjab police reg-

T
he rollout of the 12-digit Since the direct benefit transfer to provide every Indian resident including income-tax return (ITR) fil- communal riots which fol- people were killed. New Delhi istered 23 first information
unique identification num- (DBT) scheme was implemented in with a unique identification ing and for DBT and most welfare lowed the Godhra incident had demanded that Saeed be reports against Saeed and his
ber Aadhaar has been one January 2013, it has helped the gov- schemes. were really by way of an after- brought to justice, but Pakistan accomplices on charges of “ter-
of the biggest game chang- ernment save as much as ₹1.41 trillion, IMMEDIATE FALLOUT The judgement spelled trouble for math of that incidents,” the was so far being seen as drag- ror financing” in different cities
ers for India in the past dec- government data showed. Incidents of data breach, several entities as the cost of e-KYC report said. ging its feet on the matter. of Punjab province. He was
ade. Modelled after the US’s social The government also made it man- mandatory use of Aadhaar for verifications for banks, financial tech- It was because of the Godhra India had said last week that later arrested and lodged at Kot
security number, Aadhaar has now datory to link Aadhaar with Perma- availing some services raised nology companies and telecom ser- incident that large sections of it was aware that Saeed was Lakhpat jail.
become the world’s largest biometric nent Account Number (PAN) card to concerns over privacy vice providers had increased substan- Hindu community became “roaming freely” and enjoying Cases were then registered
identification—iris and fingerprint deal with unscrupulous people who tially after the Supreme Court ruling. very angry and ultimately “Pakistan’s hospitality”. India in Lahore, Gujranwala and
scan, with the Unique Identification hold multiple PANs each in order to LONG-TERM IMPLICATION Experts said that while benefits of indulged in violent attacks on had shared all evidence in this Multan for collection of funds
Authority of India (UIDAI) having evade taxes. The government claimed Helped remove middlemen Aadhaar cannot be ruled out, the big- Muslims and their properties,” context with Pakistan and it for terror financing through
issued more than a billion cards. that linking the two documents and plug revenue leakages gest contradiction is that it was never it said. was Islamabad’s responsibility assets made and held in the
The role of Aadhaar has undergone makes it easier for the income-tax meant to be mandatory. There have The commission also said “to take action” against the per- names of trusts or non-profit
a sea change since its implementation (I-T) department to analyse and assess been several cases of Aadhaar data that it did not find any evi- petrators of the attack, foreign organizations, including
in 2010 by the United the finances of an indi- breach and there has to be increased dence against “any religious or ministry spokesperson Rav- Al-Anfaal Trust, Dawatul
Progressive Alliance vidual, which can former chief executive officer of awareness among people and they political party or organizations eesh Kumar had then said in Irshad Trust, and Muaz Bin
(UPA) government. The thereby plug loopholes UIDAI, said. should be careful before sharing the as such” in connection with New Delhi. Pakistan’s anti-ter- Jabal Trust. This led to the
project was created to T H E D E C A D E T H A T pertaining to tax eva- “Further, Aadhaar is being used in unique identification number. the riots. rorism court then fixed 11 indictment on Wednesday.
provide every Indian TRANSFORMED INDIA sion, if any. In fact, the bank accounts and income tax to “Consequently, cybersecurity was
resident with a unique Union budget 2019 pro- check tax evasion, money laundering, never meant to be a part of the Aad-
identification number, which can be posed to allow interchangeability etc. Undoubtedly, Aadhaar has haar architecture. With demonetiza-
used to avail certain benefits offered between PAN and Aadhaar, indicat- enhanced government’s ability to tion and with the government con-
by the government. ing that the relevance of PAN is directly connect, reach, and serve necting it with income-tax records, it
Over time, presenting an Aadhaar bound to decline.
number has changed from being vol- “Aadhaar has become a foremost
untary to mandatory for direct cash technology instrument which now
people in a cost-effective, efficient
and transparent manner,” Pandey
told Mint.
has created an ecosystem around
Aadhaar that is completely unse-
cured,” Supreme Court advocate
Citizenship bill clears the Rajya
transfers for cooking gas subsidy not only empowers people to estab-
(Pratyaksh Hanstantrit Labh or lish their identity anywhere, anytime
PAHAL), Ayushman Bharat and but also enables them to receive their
The 12-digit unique identity
project was, however, criticized over
the privacy and security of personal
Pavan Duggal said, adding that the
biggest miss for the government is
that the law is not focused on the
Sabha test in a big win for BJP
Mahatma Gandhi National Rural entitlements and exercise their rights data collected by the UIDAI and over cybersecurity ramifications of Aad-
Employment Guarantee Scheme, without any fear of being left out or concerns on its compulsory use for haar. FROM PAGE 1 “You are not appreciating
among others, as the government their rights taken away. Payments to availing most services. “The future lies in fortifying the inclusion of six communities
aimed at increasing accountability the beneficiaries are made directly However, in a historic judgement, Aadhaar ecosystem in terms of cyber- to the proposed national roll- including Parsis and Sikhs but
and transparency. Using technol- and swiftly into their bank account Supreme Court in September 2018 security. It is a porous leaking ecosys- out of the National Register of are only talking about Mus-
ogy—Jan Dhan, Aadhaar and mobile from the government treasury. It has upheld the constitutional validity of tem that needs to be rectified.The Citizens (NRC) and diluting lims… When the country’s
(JAM) trinity—to provide subsidy has brought transparency in governance Aadhaar and ruled that the Aadhaar government has to make it more the social ethos of the country. main religion is Islam, there
helped the government better target and delivery system and has cleansed Act doesn’t violate the right to privacy secure and sensitize people so that “How do you group three are fewer chances of persecu-
beneficiaries, removing middlemen delivery databases of fakes, duplicates if one agrees to share biometrics. Pri- they don’t share and use their unique countries and leave out the tion of Muslims... But even so,
and plugging revenue leakages. and intermediaries,” Ajay Bhushan vate companies including fintechs identification number without being rest? How do you categorize if they want to apply for citi-
The National Democratic Alliance Pandey, revenue secretary and and mutual funds were barred from sure,” he added. six religious groups and leave zenship citing persecution, we
out the rest? Why have you have the provision to grant
excluded Sri Lankan Hindus them citizenship too. Our defi-
and Bhutanese Christians? nition of minority is not so nar-
And why only religious perse- Amit Shah addresses the Rajya row,” Shah said in his conclud-
cution… are people not perse- Sabha on Wednesday. PTI ing remarks.

WHY AADHAAR HAS FALLEN SHORT OF ITS PROMISE cuted on political and linguis-
tic grounds?,” senior Congress
leader and former home min-
Javed Ali Khan said NRC and
the Citizenship Amendment
The provisions of the
amended bill are a drastic shift
from those of the Citizenship
ister P. Chidambaram said in Bill are discriminatory to Mus- Act of 1955 that labels a person
tingent on Aadhaar authentication, those who fell In the eventful story of Aadhaar, this was the most the House. Senior Congress lims, while K. Keshav Rao of an “illegal immigrant” if he or
victim to these errors suffered. Stories abounded ironic twist. Infrastructure of this magnitude could leader and deputy leader of the Telangana Rashtra Samithi she has entered India without
EX about the exclusions that Aadhaar had wrought —
tales of families driven to starvation because ration
never have been built by the government alone.
From its inception, Aadhaar was rightly conceptual-
opposition Anand Sharma said
the opposition to the bill was
said the bill challenges the idea
of India. T.K. Rangarajan of the
valid travel documents or has
overstayed the date specified
MACHINA shops could not recognize their biometrics and of ized as a public-private partnership with the rails of not political but constitutional Communist Party of India in the documents. The bill thus
retirees left penniless because they were unable to the enrolment and authentication infrastructure and ethical. (Marxist) said the joint parlia- amends the 1955 Act to grant
R A H U L M AT T H A N access their pensions. being rolled out by private parties. By design, the Among other opposition mentary committee over the exemptions to illegal migrants
In time, Aadhaar, that was until then an entirely ability to freely authenticate using Aadhaar held out parties, Samajwadi Party’s bill was a “farce”. from these communities.
Respond to this column at voluntary service, became a necessary precondition the promise that kirana stores and small-time village
feedback@livemint.com to having a bank account, a mobile phone connec- entrepreneurs could use
tion and for the payment of income tax. It was the Infrastructure this technology to offer a

W
hen it was first announced, it seemed too
ambitious to succeed. In a country where
the infrastructure was patchy and largely
non-existent, no one thought a digital project of its
magnitude had any hope of taking off. Which is why,
at the beginning, none but a paranoid few, really
thought about the implications it would have at
scale. But then, as more people began to enrol them-
selves into the system, we began to see what Aadhaar
really had to offer. It gave people an identity — some-
times for the very first time — allowing those unre-
membered and unrecognized, access to a world they
were previously denied.
As with all technology projects, eventually, bugs
began to surface. Errors were reported during enrol-
ment and the authentication system didn’t always
work as advertised. As access to a whole host of other
government services, such as the public distribution
system and the supply of cooking gas, became con-
aggregation of all these narratives that eventually of this plethora of digital servi-
turned public sentiment against the project, calling ces to their neighbours,
magnitude
the legality of the project into question before the
highest court in the land.
In the end, the Supreme Court upheld Aadhaar,
could never
bringing development to
the hinterland far quicker
have been built than would have been
North-East simmers over CAB
certifying its use for the identification of those enti- by govt alone possible if left entirely to
tled to avail of government services to be a reasona- the government. Now, FROM PAGE 18 bank employee in Guwahati. exclude people of the North-
ble and proportionate incursion into personal pri- that promise runs the risk Political analysts said the East from the bill. In the long
vacy that passed the threefold test laid down by the of being set at nought. in Assam and the rest of the contentious bill is not good for run, the Union government
Supreme Court bench in its Right to Privacy judge- The government scrambled together an amend- North-East. Now the govern- the north-eastern states. They should change the bill to avoid
ment. However, even as the project itself was upheld, ment to the legislation hoping to set right through ment wants to bring in more feel the Union government any problem in the North-
key sections of the Aadhaar Act that allowed the pri- law the defects that the Supreme Court had pointed people and give them citizen- should immediately exclude East. This bill will be chal-
vate sector to access its authentication infrastructure out in its implementation. ship. Of course people will north-eastern states from the lenged in the Supreme Court
were struck down, striking a serious blow to the gov- But no matter what it does, unfortunately, it seems oppose this and more violence bill so that the protests can and it is possible that the oppo-
ernment’s ambitious plans of using the irrepudiable unlikely that the identity infrastructure will ever be will take place. The bill is a end. sition against the bill will only
identity architecture that it offered to serve as the able to achieve the grand heights of its ambitious direct threat to our culture, “This bill is not being grow,” said Arup Jyoti Saikia,
authentication infrastructure for a nation looking to original vision. language, and land. This is our accepted by the people of professor, Indian Institute of
leapfrog out of its status as a developing nation using Rahul Matthan is a partner at Trilegal and author home. Why should we share North-East. We have not seen Technology, Guwahati.
the power of population scale technologies. of ‘Privacy 3.0: Unlocking Our Data Driven Future’ our home with outsiders?” such protests in a long time. Press Trust of India contrib-
asked Alok Jyoti Baruah, 26, a The immediate demand is to uted to this story.
 NEW DELHI, MUMBAI, BENGALURU, KOLKATA, CHENNAI, AHMEDABAD, HYDERABAD, CHANDIGARH*, PUNE* VOL. 13 NO. 297 Rs 5.00 IN DELHI-NCR; Rs 6.00 OUTSIDE DELHI-NCR. PRICE WITH HINDUSTAN TIMES Rs 9.50 (FOR DELHI & NCR)

T H E D E C A D E T H A T
TRANSFORMED INDIA

IKEA INDIA CEO BETZEL ON THE AADHAAR A GAME CHANGER

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 12, 2019 FIRM’S EXPANSION PLANS uP6 BUT CONCERNS REMAIN uP17
LIVEMINT.COM

DON’T MISS
North-East simmers as protests POLLUTION WATCH

01
-20
0
DELHI
201-300
AQI
301
-40

against citizenship bill continue

0
1
395

401
0-100

-500
VERY POOR
PM2.5
09:00PM
Source: System of Air Quality and
Weather Forecasting And Research

Central government deploys Army in Assam and neighbouring Tripura after tensions escalate in region TWITTERVERSE
Gyan Varma areas of Assam, Meghalaya, Mizo-
Pakistan court gyan.v@livemint.com ram, and Tripura, which are
indicts Saeed GUWAHATI included in the Sixth Schedule of
LeT chief Hafiz Saeed the Constitution, as well as areas

has been charged with
terror financing by a
Pakistani court.
See Page 17
Data protection
bill to be reviewed
A joint select committee
of both Houses of
Parliament will study the
data protection bill.
See Page 16
‘Fulfil pre-2020
climate pledges’
New Delhi has urged the
developed world to
fulfil their pre-2020
commitments on climate
action. See Page 17
Social security
code bill in LS
The Centre on
Wednesday introduced
the Social Security Code
Bill, 2019, in Parliament.
See Page 16
T
he anger in the north-
eastern states against
13 fighter the Citizenship
jets crashed
from 2017-
(Amendment) Bill,
18 to Nov 2019, showed no signs
2019: Govt of abating on the second consecu-
tive day on Wednesday, which was
bit.ly/38pKrKq
marked by large-scale protests and
lockdowns.
This has turned out to be the
real test for the National Demo-
cratic Alliance (NDA) government
at the Centre, which outmanoeu-
vred the Opposition in Parliament
to ensure the passage of the bill on
Wednesday.
The protesters fear that the bill
will change the demography of the
states if it is passed as people of dif-
ferent cultures and languages will
get citizenship of the country. This
comes against the backdrop of the
North-East witnessing continued
protests against Bangladeshi
immigrants. Protests in Assam, the
largest state in the North-East,
have primarily been led by stu-
dents.
Tension escalated on Wednes-
day after protesters set ablaze a
vehicle in an arterial section of
Guwahati. This prompted the
covered under the Inner Line Per- Rahul Gandhi
mit system, notified under Bengal
@RahulGandhi
Eastern Frontier Regulation, 1873.
The CAB is an attempt
Protests have erupted in Assam, by Modi-Shah Govt to
Tripura, Arunachal Pradesh, ethnically cleanse the
Meghalaya, and Mizoram over the North East. It is a crimi-
last two days. The growing pro-
nal attack on the North
tests have prompted the Northeast East, their way of life
Frontier Railway (NFR) on and the idea of India.
Wednesday to cancel many trains
and rescheduled a few that origi-
nate from the state. At least 14 Narendra Modi
trains have either been cancelled, @narendramodi
short terminated or diverted Remembering the great
anticipating “disruptions in train Subramania Bharathi on
Protesters during a demonstration in Guwahati on Wednesday. PTI movement”, NFR chief public his Jayanti. Subramania
relations officer Subhanan Bharathi believed in
Centre to deploy the army in going against their own word. We chef in Guwahati. Chanda said. justice and equality
Assam and neighbouring Tripura, cannot allow it to happen. For- The Citizenship (Amendment) The stakes are high for the rul- above everything else.
which also witnessed mayhem. eigners will take away our land, Bill, 2019, provides for granting ing BJP-led NDA because the alli-
Curfew was also citizenship to ance is in power in most states.
Prashant Kishor
imposed and inter- WIDESPREAD PROTESTS Hindus, Bud- The NDA has defeated the Con- @PrashantKishor
net was suspended dhists, Jains, gress and other regional parties While supporting #CAB,
across Assam for 24 PROTESTS erupted CURFEW was THE stakes are high Parsis, Chris- across the North-East in every the JDU leadership
hours from Wednes- in Assam, Tripura, imposed and internet for the ruling BJP-led tians, and Sikhs, election over the past five years,
Arunachal Pradesh, suspended across NDA because the should spare a moment
day evening. who fled reli- but the growing agitation against
Meghalaya, Mizoram Assam from alliance is in power for those who reposed
“The Bharatiya over last two days Wednesday evening in most states gious persecu- the citizenship amendment bill their faith and trust in it
Janata Party (BJP) tion in Pakistan, could lead to a political crisis for in 2015. But for that win,
had said infiltrators Bangladesh, the ruling alliance.
the party wouldn’t have
will be out of Assam, but now they job, and resources. We have to and Afghanistan, and moved to “Bangladeshis are already here been left with much to
are bringing in outsiders and giv- stop this and oppose the bill,” said India before 31 December 2014. It, cut a deal with anyone.
ing them citizenship. They are Bumon Saikia, 25, who works as a however, does not extend to tribal TURN TO PAGE 17

MINT
Thursday, December 12, 2019
T A Masterpiece
he IT capital is the only Indian city
to have seen a spike in demand
for luxury homes, driven by the
city’s thriving startup ecosystem, the
presence of excellent education and
healthcare facilities and improving
physical infrastructure. Bengaluru’s
residential market is second only to the
Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR) in
terms of supply and absorption of new
property.
It is a small wonder then that the
Phoenix Mills Ltd., who has been
redefining lifestyle in Indian cities, chose
Bengaluru to launch two of their uber-
luxury projects: Phoenix Kessaku and
Phoenix One Bengaluru West. Helmed
by Atul Ruia, Chairman & Managing
Director, the Phoenix Mills Ltd.has
been a pioneer in transforming mills
land into modern, multi-use integrated
properties, with a presence in 10
major cities across the country. From
mega-retail malls and entertainment
complexes to commercial spaces
and hospitality units, the group has a
significant footprint in different market
segments. The company’s foray into
bespoke residential apartments in
Bengaluru aims to redefine luxury living
in the city.
The name of its premier Bengaluru
project, ‘Kessaku’, means ‘Masterpiece’
in Japanese. What strikes you first are
the exquisitely detailed interiors and the
sheer expanse of the residences. One
can’t help but echo Gayatri Ruia, Atul’s
wife and promoter, Phoenix Kessaku,
when she says, “It has turned out to be
an experience that truly wows you.”
Located in Bengaluru’s new Central
Business District, No. 1, Dr. Rajkumar
Road, Phoenix Kessaku consists of
Infinity Pool at Kaze – The Sky Club
Customer First: Fashion House bucks
trend to deliver 80% revenue growth rate
E
xports, manufacturing, textiles
and fashion industries may
be facing headwinds, but
Kolkata-based Torero Corporation,
managed to buck the trend, to deliver
80% annual growth in revenue. With
Yashovardhan Gupta, Managing
Director, at the helm, the company
aims to gain new grounds.
With over 30 years of high quality
manufacturing experience, crafting
leather goods, travel goods, and
gifts for the top luxury brands in the
world, Torero Corporation is one of
the fastest growing fashion houses in
the world. The company is largely is
largely associated with the following
three key activities: first, help brands
increase their revenue with the
power of leather accessories, and
gifts. Torero apparently offers a 100%
money-back guarantee to its most
valued clients, as well as guarantees
to reduce their sourcing costs, and
lead times. Second, corporate gift
distributors increase their margin, and
manage their cash flow better, with
its selection of highest conversion
branded corporate gifts and third,
as a global licensee and partner, of
10 global brands, including Police,
Swiss Military and Cross, Torero
Designs, manufactures, distributes
and sells award-winning leather
accessories, and travel accessories
through an enviable worldwide
distribution network, across channels
such as e-commerce and retail.
According to Gupta, customer
first—this is the secret to
their recent success.
“Companies and brands
often focus on apparel, and
consumer electronics. They
often miss out on the power of
accessories, which can add as much
as 20-25% to their revenue. Torero’s
mission is to become the leading
seller of leather accessories, and gifts
in the world. A clear focus on helping
its customers and partners make
more money, through lower sourcing
costs, efficiencies, and faster supply
chains. Customers at core need three
things: speed, lower sourcing costs
and high sell through. Torero has
relentlessly focussed on these three
Disclaimer : “The Views/Contents expressed/presented herein, within this advertorial & promotional feature, are the sole and exclusive responsibility of individual clients/their authorized representatives, to which effect, publication house/its representatives are not responsible/liable whatsoever” “Marketed by Castle Studio Pvt.Ltd”
ASPIRE
you can call home
Midori – The Garden Club
generously expansive Sky Bungalows
that come with all the advantages of
living in a gated community. The five
towers in the complex - Sora, Niwa,
Mizu, Faia and Zefa, are each inspired
by the five natural elements - sky,
earth, water, fire and wind, and feature
thematic, artistic lobbies.
The Sky Bungalows come with a
wide variety of layout options that
can be customized as per individual
lifestyle, ranging from duplex
residences to super-lavish 6-bedroom
homes. Each home can be modelled
according to an array of fit-out styles
that are tailor-made to suit the client’s
requirements.
Yashovardhan Gupta, Managing Director, Torero Corporation, India
things and has hence been growing
revenue at a consistent rate of 15%
month on Month. We have become
Amazon like in speed, and reliability.
Customers are stunned that an OEM/
private label supplier has slashed
their sourcing timelines in half and
delivers product on the hour as
guaranteed. With an immense focus
on accessories, coupled with scale,
and with our 30 years of experience,
Residents will also have three
clubhouses to choose from: Midori -
The Garden Club, Kaze - The Sky Club
and Phoenix Club One, each equipped
with state-of-the-art amenities such as
a 360 degree jogging circuit, a starlit
infinity pool, squash courts, jacuzzis,
mini-theatres and much more.
Eloborating on his vison,jae Kim,lead
designer, CALLISON - Design USA,
says, “Phoenix Kessaku is very unique
because it is luxury from the ground
up: elegant living inspired by art. The
U-shape of configurations in the plan
allow for stunning views of the city
without any overlook amongst the
residents own spaces. We have infused
green walls and landscapes into the
project to stay true to Bengaluru’s
moniker, The City of Gardens.”
Spaces here are painstakingly
detailed to flow seamlessly into each
other, drawing on the idea of multiple-
use, while also creating expansive
individualized spaces to retire into.
The living room of each residence
merges into the dining area and each
end of this vast space opens out onto
a large deck, ensuring natural light
and excellent cross-ventilation. The
two consummate master suites
we offer a guarantee to reduce
sourcing costs by a minimum of 10%
on invoice values, for all customers.
Guaranteed. Coupled with deep
consumer insight, data, and product
market fit, we have a tight selection
of suggested best sellers, ensuring
that sell through increases month on
month,” he adds.
A bonus fourth offering is
trust. Torero offers a money
back guarantee to most of
its valued customers, even
on private label and OEM
offerings, to build trust. “We
believe in the products we
make, and back this with an
incredible amount of faith. This
is an offer most customers
can’t refuse, and we are
grateful for the recent support
shown to us by our customers,” says
Gupta.
“India needs jobs. And we are just
a highly motivated company doing
the best it can to dominate one
category for India, globally. I am sure
we will be successful,” adds Gupta,
whose goal is to generate 1,00,000
jobs by 2025.
For details, contact:
+91 9123728839
aritra@torerocorp.com
www.torerocorp.com
At Phoenix Kessaku, our
vision was to create a world-
class product, the likes of
which has never been seen
before in Bengaluru. With
every minute detail having
been exclusively crafted by the
best in the industry, we have
achieved the Art of Perfection.
—Gayatri Ruia,
Promoter,
Phoenix Kessaku
Vastu Corrections without Demolition
W e have always been looking
for that magic wand which
could eliminate all our problems.
Internationally-renowned Vastu Expert
Vimal Jhajharia, says, “You can
experience this magic in your life with
the help of the vastu shankh yantra,
an original conch shell, filled with
metallic elements and charged and
pran prathisthit with positive energies,
which is a divine gift from my Guruji,
the Great Himalayan yogi, Swami
Murghanandji.”
Vimal Jhajharia is being helped by
his son Vikas (who is an MBA from
Australia) who has recently returned
from his successful half
yearly tour of USA. He
says, “If the entrance of
the house or office is in
south/southwest, it leads
to financial instability.
Also, toilets in the
Northeast have a disastrous effect
on the minds of the family members.
It all can be rectified using the Vastu
shankha yantra which positive ensures
MINT MEDIA MARKETING INITIATIVE
Phoenix Kessaku
are attached to dual vanity suites; the cabana lounges and sunset view
bathrooms are crafted with the finest gazebos emphasize the Japanese
materials. The children’s bedroom inspiration. Phoenix Kessaku also
takes on the theme of ‘wanderlust’, comes with the world’s finest concierge
while the guest bedroom aims for a service, Quintessentially Lifestyle, a
casual, understated elegance. The London based outfit of global renown.
entertainment lounge reaches new Phoenix Kessaku is also one
dimensions of technological innovation of the city’s most-awarded luxury
and the library provides the perfect developments with a host of awards,
nook for broadening horizons. The including the Asian CEF Awards:
landscape at this luxury project is Residential Project of the Year –
designed to be a tropical oasis that Towers in 2015, Asia-Pacific Property
complements the architecture and Award for Residential Property –
features a mélange of trees and plants. Interior – Show Home in 2015, Estrade
Bonsai and Zen gardens, poolside Real Estate Awards- Luxury Project of
the year in 2017, Asia Pacific Property
awards- Residential High-Rise
Development in 2019-20, and many
more. The project has also received
its occupancy certificate and is ready
to move into.
A Masterpiece you can call home!
Project is RERA approved.
For details, contact:
+91 99000 12257
enquiry@kessaku.in
www.kessaku.in
Rendering and Illustrations are
Art Inspired lobbies
Artists Impressions Only
yantras in different locations to rectify
this defect without any demolition or
changes and then miraculously the
problems started diminishing one by
one. It was hard to believe at first
and we tried the same yantras in our
house and the health and relationship
amongst all the family members
Awarded “The Best International
Vastu Guru” in Thailand by Bollywood increased tremendously thus resulting
Queen Kangana Ranaut in 2019 in peace and harmony in the house.”
Jhajharias have been providing their
proper flow of energy within the area, services in more than 50 countries
which helps in the overall prosperity.” across the globe including the US, UK,
Endorsing it, a prominent Canada, Australia, Singapore, UAE,
industrialist Raghav Agarwal says, and China, among others.
“We were facing a lot of problems Further, Vikas adds, “Vastu
in one of our factories Shankha Yantra is not magic, it is
related to high expenses. based on simple science, you need to
I came to know about try to believe in it.”
Vimalji and Vikasji For details, contact:
through one of my friends Vikas - 98397 04470/
and when showed them 73885 78888/ 8017 793423 or
the factories we realized email: jhajhariavikas@hotmail.com
that our south areas were more open www.vastukalp.com
and we had our machine placements Follow on Facebook at
in the wrong direction mostly in east http://www.facebook.com/Vastukalp
and north. Vimalji used their shankh Instagram - Vatukalp_
Heritage brand Kishco
revives kansa
K ishco is India’s leading manufacturer of stainless steel and silver
plated flatware, tableware, cookware, hotelware and gift items
since 1950. Made from the finest food grade metal, the state-of-the-
art Kishco manufacturing unit ensures all products are of premium
quality.
Kishco has been awarded ‘brand leader 2019’ by the Economic
Times in the household segment. The Kishco flagship stores at Marine
Drive and Kandivali in Mumbai is are longstanding landmarks. With a
nationwide presence through various dealership tie-ups all over India,
Kishco continues to set new standards in the new millennium. The
heritage brand, Kishco brings ancient health and wisdom to the modern
table with the recent launch of the pure kansa( bronze) collection
comprising high-quality thali sets, glass sets, Buddha bowl sets, and
more. Kansa, an Indian name for Bell metal or bronze, is an ultra-
superior metal alloy. It sets itself apart for its amazing health and healing
properties. Kansa must comprise 78 percent copper and 22 percent
tin for it to be considered ‘pure’. Wellness expert Dr Namita Jain, MD
of Kishco, says, “The golden coloured kansa has amazing health and
healing properties. Stringent quality and high standards are maintained
by the Kishco brand.
For details, contact:
Sachin/ Sunita - 99206 64090
purchase@kishcolimited.com
 2 Thursday, December 12, 2019 Mint Aspire Mint Media Marketing initiative

A dynamic and trusted name in the Harnessing the power of technology

world of technological solutions for safety in transportation
S W
M Systems group of
companies, under the astute
leadership of group Chairman
Sanjay Mishra, is a mature,
established and technocrat-driven
organization started in august 2009.
Sanjay Mishra is a business tycoon
in the field of electrical test and
measurement equipment, which has
industrial and field applications. the
organization has grown up to cater
energy extensive industries, power
and utility sector, food and pharma,
defense and railways, among others
across india and South east asia. it
has presence in entire country with
regional offices, representatives and
value-added channel partners to
serve their esteemed client.
the company has a vision to serve
the global market through latest
technological solutions and has the
mission to accomplish customer
satisfaction through innovative
solutions .the enterprise has value of
trust, transparency and honesty is the
best policy. the corporate industrial
responsibility is to help and upgrade
the industry through knowledge
sharing sessions.
an iSO 9001:2015 certified firm,
which indicates Quality Management
Systems. also, it is Mnre CriSiL
rated organization with SP-2a
certification for its capability in System
integrator (Si) of solar power rating for
decentralized solar Pv applications.
AWARDS AND RECOGNITION
SM has won multiple industry-
related awards, including the Platinum
distributor award from 3M electrical
division Business. this has fueled the
fire and made Sanjay Mishra even
more energized to work with bigger
brands and companies. they are also
a CriSiL rated organization with a4+ /
BB certification
INDUSTRY PRODUCT
DIVERSIFICATION
SM Systems has taken the
proactive measure to indulge in
product diversification across power
sector solutions. this has helped
them gain significant leverage in
the industry, along with giving them
SM Systems Group received economic geographical advantages. in addition
times business leaders awards under to that, SM focuses on increasing
the category of Electrical Testing and quality and customer service offerings
Diagnostic Solutions
that are consistent and have a strong
AUTHORIZED NATIONAL focus on redressal and solving all
CHANNEL PARTNERS problems.
• 3M (USa)
• BaUr gmbH (austria)
• red Phase instruments
australia Pty Ltd (australia)
• american Polywater Corp.
(USa)
• edMi Limited (Singapore)
• MetreL (Slovenia)
• Merytronic (Spain) GROWTH THROUGH EXPANSION
• iSkra aMS (Slovenia) While many industry participants
were growing inorganically
through acquisitions and targeting,
SM Systems got the recognition SM systems chose to opt for
among 100 small giants companies geographical expansion. Mishra did
by receiving ‘india Small giants a unique strategic analysis of his firm
award 2019’. and came to the conclusion that he
SM Systems group received needed to expand via geographical
economic times business leaders development.
awards under the category of electrical in Mishra’s own words, “the
testing and diagnostic Solutions. greatest joy has been transitioning
from employee to founder.” He started
off small and his office was about 300
sq. ft. with 4 employees. Currently,
they have expanded to a 10,000 sq.
ft. property but he still prefers to sit in
his original office. it reminds him to
keep himself humble and to have a
memory of all the times he’s failed as
well as succeeded. With an achieved
turnover of rs 27 crore, Mishra hopes
to deliver high quality manufacturing
worldwide on a consistent basis.
For details, contact: S M Systems
18, first floor, Mamta anand Sankul,
near Fame Multiplex,
nashik-Poona road,
nashik road—422 006
0253-241 0497
sales@smsystems.co.in
www.smsystems.co.in
ith over 50 years of
experience in the
transportation and
warehousing space logistics industry,
BLr Logistiks (i) Ltd, has managed
to ascend to newer growth heights
through its dedicated and experienced
team of 600-plus professionals
working in synergy across 70-plus
offices to provide the best.
BLr values technology and
safety and is now using both in a
complementary fashion to go the
extra mile in terms of safety and
security initiatives, BLr’s 24x7
Control tower is Live now, with real-
time 24/7 tracking of owned as well
as market trucks with, with trained
professionals that are ready with
emergency response SOPs to assist
drivers in case of any emergency.
BLr also uses devices with
advanced sensors, to monitor and
capture driver behaviour. this driving
assessment and improvement
platform that comprises 11 sensors to
capture driving patterns, sharp turns,
overtaking and tailgating. the drivers
are then provided with one-on-one
individual counselling sessions to
sensitise them about overall safety,
and the areas they are weak in.
“We have seen up to a 50%
improvement in their safety score
just after one session of counselling.
We are also using advanced robotic
devices in our vehicles, that help
Retina
Scanner
to prevent real-time accidents by
monitoring the eye of the driver and
raising an alarm if the driver does not
have his eyes on the road or is simply
drowsy,” says ashok goyal, Managing
director, BLr Logistiks (i) Ltd, adding
that the company has always been
in the forefront of embracing positive
changes which enable the company
to give better customer service and
get efficiencies in its operations.
“We have already established
a strong name in the industry as a
reliable and innovative transportation
company. Our vision now is to be
known as the safest transportation
company in india. We have an
allocated budget and separate team
that solely focus on finding and
implementing new safety initiatives in
the company,” says goyal.
On the other hand, eHS is a
top priority at BLr Logistiks (i)
Ltd. Besides, all BLr drivers and
supervisors have training and
certification in fire, first-aid, disaster
management, health and safety,
defensive driving and dg cargo
handling.
BLr Logistiks (i) Ltd was recently
recognized by a prominent media
house as amongst the 10 most
promising logistics solution providers
of 2017, offering innovative logistics
solutions and positively impacting
the market place. the company
was also awarded by one of its
prestigious clients in the chemical
industry for providing the ‘best
customer service’.
ashok goyal, Managing director
of BLr Logistiks (i) Ltd, was
felicitated as ‘the extraordinaire’
at a summit in 2016 by a prominent
brand consultancy and event agency
in Mumbai.
With more than 2,500 fleet of owned
and attached vehicles that enables
them to cater to specific logistics
need across all major industries, the
company aims to reach the rs 1,000
crore mark by financial year 2025.

IBA-Bangalore: Hallmark of Education Excellence among B-Schools

i
ndus Business academy (iBa),
Bangalore was established in 2001
with an ideology of a standalone
B-school offering exclusive
management programmes. Since
then, iBa Bangalore has emerged as
one of the most successful business
institutions in the heart of the Silicon
valley of india.
it is one of the largest integrated
B-School having built-up area of
approximately 3 lakh sqft over 8.5-
acre campus dedicated only for the
management programme.
right from the beginning, the
institution has been attracting students
from all parts of the country making it a
‘mini-Indiapura’. the founding mission
at iBa has been to bring excellence
in teaching, training, Corporate
networking and in Placements.
the journey in pursuit of this mission
has seen it progress into the league of
top 1% B-Schools in india, and stand
apart distinctly from the rest.
PEDAGOGY AND TEACHING
EXCELLENCE
iBa’s overall approach is futuristic
having scope of intelligence building
that will have cumulative effect of
technology with knowledge partners
(industry and academia contributing
from india and abroad).
Dr. Subhendu Dey
Programme Director
the able leadership and guidance
of dr. Subhash Sharma, director–
iBa, Bangalore, they bring back the
highest standards of teaching and
mentoring with diverse backgrounds
through their experience as policy
makers, researchers, theoreticians and
consultants.
at iBa, a mix of course-based
projects, live projects, theme papers,
Dr. Subhash Sharma Dr. Manish Jain
Director & Dean Chairman & Founder CEO
year these clubs become the catalyst
for enhancing subject knowledge
through workshops, games, quizzes,
presentations, guest lectures, among
others. the student clubs in iBa are
managed entirely by students. to
name a few, Barcodes (the retail
Club), navigators (the Finance club),
dolphins (the Communication club),
Hunterz ignite (the Marketing Club),
FUTURE-READY LEADERS
at iBa, students are prepared
to face interviews and undergo a
focused designed programme namely,
advanced Placement & training
Programme (aPtP). this programme
prepare students for aptitude tests,
group discussion and Mock interviews
with regular feedback.
Students also go through ‘Six Sigma’
green Belt certification programme by
kPMg which enhances their skills for
effective implementation of strategies.
in association with SaP University
alliance students are also introduced
to the erP and gain an exhaustive
understanding of Business Processes
which are mostly common across
dr. F.C kohli (known as Father of indian industries.
i.t industry) and Mrs. Swarn kohli – Students also attend CaPStOne
Chief guest, 16th Convocation at iBa. Business Simulation Program (offered
by CaPSiM, USa). the program
at iBa, students are exposed to the provides participants with a clearer and
real-world business settings with holistic understanding of core business
emphasis given on value based dynamics and how inter-department
management education. decisions are vital for business.
iBa is possibly the only institute that the course gives them exposure of
teaches Critical thinking, emotional running a complete business, with
intelligence, Sales and negotiation, reports showing correlations between
interpersonal interactions and management decisions & outcomes.
Managing life transitions as a credit at iBa, great emphasis is given
course. on improving a student’s leadership,
the objective of rigorous and communication and soft skills. this is
relevant programme culminates into the motivation in shaping the rigorous
good placements and bright future for curriculum and student driven activities,
its students. so that the students are not just
Today, IBA stands tall in the comity of B-Schools and step-by-step
it has made a mark for itself with achievements like
l Internationally Accredited by IACBE – iBa Bangalore globally on technology-based education by Wadhwani
is the 19th among the 45 B – Schools (Out of 5,000-plus Operating Foundation, USa.
B-schools in india) to get an international accreditation iBa Bangalore chosen among ‘Best Education
l
knowledgeable but in fact employable
as well, as evident in the statement by
dr. Manish Jain, Chairman & Founder
CeO, iBa Bangalore, “We aim to
build managers and leaders who are
hardworking, who believe in dignity
of labour, who are team players and
pragmatic, having their foot firmly on
ground”.
the focused learning and hard
work of students and faculty results in
wonderful opportunities for students
during final placements and companies
like Deloitte, godrej, BATA, Berger,
Mahindra Finance, grant thornton,
Aditya Birla, Café Coffee day,
Bandhan Bank, Bajaj electricals,
Colgate Palmolive, Landmark group,
BYJU’S, reckitt Benckiser, Marico,
among others, hire talent from iBa
every year.
For details, contact:
+91 93424 10271, 81978 62131,
080-26083703, 704
email: admissions@iba.ac.in
Website: www.iba.ac.in

iBa’s unique ‘Osmotic Learning
Model’ that is 3D (Discussion,
Dialogue and Discourse)
representation of learning, aims at
making its students future and industry-
oriented and most importantly better
human beings and responsible citizens.
iBa has developed its own success
mantra which becomes a motivating
theme for its students and faculty:
S (Success) = I (inspiration) X B
(Breakthrough) X A (achievement)
Most faculty members are expert
contributors from the industry which
forms a pool of intellectuals with an
average experience of 15-plus years
in industry as well as academia. Under
Disclaimer : “The Views/Contents expressed/presented herein, within this advertorial & promotional feature, are the sole and exclusive responsibility of individual clients/their authorized representatives, to which effect, publication house/its representatives are not responsible/liable whatsoever” “Marketed by Castle Studio Pvt.Ltd”
internships, and dissertation added
with the application oriented learning
creates the right balance for producing
industry ready professionals. Students
learn the most contemporary concepts
through a practical mix of classroom
and non-classroom activities.
Besides, students actively
participate in various clubs and
committees. the clubs provide
students with practical exposure to
their domain, while the committees
allow them to go beyond theoretical
knowledge to not only apply that
knowledge in the school, but
manage the outcomes as well. every
specialization has its own club. every
infin’it (the it club)…
Management programme at iBa
builds solid foundation in fundamental
business domains and then students
go deep in their area of specializations.
With the dual specialisation offered
l iBa is the first and the only indian Business School
to become a member of the Council for Higher
Education Accreditation (CHEA) international Quality
group, formed to bring together high quality institutions
involved in the international accreditation and support
services of the world
l iBa Bangalore has been featured for two consecutive
years 2019 & 2018 in “Great Indian Institutes”
Forbes india Marquee – a special Marquee edition in
association with Skill tree knowledge Consortium and
Great Place to Study
iBa is enlisted among the T-100 Institutes in India
l
(which includes 78 IIMs, IITs, NITS + 22 other
premier Institutes & Universities of repute) by
Wadhwani Foundation & g-250 institutes/Universities
Brands’ by the economic times for three consecutive
years 2017, 2018 and 2019
l iBa Bangalore chosen as ‘extraOrdinaire Brand 2017-
18’ by Consumers & industry, Survey by times network
& nex Brands inc.
l awarded as the ‘Most Innovative Institute’ in india by
aiMS (association of indian Management Schools)
l Honored with the ‘The Academy of Success’ award
and ‘The Cultivator of Bright Minds Award’ at the
World Business Conclave, Hong kong: “Celebrating
asia-Pacific’s Success Story” (Process Reviewed &
Evaluated by PwC, ASSOCHAM and HKGCC)
l Listed among 100 Fastest growing Private institutes in
asia by WCrC Survey (Process advised & evaluated
by kPMg)