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 NEW DELHI, MUMBAI, BENGALURU, KOLKATA, CHENNAI, AHMEDABAD, HYDERABAD, CHANDIGARH*, PUNE* VOL. 14 NO. 172

FRIDAY, JULY 17, 2020

LIVEMINT.COM

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mint primer
QUICK EDIT
The significance US hack
of 5G in Jio’s hunt alarm
for dominance It’s not unusual for people’s
social media accounts to get
hacked. But we’re forced to sit
BY PRASID BANERJEE up and take notice when the
victims are some of the world’s
India’s richest man, Mukesh Ambani, started Jio as a telecom service
provider. However, the company has quickly pivoted to something biggest celebrities, companies
much bigger. Ambani announced on Wednesday that Jio is ready with and politicians. Barack Obama,
its 5G solution and awaits the government’s nod. Mint takes a look. Joe Biden, Kanye West and
Elon Musk are among those
Digital makeover who’ve had their Twitter han-
The share of digital, media and retail services in RIL's turnover has risen to over 35% dles hijacked. Fake tweets from
in FY20 from 20% in FY18, reflecting Mukesh Ambani’s vision to pivot the company their official accounts went out
into a technology and consumer platform. to their followers, asking them
Share of revenues (in %) to send bitcoin to a specified
Consolidated turnover (in  trillion)
71 59 FY18 FY20 account on the promise they’d
FY18 4.31
be given twice the money back.
FY20 6.59 53% That so many big names were
targeted at one go meant that
29 the security breach was at Twit-
25
22 ter’s end, and not the result of
15
10 any individual lapse. Twitter
5 admitted that its internal tools
1 0.5 0.4 0.8
Refining & Petrochemicals Oil and gas Retail Digital Media & were exploited by hackers to
marketing services entertainment gain control of those accounts.
Note: Percentage figures don't add up to 100% due to internal adjustments, rounding off.
Source: RIL annual reports The tweets were promptly
deleted, of course, and the han-
What does developing How do Jio’s deals fit dles restored to their rightful
1 a 5G solution mean?
Jio hasn’t given details on its 5G
2 into the 5G plan?
Google and Facebook cover a vast
owners. But if it turns out that
people got duped, it would
solution, but the company is majority of the internet landscape, leave egg on everyone’s face.
prepping to be a technology while Qualcomm and Intel are That Twitter can be broken into
provider for telcos worldwide. enablers from a hardware is especially scary because US
Once its 5G solution is proven standpoint. These companies are President Donald Trump uses it
through deployment in India, Jio deeply embedded into the mobile almost as his official policy
will be able to sell these services to and internet landscape worldwide
megaphone. He conducts trade
other telcos across the globe, who and could thus help Jio extend its
aim to take the 5G route, said own services. Jio’s other investors wars via tweets, for example.
Reliance Industries Ltd chairman also have investments in Could the world be vulnerable
Mukesh Ambani. It could make Jio influential and important tech to an accidental war started by
a competitor for companies such companies worldwide. For some shadowy hacker?
as Ericsson and Chinese firms, instance, Silver Lake, which
Huawei and ZTE, who have been bought a 0.93% stake in Jio, has
enablers of 5G, 4G, and other investments ranging from
mobile technologies. The fact that cybersecurity firms such as Norton
Jio has millions of customers in
India already will help it prove the
LifeLock to autonomous driving
company Waymo and travel
MINT METRIC
scalability of its solution. e-commerce company Expedia. by Bibek Debroy
MINT

Vikas Kardam is extremely fond

3 What’s 5G’s significance,
especially in Jio’s context?
The fact is that 5G has been synonymous
Of 007 James Bond.
with faster internet. The technology
So he was quite game
brings low latency Internet, which is To legally change his name.
imperative for businesses that Jio is trying
to build. Technologies such as augmented
Will that make him a beau monde?
reality and virtual reality benefit from
faster data delivery. For instance, Jio had
recently announced its Jio Glass mixed
reality device. QUOTE OF THE DAY
What advantage does What is an affordable We are not out of the woods yet.
4 Jio have in 5G?
Companies such as Airtel and
5 smartphone’s role?
While 5G is expected in India next
Monetary policy should remain
Vodafone Idea have been serving year, its penetration will remain
accommodative where output
Indian customers a lot longer than low at first. If Jio can provide an gaps are significant, inflation
Jio. However, in doing so, they had affordable 4G smartphone, it can is below target, as is the
to develop 2G infrastructures as upgrade existing 2G feature phone
well, which they have to maintain users, and JioPhone customers to case in many countries
as long as 2G customers remain on at least the 4G network. The firm during this crisis.
their network. Jio, however, began doesn’t have any 2G infrastructure,
with a 4G network back in 2016. meaning it cannot provide services
Unlike 2G networks, 4G networks to customers using such feature
are based on computers, making it phones. It is in Jio’s best interest to
easier to upgrade a network from bring these users onto a 4G KRISTALINA GEORGIEVA
4G to 5G than from 2G. This is why smartphone. Additionally, it can IMF MANAGING DIRECTOR
Jio keeps repeating that its bundle all Jio apps and services on
network is 5G ready, and can be such a phone, to make users part
upgraded whenever required. of the Jio ecosystem.

m MINT SHORT

Russians trying to steal vaccine, US and UK say

ALAMY STOCK PHOTO
Bloomberg sian state intelligence. The NCSC said
feedback@livemint.com APT29, which also goes by the name of
Cozy Bear or The Dukes, has targeted

R
ussian state intelligence is hacking
international research centers that
are racing to develop a Covid-19
vaccine, the UK, US and Canadian gov-
ernments said.
It is unclear whether research facilities
have been damaged or if the vaccine pro-
grammes have been set back as a result of
the hacks but officials warned that the
cyber attacks are ongoing.
In a dramatic statement on Thursday,
Britain’s National Cyber Security Centre
It is unclear if any programmes have
been set back as a result of the hacks.
(NCSC) said vaccine and therapeutic sec-
tors in multiple countries have been tar-
geted by a group known as APT29, which
it said is “almost certainly” part of Rus-
UK, US and Canadian vaccine research
and development organizations. The
campaign of malicious activity is ongo-
ing, predominantly against government,
diplomatic, think-tank, healthcare and
energy targets to steal valuable intellec-
tual property, according to the NCSC.
The group was first identified in
November 2008 using malware to target
Chechens, according to a March 2015
report published by the Finnish security
firm F-Secure.
 FLIP SIDE
T
U RA L E
O
Y SV
N E W m
Mint Lite
A daily wrap of news and views, opinions and talking points to start your day

T
he first regular international flights to France and the US will start from Friday, almost four months after India suspended
international air travel, except in the case of emergencies, due to the covid-19 outbreak. Civil aviation minister Hardeep
Singh Puri on Thursday said India will use “air bubbles” for international travel, and has signed bilateral agreements with
France and the US and is in “advanced talks” with Germany and the UK. He said India is likely to operate 55-60% of its pre-coro-
navirus capacity of domestic flights by November. For more national and world news, here’s Mint Lite.

RELIANCE, A THREAT TO AMAZON?

OVER THE last few months, Reliance Jio has been on a fundrais-
ing spree, attracting about $20 billion from private equity funds
as well as Google and Facebook. Its aggressive fundraising and
expansion plans could be a threat to Amazon and Walmart, which
have placed significant bets on India. Reliance Digital now covers
everything from online shopping and telecom to digital pay-
ments. Reliance’s Mukesh Ambani has said the company will
expand its ecommerce platform JioMart, which was launched
this year and connects small retailers with consumers, to grocer-
ies, electronics and fashion. This is where partners such as Face-
book and Google will help, and will put Reliance in direct compe-
tition with Amazon and Walmart, both of which have established
logistics and warehousing infrastructure. Real disruption might
be a few years out, but for now, Reliance seems to be following the
playbook of Tencent and Alibaba, which offer a gamut of services.

SPAIN HONOURS COVID VICTIMS

SPAIN REMEMBERED the 28,413 people who died of covid-19
in the country in a solemn ceremony on Thursday. The 400-odd
guests included families of about 100 people who died, medical
personnel, police and essential workers, who spoke at the cere-
mony, led by Spain King Felipe VI, Queen Letizia, with govern-
ment, EU and WHO officials at Madrid’s Royal Palace. The cere-
mony was held a day before a two-day EU summit, starting Fri-
day, on a proposed $850 billion recovery package. Several
countries are calling for the money to be disbursed not as grants,
but as loans tied to economic reforms. Last month, Spain held 10
days of official mourning for coronavirus victims when flags flew
at half-mast. In addition to suffering the world’s seventh highest
death toll from the disease, Spain’s economy has been affected by
the economic slump. It is only now emerging from a strict three-
month lockdown, which was imposed on 14 March.

LOCAL OUTBREAKS HIT INDIA Karnataka, AP see steep rise in

covid-19 deaths
IT’S JUST over a month since the country emerged 7 day rolling average. Day 0 for each state corresponds to the day
from a 10-week lockdown to limit covid-19 spread, but the 50th covid-19 death was recorded.
Maharashtra
fresh local outbreaks are forcing many states to restore
6,400
restrictions. Karnataka now has more active cases than
3,200 Delhi
Delhi, and is the third worst affected state, due to both a Karnataka
surge in cases and the high recovery rate in Delhi. 1,600
Andhra Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh are likely to surpass 800
Delhi soon. Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka 400
have over half the country’s active cases. In the past Andhra
200 Pradesh
seven days, Assam, Karnataka and Bihar have reported 100
the biggest percentage jumps in deaths. Among states
50
with at least 50 deaths (chart), Karnataka’s toll is rising 0 6 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 99
the fastest, with a nearly 90% increase in the past week.
Note: Only states with over 50 deaths as of 16 July; Vertical axis is logarithmic
The figure is 51% for Andhra Pradesh, though the state
Source: Ministry of Health and Family Welfare
has fewer than 500 deaths. For more, read Plain Facts.
SARVESH KUMAR SHARMA/MINT

THE HIGHS AND LOWS OF JOB CUTS

ALMOST 650,000 people on payrolls in the UK have lost jobs
since the covid-19 outbreak began in March. The rate of decline
in employment slowed in June compared to May. In India, the
trend seems similar—the rate remains high, though it has been
declining from a record rise during lockdown in May. The rate
came down to 7.44% in the week ended 12 July, aided by an
improvement in the rural job situation due to sowing of crops and
return of workers to urban workplaces. The pandemic has also hit
the British royal family finances. Royal Collection Trust, which
manages the queen’s art, will lose £30 million from closing pal-
aces to visitors this year. Though the palaces have opened in a
limited way this week, the trust has decided to make up the short-
fall by selling “luxury gin” for £40 a bottle. Queen Elizabeth is
said to have supervised the making of Buckingham Palace Gin,
which uses ingredients from 94-year-old monarch’s garden.

NEW TRAVEL MODE: MOTORHOME

INDIA MAY be closed to travellers for a while longer but quite a
few countries have opened up to tourism, an industry that con-
tributed 10% of total world GDP in 2019. Governments have
introduced subsidies, fee waivers, travel bubbles and freebies to
draw tourists. Across Europe, despite the reopening of borders
on 15 June, most people remain reluctant to go abroad, and a new
trend has emerged. There’s an uptick in registration of motor-
homes, or vehicles with accommodation, as people pick driving
holidays over flying. In Germany, over 10,000 new motorhomes
were registered in May, a rise of 32% year-on-year; France’s regis-
trations are up 2%, and in Spain, there was a 20% increase in sales
in June compared to last year. Other offers include Bulgaria’s
subsidized chartered flights, free umbrellas and sunbeds. In Italy,
low-income families will get tax credits if they take a domestic
vacation, and Prague is offering vouchers for hotel stays.

Curated by Shalini Umachandran. Have something to share with us?

Write to us at businessoflife@livemint.com or tweet to @shalinimb

PEANUTS by Charles M. Schulz

 NEW DELHI, MUMBAI, BENGALURU, KOLKATA, CHENNAI, AHMEDABAD, HYDERABAD, CHANDIGARH*, PUNE* VOL. 14 NO. 172 Rs 5.00 IN DELHI-NCR; Rs 6.00 OUTSIDE DELHI-NCR. PRICE WITH HINDUSTAN TIMES Rs 9.50 (FOR DELHI & NCR) 16 PAGES

EU TO PROBE SIRI, ALEXA,

OTHER VOICE ASSISTANTS
Voice assistants such as Apple Inc.’s Siri and
Amazon.com Inc.’s Alexa are at the centre of a
sweeping European Union antitrust inquiry into
how Silicon Valley uses data to gain a tight grip on
growing markets. The EU will seek information
FRIDAY, JULY 17, 2020 from some 400 firms around the world.
LIVEMINT.COM

All eyes on vaccines as

The number of covid-19 cases has crossed the 1 million mark in India, and is surging globally,
affecting civil society, businesses and even international relations. Against this backdrop, Mint
talks to a cross-section of leaders on the challenges ahead and the ways to tackle the virus-induced
crisis. In the first of the series, Nandan Nilekani charts the way ahead.

India cases cross 1 mn ‘In a post-covid world, the past is no

As treatments help patients recover faster, some vaccine candidates offer hope
Neetu Chandra Sharma
neetu.s@livemint.com
NEW DELHI
m MINT GRAPHITI
indication of what’s in the future’
IT’S NOT ALL DOOM AND GLOOM Vinay Kamat &
Anil Padmanabhan
internal globalization.
Your first big theme was
India now has more than 1 million coronavirus cases, but a glance at other indicators such as deaths and cases per the world is flat. In the past

T
million population suggests it’s not all gloom and doom, though the negligible testing rates are a cause for worry.
he nation crossed a NEW DELHI two decades, we have seen
sombre milestone Per capita indicators the end of globalization as

on Thursday—a mil-
lion Indians were
infected by the coro-
navirus that is coursing its way
through the country. More
than 25,000 have perished.
But amid the suffering and
fear, there is new hope that
things will soon turn around.
Vaccine candidates are showing
promising results and new treat-
ments are helping patients
INDIA
FIGHTS BACK
See Pages 6 & 7
recover faster.
Low mortality rates, rising
recoveries, increase in testing
and a boost to investment in
health infrastructure have also
emerged as a silver lining.
While the coronavirus case-
load is high at 1,001,508, the
bulk of the infections are
restricted to a handful of
T
Deaths per million he covid-19 pandemic is we knew it. Now you are
Cases per million population population Tests per thousand population
turning out to be a piv- arguing for internal glo-
UK 4,292 662 106 otal moment in how balization?
countries, companies and peo- Yes. In the ‘world is flat
Italy 4,025 579 99 ple are responding to the cri- era’, Boston and Bangalore
sis. It is leaving the best over- were flattened but not Banga-
US 10,367 412 122 whelmed. lore and Bidadi as internal
As part of a new series, Mint India was not equally accessi-
Peru 10,126 371 9 is tapping global thinkers for ble. But given that India’s
69 insights. The inaugural inter- growth will have to come
Chile 16,713 370
view features Nandan Nilek- Nandan Nilekani says one of the reasons digital giants do so well is more from domestic eco-
Brazil 9,065 349 NA ani, co-founder and non-exec- that they use data exhaustively to sense changes in the market. nomic activity, reducing fric-
utive chairman of the board of tion internally between states
Mexico 2,416 282 5 Infosys Ltd. Nilekani previ- I completely feel what we Trade Organization) in 2000. is the need of the hour, and
ously served as chairman of call internal globalization is The World Is Flat was written we maybe halfway on that
Iran 3,121 157 24 the Unique Identification the need of the hour. If you in 2004, which in some sense journey.
160 Authority of India (UIDAI) and look at external globalization, represented the zeitgeist of Has the gap between Ban-
Russia 5,070 80
authored the groundbreaking there was a great run for about that period. But today I think galore and Bidadi reduced
India 678 18 9 book Reimagining India. 20 years. If you take 1991, not there is a lot of pushback significantly since the
Nilekani dwelt on the challen- only was it the year of India’s against globalization, particu- ‘world is flat’ idea? And if it
Data as on 15 July Source: Our World in Data howindialives.com
ges and, in typical big economic larly by some of the big has, are we saying India is
style, laid out the m BEYOND reforms, but it advanced countries and their ready for the idea of inter-
states. the recovery rate, there has FULL COVERAGE INSIDE emerging ecosys- 2 0 2 0 was also the time populations. nal globalization?
Only two states, Maharash- been a steady increase in the Fresh local outbreaks push tem as well as the the Berlin Wall Where we should focus our Bidadi today has a Toyota
tra and Tamil Nadu, now con- number of recovered patients. up coronavirus infections in opportunities in a post-covid fell and in some sense effort is on making the Indian factory and a golf course, so I
stitute 48% of the country’s The rate is currently 63.25%. Assam and Bihar P2 world. Edited excerpts: launched an era of globaliza- internal economy, which is am not sure if it is the right
total active caseload, according “The actual caseload of cov- The covid-19 pandemic could We want to take you back tion. It was further enhanced continental in scale, com- example I should be using.
to the Union health ministry. id-19 patients in the country is even alter our mental model of to an idea you recently dis- by the rise of the internet, pletely free—easy to move But I think it is inevitable. We
Just 10 states account for 85% only 331,146. They contribute the future P12 cussed: internal globaliza- containerization, which made money, easy to relocate. So are going to see the migration
of the total active caseload. a little more than one-third A ‘contain, control and tion. Do you think this is a it easy to move things around definitely we need to get the from North to South and East
Starting mid-June, when cascade’ mantra to tackle our moment when India should the world and, of course, scale benefits of India’s size
India crossed the 50% mark in TURN TO PAGE 11 covid crisis P13 take a deep dive into it? China joining WTO (World and population through TURN TO PAGE 6

DON’T MISS
BOOST INFRA SPENDING: JINDAL
The government must step up infrastructure
spending and encourage cheap credit to
industry for the economy to recover, says
JSW Group chairman Sajjan Jindal. >P3
UCWEB DOWNSIZES INDIA OPS
China’s Alibaba Group-owned UCWeb has
suspended its India operations and laid off
almost 90% of its 350 employees at its
Mumbai and Gurugram offices. >P3
INFOSYS SHARES SOAR 15%
Shares of Infosys Ltd soared to the highest in
nearly four months on Thursday after posting
a stronger-than-expected increase in
quarterly profit buoyed by large deal wins.>P3
INDIA, US NEAR TRADE DEAL
India and the US are inching closer towards a
limited trade deal after two years of talks that
may offer tariff concessions to US farm goods
in exchange for trade concessions to India.>P5
RENEW PLANS SOLAR FACTORY
Renewable energy firm ReNew Power said
it is in discussions with various states to set
up a ₹1,500 crore-₹2,000 crore facility to
manufacture solar cells and modules. >P5
NO EASY SOLUTIONS IN SIGHT
China and India attempted to reduce public
expectations of their efforts to stabilize ties as
the two sides prepared for protracted talks on
de-escalation after the border clashes. >P14

Puri: India in talks to Latest funding values Startups let go of realty Hotels turn to robots
restart flights to US, Vedantu at $600 mn assets to reduce costs for front-end services
France, Germany Nandita Mathur
nandita.m@livemint.com
NEW DELHI
Tarush Bhalla
tarush.b@livemint.com
BENGALURU
With the fall in lending and
other businesses, SoftBank-
backed insurance unicorn Poli-
Abhijit Ahaskar
abhijit.a@livemint.com
NEW DELHI
cyBazaar has given up four build-
Rhik Kundu & Gireesh

galuru and Paris between 18
Chandra Prasad July and 1 August, while Air
India will have 13-14 flights to
NEW DELHI Paris in the same period, Puri
said adding that in the case of
V G R
edantu has raised $100 iven continued uncer- ings in Gurugram of its 12 leased obots have been replac-
million in a funding tainties in business and office buildings across India. ing humans on factory
round led by New York- employees working Payments startup MobiKwik floors and even opera-
based Coatue Management at a from home, startups are giving does not plan to give up its tion theatres for decades, and
valuation of $600 million, mak- up office space, including rented Gurugram headquarters, but is now they are coming for cus-

I
ndia is in talks with at least Germany, Lufthansa will oper- ing it the second most valuable buildings and seats in co-work- re-negotiating rental agree- tomer-facing jobs amid the cor-
three countries—US, France ate flights after an agreement online education startup in ing centres, to reduce costs. ments and may look at onavirus pandemic. Hotels are trying to reduce
and Germany—to resume is reached. “The whole idea of India after Byju’s. Vamsi Krishna, CEO and Besides, many offices are unwill- co-working options for its sat- The need to avoid human human contact wherever
international flights by setting an air bubble is that you are at Existing investors, including co-founder of Vedantu. ing to bring back workers as fear ellite offices. “We have also contact and labour shortage possible. REUTERS
up exclusive air corridors, civil a stage short of normal civil Tiger Global and GGV Capital, of infections remains high. considered reducing our real have given new urgency to the
aviation minister Hardeep aviation activities, which also participated in the Series D fited from the extended shut- In recent months, firms such estate footprint and have not adoption of robots in hotels and reduce human touch to remove
Singh Puri said on Thursday. depend on factors like the round. Rahul Kishore, manag- down of schools because of the as Uber Technologies Inc., opened our offices since the restaurants. fears of contracting covid-19.
While India and France have virus, demand situation and ing director of Coatue, will join coronavirus pandemic, which Swiggy, PolicyBazaar, Instam- first lockdown. We expect to With hotels now opening Some of the leading five-star
already agreed to establish the the number of flights that are Vedantu’s board. has forced educational institu- ojo, Ezetap, MobiKwik and operate from home for the next their doors after a crippling hotel chains in India, including
so-called “bilateral air bubbles”, being allowed to operate by Vedantu and other such edu- upGrad have vacated or reduced lockdown, operators are con-
talks are at an advanced stage major cities,” Puri said. cation platforms have bene- TURN TO PAGE 11 office space across cities. TURN TO PAGE 11 sidering deploying robots to TURN TO PAGE 11
with Germany, Puri said at a In the case of the US, as an
press conference. He said pri- interim measure, United Air-
vate Indian carriers will be lines will operate 18 flights
given an opportunity to operate between 17 July and 31 July, he
on these medium and long-haul said. “We are planning two
routes provided
they fly wide-
body aircraft.
Airlines will get
to operate on
flights a day
between Delhi
and London. I
Senior living services get a boost UV-based disinfectants in demand
Only two carri- medium- and have had discus-
ers—Vistara, a Leroy Leo Prasid Banerjee & Leroy Leo
long-haul routes sions with my seniors stranded. “The pandemic has also According to companies inside. It is running pilots with
joint venture counterpart in leroy.l@livemint.com The easing of the lockdown accentuated the need for safe NEW DELHI involved in selling such prod- some delivery firms right now,
provided they
between Tata the British gov- NEW DELHI has led to a spike in infections and secure places, and emer- ucts, customers can range from and selling to retail consumers
fly wide-body

F
Sons and Singa- ernment,” the in many places. gency care for seniors,” Antara ear of infections from con- regular users to food delivery through its website. Its GoCo
pore Airlines, and aircraft, Puri said minister said.

T
he covid-19 outbreak is “Before this, the entire Senior Living managing taminated surfaces has platforms and e-commerce Bags for delivery platforms
state-run Air Puri said he opening up new busi- industry had struggled just to director and chief executive spawned a clutch of ultra- firms. allow a consumer to turn the
India—currently hoped fares on ness opportunities for bring the focus to officer Rajit violet devices designed to kill “We were looking to create a UVC lights on before a delivery
have wide-body planes. international flights will fall companies providing care for seniors and the Covid and the Mehta said. pathogens, as companies try to solution for delivery and e-com- is made, by pressing a button
A bilateral travel bubble, or with more airlines, including senior citizens, as families need for special- accompanying Antara, a sub- keep pace with customer con- merce companies. One of the on a mobile app.
air bridge, is an exclusive travel foreign carriers, taking part in seek to shield elders who are ized services for lockdown have sidiary of Max cerns stemming from the coro- reasons people weren’t order- Godrej Security Solutions
corridor between two coun- overseas flights from India. easy targets for the novel cor- the elderly increased the India Ltd, is navirus pandemic. These devi- ing from Zomato, Swiggy, etc., has created a UV Case which
tries with both deciding to dis- He said a government-im- onavirus. because it was
requirement for among compa- ces use Ultraviolet C (UVC) radi- was the trust issue with package comes in three sizes—15 litres,
card restrictions such as quar- posed cap on domestic airfares Executives at several such always consid- nies planning to ation in a closed space to handling,” said Arpit Chhabra, 30 litres and 54 litres. Users can
antining or testing of passen- since resumption of flights in companies reported brisk ered an individ- special homes expand their disinfect items such as newspa- co-founder and CEO of IoTfy, place newspapers, mobile
gers from each other’s country. May could be extended beyond business as the pandemic and ual responsibility for the aged presence in sen- pers and delivery packages, an Internet of Things firm. phones and other objects in the
International flights have 25 August. “We may need a the accompanying lockdown and not the ior citizen care. which many people fear carry IoTfy has developed a back-
been suspended since end- short extension of the price have increased the require- responsibility of Assisted living contagious viruses and bacteria. pack fitted with UVC lights TURN TO PAGE 11
March, although the govern- band as the capacity is still below ment for special homes for the either the government or is a $1 billion segment by mar-
ment has given permissions 33%,” Puri said, adding that he aged. community,” Epoch Elder ket value while home health- For short takes on the news Listen to Mint Evening
for evacuation flights to bring expects domestic airline capac- People above 65 are consid- Care co-founder and chief care is estimated to be around before you start your day, Market Wrap for Nasrin
stranded Indians home. ity to grow to about 55%-60% by ered to be particularly vulner- executive officer Neha Sinha $4 billion in a roughly $10-12 follow our daily podcast Mint Sultana’s detailed analysis of
As per the agreement, Air the Diwali festival which falls in able to the virus, and the lack said. The company is looking billion fragmented senior care Lite Morning Shot with the day’s news from Dalal
Shalini Umachandran on Street and other markets on
France will operate 28 flights mid-November this year. of domestic help due to the to expand, anticipating a grad- htsmartcast.com htsmartcast.com
between Delhi, Mumbai, Ben- rhik.k@livemint.com lockdown has rendered many ual increase in demand. TURN TO PAGE 11
02 FRIDAY, 17 JULY 2020
NEW DELHI DEALS
PLAIN
FACTS

VIRUS SPREADS IN ASSAM AND BIHAR

Karnataka, one of the worst hotspots in the country of late, now has more active coronavirus cases than Delhi, and its death count is also climbing
m MINT COVID TRACKER Chart 1b Chart 2
Pooja Dantewadia & Chart 1a
India's death toll is now close to 25,000, and the Cases and deaths rise the most in India Death curves of Karnataka and Andhra
Sriharsha Devulapalli Pradesh are getting steeper
trajectory is yet to slow down among high-fatality countries
NEW DELHI Compound daily growth rate (in %) Seven-day rolling average. Day 0 for each state corresponds
Seven-day rolling average. Day 0 for each country corresponds to the day to the day the 50th covid-19 death was recorded. Maharashtra
the 100th covid-19 death was recorded. 134,528 2.4 2.7
India

F
resh local outbreaks of 100,000
6,400
coronavirus infection 3,200 Delhi
US 71,154 Karnataka
are increasingly forc- Mexico 1.8 2 Gujarat
Brazil 1,600
ing states to reimpose UK 44,826 Tamil Nadu
strict lockdowns, more Italy 800
US 0.5 1.7 Madhya
than a month after restrictions 34,581 34,947 400
Andhra Pradesh
had started to be eased. Local Mexico 200
23,218 Spain 0 0.6 Pradesh
governments are being cau- Iran
India 100
tious, with active cases climb-
10,000 12,649 50
ing fast in some states of late. Brazil 0.4 1.6
Karnataka now has more active 0 6 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 99
Only states with more than 50 deaths as of 16 July 8am have been considered.
cases than Delhi and Andhra The vertical axis is a logarithmic axis.
Pradesh has come close to this. France 0 0.3
Chart 3
Rajasthan, Assam, Bihar, and India's top 15 cities continue to be hotspots
Odisha are all reporting sharp UK Change in
-0.3 0.2 active of covid-19 deaths
growth in infections. cases over
India is the third worst-hit The vertical axis the past Delhi
country in the pandemic with Peru -0.3 1.7 seven days 3,487
1,000 uses a logarithmic
968,876 confirmed cases so far, scale which makes Ahmedabad
the scale appear 1,560
while the toll of 24,915 is the Russia -0.4 1.6 Change in
smaller than it deaths over
eighth highest in the world. actually is. the past
Worryingly, the deaths are ris- seven days Kolkata
ing fast. Unlike the curves of Iran -1.2 1.5 662

some other badly-hit countries, Mumbai

5,467
India’s trajectory has yet to Italy -1.5 0 Chennai
Pune 1,674
peak or stabilize. Change in active cases and deaths based on seven-day rolling averages. Data for India 1,228
10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 110 120 132 Source: Johns Hopkins Covid Tracker,
The country accounted for as of 16 July 8am. Data for all other countries as of 14 July. Only countries with more Data as of 15 July 7.30pm MoHFW, howindialives.com
Days since 100th death was recorded
nearly 14% of the 1.29 million than 10,000 deaths have been considered here.
new cases confirmed globally AHMED RAZA KHAN/MINT

in the last seven days. This was
the third highest share after the
US, which had 30%, and Brazil
which accounted for 16%. Of
the nearly 29,200 deaths
recorded globally in this
period, India accounted for 11%,
which is also the third highest
share.
Active cases, which now
stand at 331,146, have risen at a
daily average rate of 2.7% and
deaths at 2.3% over this week,
based on seven-day rolling
averages. The growth rate for
active cases has risen over the
previous week, while deaths
have slowed down marginally.
The recovery rate has been ris-
ing steadily. Nearly 63%, or
612,815, of India’s coronavirus
patients have now recovered,
compared to 53% a month ago.
Globally, the coronavirus
case count has crossed 13.5 mil-
lion, with close to 585,000
deaths and more than 7.5 mil-
lion (55%) recoveries.
Among all countries with
more than 10,000 fatalities,
India has the worst weekly
growth rate in cases and, at its
current pace, could cross the 1.5
million mark by the end of July,
a Mint analysis shows (See
charts 1a and 1b).
Earlier this week, Tamil reached the third spot aided by This data is based on seven-day 500 deaths (See chart 2). the latest data. risen in Bengaluru and Kanpur
Nadu overtook Gujarat in the its own surge as well as the high rolling averages, which mini- The case fatality rates, or the Chennai, with 101,175, Mum- by 141% and 37% respectively,
covid-19 death count and now recovery rate in Delhi, which is mize the effect of volatile and share of patients who died, are bai with 96,470 cases, Pune the fastest increase among all
has 2,167 deaths. Only Maha- now the fourth on delayed report- the highest in Gujarat (4.7%), with 44,202, and Hyderabad metros with at least 50 deaths.
rashtra and Delhi have a higher the list. Andhra ing. Maharashtra (4%), and Madhya with 34,090 are the other Among the top 15 cities, the
toll and the top three states Pradesh and Uttar India accounted Among the Pradesh (3.5%). major hotspots. case fatality rates are the high-
have a 67% share of the national Pradesh are also for nearly 14% of states with at least The fresh case-load in the These five cities account for est in Ahmedabad (6.4%),
death count. Uttar Pradesh and likely to surpass the 1.29 million 50 deaths, the tra- southern states is led by Benga- 41% of confirmed cases and Mumbai (5.7%), and Indore
West Bengal crossed 1,000 Delhi soon. new cases jectory of the rise luru, where confirmed cases 48% of deaths nationally. The (5.0%). The lowest case fatality
deaths this week, while Gujarat In the last seven confirmed in the toll is get- are now nearly two times from top 15 cities together account rates are in Hyderabad (0.1%),
with 2,079 deaths is now days, Assam, Kar-
globally in the last ting steeper for a week ago, the biggest spike by for 50% of confirmed cases and Nagpur (1.0%), and Lucknow
recording a very slow pace of nataka, and Bihar Karnataka (928 far among the 15 top cities in 63% of covid-related deaths in (1.3%).
increase. have reported the seven days deaths), where the terms of population. In general, India. Data for all cities have pooja.d@livemint.com
Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, biggest percent- number has risen large cities continue to be dis- been aggregated from district- The Mint Covid Tracker runs
and Karnataka have the highest age jumps in nearly 90% over proportionately affected by the wise data compiled by howin- every week in the print edition.
number of active cases and deaths, while the surge in active the past week. The figure is 51% coronavirus. Delhi has 113,470 dialives.com, as of Wednesday For daily updates to the tracker,
together account for 57% of the cases has been led by Bihar, for Andhra Pradesh, though confirmed coronavirus cases evening (See chart 3). visit https://www.livemint.com/
national total. Karnataka Karnataka, and West Bengal. the state still has fewer than and 3,487 deaths, according to In the past week, deaths have topic/mint-covid-tracker

m OOGLE TRENDS DASHBOARD Carbon ‘subsidy’: policy favours polluters

Whether it's to check the weather forecast, the cricket score, or the news, Google is the first port-of-call globally. Surbhi Bhatia of emissions, or $550 billion to
And as more Indians get connected to the internet, data from the world's biggest search engine has emerged as a surbhi.b@livemint.com $800 billion per year, finds the
powerful tool to quantify what the country is searching for. Mint’s Google Trends Dashboard provides a weekly
MUMBAI working paper. More polluting
overview of the top trending topics of the current week across ten select countries. It also shows the top locations
industries pay lower import
for the most searched topic in India and related topics linked to that topic.

L
ast year, the International taxes, whereas cleaner ones
Monetary Fund had rec- face higher tariffs and quotas,
COUNTRY MOST SEARCHED TERM REACH 2ND MOST SEARCHED TERM REACH ommended a carbon tax the study finds.
of $75 per tonne of emissions However, this need not
Australia John Travolta 500K Naya Rivera 500K to fight the climate crisis mean that countries make
Tiago Iorc (bit.ly/3fExQpW). However, such policies intentionally,
Brazil 2M WhatsApp 500K the trade policies of most says the author of the working
Germany Naya Rivera 500K Grant Imahara 100K countries negate the effect paper, Joseph S. Shapiro of the
sought to be University of Cal- Most countries subsidize polluting industries and impose higher
India CBSE 10th Result 2020 10M HSC Result 2020 * 1M achieved by such m SNAP FACT ifornia at Berke- tariffs on cleaner firms, shows a new study. RAMESH PATHANIA/MINT
a tax as they ley. Shapiro stud-
Japan Tokyo Corona 200K Takano Nichinan 200K result in subsi- ies 20 factors that mobile industry, which is con- finds it to be as large as $175 per
dizing industries that emit could potentially explain this sumer-facing. The author also tonne in European nations,
Nigeria Man United vs Southampton 200K Arsenal vs Liverpool 100K more carbon, a study finds. pattern, such as labour and finds that final-goods indus- but lower for India and China.
A working paper published capital share, worker wages, tries, which are also cleaner, The imposition of similar
Russia Spotify 200K John Travolta 100K by the US National Bureau of firm size and location, trade lobby better than consumers tariffs on both more and less
South Africa Zindzi Mandela 500K Arsenal vs Liverpool 100K Economic Research looks at exposure, and lobbying power. to get cheap inputs from more- polluting industries could lead
data from 48 countries and 163 Shapiro finds that indus- polluting raw-material indus- to a fall in global carbon emis-
UK Star signs 1M Naya Rivera 1M industries to estimate carbon tries, such as iron and steel, tries. This distorts tariffs in sions without affecting global
subsidies. The trade policies of which do not directly sell to favour of large emitters. income, the study concludes.
US Naya Rivera 10M Nick Cannon 2M these countries are giving the final consumer, emit more The extent of the implicit Also read: The Environmen-
industries an effective “sub- carbon, yet face fewer trade carbon subsidy in trade policy tal Bias of Trade Policy
sidy” of $85 to $120 per tonne restrictions, unlike the auto- varies by country. The study (bit.ly/30feKQO).
MOST SEARCHED TERM IN INDIA: CBSE 10th Result 2020
SEARCH INTEREST BY STATE Search interest as measured by SEARCH INTEREST BY LOCATION
Google is based on the relative
interest in a topic compared to all Palwal
100
Punjab
other topics for a particular location
(country/state/city).
(Haryana)
Narnaul
m NEWS IN NUMBERS CORRECTIONS AND
87 CLARIFICATIONS
43 (Haryana) AP

Haryana Karnal
70,980 38oC A 16 July story, ‘How work from
67 Delhi
Uttar Pradesh
(Haryana)
86 What is it? The number of people who What is it? The home policy will hit REITs’,
31
54 lost their lives due to drug overdose in temperature should have said that Embassy
Alawalpur REITs was trading 12% above its
(Punjab)
84 the US in 2019, according to the Centers recorded in
Rajasthan issue price, as per data on 14
33 for Disease Control and Prevention. Verkhoyansk, a
Ferozepur July, and that it fell around 30%
(Punjab)
84 Why is it important? It’s the highest village in Siberia from its peak in March 2020.
Gujarat number of drug deaths in a year so far, on 20 June.
14 Madhya Pradesh
25 surpassing the previous peak of 70,600 Why is it Mint welcomes comments,
Jharkhand RELATED SEARCH TERMS
60
deaths in 2017. The number of deaths saw important? It’s suggestions or complaints
Maharashtra
a decline in 2018, but has grown by 4.6% in the highest ever about errors. Readers can alert
16 1 CBSE class 10th result 2020 2019. There are concerns that the deaths temperature recorded in the region. the newsroom to any errors in
the paper by emailing us, with
might go up further in 2020 due to the Across Siberia, the temperature during the your full name and address to
2 CBSE class 10th result
covid-19 pandemic. The deaths are driven first six months of this year was more than feedback@livemint.com.
Karnataka
20 3 CBSE result 2020 10th class by the use of synthetic opioids such as 5°C above average, with some spots
19 Readers dissatisfied with
40 fentanyl, which claimed over 36,500 lives. reporting more than 10°C above average.
Andaman and 60
Tell me more: The US government has Tell me more: The impact of human the response or concerned
Nicobar Islands 80 4 10th class result 2020 about Mint’s journalistic
Tamil Nadu
17 100 100 spent about $21 billion over the past four activity on the rising temperatures there integrity may write directly to
5 10 CBSE result 2020 years in trying to end the opioid crisis. is at least 2°C, according to researchers. the editor by sending an email
to
All search data pertains to the 13-15 July period. Data accessed at noon on 16 July. * The third most searched term for asktheeditor@livemint.com
India was considered because the top two terms were same. Source: Google Trends
Data and text compiled by Howindialives howindialives.com is a search engine for public data
COMPILED BY POOJA DANTEWADIA/MINT; GRAPHIC BY SARVESH KUMAR SHARMA/MINT

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 NEWS FRIDAY, 17 JULY 2020
NEW DELHI 03

‘Govt must boost infra spending’

mint

SHORT TAKES
No postal ballot for voters above Tanya Thomas to achieve the right quality at the
65 years in Bihar elections: EC tanya.t@livemint.com right price. When we made the
New Delhi: The Election Commission (EC) on Thursday put a MUMBAI Supply-chain decision to stop reliance on Chi-
hold on its earlier announcement on not extending the postal bal- modifications would nese imports, we made the com-

T
lot facility to electors above 65 years for the upcoming Bihar elec- he government must
tions in view of the “constraints of logistics, manpower and safety urgently step up infra-
protocols for covid-19”. The provision will, however, continue for structure spending and
electors over 80 years, persons with disability, and those engaged encourage cheap credit
in essential services and covid-19-positive, or suspect cases in to industry for the econ-
either home or institutional quarantine. ANUJA omy to recover, Sajjan Jindal, chair-
Read more on Livemint.com man, JSW Group, said in an inter-
view. Interest rates at Indian banks
have remained stubbornly high
L&T Finance Holdings Q1 net despite the central bank introduc-
ing rate cuts over the last few
profit falls 73% to ₹148 crore months. Jindal is also pushing for
PRIYANKA PARASHAR/MINT
self-reliance in Indian industry and
Emirates to said supply chains must change to
expand
flights to 62
wean themselves away from Chi-
destinations nese imports. Edited excerpts:
in August India’s gross domestic product
bit.ly/2CCWBE (GDP) is expected to contract by
v up to 4.5% this year, according
to some estimates. How will the
steel industry cope with the
resulting crash in demand?
Yes, there has been moderation
in domestic demand. However,
India should look for an opportu-
nity to emerge as a location of
Mumbai: L&T Finance Holdings Ltd on Thursday said that choice by global companies during
its consolidated net profit for the quarter ending 30 June the supply chain realignment that
fell 73% to ₹148 crore, largely on incremental provisions is currently underway. For the steel
taken by the lender to strengthen its balance sheet against industry, a favourable monsoon
the effects of the covid-19 pandemic. The lender recorded and stronger rural demand,
provisions worth ₹577 crore in Q1FY21. It had recorded a expected infrastructure spending
net profit of ₹549 crore for the June quarter last year. push, and better foreign direct
ASHWIN RAMARATHINAM investment (FDI) inflows will drive
Read more on Livemint.com demand.
What impetus should the gov-
ernment give for the steel
Vivo to set up design centre in industry?
As we move into phases of
India to enhance local production unlock, there still remains an
New Delhi: Smartphone maker Vivo will set-up an industrial urgent need for the government to
design centre in India to develop devices locally, and increase its frontload infrastructure invest-
headcount to 50,000, a top company official said on Thursday. ment. Most importantly, credit
Vivo India director for brand strategy Nipun Marya said the com- flow to the industry at competitive
pany has announced ₹7,500 crore investment in India to increase rates of interest is urgently needed.
smartphone manufacturing capacity from 3.3 crore units to 12 Most developed countries have
crore. PTI borrowing rates at close to zero, but
in India we are still at 10%.
Despite abundant liquidity pro-
Tata Power arm to develop hybrid
renewable project of 225MW
New Delhi: Tata Power on Thursday said its wholly- owned sub-
sidiary TPGEL has bagged an order to develop a 225 mega watt
(MW) hybrid renewable power project. “Tata Power Green
Energy Ltd (TPGEL), the company’s wholly owned subsidiary,
received a letter of award from Tata Power Mumbai Distribution
Alibaba’s UCWeb lays off staff from India office Infosys shares surge
on 13 July 2020 to develop a 225MW hybrid renewable project,”
Tata Power said in a BSE filing. PTI Salman S.H.
salman.h@livemint.com
most in four months
BENGALURU
Kotak Special Situations Fund on strong Q1 earnings
mitment to work shoulder-to-
have to be made shoulder with vendors to build
across all industries their capacity and I think as Indian
to make India more industry makes this commitment
to the indigenous market we would
self-reliant and a be able to make India a global go-to
global go-to supplier. market. With regard to incentives
for the steel industry, it is important
SAJJAN JINDAL to provide a level playing field to
Chairman, JSW Group
the domestic steel market, which
has certain disadvantages linked to
cost of capital, lack of infrastruc-
ture, and a number of local levies,
taxes and duties.
You have gone slow on acquisi-
tions within the JSW Group, in
both power and steel. Have you
moved away from an earlier
strategy?
As far as our vision for each busi-
ness is concerned, there have been
vided by the Reserve Bank of India companies should follow your ancillary units in that sector are no changes but we have taken this
(RBI), there is a strong aversion to move to boycott Chinese steel exporting to a number of manufac- opportunity to reassess near-term
lend from the Indian banking sys- imports? Do you believe a trade turers globally. This means that a and long-term requirements of
tem. Something needs to be done war with China is likely? What globally accepted product is availa- liquidity. We believe all businesses
about this on a priority basis. impact will this have on other ble locally but is not being utilized. will need to plan to create sufficient
You have spoken about not Indian industries that depend These supply-chain modifications liquidity buffers and strong balance
importing from China any- on Chinese imports? would have to be made consciously sheets to have the ability to with-
more. Is that decision being Yes, I would urge other compa- across all industries to make India a stand such unprecedented shocks
taken with imme- nies, traders, and the more self-reliant nation and a for longer terms. So planning for
diate effect? m INTERVIEW larger business fra- global go-to supplier. I am confi- such a contingency is paramount.
I do believe in glo- ternity to reduce dent of India’s potential to be the At JSW Group, we are also embrac-
balization and free trade countries their reliance on imports from factory of the world and I see this as ing the new norms. We are looking
should be allowed to export and China. I cannot comment on a trade a $100 billion opportunity for at our cost base from scratch and
import according to the relative war but I believe in the long-term Indian industry, which can be built are relying heavily on technology,
strength and competitiveness of we will see much more benefit from on a commitment from domestic digitalization, and innovation to
each country. However, with being self-reliant. While those industry. solve these challenges. These
regard to China we need to respond dependent on Chinese imports How will India develop an moves will make us more resilient
appropriately to their actions on may feel some pain in the near term indigenous industry for steel than ever.
our border in support of the armed in the form of cost pressures and inputs? What kind of incen- Are you conserving cash? Is
forces and the government. Hence, quality standards, in the long term tives does the government need there a possibility that the
our (JSW’s) decision to nullify our as we develop more robust manu- to put in place to create an Bhushan Power and Steel Ltd
reliance on imports from the coun- facturing facilities, we can serve our Atmanirbhar Bharat? (BPSL) acquisition will not take
try. Yes, the decision is being taken domestic needs and also become a Domestic demand will create an place?
with immediate effect and we are global supplier of choice for certain indigenous market for steel inputs. We remain committed to the
looking at bringing our imports items. As we consciously stop our reliance BPSL acquisition. The matter is
down to zero within the next 24 For example, at present Indian - Over the long-term, as demand sub-judice and we will wait for full
months. auto manufacturers import a num- increases for raw material needed clarity on all matters being adjudi-
Do you think other private ber of their parts, but our Indian for steel, suppliers will also be able cated by the Supreme Court.
declined to speak about the 2020.
layoffs, but said the company Most of the Chinese apps
has “complied with the gov- banned by India had large
ernment’s recent directive active user bases and they

C
hina’s Alibaba Group- concerning 59 apps and together accounted for 5% of
invests ₹500 crore in Nirma unit owned UCWeb Inc. has stopped the service.” total installs from Apple’s App
PRIYANKA PARASHAR/MINT
suspended its India A Reuters report on Thurs- Store and Google Play Store in
operations and laid off almost day said Indian employees at the April-June quarter, at 330 Ravindra Sonavane
Hot stock
90% of its 350 employees at its Alibaba-owned million new ravindra.s@livemint.com
Infosys has gained 24.48%
Mumbai and Gurugram offi- video-blogging The decision by installs, Mint MUMBAI on a year-to-date basis,
ces, three people aware of the platform Vmate UCWeb to reported on 2 while the BSE IT Index has

development said.
Employees in associate,
managerial and entry-level
positions were informed about
the layoffs over video-confer-
encing and given at least 30
days’ notice, said one of the
two people quoted above, both
of whom spoke under condi-
Mumbai: Kotak Special Situations Fund, managed by tion of anonymity. UCWeb,
Kotak Investment Advisors Ltd, on Thursday said it has which is in India since 2009,
invested ₹500 crore in Nirma Group unit Nuvoco Ltd to operates a mobile browser (UC
help finance the takeover of the cement business of the Browser) and a news aggrega-
Emami Group. The capital will enable Nuvoco achieve tion service (UC News).
financial closure of its acquisition of Emami Cements Ltd On 29 June, India banned
and consolidate its position as a leading cement producer 59 Chinese apps including
in east India, Kotak said in a statement.
UC Browser has 430 mn active
users globally, of which 130 mn
are in India. BLOOMBERG
TikTok, Helo, UC Browser, UC
News, and WeChat, after 20
Indian soldiers died in a deadly
border clash with China.
Among them, TikTok was the
most popular, with over 200
million active users in the
country.
A UCWeb spokesperson
S
were asked to suspend its India July. hares of Infosys Ltd advanced 11.1%.
leave, citing an operations comes Prior to the ban soared to the highest lev- 130
internal letter 124.48
weeks after India placed by the gov- els in nearly four months Infosys
dated 15 July. ernment, Chinese on Thursday after posting a 120 BSE IT Sector
Alibaba- banned 59 internet firms had stronger-than-expected rise in
owned UC Chinese apps publicly detailed quarterly profit buoyed by 111.11
110
Browser has over investment plans large deal wins despite the cov-
430 million and their business id-19 pandemic. Investor confi- 100
active users globally, of which strategies in India. ByteDance, dence was also lifted after sev-
130 million are in India. which owns TikTok and Helo, eral brokerages raised their tar- 90
According to StatCounter, a earlier said that it had plans to get price for the stock.
web analytics firm, UC invest up to $1 billion in India. Infosys closed 9.6% higher to
80
Browser was the second lead- UCWeb had announced plans ₹910.90 on the BSE, the biggest
ing mobile browser in India, to launch a fully-owned gain since 24 March. The
70
with a 10% market share after e-commerce business and benchmark Sensex rose 1.2% to 31 Dec 2019 16 Jul 2020
Google Chrome, as of June enter online movie ticketing. 36,471.68 points. Base value taken as 100
Infosys helped the BSE IT Source: Capitaline

SWARAJ SINGH DHANJAL Index settle at an all-time high

Read more on livemint.com of 17,194.49, up 4.14%. re-imposition of lockdown,
In intraday trade, the stock etc,” said Motital Oswal.
rose 15% to an all-time high of Infosys said it had won 15
Uber elevates Prabhjeet Singh as
president of India, South Asia JioPhone’s tepid returns drive shift in strategy ₹952 apiece, making Infosys large deals in the last quarter,
the seventh Indian firm to hit with a ‘total contract value’ of
the ₹4-trillion market cap level, $1.7 billion, of which 19% was
Bengaluru: Uber Technologies Inc. on Thursday elevated but it partly erased those gains from net new deals. These
Prabhjeet Singh as its president for India and South Asia opera- Romita Majumdar & retailed through Reliance at the day’s close. RIL, TCS, included five in financial servi-
tions. The move comes at a time when the firm is cutting back on Kalpana Pathak Retail and the sales figures are HDFC Bank, HUL, HDFC and ces, three each in retail, energy
costs worth $1 billion due to business disruptions caused by cov- not publicly available. ITC were the other companies and hi-tech, and one in manu-
id-19. Singh, who was earlier heading India and South Asia, will MUMBAI The feature phone offering to achieve this milestone. facturing. The deals comprise
now be overseeing the next phase of growth in the company’s has been dragging down tele- On Wednesday, Infosys 13 from the US and two from

R
mobility business and ensuring safety for riders and drivers eliance Jio’s move to
across India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. Singh will replace Prad- jointly develop a low-
eep Parmeswaran who was promoted as the regional general cost smartphone with
manager (RGM) for Asia Pacific on 19 June. SALMAN S.H. Google heralds a marked shift
Read more on livemint.com in strategy three years after the
ambitious launch of JioPhone,
the feature phone offering a
gamut of services.
The response from budget
users was less than enthusiastic
for the JioPhone, which fell
short of expectations in a rap-
idly expanding telecom market
flooded with smartphones
from China, analysts said.
JioPhone had helped drive
up the subscriber base, but
failed to help the operator find
premium data subscribers to
the extent that it was now look-
ing to woo them with Google’s
help, experts suggested.
The first JioPhone was
launched by Mukesh Ambani
at the 40th Reliance annual
general meeting in 2017 at an
“effective” price of ₹0, for
which the buyers had to pay
₹1,500 first. This was followed
by JioPhone 2 a year later
JioPhone helped drive up the subscriber base, but failed to help
Reliance Jio find premium data subscribers.
priced at ₹2,999. Last year, the
price was cut to ₹699 as part of
a Diwali offer. An estimated 120
million of Jio’s 388 million sub-
scribers are on JioPhones.
The phones were launched
to woo low-budget 2G sub-
scribers from rival networks to
Jio. Bharti Airtel and Vodafone
Idea had 48-60% subscribers
on 2G networks as of March.
Analysts said if 2G users
migrated to the new phone by
Jio and Google, it will not only
help increase the subscriber
base for RIL, but will also
REUTERS
increase average revenue per
user. However, a rapidly satu-
rating feature phone market is
just one stumbling block.
“JioPhone was a feature
phone with some features of a
smartphone, but it does give
the same smartphone experi-
ence. Besides, users always
want high-end phones. Today,
feature phone sales are coming
down and my sense is Jio-
Phones are not in supply,” said
the managing director of a
mobile retail chain.
JioPhones are exclusively
com revenue growth for Jio
and adding smartphone data
users will rapidly change the
dynamics. JioPhone users are
largely on the basic ₹75-125
range, whereas data users on
rival networks have to start at
significantly higher ticket sizes
for the same experience.
Jio aims to enter a market
where users don’t want to
upgrade due to a lack of good
quality smartphone in the
sub-$50 range and are also
hampered by their ability to
navigate the digital ecosystem
effectively, said Tarun Pathak,
associate director, Counter-
point Research.
“ Semiconductor companies
Qualcomm and Intel are on
board now. Jio has been offer-
ing data services and hardware
for sometime and, with
Android, now they have the
opportunity to convert millions
of 2G users to data consumers
across a connected ecosystem,”
added Pathak.
romita.m@livemint.com
reported a 11.4% rise in net Europe. Investors were
profit for the June quarter at enthused by Infosys’ forecast of
₹4,233 crore, beating street constant currency growth in
estimates. Analysts polled by revenue of 0-2% and operating
Reuters had margin of 21-23%
expected a profit In intraday trade, in 2020-21.
of ₹3,987 crore. the stock rose 15% Brokerage Sha-
Its revenue rose to ₹952 apiece, rekhan said even
8.5% to ₹23,665 making Infosys though reduction
crore. Ebit, or in IT spending is
the 7th Indian
earnings before expected during
interest, tax, firm to hit ₹4-tn 2020, Infosys is
depreciation and market cap level well poised to gain
amortization, share in the reces-
margin improved sionary environ-
by 150 basis points sequentially ment and outperform peers in
to 22.7%. terms of revenue growth in
“Deal wins and the deal pipe- FY2021E.
line are healthy. The reinstate- “We remain constructive on
ment of revenue and margin Infosys in the medium to long
guidance is a key morale term with its ability to engage
booster. As the company and its with large clients for their
clients have been through the transformation programmes.
covid-19 learning curve, we Post-strong Q1FY21 results, we
understand the company expect near-term growth visi-
should be able to manage reve- bility of Infosys to be better
nue/margin performance than TCS; while expecting
within a narrow band despite long-term growth to remain
incremental risks, such as a sec- in-line with TCS,” said Antique
ond wave of infections, the Stock Broking.
04 FRIDAY, 17 JULY 2020
NEW DELHI

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

36,471.68 1.16 10,739.95 1.15 8,766.60 0.88 25,950.05 0.29 10,879.90 1.02 13,323.98 0.71 12,642.26 -0.13
PREVIOUS CLOSE OPEN PREVIOUS CLOSE OPEN PREVIOUS CLOSE OPEN PREVIOUS CLOSE OPEN PREVIOUS CLOSE OPEN PREVIOUS CLOSE OPEN PREVIOUS CLOSE OPEN

36,051.81 36,401.20 10,618.20 10,706.20 8,689.85 8,750.60 25,875.25 25,979.80 10,769.60 10,852.30 13,230.33 13,302.91 12,658.94 12,689.90
HIGH LOW HIGH LOW HIGH LOW HIGH LOW HIGH LOW HIGH LOW HIGH LOW

36,524.62 36,038.41 10,755.30 10,595.20 8,776.05 8,650.60 25,991.95 25,614.15 10,893.80 10,734.40 13,343.67 13,119.53 12,700.96 12,530.85

L&T Infotech sails through stormy

mint

SHORT TAKES
Nasdaq ‘fear gauge’ shows
warning signs for tech rally
There are more signs of possible trouble ahead for
high-flying technology stocks, this time from gau-
Q1, but coronavirus threats linger
ges of expected volatility. One alert stems from the
widest spread since 2004 between the Cboe NDX R. Sree Ram March quarter. The March quarter 13.5% of revenue in the March quar-
Volatility Index, a measure of implied equity sreeram.r@livemint.com had a one-time exceptional cost per- ter),” Motilal Oswal analysts said in a Steady ship
swings for the Nasdaq-100, and the counterpart taining to contribution to PM CARES note. While L&T Infotech's profit margins remained largely stable in the June

C
so-called “fear gauge” for the S&P 500. Another ovid-19 has forced all Fund for covid-19 relief. Adjusted for All major business segments saw quarter, its revenue growth slowed.
comes from unusual simultaneous gains in the companies to hit the this, margins were stable, said Motilal sequential decline in constant cur- Constant currency revenue growth (year-on-year, in %) Ebit margin (in %)

technology index and the NDX recently. This kind Gold prices brakes on growth. But Oswal Financial Services Ltd. rency revenue. Manufacturing, 25
fall for the 22.9
of pronounced shift in the relationship between second day,
such was the momentum On a year-on-year basis, operating energy and utilities saw double-digit 17.4
the two volatility indexes tends to correspond with at Larsen and Toubro earnings in dollar terms rose as much revenue declines, perhaps reflecting 20
silver rates
absolute and relative underperformance of the dip Infotech Ltd, that it still ended up as 19%. In rupee terms operating the pull-back of spending by clients.
15
Nasdaq 100, particularly over three months, said bit.ly/3fDg2M2 with revenue growth of 10.6% in con- earnings grew 2.1%, sequentially, and But the revenue fall at the banking,
17.7
Julian Emanuel, head of equity and derivatives stant currency terms financial services and 10.6
10
strategy at BTIG LLC. BLOOMBERG year-on-year. On a RIDING ON MOMENTUM insurance, which
sequential basis, reve- together generate
LTI shares rose 4.9% IT is one of the rare IT BUT with LTI 5
nues fell 4.7%. around 45% of L&T
Shares of the com- on Thursday after companies that will valuations at nearly 20 Infotech’s revenue, was
Sky high better-than- likely report revenue times FY22E earnings,
pany rose 4.9% on expected results for growth in the current investors should keep confined to mid-to-low 0
Q1FY19 Q1FY21
Tahoe’s net debt-to-equity ratio has remained Thursday after the the June quarter fiscal year a tab on risks as well single digits (constant Source: Company
elevated since expansion started. better-than-ex- currency revenue
Net debt-to-equity ratio (%) pected results for the down 2-4% sequen- SATISH KUMAR/MINT
548 473 June quarter. The stock is now about 29.5% from the year-ago quarter. tially). The management said it saw it expects to close large deal wins in Deal closures are being delayed. For
13% higher compared to its pre-covid This is commendable considering the worst of the business slowdown in the current quarter as well. L&T Infotech, whose growth
373 highs, making it among the best-per- the noticeable impact of covid-19 on the June quarter, and the current According to analysts, L&T Info- momentum is contingent on consist-
297 306 forming IT stocks in India. its revenue. The company’s direct quarter will be flat with a positive tech is one of the rare companies, ently winning large deal wins, this
255 Operating profit margins was costs dropped 1.7% sequentially. bias. It expects margins to be in nar- with the possible exception of Infosys can be a hindrance, especially in win-
230
191 largely stable, notwithstanding the SG&A or the sales and general admin- row band in FY21, implying an overall Ltd, which will likely report revenue ning new customers. Valuations at
sequential fall in revenue. Reported istration expenses declined 10.6%. stable profitability. growth in the current fiscal year. about 20 times estimated FY22 earn-
profit margin expanded 70 basis “SG&A cost control was impressive The company said its deal pipeline But covid-19, lockdowns and ings are not cheap, and investors
points to 17.4%, compared to the (declined to 12.3% of revenue from is better than the year-ago period and restrictions on travel pose challenges. should keep a tab on risks as well.
2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019
Source: Bloomberg

SATISH KUMAR/MINT

Realty developer’s stumble

shows default risks in China As private sector debt dips, growth Post pandemic, Bata could take a step
Paying top dollar for land when money’s cheap and
then selling apartments at a premium seems like a
viable business model. Until a global pandemic
recovery hinges on borrowing back from its premiumization drive
brings both housing and capital markets to a stand-
still. China’s developers are learning this the hard
way. Tahoe Group Co. is a case in point. The Fuz- Aparna Iyer Clifford Alvares are operating with less workforce mium segment. The average selling
hou-based home builder, known for its luxury vil- aparna.i@livemint.com
Shed the load clifford.a@livemint.com and social events are down to a price of its products has been rising
The private sector debt-to-GDP ratio has remained low
las, last week became the first large residential despite a sharp fall in nominal GDP growth.
trickle. steadily over the last several years.

I B
developer in China to default on a bond in five ndian manufacturers have ata India Ltd’s stores are “We expect revenues to decline With the slowdown in discretion-
Debt-to-GDP ratio
years. Market watchers say there may be more to shed a record amount of debt 83.1 gradually reopening, but it is by 30% in FY21 owing to impact of ary spending, sales of premium
come. “Tahoe’s default isn’t isolated,” said Leonard from their balance sheets in 82.2 likely to face some road covid-19 on inventories build-up in products are expected to turn even
Law, a Singapore-based credit analyst at Lucror the past five years. Analysts at 81.8 bumps. The company’s drive to the channel, weak demand for pre- more sluggish compared to other
81.6
Analytics Pte. “More defaults among weak players Motilal Oswal Financial Servi- 81.3 push premium products may take a mium products, and segments. Further,
81
could emerge. Investors will be more cautious ces Ltd said in a report that 80.7 hit due to slowing discretionary closure of retail stores With Bata might find it diffi-
toward developers with high leverage.” BLOOMBERG despite a 19-year low growth in 80.5 80.6 spends. The Bata stock is about 31% in metros. However, cult to reduce costs
discretionary
nominal gross domestic prod- lower than its highs in early Febru- with the onset of the spends slowing, during the post-pan-
uct (GDP), the debt-to-GDP ary. festival season from sales of premium demic slowdown due
Indonesians cut back on ratio fell to 80.6% in FY20, In a post-lockdown update, the Q2FY21, we believe
goods are set to to its large employee
from 83.1% in FY19. In other Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 firm said that it has opened about the second half of FY21 base.
sugar as virus cases soar words, the trimming in debt
FY18 FY19 FY19 FY19 FY19 FY20 FY20 FY20 FY20
1,200 of its 1,400 stores. It also said would see some res- turn even more Analysts said the
Indonesia, the world’s biggest importer of raw levels on firms’ balance sheets
Source: Motilal Oswal Research
that its factory at Batanagar in West pite from the covid-19- sluggish company may succeed
SATISH KUMAR/MINT
sugar, is seeing demand tumble as a surge in coro- has been faster than the dip in Bengal has reopened, although struck demand with in controlling rental
navirus cases hampers out-of-home dining and GDP growth. some also became delinquent While balance sheets have operations are currently restricted. progressive normali- costs, which is about
roils nationwide delivery of the sweetener. Sugar What’s more, credit to non- borrowers in the books of banks been unshackled from costly Since the company already has sation seen in FY22,” said Axis 12% of its revenue, as some rental
demand is set to be about 225,000 tonnes this government non-financial and were written off. Resolu- debt, the ability to service debt some unsold stock, the need to pro- Securities analysts in a client note. contracts are being re-negotiated.
month, after dropping as much as 25% between companies (NGNF) adjusted to tions under insolvency code, also depends on the operating duce is limited. Besides, Bata’s margin expan- But the decline in operating mar-
March and June, according to the Indonesia Sugar inflation fell for the first time in too, contributed to this. But profit a company generates. In But note that sales volumes for sion, that stemmed largely from an gins could be stiff this year as vol-
Association. In a normal year, the country con- the March quarter, according perhaps the biggest contributor that, companies have been hit the next few months are likely to be increase in premiumization, is at umes and realisations play spoil-
sumes between 250,000 to 260,000 tonnes a to Motilal Oswal. “With NGNF for the deleveraging has been hard this year due to the pan- under pressure, more so, as schools risk. In FY20, about half of its reve- sport.
month. “In normal times, our consumption never debt declining for the first time the sharp drop in credit growth demic. Moreover, they may not are still shut. Furthermore, offices nue came from sales in the pre- In addition, store expansions
falls,” said Yadi Yusriyadi, senior adviser at the in real terms in of non-banking be willing to borrow as the could also slow down. Bata has been
association. “This is quite significant.” BLOOMBERG 4QFY20, this Leverage brings financial compa- investment outlook is uncer- making in-roads in tier-2 and tier-3
trend would only growth and, so, nies, which are big tain. A stubborn covid-19 infec- Slowing pace Average selling price per pair (in ₹)
towns and cities. However, that
exacerbate in unless companies lenders to small tion curve keeps the risk of Bata India’s 620 620
could take a back seat due to the
1HFY21, before begin to borrow and medium firms. localized lockdowns high. average selling pandemic.
Dollar decade recovering in NBFC credit Leverage brings growth and, price growth has 533
562
Despite a correction in its stock
The greenback’s decade-long uptrend is under more, GDP tapered off in 491
2HFY21.” grew by a mere so, unless companies begin to price, the stock still quotes at a stiff
threat as haven demand fades. What this growth recovery 5.8% in the March borrow more, GDP growth FY20, and it could 431 price-earnings of 50 times its FY20
will be muted further slide in the
Deutsche Bank USD trade weighted index means is that quarter, accord- recovery will be muted. In that, earnings.
90 coming year as
Indian firms’ bal- ing to Motilal credit flow will be key. “On the premium sales slip. “We believe at 44 times FY23
85 ance sheets are Oswal. The liquid- road to recovery from the cata- estimated earnings per share the
far lighter than they ever were ity crunch following the col- strophic economic impact of stock is trading at expensive valua-
80
83.05 in terms of debt. What caused lapse of IL&FS dried up credit the pandemic, ensuring seam- tions which could be difficult to sus-
75 this deleveraging? The debt from NBFCs. Resources raised less flow of resources among all tain due to further slowdown in the
69.25 shedding was the result of a via corporate bonds, too, grew sectors will remain pivotal,” economy leading to lower discre-
70 combination of factors. Many slower. But, will this delever- said the Reserve Bank of India tionary spends,” said the analysts at
Source: Axis Securities Ltd FY15 FY16 FY17 FY18 FY19 FY20
65 firms repaid high-cost debt, but aging help? (RBI) in its monthly bulletin. Axis Securities.
SATISH KUMAR/MINT
60
15 Jul 2010 16 Jul 2020
Source: Bloomberg

SATISH KUMAR/MINT

Slump in the dollar puts India’s rare trade surplus is expected to continue supporting the rupee
uptrend at imminent risk
The collapse in the dollar is threatening to bring to Harsha Jethmalani will keep consumption-related of $4.6 billion for the year-ago 74-77.5 range for the rest of FY21.
an imminent end its near-decade-long uptrend harsha.j@livemint.com imports subdued.
A temporary surplus? period. For 2019-20, the current “Despite a huge surplus, we
India’s trade balance turned surplus in June, as imports remained in
against major peers. Deutsche Bank’s Trade- Net-net, economists expect deep contraction and exports gathered steam. account deficit narrowed to 0.9% expect the RBI to intervene

F
Weighted Dollar Index—a gauge of the currency or the first time since 2002,
against the US’s most important trading partners India’s merchandise trade
—has fallen to test the trendline in place since 2011, balance turned to a surplus
a break of which would be a key signal for dollar of $0.8 billion in June. While
bears. The index has dropped over 1% so far this imports continued to decline at a
month amid weakening demand for havens, an faster pace, the contraction in
ongoing rally in risk assets and a shift in sentiment exports ebbed.
toward the euro and yuan. Dollar strength has been Considering the size of stimu-
a feature of much of the last 10 years. The trade- lus packages and faster reopening
weighted basket climbed over 40% from the 2011 of global economies, India’s
low to its recent peak in March. BLOOMBERG exports should benefit. On the
other hand, declining imports, an
For more reports and analysis indicator of poor domestic
on the markets, follow our demand, are unlikely to see any
Mark to Market podcast with immediate improvement.
Pallavi Pengonda and Aparna Regional lockdowns in some
Iyer on htsmartcast.com Indian states, along with an
uncertain employment scenario,
India to enjoy a modest trade sur-
plus, albeit temporarily.
In a note published on 15 July,
Teresa John, economist at Nirmal
Bang Securities Ltd, said trade
surpluses in India have usually not
lasted more than a month. But
going by the trade surplus in June,
India is headed for a second
straight quarter of current
account surplus for the first quar-
ter of fiscal year 2021.
And this would provide some
support to the Indian rupee, the
note said. Current account balan-
ces represent the net of the coun-
try’s exports and imports of goods
and services. It also takes into con-
Imports Exports Trade balance ($ billion)
of the gross domestic product aggressively to avoid a sharp INR
50 (GDP) compared to 2.1% in the appreciation. The INR outlook
40 financial year 2018-19. will also be shaped by extent of
30 “With oil prices likely to remain global liquidity, US-China trade
20 stable in the current range (aver- disputes, India’s border issues and
10 age crude oil price of $40/barrel), the spread of covid,” the report
0 we expect FY2021 current added. The Indian rupee is cur-
-10 account to register a surplus of rently trading at 75.12/$.
-20 0.6% of GDP. Meanwhile, the cap- Coming back to trade data, dur-
Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun
ital account balance may moder- ing June, merchandise exports
Source: Ministry of commerce, Edelweiss Research
ate in FY2021 owing to the volatile contracted 12.4%, while imports
SATISH KUMAR/MINT FPI flows. Factoring this, we dipped 47.6%.
sideration the payments made to of FY20, the current account bal- expect FY2021E balance of pay- Economists do not expect an
foreign investors or inflows from ance recorded a marginal surplus ments to stay hugely in surplus at immediate revival in imports of
them. So, a positive trade balance of $0.6 billion, or about 0.1% of its $59.4 billion,” Kotak Institutional gold and electronics, given the
would translate into a better cur- gross domestic product. This was Equities (KIE) economists said in high prices and uncertainty sur-
rent account balance. the first quarterly surplus in 13 a report dated 15 July. KIE sees the rounding income growth, respec-
In the January-March quarter years and compares with a deficit Indian rupee trading in the tively.

Mark to Market writers do not have positions in the companies they have discussed here
 NEWS FRIDAY, 17 JULY 2020
NEW DELHI 05

India and US inch closer to Conversations on

living wills, death no
sealing limited trade deal longer off the table
Pooja Singh
pooja.s@livemint.com
Flurry of high-level meetings signal progress after two years of tough negotiations NEW DELHI

A
rchana Sharma, 35, had
Asit Ranjan Mishra never really thought
asit.m@livemint.com about her own death
ReNew Power chairman and NEW DELHI till she was hospitalized with
MD Sumant Sinha. MINT covid-19 in early June. Breath-

I
ndia and the US are inching lessness, cough and high fever
ReNew looks closer towards a limited trade
deal after two years of negotia-
Key
considerati
ons for NRI
didn’t leave her for a week
while she was in the ICU. As
tions that would likely offer tar- she started improving, two
to invest up iff concessions to US farm prod-
ucts among others in exchange for
investments
in India
bit.ly/2ZzmHB
thoughts bothered her The pandemic has put death
throughout the isolation at the forefront and sparked
to ₹2,000 cr trade concessions to India.
A potential agreement would
a period: “What will happen to an interest in living wills.
my mother?” and “Who will
PTI

come at a time when India is look- look after me if I’m dying and holds. As Sneha Rooh, a
to set up solar ing for greater trade and strategic
ties with the West, including the
my mother is not around?” Hyderabad-based palliative
Sharma has spent her life in care physician, who brought
cell facility European Union and UK, amid the
escalation of border tensions with
Mumbai, building a career as a the concept of death café to
graphic artist and taking care India a few years ago, puts it:
China. It could also burnish US of her parents. After her “When it comes to topics like
Tanya Thomas President Donald Trump’s creden- father’s death earlier this year, death, we change the subject.
tanya.t@livemint.com tials ahead of the November polls. she gave up her full-time job We ask the person to think
MUMBAI Continuing the flurry of high- and took to freelancing. On 23 positive as if death is negative,
level meetings, trade minister Piy- May, Sharma fell sick. “I had as if it doesn’t happen to every-

R
enewable energy firm
ReNew Power Pvt. Ltd
on Thursday said it is in
discussions with various states
to set up a ₹1,500-2,000 crore
facility to make solar cells and
ush Goyal held talks with US com- diarrhoea and fever.” Sharma one, as if it is a failure of self.”
merce secretary Wilbur Ross on had learnt enough from news- But the pandemic has put
Wednesday. Last week, Goyal papers and social media that death at the forefront. This has
spoke to US Trade Representative these could be symptoms of helped start a more nuanced
Robert Lighthizer to tie the loose covid-19. She tested posi- INESS O
and serious conversation
ends of the long-pending deal. tive and was hospital- US about living wills.

modules. The factory will ini-
tially have a 2GW manufactur-
ing capacity.
“ReNew will manufacture
both solar cells and modules at
the upcoming facility and
endeavour to create a globally
competitive manufacturing
unit,” the company said in a
release. “The company’s foray
into manufacturing will not
only help it in backward inte-
gration but also provide it a bet-
ter control over the supply
chain for critical components,”
it added.
The announcement comes
weeks after Prime Minister
Modi urged Indian industry to
be self-reliant and reduce
dependence on imports. With
over 80% of India’s demand for
solar cells and modules
imported from China, India
plans to impose a basic customs
duty on these items from 1
August to make locally-manu-
factured equipment have a
competitive edge.
“India has grown into a big
market for renewable energy
and the time has come to
reduce our dependence on
imports and start domestic
manufacturing of key compo-
nents. ReNew Power is one of
the biggest generators of
F
“The principals also conversed Trade minister Piyush Goyal held talks with US commerce secretary Wilbur Ross on Wednesday. ized. Those three Delhi’s Nilima Buch,
Life
SONU MEHTA/HT
on the ongoing India-USA trade weeks were “tortur- 44, a professional
discussions and appreciated the expected to partially restore bene- momentum” driven by strong that the statutory requirements of ous, but were a lesson singer and founder of
substantial progress made by both fits accorded to Indian exporters shared interests in promoting the US have to be fulfilled by India on how to be prepared Punah: Zero Waste Choi-
sides on most of the outstanding under the Generalized System of global stability, security and eco- in this regard. He offered to arrange for the future”, she says. ces, a startup that promotes
issues. There was a desire Preferences (GSP), which was ter- nomic prosperity. a meeting between US Social Secu- “Like many Indian families, sustainable living, has been
expressed to conclude this initial minated by Trump from 5 June last He also flagged the long-pending rity administrator and concerned we never discussed death thinking of getting a living will
limited trade package and recogni- year. Both sides may also remove proposal for a Totalization Agree- Indian officials to discuss and find a openly. Even after my dad since her mother-in-law died
zing the complementarities of the the tit-for-tat tariff hikes after the ment to secure the social security possible solution,” the commerce passed away, ma and I proc- four years ago. “She had a liv-
India-USA bilateral trade, ministry said. essed it silently. But covid ing will, and that encouraged
(both sides) discussed the BOOSTING TIES While expressing happi- woke me up to death.” Her us to make one.” Having a liv-
possibility of an FTA,” ness on the US move to research led her to ‘death ing will brings relief to family
India’s commerce ministry A deal could offer BOTH sides may THE US understands DEAL talks come at rescind the earlier decision cafes’, gatherings of strangers members faced with difficult
said in a statement. tariff concessions to remove tit-for-tat India’s viewpoint on a time when India is to revoke foreign student who chat about mortality, and decisions about whether to
US farm products in tariff hikes after US H-1B visa and said it is looking for greater
A limited trade package exchange for trade raised steel tariffs on open to examine it, a ties with West amid visas whose courses have living wills, or a directive that continue treatment. But pre-
under negotiations since concessions to India security grounds govt official said tensions with China moved online due to the states a person’s wishes for paring a living will is not easy.
2018 is expected to cover unfolding coronavirus pan- medical care if they were too Roop Gursahani, senior
tariff-related concessions demic, the Indian side also sick to speak. Sharma is now neurologist, PD Hinduja Hos-
for US farm products, especially US raised steel and aluminium tar- contributions of professionals from raised the suspension of H-1B visa planning to make her living pital, who is part of a group
dairy items, pricing of pharmaceu- iffs on grounds of national security. both sides, which had been also dis- for skilled professionals. “The US will because “I need to be pre- advocating for living wills, says
tical products such as stents and Speaking at the India-US CEO cussed during the visit of President side understood India’s viewpoint pared when I’m in my senses.” besides lack of awareness,
knee implants, and information Forum on Tuesday, Goyal said Trump to India in February. and said it is open to examine it,” a Conversations about grief, “complicated procedures” are
and communication technology bilateral ties between India and the “While appreciating India’s con- commerce ministry official said on death or impending death are discouraging people from
products. In return, Washington is US have acquired “extraordinary cern, Secretary Ross mentioned condition of anonymity. not a big part of Indian house- drawing up their living wills.
Cognizant India begins hunt for a new CMD Voda Idea’s wait for interim relief
Ayushman Baruah
ayushman.b@livemint.com
April 2019, to put Cognizant
back on the growth track.
goes on as TDSAT reserves order
BENGALURU Cognizant’s digital business
grew 19% y-o-y in the March
Ishita Guha

renewable energy in India and
the move to start manufactur-
ing of solar modules and cells is
a natural progression for us. I
C
ognizant Technology quarter, accounting for 41% of the case, but is yet to admit the Also on Monday, Jio asked
Solutions Corp. is scout- revenue during the period. ishita.g@livemint.com application, a person aware of the TDSAT that it wants to be
ing for a new chairman The company has seen a NEW DELHI the matter said on condition of made a party in the case, argu-
and managing director (CMD) series of senior-level exits in the anonymity. “The court will give ing its business will be

firmly believe that atmanir-
bharta in manufacturing will be
key to the next phase of growth
in the renewable sector,”
Sumant Sinha, CMD, ReNew
Power, said.
ReNew Power is India’s larg-
est renewable energy IPP
(independent power producer)
in terms of total energy genera-
tion capacity. It generates
5.4GW through solar and wind
assets, and has another 4.6GW
under various stages of devel-
opment across the country.
ReNew develops, builds, owns
and operates utility-scale wind
and solar energy projects, as
well as distributed solar energy
projects, which generates
power for commercial and
industrial customers.
for India to replace Ramkumar
Ramamoorthy, whose resigna-
tion was announced last week,
after spending 23 years at the
company.
“The new managing director
will serve as the executive com-
mittee (EC) representative of
our 200,000 associates in
India and work with relevant
Indian government agencies,
chambers of commerce, uni-
versities, the media, and key
policy-making bodies, includ-
ing Nasscom,” Brian Hum-
phries, chief executive, Cogni-
zant, said in an internal email.
Ramamoorthy, who will
leave Cognizant on Friday,
reported to the EC comprising
senior leaders including Hum-
phries, chief financial officer
Outgoing Cognizant India chairman and managing director
Ramkumar Ramamoorthy has spent 23 years with the company.
Karen McLoughlin, chief peo-
ple officer Rebecca (Becky)
Schmitt, and chief operating
officer Srinivasan Veeraragha-
vachary.
Humphries did not specify a
timeline but said the search for
a CMD is expected to be com-
pleted in the coming months.
A Cognizant spokesperson
said it is not clear yet whether
the position will be filled by an
external candidate or someone
from within the company.
People familiar with the mat-
ter said the firm is likely to eval-
uate external candidates who
are strong on corporate gov-
ernance and have good under-
standing of the India business
and emerging technologies.
Humphries has been betting
on four key digital areas,
including cloud, digital engi-
neering, data, and internet of
things, ever since he joined in
recent past. Pradeep Shilige
also resigned as global delivery
head after a 24-year stint. Andy
Stafford has been hired as the
new global head of delivery
with immediate effect, though
Shilige will be with the com-
pany till 30 September to
ensure a smooth transition.
Several other senior vice
presidents and vice-presidents
have also resigned in recent
years. They include Jaideep
Poondir, Rajesh Balaji, Vinay-
ambika Kidiyur, Archana Ram-
anakumar, and Vikash Gaur.
The reason for the exits is not
known, but industry insiders
believe it could be a conscious
strategy to refresh the top-
heavy structure of the company
and make it more efficient.
T
he tribunal on telecom its decision on whether Jio’s impacted by the outcome.
disputes on Thursday intervention should be allowed According to Jio’s applica-
reserved its order on or not,” the person said. tion, Trai’s order barring both
whether to grant interim relief The case high- Vodafone Idea
to Vodfaone Idea Ltd, whose lights an increas- Vodafone Idea’s and Bharti Airtel
premium plan for high-paying ingly fierce trian- premium plan for from offering dif-
postpaid users has been put on gular fight for high-paying ferentiated prod-
hold by the sector’s regulator. market share by postpaid ucts in 4G post-
The Telecom Disputes Set- mobile network paid plans was
customers has
tlement and Appellate Tribu- providers. passed following a
nal (TDSAT) is now expected to The TDSAT on been put on complaint filed by
decide the matter within a day Tuesday refused hold by Trai Jio on 8 July. Jio
or two. This will also impact to stay the Trai alleged that Voda-
Bharti Airtel’s Platinum plan, order that stops fone Idea’s RedX
which was put on hold by the Vodafone Idea from offering plan is discriminatory and mis-
Telecom Regulatory Authority faster data speeds and priority leading.
of India (Trai) on 11 July along services to some postpaid users. In its decision, Trai said that
with Voda Idea’s RedX plan. Trai was acting on a com- Airtel and Vodafone Idea’s pre-
The TDSAT on Thursday plaint made by Reliance Jio. mium plans violated service
also heard a plea by Mukesh Vodafone Idea had norms and could lower data
Ambani’s Reliance Jio Info- approached the TDSAT on speeds for those who have not
comm Ltd to be made a party in Monday seeking interim relief. opted for the schemes.

mint scribed 11%. Subscriptions reserved for retail investors and Toyota Kirloskar Motor to resume
employees stood at 21% and 12%, respectively. On the first day, the
SBI Card MD and CEO Hardayal
SHORT TAKES FPO was subscribed 24%. The company set a price band of ₹12-13
per share for the FPO, which will close on Friday. On Tuesday, the
lender informed the stock exchanges that it had allotted 3.41 bil-
Prasad voluntarily retires production at Bidadi from 20 July
Mumbai: Toyota Kirloskar
Motor Pvt. Ltd will resume pro-
REUTERS

NTPC, NIIF ink pact to invest in
clean energy, power distribution
BLOOMBERG Mumbai: NTPC has partnered
with the National Investment and
Infrastructure Fund (NIIF) to
explore business opportunities in
India, the company said on Thurs-
day. NTPC seeks to have nearly 30
GW of its power generation capac-
ity from renewable energy sources
by 2032, it added. TANYA THOMAS
Read More on livemint.com
Yes Bank’s ₹15,000 crore FPO sees
53% subscription on second day
Mumbai: Yes Bank’s ₹15,000-crore follow-on public offering
(FPO) was subscribed 53% on the second day on Thursday. The
portion set aside for qualified institutional buyers was subscribed
1.44 times, while that of non-institutional investors was sub-
lion shares worth ₹4,098 crore to anchor investors a day before
the follow-on offering. The shares were allocated to anchor
investors at ₹12 per share. ASHWIN RAMARATHINAM
Read more on livemint.com
Capital infusion in three insurance
cos credit positive, says Moody’s
New Delhi: Moody’s Investors Service Thursday said the pro-
posed capital infusion into Oriental Insurance Co. Ltd, National
AFP Insurance Co. Ltd and United
India Insurance Co. Ltd is credit-
positive for the three state-owned
insurers as their capital has been
significantly depleted due to sev-
eral loss-making underwriting
years and topline growth. The
cabinet had approved a plan to
infuse ₹12,450 crore into the gen-
eral insurers. SHREYA NANDI
Read more on livemint.com
New Delhi: SBI Cards and Payment Services (SBI Card) on
Thursday said its MD and CEO Hardayal Prasad has
resigned pursuant to voluntary retirement from SBI—the
promoter of the company. “The company Board at its
meeting held on Wednesday, 15 July 2020 approved the
resignation of Hardayal Prasad, managing director and
CEO (nominated by State Bank of India) of the company
who has tendered his resignation from directorship of the
company,” SBI Card said in a regulatory filing.
duction at the plants in Bidadi,
near Bangalore, from 20 July.
The firm’s decision to restart
operations follows the revised
directives issued by the state
government, wherein residents
of Bengaluru urban and rural
districts can commute for work
to the units located inside the industrial estates. AMIT PANDAY
Read more on livemint.com
Icra sees India’s gross domestic
product shrinking by 9.5% in FY21
Mumbai: Domestic rating agency Icra has revised its forecast for
contraction in the country’s GDP in the current fiscal to 9.5%
from 5% earlier, as continued lockdowns in some states have
affected the recovery seen in May and June. Most of the analysts
have projected the country’s GDP to contract in the range of
PTI 5-6.5% in this fiscal. “We have sharply revised our forecast with
the climbing covid-19 infections resulting in lockdowns.” PTI
06 FRIDAY, 17 JULY 2020
NEW DELHI CORPORATE
INDIA FIGHTS BACK
The ones who beat the coronavirus
To survive covid-19 is to experience a range of emotions from fear to gratitude, which push one to reflect on mortality and make one more resilient
Seethalakshmi S March, Bhat knew he had probably caught others through it too,” he recalls.
the virus. He had mild symptoms when he Xavier got into a routine during his

K
unal Ganna, 21, is unlikely to landed in Bengaluru and chose to isolate 16-day hospital stay. “Meals were my
forget the call he got on 20 and get tested. “When my swab test markers. I would tell myself I would do a
March at 11am. The voice on the returned positive for covid, my family was certain task before breakfast, one before
other end told him he’d tested devastated.” Bhat was worried too, but put lunch, one before dinner. I reflected a lot
positive for the novel coronavi- on a brave face to calm his family, espe- on how life can change when you least
rus. Ganna had returned home to Benga- cially his grandparents. expect it,” says the RJ who is back to doing
luru from university in Edinburgh a week “I packed three sets of clothes, that’s all his daily radio shows. Post-covid, he finds
earlier, one of the many students who took I could grab before I left, and wore those himself sneezing a lot more. “I am sure this
the last flights out to escape the rapidly for 18 days in hospital,” he says. He’s home too shall pass,” says Xavier.
spreading virus in the UK. now and back to his usual hour of yoga For some, the panic and anxiety can be
“I thought my friends were playing a daily, “but I have slowed down”, he says. all-consuming. After a holiday in France
prank on me,” he says. “The doctor said “It takes time for the body to recover full with his wife, techie Dhruv Chandok was
the ambulance would be at my door in 30 strength.” After discharge, one spends back at work. He had a nagging headache
minutes.” Suddenly, it was all too real. another 14 days in home quarantine. on 9 March and attributed it to jet lag. “I
Ganna called his father at work, and told Bhat will never forget the moment finished the day at the office but that night
him he had tested positive for covid-19 everyone in the ward—doctors, nurses, I developed a high fever,” he says. The
and had to be hospitalised for two weeks. health workers and patients—clapped next morning, he got himself tested. “The
“He went silent. He was so shocked, he when he walked out. “It made me realise doctors said if the test was negative, I’d get

couldn’t speak.” Ganna quickly hung up,
packed his laptop, phone and all his char-
gers and left in the ambulance.
He spent 22 days in Bengaluru’s KC
General Hospital, the longest he’s ever
been in a medical institution, before he
was discharged. But it would be another
three weeks before he regained his full
strength. Three months later, he’s back to
his regular routine, cycling every day and
working out at home.
Ganna is one of the 6.13 lakh people
who have made a complete recovery from
covid-19 in India. Most describe the recov-
ery process as “weeks that feel like a life-
time” or a “rebirth”, considering the fear
they and their families feel, and the stigma
‘
the value of life. This is no ordinary flu. an email, and if it was positive, they
I want to tell everyone, would come and take me
whether they’re fine right to hospital,” he says.
now or in hospital bat- At first, you panic, you But when the lab
tling the virus, that it can worry. Later, you get called, it was to tell him
be conquered if we into fight mode and the result was inconclu-
strictly follow the guide- sive. “I was so upset, wor-
lines our doctors and you diligently obey ried, confused. I had to be
nurses tell us,” he says. everything the doctor to hospital till they con-
For radio jockey and nurses tell you. firmed it. I was scared of
A health worker in a PPE suit demonstrates a yoga asana for patients at a temporary covid-19 ward in New Delhi’s Commonwealth Jimmy Xavier, it was the hospital. I thought it
Dhruv Chandok
Games Village on Thursday. AFP work that kept his spirits Software engineer
would be horrible, like a
up during the two weeks jail. I didn’t want to be
that I could go home,” he says. The first set Dancer and choreographer Diya Naidu, apartment. By the third week, Naidu he spent in Bengaluru’s alone. But the hospital
of results, after 10 days in hospital, were 37, tested positive for covid soon after she began to do yoga and strength exercise Victoria Hospital after testing positive for where I was isolated was nothing like what
positive. It was back to waiting, watching returned from Switzerland on 16 March. “I online. “I realised that every time I got covid-19 in April. “It came as a shock when I imagined. The room was good, the
more shows, and keeping his spirits up. have no words to explain how I felt the stressed, my fever and throat pain shot up. I tested positive because I had been care- healthcare workers encouraging. I was in

they continue to face. To fight and survive
covid-19 is to experience, sometimes
within a few hours, a range of emotions
from fear and dread to hope and gratitude,
which push one to reflect on mortality and
make one more resilient.
“It was emotionally draining. I watched
Netflix and video chatted with my family,
but every time I talked, I would be racked
with cough. My parents banned talking
and took to texting me,” Ganna says.
The isolation and the wait for test
results is nerve-wracking. The test results
have to come back negative twice within
14 days before a patient can be discharged.
“Every time the door opened, I would
think it was someone with the results. I
wanted to hear that word ‘negative’, so
‘
“By this time, cases had gone up so it moment I got the results,” she says. “I I had no choice but to calm down.’’ ful, but I was mentally prepared because I a terrible state of mind and they helped me
took 8 days for the sec- kept telling myself I will Naidu still complains of a nagging pain had gained knowledge from experts I had through it,” he says.
ond test results.” It was fight but I was also petri- in the throat, and headaches on long interviewed for my show.” For all of them, the first four or five days
negative, and Ganna The doctors and nurses fied. What if I’d spread it working days. “We do not know how the When the ambulance arrived, he was were a time of anguish. “Later, you get into
couldn’t wait to go home. gave me strength. to others? That fear was virus has impacted the body in the long not upset or anxious. “No fatal thoughts, I fight mode. You diligently obey what the
“The experience made Fighting covid-19 is a too much for me.” term. I have consciously slowed down. told myself.” His family had to be quaran- doctor and nurses tell you. When I recov-
me realize how fortunate She was hospitalized That is the lesson: Respect your body. It tined for two weeks, and tested. None of ered, I said I will do everything to save
I am,” he says. Once he brush with mortality, for three weeks, and says was a brush with mortality, and a lesson to them had the infection. Xavier began another life. I have registered for plasma
had recovered fully, and a lesson to respect the doctors and nurses respect and love your health,” she says. posting thoughts on Instagram, and donation,” says the software engineer.
Ganna donated his and love your health. infused her with hope. “I Fighting covid-19 requires mental responses from fans helped him, he says. None of them checked covid updates or
plasma. “I felt I had to vol- was very down one day, strength, says Aditya Bhat, 25. For him, Xavier was in a ward with 41 other the news even when they were online in
Diya Naidu
unteer and try save a life,” Dancer & choreographer and a nurse came to me the challenge was not talking. “If I talked patients, most of them asymptomatic. hospital. Sleepless nights were common,
he says. Many of those and said: ‘I cannot hold for three-four minutes at a stretch, I would They had to wear masks all the time, and especially the day before the test results
who recovered have your hand, but I am pray- cough and feel tired. It took time for that health workers constantly reminded them were to arrive. Many spent time thinking
donated or registered to donate plasma for ing for you’. I will never forget that.” to pass, but I am back to normal now. I not to move masks or touch things unnec- about family. Bhat says the real battle is
therapy. The plasma of a person who has The initial days were harrowing and her think this is a lesson I’ve learnt for life— essarily as they could spread the virus. against fear, and the best weapon is men-
recovered from an illness contains anti- neighbours called often, not to check on talking less,” he says with a laugh. “Fear engulfed everyone and that was the tal strength. “Keep telling yourself: ‘I will
bodies that could help another patient. her, but to ask her to move out of her After a business trip to Spain in early time when one had to be strong, and talk not die. I will fight it’. That’s what I did.”

‘The idea of sentience is important as past data may not indicate the future’
FROM PAGE 1
to West... If you want to get enough eco-
nomic growth equitably, then you have to
make the Indian economy more efficient
and more interoperable internally. I think
some of the decisions this government
has taken now on the whole APMC (agri-
cultural produce market committee) is an
example of trying to create a national
market for agriculture.
GST (goods and services tax) is an
example of creating a national market for
goods and services. So I think it is inevita-
ble, it is necessary; we have to find the
right balance between the Cen-
tre and the states so that
both parties have a stake
in the game.
There is a surge in
the use of tech in
the wake of cov-
id-19. Do you
think this has
given a fresh
lease to the idea of using tech to do some of these things so that people have
social good? access everywhere. All this can only be
Absolutely. The pandemic has brought enabled through technology.
home the benefits of technology. One, of What is the kind of architecture that
course, is applications such as Arogya a new India can look at?
Sethu for contact tracing; the fact that Every service provided by the govern-
today the Supreme Court is conducting ment should be digitally enabled so that
hearings on videoconference is some- it is accessible over a wire or a phone any-
thing you would not have imagined where... For example, in the case of PDS,
before the pandemic. if I have national portability, a migrant in
And then the fact that the world’s larg- Delhi and his wife staying in a village in
est cash-transfer programme has been so Bihar should be able to withdraw their
easy because of Aadhaar-DBT(direct ben- PDS entitlement and each can take a part
efit transfer)—there were 400 million of it.
Aadhaar-enabled transactions in May and We also have to think of two models,
June... This will be the turning point in what I call assisted service and self-ser-
the (deployment of) useful technologies vice. Western society tends to have self-
for social development. service because everybody is educated,
So it looks like the enabling environ- rich and has a smartphone. In a country
ment we have today is most condu- like India where many people may not
cive to nurture an open digital eco- have full literacy and may not have access
system like UPI (unified payments to devices, you need both.
interface). This requires an information highway,
Actually, there are many things in play the building blocks of which have been in
at the ground level. I will focus on both the making for the last 10 years. Given
the digital and internal globalization this free exchange of information, the pri-
together. Fundamentally, how do we vacy of data must be ensured. We have
vote when they migrate. I think health- do to be financially sustainable, resilient,
care is another important thing which, agile and responding to opportunities and
hopefully, the current crisis will acceler- threats, de-layering and de-bureaucratiz-
ate... Then there is education. It is com- ing your firm and making yourself senti-
pounded by the fact that we are going to ent where the nerve tips of your organiza-
have many multilingual states in future tion are able to immediately sense the
because of migration. change of the environment? These are all
How do we anticipate and respond to some of the things to be done for new
challenges like the pandemic? audacious goals that companies have to
You are asking me to talk about set for themselves.
“unknown unknowns”. I am a great pro- Data has become absolutely histori-
ponent of using digital methods to leap- cal. You need fresh sets of data to, as
frog. At the same time, I recognize that if you have put it and people are saying,
the digital architecture is not open, inter- to re-imagine things. Isn’t that so?
operable and competitive, then you end Yes. Actually, that is why the whole
up creating a new class of intermediaries. idea of sentience is very important
For me, (the question is) how do you make because past data may not indicate the
these happen in a way we do not replace future. So your ability to sense what is
old overlords with new digital overlords? happening around you, both from data as
The second thing is that in excessive well as your own insights, becomes very
dependence on digitization we have to important. One of the reasons digital
make sure people have the capacity to giants do so well is that they use data
deal with it. Inequality is exacerbated in a exhaustively to sense changes in the mar-
digital world. ket. Every company will have to do that
There is a point Yuval Noah Harari because things are going to change very
makes about technology and cooper- quickly and the past is no indication of the
ation. Do you think that in the future.

Nandan Nilekani, co-founder and
non-executive chairman of the
board of Infosys Ltd
‘ ‘
create a national econ- come a long way forward present situation we If you were asked to
omy where goods, servi- in the privacy space. In have overestimated set three or five auda-
ces, people and capital Every service provided 2010, I had written to the technology and If the digital architec- cious goals for India in
move freely? We do have prime minister that we underestimated coop- the current circum-
free movement of peo- by the government should have a privacy eration? ture is not open, inter- stances, what would
ple, and that is shown in should be digitally law. A lot has happened I agree with you... As operable and competi- they be?
the migration that has enabled so that it is since then. One is, of technology becomes tive, then you will end I think one is, how do
happened.
Our migration is going
accessible over a wire course, the landmark
judgement of the
more and more main-
stream and part of the
we achieve full and effec-
up creating a new class tive literacy and numer-
to go up because the fer- or a phone anywhere Supreme Court that Indi- fibre of your life, then of intermediaries. acy universally in the
tility rate of southern and ans do have a fundamen- obviously it will become next five years... If we put
western states is below tal right to privacy. At the subservient to politics, our minds to it, we can
replacement level, whereas the TFR (total same time, the SC came out with a bril- ideology, security and privacy concerns... address learning outcomes at scale in
fertility rate) of some of the northern and liant judgement that said there are some That is going to be the future. every language and every nook and cor-
north-eastern states like Assam is above situations where some of the rights can be You said this before about how Info- ner... (O)ther countries that have either
fertility level. As a result, the bulk of circumscribed; they also said any circum- sys set a very audacious goal of $1 bil- not done it or have done it at a very high
young people over the next decade will be scription of privacy should be propor- lion when it was around $100 million. cost; we can do it at low cost. The second
coming from these four to eight states. tional, reasonable and be supported by How would you recalibrate that goal is about transforming healthcare and
There is going to be internal migration law. if you had a similar challenge today? making sure everyone has access to it at
from these states to the western coastal You said 50% of India has arrived I think the pandemic is a gigantic stress the lowest possible cost. The third is
states or the southern states... there. What is the other 50% that test on the world. Companies, in particu- transforming the delivery of justice, equi-
When people move around like that, needs to be done? lar, are being stressed and clearly, it is tably, quickly and cheaply... The fourth is
you have to make sure that every service I mean 50% of the digital infrastructure starting to distinguish those who have creating a social welfare net that is acces-
should be instantly accessible wherever is in place. What is in place is national resilient and successful business models sible by everyone at the right time, place
they are. Today, my Aadhaar number is a identity, national payments and banking, from those who do not... Audacious goals and quantum. Finally, how do we make
nationally usable number; bank account, and national mobile phones. The PDS sys- are not just about size but also about how data work for people? The western model
too, is nationally usable; so is my mobile tem needs to be nationally mobile. GST you make sure you are more resilient and makes it work for large firms and govern-
number. This should be applied for other has given us the foundation for the are more agile and quick to respond to cri- ments. How do we ensure data empower-
things, too. national indirect tax system, which of sis and opportunities... I think the biggest ment? India can be completely data
If I am eligible for something from the course needs to be further simplified, but learning from all this is that if you want to empowered in five years. These five
PDS (public distribution system), I should fundamentally, the thing is there. FASTag be in charge of your destiny, generate things are not only audacious, they are
be able to get it anywhere in the country. has made it possible to drive a truck from your own money... All the great compa- doable, plausible, transformational and
If I want an education in my mother Delhi to Kanyakumari without having to nies became great because they were essential.
MINT tongue, I should get that anywhere in the stop for paying toll... We need to have a profitable and generated large amounts of Gireesh Chandra Prasad contributed to
country. We have to really re-imagine way for voters to be able to move their cash... How do you re-imagine what you the story.
 CORPORATE FRIDAY, 17 JULY 2020
NEW DELHI 07
INDIA FIGHTS BACK

How India compares at 1 mn cases

India is the third country to hit 1 million cases of covid-19. How does it compare with the other two and other top 10 countries by caseload—on various counts and at various points in time—during this pandemic?
howindialives.com

DISEASE
The lows are good, but where’s the peak?
India is the third country to hit a million reported covid-19 cases. Among the three, it has taken the longest, 114 days, to get there since
reporting 10 deaths (Chart 1). Further, adjusted for population, India’s count of reported covid-19 cases and deaths is the lowest among the
set of 10 countries with the highest caseload, though India is also near the bottom in testing (Chart 2). More worryingly, India’s curve of new
cases is on a rising trajectory, and is showing no sign of bending mildly and temporarily (like the US in the middle), let alone decisively (like
Italy and the UK). Where India’s peak might be, and how far away, remains a huge concern.
LOCKDOWN
India had the strictest shutdown
The Oxford Covid-19 Government Response Stringency Index is a composite measure based on nine response indicators
including school closures, workplace closures and travel bans, rescaled to a value from 0 to 100 (where 100 is the strictest
response). The relevant point here is when restrictions are eased (the line graph curves down). Data for the 3 million-plus
countries shows that India was the only one among the three to opt for the hardest lockdown, for about 40 days. India has
since inched below Brazil, but is still more restrictive than the US.

Oxford Covid-19 Government Response Stringency Index

Chart1: Cumulative cases
57 days 92 days 114 days 100
10,000,000 India
US
Brazil 80
1,000,000 India
Russia UK Italy
60 US
Iran
100,000
Cases
Peru Mexico
40 1,000 10,000 100,000 1,000,000
Chile
10,000 Brazil 22 Mar 5 Apr 4 May 20 Jun
20 India 30 Mar 14 Apr 19 May 16 Jul
Brazil
US 11 Mar 20 Mar 28 Mar 29 Apr
1,000

0
1 Feb 2020 10 Jul 2020
100
Source: ourworldindata.org, which in turn sourced it from European CDC (case data) and Hale, Webster, Petherick, Phillips, and Kira (2020),
Oxford Covid-19 Government Response Tracker (index data).

10
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 110 120 130 140
Days since 10 deaths ECONOMY

Chart2: Per capita indicators The lockdown knock-on effect

Cases per million population Deaths per million population Tests per thousand population The Composite Leading Indicator (CLI) is an OECD measure designed to provide early signals of turning points in business
cycles. The CLI shows fluctuations in economic activity around the long-term potential (measured as 100 for the period from
UK 4,292 662 106 January 2005 to June 2020). In the top 10 set, India was the furthest from its long-term potential in April, May and June (Chart
1). In the first quarter of 2020, India registered the highest growth in this set, by virtue of the tailwinds it had (Chart 2).
Italy 4,025 579 99 Countries are yet to announce GDP numbers for the first quarter, the worst period. It looks ominous, as export data shows.
In March and April, India’s export growth was hit hardest in this set.
US 10,367 412 122

Peru 10,126 371 9 Chart 1: OECD Composite Leading Indicator Chart 2: GDP growth
(index values) (in %) Q4 2019 Q1 2020
Chile 16,713 370 69 6
Feb Mar Apr May Jun
Brazil 9,065 349 NA 4.1
Brazil 102 100 95 96 99 4
5 3.3
Mexico 2,416 282
Chile 100 98 96 98 100 2.3
24 2 1.8 1.6
Iran 3,121 157 1.5
India 100 96 90 91 91 1.1 0.8
160 0.3 0.5
Russia 5,070 80 -1.7 -2.2 0.1 -2.4 -0.2
Italy 99 96 92 93 95 0
India 678 18 9
Data as on 15 July
Mexico 100 99 99 99 99
-2
Russia 99 98 91 93 97
Chart3: New cases
-4
7-day moving average of new cases UK 100 98 91 92 97
-5.4
100,000
US 99 98 93 94 96 -6
US US UK Russia Mexico Italy India Chile Brazil
Brazil
India Chart 3: Growth in exports
Chile
Year-on-year growth (in %) Feb Mar Apr
10,000 10
Russia
Mexico
0
Peru
Iran
-10

-20
1,000
UK -30

-40

Italy
-50

100
-60
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 110 120 130
Days since 10 deaths -70
Note: In Chart 1 and 3, data has been represented on a logarithmic scale, instead of a linear scale, to enable better visual representation of extreme values. Brazil Chile India Italy Mexico Russia UK US

Source: Our World in Data Note: Data for Iran and Peru not available Source: Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD)

CITIES DISTRICTS

Something in the air Wider spread in districts, but not always wilder
In the five-plus months the virus has been in India, it has fanned out. A case has now been reported in about 98%
The charts below track nitrogen dioxide levels—a proxy for the level of economic activity in a region—against caseload for the 4 cities that are leading
of India’s districts. The only saving grace is that, going by the number of reported cases, in a large number of
contributors to the 1 million number in these 3 countries. In terms of cases, only in New York is the curve flattening. In terms of nitrogen dioxide (NO2)
districts, the speed of that spread is not yet at the alarming levels of, say, some major metropolitan districts.
levels, during the lockdown, Mumbai and Delhi deviated from their normal levels relatively more, though they are all on the recovery track.

Change in NO2 levels (%) Cumulative cases (left-hand scale) 10,000 cases 100,000 cases 1 million cases

120,000
MUMBAI 80 140,000
DELHI 80
1-100
101-1,000
60 60 1,001-5,000
100,000 120,000
40 40 5,001 and above
100,000
80,000 20 20

0 80,000 0
60,000
-20 60,000 -20

40,000 -40 -40

40,000
-60 -60
20,000
20,000 Doubling rate
-80 -80

0 -100 0 -100 0-5 days

2 Mar 15 Jul 2 Mar 15 Jul 5-10 days
10-20 days
250000
NEW YORK 80 80000 RIO DE JANEIRO 80 Above 20 days

60 60
200000 40 40
60000
20 20
150000
0 0
40000 Share of district
-20 -20 in state cases
100000
-40 -40 0-1%
-60
20000
-60 1.01-5%
50000
5.01-15%
-80 -80 Above 15%
0 -100 0 -100
1 Mar 15 Jul 6 Mar 15 Jul
Note: The charts show tropospheric NO2 levels computed as a rolling 7-day moving average, and then calculated as the percentage change from similar data from a year earlier.
Source: TROPOMI sensor aboard the Sentinel 5P satellite, launched by the European Space Agency; Our World in Data
howindialives.com is a search engine for public data GRAPHICS BY PARAS JAIN/MINT Source: Ministry of health and family welfare, National Disaster Management Authority, state health ministries, and national/regional publications
08 FRIDAY, 17 JULY 2020
NEW DELHI

REPORTAGE | TALKING POINTS | IDEAS | INSIGHT | THE BOTTOMLINE

INDIAN BANKS ARE IN

FOR A ₹20-TRILLION HOLE
A pile of bad loans is expected to clog the financial system by the year-end. Does anyone have a revival plan?

Many individuals are no longer in a position

to continue repaying the loans that they
had taken from banks as well as NBFCs.
They haven’t started defaulting yet because
until 31 August, they can opt for a
moratorium on their loans. SUNIL GHOSH/HT

Vivek Kaul likely to spill over to banks. Post demone-
feedback@livemint.com
MUMBAI
tization, banks had a surfeit of money
coming in as deposits, which found its way
into the shadow banking sector. As of
August, that means 1 December onwards. rate of 12%. THE WAY AHEAD
mint
In a 3 June report, Suresh Ganapathy,
Parth Gutka and Nishant Shah of Mac-
quarie Securities estimate: “Currently
SHORT
STORY
Over and above this, as Ananth Narayan
of SP Jain Institute of Management and I t’s time the government got around to
the idea of diluting its stake in PSBs up
Research wrote in the Mint in early June: to 33%, something that the then finance

U
nlike many central bank gov- December 2016, bank lending to NBFCs 20-30% of the loan book is under morato- “For a while now, RBI has allowed banks minister Yashwant Sinha had talked
ernors who have tried hard to had stood at ₹3.22 trillion. By May 2020, rium. The… initial signs based on the feed- WHAT to postpone non-performing asset recog- about in the budget speech he made in
stay tight-lipped during the the lending had jumped to ₹8.04 trillion. back from banks and consultancies is that nition for some of the over ₹8 trillion of February 2000. This will allow PSBs to
pandemic, Shaktikanta Das, Hence, if NBFC borrowers’ default, by end-August, more than 50% of the loan The negative economic impact MSME, MUDRA and commercial real raise real capital from the financial mar-
the governor of the Reserve NBFCs will find it difficult to repay bank book could be under moratorium.” of covid-19 will lead to increased estate loans.” If we take this into account, ket. Of course, all this will happen only if
Bank of India (RBI), did not beat around loans. In another report dated 30 June, Kajal defaults by borrowers. If the overall picture gets even more scary. the government of the day wants this to
the bush in his latest speech. At a banking A Bloomberg news report published in Gandhi, Vishal Narnolia and Yash Batra of one-fifth of loans under In a world where the rate of recovery of happen.
conclave last weekend, he said: “The eco- early July points out that the rating firms ICICI Securities write: “In terms of (the) moratorium default, NPAs could bad loans was high, this wouldn’t be a big To conclude, if the experience of the
nomic impact of the pandemic… may have submitted a document to RBI where moratorium trend, public sector banks touch a record ₹20 trillion problem. But the rate of recovery through last decade is anything to go by, what is
result in higher non-performing assets they have suggested that they will have to reported approximately 40-50% of the various channels has fallen over the years. likely to happen is that the can will be
(NPAs) and capital erosion of banks. A stop publishing credit scores of many book under moratorium… Mid-sized pri- In 2012-13, around 22% of the amount that kicked down the road.
recapitalization plan for public sector companies which haven’t been providing vate banks reported higher moratorium AND was sought to be recovered through vari- By 2011, it was largely clear that PSBs
banks (PSBs) and private banks has, there- adequate information or have stopped above 50% due to substantial exposure to ous mechanisms was recovered. By were in trouble, thanks to the lending
fore, become necessary.” paying the fees to rating firms. This could MSME, auto and MFI segment, which With defaults, banks will need to 2018-19, this had fallen to 15.5%. And this binge they had indulged in between 2004
In simple English, what Das said was potentially impact nearly half of the com- were the most impacted. In contrast, the be recapitalized, that is, more is despite the Insolvency and Bankruptcy and 2011. But the clean-up only started in
that the negative economic impact of cov- panies which currently go through a regu- moratorium book of large-sized private money will have to be invested in Code coming into the picture. mid-2015 when Rajan, the then RBI gov-
id-19 will lead to increased defaults by lar rating exercise. Hence, many compa- banks was relatively lower at about them to keep them going. There Given this dire scenario, it is not sur- ernor, started the asset quality review of
borrowers. How bad is it going to get? If nies are in trouble and want to hide that by 20-30%.” is already enough evidence of prising that RBI governor Das is already banks.
one-twentieth of the loans which are not sharing information. Clearly, in the Hence, it is safe to assume that by 31 the impending storm talking about a recapitalization plan for Up until then, the Reserve Bank of India
likely to be under a moratorium as of 31 months to come, many of these firms will August, around half of the bank loans will banks. It is hardly surprising that the big- had tried to practise what it called regula-
August are defaulted on, the overall quan- not be in a position to continue repaying be under a moratorium. As of 19 June, the gest private banks are already in the proc- tory forbearance and showed restraint. It
tum of bad loans in the Indian banking their loans. total non-food credit of commercial banks NOW ess of raising more capital to be ready for came up with several restructuring
system would be close to ₹12 trillion. If A recent report in Mint points out that had stood at ₹101.56 trillion. the time when the loan defaults start to schemes allowing banks to increase the
one-fifth of them default once the mora- between April and end-June, 5.58 million The Food Corporation of India along It’s time the government got hit. An ICICI Securities report dated 15 tenure of the loans or decrease the inter-
torium is lifted, the quantum of bad loans salaried-individuals withdrew money with state procurement agencies buy agri- around to the idea of diluting its July estimates “greater than US$20bn (Rs est rate charged. In some cases, new loans
would touch a dizzying ₹20 trillion, more from their Employees’ Provident Fund cultural crops, primarily rice and wheat, stake in public sector banks 1.5 trillion) of equity raising by banks… were also given so that corporates could
than double the current level. account, suggesting a steep fall in directly from farmers. Banks finance this (PSBs) up to 33%. This will allow over the next 12-18 months.” repay the old loans which were due. All
These are extremely conservative esti- incomes. Hence, many individuals are no purchase. Once these loans are subtracted PSBs to raise capital from This also means that the bureaucrats at this helped banks postpone the recogni-
mates, of course. Not surprisingly, former longer in a position to continue repaying from overall loans given by banks what the financial market the department of financial services, tion of bad loans.
RBI governor Raghuram Rajan said the loans that they had taken from banks remains is non-food credit. which is responsible for public sector The idea behind this was that the banks
recently: “The levels of NPA will be as well as NBFCs. The only reason they Keeping in mind the slow growth in banks, must wake up to the possibility of would manage to grow out of this by giv-
unprecedented six months from now.” haven’t started defaulting is because until credit over the last few months, let’s say default are high. raising more capital for these banks. The ing out new loans and ultimately bad
With increased defaults, banks will 31 August, they can opt for a moratorium the non-food credit increases to around As the analysts at Macquarie quoted trouble is, if the government wants to con- loans would become a very small part of
need to be recapitalized, that is, more on their loans. But defaults will explode ₹102 trillion by 31 August. If half of these earlier point out: “If we assume 20% of the tinue to maintain its ownership level in the overall loans. Of course, that didn’t
money will have to be invested in them to September onwards. loans go under a moratorium, that would loan book under moratorium going bad, these banks, then it needs to invest more happen.
keep them going. In fact, there is already In general, private banks have put work out to loans worth around ₹51 tril- then non-performing loans (NPLs) accre- money in them. And right now, it’s terri- From the looks of it, the practice of
enough evidence of increased pressure in almost all new recruitment on hold. But lion. Even if just 5% of the loans expected tion will be at 10% implying that NPLs will bly short of money. kicking bad loans down the road is likely
the banking system in they continue to recruit to be under moratorium are defaulted on, double from current levels of 10%.” Since October 2017, to be followed this time
the days ahead and of people in their loan-re- then we are looking at additional bad the government has around as well. There is
the impending storm. Private banks have put almost covery functions. This is loans worth ₹2.55 trillion. At 5% and 10% THE RESCUE PLANS worked its way around In the environment that will already a lot of talk going

SIZE OF THE HOLE

all new recruitment on hold, a clear indication of the
fact that they are gearing
default rates, the additional bad loans will
amount to ₹5.1 trillion and ₹7.65 trillion, I t needs to be pointed here that banks
have been dealing with a massive prob-
this problem by issuing
recapitalization bonds.
emerge, savers will be hit as around about the
finance ministry and

A s per the rating

of assets under manage-

except in loan-recovery. This up to handle increased
agency ICRA, 52% is a clear indication that they retail loan defaults. The
trouble will be more on
respectively. At a 20% default rate, we are
looking at additional bad loans worth
₹10.2 trillion.
lem of bad loans over the last decade. As of
31 March 2018, the bad loans of Indian
banks had peaked at ₹10.36 trillion.
The government issues the interest on bank deposits RBI discussing a one-
bonds which are bought
by the PSBs. The govern-
will go down further due to time restructuring plan.
Of course, in the envi-
ment of non-banking are gearing up to handle the unsecured lending It needs to be said here that opting for Thanks to recoveries and write-offs, the ment then uses this the reluctance of many banks ronment that will
finance companies front, essentially loans loans to be put under a moratorium comes bad loans as of 31 March 2020 amounted money to invest in the emerge, many banks
(NBFCs) were under a increased retail loan defaults like personal loans, con- with a cost. The interest due on the loans to ₹9.4 trillion (as per ICICI Securities). PSBs and provides them to give fresh loans won’t like giving fresh
moratorium as of May sumer durable loans and for the period they were under a morato- The bad loan rate was at 9.4%. with capital. Basically, loans, and individual
2020. Even if 10% of these loans are credit card outstandings. rium will be added to the principal out- Hence, if 20% of the loans expected to this is how government borrows money and corporate borrowing will take a back-
defaulted on, the gross NPAs of NBFCs standing and a borrower will have to repay be under moratorium are defaulted on, from banks and converts it into capital. seat as well. Hence, the interest on bank
will more than double and reach 9.6% of THE TIMELINE a higher amount. Also, it needs to be said another ₹10.2 trillion will be added to the This is fundamentally nothing but an deposits will go down further. That’s the
loans as of March 2021. They were at 4.6%
as of March 2020. Gross NPAs, also G iven that the lockdown started in
late-March, bad loans should have
referred to as bad loans, are basically loans already started piling up by now. But that
here that most banks gave borrowers the
option to opt-in for the moratorium.
Hence, only borrowers who would be
bad loans. Therefore, total bad loans will
amount to close to ₹20 trillion or 20% of
the banking loans. Even if just 5% of loans
accounting trick, which ensures that the minimum cost you and I will bear for this
government doesn’t end up putting upcoming banking crisis. As they say, in
money earned through taxes into the economics, there is no free lunch.
which haven’t been repaid for a period of hasn’t happened, thanks to the morato- really stretched for money would have expected to be under a moratorium are PSBs. Since October 2017, more than ₹2.5 Vivek Kaul is the author of Bad Money—
90 days or more. rium. Hence, banks will start categorizing opted for a moratorium. Given this, the defaulted on, we are looking at overall bad trillion worth of these bonds have been Inside The NPA Mess And How It Threat-
Any trouble at the level of NBFCs is loans as bad loans only 90 days after 31 chances that a good number of them will loans of around ₹12 trillion and a bad loans issued. ens The Indian Banking System

Up to 20% jobs
may be cut: Ficci
New jobs will open up for 5-10% workers, report says
Prashant K. Nanda
prashant.n@livemint.com
NEW DELHI
A
utomation, digital
labour and gig
workers will see
more traction in
the manufactur-
ing sector, while 10-20% of
existing jobs in labour-inten-
sive sectors will face cuts due
to the changing post-covid
business environment, an
industry report said on Thurs-
day.
While 10-15% of automobile
and allied sector jobs may be
wiped out, 15-20% workers in
textiles and apparel may be
made redundant in the new
world order. However, new
jobs will open up to accommo-
date 5-10% of workers, said a
report by the Federation of
Indian Chambers of Com-
merce and Industry (Ficci).
By 2022, at least 50% of the
workers will be in jobs with
radically-changed skill sets in
the auto sector and up to 40%
in textiles and apparel, the
report, written in collabora-
tion with Nasscom and con-
sulting firm EY, added.
Apparel data scientists,
environment specialists and
IT process engineers, among
others, will be the new job cat-
egories in textiles, while
demand for automobile ana-
lytics engineers, machine
learning-based vehicle cyber-
security experts, 3D printing
technicians and sustainability
integration experts will rise.
“The biggest challenge
faced by the organizations,
especially in manufacturing,
will be to get back to work and
re-imagine work as it embra-
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NEWS FRIDAY, 17 JULY 2020
NEW DELHI 09
DANCE OF THE SYNCHRONIZED QUANTUM PARTICLES
and rotational periods of the Moon have, over time,
synchronized with the rotation of our Earth. Your heart
in some regular, rhythmic motion. Strictly, it is that
motion of the oscillators that synchronizes. But we’re
A M AT T E R
OF NUMBERS
DILIP D’SOUZA
beats because the thousands of “pacemaker” cells it
contains pulse in synchrony. Some years ago, a bridge
of a new and radical design was built over the Thames
in London. When it was opened, people swarmed onto
it on foot. It quickly started swaying disconcertingly
dealing here with objects we can see, which means the
rules of “classical” physics apply. Quantum objects like
atoms behave differently. In fact, Ghosh told me that
spin-1 atoms are not really oscillating in the same sense
as pendulums and starlings in flight. Still, with that
from side to side — enough, in turn, to force the pedes- caveat in place, there are ways in which we can abstract
Respond to this column at trians to walk in a certain awkward way just to keep their motion and treat them as oscillators.
feedback@livemint.com their footing. On video, you’ll see hundreds of people In their experiment, the IIT team shot pulses of light
on the bridge, all walking awkwardly but in step. at the group of rubidium atoms. Light is made up of
Y
ears ago, I spent a happy long weekend in New In his book Sync: The Emerging Science of Spontane- photons, which are like minuscule bundles of energy.
York with a gang of good friends. We took in a ous Order, the mathematician Steven Strogatz writes: When they hit an atom, they “flip” its spin. Embodied
boat ride around Manhattan, a band in a tiny “At the heart of the universe is a steady, insistent beat: in that flip is the photons’ quantum information; in a
smoke-filled bar in Greenwich Village and plenty of the sound of cycles in sync. It pervades nature at every real way, the photons are actually stored in these
New York’s famous pizza. And we spent time discuss- scale from the nucleus to the cosmos.” He goes on to flipped atoms. This happens with such precision that
ing, of all things, the McClintock Effect. observe that this tendency for synchronization “does you can later flip the atoms back and release the pho-
Three of our gang, you see, were women. On our sec- not depend on intelligence, or life, or natural selection. tons, thus “retrieving” the stored light. In fact, with this
ond morning, all three found their periods had kicked It springs from the deepest source of all: the laws of storage and retrieval behaviour, the atoms are like
in. They were so charmed and amused by this that they physics”. And that’s where IIT Kanpur comes in. memory cells, and this is part of the mechanism of
forgot any possible cramps or migraines. This was, they In 2018, a team of Swiss researchers looked at the quantum computing. (See my column from October
told us ignorant men, “menstrual synchrony” — the possibility of synchronization at the lower end of that 2018, Catch a quantum computer and pin it down).
tendency for women who live together to begin men- scale that Strogatz mentions, or in some ways even off But when the atoms are flipped and they store these
struating on the same day every month. In 1971, a psy- that end of the scale. Do the most elementary, funda- photons, something else happens to them. When the
chologist called Martha McClintock studied 180 mental particles known to physicists exhibit the same light is retrieved, the IIT team found it displays “inter-
women in a college dormitory. Menstrual synchrony, tendency to synchronize as somewhat larger objects ference fringes” — a characteristic pattern of light and
she concluded then, was real. such as starlings and pendulums and the moon? We’re shadow (similar in concept to what causes stripes on
Now, this really didn’t apply that weekend in NYC, talking about electrons and neutrons, particles that tigers and zebras, or patterns in the sand on a beach).
because these ladies had only spent one day together. occupy the so-called “quantum” world. Can we get From this fringe pattern, the scientists can reconstruct
Manufacturing could witness mass adoption of technologies Besides, more recent research has questioned McClin- them to synchronize? the quantum state the atoms were in—and voilà, there’s
such as robotics, AI and big data amid the covid-19 crisis. MINT tock’s findings. Even so, those long-ago NYC days came They concluded that the smallest quantum particles synchrony.
back to me after reading about some even more recent actually cannot be synchro- Did each individual atom synchronize to the light —
ces the new digital reality,” the rers, will fast track companies research, at IIT Kanpur. Not about menstruation, but Synchronizing nized. These exhibit a and since all one million atoms did so, is that how they
report said, adding that manu- to integrate it to adapt to the about synchronization, and in the quantum world. spin-1 systems “spin”—a form of angular are synchronized with each other as well? That’s to be
facturing could also witness new normal, it added. What’s synchronization? Imagine an individual — a momentum, in a sense the tested still, but it’s a good way to think of what hap-
mass adoption of technologies In a labour-surplus country bird, a pendulum — doing a particular motion over and can provide degree to which the particle pened. Again, take fireflies. In one experiment, a single
such as robotics, artificial like India, such a shift, if it over again. The bird is flapping its wings as it flies, the insights in is rotating — of 1/2 (half). But flashing LED bulb was placed in a forest. When the fire-
intelligence and big data to becomes a reality, will have a pendulum is swinging back and forth. Imagine several quantum there are ways in which flies appeared, they quickly synchronized to the flash-
mitigate the shortage of man- huge negative impact on the such individuals near each other, all doing the same networks such “spin-half” particles ing bulb, and therefore to each other. As Dr Ghosh
power amid the covid-19 crisis. labour market that is strug- motion — several birds flying together in a flock, sev- can combine to form a commented: “two fireflies synchronizing is interesting,
“Labour-intensive manu- gling due to inadequate eral pendulums swinging while hanging from a beam. “spin-1” system, and the but an entire forest filled with fireflies lighting up in
facturing sectors depend on a employment generation, When they start out, the birds are flapping to their own Swiss team predicted that these combinations are the sync reveals new emergent patterns.”
large workforce on the shop- higher informal jobs and lack individual rhythms, the pendulums going in different smallest quantum systems that can be synchronized. There are implications in all this for, among other
floor for opera- of decent work. directions. But then something beautiful happens: So, a physics research group at IIT Kanpur decided things, quantum computing. The IIT team’s paper
tions. But social By 2022, at least The report said these individual motions synchronize. The birds flap to test this prediction. These are guys, I should tell you, remarks; “[The] synchronization of spin-1 systems …
distancing norms 50% of workers five new skill sets in perfect coordination, so the flock moves as one mar- who are thoroughly accustomed to working with can provide insights in open quantum systems and find
will require dif- will be in huge vellous whole. The pendulums swing in harmony. atoms: One day in 2016, their professor, Dr Saikat applications in synchronized quantum networks.”
will be deployed
ferent approach demand in the In fact, synchronization was first observed in pendu- Ghosh, took me into their darkened lab and pointed to (Observation of quantum phase synchronization in
to resume activi- in jobs with post-covid-19 lums. In 1665, the great Dutch scientist Christiaan Huy- a small red glow visible in the middle of their apparatus. spin-1 atoms, by Arif Warsi Laskar, Pratik Adhikary,
ties. Emerging radically-changed world, which gens attached two pendulum clocks to a heavy beam. “That’s a group of atoms,” he said with a grin, and then Suprodip Mondal, Parag Katiyar, Sai Vinjanampathy
new business skill sets in auto include ‘data liter- Soon after, the two pendulums were in lockstep. tweaked some settings and the glow dropped out of and Saikat Ghosh, published 3 June 2020).
models and swift sector, report said acy’, making Similarly, fireflies are known to break into spontane- sight. The point? They are able to manipulate atoms. There will be other applications too. But over 350
shift towards sense of data and ous synchrony. When there are just one or a few, they On another visit, they underlined this particular skill by years after Christiaan Huygens stumbled on “classical”
producing in-depth under- light up at different times—a pleasant enough sight, but showing me their work with graphene, a sheet of car- synchronization, the IIT team has shown for the first
healthcare and medical equip- standing of business trends nothing to write home about. But there are spots in the bon that is — get this — one atom thick. time that this strangely satisfying behaviour happens
ment would also require work- and shifting customer needs, coastal mangroves of Malaysia and Indonesia where So, after the Swiss prediction, Ghosh and his stu- in the quantum world too. No wonder their paper was
ers to be re-skilled and creativity and innovation, dig- whole hosts of the little insects congregate every even- dents took a million atoms of rubidium—a soft, silvery chosen recently for special mention in the premier
up-skilled,” the report said. ital marketing for continua- ing and suddenly, synchrony happens. They switch on metal — and cooled them nearly to what’s known as physics journal, Physical Review Letters.
Internet of Things (IoT) for the tion of businesses, critical and off in perfect unison, putting on a light show like “absolute zero”, or -273° Celsius. Could they get these A round of applause for the IIT folks, please. I know
industries was already on the thinking to determine what is none you’ve seen. atoms to show synchrony? it will happen in synchrony.
rise and now shortage of shop credible and big data to make There are, yes, other examples. At a concert, the Let’s be clear about what they were dealing with, Once a computer scientist, Dilip D’Souza now lives in
floor manpower due to cov- businesses more resilient to audience will tend to applaud in sync. The reason we though. The usual objects that synchronize — pendu- Mumbai and writes for his dinners. His Twitter handle
id-19 impact on migrant labou- future pandemics. only ever see one side of the Moon is that the orbital lums, birds — are called “oscillators” because they are is @DeathEndsFun
CIN: L45202WB1961PLC025181
Regd. Office: 4, Mangoe Lane, Kolkata 700001
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Statement Standalone and Consolidated Audited Financial Results For The Quarter and Year Ended 31st March, 2020
(Rs. in Lacs)
Standalone Consolidated
Sl. Year ended Year ended
No. PARTICULARS Quarter ended
31.03.2020 31.12.2019 31.03.2019 31.03.2020 31.03.2019 31.03.2020 31.03.2019
(Audited) (Unaudited) (Audited) (Audited) (Audited) (Audited) (Audited)
1. Total Income from Operations 10,740.02 12,748.92 19,689.50 56,760.07 1,51,836.68 73,004.67 1,74,141.34
2. Profit / (Loss) for the period (before tax Exceptional items) (15,740.79) (15,158.21) (17,234.42) (38,087.95) (46,599.86) (38,769.04) (77,576.74)
3. Profit/(Loss) for the period before tax (after Exceptional items) (15,740.79) (15,158.21) (17,234.42) (38,087.95) (46,599.86) (38,769.04) (80,167.74)
4. Profit/(Loss) for the period after tax (after Exceptional items) (15,740.79) (15,158.21) (17,234.42) (38,087.95) (46,599.86) (38,743.82) (79,065.64)
5. Other Comprehensive Income (net of tax) (87.93) (26.33) (29.52) (8.94) (105.32) (41.77) (193.98)
6. Total Comprehensive Income for the period (15,652.86) (15,184.54) (17,263.94) (38,079.01) (46,705.19) (38,785.59) (79,259.63)
7. Equity share Capital 21,157.08 21,157.08 17,215.18 21,157.08 17,215.18 21,157.08 17,215.18
8. Reserves (excluding Revaluation Reserve) (7,572.52) (31,948.52) (20,356.81) (4,227.50)
- - -
9. Earning per Share (EPS) for the period (Face value Rs.10/-
per share)
-Basic (Rs.) (7.38) (8.66) (8.12) (17.96) (21.97) (18.22) (4.56)
-Diluted (Rs.) (7.38) (8.66) (8.12) (17.96) (21.97) (18.22) (4.56)
NOTES:
The above is an extract of the detailed format of Quarterly Financial Results filed with the Stock Exchanges under Regulation 33 of the SEBI (Listing and Other Disclosure Requirements)
Regulations, 2015. The full format of the Quarterly Financial Results are available on the website of BSE (www.bseindia.com) & NSE (www.nseindia.com) and shall also be available on
website of the company (www.mcnallybharat.com)
By Order of the Board
For
Place: Kolkata SRINIVASH SINGH
Dated: 15th July, 2020 Managing Director
E-tender ID Job Description Bid Due Date
Maintenance
31.07.2020,
services of static
15:00 Hrs.
equipments
Regional Office: 4, Nehru Place,Tonk Road,Jaipur-15 (Rajasthan)
31.07.2020, E-Tender Notice
and maintenance of
15:00 Hrs. An e-tender notice is invited, under two-bid system for appointment of regular Handling/
hydrocarbon tanks
Handling & Transport Contractor for two years at various centers of Rajasthan region.
Under e-tender notice ROJ/CONTRACT/HTC/03/2020, the bids shall be accepted ONLINE
from 17.07.2020, 02.00 PM to 08.08.2020, 02.00 PM. All the Terms & Conditions and
other details are available on Central Public Procurement Portal’s website
https://eprocure.gov.in/eprocure/app and Corporation’s website www.fci.gov.in.
Director General Manager (Region)
10 FRIDAY, 17 JULY 2020
NEW DELHI PERSONAL FINANCE

ATMs get covid-ready, set How much a house costs in Delhi-NCR

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 to be, has

to go contactless soon 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
A prototype of a contactless ATM cash withdrawal solution is in the testing stage Location bedrooms size (sq. ft) (₹/sq. ft) price (₹ lakh)
Under ₹ 30 lakh
ISTOCK
Nilanjana Chakraborty Rajnagar Extension 1BHK 600-740 2,480-3,250 14.9 - 25.0
nilanjana.chakraborty@livemint.com
NH-24 1BHK 510-650 2,450-3,750 12.5 - 22.50

M
ost of us would find Noida Extension 1BHK 550-700 2,350-3,800 13.5 - 25.0
going to an ATM
fraught with risk as Yamuna Expressway 1BHK 320-695 3,000-4,000 11.0 - 27.0
the covid-19 infec- Beware of
card cloning ₹30 lakh-50 lakh
tion threat looms devices
over us. At an ATM kiosk, you end when using Noida Extension 2BHK 900-1,250 3,200-4,100 30.0 - 45.0
up touching various surfaces— your ATM
card Sectors 151, Noida 2BHK 950-1,050 3,000-4,500 30.0 - 44.0
from the door knob to the keypad
or the screen of the ATM itself. bit.ly/2B2gbta Rajnagar Extension 2BHK 950-1,320 2,900-3,600 31.0 - 44.0
Some banks are realizing that the
only true way to reassure people in NH-24 2BHK 1050-1,425 2,900-3,550 30.0 - 45.0
this environment, apart from tak- ₹50 lakh-75 lakh
ing sanitizing measures, is to elimi-
nate the need to touch the same Sectors 76-80, Gurgaon 2BHK 1,250-1,350 4,300-5,500 58.0 - 75.0
ATM screen or keypad as others.
Sectors 81-95, Gurgaon 2BHK 1,000-1,500 4,600-5,700 53.0 - 75.0
Here’s how banks are trying to
make ATM kiosks safer for custom- Sectors 102-106, Dwarka
2BHK 915-1,450 4,200-6,000 59.0 - 75.0
ers amid the covid-19 pandemic Expressway
and how the ATM industry is
Sohna, Gurgaon 2BHK 1,100-1,400 4,000-5,300 50.0 - 75.0
expected to evolve to meet your
various needs. ₹75 lakh-130 lakh

TOUCHLESS EXPERIENCE SANITIZING FOR SAFETY THE WAY FORWARD convenience through contactless SPR, Gurgaon 3BHK 1,500-2,200 5,300-6,400 80.0-126.0
Contactless cash withdrawals from Rules around social distancing and Over time, the functionality of services, interactive videos, as well Sectors 108 - 112, Dwarka
ATMs may soon be a reality. sanitization are now being strictly ATMs has extended well beyond as using machine learning and arti- 3BHK 1,750-2,150 4,700-8,000 85.0 - 130.0
Expressway
AGS Transact Technologies, a enforced to neutralize the risk of just cash dispensing. “ATMs today ficial intelligence to cross-sell prod-
cash management services pro- covid-19 transmission. are fully capable of functioning as a ucts, provide advisory and loans Sectors 50 - 52, Noida 3BHK 1,350-1,850 5,700-7,500 75.0 - 125.0
vider, has developed a prototype of For instance, rules about only ‘virtual bank branch’, allowing cus- and complete branch banking,” Vaishali, Ghaziabad 3BHK 1,250-1,900 5,050-6,800 75.0 - 130.0
a “touchless” cash withdrawal solu- one person entering an ATM kiosk tomers to self-service 24x7 for said V. Balasubramanian, presi-
tion. “Cardholders can now with- at a time were already in place, but activities such as real-time cash dent, merchant and terminal busi- Above ₹130 lakh
draw cash from an ATM machine they were not strictly followed deposit, raising services requests ness, FSS, a global payment systems Golf Course Road, Gurgaon 3BHK 1,360-3,600 12,000-17,000 160.0 - 600.0
by scanning a QR code on its screen everywhere. such as PIN change and so on,” said company.
without having to touch the sur- “To ensure necessary hygiene Goyal. As digital payments become big- MG Road, Gurgaon 3BHK 1,400-3,000 9,500-16,500 150.0 - 450.0
face. Banks are required to make and safety, ATM sites Moreover, the servi- ger and bigger, ATMs might
Sectors 93-104, Noida 3BHK 1,750-3,200 5,600-10,200 130.0 - 275.0
only a software upgrade to enable are sanitized as part of The industry is ces and functionality assume other roles, said experts. “In
this feature on their ATM network. the regular cleaning working towards of ATMs will only the short run, we may transition to Golf Course Extension Road,
The bank’s customer can perform process, in some cases expand in the future. a less cash economy, but with tech- 3BHK 1,850-3,525 7,500-15,745 145.0 - 550.0
making ATM Gurgaon
all the steps required to withdraw multiple times during kiosks more Niraj Sharma, head, nological advancements, ATM The Average price (INR/sqft) mentioned above is the base rate which excludes infrastructure charges and government taxes.
cash from an ATM using the mobile a day, depending on machines have been empowered to
application, which includes enter-
friendly amid the ATM, internet bank- offer various value-added services Look out for real estate data in this space for cities such as Delhi and National Capital Region (NCR), Mumbai, Bengaluru,
Chennai, Kolkata, Pune and Hyderabad. The list is not exhaustive. Data as of June 2020.
the usage. This ing, Bank of Baroda,
ing the withdrawal amount and includes sanitizing the threat of covid-19 said, “Customers can like mobile banking registrations, PARAS JAIN/MINT Source: Cushman and Wakefield Research India

MPIN required to dispense the cash
from the ATM machine.” said Ravi
B. Goyal, chairman and managing
director, AGS Transact.
ASG is in the process of imple-
menting this contactless solution
for some banks, and is in discus-
sions with others.
Before the pandemic hit, large
banks like ICICI Bank and the State
Bank of India had developed their
own touchless withdrawal systems,
but these have not been adapted to
eliminate the need to engage with
the ATM altogether.
In the post-covid era, initiatives
like virtual banking are likely to
become the new normal, said
Goyal. More and more transactions
are expected to become contactless
and reliant on digital platforms.
More consumers checking credit scores amid pandemic
Tinesh Bhasin
tinesh.b@livemint.com
lobby, ATM keypads infections expect to see ATM ter- Aadhar seeding and collecting
and door handles,” minals becoming school fees, which will enhance
said Rustom Irani, more interactive customer convenience and also
managing director and chief execu- catering to customer services, apart reduce load on the branches,” said
tive officer of Cash Business, Hita- from cash dispensation, as well as Sharma.
chi Payment Services, a payment becoming an essential instrument
solutions provider.
One area that still needs atten-
for the delivery of government ini- tion is security of transactions but
According to K. Srinivas, tiatives and services delivery.” experts said by leveraging machine
Refunds from life insurance plans
director, Confederation of ATM Rapid strides in technology is learning and artificial intelligence,
Industry, an industry body of ATM expected to add to the services you ATM technology may eventually
operators, precautions are also can expect at an ATM. solve problems of fraud as well as
depend on policy type and tenure
being taken at the time of cash “The future tech trends will be in address customer dispute resolu- ISTOCK
loading operations. “There are the direction of boosting customer tion. Abhishek Bondia coverage, therefore, might fall
daily temperature checks of short in covering your medical
employees, and wearing mask is I have a few life insurance costs. Although some states
mandatory. Vehicles and offices are For more stories about how to manage your policies for which I paid are now fixing hospital rates, it
also sanitized regularly,” he said. money life, listen to the podcast Why Not Mint premiums for five years would be prudent to opt for an
But it’s crucial to take your own Money with Mint’s Personal Finance team on and some for six years. additional sum insured to
precautions too as numerous peo- htsmartcast.com. Invest smartly to make every After that, I could not pay enhance the coverage that you
ple may transact at ATM kiosks in a penny count. the premiums. If I file for a have.
day, especially in urban centres. refund, will I get the full This can be done either by
amount deposited or there increasing the sum insured in
will be any deduction? your existing policy on
—Chander Mohan renewal or by opting for
The refund would depend another covid-19-specific
on the type of policy and the health plan. You can also opt
ASK MINT
policy tenure, which is
remaining. Claiming a refund
during the policy tenure is
m INSURANCE
for a top-up plan, which would
supplement coverage.
A covid-19 claim would be
ISTOCK called surrendering the plan. My husband, five-year-old admissible in your present pol-
South India saw an increase of “With the growing disrup- Digital KYC can help bor- In case of a unit-linked child and I have a family icy if you are tested positive
28% and west India 22%. tion in income and uncer- rowers get quick access to insurance plan, you should be floater plan of ₹5 lakh. and are hospitalized at a recog-
The pandemic has led to pay tainty, a larger number of cus- credit, and save costs for len- able to claim the current value Given the threat of cov- nized medical facility. The

C
ovid-19 is prompting
more and more con-
sumers to keep a tab on
their credit scores. There was
a 25% increase in the number
of enquiries for credit reports
in June compared with May,
according to data from a com-
bined statement by online
financial marketplace Bank-
Bazaar.com and credit infor-
mation company Experian.
North India saw the highest
rise in enquiries for credit
reports. They were up 31% in
June compared with May.
cuts, job losses and cash flow
issues. As a result, banks, non-
banking financial companies
(NBFCs) and card issuers have
taken steps to reduce risks.
There have been tightening of
lending policies, asking for a
higher credit score and a
reduction in credit limits.
BankBazaar, which gives
out free credit score, saw 111%
jump in consumers checking
their scores in FY20. Even
other platforms saw a spike in
the number of enquiries for
free credit report. “We have
seen a three times rise in
enquiries over the last couple
of months,” said Radhika
Binani, chief product officer,
Paisabazaar.com.
tomers are looking to both
track and build their credit
score,” Binani added.
Digital KYC (know your cus-
tomer) has also gone up. Bank-
Bazaar saw a rise in credit
applications via digital KYC.
Of the total application for
loans on the platform, 41%
came from south India. “As
safety becomes paramount,
financial institutions predict a
100% growth in digital lending
by the end of this year,” said
Adhil Shetty, CEO, BankBa-
zaar.com, in the statement.
ders. “It will provide cost effi-
ciencies around acquisition
and automate decision-mak-
ing. Consumers get timely and
seamless access to credit while
financial institutions are
assured of identity verifica-
tion,” said Sathya Kalyanasun-
daram, country head and man-
aging director, Experian India,
in the statement.
Metros saw an aggressive
rise in demand for credit.
About 21% of applications were
from Delhi-NCR, followed by
Hyderabad at 16%.
of the unit, without any deduc-
tions. In case of traditional
endowment plans, the surren-
der charges are relatively
higher. These charges
decrease with time. The
method of calculating surren-
der value is specified in the
policy schedule. Since you
have paid premiums for over
five years, surrender value
should be relatively higher. If
you have a term insurance
plan, there is no surrender
value, and you would not get
any refund from the policy.
id-19, will that be enough to
cover us all? Also, what
happens if we make a cov-
id-19 claim on this policy?
—Nikhila Agarwal
A floater plan of ₹5 lakh
might prove to be insufficient
if all of you are hospitalized in
a private hospital. Hospitaliza-
tion for covid-19 can cost any-
where between ₹10,000 and
₹40,000 per person per day,
and if you are hospitalized for
around 8-10 days, the costs
would be considerably higher.
The existing health insurance
hospitalization costs and treat-
ment costs associated with
covid-19 would be covered
under your existing health
insurance policy. However, if
you are quarantined at your
home or if you test negative,
the claim would not be admis-
sible. Also, in some cases, the
cost of personal protection
equipments (PPEs) is not cov-
ered.
Abhishek Bondia is principal
officer and managing director,
SecureNow.in. Queries at mint-
money@livemint.com

YOUR LONG-TERM FINANCIAL WELL-BEING MAY DEPEND ON YOUR CHOICE OF ADVISER

POWER
POINT
VIDHU SHEKHAR
Respond to this column at
mintmoney@livemint.com
A
s a young boy, my mother would take me to our family
doctor whenever I fell sick. The doctor’s clinic was around
the corner and he treated all the children in our locality.
He would listen carefully to my mother. He would often send us
back with an assurance that nothing is wrong, and I would get
better in a couple of days. Occasionally, he would prescribe an
antibiotic or order a test. My mother trusted him not because of
his degree, but because she felt that he knew us, cared about us
more than he cared for his fee and paid attention.
The way we develop trust in our investment adviser is no dif-
ferent. We expect them to know their job and to know us. We also
ISTOCK
expect them to put our interest over their own when it comes to
managing our finances.
Can this analogy be extended? I am expected to eat healthy
food, exercise regularly and maintain other habits that are condu-
cive to remaining healthy. I don’t really need a doctor to tell me
all this. But I do need a doctor when something goes wrong.
When I have very little capital, and my ability to take risks is low, More often than not, individual financial advisers as well as the
I can and should manage my finances on my own. But with time, overall industry comes up short on these simple principles. If you
as my capital and future commitments increase, it becomes
worthwhile to have someone help me manage my finances.
have a financial adviser, make sure he or she follows these princi-
ples.
Regardless of the size of your savings, there are a few things In recent years, leaders in the investment industry have recog-
that you are always entitled to expect from financial service pro- nized the importance of earning and keeping investors’ trust.
viders. You should expect honest, Leading investment firms are putting in the efforts required for
Your adviser competent and ethical conduct, as well training their employees and aligning their incentives with those
should base the as independent and objective advice. of their customers. Regulators are also playing their part by
Your service provider should under- requiring more transparency and nudging the industry towards
advice on your stand your specific circumstances and fee-based advice instead of commissions that are often hidden
needs and
base the advice on your needs. You and encourage mis-selling.
specific have the right to fair treatment—your According to a recent global survey of investors conducted by
circumstances service provider should not favour CFA Institute, Indian investors trust their advisers more than
other clients over you. Your interest investors in other parts of the world. It is not clear why this is so.
should always take precedence over To me, the more important question is whether the industry
those of the organization that the service provider represents. He deserves the trust of their customers. As in every walk of life,
or she should explain all fees and costs charged to you, maintain there are some very good advisers who score high on professional
confidentiality of your information, and communicate with you competence as well as ethical behaviour. But whether your
in plain language that you can understand. The adviser should adviser is one of them is for you to determine, and your long-term
also keep complete records to support the work that they do on financial well-being depends on you making the right choice.
your behalf. Vidhu Shekhar, country head, India, CFA Institute
 NEWS FRIDAY, 17 JULY 2020
NEW DELHI 11

EU strikes down data pact All eyes on vaccines

as India coronavirus
over US surveillance fears cases cross 1 million
FROM PAGE 1

A file photo of a UV-C lighting US was ‘deeply disappointed’ over scrapping of the pact, said commerce secy Ross (34%) of total cases detected so
device used to disinfect trains far. The actual caseload of cov-
and buses. AP id-19 has remained limited and
Bloomberg manageable in the country,”
Demand for feedback@livemint.com the Union health ministry said
in a statement on Thursday.

UV-based
disinfectants
on the rise
FROM PAGE 1
case for a few minutes to steri-
lize them. Mehernosh Pitha-
walla, vice-president of Godrej
Security Solutions, said the UV
Case is certified by the Central
Scientific Instrument Organi-
sation (CSIR), which is a body
approved by the Indian Council
of Medical Research (ICMR) for
certifying such devices. Chha-
bra of IoTfy said the company
has applied for certification for
its GoCo bags, too. The com-
pany is working on integrating
UVC cleaning in air condition-
ers (ACs) next and expects
many ACs next season to come
with such technology built-in.
There are other firms in the
fray, too, like Bengaluru-based
Minion Labs and its UV Saaph,
a portable disinfection box.
There are studies indicating
that UV light can be used for
sterilizing surfaces. “Theoreti-
cally, these products work by
using ultraviolet lights to kill
microbes like viruses and bac-
teria,” said Rajesh Maheshwari,
chief executive officer,
National Accreditation Board
for Certification Bodies
(NABCB). “I don’t think they
pose a threat to humans as they
are concentrated on a particu-
lar surface. It is not like a person
is sitting and you have UV light
continuously exposed on the
entire room,” he added.
NABCB is the accreditation
body for third-party agencies
responsible for quality certifi-
cation of certain low-risk medi-
T
he European Union’s top The health ministry said
court struck down the
so-called Privacy Shield, a Twitter
that the national covid-19
fatality rate is 2.6% and falling.
racing to
key method to transfer
data across the Atlantic,
amid fears over potential US surveil-
unravel
mystery
cyber-
Deaths per million population
in India is also among the low-
est in the world. Union health minister Dr Harsh
lance.
Commerce secretary Wilbur Ross
attack
bit.ly/39a3c5u
“We have managed to keep Vardhan at the OPD block of
the case fatality ratio low, AIIMS, in New Delhi. PTI
said Thursday the US was “deeply ramped up testing successfully,
disappointed” that an EU court especially through the use of tain the pandemic.
scrapped a crucial online data rapid tests, technology use with “Exclusive reliance on medi-
arrangement between Europe and telemedicine, put two Indian cal measures can provide a false
the US. The US will continue to work made vaccine in clinical trials sense of assurance. Neglecting
with the European Commission on and became self-sufficient in non-medical interventions to
the matter, Ross said. The US hopes, PPEs (protective gear) and tackle the enormously enlarged
he said, “to be able to limit the nega- masks,” said Lalit Kant, a scien- problem of hunger, housing
tive consequences to the $7.1 trillion tist and former head of epidemi- and other relief has enormously
transatlantic economic relationship ology and communicable dis- undermined people’s condi-
that is so vital to our respective citi- eases at the Indian Council of tion, and its impact on covid-19
zens, companies, and govern- Medical Research (ICMR). is not even on the agenda,” said
ments.” The European Union’s top court in a surprise decision in 2015 struck down an earlier trans-Atlantic data-transfer The government claims con- Vikas Bajpai, assistant profes-
The decision by the EU Court of system, called Safe Harbor, over concerns US spies could get unfettered access to EU data REUTERS tainment measures, including sor, Centre of Social Medicine
Justice (ECJ) means thousands of house-to-house surveys, and Community Health, at Jaw-
businesses that ship commercial their surveillance laws, if US compa- ber’s presidential election. EU and US in early 2016 reached an perimeter control activities, aharlal Nehru University.
data across the Atlantic risk turmoil nies want to continue to play a major On the data front, the EU top accord on the Privacy Shield, saying contact tracing However, the
in their day-to-day activities. While role on the EU market,” Schrems court in a surprise decision in 2015 it would guarantee EU citizens and surveillance Maharashtra and biggest hope to
a second, contract-based system to said after the ruling. “This judgment struck down an earlier trans-Atlan- robust privacy protection and the of containment TN constitute 48% contain the pan-
transfer data was approved, the is not the cause of a limit to data tic data-transfer system, called Safe right to judicial review. But the zones, aggressive of India’s total demic rests on two
judges saved their critiques for US transfers, but the consequence of US Harbor, over concerns US spies Shield has been on wobbly feet since testing and timely active caseload, indigenous vac-
surveillance. surveillance laws.” could get unfettered access to EU the start over concerns that not diagnosis and cine candidates
according to the that will enter
The controversy enough was being done on effective clinical
Union health
stretches back to 2013, SNOOPING CONCERNS the US side. management of
ministry
human trials this
when former contractor The ruling will affect how the moderate and month. More than
Edward Snowden exposed THE ECJ have THE Court however THE ruling will affect THE dispute goes non-European firms from severe cases have 1,000 volunteers
the extent of spying by the banned Privacy upheld validity of how firms like Google, back to 2013, when
Shield, a key method standard contractual TikTok transfer Edward Snowden
Google to TikTok Inc. trans- substantially are to be enrolled
US National Security of data transfer clauses, another European data exposed the extent fer data from European ser- increased chances of recovery. for the process.
Agency. Privacy cam- across the Atlantic. data transfer system around the globe. of spying by the NSA vices for processing outside “Less than 2% of the cov- India has also used the lock-
paigner Max Schrems has the region. The judgment id-19 patients are admitted in down to ramp up health infra-
been challenging Facebook “removed one of the most ICUs,” said health minister structure. The infrastructure
Inc. in the Irish courts—where the While the court did approve stan- data. Facebook warned ahead of trusted, ways to transfer data across Harsh Vardhan. to treat covid consists of 1,381
social media company has its Euro- dard contractual clauses system to Thursday’s ruling that similar eco- the Atlantic” for large and small Community medicine spe- dedicated hospitals, 3,100
pean base—arguing that EU citizens’ transfer data, the ruling offers nomic turmoil would be in store if enterprises in both the US and cialists said the government healthcare centres and 10,367
data is at risk the moment it gets another grievance to stoke the the court does the same. Europe, said Thomas Boue, director should focus more on non- covid care centres. They
transferred to the US. “It is clear that growing animosity between the US Scrambling to put together an general for policy in Europe at BSA medical interventions and together have a capacity of
the US will have to seriously change and the EU in the run up to Novem- alternative tool for companies, the The Software Alliance. make better use of data to con- 46,666 ICU beds.
Hotels turn to robots for front-end services Vedantu raises $100 million
REUTERS

cal devices. Quality of high-risk
devices are directly looked at
by the Central Drugs Standard
Control Organisation. The
ICMR has designated two insti-
tutes under the CSIR and three
under the Department of Sci-
ence and Technology (DST) to
certify UV-based products.
However, there seems to be
no regulation for UV-based
surface disinfectants. “UV light
products do not come under
medical device regulations.
This product is like surface dis-
infectants and hand sanitizers.
Just because you expose a sur-
face to the UV light does not
mean it will kill all viruses and
bacteria. Medical disinfectants
are considered drugs but not
surface disinfectants,” a senior
official at Central Drugs Stan-
dard Control Organisation said.
“Right now, there are several
Chinese products mushroom-
ing in the market which speak
about UVC technology,” said
Godrej’s Pithawalla.
prasid.b@livemint.com
FROM PAGE 1
the one run by ITC Ltd, are in
talks with robotics companies to
deploy humanoid robots to inter-
act with customers, help them
check-in and serve food in restau-
rants, two people familiar with
the matter said. The Oberoi hotel
chain is also exploring the use of
robots and other technologies in
some areas, they said, seeking
anonymity.
The hotels are looking to
deploy collaborative robots,
also known as cobots, in their
kitchens for cooking meals, the
people aware of the issue said.
A spokesperson for ITC
declined to comment, while an
Oberoi spokesperson said the
company is not deploying
humanoid robots in the recep-
tion and restaurants but using
artificial intelligence (AI) to
automate some processes.
Most states have allowed
hotels to reopen with limited
capacities. As the industry slowly
gets back on its feet, hotels are
Robotic firms have seen an
increase in enquiries for
humanoid robots and cobots.
trying to reduce human contact
wherever possible.
“This is not surprising as
going for a touch-less system is
the only way to retain custom-
er-centricity. However, it may
not be all-pervasive as every
aspect cannot be replaced with
robotics as it is, after all, hospi-
tality business and there has to
be some human connect. The
focus should be on areas where
contact with customers is
higher and a hygiene factor is
involved,” said Vijay Bhaska-
ran, partner, artificial intelli-
gence and automation, EY.
Pradeep David, general
manager, Universal Robots,
said while humans cannot be
completely substituted in the
hotels business, the mundane
and repetitive work can be
handed over to a robot.
Firms offering these robots
such as Milagrow and Universal
Robots have seen an increase in
enquiries for humanoid robots
and cobots. Some robots being
tested by hotels in restaurant
areas can navigate through
busy rooms and explain the
menu to guests, take orders and
deliver meals to designated
tables. The robots being tested
in reception can recognise
faces and talk to guests.
Some of the cobots that
Indian hotels have showed
interest in are already being
used overseas. These robots
can cook and make coffee.
Hotel staff can give them com-
mands on what they want them
to cook using a smartphone.
Many large hotel chains have
already been using robots to
clean air ducts, swimming
pools, floors and windows.
But, deploying humanoid
robots or cobots is expensive.
Milagrow’s lineup of humanoid
robots start at ₹4 lakh and go up
to ₹12 lakh and cobots by Uni-
versal Robots cost ₹16-22 lakh.
“These robots are still not at
a price point where they could
be used in everyone’s kitchen.
But with five-star hotels com-
ing back to business, we are
seeing a lot of interest in these
technologies as people want
automated kitchens and buffet
breakfast lineups,” said David.
“We will have to customize
robots to suit requirements of
hotels. The robotic software
has to be integrated into hotel
customer relationship manage-
ment systems,” said Rajeev
Karwal, founder-chairman of
Milagrow Humantech.
FROM PAGE 1
tions to suspend classroom
teaching. Edtech startups have
stepped in to fill the gap with
online classes.
Investors have been quick to
jump on the edtech band-
wagon even as funds dried up
for startups in other sectors. In
June, Mary Meeker’s Bond
Capital invested $100 million in
Byju’s at a valuation of $10.5 bil-
lion, marking its first invest-
ment in India. Earlier, in Febru-
ary, Unacademy raised $110
million from Facebook and
General Atlantic, valuing the
edtech startup at $510 million.
In the first half of 2020, ven-
ture capital firms (VCs) have
shown a clear preference for
ed-tech startups with $795 mil-
lion raised, compared with
$108 million in the year-ago
period, according to data from
Venture Intelligence research.
“Our investment in Vedantu
marks our entry in the Indian
edtech market. Online learning
adoption in India is at an all- “On top of adding categories,
time high, setting a new bench- we will use the funds to invest
mark for the rest of the world,” in content and technology to
said Coatue’s Kishore. create the world’s best Live
Vedantu offers live interactive teaching-learning experience,”
classes to students across grades added Krishna.
K1-12, for all major boards and Vedantu said more than a
competitive exams like JEE and million students attended 3.8
NEET. During the pandemic, million live hours of classes
Vedantu entered every month dur-
the early-learner Vedantu said over ing the lockdown.
segment with the a million students With this shift
launch of its coding attended 3.8 mn in consumer
program for 6-12 live hours of behaviour from
years called offline to online,
classes every
Vedantu SuperK- Krishna said the
ids. It also launched month during company is invest-
a reading pro- the lockdown ing to scale
gramme and plans impact, expand
to add more pro- into new catego-
grammes in this category. ries, and firmly establish itself in
“During the lockdown, the online live tutoring space.
everyone is talking about live This is Vedantu’s third round
classes, and this is the best time of funding in the last 12 months.
to drive more adoption and It raised $42 million from Tiger
strengthen our brand as the Global and others in August
best destination for Live 2019 and another $24 million
classes,” Vamsi Krishna, CEO from GGV Capital and Tiger in
and co-founder of Vedantu, February this year. It has raised
said in a telephonic interview. about $200 million till date.

Startups let go of realty assets to pare costs Senior living services firms report brisk biz
FROM PAGE 1
few months, and have let go of
one of our five rented satellite
offices,” said Upasana Taku,
co-founder.
Despite the gradual nation-
wide easing of curbs beginning
1 June, many states and cities
have reimposed curbs on busi-
ness and mobility, as infections
rise. The fresh curbs have also
slowed plans of companies and
workers to reopen offices.
A Swiggy spokesperson said
the pandemic has altered its
utilization of real estate. “…It
forms a significant part of our
ongoing fixed costs and, hence,
we have optimized our net-
work of kitchens and rational-
ized office space across cities.
We have scaled down our cloud
kitchens temporarily or perma-
nently, depending on profita-
bility profile, and carefully
reduced real estate usage by
consolidating our smaller offi- Byas Nambisan, CEO, Ezetap. cities. FROM PAGE 1 2050, up from about 8% in
ces,” the spokesperson said. Ride-hailing firm Uber Rishi Das, co-founder and 2015, according to a report
So far, Swiggy has closed offi- recently shut its Mumbai office CEO of IndiQube, a co-working market, a research conducted that year by HelpAge India.
ces in tier-III and -IV cities, after laying off 600 employees provider, which has several by McKinsey for the Max The agency had then said
including Gorakhpur and in May. Two-wheeler mobility startups as clients, said most of Group had shown, as per that India needs to devise
Anantapur, and aims to reduce startup Bounce is offering to them want to reduce real estate Mehta. appropriate social and eco-
real estate space further. give up 150 seats at its JP Nagar costs and are giving up some of Antara, started by Max nomic policies to make room
Ezetap, a payment solutions office in Bengaluru, on short- their seats, due to WFH and a Group founder Analjit Singh’s for the rapid increase.
provider, has decided to let go term lease. downsizing of workforce in daughter Tara Singh Vachani, Five years on, there has still
of one of its offices Startups like some cases. expects the covid-19 pandemic not been enough focus from
in HSR Layout, The fresh curbs Vayana Network Startups are also looking at to boost demand for such ser- the government on the seg-
Bengaluru, and being put across and CashKaro hybrid models, where they will vices as people seek to isolate ment, and the industry hopes
reduced 35% of its cities have also have also let go of get back teams on a rotational and protect their elderly. Such that will change now.
rented space. slowed plans of offices in different basis from September to reduce facilities have traditionally Industry body Association of
“The WFH sce- locations. the risk of spreading covid-19 to catered to senior citizens with People above 65 are considered vulnerable, and the lack of domestic Senior Living India (ASLI) said
companies and
nario at Ezetap Many firms are employees. “We are evaluating assisted living needs. help due to curbs has rendered many seniors stranded. MINT that the government should
has worked well workers to pulling out of their a hybrid model for our corpo- Antara this week launched remove goods and services tax
for employees so reopen offices agreements with rate office in Bengaluru”, said new projects: Care Home—a Ozone Group, which operates “We have now changed our (GST) on the services, and also
far, as we see an co-working cen- the Swiggy spokesperson. rental housing-cum-service— a retirement community, strategy and are converting come out with regulations and
increase in pro- tres. Sampad “For when the pandemic is and Care at Home—a housing Covai Urbana Irene, in Benga- normal buildings into two a code of practice for the sec-
ductivity from employees. Swain, co-founder of Instamojo, over, we are internally building service—this week, as part of a luru, has seen a 25-30% launches of senior living by tor. “Senior living and care is an
WFH has also allowed us to a technology platform for small systems where teams can come business revamp called increase in enquiries for its next month or September. One idea whose time has come for
save on certain other add-on businesses, said the company has to office on a rotational basis, ‘Antara 2.0’. senior living facilities over the is in Bengaluru and the other in India. We need government
operational expenses like food given up 30 seats in a co-working keeping safety precautions in The firm said it will spend last one month as compared to Chennai,” Gopalan said. support and handholding but
and pantry expenses, house- facility in Gurugram. Edtech mind,” said Nambisan at Ezetap. ₹300 crore over the next 3-4 before the lockdown, group India’s senior citizens are that is not happening,” ASLI
keeping charges, office broad- startup upGrad has let go of mul- Mihir Dalal and Salman SH years to expand its business. chief executive officer Sriniv- expected to make up around founder and chairman-emeri-
band, electricity, etc.,” said tiple co-working spaces across six contributed to the story. Real estate developer asan Gopalan said. 20% of the population by tus Mansoor Dalal said.
12 FRIDAY, 17 JULY 2020
NEW DELHI VIEWS

OUR VIEW GUEST VIEW

MINT

The pandemic could even alter

our mental model of the future
From food to healthcare, much is likely to change after covid-19, and signs of it are already visible

the pandemic, the line between work
and home may stay blurred. The false
binary of one’s work as distinct from
one’s life implicit in the concept of a
work-life balance has been exposed. We
have found a way to reconcile the two,
and while it has not always been easy, it
is here to stay in one form or another.
The other big shift that will have a
SANTOSH DESAI long-term impact is our mental model
is managing director and chief executive of health and healthcare. The emphasis
impact. Fashion, for example, may
invite much greater scrutiny, and it is
quite likely that our wardrobes will
shrink. The need for self-expression
through our attire will never go away,
but it could take newer forms. Fast fash-
ion, with its rapidly changing trends
and easy disposability, could give way to
more selective and sustainable clothing.
Food, on the other hand, is a category
that might turn more adventurous and

A pivot from industrial

officer at Futurebrands India on the curative aspects of healthcare
has been giving way to a more holistic
wellness-based understanding. In the
aftermath of this crisis, our focus on
preventive and proactive health is likely
experimental. The only pleasure
afforded to a large section of people
during this period has been that of food,
and this has seen a large measure of
experimentation and the expansion of

to the information age C

ovid-19 has changed virtually
everything. How we live, work,
interact with people, eat, cook,
travel (or don’t), spend our leisure time,
to increase. The need to build immunity
is a big learning from the virus, and this
will influence our diet and fitness rou-
tine. We might forget the fear caused
culinary boundaries for many. This will
spill over to our post-covid behaviour,
and eating both at home and outside is
likely to be a source of great excitement.
what we think about, how we see the by the pandemic in a few years, but at a Eating out will return; there is no
future, worry about health. Will this visceral level, we will never be able to underlying reason why this habit will
Reliance’s shift to the internet with Jio resembles its industrial expansion strategy of yore, lead to a permanent reset of some fun- regard a sneeze or a cough in public not come roaring back.
damental behaviours? What are the with anything but fear. Travel is likely to take a hit, particu-
but there’s a key difference that could determine how far it is able to fulfil its web ambitions long-term changes that we can expect Attitudes towards consumption will larly for business. We have also discov-
once the pandemic dies out? also change, albeit not universally. For ered just how much of our travel was
A lot of our new behaviours are some, after a brief period of revenge unnecessary, and how easy it is to use
reversible. This is evident in the way shopping, life will go back to normal. technology instead. Leisure travel will

H
ow Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance
uses Jio Platforms as a fulcrum
to pivot from the industrial era
to the information age promises
to become a B-school case study.
In the past few months, Jio has
had business circles agog with huge invest-
ments from the US. With Facebook and Goo-
gle signed on as strategic partners, with stakes
in Jio of 10% and 7.7% respectively, Ambani’s
ambition has the backing of two of the world’s
most successful internet businesses. If Face-
book’s WhatsApp network is expected to aid
Jio’s e-commerce venture in various ways,
Google’s Android software for smartphones
could help deepen Jio’s telecom penetration
and enrich millions of Indian lives with the
wonders of cyberspace, thanks partly to Reli-
ance’s own 5G technology. Jio’s online propos-
als for the consumer have already begun to
proliferate. While this may simply look like an
industrial house going digital, a broad strategy
seems discernible in its flurry of plans, one that
echoes its expansion of the previous century.
Indeed, it is this that lends the company’s
internet embrace its global uniqueness.
nectivity, even as it fans out with assorted digi- many countries and regions have But a significant segment will look for change in character. Domestic tourism,
tal offerings for the country’s multitudes. Now reverted to past habits when it comes to more meaningful modes of consump- particularly road trips, are likely to
eating out, meeting people and shop- tion. Again, this is a trend already in the become common. Hygiene will become
that India has opened up its space sector to ping once the threat is seen to have making. The ability to live frugally with- a big variable that will impact tourism;
private participation, communication satellites receded even a little. Adaptability to out sacrificing too much pleasure is an countries and regions regarded poorly
might be the company’s next move at the back- new circumstances can often be mis- experience that will have a cascading on this parameter will suffer, perhaps
end. As for the front-end, Jio’s latest ally Goo- taken for a willingness to change per- unjustly, given that the pandemic has
manently, and it is important to draw a affected all regions, and particularly
gle’s expertise in operating systems could help distinction between the two. those that are more developed and
it acquire a “gateway” advantage. It could The behaviours that are far more where sanitary conditions are usually
QUICK READ
potentially gain control of the very interface likely to change for good are those that impeccable.
between a mobile phone and its user, the open- were emergent even before covid The false binary of one’s work as Perhaps the deepest change that we
ing screen of which is valuable real estate for struck. In these cases, the underlying distinct from one’s life implicit will see is in the mental model we use to
factors driving them were not immedi- in the concept of a work-life think about the future. We will come to
every app striving to reach out. Mass success ate reactions to an unprecedented balance has been exposed. We regard it with much greater caution,
with entry-level handsets could then grant Jio event, but longer-term shifts that were have found a way to reconcile and choices that we implicitly make that
command of myriad sub-markets, from enter- gradually surfacing. After the crisis the two that may be here to stay. are based on thinking about the future
tainment and news to online huddles and shop- passes, it is likely that these will crystal- as a largely smooth upward curve will
ping expeditions. Given the cost structures lize as habits. We will come to regard the get re-evaluated. More barricades
The meaning of work and its relation- future with much greater caution against uncertainty will be sought, be it
involved, this digital suffusion could spin big ship with home is a part of our life which than before and re-evaluate the in the form of long-term investments,
money for the business in the decades ahead. will change substantially. Over the choices we once made assuming the need for insurance, or the criticality
There is a key difference, though, between years, the need to necessarily work at an that it would largely be of savings. In our minds, the future will
Reliance’s old industrial project and Jio’s cur- office has been under scrutiny, and post a smooth upward curve not be what it used to be.
rent internet sprawl. While the former relied
on one major resource, oil, the company’s new
thrust would rely on several. With large sums
of capital, airwave spectrum and databases are
easily acquired. But new-age businesses call
for resources that are even more intangible. www.livemint.com New Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, Kolkata, Chennai, Ahmedabad, Chandigarh*, Pune* Saturday, July 17, 2010 Vol.4 No.169 Rs. 3.00 12 PAGES
+ 20 PAGES LOUNGE + 4 MARKETS PAGES

Under its founder Dhirubhai Ambani, Reli- Globally, specific apps or online ventures are Q&A:Commercial approach is
best, says SKS’ Akula >4
WSJ: Citigroup profit falls 37% in second

ance opted for vertical integration. It was a
seen to succeed on the back of unique ideas. EXCLUSIVE PARTNER
quarter, revenue drops too >9
PHOTO ESSAY: How three schools for the poor
are coping with the Right to Education >6-7
CORPORATE: Tata hikes Nano price,
to begin second-phase deliveries >5

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QUICK EDIT

into synthetic yarn, and then further back into company can hope to suffuse the web beyond Cosmetic Piramal’s
changes for
acquisition plan won’t
be limited by place, industry
B Y S ATISH J OHN &
INDIA TODAY
Look who’s
talking
T he India-Pakistan
encounter must be
a fascinating study from
the outside looking in.
A statistical analysis,
the source of its chief raw material, crude oil, a point. Also, core competence gurus would
C .H . U NNIKRISHNAN

properly conducted, is a
························· The press conference by
MUMBAI
the foreign ministers of

disputes Bill A
rmed with a war chest of the two countries that
around $3 billion (around was televised live on
Rs14,000 crore), Ajay Piramal’s Thursday night went
acquisition plans won’t be along predictable lines,
constrained by geography or up to a point.
industry, said a senior compa- The suave Pakistani

even as it fanned forth into markets for refined argue that no company can be the best at
ny official. Shah Mehmood Qureshi,
Govt to push ahead SPAT RESOLUTION The Piramal group that he so in love with the sound
with panel to resolve heads has interests in health- of his own voice and the

 An 18 June ordinance ends the turf
regulatory spats; war between Sebi and Irda on Ulips.
It also proposes the idea of setting up
RBI governor may a statutory joint panel under the
finance minister to sort out future
not be made member regulatory disputes on hybrid products
 On 2 July, the RBI governor writes to
delicate dissection of
care, original drug discovery, way the light falls on his
glass manufacturing, etc. polished visage, droned
“While as a group we are on interminably in his
looking at India, valuations are opening remarks.
very attractive in the US and His Indian counterpart,
Europe. There are huge oppor- arguably as urbane a

fuel, bulk plastics and other polymers derived everything; especially not if it tries to be all
B Y A S TAFF W RITER
feedback@livemint.com
·························
MUMBAI
the finance minister to allow the tunities for consolidation gent, tried to match
ordinance to lapse as it fears erosion there,” said Vijay Shah, manag- On the lookout: Ajay Piramal, chairman of the Piramal group. him in making remarks
of its autonomy ing director of the Rs1,103 crore that sounded like they
 The ministry is likely to table the Bill in Piramal Glass Ltd, a group bott Laboratories Inc. had ac- cluded yet,” said Shah, a were new, but actually

T he government is likely to the monsoon session of Parliament company that was almost quired the domestic formula- 22-year veteran of the group. not really.

press ahead with plans to
set up a committee head-
ed by the finance minister to re-
solve regulatory tussles on hy-
and turn the ordinance into law. It may
make cosmetic changes to assure
regulators that it will not
interfere in their autonomy
uncertainties, a surgery
dragged down by its acquisition tions business of Piramal Ranjit Kapadia, vice-presi- Imagine the excitement
in 2005 of a US firm, Wheaton Healthcare Ltd, the Piramal dent (institutional research) at in the room then
Glass, in chapter 11 protection, group’s flagship company, for HDFC Securities Ltd, said the when the masks slipped
but was smartly turned around $3.7 billion in May. company will likely be looking and there were snarls

from oil. This way, it had the entire petrochem things to all people. These factors could limit
brid financial instruments, albe-
it with some changes aimed at
placating the opposition to the
proposal.
A Bill to convert the ordi-
nance issued on the subject may
be introduced in the monsoon
In other words, the panel will
not proactively settle any regula-
tory dispute. The existing system
of regulators talking to each oth-
er on such issues at a common
forum will continue.
in fiscal 2009-10.
Scalability of the business
and a shot at global leadership
will be the prime motives be-
hind the next phase of acquisi-
tions in the group, he said, add-
ing that Piramal, who handled
Earlier this month, Piramal
Healthcare sold its diagnostic
services business to Super Re-
ligare Laboratories Ltd for
Rs600 crore. The initial pay-
ments from both deals amount
to about $3 billion.
to strengthen its contract re- about bureaucratic
search and manufacturing indiscretions that seemed
services business by global ac- to have been timed
quisitions as several assets in deliberately just before
that segment are available at the talks in Islamabad.
cheap valuation in the reces- Expect more of the
sion-hit markets. same—talks about talks

of suppositions.
session of Parliament that be- Another person familiar with all the deals personally, has al- “Scanning possible acquisi- Earliest this week, Murari (see Page 3). Perhaps
gins on 26 July. “There will be the development said the ready started the process. tions in high-growth sectors is that’s a sign of progress.

chain profitably covered, from a sludgy natural Jio’s prospects somewhat, though the com-
minor changes both in terms of
scope as well as structure of the
committee,” a person familiar
with the development said.
The 18 June ordinance had
envisaged the dispute resolution
committee as comprising the
Reserve Bank of India (RBI) gov-
ernor, heads of the Securities
resource pumped out of the earth all the way pany may well adopt a policy of buying out
and Exchange Board of India
(Sebi), the Insurance Regulatory
and Development Authority
(Irda) and the Pension Fund
Regulatory and Development
Authority (PFRDA), besides the
finance and financial services
secretaries as members. The Bill
may stipulate that RBI will be
changes to the ordinance will be Global healthcare firm Ab- going on, but nothing is con- TURN TO PAGE 2®
“cosmetic” and the government
will push through the Bill even
though RBI has expressed its
reservations, fearing loss of au-
tonomy. SC priority for INTRODUCING TRANSPARENCY
The Bill is expected to have a
smooth passage as the opposi-
tion—the Bharatiya Janata Party
crucial green HC boost for innovators, orders
disputes
and the Left—is unlikely to op-
pose it.
“It’s not about price rise, or
say, interest rate on small sav- B Y N IHKIL K ANEKAL
overhaul of patent process
ings. It has nothing to do with nikhil@livemint.com
the masses. Why would it be- ························· B Y N IKHIL K ANEKAL
come a political issue,” asked a NEW DELHI nikhil@livemint.com
OLD NEW
senior finance professional in
Mumbai, who is closely tracking T he Supreme Court has set
up a special bench directly
·························
NEW DELHI Gap between grant of patent and issue Real-time disclosure of grant of

I
to polyfill pillows. Under Mukesh Ambani, the every new online gig out there that catches a
represented by a deputy gover- the issue. under Chief Justice S.H. Kapa- n a much-needed relief to of certificate of up to six months patent; no more time delays

nor rather than the governor.
This is aimed at preserving the
pre-eminence that the RBI gov-
ernor, being the lender of last
resort, enjoys among all regula-
tors, the person said.
Currently, the governor chairs
the high-level coordination
All the people quoted in the
story declined to be named.
The capital market regulator
has not formally expressed its
reservations, but RBI has made
it clear it fears the government’s
interference in policy issues. RBI
governor D. Subbarao has writ-
dia to fast-track decisions on
crucial environmental dis-
putes.
This has been spun out of
the existing Green Bench (also
called the Forest Bench).
While the special bench under
the chief justice will hear im-
MI C HA E L J. MORON E Y
innovators, the Delhi high During this period, firms continue to No pre-grant opposition will be
court on Thursday passed a file pre-grant opposition entertained once patent is granted
landmark judgement which
No public listing of patent All patent cases to be
will bring greater transparency
announcements; results if disclosed in advance on the
to the process of granting pat-
one of the parties missing preceding evening through
ents and crack down on the
the hearing the publishing of a “cause list”
practice of filing mischievous
pre-grant opposition. System unable to prevent Filing of pre-grant

founder’s son, Jio also began in the middle— new market’s fancy. If this were to happen, it
committee on financial markets
that includes the chairmen of
Sebi, Irda and PFRDA.
The Bill is also expected to
clearly specify that the commit-
tee will not take up any issue on
its own and that the new struc-
ture will come into play only
when the regulators choose to
ten a letter to finance minister
Pranab Mukherjee on this and
met him early this week.
The original idea behind the
ordinance was to end the turf
war between Sebi and Irda on
the regulation of unit-linked in-
surance plans, a hybrid that
combines investment in equities
portant matters such as mining
in forests and large develop-
ment projects, a new bench
headed by justice B. Suder-
shan Reddy will hear all other
environment-related matters
every Monday.
Speaking to a crowded
courtroom, Kapadia said the
Accordingly, the office of the
controller of patents has been
directed by the court to not
only disclose award of patents
on a real-time basis, but also
electronically circulate patent
hearing dates a day before.
The judgement, issued by
justice S. Muralidhar, dealt
pre-grant oppositions under
aliases by the same company
under aliases. This has now
been declared illegal and will
invite a penalty.
In his judgement, Muralid-
har maintained that once the
opposition through aliases
classified as a legal offence
The court has asked the con-
troller to publish a “cause list”
of patent matters pending be-
fore it, bringing an even more
transparent mode of function-

with telecom services. Today, Jio is evidently could spur internet entrepreneurship, with
refer an issue to it.
According to the ordinance,
the committee would come into
the picture “in case of any differ-
ence of opinion” among regula-
tors on regulating hybrid instru-
ments when any of them makes
“a reference to the joint commit-
tee”. The Bill is expected to
and bonds along with an insur-
ance component. Neither RBI
nor Sebi were consulted for the
plan.
RBI has asked the ministry to
allow the ordinance to lapse,
and if that is not possible, “the
portion of the ordinance relating
to the RBI Act may be deleted”.
measures were being taken to
ensure the speedy disposal of
important cases. Once a mat-
ter comes before the special
bench, which sits every Friday,
it will be speedily dealt with.
“This is how we have decided
to operate,” he said.
The court will be listing only
with eight cases; the lead case
was Snehlata C. Gupte versus
Union of India.
At the core of the legal chal-
lenge was the existing process,
which resulted in a time gap
between the grant of a patent
and the issue of the certificate.
This loophole in the process
final order granting the patent
is signed by the controller or
the assistant controller, it must
be immediately placed on the
website on the same day so as
to eliminate the time gap be-
tween the signing of the order
and publishing it.
This would mean that the
ing to the department.
“The intention of the judge
was to protect patenting. It will
streamline the patent process
and it gives a good warning to
those who want to unduly stop
patenting,” said noted patent
lawyer Pratibha Singh, who
represented J. Mitra and Co.

keen to operate everything that keeps people’s all manner of whizkid startups vying for Jio’s
change this slightly, making it The government is unlikely to three cases every week as it is was at times exploited by rival patent would come into force Pvt. Ltd, which won the case.
clear that the joint committee accept the banking regulator’s unlikely that more than one parties to file a challenge even on the day on which the order “There is a habit of people
will intervene only when all reg- request, but it seems to be will- case will be heard at a sitting. after the patent had been has been signed as opposed to who were trying to create im-
ulators want it to do so. ing to make small changes. There are several pressing granted. the day when the order is pub- pediments in the grant of pat-
In some instances, parties lished or the patent certificate
Mint is also available for Rs5.50 with Hindustan Times under a combo offer TURN TO PAGE 2® also filed multiple challenges is issued. TURN TO PAGE 2®

digital devices running, such as wireless con- attention. Perhaps they already are.

THE NEW NORMAL

Law of remote work: Home’s where your head office is

to office and sort it out.”
SUSHMITA BOSE The pandemic changed it all. Now
whether I—and a legion of others—like it or
not, work from home is the new state of
play… by order, the management.
As it turns out, I belong to the old-school
ing! I’m flex—no mulling over Friday dress- routine. Her old experience ensures she informed me her husband is gleefully
ing, no weekly stocktaking of ‘corporate’ doesn’t need to scramble around because reporting he can now be with her “all the
wear, never want to go back to the work- her boss suddenly happens to call while time”. “You know it’s just the slightest bit
place.” she’s watching Netflix. “Just because I’m at terrifying when he says that. I’d rather he
Amid all the sartorial perks, the best part, home doesn’t mean I’m flex.” reports to work… alas, that’s not to be, not in
he claims, is that he’s way more productive When and if the pandemic deigns to the foreseeable future.”

is a journalist, editor and
the author of ‘Single In The
City’.
T
ill very recently—circa the advent of
corona and subsequent lockdown—I
didn’t have Wi-Fi at home. For the
longest time, I was immensely chuffed that
I could do away with broad-range technol-
ogy hovering around helpfully in every con-
ceivable nook and cranny of my personal
space, and be alright. Other than “What do
you do for streaming services?”—to which
my standard response used to be: “I watch
DVDs that I pay full price for”—I used to get
hit by something else. A lot.
“What do/will you do in case you have to
work from home?”
This was an interesting question.
Because “I believe in work-life balance,
don’t carry class notes back home” wouldn’t
have cut the mustard. As a journalist, my job
was—at the risk of sounding irritatingly
bumptious—“24 by 7”. So I would say, “I use
data, pretend my BlackBerry is my laptop,
and, well, I’m in business. And if it’s a pro-
duction-related matter, I hop into a cab, go
minority set that is not embracing—at least
notionally—of this arrangement. (Don’t ask
me why I don’t approve of it, I don’t have a
compelling answer. At best, I’ll say it is like
my inbuilt aversion to shopping remotely.)
In the US, data gathered from the 2020
State of Remote Work survey indicates that a
whopping 98% of respondents would now
like to work remotely—from home. While
offices around the world may or may not yet
have the infrastructure necessary to facili-
tate the actual implementation of work-
from-home in perpetuity, the figure may be
a pointer to the public mood worldwide.
WhatsApp is flush with silly videos of
men in ties conducting Zoom meetings; as
the camera pans below their waists, you see
they are sporting underwear beneath crisp
top-half raiment. I forwarded one such clip,
along with an eye-roll emoji, to a friend of
mine, who promptly messaged back to say
that he “attends” important video conferen-
ces in his boxers as well. “Man, it’s so liberat-
working from home. “I now realize that desist from its reign of terror, will we get She’s not the only one—and I’m giving
most of my workday was spent on the com- back to our boardrooms and our cubicles? sexism a very wide berth here. Many of my
mute, in dead-end meetings and general Already, many companies are mulling over female friends and relatives, who live with
chitchat,” he explained. “Oh yeah, lunch making remote working a permanent significant others, are not very happy with
was a time-consuming big deal—it was like agreement, with provisions for occasional this new corporate trend. Man about the
a strategic conclave, you know, depending attendance, perhaps. While I’m pretty sure house the whole day long, sitting in on vir-
on what was on the this will not apply across tual meetings in form-fitting shirts and
menu: lunching with the all sectors, for many of us, coming-apart-at-the-seams shorts, tossing
boss, with the team, with QUICK READ it will be a new reality. half-eaten bags of potato chips on the
a human resources col- In Everybody Loves floor—not a good idea.
league, or with a friend WhatsApp is flush with silly Raymond, Ray’s wife Someone else I know said that she’s prep-
who works for the com- videos of men in ties conducting Debra used to get angsty ping for work-from-home becoming a con-
petition.” Zoom meetings. As the camera each time he chose to stant till the end of her professional life, a
Another friend, who’s pans below their waists, you see work from home, creat- scenario where both she and her hubby are
worked from home in they are sporting underwear ing little (sometimes big) disparate colleagues at home. She’s devised
pre-corona times beneath crisp top-half raiment. messes all over their sub- a formula. “We’ve set up ‘temporary offi-
because her company urban house; she’d keep ces’—his is the den, mine is the bedroom.
was (obviously) As work-from-home threatens haranguing him to get I’ve made him promise that while we work,
equipped with foresight, to become permanent, couples back to work and expend we will not see each other’s faces and stay
maintains that she will may need ways to stay out of his nervous energy on put ‘at work’.”
continue to “log in” and each other’s hair. Separate work colleagues instead. I was It has worked like a dream for them, she
“log out” so she can keep dens, with a promise not to reminded of my favour- says, and she’s now a convert to the cult of
tabs on her professional engage all day, may do the trick ite sitcom when a cousin #WFH.
 VIEWS FRIDAY, 17 JULY 2020
NEW DELHI 13

GUEST VIEW M I N T C U R AT O R
COMPARATIVE KINGSHIP PROJECT/QUEEN’S UNIVERSITY

A ‘contain, control and cascade’

mantra to tackle our covid crisis
India needs to correct its course by adopting a technology- and protocol-led approach to the pandemic before it gets any worse

PTI

Evidence of Iron Age temples may have surfaced

Huge religious structures found at Navan Fort

R esearch teams believe they have found evidence of “absolutely huge” religious
structures at Navan Fort outside Armagh city. Armagh is the ecclesiastical capi-
tal of Ireland, home to both Catholic and Anglican archbishops. But before the
arrival of Christianity in the fifth century it was a place of huge religious importance.
KIRAN MAZUMDAR-SHAW Archaeologists believe they have uncovered evidence of Iron Age temples and
is executive chairperson, Biocon. other religious complexes. The research teams from Queen’s University Belfast
(QUB) and the University of Aberdeen have been using magnetic gradiometry and
an electrical resistance survey to help find potential structures at the site. Dr Paddy
Gleeson ... explained that both of these measure “the magnetic properties of the
soil” and “the way in which the soil conducts electrical resistance”.
BBC

T
he first covid-19 case in Karnataka was
reported on 9 March. Strict measures
ensured that the total number of cases
was contained at about 3,200, with
1,950 active cases and just over 50
deaths till 31 May, when the nationwide
lockdown started to be eased. Since then, the situa-
tion has exploded. Karnataka’s total case count
crossed 44,000, with about 26,000 active cases
and over 840 deaths by 15 July. Within a span of 45
days, the state has, on an average, added over 900
cases a day. In the first two weeks of July, it wit-
nessed a jump of 2,000 cases daily. Covid-19 cases
in Karnataka are growing at the fastest pace com-
pared to other states. The doubling time of cases is
less than 10 days for the state versus more than 21
days for India as a whole.
Simultaneously, the state’s fatality rate at 1.82%
is inching towards the national level of 2.64%. The
test positivity rate for Bengaluru, the state capital,
surpassed India’s average rate of 9.8% for the week
of 6-12 July.
From a safe haven in May to becoming the state
with the fourth-highest caseload of covid-19 in
India, Karnataka’s situation seems to be spiralling
out of control. Yet, this state has important lessons
for the rest of India.
To prevent the covid-19 situation in India as
well as in the states from worsening, the top three
priorities should now be to contain the spread of
the virus, control the mortality rate, and cascade
responsibility.
Contain spread: With several parts of India,
including Bengaluru, imposing a second lock-
down, the 5T model of “test, trace, track, triage and
treat” needs to be strictly enforced.
India needs to relook its testing guidelines, given
the Indian Council of Medical Research’s (ICMR’s)
estimate that 70-80% of coronavirus patients are
asymptomatic. Everyone should be able to get a
test done, as India is now producing enough test-
ing kits. Companies should be allowed to test
employees who report for work on site.
The plan to conduct a nationwide sero-surveil-
lance should be quickly implemented.
Comprehensive contact-tracing is key to slow-
ing the spread of covid-19. Up until May, Karnataka
was doing a thorough job of tracing and quarantin-
ing. For every positive case, Bengaluru was tracing
47 contacts, compared to Mumbai’s ratio of 1:3.
Chinese firm uses workers to ‘pre-test’ vaccine
I n the global race to make a coronavirus vaccine, a state-owned Chinese company
is boasting that its employees, including top executives, received experimental
shots even before the government approved testing in people. “Giving a helping
hand in forging the sword of victory,” reads an online post from SinoPharm with
pictures of workers it says helped “pre-test” its vaccine. Whether it’s viewed as
heroic sacrifice or a violation of international ethical norms, the claim underscores
the enormous stakes as China competes with U.S. and British companies to be the
first with a vaccine to help end the pandemic—a feat that would be both a scientific
and political triumph. “Getting a COVID-19 vaccine is the new Holy Grail,” said
Lawrence Gostin, a global public health law expert at Georgetown University.
AP
Doomsday bunkers available in New Zealand
A s cases of covid continue to rise around the world, New Zealand is looking
increasingly attractive to those wanting to hunker down and ride it out.
Queenstown, in particular, has long had rumours swirling about wealthy Americans
building doomsday-style bunkers but locals are sceptical, saying someone some-
where would have noticed that much earthworks being done. Plenty of wealthy
cient contact-tracing and proper quarantining is tion to less than 5% from the current 15%. foreigners are known to have bought property in New Zealand ... But whether
only one part of the story. The government also To bring mortality down, the ICMR should bunkers have been built underground for those looking to escape political turmoil
needs to be able to predict where the next outbreak update clinical management guidelines for the use overseas or a global pandemic is a matter of speculation. Now American company
is likely to take place through data mining and of available treatment options along the continuum Rising S—the name comes from an end-of-days reference to rising Son, Jesus
analysis, so that the authorities are prepared to nip of care. For example, hydroxychloroquine and favi- Christ—claims it will sell about a dozen bunkers into New Zealand this year.
the problem in its bud. piravir can be used in the initial asymptomatic and The New Zealand Herald
Control the mortality rate: The mortality rate is mild treatment stage, while remdesivir and methyl-
a good indicator of a country’s ability to prevent prednisolone can be administered immediately
covid-related deaths. While it is heartening that after hospitalization. Immunomodulatory drugs Do your workout or your brain might get flabby
this has dropped from 3.28% at the beginning of like tocilizumab and itolizumab can be used to treat
May to 2.64% now, we need to reduce it below 1%.
An alarming shortage of hos-
pital beds across the country is
moderate to severe patients, so as to address a
brewing cytokine storm and pre-
vent patients from needing criti-
E xercise may help change exercisers’ brains in surprising ways, according to a
new study of physical activity and brain health. The study, which included both
mice and people, found that exercise prompts the liver to pump out a little-known
putting at risk the lives of QUICK READ cal ventilator support. Protocols protein, and that chemically upping the levels of that protein in out-of-shape, eld-
patients with serious covid-19 for convalescent plasma therapy erly animals rejuvenates their brains and memories. The findings raise provocative
complications. To prevent hos- Contact tracing holds the key to and corticosteroid medication questions about whether the brain benefits of exercise might someday be available
pital infrastructure from getting slowing the infection’s spread such as dexamethasone should in a capsule or syringe form — essentially “exercise in a pill.” We already have con-
overwhelmed, the government and the example of Karnataka, also be specified. Metrics that siderable evidence that physical activity protects brains and minds from some of
will need to triage covid-19 cases where complacency after show a reduction in ventilator the declines that otherwise accompany aging. In past rodent studies, animals that
into mild, moderate and severe unlocking led to a surge in cases, need will bear a direct correla- ran on wheels... learned and remembered better than sedentary mice.
categories. Patients with mild offers us a cautionary lesson. tion with the effectiveness of the The New York Times
symptoms should be home- care delivered.
quarantined, while moderate Responsibility needs to be Cascade responsibility: A
cases should be treated in gov- cascaded down to the smallest decentralized approach is critical A desert telescope to see how old our universe is
ernment quarantine centres or administrative unit. Ward to tackle public health emergen-
paid hotel quarantine facilities.
The staff at hotel-turned-quar-
antine centres should be
councillors and village heads

any resurgence in infections

With the easing of the lockdown, complacency
seeped in, contact-tracing reduced to immediate
family members, and cases started multiplying.
Active clusters should be completely sealed-off
and the Dharavi pattern of “chase the virus”, which
helped bring down the incidence of covid-19 in
Asia’s largest slum, should be emulated through-
out the country.
Containment through increased testing, effi-
should be tasked with preventing needs to be cascaded down to the
equipped with proper personal
protective equipment and trained to provide con-
tactless services to ensure their safety.
Only severe cases with complaints of breathless-
ness, blood oxygen saturation levels of less than
90% and other complications should be admitted
to designated covid-19 hospitals.
The government should aim to bring down the
number of covid-19 patients seeking hospitaliza-
cies like covid-19. Responsibility
smallest administrative unit.
Ward councillors and sarpanches
of gram panchayats should be tasked with prevent-
ing any resurgence in infections in the areas they
administer through greater testing, quarantining,
zoning and sero-surveillance.
Time is running out, and India will need to adopt
a technology- and protocol-led approach, with
stakeholder collaboration and administrative
accountability. to avert a worsening of this crisis.
A nother telescope has entered the debate about the age and expansion rate of
the Universe...The new entrant is the Atacama Cosmology Telescope in Chile.
It’s been studying the “oldest light” on the sky and has concluded the Big Bang
occurred 13.77 billion years ago, give or take 40 million years. That’s almost exactly
the same number we got from Europe’s flagship Planck space observatory mission,
which mapped the ancient light in the early 2010s. But therein lies the problem
because other telescopes using different methods have come out with ages that are
a few hundred million years younger. What they’ve all been trying to do is measure
what’s known as the Hubble Constant - the value used by astronomers to describe
cosmic expansion.
BBC

MY VIEW | FARM TRUTHS

The case for better statistics has rarely been stronger

severe erosion of past gains on both these
HIMANSHU fronts. The same is the case with employ-
ment. The findings of the quarterly Periodic
Labour Force Survey (PLFS) for the last three
quarters have not been released. These are
crucial in analysing wages and income, both
ing this crisis. Similarly, data on unemploy- Democratic Alliance government of Atal statistical system by generating a greater
ment and income from private agencies, Bihari Vajpayee, which introduced the Situ- variety of data, and also through the digiti-
such as the National Council of Applied ation Assessment Surveys (SAS) of farmers in zation of the data collection processes,
Economic Research and Centre for Moni- 2002-03 to get a better picture of their which included the use of hand-held devi-
toring Indian Economy, have helped better income and indebtedness, as other adminis- ces. These are now commonly used for data
capture the problems being faced by people trations. Though these were started follow- collection in the quarterly labour force sur-

is associate professor at
Jawaharlal Nehru
University and visiting
fellow at the Centre de
Sciences Humaines,
New Delhi
T
he number of infections from covid
continues to rise, putting lives and
livelihoods at risk. With several states
going into another round of lockdown, the
effect of the pandemic could last longer
than earlier thought. This uncertainty on its
future course has contributed to uncer-
tainty on the economic front, although the
lack of adequate data on basic economic
indicators has been equally to blame.
A number of reports have suggested a rise
in poverty and hunger. Unfortunately, there
aren’t any official statistics to corroborate
this. The most recent consumption expend-
iture survey was conducted in 2017-18, but
it was junked by the government on spuri-
ous grounds, leaving the decade-old 2011-12
survey as the only official estimate. The
absence of consumption data not only
makes it difficult to say anything on poverty,
but also on many other indicators, particu-
larly food consumption. The leaked report
of 2017-18’s consumption survey showed a
of which have suffered a great deal during
the lockdown. Even the regular monthly
data from the labour bureau on rural wages,
which is usually available without much of
lag, has not been published after January
this year.
The absence of official statistics does not
mean there are no other estimates available.
Since the time the country’s lockdown was
announced on 24 March, several private
research institutes have conducted surveys
of migrants, availability of food, decline in
income, and so on. These have generated
large amounts of data, which, when ana-
lysed individually as well as together, sug-
gest a sharp decline in employment as well
as income levels, and a simultaneous
increase in hunger.
But these have also highlighted the large
reach of India’s public distribution system
and employment guarantee scheme, both of
which have helped the poor earn some
income and secure essential purchases dur-
across the country. ing an agrarian crisis and a rise in farmer sui- veys, as also in the calculation of some price
While these data sets are not as rigorous cides, their benefits have extended well indices.
and representative as the National Statisti- beyond. They helped assess the profitability This crisis has given us yet another
cal Office (NSO) surveys, they do fill the of agriculture, for example. Similarly, when opportunity to strengthen the country’s sta-
woeful gaps left by the absence of official the global financial crisis of 2008-09 hit tistical system by further expanding our
data. At a time when most survey agencies India’s economy, the United Progressive data sets and using technology to speed up
have developed expert- Alliance government data collection and dissemination.
ise in collecting data on started quarterly The absence of data on migrants, which
hand-held devices, the QUICK READ employment surveys affected the government’s response at the
lack of quality data from through the labour peak of this crisis, is a glaring reminder of
the NSO is surprising, to A lack of data on migrants bureau. These were use- why we need to improve our statistical sys-
say the least. affected India’s policy response ful in identifying the tems. Data on consumption, employment,
This is not the first cri- at the peak of the covid crisis, worst-hit sectors. It is wages and incomes are elementary indica-
sis the country has faced when they most needed help, unfortunate, however, tors of economic health, and ought to be
and it is not going to be and other missing numbers now that the labour bureau available on a regular basis without any sig-
the last. Previous gov- prevent a meaningful analysis of has discontinued the nificant lag. Reliable data on these funda-
ernments strengthened key indicators such as poverty. PLFS after facing criti- mental parameters is essential for effective
the statistical system cism over a rise in unem- policy responses to be mounted even during
during such crises to be The Centre should expand its ployment, as was shown normal times, given the dynamic nature of
able to better under- data coverage and use hand-held by its earlier leaked economic development and the diversity of
stand the nature of the devices for data collection. reports. our economic structures. But they are all the
shocks caused. This was Effective policy responses need Previous governments more necessary during times of crisis, such
as true of the National accurate inputs of information. had strengthened the as these.
 NEW DELHI, MUMBAI, BENGALURU, KOLKATA, CHENNAI, AHMEDABAD, HYDERABAD, CHANDIGARH*, PUNE* VOL. 14 NO. 172 Rs 5.00 IN DELHI-NCR; Rs 6.00 OUTSIDE DELHI-NCR. PRICE WITH HINDUSTAN TIMES Rs 9.50 (FOR DELHI & NCR)

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India, China dial down rhetoric TWITTERVERSE

on border de-escalation talks

Amit Shah @AmitShah
Commitment brings
UCWeb downsizes results! Selfless service
India operations Both sides committed towards complete disengagement, but pullback of troops may take time, says India and efforts of our
Alibaba-owned UCWeb Armed forces personnel
has suspended its India to help the people of
ops and laid off 90% of Elizabeth Roche has been insisting on a complete Delhi during this global
its 350 employees at two pandemic is truly
elizabeth.r@livemint.com withdrawal of Chinese troops to
of its offices. See Page 3
NEW DELHI positions where they were in April exemplary.
before the outbreak of tensions, a

ReNew to set up a
₹2,000-cr facility
ReNew Power is in talks
to set up a ₹1,500-2,000
crore facility to make
solar cells and modules.
See Page 5
Up to 20% jobs
may be cut: Ficci
10-20% of existing jobs in
labour-intensive sectors
will face cuts due to the
post-covid environment,
a report said. See Page 9
EU-US Privacy
Shield invalidated
EU’s top court strikes
down key method to
transfer data amid fears
over potential US
surveillance. See Page 11
C
hina and India seem to
Meghalaya have dialled down on
to close all
rhetoric and
entry points
from 24-31 attempted to reduce
July: CM public expectations of
Conrad their efforts to stabilize ties as the
Sangma
two sides prepared for protracted
bit.ly/390BMia talks on de-escalation and disen-
gagement of troops along the com-
mon border in Ladakh.
Beijing did not comment on the
talks between senior military com-
manders of the two sides, held on
Tuesday, apart from brief remarks
from the Chinese foreign ministry
on Wednesday that the talks had
made progress.
In New Delhi, the Indian Army
issued its first statement on Thurs-
day saying India and China “remain
committed to the objective of com-
plete disengagement”, but cau-
tioned that the “process is intricate
and requires constant verification”,
which was indicative of tough
negotiations, and that the steps
involved in the pulling back of
troops would take time.
The army said the two com-
manders met at Chushul on the
Indian side of the Line of Actual
Control (LAC) on Tuesday for
almost 15-hours and had reviewed
the first phase of disengagement at
three points along the Ladakh bor-
der, which took place last week.
position known as Finger 8 that is
India’s perception of where the
LAC is. “Fingers” are mountain
folds that are jutting into the Pang-
ong Tso lake.
At all diplomatic and military
level meetings between India and
China, “the two sides have agreed
on complete disengagement of the Anand Mahindra
troops along the LAC and de-esca- @anandmahindra
lation from India-China border There’s been solid
areas for full restoration of peace in progress in the Ease of
the border areas as per bilateral doing Business, but the
agreements”, Indian foreign minis- urgency of reviving
try spokesman Anurag Srivastava investment post-Covid
said on Thursday. requires that we sweep
The two senior military commanders met at Chushul on the Indian side of the LAC on Tuesday for almost Srivastava said the process of dis- away these landmines.
15hours to review the first phase of disengagement at three points along the Ladakh border. PTI engagement was “complex”, and
the process underway at PP 14, 15
“They (India and China) are tak- LAC border with India, with tanks, these points, the two sides have and 17-A “is aimed at addressing
ing it (disengagement and de-esca- artillery and air support. India implemented a pull back and cre- face-off situations and close-up
lation) forward through regular quickly matched these moves ated a buffer zone of 3-4 kilometres deployments of troops along the
meetings at diplomatic and military through its own mobilization of to ensure that their respective LAC”. “Both sides have agreed at
levels,” it said. troops to do not specific points to redeploy towards
Ties between NEGOTIATIONS ON TRACK engage with each their regular posts on their respec-
the two countries other. tive sides of the LAC. These are
had plummeted DISENGAGEMENT THE Army also said TIES between the However, at mutually agreed reciprocal actions JoeBiden @JoeBiden
after the spike in process is intricate,
needs constant
both sides are taking two countries had
the talks forward plummeted after the
Pangong Tso, to be taken by both sides,” Srivas-
tensions in early verification, said the through military-level spike in tensions in there has been tava said in a reference to buffer Trump needs to do
May following a Indian Army diplomatic meetings early May limited progress in zones. Some news reports had everything in his power
clash between achieving a with- expressed concern that the buffer to surge testing so we
Indian and Chi- drawal. Chinese zones meant Indian troops step- can reopen safely. Infec-
nese troops at the Pangong Tso lake troops. Chinese troops had troops, who had intruded up to a ping back further into Indian terri- tion rates are rising at
an alarming pace. Mr.
in Ladakh and in Naku La in Sik- ingressed into Indian territory at point known as Finger 4, have now tory and the Chinese troops with-
kim. China subsequently amassed Pangong Tso, as well as at patrol- moved back to Finger 5, said a per- drawing two kilometers still meant President, act now.
a large number of troops along the ling points (PP) 14, 15 and 17-A. At son familiar with the matter. India that they were inside India.

HC to hear plea challenging Pilot, rebel MLAs’ disqualification today

Anuja & Gyan Varma that it was a constitutional Senior Congress leaders and there could be a trust
NEW DELHI matter. The petitioners said said while Pilot’s camp is of the vote,” said a Rajasthan Con-
notices issued under the pro- view that a party whip applies gress leader.

T
he infighting in the Con-
gress between chief
minister Ashok Gehlot
and his former deputy Sachin
Pilot reached the Rajasthan
high court on Thursday with
rebel members of legislative
The government is set to spend an estimated ₹1,300 crore for assembly (MLAs) challenging
redeveloping the four stations. MINT their expulsion from the
assembly. The court will hear
Cube, GMR Business, the petition on Friday.
The move, which could
widen the rift between the two
visions of the constitution only when the assembly ses- Meanwhile, as the BJP was
were bad in law, and should be sion is on, leaders close to Geh- keeping a close watch on the
quashed. They added that they lot argue that any meeting of developments, voices of dis-
were not given sufficient time the Congress Legislative Party sent were also visible among
to reply. (CLP) is guided by its alliance part-
The rebels argued the a formally issued The rebels argued ners.
notice seemed to be based on whip. Pilot and that the “Former CM
assumptions and surmises, MLAs supporting disqualification Vasundhara Raje
which have no factual ground him had missed notice is based on i s m a k i n g a
to support the alleged appre- two meetings of
assumptions and strong effort to
Senior Congress leaders said Sachin Pilot’s camp is of the view
hensions voiced in the com-
plaint. It clarified that none of
the petitioners have expressed
the CLP this
week.
“There are factual ground
save the minority
surmises, with no government of
@ashokgeh-

others vie for station factions, comes a day after

Gehlot accused Pilot of engag-
ing in horse-trading, even as
that a party whip applies only when the assembly session is on. HT

on keeping the doors open for ification from the assembly on

or indicated their will to leave
the Congress.
A senior Jaipur-based BJP
arguments on
both sides, but
lot51. Raje has
also made calls to
there is a view that the dissent- many Congress MLAs about
the former state unit chief Pilot’s return. The Congress Wednesday. The legislators leader said, “They want to fight ing MLAs may get some kind this!” Rashtriya Loktantrik
redevelopment plan maintained he was not joining
the Bharatiya Janata Party
(BJP).
has asked its Rajasthan leaders
not to make personal allega-
tions against Pilot.
were asked to respond by Fri-
day over the possible disciplin-
ary action.
over the CM’s chair and were
not worried about the people
of Rajasthan at the time of the
of an interim legal relief. It is Party convener Hanuman
more than clear that both sides Beniwal, a BJP ally, posted on
are planning their moves cau- Twitter on Thursday evening.
Shreya Nandi structure Investments, Monte- The move by the rebel Assembly speaker C.P. Joshi A division bench of Rajast- pandemic. It is clear that the tiously. But the way the situa- Japnam Bindra and
shreya.n@livemint.com carlo Ltd, JKB Infrastructure, MLAs adds to the concerns of had issued notices to Pilot and han high court will hear the legal battle between Gehlot tion is developing, it seems Prathma Sharma contributed
NEW DELHI and Kalyan Toll Infrastructure the party, with former presi- 18 other rebel MLAs after the case on Friday, as sought by and Pilot could continue for inevitable that the matter will to this story.
Ltd, the railways said. dent Rahul Gandhi still keen Congress sought their disqual- the petitioners on the grounds some more time.” eventually go to the assembly anuja@livemint.com

N
ine companies, includ- The government is set to
ing G.R. Infraprojects spend an estimated ₹1,300
Ltd, Kalpataru Power crore for redeveloping the four
Transmission Ltd, GMR Busi- stations, which are expected to
ness and Consultancy Llp, and attract huge investment once
Cube Construction Engineer- the projects are complete.
ing Ltd, have been shortlisted The ambitious station rede-
to redevelop four railway sta- velopment plan of Indian Rail-
Digitization of judicial process gets big push amid pandemic, says govt
tions, Indian Railways said on ways is part of its efforts to
Thursday. The government attract private investment. The Japnam Bindra & information technology minis- of the e-committee. lockdown, e-filing was intro-
plans to transform national trans- Shreya Nandi ter Ravi Shankar Prasad. In May, the chief justice of duced for all urgent matters,
Gwalior, Nagpur, The govt plans to porter also plans While the covid-19 outbreak India S.A. Bobde had said that irrespective of what the case
Amritsar, and transform to woo private NEW DELHI and the subsequent nationwide while the transition to digitiza- was about.
Sabarmati into Gwalior, Nagpur, companies into lockdown prompted the apex tion was not easy, it was here to Similarly, a majority of

T
commercial hubs, Amritsar, and running special he Supreme Court (SC) court to adopt e-filing of cases stay, as it was the National Com-
or ‘railopolises’.
Sabarmati into
passenger trains. has made filing cases for urgent petitions, it is now only way forward During the pany Law Tribu-
In June, the The total online simple and afford- slowly opening it for regular for judicial bodies lockdown period, nals across the
Indian Railway commercial hubs, built-up area able amid restrictions over matters. In May, the court had across the coun- 640 advocates on country had intro-
Stations Develop- or ‘railopolises’ allowed for com- maintain social distancing. allowed e-filing of petitions by try. duced digital
record have
ment Corp. Ltd mercial develop- According to the SC registry, advocates on record (AoR), Digitization means of filing
(IRSDC), the ment is 54 lakh 640 cases were registered amid the lockdown. was taken up in
registered for cases before the
nodal agency for implementing square ft. No prior environ- online between 22 March and An AoR is an advocate who other courts, too. e-filing cases in coronavirus out-
the project, had opened mental clearance will be 8 July. has cleared a qualifying exami- Delhi high court, the top court break, but the tri-
requests for qualification required for the four projects. “The e-filing process in the nation and is allowed to file Union minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said the e-filing process in for instance, bunals had also
(RFQs) to shortlist bidders. Once the projects are com- Supreme Court has made it petitions in the SC. Besides, the the Supreme Court has made it easy to file cases. HT introduced the made it manda-
These companies will now plete, the four stations will have easy to file cases. During the apex court on 10 July held that e-filing of cases even before the tory to submit a physical copy.
have to submit a fixed price to provisions to levy a pre-deter- lockdown period, 640 advo- summons and notices will be the difficulties to visit a post mechanism for defects and outbreak of covid-19. However, The number of physical copies
bag the projects. mined user charge on passen- cates on record have registered allowed to be served through office due to limited mobility. objections in the petitions are it was limited to commercial was reduced from three to two.
The other shortlisted com- gers and visitors, as the main for e-filing cases in (the) the digital medium, including “A 24x7 e-filing facility, some of the key features envis- matters, such as arbitration Since the lockdown, tribunals
panies include Anchorage revenue stream for the conces- Supreme Court. This is a move email, fax and instant messag- incorporation of online court aged through the introduction cases, and was also dependent had been taking up only urgent
Infrastructure Investments sionaire of the redeveloped sta- towards digitization of the judi- ing mobile applications. The fee payment, use of digital sig- of e-filing,” said justice D.Y. on the judge hearing the case. matters through e-filing.
Holdings Ltd, ISQ Asia Infra- tions. cial process,” said law and decision was taken in view of nature and digitalized scrutiny Chandrachud, the chairperson Post-implementation of the japnam.b@livemint.com