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BENNETT, COLEMAN & CO. LTD. NEW DELHI / GURGAON | 12 PAGES | .` 3.00 OR .` 7.00 ALONG WITH THE TIMES OF INDIA MONDAY, 18 MAY 2020

States With Most Cases 5 Worst-Hit Cities Samples Tested TOTAL CASES

GLOBAL COUNT
Active Case Count Total Active
53,946 (+911)
CORONA
METER Deaths
1000k If cases had
100k doubled every...
Week M’rashtra
Gujarat
30,706
10,988
Mumbai 18,555
Delhi 9,333
Share
In Total
Total* 2,227,642
In Past 24 Positive
4,756,441
DEATHS
China Threatens US
2,872 (+120) 50.85%
Cured
10k
1k
9 days Tamil Nadu 10,585 Share
In Total Ahmedabad 8,144 Hours*
93,365 4.04 %
Cases^ 313,943 Over Huawei Curbs
TOTAL CASES 90,927 34,109 (+3,956) March 29 May 17 Delhi 9,333 72.2% Chennai 6,761 Source:
Recovered AROUND THE WORLD 11
covid19india. Source: ICMR *As of 9am,
IN INDIA (+4,987) Source: MoHFW, 8am 94,887: PTI estimate of Covid-19 cases as of 9:20pm Rajasthan 4,960 Thane 3,834 org May 17 ^3-day Average 1,833,040
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ET GRAPHICS
LOCKDOWN 4.0: MOST ACTIVITIES ALLOWED OUTSIDE CONTAINMENT ZONES
THE STIMULUS – More for
2 More Weeks of Lockdown MHA REMOVES RESTRICTIONS
Supply, Less for Demand
The finance minister’s fifth and final instalment of the stimulus came on
Sunday. The government says the economy has got a push worth more than
Still Barred: Air travel, metro More Open Than Shut
services, educational and States to demarcate red, green and orange zones based on health min guidelines Ecomm Cos `20 lakh crore. However, experts say most of it is in liquidity & guarantees, and
unlike many other major economies, there’s not much direct cash support
GREEN LIGHT AAROGYA SETU APP or demand push. Over the medium term, the economy should get a reform
religious places, restaurants, All activities,
except those
Ecomm of ‘non-
essentials’
Employers on
best effort
District authorities
“may advise”
may Resume boost, they say, but recovery from Covid shock will likely take longer.
hotels, cinema halls, malls;
Aarogya app not mandatory
prohibited, allowed
irrespective of
zones
permitted barring
containment zones
basis to ensure
app is installed
people to install
app rather than Full Ops Today `20,97,503 Cr
size of the stimulus package, according to the govt. This includes
`801,603 cr worth of measures already announced by the RBI
Inter-state traffic by employees make it mandatory
Sports complex and can operate with Cab-hailing services What The Package Delivers On
Rahul.Tripathi @timesgroup.com FOR OFFICES
stadia can open; no consent of
spectators allowed respective states
Restriction of WFH desired; no longer prohibited REFORMS
New Delhi: The Centre on Sunday, 33% workforce office hours can
while extending the nationwide Co- States and Centre on same page on done away with be staggered Our Bureau A] New definition of MSMEs
vid-19 lockdown by another two weeks delivery of ‘non-essentials’ via ecomm B] Agri marketing reforms
until May 31, significantly eased rest- CHECKS IN PLACE Bengaluru: Ecommerce firms
rictions outside containment zones Air travel, metro services prohibited Intensive contact tracing such as Flipkart, Amazon and C] Coal, minerals liberalisation
and left it for states to demarcate these as most states were opposed to idea in containment zones Snapdeal, as well as specialised e- D] Higher FDI in defence production
areas based on guidelines issued by tailers including Lenskart, Nykaa
the health ministry. and Firstcry, are expected to resu- E] Airport, discom privatisation
Lockdown 4.0 guidelines, as PM Na- and shopping malls will remain closed. panies was allowed only in green and me full-fledged operations from F] New policy for PSUs
rendra Modi had indicated in his add- “All other activities will be permitted, orange zones. In containment zones, Monday after the Centre removed
ress to the nation on May 12, were in kee- except those which are specifically pro- only essential services will be allowed. restrictions on online retail as LIQUIDITY
ping with the intent to open up econo- hibited,” says the home ministry guide- Home secretary Ajay Bhalla wrote to part of its Lockdown 4.0 plan.
A] Collateral-free loans/equity
mic activities. Inter-state movement of line. This, officials said, means ecom- all states after the new guidelines were Earlier, these platforms could
for small business
traffic based on consent of respective merce platforms can operate outside issued, detailing the health ministry’s sell non-essential goods like
states, have been allowed. Air travel and containment zones just as any other ‘multi-factoral’ parameters based on smartphones and electronics in B] Special liquidity and partial
metro services remain prohibited as shop or service. Both the Centre and which states can demarcate contain- government-designated green guarantee for NBFCs
most states opposed their resumption. state governments agreed on this. In ment and buffer zones. and orange zones. In red zones, ho-
C] Funds for discoms; PF relief
Educational institutions, religious pla- the third phase of lockdown, delivery of wever, they we-
ces, hotels, restaurants, cinema halls nonessential items by ecommerce com- Docs, Nurses Can’t be Stopped at Border8 re permitted to D] `2.3 lakh crore extra
sell only essen- credit to farmers
tial items such
States to as food and gro- INFRASTRUCTURE PUSH

Final Tranche of Stimulus: Changes decide on

allowing
businesses
ceries.
In its latest gui-
delines issued
on Sunday, the
A] Affordable rental housing
for migrants
B] Extension of middle income

in IBC, Funding Push for NREGA lakh crore programme aimed at revi-
to function
based on
their local
needs and
ministry of ho-
me affairs said
all activities, ex-
cept those speci-
housing scheme
C] Agri infrastructure fund
D] Higher VGF for social
Our Bureau ving an economy swamped by the pan- fically prohibi- infrastructure
RURAL BOOST STIMULUS situation
Additional FOR STATES demic and the ensuing lockdown. ted, will now be HELPING STRESSED BUSINESS
New Delhi: Finance minister Nirmala The total outlay, including liquidity opened up. WE ARE NOT
`40,000 cr States can borrow
Sitharaman said the government will measures by the government, amounts States will, however, take a final A] Relaxation in insolvency law SPLURGING,
for MGNREGA up to 5% of their amend the Insolvency and Bankruptcy to .̀ 11.02 lakh crore, excluding the .̀ 1.92 call on allowing businesses to B] Liquidity support/refunds WE ARE BEING
IBC UNTANGLED GSDP from 3% now Code (IBC) to exclude debt taken during lakh crore package announced in April. function based on their local ne-
C] Funds for stressed NBFCs
RESPONSIBLE
the Covid-19 outbreak and suspend any Along with that and support from the eds and situation, the guidelines NIRMALA
No fresh fresh resolution filings for up to one year. Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to the tune added. Online sales will continue
PRIVATE PUSH SITHARAMAN
insolvency to be The government will provide an addi- of .̀ 8.01 lakh crore, to be restricted in containment zo- Finance
initiated for 1 FOR PSU
tional .̀ 40,000 crore allocation for the OPPORTUNITY the aggregate is nes across the country, where only What The Package Does Not Address… Minister
year under IBC Max 4 PSEs Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Emp- FOR REFORMS: .̀ 20.97 lakh crore. essential activities will be permit-
allowed in loyment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) BIBEK DEBROY “The crisis and the ted, the directives said. SUPPLY SIDE, NOT DEMAND BOOSTING
Covid- 19 related EDIT PAGE challenge is an op- “We don’t expect states to restrict
strategic sectors for FY21, allow states to borrow up to 5%
debt excluded portunity to build a ecommerce activity in any way 1] Businesses may get 3] And 5] There’s also 7] Even more
of gross state domestic product (GSDP)
from definition Non-strategic PSUs from 3% now and privatise public sector self-reliant India,” Sitharaman said. and we should start accepting or- helped over time, but consumption not much cash so because
of “default” to be privatised enterprises (PSEs) in non-strategic sec- “Only about 10% of this stimulus — ders from tomorrow (Monday),” current stress may sentiment is down support/direct there isn’t much
tors under a new policy for such units. which amounts to 1.01% of FY21 GDP— said a senior executive of a leading continue due to lack because of job relief for low for middle class
HEALTH REFORMS “In order to prove the resolve of Atma- can be traced as direct additional bud- ecommerce marketplace. “Moreo- of demand losses/pay cuts income 8] Therefore,
Boosting research via Integrated nirbhar Bharat (self-reliant India), getary cost to the central exchequer,” ver, offline stores are open in most 2] That is crucial across classes unemployed low demand
National Institutional Public Health land, labour, liquidity and laws have all said DK Srivastava, chief policy advi- locations, so it shouldn’t be a pro- because nearly 60% of 4] There’s no policy 6] So, consumers may continue
Platform for One Labs in all been emphasised in (the) package,” Sit- sor, EY India. blem for us (ecommerce) as well.” economy is private to directly boost likely to stay and pull
Health by ICMR districts haraman said on Sunday, unveiling the consumption job creation very cautious economy down
fifth and the last instalment of the .̀ 20 Package Progressive, Says Industry8 ‘Ready to Serve Customers’8
STIMULUS DENT TO FISCAL DEFICIT AT 1-2% OF GDP, SAY EXPERTS9

RURAL HELP FOR THE STRANDED IN CITIES

Inside story GA Set to Buy 1.34% Stake in Oppo Halts Work at
Noida Unit after Remittances
Govt’s Next Target: 10 m Tests by
July-end, Protocol for 20 Cities
The Centre’s latest plan of action is to test 10
Jio Platforms for `6,598 cr Staff Test Positive
Chinese handset-
Return, but from
maker Oppo said it
million people by July-end, bring on board additio- JIO PLATFORMS TO
Company’s equity value Strong Network
Rural to Urban
nal facilities and a specialised protocol for 20 key has suspended
NET A COMBINED
manufacturing at its Greater
cities to combat Covid-19, as well as ensure that after deal to stand at Jio Platforms’ Recent `67,194.75 Crore
equipment is stockpiled to last till August.2 Fundraising Deals Noida plant after six factory
Analysts expect
llllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll
`4.91 lakh cr, enterprise Investors Investment (` Cr) Stake (%) more such employees tested positive for
value at `5.16 lakh cr Facebook 43,574 9.99 deals that will Covid-19 on Sunday. The com- Cos report 35-50% Reverse Flow
ICMR may Revise HCQ Guidelines help RIL reposition the pany has initiated Covid testing
as Experts Divided Over Drug’s Use
Vista Equity Partners 11,367 2.32
oil-to-retail-telecom
recovery in business Spice Digital
Our Bureau General Atlantic 6,598 1.34 for its more than 3,000 employ- records 50%
ICMR is contemplating a revision of its recom-
Silver Lake 5,656 1.15
conglomerate into a
consumer-tech co ees. Danish Khan reports.4 in first two weeks of rise, FINO
mendation to use hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) for Mumbai: Private equity firm payments bank
treatment of Covid-19 after ethical questions General Atlantic is set to invest
May against 90% fall sees 45% pickup
were raised about the therapy, causing a rift `6,598.38 crore in Jio Platforms of `5.16 lakh crore. General Atlan- der Reliance Jio Infocomm, which Maruti Suzuki in March and April in remittances
within its task force of experts. 4 for a 1.34% stake. This will be the tic’s investment will translate into is the largest in the country with
fourth investment in the Relian- a 1.34% equity stake in Jio Plat- more than 388 million subscribers. Looks to Resume EKO FIN SERVICES
lllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll Saloni Shukla &
ce Industries Ltd (RIL) business
in rapid succession, following
forms on a fully diluted basis,” RIL
said in a release on Sunday.
RIL’s other digital properties and
investments such as Jio Cinema, Operations Today Ashwin Manikandan
AND PAYPOINT
SEE 35% GROWTH
Mumbai Pins Hope on a New those by social media major Fa- With the latest deal, Jio Platforms Jio Saavn and Haaptik are housed Maruti Suzuki is set
Plan of Action to Fight Covid cebook and private equity funds will get a combi- in Jio Platforms. to restart operations Mumbai: An early pickup in eco- Green & orange zones
An updated testing strategy, early discharge Silver Lake and Vista Equity ned `67,194.75 cro- The transaction is subject to re- nomic activity and rise in reverse contributing to pickup
Partners. Analysts expect more RIL may re from the four gulatory and other customary at its manufacturing remittances from rural to urban
and steps to persuade private hospitals of the Reverse remittance
such deals to take place. dilute investments. The approvals, the company said. facility in Gurugram, Haryana have led to revival in domestic re-
need to treat more Covid-19 patients — these “This investment values Jio Plat- another RIL unit compri- mittances in May after a near to- of family members of
on Monday. The automobile
are the strategies that the BMC and the Maha- forms at an equity value of `4.91 7-8% in Jio ses mostly its tele- PE Fund’s Largest Deal in Asia8 tal collapse in March and April. migrants add to growth
rashtra government are relying on.4 lakh crore and an enterprise value Platforms com business un- GA’s Tieup with Jio for Long Term4 company will resume oper- India’s dominant players such
ations after 55 days of lock- as Fino Payments Bank, Spice Di- SOUTHERN STATES BEGIN
down-induced closure on gital, Eko Financial Services and TO SEE NORMALISATION

Consumer Cos Go Vocal about Local Roots

PayPoint are reporting a 35-50% IN REMITTANCES
account of the outbreak of the recovery in business in the first
coronavirus pandemic. 6 two weeks of May against 90%
fall in March and April. More im- run rate of `. 2,000 crore. Hopeful-
Begin pushing ‘vocal for local’ themes across all marketing campaigns and last-mile sales pitches MFs RAISE CASH LEVELS
TO 8-MONTH HIGH
portantly, it is a reversal in trend.
With economic activities in ur-
ly this will pick up further,” said
Rishi Gupta, CEO, Fino Pay-
Amul, Dabur, Bisleri, Godrej, Mari- his address to the nation on May 12. about local” brands and buy pro- PAGE 7 ban India coming to a grinding ments Bank. “We are seeing that
Ratna Bhushan & co and Voltas have begun pushing “We are highlighting Indian roots ducts made domestically in a speech halt since the lockdown, some pla- many of migrant workers are
Writankar Mukherjee ‘vocal for local’ themes across all and have started promoting ads with themed around a self-reliant nation. yers are seeing a reversal in re- trying to find employment op-
advertising and marketing campa- this message on digital media and He had also tweeted that “local is not Bharti Infra-Indus mittance flows. Rural markets, tions closer to home and in their
New Delhi | Kolkata: India’s igns and last-mile sales pitches. This TV, particularly news channels,” merely a need but a responsibility.” which typically were receivers of home state, though these are
largest consumer-facing companies follows Prime Minister Narendra said Dabur CEO Mohit Malhotra. Cigarettes-to-consumer goods Merger may Get remittances, are now turning in- still early days.”
including ITC, Parle Products, Modi’s exhortation to this effect in The maker of Vatika shampoo and maker ITC, which makes Aashirva- to providers for the stranded mig- “When you compare the first half
Red toothpaste ad atta, Sunfeast biscuits and Vivel Completed Soon rant populace in the cities. of April with the first half of May,
competes with soap and is aiming to achieve .̀ 1 lakh The proposed merger of “Prior to Covid-19, we were do- there is an improvement,” said Di-
Sales Pitches Turn Desi WHAT
EXPERTS SAY
Cos including
ITC, Parle ,
multinationals such crore in sales from its non-cigarette
Bharti Infratel and ing remittances worth `. 4,500 lip Modi, chairman, Spice Money,
ITC: Proudly Indian as Colgate Palmoli- consumer businesses, said it will crore every month that had co- a leading remittance player.
Most Amul, Dabur, ve and Hindustan continue to strengthen its Make in Indus Towers is likely to me to a near standstill post lock-
Dabur: Go #Vocal4Local consumers Bisleri, Godrej, Unilever Ltd (HUL). India pitch. “ITC has invested get completed after all sides down, but has now recovered to a Maha, Gujarat among Worst Hit8
are not aware Marico and “Made in India will extensively in developing a vibrant
Parle Products: Voltas have agreed to change the contours of
Bharat ka apna of brand be a key factor likely portfolio of Indian brands which
ownership started raising to influence pur- support millions of farmers and the deal, reports Arun Kumar. DEMAND FOR COOKING GAS RISES 24%
Marico: Indianness & pride ‘vocal for chase decision and creates large-scale livelihoods, Under the new share-swap pact,
Prataap Snacks:
Quality, value
for money key
local’ pitch the vocal for local with 25 Indian vibrant brands Bharti Infratel will buy Voda Idea’s Fuel Sales Revive in First Half of May
Swadesh Pride campaign has the potential of har- created from scratch,” ITC ex- Diesel and petrol sales declined 28% and 47.5%, respectively, in
considerations nessing India’s traditional knowled- ecutive director B Sumant said. entire 11.15% stake in Indus Towers
Amul: Indian taste for consumers ge like ayurveda,” he said. for about `4,500 cr in cash. 4 the first half of May from a year ago, showing recovery in demand
Modi had urged Indians to be “vocal Cos to Leverage all Platforms8 after a record fall last month, reports Sanjeev Choudhary. 7
Illustration: ANIRBAN BORA
 2  Pure Politics
Cong: Actual Package Only
INTERNAL ASSESSMENT: 500,000-700,000 POSITIVE CASES BY JULY-END
Govt’s Next Target: 10 m Tests by .̀ 3.22 lcr and 1.6% of GDP
July-end, Protocol for 20 Cities
Mumbai, Delhi, Indore,
Pune, Bhopal and
Chennai will be among
the identified 20 cities
Anubhuti.Vishnoi
@timesgroup.com
New Delhi: As India moves into
Lockdown 4.0, the Centre is prepa-
ring for the crucial next two
months, when it may see a mani-
fold rise in Covid-19 positive cases.
Its latest plan of action is to test 10
million people by July-end, bring
on board additional facilities and a
specialised protocol for 20 key citi-
es to combat the spread of the vi-
rus, as well as ensure that equip-
ment is stockpiled to last till Au-
gust, sources told ET.
Mumbai, Delhi, Indore, Pune,
Bhopal and Chennai will be among
the identified 20 cities, as also
others where the testing-to-positi-
Maha, Guj, TN Challenge to Management
New Strategy
on Containment
Proper entry and exit point
Exit point to be
manned by district
health surveillance
team which deputes a per-
son to monitor temperature
Any area with more than 200
cases, a test positivity rate of
over 7%, a doubling rate of
less than 14 days and a case
fatality rate of over 6% could
be classified as a contain-
ment zone. The area would
be decontained if there is no
case for 28 days
India Should Support Int’l Probe into Origin of Virus,
Restoration of Taiwan’s Participation in WHA
KANWAL SIBAL
China’s bid to exclude
Taiwan from World
Health Assembly on the
grounds of ‘One-China
policy’ has no legal basis
India should take maximum
advantage from the deteriora-
tion of US-China ties. It is the
US and its allies that fuelled
China’s uncontrolled rise
which gave it the sinews for its
mounting ambitions. If China’s
aggrandisement has to be
curbed, the US and its allies are
in best position to do so.
If they succeed India would
benefit as China’s zeal to domi-
nate Asia will be bridled and,
more importantly, Chinese
pressure on India would get
reduced. China would have to
focus primarily on limiting the
damage to its political, econo-
AHEAD OF WORLD HEALTH ASSEMBLY MEETING
India, 61Others Back Oz Alarmed Over Beijing’s
Australian, EU Motion South China Sea Aggression
Territorial disputes need to be settled in accordance with int’l law, acts of
on Pandemic Probe coercion can lead to escalation: high commissioner (designate) to India
Motion doesn’t mention
China or Wuhan where
the outbreak began
DipanjanRoy.Chaudhury
@timesgroup.com
New Delhi: As many as 62 countri-
es, including India, have backed the
joint Australian and EU motion for
an independent enquiry into the co-
ronavirus outbreak, ahead of a
World Health Assembly (WHA) mee-
ting in Geneva on Monday.
The motion does not specifically
mention China or the Chinese city
of Wuhan where the outbreak be-
gan. The US and China haven’t yet
backed the motion but efforts are on
to bring them on board before Mon-
day’s meeting, ET has learnt.
Some of the close economic part-
ners of China, including Russia
and South Africa, have backed the
motion. UK, Japan, South Korea,
Indonesia and Turkey have also
backed it. Even some states in
Africa and Latin America have
July Expected to be Critical Month
Centre to conduct
a comprehensive
review of its
testing strategy
in the first week of June
and accordingly decide on
increase, direction and
protocol for further testing
ve confirmation ratio has been
high, which will require speciali-
sed treatment considering their
density and large
slum clusters.
ET has learnt that
the Centre will con-
duct a comprehen-
sive review of its
testing strategy in
County’s
health infra
will feel the
the first week of Ju-
ne and accordingly
strain if it hits decide on the incre-
the worst- ase, direction and
case scenario protocol for further
Test positivity rate of 3 states showing sharp increase in less than a fortnight
Nidhi.Sharma@timesgroup.com
New Delhi: Maharashtra, Gujarat
and Tamil Nadu are posing a tough
challenge to India’s Covid-19 mana-
gement as the test positivity rate of
these three states is showing a sharp
increase in less than a fortnight.
Test positivity rate refers to the
proportion of positive cases out of
the total number of tests conduc-
ted. A higher test positivity rate in-
dicates a faster spread of infection.
The latest statistics of the Indian
Council of Medical Research
(ICMR) show that Maharashtra has
the highest test positivity rate of
11.5%, which has more than doubled
in a month, from 5.4% on April 17.
mic and security interests of a
confrontation with the US.
Because of its economic size and
market power, control over critical
global supply chains, delay in any
serious decoupling, China can
retaliate, but there would be overri-
ding compulsion to cut its losses,
unless it nurtures delusions that
with US power declining it can
combat it globally, a mindset that
its gross “wolf warrior diplomacy”
reflects. China’s Middle Kingdom
notions of hierarchy that Xi Jin-
ping has seemingly internalised,
and his belief that China’s model of
governance is superior to that of
the western democracies, may
prove a serious miscalculation.
China’s record of animosity to-
wards India is a glaring one. It has
consistently undermined India’s
vital interests by opposing its perma-
nent membership of the UN Securi-
ty Council and NSG membership,
using Pakistan as a proxy to neutrali-
se India strategically, pursuing the
China-Pakistan Economic Corridor
in full awareness of its illegality, and
now signing on to the Diamer-Bhas-
ha dam in Gilgit Baltistan. Worse, its
effort to inscribe the Kashmir issue
on the UNSC agenda has been a
grave provocation. China protects
Pakistan on the issue of terrorism
directed at India, constantly chal-
lenges our sovereignty over Aruna-
supported it. Australia was the
first nation to call for an indepen-
dent enquiry into how the coro-
navirus started. This drew sharp
reaction from China. The Euro-
pean Union has also sought an in-
vestigation while balancing its
ties with China.
European nations and Australia
have been trying to garner support
for the EU draft motion which calls
for an “impartial,
independent and
US and China comprehensive
haven’t yet evaluation” of
backed the “WHO-coordina-
motion but ted health re-
efforts are on sponse to Co-
to bring them vid-19”. It is a ca-
on board refully drafted
motion to get
maximum support, according to
persons familiar with the process.
The motion, however, stated WHO
should work with the World Orga-
nisation for Animal Health to con-
duct “scientific and collaborative
field missions” and "identify the
zoonotic source of the virus and
the route of introduction to the hu-
man population, including the pos-
sible role of intermediate hosts”.
The
review
has
been planned ahead
of July, expected to
be a critical month
for India’s Covid-19
case trajectory
testing. The review has been
planned ahead of July, expected
to be a critical month for India’s
Covid-19 case trajectory.
Internal governmental assess-
ments are looking at 500,000-
700,000 positive cases by July-end
and are already gearing up to pre-
pare to handle this scenario.
While procurement of health sup-
port systems to tackle the virus is
currently satisfactory, sources sa-
id the county’s health infrastructu-
re will feel the strain if it hits the
worst-case scenario — of 800,000 to
The state’s high test positivity rate
is largely because of cases in Mum-
bai. The state’s average was 7.2% on
May 4 and was lower
than that of Delhi.
Gujarat, which has
the second highest
number of confir-
med cases after Ma-
National harashtra and a hig-
average her fatality rate, has
between 3% a test positivity rate
& 5% despite
of 7.7%, as compared
number of
tests being
to 6.9% when the ca-
conducted ses were just rising
rising daily on May 4. Delhi’s test
positivity rate is also
towards the higher side at 7.1%,
which is almost the same as May 4
when it was 7.3%. Tamil Nadu,
If China succeeded in thwarting the
US, European, Japanese and Austra-
lian move to support an independent
virus enquiry and on Taiwan’s partic-
ipation, it would garner a major diplo-
matic victory that will shift the
power balance further in its
BUILDING PRESSURE ON CHINA
China cannot claim others support its
territorial integrity while it violates
theirs with impunity, be it in the South
China Sea or in the Himalayas
chal Pradesh, refuses to clarify the
Line of Actual Control in the north,
and has now opened a new front on
the undisputed Sikkim-Tibet
border. It seeks to erode India’s
influence in neighbouring countri-
es, and raise additional security
challenges for India through its
maritime policies in the Indian
Ocean. China baulks at any serious
measure to reduce our yawning
trade deficit with it. There is virtu-
Manu.Pubby@timesgroup.com
New Delhi: Expressing concern
over the militarisation of dispu-
ted features and the coercive use
of coast guard vessels in the So-
uth China Sea, the Australian
high commissioner (designate)
to India said its vessels and air-
craft would continue their ope-
rations in the region and support
other nations doing the same.
On the ongoing developments
in the region, Barry O’Farrell sa-
id all territorial disputes need to
be settled in accordance with in-
ternational law and acts of coer-
cion can lead to escalation.
The comments come in the wake
of increased Chinese aggression
in South China Sea in recent we-
eks, which included the sinking of
a Vietnamese fishing vessel, dang-
erous tailing of foreign warships
and attempts to stop exploration
activities in the exclusive econo-
mic zones of other Asian nations.
As reported by ET, there is a line
of thought that the recent inci-
dents in the South China Sea and
the flare-up along the Sikkim and
1 million positive cases by end of
August, along with a significant in-
crease in cases per day.
That will also be the point when
the policy will shift from focussed
testing to focussed treatment.
India currently has over 91,000 Co-
vid-19 positive cases — with nearly
4,000-5,000 cases being added every
day. The geographic spread of the
virus is also expected to shift to-
wards the East with migrant wor-
kers returning — both Bihar and
Odisha are already reporting a
three-fold increase in cases.
Officials, however, said the out-
break may be contained from spre-
ading into rural areas as returning
workers are quarantined before
entry to their villages.
While West Bengal has finally pus-
hed up testing and is now on a much
better footing, there is fresh worry ari-
sing on account of Gujarat and Telang-
ana. Both states have seen a decrease
in the number of tests conducted, an
issue already taken up by the Centre
with the two state governments. Ma-
harashtra, with its very high testing
rate, still remains worrisome.
which is the third state after Maha-
rashtra and Gujarat to cross the
10,000-mark of Covid-19 cases, has
also seen the rate increasing from
under 1% in April to 3.3% in May.
The national average has, so far, re-
mained between 3% and 5% since the
outbreak despite the number of tests
being conducted daily rising from
32,167 tests on April 17 to 90,927 tests on
May 17. Despite an almost three times
increase, the test positivity rate is al-
most the same. On April 17, the all-In-
dia national average was 4.2% and on
May 17 it is about 4%. Since May 13, In-
dia has been conducting over 90,000
tests daily. On May 13, India had tested
record numbers at 94,671 tests, follo-
wed by 92,791 tests the following day
and 92,911tests on May 15.
favour, which is not in
India’s interest
ally nothing on the positive side of
the ledger of our ties with China.
In this background, India should
do nothing to alleviate the moun-
ting pressure on China to come
clean on the Wuhan virus issue
that has had a devastating impact
on global society. India should
support an independent inter-
national probe with China’s
cooperation into the origin of the
virus and China’s handling of it in
Another Chinese Intrusion: This Time
in Himachal Pradesh’s Lahaul-Spiti
NEW DELHI: Amid recent face-offs between the Indian and
Chinese troops in Ladakh and Sikkim, Chinese helicopters
twice intruded into Himachal Pradesh’s Lahaul-Spiti
district, according to a report by news agency ANI. But
forces remained tight-lipped about the incident. A Chinese helicopter
entered 12-15 km into the Samdho region of the district on April 11, the
agency reported. Again on April 20, another helicopter entered the same
location. The police and intelligence agencies have submitted their reports
to authorities, ANI said quoting Lahaul-Spiti’s SP Rajesh Dharmani. — OPB
Ladakh borders could be linked to
an apprehension in Beijing that
business would move out of China
to its neighbouring nations in the
post Covid-19 world.
O’Farrell said there are concerns
over “actions to disrupt other co-
untries resource exploitation acti-
vities and the dangerous and coer-
cive use of coast guard vessels and
so called maritime militias”. He
urged “all parties to take mea-
ningful steps to ease tensions
and build trust, including thro-
THE ECONOMIC TIMES | NEW DELHI / GURGAON | MONDAY | 18 MAY 2020 | WWW.ECONOMICTIMES.COM
Liquidity measures, loans, offer of credit and statements of intent about
long-term planning can’t be called stimulus package: Anand Sharma
Pandemic Exploited to Shut
Down Parliament: Congress
Congress accuses Centre of exploiting pandemic
to shut down Parliament and bring backdoor
executive orders and ordinances
How can government open up sen-
sitive sectors including the nuclear
sector and also our sensitive and classi-
fied nuclear space and ISRO data…
ANAND SHARMA CONGRESS LEADER
Our Political Bureau
New Delhi: Congress lashed out
at the government on Sunday af-
ter finance minister Nirmala Sit-
haraman unveiled the final tran-
che of the stimulus package, ar-
guing that the “actual stimulus
content” of the package was
much smaller than that promised
by the PM and declaring that it
would oppose in Parliament (me-
aning the Rajya Sabha, where the
number game is fluid) the legisla-
tive framework of the decisions
to open up strategic sectors and
natural resources to private ent-
ry. Soon, a few other opposition
parties took similar positions.
“The actual stimulus package in
the entire tranches of announce-
ments made by the FM only amo-
unts to .̀ 3.22 lakh crore and 1.6% of
GDP — far below the .̀ 20 lakh cro-
re and 10% of GDP as promised by
PM Modi,” said former trade mi-
nister and CWC member Anand
Sharma. “The rest, the liquidity
measures, loans, offer of credit
and statements of intent about
long-term planning can’t be called
stimulus package by any stretch
of economic yardstick.”
Sharma said: “I’m questioning
the finance minister, disputing
the prime minister and challeng-
ing the government to disprove
me on these numbers. I am ready
for a debate with the FM.”
the early stages. It should be
pointed out that this is not a bi-
lateral issue between China and
India; it is one between China and
the international community
which has a right to protect itself
from such pandemics in the future
through an impartial investiga-
tion into what went wrong.
India should also support the
restoration of Taiwan’s partici-
pation as an observer in the
forthcoming World Health As-
sembly on the basis of Taiwan
sharing valuable information
about its success in controlling
the virus. China’s bid to exclude
Taiwan on the grounds of “One-
China policy” has no legal basis.
This is China’s political position
accommodated by many for
political reasons. China cannot
claim others support its territori-
al integrity while it violates
theirs with impunity, be it in the
South China Sea or in the Himala-
yas. If China succeeded in thwar-
ting the US, European, Japanese
and Australian move to support
an independent virus enquiry
and on Taiwan’s participation, it
would garner a major diplomatic
victory that will shift the power
balance further in its favour,
which is not in India’s interest.
(The writer is former foreign
secretary)
ugh dialogue”. He also said bin-
ding legal judgments on claims in
the region need to be abided by and
Australia will support nations
who exercise their rights under
the international law for freedom
of navigation and overflight.
The scaling up of aggression by
China at the Ladakh and Sikkim
borders has not been an isolated ca-
se. From India to Indonesia, Viet-
nam, Taiwan and Malaysia, terri-
torial aggression seems to have got
fresh wind in the past few weeks.
India’s financial loss due to the
pandemic and lockdown was abo-
ut 7.5% of GDP, he said. While wel-
coming the government’s deci-
sion to accept “Congress sugges-
tion” of enhancing MGNREGA
allocations, he demanded a mini-
mum 150 days of work and .̀ 300
per day wages for beneficiaries.
The party also accused the Cent-
re of “exploiting the pandemic”
to shut down Parliament and
bring backdoor executive orders
and ordinances that changed
“the established
consensus” on
safeguarding na-
tional security
sectors and natu-
ral resources.
“How can the go-
CPI’s D Raja
threatens vernment open
agitation in up sensitive sec-
tors including the
and outside
Parliament nuclear sector
and also our sen-
sitive and classified nuclear spa-
ce and ISRO data available to pri-
vate entities through partners-
hip? How can the government de-
cide on natural resources such as
coal and mineral without taking
the consent of the state govern-
ments and endorsement of Parli-
ament?” said Sharma.
CPI’s D Raja accused the go-
vernment of betraying the poor
and said the Left and like-min-
ded parties will launch agita-
tions in and outside Parliament.
FM VS CONG
Show Some
Gravitas,
Cong on FM
Dig at Rahul
Cong responds to
FM’s jibe at Rahul
for meeting some
migrant workers
Our Political Bureau
New Delhi: Congress respon-
ded to the finance minister’s ji-
be at Rahul Gandhi for meeting
some migrant workers by say-
ing she must show some deg-
ree of gravitas. “We expect a
certain degree of seriousness
and gravitas when the finance
minister is addressing a press
conference,” Congress spoke-
sperson Anand Sharma said
while stressing that Rahul
Gandhi was well within his
right to show his sensitivity to
migrant workers.
On the FM appealing to Sonia
Gandhi to restrain her party
colleagues, Sharma quipped:
“The statement of Sitharaman
is frivolous and the Congress
president did not need to learn
from the finance minister.”
FOR DAILY PROCEEDINGS IN BABRI MASJID DEMOLITION CASE
Special Court asks UP to
Provide VC Equipment
Raghav.Ohri@timesgroup.com
New Delhi: A special CBI court in
Lucknow has asked the UP govern-
ment to immediately provide vide-
oconferencing equipment and in-
frastructure to conduct day-to-day
proceedings in the Babri Masjid
demolition case.
The order passed on May 14 by speci-
al CBI Judge SK Yadav follows a Su-
preme Court directive on May 8 as-
king it to conclude the trial and prono-
unce its verdict by August 31. Top BJP
leaders, including LK Advani, MM
Joshi and Uma Bharti as well as VHP
leader Champat Rai Bansal, among
others, are accused in the case.
The judge asked the chief secre-
tary (administration) and chief
ALL-OUT SUPPORT
NDA Allies
Welcome
Package
SAD’s Gujral, however,
raises concern over
condition of migrants
Kumar.Anshuman
@timesgroup.com
New Delhi: BJP’s partners in the
ruling National Democratic Allian-
ce have welcomed the package anno-
unced by finance minister Nirmala
Sitharaman in the past five days.
JDU, BJP’s partner in Bihar, said
the `20 lakh crore financial packa-
ge will help improve the invest-
ment climate in the country and
create more jobs. “Our party wel-
comes this all-inclusive package,”
Rajiv Ranjan, spokesman of JDU,
told ET. “It’s a comprehensive
package which takes care of eve-
ryone from street vendors, far-
mers, small business units to big
industrial houses.
It also provides a
policy road map for
Our party
further growth
and investment.”
Ranjan said allo-
wing states to use
welcomes the State Disaster
all-inclusive Relief Fund and
package: increasing the
JDU’s Rajiv
borrowing limit
Ranjan
was something Bi-
har government had demanded
too. “I think this package would
address the concerns regarding
the economy,” he said.
Another ally, Shiromani Akali
Dal (SAD), took the opposition on
for criticising the government
over the financial package. “The
opposition has been saying that it
is not monetary and only fiscal.
However, it’s a combined package
of fiscal and monetary,” Naresh
Gujral, the SAD’s Rajya Sabha
member, told ET. “Given all the
constraints I think the govern-
ment is doing the best thing pos-
sible. Criticising the government
is very easy. Has the opposition gi-
ven any concrete suggestions?”
Gujral, however,
raised concern
over the condition
of migrant wor-
kers. “It is agoni-
sing to see the
SAD took the plight of the poor
opposition on migrants. Much
for criticising more needs to be
government done both by the
over the central and state
financial governments.”
package LJP, another BJP
ally in Bihar, has been quite vocal
in its praise of the financial pack-
age right from May 12, when the
PM announced it in his address
to the nation. “I congratulate Pri-
me Minister Modi for announ-
cing the package. This central go-
vernment initiative will help In-
dia become self-sufficient,” LJP
president Chirag Paswan had
tweeted immediately after the
PM’s address. He especially prai-
sed the decision to distribute free
ration to 80 million migrant wor-
kers to the tune of `3,500 crore.
Importantly, his father Ram Vi-
las Paswan is the Union food and
consumer affairs minister and
distribution of food grains co-
mes under his ministry.
secretary (justice) to make the
necessary arrangements in or-
der to not fall in contempt of the
apex court’s directions.
The judge said there was “only
one video conferencing room avai-
lable” in the old building of dis-
trict courts, Lucknow, and that it
was being utilised by other lower
courts for summoning accused on
remand via videoconferencing
and other judicial purposes. The
court said that the videoconferen-
cing room cannot be transacted to
conduct the Babri Masjid trial.
“Given the constraints under the
lockdown, the authorities may al-
so mull shifting the special court
to a location which is not a Co-
vid-19 hotspot...,” a senior official
privy to the development said.
THE ECONOMIC TIMES | NEW DELHI / GURGAON | MONDAY | 18 MAY 2020 | WWW.ECONOMICTIMES.COM
DRYING UP OF RESOURCES Most workers returned to their native places after running out of money and food
Keeping Options Open, UP Migrants Women to Bear Brunt of
Hope CM Gives Them Jobs at Home New Labour Laws: Experts
Vatsala.Gaur
@timesgroup.com
Lucknow:Back to their native sta-
te in Uttar Pradesh, migrant wor-
kers from different parts of the co-
untry stare at an uncertain future.
At the Charbagh railway station in
Lucknow, where hundreds of wor-
kers had just de-boarded trains
running from Maharashtra and
Gujarat, most said they would stay
put in their villages at least till the
pandemic is not reined in, even
though the lockdown is easing and
industries are being allowed to resu-
me work selectively. Others, who had
been ill-treated in the states they wor-
ked in, swore to never go back even if
they earn less in UP.
Returning to their home state after
a long time, they were also open to
new employment opportunities that
perhaps did not exist when they had
left their villages for a better future
in western states. Their decisions
would also be affected by whet-
her they had a security net at
home – a farm land they ow-
ned or any other small busi-
ness that their family was en-
gaged in – and their respective
prospects. What tied the expe-
riences of everyone together,
however, was an obvious drying
up of resources that pushed them
to head home.
Sohan, hailing originally from
Kannauj, worked at the Maruti Su-
zuki factory at Mehsana in Gujarat.
For him, the two months of lock-
down spelt an ordeal that has made
him decide not to go back, ever. “After
60 days of hunger and no help from
the government, I have decided I will
not go back ever to Gujarat. If I have
to go I may go to nearby cities like
Delhi but never to Gujarat,” he said.
Soham’s family comprises his pa-
rents, wife, kids and a brother, and
the family owns 3 bigha land where
they grow potatoes and wheat. After
making `12,000 a month on average,
he would send `8,000-9,000 every
month home. But the lack of help
from contractors affected him and
the final nail was struck by the go-
vernment which charged him and
others `00 for their ticket back. “I had
two cheap phones – I managed to sell
one as nobody was even willing to
buy and sold other utensils that I had
to a kabadi wala to arrange for the
Most Assam
Migrants Say
They Will Look
for Jobs Locally
Bikash.Singh
@timesgroup.com
Guwahati: After the arduo-
us journey back home, seve-
ral migrants who have retur-
ned to Assam say they won’t
go out of state again.
They feel that it was lack of
opportunities that drove
them to work outside the sta-
te, now they have vowed to
create opportunities locally.
Pritom Baruah, after re-
turning from Kolkata
along with 45 others, reco-
unts the herculean task of
arranging buses and co-
ming back home. In qua-
rantine, Baruah told ET:
“It was nightmarish jour-
ney. First, I had arrange bu-
ses which would carry only
45 people, as per norms of
social distancing, and
then, it was a task to arran-
ge Rs one lakh for each of
the two buses till Guwahati
(around a 1,000 kms away)
and also pay extra the 300
kms journey to Jorhat.”
Baruah said, “I know IT-re-
lated work and will start my
own venture post-COVID-19.
I will never go back.”
Bipin Koch, said: “I went to
Kolkata one year ago as there
was hardly any opportunity
here. However I will not go
back again. I do not know
what I will do here. But, I am
not going for sure.”
Hawkins
Cookers
Limited
Regd. Off.: Maker Tower, F101,
Cuffe Parade,Mumbai 400005.
CIN: L28997M 1I1959P1,C011304
T: 022-22186607 F: 022-22181190
E-mail: ho@hawk inscookcrs.com
Websitc: www.hawkinscookers.com
NOTICE
A meeting of the Board of
Directors of the Company
will be held on Thursday,
the 21st day of May, 2020 ,
to approve the Annual Financial
Results of the Company and to
consider and , if thought fit , to
recommend a dividend for the
year ended March 31, 2020. This
information is also available on
w w w . h a w k i n s c o o kc r s . c o m
and www.bseindia.com.
For Hawkins Cookers Limited
Hu toxi Bhesania
Company Secretary
Mumbai
May 16, 2020
Pure Politics  3
LOSING THE HARD-FOUGHT-FOR RIGHTS?
States say measures taken to help households and industry survive
ON MOTORCARTS
OVER 600 NEW CASES OF COVID-19 SINCE MAY 10 NO CLARITY will be forced to withdraw from
In Mathura —PTI Vasudha.Venugopal the labour forces. With house-
Concerns over likely sus-
Amid Influx, All Bihar
@timesgroup.com hold incomes shrinking, their
pension of benefits provid- decision-making power in a fa-
New Delhi: The changes to the ed by the Maternity mily will take a hit.
labour laws proposed by at least Most states are doing away
12 states, including Gujarat, Ut- Benefits Act with laws that looks at ways
Districts Report Cases tar Pradesh and Madhya Pra-
desh, exempting manufactu-
ring companies from imple-
menting labour-friendly mea-
and equal
renumeration
of going for industrial dispu-
tes and offering unionised re-
sistance which will lead to fe-
wer women complaining abo-
state has recorded over 600 new cases of sures, will push more women ut work conditions.
Sanjay.Singh2@timesgroup.com Covid-19 since May 10. As things stand to- out of work, causing a further KR Shyam Sundar, professor
day, all districts have Covid-19 positive ca- decline in the Female Labour of Human Resource Manage-
New Delhi: Bihar is witnessing a sharp ses with the total number of deaths tou- Force Participation, according ment, XLRI, Jamshedpur, said,
Travelling Great rise in Covid-19 positive cases with
lakhs of migrants reaching the state,
prompting chief minister Nitish Ku-
ching eight. On the good side, the state is
seeing an improvement in recovery rate.
To strengthen the quarantine faciliti-
to experts on labour and gender.
Their concerns include likely
suspension of benefits provi-
“I am hoping there is some mo-
re clarity on the ordinance as
wholesale laws such as Mater-
mar to direct officials to strengthen the es, about 5,765 quarantine centres are al- ded by the Maternity Benefits ANIRBAN BORA nity Act and equal wages appli-
Distances Home: quarantine centres at the panchayat/
village level and raise the testing levels
ready functional at the block level and
more than 3 lakh migrants are staying
Act and equal renumeration,
apart from not holding the emp-
strengthening our inspection
processes to see women wor-
ed for both income and recruit-
ment, cannot be reduced to
On Foot...
to 10,000 tests per day. With Bihar as- there. Due to the growing graph of Co- loyer accountable for providing kers can work without pro- clauses. MP has not touched
sembly elections drawing close, the to- vid-19 cases, CM Kumar wants to increa- safe working conditions such as blems. Night shifts for women these Acts, but UP’s ordinance
ughest task faced by the state govern- se testing, with his target being 10,000 adequate lighting, safety, food, was to happen only if both par- is rather incomplete,” he said.
ment today is to stop any scope for mis- tests per day. Currently, Bihar tests abo- water, transport for night ties are satisfied.” “The right of women to work
management at quarantine centres ut 2,000 cases daily, through seven cent- shifts, or even paying double Rajasthan Labour and Emplo- and earn during night shifts
across the state and make sufficient fa- res across the state. wages for overtime work as yment secretary Niraj Pawan has come after years of
W
CKSHA cilities available for the migrants. CM Kumar has tasked the administra- mandated earlier. said after work timings were ex- struggle, and going back on it
ORI
On Sunday, about 62,200 migrants rea- tion to seek help from locals, including te- Officials from Rajasthan, tended in the state, the govern- would mean reversing the so-
AUT ched Bihar from 14 states by 45 trains whi- achers, farmers, chowkidars and ward Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat ment has been reaching out to cial progress made,” he said.
ON le Saturday saw the arri- members at the ground-level to check the maintain that the changes in employers to “be considerate” In MP, companies will be able
val of more than 60,000 spread of Covid-19. the law are in the interest of la- and not violate the norms of sa- to take a licence for hiring
migrants from 14 states The Panchayati Raj department has be- bour, and that revoking some of fety and transport for women. contract workers for a longer
by 40 trains. Migrants en directed to provide at least four masks those laws was necessary to al- duration and intervention by
arriving from Delhi, and soaps to every household in rural are- low private industry to flourish. EXPERTS CLAIM INJUSTICE trade unions will no longer be
Maharashtra and Gu- as. “His appeal to the villagers is that they UP industrial development Experts feel gender dimen- possible for key industrial sec-
jarat are showing hig- must wear masks while stepping out of minister Satish Mahana said, sion has been ignored by most tors such as automobiles and
her incidence of Co- their houses,” a source in the Bihar go- “We could not think of all states while framing the garments. In Gujarat, all new
vid-19 positive cases. vernment said. aspects, including about female changes to labour rules. firms will be exempt from all
The number of Co- Earlier, CM Kumar had personally held workers, but the state is utmost Neetha N, director of the Cent- labour laws, except the Mini-
vid-19 cases in Bihar talks with all the mukhiyas (village chi- concerned about them. Right re for Women’s Development mum Wages Act, the Employ-
From Mumbai to
Pragyaraj —ANI In remained 1,251 till efs)/block pramukhs through BISWAN now, it is about survival of in- Studies, said due to extended ee Compensation Act and safe-
UP Sunday morning. Ac- (Bihar State Wide Area Network) on dustry and households. We are working hours, many women ty-related rules in factories.
tickets,” he said. —PTI cording to principal April 1and sought their support in the go-
Others who did not secretary (health), vernment’s fight against Covid-19.
Infbsys
own any land or farm, Sanjay Kumar, the What remains a major source of wor-
like Rohit Kumar from ry for the state is the creation of fresh
Fatehpur, who worked In Bhubaneswar —ANI job opportunities
Navigate your next
as a fabrication worker for the migrants
in Pune, now look upon
the UP government to
who have retur-
ned. As per go-
Infosys Limited
Corporate Identity Number (CIN): L85110KA1981PLC013115
provide some work. “If vernment data,
Regd. Office: Electronics City, Hosur Road, Bengaluru - 560 100.
the UP chief minister gi- about 4 lakh sche-
Phone : 91 80 2852 0261, Fax: 91 80 2852 0362
ves us work, we would ne- mes (small and
investors@infosys.com, www .infosys.com
ver want to go back,” Kumar ON TRUCK big) are functional
said, even as he kept the do- across the state. 39th ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING TO BE HELD OVER VIDEO
or open to return if things In view of the
normalise. Manoj Ku- coming monsoon CONFERENCE, RECORD DATE AND FINAL DIVIDEND INFORMATION
mar , who had a tea stall season, the go-
in Pune for the past six vernment has al- 1. Shareholders may note that the 39th Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the Company will
years, said even if he earns `5 in ready started an- be held over video conference on Saturday, June 27 , 2020 at 4:00 p.m. IST in compliance
UP instead of `10 elsewhere it ti-flood works in with General Circular numbers 20/2020 , 14/2020 , 17/2020 and all other applicable laws
would be nice to stay in his own different parts of and circulars issued by the Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA), Government of India and
state and work. the state. Securites and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), to transact the business that will be set
forth in the Notice of the Meeting.
2. In compliance with the above circulars , electronic copies of the Notice of the AGM and
INDIAN l CORPORATE AFFAIRS
Corpo rate
GOVERNMENT OF INDIA Annual Report for fiscal 2020 will be sent to all the shareholders whose email addresses
are registered with the Company/Depository Participant(s). Shareholders holding shares in
MINISTRY OF COMMUNICATIONS dematerialized mode, are requested to register their email addresses and mobile numbers
1
Invites application for the following posts on deputation/purely with their relevant depositories through their depositary participants. Shareholders holding
contractual consolidated fee: DEPARTMENT OF TELECOMMUNICATIONS shares in physical mode are requested to furnish their email addresses and mobile numbers
with the Company's Registrar and Share Transfer Agent KFin Technologies Private Limited
SI. No. Post Pay Matrix as per 7 CPC
(UGC Pay scale) Applications for the post of (formerly Karvy Fintech Private Limited), at einward .ris@kfintech.com . The notice of the
39th AGM and Annual Report for fiscal 2020 will also be made available on the Company 's
1 Associate Professor, School Level 13A Chairman & Managing Director in website , at www.infosys.com, stock exchange websites and on the NSDL's website , at
hft ps://www.evobng.nsdl.com
of competition Law & Market
Regulation
(Rs.1,31 ,400-2 ,17, 100)
Telecommunications 3. Shareholders will have an opportunity to cast their vote remotely on the business as set
2 Assistant Professor, School Level 11 Consultants India Limited forth in the Notice of the AGM through electronic voting system. The manner of voting
remotely for shareholders holding shares in dematerialized mode, physical mode and
of Corporate Law (Rs.68 ,900-2 ,05,500) (TCIL) for shareholders who have not registered their email addresses will be provided in the
3 Assistant Professor, School Level 11 Notice to the shareholders. The details will also be made available on the website of the
of Corporate Governance (Rs.68 , 900-2 ,05,500) Last Date of receipt of application in Department Company. Shareholders are requested to visit www. infosys.com to obtain such details.
4 Assistant Professor, School Level 11 of Telecommunications is by 15.00 hours on 4. Shareholders may note that the Board of Directors in their meeting held on April 20, 2020
of Business Environment (Rs-68 , 900-2 ,05 ,500)
19.06.2020. has recommended a final dividend of Z 9.50 per share. The record date for the purposes
The detailed vacancy circular may be downloaded from of final dividend for fiscal 2020 will be June 1, 2020 . The final dividend , once approved
iica.nic.in. The complete application form alongwith For details login to website by the shareholders in the ensuing AGM will be paid on the fifth working day (i .e. July 3 ,
2020), electronically through various online transfer modes to those shareholders who
photocopies of educational/work experience documents should http://www .dot.gov.in have updated their bank account details . For shareholders who have not updated their
be sent to Administrative Officer before 26.06.2020 , 6.00 pm at bank account details, dividend warrants/ demand drafts/ cheques will be sent out to their
hr@iica.in or ICA, P- 6, 7 and 8, Sector-5, IMT Manesar-122052, davp 06201/11/0002/2021 registered addresses once the postal facility is available. To avoid delay in receiving the
dividend , shareholders are requested to update their KYC with their depositories (where
shares are held in dematerialized mode) and with the Company's Registrar and Share
MI 1 ' 7' I ' I I I Transfer Agent (where shares are held in physical mode) to receive the dividend directly
An into their bank account on the payout date.
1
under the UN 1
5. Shareholders may note that the Income Tax Act , 1961 (Act), as amended by the Finance
Ref no A na I,P, 5 - p c , C ,C 7 ' Gar 1? C S ;
Act , 2020, mandates that dividends paid or distributed by a Company after April 1, 2020
INVITATION FOR EXPRESSION OF INTEREST TENDER NOTICE shall be taxable in the hands of shareholders. The Company shall therefore be required
Directorate of Sugar Dept of Food and public Distribution Govt. of India has vide its
FROM LEADING BIOTECH COMPANIES to deduct tax at source (TDS) at the time of making the payment of final dividend. In
circular F.No 1(14)12019-SP-I dated 12/09/2019 816/09/2019 has decided to allow export
Innovative, complementary and synergistic partnerships are becoming increasingly order to enable us to determine the appropriate TDS rate as applicable , shareholders are
of all grades of sugar namely raw, plantation white as well as refined under MAEQ requested to submit the following documents in accordance with the provisions of the Act.
important to move a step closer to exploiting the benefits of modern biotechnology.
Regional Centre for Biotechnology (RCB) is an institution of national importance (Maximum Admissible Export Quota).
established by the Department of Biotechnology (DBT) , Govt, of India, under the E-tenders for quantity approx 12000OMT are invited from experienced Export For Resident Shareholders , taxes shall be deducted at source under Section 194 of the
aegis of UNESCO. The Centre is located in the 200-acre NCR Biotech Science Cluster HouselMerchandise, Govt./Cooperative Institutions (In which State Govt./Central Govt Act , as follows -
in Faridabad at the Faridabad-Gurgaon Expressway. The Cluster has state-of-the hast have invested share capital and such institutions having valid Importer/ Exporter code
art laboratories of serval other leading biotech research institutions established by and experience of sugar export) from 1310512020 06.55 PM onwards to purchase the
7.5% or as notified by the
the DBT. quantity of Sugar from Cooperative sugar mills of Uttar Pradesh and arrange its export as Shareholders having valid PAN
per above mentioned notification under MAEQ and stipulated norms on the basis of as it is Government of India
The Mission of RCB is to impart education and training, and conduct research in
where it is.
the frontier areas of biotech sciences. To this end, RCB runs several Master 's and 20% or as notified by the
PhD level academic programs , To encourage the culture of entrepreneurship on the Last date of submission of online tender is 1910512020 Till 06:55PM and tender Shareholders not having PAN / valid PAN
opening date Is 2010512020 at 11:15 AM. Government of India
campus, RCB also runs a BIRAC-supported Bioincubator housing several biotech
Tender documents can be downloaded from e-tender portal https ://etender.up.nic.in or
start-up companies. To further promote the industry presence on the campus, RCB
Federation's website www. upsugarfed .org. The bidders will have to deposit tender fees
However, no tax shall be deducted on the dividend payable to a resident individual
invites Expression of Interest (E01) from leading Biotech companies to set up their shareholder if the total dividend to be received by them during Financial Year 2020-21
(Non Refundable) of Rs. 1000/- +18% GST = Rs. 1180/- & earnest money through
R&D activities at RCB , aiming to provide solutions for human and animal health, and does not exceed Z 5 , 000 and also in cases where shareholders provide Form 15G / Form
agriculture and environmental challenges. RTGSINEFTINET BANKING for Rs. 50.00 per quintal (Rupees Fifty Per Quintal) in
favour of U.P. Cooperative Sugar Factories Federation Ltd. payable at Lucknow. Tenders 15H (applicable to an Individual's age of 60 years or more) subject to conditions specified
Interested companies may send the details as asked for on the RCB website www.rcb. without earnest money will not be accepted. The bank details are available on the uploaded in the Act. Resident shareholders may also submit any other document as prescribed
Lila by email to reg istar@rcb .res.in by 05 June, 2020. The shordisted applicants tender document on page 01. The undersi gned reserves the right to cancel one or all the under the Act to claim a lower/Nil withholding tax. PAN is mandatory for shareholders
will be consulted further to understand the feasibility to take their proposal forward .
tenders without assigning any reason. providing Form 15G/ 15H or any other document as mentioned above.
Registr ar MANAGING DIRECTOR
For Non-resident Shareholders, taxes are required to be withheld in accordance with
the provisions of Section 195 and other applicable sections of the Act , at the rates in force.
The withholding tax shall be at the rate of 20% (plus applicable surcharge and cess) or
vedanta as notified by Government of India on the amount of dividend payable. However, as per
OFFSHORE OIL & GAS Section 90 of the Act , non-resident shareholders have the option to be governed by the
provisions of the Double Tax Avoidance Agreement (DTAA) between India and the country
OPERATIONS of tax residence of the shareholder, if they are more beneficial to them. For this purpose ,
i.e. to avail the benefits under the DTAA, non-resident shareholders will have to provide
the following:
EXPRESSION OF INTEREST
Copy of the PAN Card allotted by the Indian Income Tax authorities duly attested by
the shareholder.
Vedanta Ltd. is the world' s 6" largest diversified natural resources
conglomerate with business operations in India , South Africa , Namibia and Copy of Tax Residency Certificate (TRC) for FY 2020-2021 obtained from the revenue
Australia . It is a leading producer of Oil & Gas , Zinc , Lead , Silver, Copper, authorities of the country of tax residence, duly attested by shareholder.
Iron Ore , Steel, Aluminium & Power.
Self-declaration in Form 10F.
i
Vedanta contributes 1% towards India ' s GDP, as per IFC. We are investing Self-declaration by the shareholder of having no Permanent Establishment in India in
$9 Bn in cap ital projects over the next 2-3 years to double our revenues from accordance with the applicable Tax Treaty.
J
current levels of $15 Bn .
Self-declaration of Beneficial ownership by the shareholder.
Cairn Oil & Gas , Vedanta Ltd., is India ' s largest private oil and gas exploration Any other documents as prescribed under the Act for lower withholding of taxes if
and production company having current interest in 58 blocks and accounting applicable, duly attested by the shareholder.
for more than a quarter of India ' s domestic crude oil production and a vision
to produce 50% of India ' s crude production. Cairn Oil & Gas , on behalf of The aforementioned documents are required to be uploaded on the shareholders portal
SUSTAINABLE & at https://www.infosys.com/investors/shareholder-services/dividend-tax.html during the
itself and Joint Venture (JV) partner(s), invites interested contractors with
proven capabilities and demonstrated performance to express their interest period commencing from June 1, 2020 and ending on June 15, 2020. We request you to
visit https://www.infosys.com/investors/shareholder-serv ices/dividend-tax.html for more
SUSTAINING for prequalification to partici pate in the International Competitive Bidding
instructions and information in this regard. No communication would be accepted from
(ICB) process for a ) Upgrading Suvali offshore platform in CB/OS-2 block
PRODUCTION FROM and b) Sing le Point Mooring (SPM) terminal operations for RAWA block.
shareholders after June 15, 2020 regarding the tax withholding matters.
OFFSHORE FIELDS 6. The 39th AGM Notice will be sent to the shareholders in accordance with the applicable
Please submit your Expression of Interest (Eol) to par tici pate in the ICB process within 14 days. laws on their registered email addresses in due course . For Infosys Limited
Click on the "Evince Interest " link against the corresponding E01 listing https://www.cairnindia.com/Pages/OpenEOl.aspx Sd/-
For further information,bidders can log in to www.cairnindia.com Bengaluru , India A.G.S. Manikantha
May 17, 2020 Company Secretary
4  Covid-19 Impact: Pharma & Companies THE ECONOMIC TIMES | NEW DELHI / GURGAON | MONDAY | 18 MAY 2020 | WWW.ECONOMICTIMES.COM

MINISTERS TO MONITOR HOTSPOTS ALONG WITH IAS OFFICIALS

Oppo Halts
Work at Noida
Unit after Staff Mumbai Pins Hopes on New Plan of Action
Test Positive Priority to symptomatic patients in testing, early discharge of mild cases and higher private participation expected to improve situation
ty to take the lockdown seriously,”
Maximum
Danish.Khan@timesgroup.com Divya.Rajagopal TESTING BMC an official said.
@timesgroup.com The city has tasked seven mini-
Close contacts who BMC looking
New Delhi: Chinese handset-
maker Oppo said it has suspen- Mumbai: An updated testing stra- City Gets have high morbidity
can be tested once
to conduct
door-to-door
sters to monitor the seven hotspot
zones along with IAS officers to
ded its manufacturing at the
Greater Noida plant after some
tegy, early discharge and steps to
persuade private hospitals of the Ready to between 5 &14 days surveillance of
households
implement the lockdown. On Sun-
day, the Central Armed Police For-
employees tested positive for
Covid-19, and is awaiting test
need to treat more Covid-19 pati-
ents — these are the strategies that Tackle Patients to be
ces replaced the state police who
have been fatigued trying to moni-

Fourth
results of all 3,000 employees. the BMC and the Maharashtra go- discharged within 10 Political leaders tor the lockdown.
Earlier on Sunday, six Oppo vernment are hoping will address days against 14 days put their cadres Officials expect the number of ca-

factory employees were repor-
tedly found to be Co-
vid-19 positive.
“...we have suspen-
ded all operations at
our manufacturing
facility in Greater
Noida and initiated
Covid testing for 3,000+ emplo-
yees, for which results are awa-
ited,” an Oppo spokesperson
said in a statement to ET.
“Will only allow employees
with negative test results to re-
sume office following all safety
protocols,” the spokesperson
the crisis caused by the rising
number of infections, as the city
and the state decided to extend the
lockdown till May 31.
Mumbai has become the center of
Covid-19 outbreak in India with
over 18,555 people infected, 7,088
discharged and 1,135 dead. Last we-
ek, the city’s administration
changed course with regard to
protocols on testing and discharge
of patients.
The BMC is now following the tes-
ting policy recommended by the
Lockdown
Indian Council of Medical Rese-
arch. This means testing priority
will be for symptomatic patients,
those with fever, cough or breat-
hing difficulty. Close contacts of
Covid-19 patients will be tested on-
ly if they are symptomatic, all
pregnant women even if they are
asymptomatic, while patients on
dialysis can be tested if they are
earlier if no serious
symptoms are found
suspected of having the infection. early, within 10 days, if they are no
Close contacts who have high longer showing serious symptoms
morbidity can be tested once bet- in an attempt to address the shor-
ween 5 and 14 days and need to be tage of beds. Earlier they were dis-
quarantined. Testing is not requi- charged after 14 days.
red for patients completing home The BMC is also looking to con-
isolation and no testing is needed duct door-to-door surveillance of
at the time of discharge for mild households to look for those suffe-
and moderate patients. ring from fever cases so that they
Patients will also be discharged can be isolated early.
to work to con-
tain spread
“There is another positive deve-
lopment. We are seeing that politi-
cians are finally putting their par-
ty workers to work,” said a state go-
vernment official who did not
wish to be quoted due to the sensi-
tivity of the issue. “So, we bureau-
crats can only get the implementa-
tion done, but when leaders are in-
volved this will help the communi-
ses in Mumbai to touch 30,000 by
end of this month.
A big challenge for the outhoriti-
es is the shortage of beds for criti-
cal care patients. The number of
isolation beds in the Covid care ho-
spitals in the city is 3,690 and it is
here where authorities are strugg-
ling to manage. Several patients
seen to be in a critical condition
have been turned away owing to
shortage of beds. The private ho-
spitals, all put together, have bare-
ly contributed about 200 beds.
ET GRAPHICS

Divide Among Experts may Force Where are the Beds?

said. “We are undertaking
stringent measures to keep the
employees safe and disinfec-
ting the premises.” As India enters its fourth lockdown, the number of positive Covid-19
cases continues to rise. The only comforting metric is recovery rate,

Spirits Hit ICMR to Revise HCQ Guidelines

which stands at 39%. However, the key is critical care preparedness.
The lockdown was supposed to give states time to prepare isolation
beds and ICU facilities. They were told to get ready Covid care

New Lows It is recommended for those attending Covid patients, but without any evidence of efficacy
hospitals and centres to house the critically ill, moderate and mild
patients. States were also told to share this information in the public
domain, but only a handful have done it. Divya Rajagopal takes a look.
Sagar Malviya & Faizan Haidar

Mumbai | New Delhi: Domes-
tic spirits market shrank 12%
during January-March — its
steepest fall ever, after stores
were shut by the end of March —
causing a drop in sales for whis-
key, brandy, rum, vodka and gin.
At 73.7 million cases, sales vol-
ume of locally-made versions
of foreign liquor fell 11.9% in
the March quarter, industry ex-
ecutives said, citing excise de-
partment data. This was on a
low base of 3% growth a year
ago. Indian-made foreign li-
quor (IMFL) account for more
than three-fourth of the mar-
ket. “April was a complete wash-
out and the initial spike in sales
after shops opened this month
will be difficult to sustain
throughout the year due to in-
creased taxation," said Bikram
Basu, chief operating officer at
Allied Blenders, the country's
third biggest spirits maker. " For
companies, it will be difficult to
compensate for the loss in reve-
nues although the government
will see increase in revenues
due to higher taxes.”
Open to Questions
Teena.Thacker Following fields/
@timesgroup.com specialists to
Non-emergency
New Delhi: India’s premier he-
ICMR... Health experts...
rethink guidelines... OPDs at AIIMS
alth research body is contempla- Recommends HCQ
as a prophylactic
Say therapy lacks
clinical evidence
n All India Institute of
Medical Sciences
Likely to Resume
ting a revision of its recommenda-
for asymptomatic of efficacy in NEW DELHI India's premier
tion to use hydroxychloroquine o Public health experts
(HCQ) for treatment of Covid-19 af- healthcare workers treating Covid institute AIIMS is likely to resu-
p Microbiologists me non-emergency services this
ter ethical questions were raised Believe
about the therapy, sparking a rift week, around two months after
recommendations of
within its task force of experts. ICMR are random, not it curtailed all elective surgeries
With some microbiologists oppo- backed by evidence due to the rising Covid-19 cases.
sing the use of HCQ for Covid-19, a Approves its use
“Discussions are on to look into Total
debate is raging on among mem- for asymptomatic Argue guidelines Name of Fatality Critical Care
household the modalities to resume non- Confirmed Deaths
bers of the task force over continu- don’t clearly mention State / UT % Beds^
contacts of emergency OPD services,” said cases*
ing with the recommendation, pe- precautions for
ople aware of the mater told ET. confirmed cases off-label use Dr DK Sharma, medical superin- 5,172 (ICU)
“The Indian Council of Medical Maharashtra 30,706 1,135 3.70
tendent, AIIMS. There are two (Mumbai: 1,0922)
Research (ICMR) is considering force. “Some microbiologists are of A public interest litigation was views either to “start the servi-
the issue and may revise its treat- the view that its use could unneces- filed in the Supreme Court in 3,000 (Isola-
ces in a phased wise manner like Gujarat 10,989 625 5.69
ment guidelines soon,” the people sarily expose patients to health April, alleging that the HCQ and tion beds)
said. The ICMR and health mini- risks. Hence, the guidelines to use azithromycin combination thera- 4-5 specialties in the beginning
and keep adding to it or start all Tamil Nadu 10,585 74 0.70 6,000
stry recommended HCQ as a pro- HCQ may be withdrawn,” one per- py for Covid-19 patients was likely
phylactic for asymptomatic health- son said. The experts evaluating to pose the most serious threat for OPDs altogether. The decision is Delhi 9,333 129 1.38 2,700
care workers caring for suspected the guidelines for using HCQ are patients with pre-existing heart likely to be taken soon,” added
Rajasthan 4,960 126 2.54 824 (ICU beds)
or confirmed cases of Covid-19 and from the All India Institute of Me- conditions, as stated by US and Ca- another doctor, reports Teena
for asymptomatic household con- dical Sciences, microbiologists nadian studies. To avoid needless Thacker. While Covid-19 pati- Madhya
tacts of confirmed cases. and the public health domain. He- medical calamities, the petitioner 4,789 243 5.07 274 (ICU beds)
ents are in the adjoining building Pradesh
But some health experts raised et- alth authorities in Mumbai have wanted the court to intervene and
hical questions over the therapy, been indiscriminately giving out ask the government to implement of AIIMS trauma centre, patients India 90,367 2,872 3.17 656,769
which lacks clinical evidence of ef- HCQ to adults and children in a important precautionary thera- from the trauma centre have Figures are updated as of May 16 | ICU beds have a ventilator/oxygen support
ficacy in treating Covid-19 and the bid to curb the spread of Covid-19, peutic measures in the treatment been shifted to the main building. *Including 76 foreign nationals | ^Includes isolation & ICU beds
matter has divided the ICMR task ET reported earlier. guidelines for Covid-19 patients.

PARTIES AGREE ON SHARE-SWAP

Malls draw up Plans Bharti Infratel-Indus
to Live with Virus Towers Merger May
Measures include
special response
teams, isolation
centres food apps
Faizan.Haidar
@timesgroup.com
New Delhi: Malls are set-
ting up pandemic response
OIM 1 teams, isolation centres for
those who may be infected,
0) and dedicated apps to order
food as they look to get shop-
pers back inside once the
lockdown ends. They are al-
so asking for the deploy-
ment of sneeze guards by re-
tailers as part of new proto-
cols to mitigate risk.
As per new guidelines
drawn up by the Shopping
Centres Association of In-
dia (SCAI), seating will be al-
lowed at alternate tables to
maintain adequate physical
distancing while cafeteria
vendors have been instruc-
ted to serve only packed food
until the Covid-19 outbreak
subsides.
“We have told the govern-
ment that malls are a much
safer place and in phase one,
barring bars and cinemas,
everything else should be al-
lowed to open,” said Pushpa
A4 Bector, executive director,
DLF Shopping Malls. “We
have an internal app, which
we are updating to include
Safety First
Adequate On-site
inventory of health
masks, disin- screening
fectants, sani-
Return-
tisers, gloves
to-work
training
Separate protocol
for deep cleaning &
disinfection
Guideline
for isola-
tion rooms
activities like ordering food
and customers will be infor-
med about Covid-19 through
that application.”
SCAI’s recommendations
for food courts include sani-
tisation of tables and seats
after every use, temperature
testing for employees and
customers, thorough clea-
ning of raw materials and
medical checks for workers.
Other possible contact po-
ints such as booking desks
and podiums outside restau-
rants will also need to be dis-
infected regularly.
Multiple mall owners told
ET that once the lockdown
ends, social distancing
norms will become an inte-
gral part of operations.
Soon Get Completed
Arun.Kumar17
@timesgroup.com
New Delhi: The proposed
merger of Bharti Infratel
and Indus Towers is likely to
be completed after all sides
agreed to change the conto-
urs of the deal.
The principal shareholders,
Bharti Group and Vodafone,
have opted for a share-swap
arrangement instead of the
original plan, under which
Bharti Infratel would acquire
Vodafone Idea’s entire 11.15%
stake in Indus Towers for abo-
ut `4,500 crore in cash, two pe-
ople familiar with the deve-
lopment told ET.
Under the new plan, which
was one of the options in the
scheme of arrangement,
Vodafone Idea and Providen-
ce Equity Partners, an inves-
tor in Indus Towers, will be
issued fresh shares in the
merged entity.
The shareholders will app-
roach the National Company
Law Tribunal in Chandigarh
to get final approval of the
merger, first announced over
two years ago.
Bharti Infratel and Indus
Towers have initiated the
process to create a common
team to ensure seamless in-
tegration. Indus Towers,
which will absorb Bharti In-
fratel, has promoted chief
operating officer Bimal Da-
yal as chief executive offi-
cer and he is expected to he-
ad the merged entity.
DS Rawat, the current MD
and CEO of Bharti Infratel
and an old Bharti Group
hand, is likely to move back
to Bharti Airtel, with his
current term due to end in
September.
“We have no further com-
ments to offer beyond the sta-
tement/disclo-
sure made to
the stock ex-
changes. As
and when the-
re is any deve-
VIL and lopment, we
Providence will inform the
Equity exchanges and
Partners, an other stakehol-
investor in ders,” a Bharti
Indus group spoke-
Towers, to be sperson said.
issued fresh A Vodafone
shares in Idea spokesper-
new entity son didn’t re-
spond to queries.
According to the original
merger announcement, Voda-
fone Idea (11.15% in Indus To-
wers) and Providence Equity
Partners (4.85%) had two op-
tions. In the first option, Voda-
fone Idea could swap its entire
stake in Indus Towers for a
7.1% stake in the merged enti-
ty and Providence could ex-
change its holdings for 3.1%
in the merged entity.

‘GA’s Association with Jio is for Long Term’
Devina Sengupta & Arijit Barman
Mumbai: General Atlantic will be
looking at opportunities to increase its
stake in Jio Platforms and its alliance
with the digital unit of Reliance Indu-
Take a selfie of yourself and your family stries is for the long haul and not just till
the initial share sale of the company,
wearing home-made masks and upload said a top official of the Indian unit of
the US private equity player. “We look
up to .4 pictures on maskindia.com forward to partnering with Jio, and GA
in Jio Platforms for a 1.34% stake. truly believe that Jio is the digital plat-
Naik said that this was a long-term form opportunity to build the digital
investment and not keeping short-term economy of India.”
milestones like Jio Platforms’ expected GA was attracted by Jio’s
IPO in mind. Analysts expect an IPO for content play platform
Jio Platforms in around two years. with their broadband
“We are long term investors and any of connectivity reach.
these short-term events, we are not
looking for,” Naik said. “With Jio, you
“Then opportunities
around healthcare is
have mobility as the platform on which
you can now bring all the digital pro-
also exciting given
what is happening
ducts and services. So you can look at during Covid times,”

. #MASKINDIA
seeks to look for opportunities to back what would this company look like in added Naik.

to be a part of the video

our winners,” Sandeep Naik, managing five years
director of General Atlantic's business with a
in India & Southeast Asia, told ET. bouquet of With Jio, you have mobility as the plat-
“…with Jio, we found the right platform services form on which you can now bring
TILE TIMESOF INDIl that can help in digital opportunities.”
Naik’s comments come on the back of
that they
can layer on all the digital products and services
the announcement earlier Sunday that top, and SANDEEP NAIK, MD, GA (India & SE Asia)
the PE firm is set to invest `6,598.4 crore hence we
This advertisement is for information purposes only and does not constitute an offer or an invitation or a recommendation to purchase , to hold or sell securities . This is not an announcement for the offer document. All capitalized terms used herein and not cefined herein shal have the mean ng assigned to them in the letter of offe r dated
May 15, 2020 the "Letter of Offer " or "LOF ") filed with the stock exchanges , namel y 8SE L mited ("BSE") and National Stock Exchange of India Limited ("NSE" and toget her with BSE , "Stock Exchanges ") and the Securities and Exchange Board of India ("SEBI").

OReliance Industries Limited

Reliance Industries Limited (the "Company" or the "Issuer ") was originally incorporated as "Myny4on Limited' n
the Stateof Kamataka ,underthe CompaniesAct ,1956, pursuant to a certificate of incorporatio n dated May 8, 1973 PROMOTER OF OU R COMPANY: SH RI MUKES H D. AM BANI
issued by the Registrar of Companies, Kamataka , at Bangalore. Thereafter, our Company obtained the certificate
ISSUE OF 42 ,26 , 26 ,894 PARTLY PAID-UP EQUITY SHARES OF FACE VALUE OFi10EACH (" RIGHTS EQUITY SHARES" ) OF OUR COMPANY FOR CASH ATAPRICE OF7 I257PERRIGHTS EQUITYSHARE( INCLUDING A
of commencement of business on January 28, 1976. Subsequently, the name of our Company was changed to
PREMIUM OF f 1,247 PER RIGHTS EQUITY SHARE) AGGREGATING TO f 5,31 24 20 05758 ON A RIGHTS BASIS TO THE ELIGIBLE EQUITY SHAREHOLDERS OF OUR COMPANY IN THE RATIO OF Z (ONE) RIGHTS EQUITY
Reliance Textile Industnes Limited" and a fresh certificate of incorporation consequent on change of name dated
SHARE FOR EVERY 15 FULLYPAIDUP EQUITYSHARES HELD BYTHE ELIGIBLE EQUITY SHAREHOLDERS OF OUR COMPANY ON THE RECORD DATE, THAT IS , ON MAY 14, 2020 (THE "ISSUE "). FOR FURTHER DETAILS,
March 11, 1977, was issued by the Registrar of Companies. Kamataka , atBangalore . The name ofourCompany SEE "TERMS OF THE ISSUE " ON PAGE 272OFTHELOF.
was further changed to "Reliance Industnes Limited 'and a fresh certificate of incorporation consequent on change
of name dated June 27 , 1985 was issued by the Registrar of Companies, Maharashtra , at Mumbai.Fordetaiso ' NOTICE TO THE ELIGIBLE EQUITY SHAREHOLDERS OF THE COMPANY
changesinourname , see "HistoryandCorporete Structure" onpage t 2loft he LOF.
ISSUE OPENS ON: LAST DATE FOR ON MARKET RENUNICIATION ISSUE CLOSES ON:
Registered and Corporate Office: 3rd Floor , Maker Chambers IV, 222, Nauman Point Mumbai 400 0 2 1 ., A
WEDNESDAY , MAY 20 , 2020 FRIDAY, MAY 29 , 2020 WEDNESDAY, JUNE 3 , 2020
Maharashtra , India: Contact Persons: Shri K. Sethuraman, Group Company Secretary and Chief Compliarce J
Officer, and Smt. Savithri Parekh , Joint Com pa ny Secreta ry and Compliance Officer, Tel: +91 (22 ) 3555 5000 : F , t t.e F r , . J .s h a-e rr rl .. .r a r e. r . . t . F f . . k r __ c . . l f c l r,r i. r c or . u,r t r c b c f u r er l e J e r ,f. r .err{ d e l e c u it-iu o r r d r u _ ' h a l R y l F l l t e n e r l . d e . r r . .ot. .ret per
e ete d :u.Err t _, f tf Renon:ees c,r r r i. ror l . t v ls:k O c rcDate.
Fax:+91 (22)220422 6 8;E-mail: 'nvestorre atiers@-l.com: Website :w.v'riL c orn ; Corporate Identity Number : Cu Buarc or z c j y o u t r ) r z e d cc mrr t . e t h e e o f y r l h a e : e r g i l t o extena fh eIssue period as.t maydetermine from t m e to t i , e , p o v i c e d t h a t t h i s l s s , e w nc: rema open in excess of 30 (tn rt y)days from UeIssue Open Date . =url her ,
L17110MH1973PLC019786 nowt hdravra o `Ap:I::e:i n r s t a l : te: re rntli eu by d/A: ) l)i i :uri t after he Issue Closing Dale.

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eL OF
Investors should note that the ASBA process involves procedures that are different from the procedureunder the
R-WAP process. Investors applying through the ASBA facility should carefully read the provisions applicable to
suchApplicationsbeforeakingtheirApplicat ionthroughtheASBAprocss
Please note that subject to SCSBs comply ing with the requirements of SEBI Circular CIR/CFD/DIU1312012dated
September 25, 2012, within the periods stipulated therein. Applications may be submitted at the Designated
Branches oftheSCSBs.Application lhroughASBAfacilityin electronic modewillonly be available with such SCSBs
who provide such facility. Further, in terms of the SEBI Circular CIR/CFD/DIU1/2013 dated January 2, 2013 , it is
clarified that for making Applications by SCSBs on their own account using ASBA facility, each such SCSB should
have a separate account in its own name with any other SEBI registered SCSB(s). Such account shall be used
solely forthe purpose of making anApplication in this Issue and clear demarcated funds should be available in such
accountfor such anApplication
(ii) Registra rs Web-based Application Platform (R-WAP ):
In accordance with SEBI circular SEBIIHOiCFDJDIL2ICIR'P;202078 dated May 6, 2020 , a separate web based
application platforn, i.e. the R-WAP facilit y (accessible at https:llrights.kfintech.com), has been instituted for
making an A pplication in this Issue by resident Investors. In accordance wth the SEBI Rights Issue Circula rs ,
R-WAP is only an additional option and not a replacement of the ASBA process . Further, R-WAP is only an
additional option and not a replacement of the ASBA process. At the R-tNAP, resident Investors can access and
submtth eonline Applicabon Form in electronicmode using the R-WAP and make online payment using their
intemetbankin 9 or UPI facili t y fromtheirownbankaccountthereat.
PLEASE NOTE THAT ONLY RESIDENT INVESTORS CAN SUBMIT AN APPLICATION USING THE R-WAP.
R-WAP FACILITY WILL BE OPERATIONAL FROM THE ISSUE OPENING DATE. FOR RISKS ASSOCIATED
WITH THE R-WAP PROCESS , SEE "RISK FACTORS -THE R-WAP PAYMENT MECHANISM FACILITY
PROPOSED TO BE USED FORTHIS ISSUE MAY BE EXPOSED TO RISKS, INCLUDING RISKSASSOCIATED
WITH PAYMENT GATEWAYS " ON PAGESBOFLOF.
For guidance on Coe Appication process thrc g ' 3-WAP aid resolution of difficulties faced by the Investors, the
Investors are advised to carefully read the frequently asked questions , visit the online) electronic dedicated investor
helpdesk (https://nghts.kfnlech.com) or call helpline number (1800 425 8998 , 1800 345 4001 and +91 (40)
67162222). Fordetails, see 'Terms oftheIssue .ProcedureforA pplicadonthrough the R WAP" on page 285
oftheLOF .
A pplication by Elig ible Equity Shareholders holding Equity Shares in physical form:
In accordance with the SEBI Righls Issue Circulars , (a) the Eligible Equity Shareholders, who hold Equity Shares in
physicalform ason Record Date; or(b) the Eligible Equity Sharehotders, who hold EquitySharesin physicalformas
on Record Date and who have not furnished the details of their demal account to the Reg ist rar or our Company at
least two Working Days prior to th e Issue Closing Date , desirous of subscribing to Rights Equity Shares
j may also
a pply rn this Issue dunn9 the Issue Period A pplication bY such Eli9 ibfe Equit y Shareholders is sub1ect to followin9
conditions:
(i) the Eligible Equity Shareholders applyonly throug h R-WAP:
(ii) the Eligible Equity Shareholdersareresidenls;
(iii) the Eligible Equit yShareholdersarenotmakingpaymentf romnon-residentaccount;
(iv) the Eligible Equity Shareheldersshallnotbeabletorenounc etheirRi ghtsEntitlements; and
(v) the Eligible Equity Shareholders shall receive Rights Equity Shares, in respect of lheirApplioation, only in
demat mode.
Accordingly, such resident Elig ible Equity Shareholders are required to , within 6 (six) months from the Allotment
Date, send a communication to our Company or the Registrar containing the name (s), Indian address, email
address, contact details and the details of their demat account along with copy of self-attested PAN and self-
attested dient master sheet of their dent account either by post, speed post, courier , electronic mail or hand
delivery, toenableprocssofaeditofRightsEquit y Sharsin such deataccount.
Such resident Eligible Equity Shareholders must check the procedure for Application by and creditof Rights Equity
Shares in "Terms of the Issue - Procedure for A pp lication by Elig ible Equity Shareholders holding Equity
Shares inp hysicalform" and"Terms oflhe Issue - Credit and Transfer of Rights Equity Shares in ease of
Shareholdersholding Equfty SharesinPhyslcalFormandd isposalofRi ghtsEquity Sharesfor non recelpt
ofdemataccountdetailsin atimef ymanner " on pages29land 302,respectivel y, oftheLOF.
APPLICATIONS SUPPORTED BY BLOCKEDAMOUNT (ASBA): Investors desiringlomakeanApp licationinthis
Issue through ASBA process , may submit the Application Form to the Designated Branch of the SCSB or
onlinelelectronicApplicationthrough thewebsite ofthe SCSB5 (if made available by such SCSB) for authorising
such SCSB to block Application Money payable on the Application in their rspectveASBAAccounts. Forthe list of
banks which have been notified by SEBI to act as SCSB5 for the ASBA process , please refer to
h;tps:l/ www.sebi.gov .in/sebiweb/other/OtherAction.do?doRecognisedFp i=yes&intmld=34. For details on
Designated Branches of SCSB5 collecting the A pplication Form , please refer the above-mentioned link PLEASE
NOTE THAT THE RIGHTS EQUITY SHARES APPLIED FOR IN THIS ISSUE CAN BE ALLOTTED ONLY IN
DEMATERIALIZED FORM AND TO THE SAME DEPOSITORYACCOUNT IN WHICH OUR EQUITY SHARES
ARE HELD BY SUCH INVESTOR ON THE RECORD DATE. FOR DETAILS, SEE "ALLOTMENT ADVICE OR
REFUND! UNBLOCKING OFASBAACCOUNTS" ONPAGE 302OF LOF'
APPLICATION ON PLAIN PAPER UNDER ASBA PROCESS: An Eligible Equity Shareho;derwho is eli gible to
applyundertheASBAprocess may makeanApplicationtosubscnbe to this Issueon plain paper.An Eligible Equity
Shareholder shall submit the plain paper Application to the Designated Branch of the SCSB for authorising such
SCSB to block Application Money in the said bank account maintained with the same SCSB.Applications on plain
paper will not be accepted from any address outside India. Please note that the Eligible Equity Shareholders who
are making theA pplication on plain paper shall not be enbtled to renounce their Rights Entiflements and should not
the pp lica n Form r any o includi ng l LAST D ATE FO
E quity Sha derak s an A ppiii cat n u sing Form as well as plain pace boh the Ap p 1catitiobns
j
shall be liable to be rejected atthe o p t
ion of the Issuer.
PLEASE NOTETHATAPPUCATION ON PLAIN PAPER CANNOT BESUBMITT EDTHROUGH RWAP,
The application on plain paper, duly signed by the Eligible Equity Shareholder including j o r : holders, in the same
order and as per specimen recorded with his bank , must reach the office of the Designated Branch of the SCSB
beforethelssueClosingDateandshouldcontainthefo llowing particulars:
1. Name of our Company, being Reliance Industries Limited; 2. Name and address of the Eligible Equity
Shareholder including pint holders (in the same order and as per specimen recorded with our Company or the
Depository); 3. Registered Folio Number/ DPand Client IDNo.;4. NumberofEquity Sharesheld as on Record Date;
5Alotmen t option -only demalerialisea fora; 6 Number of Rights Equity Shares entitled to 7 . Number of Rights
Equity Shares applied forwithintheRghtsEnlitlements; 8. Numberofaddibonal Rights EquitySharesappliedfor , if
any; 9. Total numberof Rights Equity Shares applied for; 10. Total amount paid atthe rate of 314.25 per Rights
Equity Share; 11. Details of the ASBAAccount such as the account number, name, address and branch of the
relevantSCSB; 12.Incase ofNRElig ibleEquity ShareholdersmakinganapplicationvNhanIndian address, details
of the NREIFCNRMRO Account such as the account number, name, address and branch of the SCSB with which
the account ismaintained;l3. Except forApplicationsonbehalfoftheCent ral orState Government , theresidents of
Sikkim and the officials appointed by the courts , PAN of the Eligible Equity Shareholder and for each Eligible Equity
Shareholderin caseofjointnames ,irrespectiveofthe totalvalueofthe Rig hts Equit y Shares applied forpursuantto
this Issue; 14.AuthonsatbntotheDesignated Branch oftheSCSBto block an amountequivalentto theApplication
Money in the ASBAAccount; l5. Signatureofthe Eligible Equity Shareholder(incase ofjointhode rs, to appear in
the same sequence and order as they appear in the records of the SCSB); 16. An approval obtained from the RBI ,
as required under our Articles of Association, where a successful Application will result in the aggregate
shareholding or total voting rights of the Eligible Equity Shareholder (along with persons acting in concert) in our
Company, to be 5% or more of the post-Issue paidup share capital of our Company. Elig ible Equity Shareholders
mustsend a copy of the approval from any regulatory authority. asmayberequired , orobtainedf rom theRBItothe
Registrar at nlinvstor@kfintech.com; and 17.See page 289 of the LetterofOfferfor additional representations that
will be required to be madewhen an application is submitted to the Company.
In cases where multipleApplication Forms are submitted forApplicationspertainingtoRights Entitlements aedited
to the same demat account or in demat suspense escrow account, including cases where an Investor submits
A pplkationFormsalongwith ap lainpaperA pp licatbn, suchA pp licationsshall be liable to be rejected
Investors are requested to strictly adhere to these instructions. Failure to do so could result in an Appication being
rejected , with our Company, the Global Co-ordinators and Lead Managers and the Lead Managers and the
Registrarnothavingany liabilitytothelnvestorTheplainpaperA pplicatonformatwillbeavailableonthewebsiteof
the Registrar athltpsi/rghls.kfintech.cv m.
Ourcompany, theGlobal Co-ordinators and Lead Managers and the Lead Managers and the Registrarshall not be
fbe a enotupbadedb y SCSBorfundsarenotblockedinthe lnvstorsASBAAccounts
onorbe
onorbeforethetheIssue
lssue Closing
sing Date.
OVERSEAS SHAREHOLDERS: The distribution of the LOF, ALOF,RE Letter and Application Form and the issue
of the Equity Shares on a rights basis to persons in certain jurisdictions outside India may be restricted by legal
requirements prevailing inthosejunsdictio ns. PersonsinlowhosepossessionlheLOF; theALOF, RE Letterandthe
Application Form maycome arerequired toinform themselvs about andobserve such restrictions.OurCompany
is making this Issue on a rights basis to the Eligible Equity Shareholders (i) in offshore transactions outside the
United Stales in compliance with Regulation Sto existing shareholders located injurisdictionswheresutdhoffer and
sale of the Rig hts Equity Shares is permitted under laws of such jurisdictions and (ii) in the United Slats to U.S.
QIBs pursuant to Section 4( a)(2) of the US Securities Ad and other exemptions from the registration requirements
of the US Securities Ad. Our Company will dispatch the Letter of Offer !Abridged Letter of Offer and Application
Formonlyto Eligible EquityShareholders whohave provided anIndian addresstoourCompanyorw hoarelocated
in jurisdictions where the offer and sale ofthe Rights Equity Shares is permitted under laws ofsuchjurisdictions. As
used in this section , LOF refers to the LOF together with the International Supplement.
NOTICE TO OVERSEAS SHAREHOLDERS
The Rights Entitlements and the Rights Equity Snares have not been, and will not be, registered under the United
Stales Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "US Securit ies Act") or under any securities laws of any state or
other jurisdiction of the United States and may not be offered. sold, resold or otherwise transferred or delivered,
directly a indirectl y within the United States except pursuant to an applicable exemption from, or a transaction not
subject to, the registration requirements of the US Secunties Act and in compliance with any applicable securities
laws of any state or otherjurisdiction of the United States. The Rights Entitlements and Rights Equity Shares are
being offered in offshore transactions outside the United States in compliance with Regulation S under the US
SecuriliesActandin the United States to "qualifiedinstitutional buyers " (asdefinedin Rule 144AundertheUS
SecunliesAct ."U.S.QIBs")pursuanttoSection 4(a)(2)undertheUS Seo.iritiesActandotherexemptionsfromthe
registrationrequirementsofthe USSecurdiesAct.
Neither our Company, nor any person acting on behalf of our Company, will accept a subscription or renunciation
from any person, or the agent of any person, who appears to be. or who our Company, or any person acting on
behalf of our Company, has reason to believe is, in the United States when the buy order is made (other than
persons in the United Stateswho are U.S. QIBs). NoApplication Form should be postmarked in the United States,
electronically transmitted from the United States or otherwise dispatched from the United States (in each case ,
other than from persons in the United States who are U.S. QIBS) or from any otherjurisdiclion where it would be
illegal to make an offerofsecurities underthe LOF.
OurCompany is making this Issue on a rights basis to the Eligible Equity Shareholders andwill dispatch the LOFor
theALOFandtheA pplicalionFormonl ytoEligibleEquity Shareholderswhohaveprovidedan lndianaddresstoour
Companyorwearelocatedinjurisdictionswheretheofferand saleoftheRightsEquilySharesispermittedunder
lawsofsuchjurisdiotions.
Any person who acquires Rights EntitiementsorRi ghts Equity Shares will be deemed to havededared, waranted
and agreed , by accepting the delivery of the LOF, that (i) it is not and that at the time of subscnbing for the Rights
EquitySharsortheRights Entit lements, itwillnotbe , intheUnitedStates; or(ii) it isaU.S.QIBintheUnitedStat es,
and in each case is authorized to acquire the Rights Entitlements and the Rights Equity Shares in compliance with
allapplicablelawsandregulations.
Our Company reserves the right to treat as invalid any Application Form which: (i) appears to our Company or its
agents to have been executed in , electronically transmitted from or dispatched from the United States (unless the
Application Form is submitted by a U.S. QIB in the United States) orotherjunsdictionswhere the offerand sale of
the Rights Equity Shares is not permitted under laws of such junsdfcbens; (ii) does not include the relevant
certi cabons set out in theAppiication Form, including to the etfectthatthe person submitting and/or renouncing the
Appl cation Form is (a) not in the United States , and eligible to subscribe for the Rights Equity Shares under
applicablesecuritieslawsor ( b)a U.S. 018 inthe United Statesand ineach casesuch person is complyingwithlaws
of jurisdictions applicable to such person in connection with this Issue; or (iii) where either a registered Indian
address is not provided or where our Company believes acceptance of such Application Form may infringe
applicable legal orregulatory requirements; and our Company shall not be bound to issue or allotany Rights Equity
Shares in respect of any such Application Form. As used in this section , LOF refers to the LOF together with the
Intemational Suoplement.
CATION :T lastdate a duty fil led i n Applicat io n plain p r
Bi
en is June 3,. 20 20. i.e.. Issue
ne 3 e Date. O
Ourr Booa rd nia
mayextextendd the said d date fo r such
uch pe ri o d it may
determine from time to ti me, subject to t o the
the Issue period not exceeding 30 days from thhee Issue Opening Date
(inclusive ofthe Issue Opening Date).
If ttie Application Form is not submitted with an SCSB, uploaded with the Stock Exchanges and the Application
Money is not blocked with the SCSB or tithe Application Form is not accepted at the R-WAP ,on or before the Issue
Closing Date or such date as may be extended by our Board or any committee thereof. the invitation to offer
contained in the Let tero fOff ershall bedeemedto have been declined andourBoardorany CommitteeofDirectors
shall be at liberty to dispose of the Rights Equity Shares hereby offered. as provided under the section "Terms of
thelssue-Basis ofAllotment " onpage300oftheLOF
Please note that on the Issue Closing Date , (i)A pp lications throug hASBA process will be uploaded until 5.00 p.m
(Indian Standard Time) or such extended measpermitted bythe Stock Exchanges,and (ii) the R-WAPfacilitywill
beavailableuntil 5.00 p.m. (Indian Standard Time) orsuch extendedtimeaspermitted bythe Stock Exchanges.
ALLOTMENT ONLY IN DEMATERIALISED FORM:TheAllotmentof Equily Shares pursuanltothe Issuewill only
be made indemalenalisedform. The(a) Inaccordance with the SEBI Rights Issue Circula rs , (a) the Eligible Equity
Shareholders , who hold Equity Shares in ph ysical form as on Reco rd Dale; or (b) the Eli g ible E quity Shareholders
who hold Equity Shares in physical form as on Record Date and who have not furnished the details of their demat
account to the Registrar or our Company at least two Working Days prior to the Issue Closing Date, desirous of
subscribing to Rights Equity Shares may also apply in this Issue during the Issue Period. Such Eligible Equity
Shareholders must checktheprocedure forA pplicationby and credit of Rights Equit y Shares in "Terms oftheIssue-
ProcedweforApplicationby EligiWeEquity Shareholders holding Equity Sharosinphysicalform"and"Terms of the
Issue- Creditand Transferof Rights Equity Shares in case of Shareholders holding Equity Shares in Physical Form
anddisposa lofRightsEquity Sharesfornonreceiplofdemataccountdelailsinatimel ymanner onpags29 1 and
302 of the LOF , respectively.
INVESTORS MAY PLEASE NOTE THAT THE EQUITY SHARES CAN BE TRADED ON THE STOCK
EXCHANGES ONLY IN DEMATERIALISED FORM.
LISTING: The existing Equity Shares are I sled cn the Stock Exchanges. Our Company has received 'in-principle'
approvals from BSE and NSE for listing the Riights Equity Shares to be allotted pursuant to the Issue through their
lettersdatedMa y 8, 2020.Forthe pu rposes oftheIssue ,theDs g natedStockExchan g e is BSE.
DISCLAIMER CLAUSE OF SEBI: Submission of LOFto SEBl should not in any way be deemed or construed that
SEBI has cleared orapproved the LOF The Investorsare advised to refer to the full text of the 'Disclaimer Clause of
SEBI' beginning on page263ofthe LOF.
DISCLAIMER CLAUSE OF BSE (Designated Stock Exchange): It is to be distinctly understood that the
permission given by BSE Limited should not, in anyway. be deemed orconslrued thatthe Letlerof Offer has been
dear etlo rapproved by BSELimited ; nordoes itcertif y thecorrectness orcompleteness ofanyofthecontentsofthe
Letter of Offer. The Investors are advised to refer to the Letter of Offer for the full text of the "Disdaimer Clause of
gSE"beginning onpage 267of 1heLOF.
DISCLAIMER CLAUSE OF NSE: It is to be distincfly understood that the permission given by NSE shad not in
anyway be deemed orconstrued thatthe Letterol Offer has been cleared orapprov ed byNSE nor does itcertdythe
coredressorcompleteness ofanyof thecentenlsoftheLetterofOf ferThe Investors areadvised torefer tothe
Letterof Offerfor lhefulltexlofthe "DisdaimerdauseofNSE " on page267ofthe LOF.
ESCROW COLLECTION BANK ANDTHEREFUNDBANK :HDFC BANKLIMITED
ALLOTMENT ACCOUNT BANKS: HDFC BANK LIMITED AND STATE BANK OF INDIA
MONITORINGAGENCY: AXIS BANKLIMITED
INVESTORS ARE ADVISED TO REFER TO THE LOF AND THE RISK FACTORS CONTAINED THEREIN
BEFOREAPPLYING IN THE ISSUE.
DISPATCH AND AVAILABILITY OF THE ISSUE MATERIALS: In accordance with the SEBI ICDR Regulations.
SEBI circular SEBIIHOJCFDJDIL2/CIRIP12020/78 dated May 6. 2020 and the MCA clarification, our Company will
send, only through email , the Abridged Letter of Offer, the Rights Entitiement Letter , Application Form and other
issue material to the email addresses of all the Eligible Equity Shareholders who have provided their Indian
addresssto ourcompany orwho are located injurisdictionswhere the offerand sale of the Rights Equity Shares s
Permitted under laws ofsuch jurisdic tions. ourConpany is not dispatching a copy of the Letterof Offe r,
e Abridged Lett er of Offer,
oar, Rights E rnent Letter , the A pplication Form and otherissue the Eligible
Equity Shareholders through
E r registered
ed post,
post. speed
spee d ppost or by courier service due to prevailing
ling COVID-19
COVI related
conditions. The Letter of Offer will be provided, only through email , by the Registrar on behalf of our Company or
Global Co-ordinators and Lead Managers and Lead Managers to the Eligible Equity Shareholders who have
provided their Indian address to our Company or who are located in jurisdictions where the offer and sale of the
R,ghtsEquitysharesis permitted underlawsofsuchjunsdictionsandinea chcasewhomakearequstinthisregard.
In accordance with the above, the dispatch ofthe Abddged Letter of Offer. Rights Entitiement Letter alongwith the
ApplicakonFormhasbeencempleted nelectronicformthroughemailon May16, 2020b ytheReg istrartolhe lssue.
Investors , including Eligible Equity Shareholders who have not received an e-mail from our Company, containing
the Issuematerial can access the Letterof OBer(togetherwith the International Supplementfor investorsoutsideof
India on websils of the Company, the Registrar, the Global Co-ordinators and Lead Managers and the Lead
Managers ), theAbrfdged Letterof Offerand theA pplication Form (provided thatthe Eligible Equity Shareholder is
eligibielosubscr ibefortheRi ghts Equity Shares underapplicablesecur t' eslaws)on the websites of
(i) ourCompanyatwww .nl.cem;
(ii) theRegistrarat https: //rights.kfintech.com;
(iii) the Global Co-ordinators and Lead Managers and Lead Managers at www.jm 0 .co m
www. i n v e s t m e n t b a n k . k o t a k . c o m , w w w . a x i s c a p i t a l .co.in , www . b n p p a r i b a s . c o . i n ,
www.online.citibank.co.in lrhtmlcitigroupglobalscreen1.him , www.ml-india.com, www.goldmansachs.com ,
www.hdfcbank.com , https://www.business. hsbc.co.inlengblinlgeneric /ipo-open-offer-and-buyback ,
w,vw.icicisecuritis.com, www.fdfc.com/capital/index.htm ,www.jpmi pl.com , www.morganstanleycom 'about-
us/ global-offices/asia-paci india and wvrw.sbicaps.com;
(iv) the Stock Exchanges atwwwbseindia.comandwwwnseinda com; and
(v) theRegistrar'sweb- basedapplicalion platform at htt ps :Ihighls.kfinteohcom( "R-WAP").
LOF isalsoavailableatwww .sebi.gov.in
Eligible Equity Shareholders can obtain the details of their respective Rights Entitlements from the website of the
Registrar (i.e., https://rights.kfintech.com) byentenng their DP ID and Client ID or Folio Number(in case of Eligible
Equity Shareholders holding Equity Shars in physical form) and PAN.The linkfort he same shall also beavailable
on thewebsileofourCompany (ie., wvnv.nl.com).
Further, our Company along with the Global Co-ordinators and Lead Managers and the Lead Managers will
undertake all adequate stepsto reach outthe Elig ible Equity Shareholderswho have provided their Indian address
through other means, as may be feasible. In lighlofthe current COVID-19 situation , our Company, the Global Co-
ordinators and Lead Managers and the Lead Managers and the Registrar will not be liable for non-dispatch of
physical copies of Issue materials , including the Letterof Offer , the Abrid ged Letterof Offer , the Rights Entitlement
Letter and theApplication Form.
OTHERIMPORTANTLINKSANDHELPLINE:
Investors can visit following links for the below-mentioned purposes:
a) F requen0yasked questions and online/ electronic dedicated investor helpdesk for guidance on the Application
process and resolution of difficulties facedbythe Investors :htlps:llrights.dintech .com
b) Updation of Indian address/ email addressl mobile number in the records maintained by the Reg istrar or our
Company: https: //rights.kfntech .com
c) Updation of deat account details by Eligible Equity Sharehold ers holding shares in physical form:
https:inghts.kfmtech.com
d) Submission of self-attested PAN, client aster sheet and deal account details by nonresident Eligible Equty
Shareholders:nlinvestor @kf intech.com

kotakw , I I ,

Citi
13NPPARIBAS
AXISCAPITAL
1
11JM FINANCIAL Investment Banking
®
The bank for a changing world
BofASECURITIES

JM Financial Limited Kotak Mahindra Capital Company Limited Axis Capital Limited BNP Paribas DSP Merrill Lynch Limited Citigroup Global Markets India Goldman Sachs ( India) Securities
7th Floor, Cnergy 1st Floor, 27 BKC, Plot No. C -27 1st Floor. Axis House BNP Paribas House Ground Floor, "A" Wing Private Limited Private Limited
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Mumbai 400 025 Bandra Kurla Complex Pandureng Budhkar Marg Maker Maxity Sandra Kurla Complex First Intentional Financial Center Appasaheb Maralhe Marg, Prabhadevi
Telephone: +91 (22) 6630 3030; Bandra (East) Wodr , Mumbai 400 025 Bandra Kuda Complex Bandra (East), Mumbai 400 051 G-Block Bandra Kuda Complex Mumbai 400 025
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E-mail: ril.rights@jmfLcom Telephone: +91 (22) 4336 0000 E-mail: ril.nghts @axisca p.in Telephone: +91 (22) 3370 4000 Telephone: +91( 22) 6632 8000 Telephone: +91 (22) 6175 9999 E-mail; gs- reliancerights@gs.com
Investor Grievance E-mail: E-mail: ril.nghts@kotak.com Investor Grievance E-mail: E-mail: dl.rghts.ril@asia.bnpparibas.com E m i l : dg.ril_nghtsQbofa.com E-mail: ril.rights@dti.com Investor Grievance E-mad:
grievance.ibd@j m8.can Investor Grievance E-mail: complaints@axispp.in Investor Grievance E-mail: Investor Grievance E-mail: Investor Grievance E-mail: indra-client-support@gs.com
dg.ind ra -mercha ntban king@bofa.kxx m
Contact Person: Prachee Dhuri kmccredrssal@kotak.com Contact Person: Sager Jalak ya ndiainvestors.care@asia.bnpparibas.com nveslo s.ogmib@ci6.com Contact Pe rson: Poshabh Ga g
Contact Person: Rshabh Bhatt
Website vnvvjmFlco rn Contact Person: Ganesh Bane Website: www.axisrapital.m.in Contact Person: Soumya Guha Contact Person: Parilosh Bhandari Website www goldmansachscom
Website www.mt indiawro
SERI Regstration No. ' INk1000010361 Websfle: wvnv inveslmenlbank kolakco m SEBI Registration No: INM000012029 Website: www.bnpparibas.co.in 1`/e bsite: v,vnvonline .cibbank.co.inrrhtml SEBI Regatrat on No.: INM0000 11054
SEBI Regist ation No.: INvIOrXX)11625
SEBI Registration No : INM000008704 SEBI Registration No. INM000011534 citigroupglobalsc eenl him
SEBI Registration No.: INM000010718

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Telephone: +91 (22) 3395 8233
E-mail: ril.rights@hdfcbank.com
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investocredres sal@hdfcbank.com
Contact Person: Harsh Thakkarl Ravi Sharma
Website: vnvv.hdfcbank.com
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r Irvestors may contact the Registrar to the Issue or the Group Company Secretary and Chief Compliance Officer or Joint Company Secretary and Compliance
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Mr. K. Sethuraman copy to the SCSB, giving full details such as name, address of the applicant, contact number(s), E-mail address of the sole! first holder , folio number or demat
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 6  Covid-19 Impact: Companies
Mandatory
to Best Effort
Basis: Aarogya
Setu App Rule
Eased for Cos
Our Bureau
New Delhi: The Ministry of Ho-
me Affairs has asked employers
to ensure that the government’s
contact tracing application, Aa-
rogya Setu, is installed by all
employees having compatible
mobile phones on a “best effort
basis”. This is part of its Lock-
down 4.0 roadmap and is a major
easing up from earlier when all
employees had to mandatorily
install the app and where the
company’s management had to
ensure 100% coverage.
Earlier, any negligence, if pro-
ven, on the part of a director, ma-
nager, secretary or any other ex-
ecutive would have led to puniti-
ve measures. The MHA notifica-
tion on Sunday asked district
authorities to
“advise indivi-
MHA says
duals” to install
installation
the Aarogya Se-
on ‘Best
tu application
Effort Basis’
on compatible
in Lockdown
mobile phones
4.0
and regularly
update their health status on the
app. “This will facilitate timely
provision of medical attention
to those individuals who are at
risk,” the notification said. “The
Aarogya Setu mobile applica-
tion is a powerful tool built by go-
vernment to facilitate quick
identification of persons infec-
ted by Covid-19, or at risk of be-
ing infected, thus acting as a shi-
eld for individuals and the com-
munity,” it added.
Several companies and indust-
ry associations had earlier so-
ught withdrawal of the clause
on the app’s compulsory use as
well as punitive measures on se-
nior executives. The onus of en-
suring that all private sector
employees install the app cannot
lie with the head of a company,
hardware manufacturing lobby
group MAIT had told ET.
Telcos Stare
at Penalties
of `50 cr per
Violation
Kalyan.Parbat
@timesgroup.com
Kolkata: Bharti Airtel, Relian-
ce Jio Infocomm and Vodafone
Idea are staring at potential pe-
nalties of about `50 crore per
violation for failing to meet the-
ir minimum network rollout
obligations amid the nationwi-
de lockdown as the telecom de-
partment has not extended the
compliance timelines beyond
May 31. The telcos have asked
the Department of Telecommu-
nications for a six-to-nine-
month extension to complete
their rollout targets. The comp-
liance timelines are linked to
the spectrum band assigned to
them and the date of allocation.
The operators said network
equipment imports have been
severely hit by global lock-
downs imposed after the Co-
vid-19 outbreak. Besides, there
have been difficulties in comp-
leting tower site acquisitions,
drive tests and securing multi-
ple approvals from state autho-
rities and municipal bodies.
Indian Creditors Nervous Maruti Suzuki Set to
as US Retail Cos Struggle Resume Ops Today
Nehal.Chaliawala@timesgroup.com
Mumbai: American and European
retailers filing for bankruptcies in
the wake of Covid-19 has got their
Indian creditors worried with their
unsecured outstanding dues esti-
mated to be in excess of $50 million.
In the past two weeks, leading re-
tailers like JC Penney, J Crew, Nei-
man Marcus and Stage Stores have
filed for Chapter 11bankruptcy pro-
tection in the US. True Religion fil-
ed for Chapter 11 protection last
month. In Europe, Debenhams, Es-
prit, Oasis and Warehouse have
gone into administration.
These companies import about
$150-200 million worth of apparels
and home furnishing
products from India
annually, said peo-
ple in the know. As
per industry esti-
mates, the out-
standing dues
from these com-
panies to Indian
Healthcare, Delivery may Save
the Day for Temp Staffing Cos
BALANCING ACT Rising demand in a few sectors may partly offset the slump in other areas
KR Balasubramanyam &
Ayan Pramanik
Bengaluru: Temp staffing firms,
such as Quess Corp and Teamlease,
have taken a hit as clients lay off emp-
loyees amid the economic crisis in-
duced by the Covid-19 pandemic, alt-
hough healthcare and sectors that re-
quire last-mile delivery staff have
cushioned the impact somewhat, in-
dustry executives said.
Fairfax group-controlled business
service provider Quess Corp will lik-
ely see a drop in headcount in the
first quarter as clients trim their
workforce. The company, which has
about 3,80,000 people and is among
the largest private sector employers
in India, counts Amazon, Oracle, Ax-
is Bank, Manipal Hospitals, Bata and
Samsung among its clients.
“The drop is, however, not going to
be significant because some of the
sectors that we operate in are resili-
ent,” Quess chairman Ajit Isaac told
ET. The increased demand for last-
mile delivery services is expected to
offset the slump in other areas.
“Last-mile delivery is getting dis-
proportionate importance, be it in
the Know Your Customer, delivery of
parcels or mobile customer services
at doorstep. These sectors have not
seen much fall and have given us so-
Startups have Reasons to Cheer
with Less Punishing Cos Act
Experts say criminalisation of minor offences was hurting valuations during fundraising
Alnoor.Peermohamed
@timesgroup.com
Bengaluru: The government’s
move to bring in an Ordinance to de-
criminalise various sections of the
Companies Act will help local star-
tups and entrepreneurs in raising
funds and attracting more risk-
averse capital, experts and inves-
tors said. Finance minister Nir-
mala Sitharaman announced
the decision while unveiling the
last tranche of the government’s
`20 lakh crore economic stimu-
lus package on Sunday.
Minor technical and procedur-
al defaults such as shortcomings
in Corporate Social Responsibili-
ty reporting, inadequacies
in board reports, filing de-
faults and delay in holding
Annual General Meetings
will be decriminalised. The
government has also decid-
ed to drop seven compoun-
dable offences, while five
will be dealt with under an
alternative framework. Pe-
nalties for smaller compa-
Once Upon a
Bitcoin... Musk
Tells Rowling
SAN FRANCISCO Despite
aiming to sell all his physical
possessions, Tesla and SpaceX
CEO Elon Musk has revealed his
Bitcoin (BTC) holdings in a
Twitter session with Harry
Potter-famed British author JK
Rowling. In response to a re-
quest from Rowling for Twitter
to explain Bitcoin to her, Musk
said: “Massive currency is-
suance by govt central banks is
making Bitcoin
Internet mon-
ey look solid
by compari-
son”. He
added: “I still
only own 0.25
Bitcoin btw”. —
IANS
suppliers were well over $50 million
since the January to March period
is the busiest in terms of apparel ex-
ports due to high demand for sum-
mer collections.
These companies outsource their
back-end IT operations to Indian
firms. J Crews owes over $21million
(`
`159 crore) to three Indian apparel
exporters, namely Fashion Acces-
sories, RK Industries and Gaurav
International, according to the list
of the company’s 30 largest unse-
cured creditors given in its bank-
ruptcy court filing. The top 30 cred-
itors of True Religion include five
Indian firms whom it owes $4.3 mil-
lion (``32.5 crore), as per the US
bank- ruptcy court records.
JC Penney owes
$6.7 million (` `50
crore) to Tata Con-
sultancy Services
and $3.5 million
(`
`26.5 crore) to El-
kay Overseas.
Neiman Mar-
cus owes TCS
over $1.6 m.
me cushion,” he said, adding the
company’s subsidiary Dependo Lo-
gistics was seeing increased demand
for last-mile delivery staff. Quess
Corp is also witnessing demand for
facilities management staff.
“In facility management, there is a
new segment of work called steri-fu-
migation which is very much in de-
mand today as companies step up
their fight against Covid-19,” Isaac
said. Staffing major Teamlease said
many businesses have reached a situ-
ation where they have no revenue.
Despite the slowdown, many have pa-
id salaries for two months, said Ritu-
parna Chakraborty, executive vice-
president of TeamLease, which has
nearly 2,10,000 people, employed
across startups and big enterprises
in various sectors.
“In general, staffing agencies are
Experts say…
· Many businesses have
reached a situation where
they have no revenue
· Increased demand for
last-mile delivery servic-
es is expected to offset
slump in other areas
Tweaks to Act
∙ Minor tech- ∙ Penalties
nical and pro- for smaller
cedural de- cos and
faults will be startups
decriminal- would
ised be lower
∙ TO DROP SEVEN COM-
POUNDABLE OFFENCES
UNDER ACT
Govt has Stepped up, it’s the Turn
of Banks now, Say Fintech Startups
FULL VIEW
NBFCs have Fintech firms
seen cost are hoping for
of capital in- monetary
crease over transmission
the past two by banks to
years ease soon
16-27% Interest rate charged
by fintech lenders in India
Sharmistha.Mukherjee
@timesgroup.com
New Delhi: The country’s largest
car maker Maruti Suzuki is set to
restart operations at its manufac-
turing facility in Gurugram, Ha-
ryana on Monday.
The company is resuming oper-
ations at Gurugram after 55 days
of lockdown-induced closure on
account of the outbreak of the cor-
onavirus pandemic. Last week,
the carmaker opened up the Ma-
nesar plant on a single shift basis.
“Maruti Suzuki would restart
production of vehicles at Guru-
gram plant on 18th May. All activ-
ities will be carried out strictly in
accordance with the government
regulations and guidelines”, the
company said in a filing to the
Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE).
The Gurugram facility rolls out
models like S-Cross, Vitara Brez-
za, Ignis and Super Carry light
commercial vehicles. Maruti Su-
springboard in good times
and shock-absorbers in
bad times. People associa-
te with staffing compa-
nies because we bring
in that resilience,” said
Chakraborty.
“I have been very di-
rect that there is a re-
sponsibility that we car-
ry towards our employ-
ees as well as our emp-
loyers and our job is to
balance the two. It is our
job to figure out the
most compliant and
flexible way of ba-
lancing this,” she
added. Industry
executives said
jobs that have been
impacted today will be revi-
· Jobs that · Cos are not
have been confident
impacted to- about creat-
day will be ing fresh roles
revived once and they see
the economy no business
bounces visibility for
back two years
nies and startups would be lower,
she said.
Startup investors and industry ex-
perts said the criminality of minor
offences and non-compliances un-
der the Act was hurting valuations
during fundraising and deterring
ANIRBAN BORA
risk-averse local investors from
backing companies.
“From a startup perspective, it’s a
welcome move because
a lot of companies have
been facing hurdles due
to existing non-complianc-
es and ensuing criminal lia-
bility, which was also hav-
ing an impact on the valua-
tion of such companies,”
said Atul Pandey, partner at
law firm Khaitan & Co.
It will weed out minor non-
compliance issues and also
help in raising funds from
the domestic market, specif-
ically from investors who
have a low risk appetite,
Pandey added.
“As a startup, the first cou-
ple of rounds of funding
which are pre-institutional
investors, there’s usually
Megha.Mandavia
@timesgroup.com
Bengaluru: Even as fintech star-
tups that lend to small and medium
enterprises welcomed the govern-
ment’s move to boost the banking
system’s liquidity, they have ex-
pressed concern over poor moneta-
ry transmission by banks and cap-
ping of interest rates.
Non-bank lenders have seen cost
of capital increase over the last two
years, including fintech startups.
Flexiloans, Lendingkart, Indifi
Technologies and Capital Float are
hoping for monetary transmission
CHARLES SHEELER, Windows
by banks to ease after the recent
measures.
In a series of recent measures, the
government has tried to solve the
liquidity issue facing the banking
system and lenders’ reluctance to
lend to non-bank peers.
The government has extended an
emergency credit line to micro,
zuki produces high selling models
like Alto, Swift, Dzire, S-Presso,
Ertiga, and Baleno from the Mane-
sar plant
However, the company is yet to
get permission for its Gujarat
plant as it comes under a contain-
ment zone. Maruti Suzuki sus-
pended work at both its plants in
Haryana — Manesar and Guru-
gram — on March 22 to fight the
coronavirus pandemic.
Both Gurgaon and Manesar com-
bined accounts for 15.5 lakh units’
annual capacity.
THE ECONOMIC TIMES | NEW DELHI / GURGAON | MONDAY | 18 MAY 2020 | WWW.ECONOMICTIMES.COM
ved once the economy bounces back.
“While organisations are now not
able to foresee a long-term future,
they would again come back to
staffing agencies eventually.
One of the advantages of asso-
ciating with staffing agenci-
es is that some talent can be
re-deployed for certain
other job roles even in such
a difficult time,” said Chak-
raborty.
A senior executive at a
staffing agency sa-
id: “Unfortuna-
tely, we do not
have as ma-
ny jobs to-
day in the
market as
the num-
ber of pe-
ople avai-
lable due to
the job cuts.”
Companies are
not confident abo-
ut creating fresh roles
and they see no business
visibility for as long as two
years. “Many clients are sa-
ying ‘come back to us after 6-
12 months’ for new job ro-
les,” said Kamal Karanth,
cofounder of Xpheno, a
staffing agency.
some sort of errors that happen and
those get caught later on. Valuation
of startups have gone down signifi-
cantly because of accumulated fines,
penalties which keep on compound-
ing,” said Siddarth Pai, managing
partner at 3one4 Capital.
The move to decriminalise viola-
tions will also result in better govern-
ance of startups as investors would
be willing to take director seats and
startups will also be able to attract
higher quality independent direc-
tors, he added.
This would, in turn, encourage
more domestic money to come into
India’s startup sector.
Sitharaman also said publicly list-
ed companies in India will be allowed
to list directly in foreign jurisdic-
tions, and private companies, which
list their non-convertible debentures
on stock exchanges, will not be re-
garded as listed companies.
According to Pai, the move to allow
private companies to list debentures
on stock markets will aid startups in
the NBFC space — which usually
raise capital from other NBFCs or
banks — in tapping public markets
for debt.
small and medium enterprises,
provided credit guarantee, and
capped interest rates for existing
borrowers, although it has yet to
announce details of the package.
“The lending rates might be cap-
ped at levels where non-banking fi-
nance companies (NBFCs) may not
be able to do viable lending since
their borrowing costs are high. It
will be a concern for us and our cus-
tomers who won't get the needed
stimulus,” said Manish Lunia, co-
founder at FlexiLoans.
Fintech lenders in India typically
charge MSME clients interest ra-
tes of 16-27%. Lendingkart said if
funds are made available cheaper,
then capping interest rates will not
be a problem.
“It is important for MSMEs to
stay alive. Margins are going to be
lower and it is perfectly fine. It is
not for the NBFCs to profit, it is not
a normal situation,” said Lending-
Kart’s founder Harshvardhan Lu-
nia.
$5 billion Cash Reserves Keep
Maruti on the Road in Q4, FY20
Earning from investments was more than core car business for Maruti
Ashutosh R Shyam &
Ketan Thakkar
Mumbai: Close to $5 billion of cash
reserves came to the rescue of Ma-
ruti Suzuki, India’s largest car mak-
er, in the fourth quarter of FY20 as
passenger vehicle sales declined the
most in decades. The company’s fi-
nancial income from investments
exceeded revenue from the core
business of making and selling cars.
Financial income of `3,420 crore
was close to 50% of profit before tax
in FY20. That compares with operat-
ing profit (EBIT) of about `3,776
crore for the maker of Swift and
Dzire cars. Financial income for Q4
stood at 56% of profit before tax.
The profit margin per car was low-
er than the discount doled out by the
company last year, underlining tre-
mendous stress in the market.
While sales volumes declined by
Window Seat for
Startups in Isro’s
Gaganyaan Trip
Raghu.Krishnan
@timesgroup.com
Bengaluru: India's space agency
will tap startups to develop food
and medicines for astronauts, bet-
ter tools to access machines in a
spacecraft and green engines for
its maiden humanspace flight Ga-
ganyaan-1. It will also potentially
help them build products and solu-
tions that they can exploit com-
mercially.
“We have already made the an-
nouncement of opportunities for
research organisations and aca-
demics, it will expand to startups
and industry,” Indian Space Re-
search Organisation (Isro) Chair-
man K Sivan told ET.
Last month, Isro identified a set
of 17 technologies that it invited re-
searchers to develop locally at low-
er costs for use in its Gaganyaan
missions. These included food and
medicine for astronauts during
space voyages, life support sys-
tems including a spacesuit, inflat-
able habitats and anti-radiation
and thermal protection technolo-
gies for spacecraft to bring the as-
tronauts back to earth safely.
The space agency has already in-
dicated that it was looking at sever-
al humanspace flight missions,
housing a space station and even-
tually aim to send human beings to
the moon. It has set up a small
group to do a feasibility study for a
manned mission to the moon.
“This opens up opportunities for
new types of companies to come
Telcos Want Free 5G
Bandwidth to Beef up
Wireline Connectivity
Muntazir.Abbas@timesinternet.in
New Delhi: Telecom companies
have urged the government to allot
necessary 5G bandwidth for free to
augment wireline connectivity in
the wake of a surge in demand for
data and voice services amid the
lockdown forced by Covid-19. Bhar-
ti Infratel chairman Akhil Gupta
said given the capacity constraints
in 4G cellular networks “the go-
vernment should provide the ne-
cessary and requisite
width under 5G in
the 3500 MHz free of
band-
cost to the four ser-
vice providers”.
Speaking at a digi-
tal round-table dis-
cussion organised
by ET Telecom,
Gupta said such
a move would
augment high-band-
width connectivity through
fixed telephony at homes. Bhar-
ti Infratel is a telecom infrast-
ructure company of Bharti En-
terprises, which also runs Bharti
Airtel.
Prashant Singhal, emerging mar-
kets TMT leader at EY, said alloca-
tion of sub-3500 MHz 5G spectrum
free of cost can help bring “infrast-
ructure, which is affordable for pe-
ople at large”. “It is important that
the ecosystem comes together to
provide digital infrastructure In-
dians need in this new world,” he
said. The comments come in the
backdrop of the industry terming
the government's starting price of
5G airwaves in the 3300-3600 MHz
band — `492 crore per unit — for
the next cellular bandwidth auc-
16% in FY20, Maruti Suzuki’s cash
reserves went up by more than $500
million, or `4,000 crore, in the previ-
ous financial year. Its total cash re-
serves of `35,248 crore were equiva-
up in India,” said Awais Ahmed,
founder and CEO of Pixxel, a
homegrown startup that is build-
ing India’s first private remote
sensing satellite fleet.
“There will be Indian startups
doing biological experiments, pri-
vate habitats in space and robotic
arms that will benefit.”
Isro should also share its intellec-
tual property for the technologies,
except for those that are very stra-
tegic, to any private entity that de-
velops them, he added. Sivan said
We have already
made the announ-
cement of opportuni-
ties for research orga-
nisations and academ-
ics, it will expand to
startups and industry
K SIVAN
Isro
Isro has opened up its facilities to
private players, including helping
a consortium of companies led by
Larson & Toubro and HAL build
its homegrown rocket — polar sat-
ellite launch vehicle (PSLV).
India has sent four Air Force pi-
lots to Russia for training, the first
set of potential astronauts for the
Gaganyaan-1mission, which is ex-
pected by 2022.
The space agency has built a
spacecraft that can carry three as-
tronauts.
tions “too expensive”.
Trai, which has rejected all such
criticism of the 5G base price,
though backed the need for be-
efing up wireline networks, say-
ing increased fiberisation could
manage the growing bandwidth
demand in the country. India’s wi-
reline penetration currently
stands at 1.53% compared with
over 85% for mobile phones, ac-
cording to Trai data.
“Bandwidth utilisation is going
to increase and that can be mana-
ged by having more fiberisation,”
said Trai secretary Sunil K Gupta.
Sterlite Technologies Group
chief executive Anand Agarwal
said there is a need to
bring parity in
spending on physi-
cal and digital in-
frastructure, and
that a Rs 1 lakh
crore combined
annual invest-
ment is needed
to strengthen te-
lecom backhaul and aug-
ment fibre-to-the-home (FTTH)
connectivity. In a bid to overcome
bandwidth constraints and boost
FTTH services, telecom carriers
as well as tower companies, in tan-
dem with the Department of Tele-
communications (DoT), are focu-
sing on expanding fibre footprint
in the country multifold by 2025.
Out of a total of 590,000 towers in
India, less than 20% are fiberised,
compared with 75-80% in countri-
es like China. “We recognise that
fiberisation is an important activi-
ty that needs to be undertaken at a
much higher priority to provide
uninterrupted bandwidth to the
individuals,” said Trai’s Gupta.
lent to a quarter of its market capi-
talisation. Speaking to analysts on
an earnings call, CFO Ajay Seth said
the company’s returns had been
quite good in FY20 due to mark-to-
market gains on investments.
“Treasury income could be lower
in the current fiscal year due to in-
terest rate heading downwards and
capital gains accrued in the previ-
ous fiscal will not be available,” Seth
added. The company said all its in-
vestments are in ‘AAA’ paper and
none has been in risky debt instru-
ments.
Consequently, it hasn’t written off
any amount due to problems in the
debt market. There was pressure on
profitability, with EBIT per vehicle
dropping to a multi-quarter low of
`18,827 per vehicle, which is lower
than the average discount of `19,051
offered to customers and almost half
of the average EBIT per vehicle it
had over the past three years.
 ETMarkets
SMART
INVESTING

Govt Plans
Mega Sops to
Attract Local,
Global Cos to
Coal Mining
Beating Volatility WWW.ETMARKETS.COM
NEW DELHI / GURGAON, MONDAY, 18 MAY 2020

IN APRIL, FUNDS SOLD `7,965.5 CR WORTH EQUITIES – THE HIGHEST SINCE MARCH 2016 DELISTING THE INDIAN BUSINESS WILL LOWER NET LEVERAGE

MFs Raise Cash Levels to 8-Mth Anil Agarwal’s Bold Move

High on Lockdown Uncertainties
Rajesh.Naidu@timesgroup.com
ET Intelligence Group: Big money,
especially in the short run, often mo-
ves in the direction opposite to that
of the movement in benchmark in-
dices. Take the mutual fund stats, for
instance, to test the theory.
Last month, the benchmark equity
gauges climbed about a fifth from
the recent lows reached on March
23. That climb, however, coincided
with the biggest selling by mutual
funds in at least four years, the Secu-
rities and Exchange Board of India
(Sebi) data showed.
And that bout of selling came in the
immediate aftermath of record buy-
ing in March, particularly toward
BROKERS’ PICKS
selling in sectors such as media and
MF: Cash Flow and Net Investment entertainment, metals, automobi-
les, paper and construction in the
6.0 45000 month in which indices climbed
CASH LEVEL (%) (LHS) NET EQUITY FLOW (` CR) (RHS)
from the March lows, giving funds
4.5 30000 the opportunity to make a quick exit.
By contrast, fund managers bought
stock worth a staggering `33,708.54
3.0 15000
5945.8 crore in equity funds in March this
year, when the index plummeted.
1.5 0 According to Value Research data,
fund managers have been gradually
-7965.5 raising their cash levels in equity
0 -15000
Feb 29, 2016 Apr 30, 2020 funds (open-ended). In April, cash le-
Source: Sebi, Value Research vels were at an eight-month high, in-
dicating that fund managers have
the end, with indices falling like the In April, according to Sebi data, adopted a cautious stand on the mo-
clueless visiting batters on a vicious mutual funds sold `7,965.5 crore, the vement of the benchmark index as
Sabina Park pitch during the 1970s’ highest since `10,194.5 crore sold in the impact of the lockdown resona-
Caribbean tour. March 2016. There has been massive tes through the global economy.
Prompted by Debt Concerns
Arijit.Barman@timesgroup.com
Mumbai: For a maverick who
has built his fortunes on daring
deal-making, is Anil Agarwal
trying to make yet another bold
move to save it?
Last week, Agarwal announ-
ced his intentions to take his In-
dia-listed resources conglome-
rate Vedanta Ltd (VEDL) priva-
te. The board is meeting on Mon-
day to ratify the decision.
Vedanta has been hit as commo-
dity prices have collapsed to de-
cadal lows and his liabilities ap-
pear to be snowballing; but for
now, Agarwal’s message to the
market is clear — he stands
firmly behind his empire and is
willing to double down.
DEBT CHALLENGES
Vedanta’s problems on account
of a bloated balance sheet can be
been getting amplified for quite
some time now, save for Hindus-
tan Zinc (HZL), the cash cow in
Agarwal’s bouquet.
Agarwal’s London-based flags-
hip Vedanta Resources has stan-
dalone debt of close to $6.6 bil-
lion, but no earnings or Ebitda
$577 million, respectively. So far,
it has managed to service its obli-
gations by up-streaming from
these companies.
But the challenges are far more
acute for VRL, the parent. Its re-
payments kick in from next year
but being a 51% owner of VEDL,
it cannot access all the earnings.
Further, there is also a limit of
how much it can dividend out
from HZL – $2.9 billion since
FY18 – to repay its loans and liabi-
lities, without hurting the pro-
spects of the company and its mi-
nority shareholders, which in-
cludes the Government of India.
So if one takes all the debt of Ve-
danta Resources along with the
share of its debt in various subsi-
diaries (what financial analysts
refer to as attributable debt), the
figure comes to $8.4 billion. Aga-
inst that debt, Vedanta Resour-
ces is estimated to post $1 billion
of Ebitda for FY20 – a rather high

Health & Hygiene on Everyone’s Mind. seen in both equi-

ty and bond mar-
kets. While Ve-
danta Ltd’s sha-
ANALYSIS
(earnings before
interest, taxes,
depreciation, and
amortisation). It
debt-to-Ebitda ratio of 8.
And with the ongoing economic
lockdown, the street believes
that the earnings can only head

Why Should D-Street be Any Different? Health and hygiene has emerged as the next big investment theme amid the
res have fallen
43% since January, parent Ve-
danta Resources’ debt issuances
is just a holding
company that is entirely depen-
dent on its subsidiaries, (like
southwards.

BEST TIME TO STRIKE

— with maturities beginning VEDL) for dividend income to With the Vedanta stock trading
Covid-19 outbreak. A cure for coronavirus is not yet available and there’s uncertainty from calendar year 2021 — are deal with its own interest obliga- at close to 5-year lows, taking it
over how long the pandemic will last. Analysts believe this will create a long-lasting trading at significant 31-78% yi- tions. private seems a smart choice.
shift in behaviour pattern among consumers, with focus on health and hygiene elds implying multiple con- VEDL itself has a standalone Metal and resources stocks
products. According to analysts, various consumer companies fall under this theme cerns, primarily cash-flow mis- debt of $4.3 billion and since it, in worldwide have been beaten up
and many of them are working towards developing more products that cater to this match and potential refinancing turn, owns a controlling stake in and commodity prices look to be
rising trend. ET takes a look at five stocks that analysts are recommending as a play risk. HZL and Cairn — it can access bottoming out.
on the health and hygiene theme. — Sanam Mirchandani For Vedanta watchers, the fi- the cash on the books of these
Continued on Smart Investing
ANIRBAN

nancial stress in the group has companies — $2.7 billion and

HINDUSTAN UNILEVER
CMP: `2,032.20
Chg from Feb 19 : -8.9%
In the hygiene platform,
HUL will be one of the
beneficiaries, said Abneesh
Roy, VP - institutional
equities at Edelweiss. As
per reports, the company
that makes Lifebuoy range
of soaps and handwashes
is getting ready to launch
several new products in
the health and hygiene
space. Roy believes that it
is a good time to add the
stock due to its structural
soundness and alleviation
of overhang related to
HUL’s stake sale by GSK.
Edelweiss has a target price
of `2,550 on the stock.
ORDER TO CUSTODIANS, BANKS SHOWS CLOSE WATCH ON BENEFICIAL OWNERSHIP
Sebi Seeks Alerts on Changes in
GODREJ CONSUMER
CMP: `543.45
Chg from Feb 19 : -12.6%
In an interview with ETNow
last week, the company’s
CEO Vivek Gambhir said
hygiene and the trend
towards health and
wellness will accelerate.
Investec said that the
company has launched
sanitiser range in Indonesia,
and a host of launches are
expected in the hygiene
space in the next few
weeks. The management
expects around 5% of sales
in the June quarter to come
from hygiene products, said
Credit Suisse, which has a
target price of `630 on the
stock.
TATA CONSUMER
CMP: `351.85
Chg from Feb 19 : -7.9%
Tata Consumer Products
has a range of products
from salt to pulses, and
consumers would want to
be brand-conscious and
have hygienic packaging
in mind, said Pankaj
Pandey, head of Research
at ICICIdirect, which has
a target price of `440 on
the stock. Apart from the
hygiene story, analysts are
also watching the group’s
renewed thrust on its
consumer business, which
will happen through Tata
Consumer Products under
its new chief executive
officer Sunil D’Souza.
NESTLE INDIA
CMP: `16,420.65
Chg from Feb 19 : 0.1%
Analysts said Nestle is
poised to benefit from the
health and hygiene wave.
“We expect Nestle India to
benefit as the consumer
trend moves more towards
packaged food offerings
given lower eating out
frequency...We expect
Nestle to step up category
introductions in the health
and hygiene segment
and to build on its recent
launches of breakfast
offerings,” said CLSA,
which has a target price of
`16,500 on the stock. High
valuation is key concern
surrounding the stock.
Eight of Top-10
Cos Lost `1.3 L cr
Last Week
DABUR
CMP: `443.95
Chg from Feb 19 : -12%
It sells many ayurvedic
and natural products such
as chavanprash, honey
and immunity boosters,
and Prime Minister Modi
has also recommended
consuming ayurvedic
products for building
immunity, said Abneesh
Roy of Edelweiss. Dabur
will be a big beneficiary
on the health and hygiene
platform, said Roy. The
company is also into
making sanitisers and
bathroom cleaners, etc,
said Roy. Edelweiss has a
target price of `533 on the
stock.
INTEREST RATES ON PAPERS FALL UP TO 500 BPS
GROWING WORRIES
High-Yield NBFC
Powell Warns
US Recovery
Bonds See Strong Could Stretch
Overseas Demand Through
End of 2021
Manappuram, Bloomberg
Muthoot, IIFL Fin, The US economy will recover
Shriram Transport, from the coronavirus pande-
mic, but the process could
Indiabulls Housing stretch through until the end
of next year and depend on the
bonds rally delivery of a vaccine, said Fe-
deral Reserve Chairman Jero-
Saikat.Das1@timesgroup.com
me Powell.
“Assuming there’s not a se-
Mumbai: Non-banking finance
companies (NBFCs) have turned
out be the darlings of global inves-
interest from instructional inves-
tors,” he said.
These NBFC papers changed
hands in the secondary market in
cond wave of the coronavirus,
I think you’ll see the economy
recover steadily through the
second half of this year,” the
tors who are now betting big on what many term “still discount

‘BO’ of FPIs With China Links

Sugata.Ghosh@timesgroup.com
Mumbai: The Securities and Ex-
change Board of India (Sebi) has di-
rected custodians and banks to
alert the regulator of any change in
‘beneficial ownership’ of foreign
portfolio investors (FPI) having
links with China.
The instruction from Sebi, which
came a few days ago, indicates that
the capital market regulator and
New Delhi — which has recently
hardened its stance on investment
from China and neighbouring co-
untries — are keeping a close
watch on any shift in control or ow-
nership of ultimate investors in
offshore funds.
“Custodians keep record of such
data and are generally not requi-
red to share with Sebi unless there
is a probe. But now, Sebi wants to
know whether there is change in
BOs of funds in the last few weeks.
This specifically relates to FPIs
CO’S RIGHTS ISSUE OPENS ON MAY 20
from China and certain jurisdic-
tions,” a market source told ET.
A month ago, custodians (banks
and non-bank entities handling
fund and securities of overseas
funds trading on Indian bourses)
were told to give details of ‘ultima-
te beneficial owners’ of FPIs based
in China and Hong Kong. A few da-
ys later they were asked to identify
FPIs having BOs (or large inves-
tors) from a list 11 countries — Pa-
kistan, Taiwan, North Korea,
Iran, Myanmar, Mongolia, Bhu-
tan, Nepal, Afghanistan, Bangla-
desh, and Yemen — many of which
have economic and political ties
with China.
In regulatory parlance, ‘BO’ in a
Sebi-registered FPI are investors
who have put 25% or more in the
fund; the thresholds are lower – at
15% when the investor is a trust en-
tity and 10% when the FPI is based
in a ‘high-risk jurisdiction’ (a cate-
gorisation that is left to custodi-
ans). However, a BO, even while ha-
ving a lower stake in the fund, may
still have a significant control over
the board of directors of the asset
management company of the
fund, right to appoint majority of
directors in the AMC, or be in a po-
sition to appoint and influence the
senior managers of the fund.
Continued on Smart Investing
Eight of the 10
most valued
domestic firms
suffered a
combined erosion of
`1,37,311crore in market
valuation last week, with
RIL taking the biggest
knock. Only Bharti Airtel
and ITC from the top-10 list
managed to close the week
with gains. RIL’s market cap
fell `65,232 crore to
`9,24,855 crore. The market
valuation of HDFC Bank
declined `22,347 crore to
`4,87,083 crore and that of
HUL tanked `13,192 crore to
`4,77,458 crore. ICICI Bank's
market cap dropped `9,770
crore to `2,08,900 crore.
Infosys witnessed a decline
of `9,518 crore to reach
`2,77,814 crore while that of
HDFC tumbled `9,370 crore
to `2,83,293 crore. – PTI
dollar bonds after the finance mi-
nister announced a relief package
for the sector last week.
High-yield bonds sold by Manap-
puram, Muthoot, IIFL Fin, Shri-
ram Transport, Indiabulls Hou-
sing have rallied in just about a
week’s time with yields plunging
as much as 500 basis points (bps).
This could well pave the way for lo-
cal shadow banks tapping overse-
as capital. When yields fall, prices
rise. A basis point is 0.01%.
“Indian NBFC USD bond papers
are among the best-performing
bonds after the government anno-
unced relief package last week,”
said Rahul Banerjee, CEO at Bon-
dEvalue, a Singapore-based fin-
tech company with dedicated fo-
cus on Asian bond markets. “In
fact, they were among the best per-
formers across Asia this week.”
“This unusual situation of get-
ting better offshore yields is at-
tracting buyers,” he said.
IIFL Finance bonds are the lar-
gest gainer as they now yield abo-
ut 18% versus 23% at the begin-
ning of last week. Bond yields for
Indiabulls Housing Finance and
Manappuram Finance dropped
300-400 bps.
“The government’s stimulus
package is well structured as it
trades” with prices quoting less
than face values. Existing inves-
tors were seen booking profits
while a new set of buyers inclu-
ding asset managers, pension
funds were seen subscribing those
offshore debt securities. Muthoot
and Shriram Transport saw their
bonds yielding 100-200 bps lower.
Overseas investors are closely
following cen-
tral bank/go-
vernment ac-
Finance
minister’s tions at a time
announcement when the coro-
of a relief navirus out-
package for break created
the sector last an economic
week boosts crisis. Benefi-
ciary compani-
sentiment
es, too, need to
pull up socks. Given that many of
those NBFCs are debutant issuers
in the global bond markets, inves-
tors will keep watchful eye on per-
formance parameters.
“It is important that they have a
good track record for follow-on of-
ferings and for other Indian com-
panies to tap the global bond mar-
kets,” said Mishr from Scube.
Government-owned Rural Elec-
trification Corp and Power Finan-
ce Corp are nearly trading on par
with yields falling about 20 bps.
US central bank chief said in
an excerpt of an interview
conducted Wednesday and ai-
red on Sunday on CBS’s “Face
the Nation” show.
“For the economy to fully re-
cover people will have to be ful-
ly confident, and
that may have to
await the arrival of
a vaccine,” he said.
More than 36 million Ameri-
cans have lost their jobs since
February as the economy
shuttered to limit virus spre-
ad. Countless companies,
especially small businesses,
are hurtling toward bankrupt-
cy, while states and cities are
confronting gaping budget
shortfalls that could provoke a
massive second wave of layoffs
from the public sector.
‘TAKE A WHILE’
The Fed chief said people
should never “bet” against
the American economy, but
he took care not to promise a
swift, so-called V-shaped re-
bound.
“This economy will recover.
It may take a while,” he said.
“It could stretch through the
end of next year. We really
don’t know.”

‘New Reliance’ to be Best Proxy for New India’s addresses solvency concerns over
and above the liquidity issues,”
said Hemant Mishr, founder of
Scube Fixed Income, a Singapore-
Finance minister Nirmala Sit-
haraman announced a `75,000-
crore package aimed at helping
NBFCs tide over a liquidity
Powell’s remarks follow his
grave warning Wednesday
that the US economy faces
lasting harm from the pande-

Consumption, Tech-driven Growth Story: RIL
“As the Indian economy aims to shares in the rights issue, slated to
based fund. “It has raised investor
confidence and sparked buying
crunch caused by risk aversion
among investors.
mic if the government do-
esn’t step up.

Our Bureau grow to $5 trillion, consumer seg-

ments will contribute a large part
be the biggest in the country so far,
which will entail an initial payment
NO RESPITE FOR JET FUEL AS PLANES REMAIN GROUNDED

Motor, Cooking Fuel Demand

Mumbai: Pitching itself as the
‘New Reliance for New India’, the
Mukesh Ambani-led conglomerate
has said it will be the best proxy for
the country’s consumption and
tech-propelled growth story.
In a presentation ahead of its
rights issue that opens on May 20,
Reliance Industries (RIL) said that
technology-led growth will drive
the next phase of value creation for
the company, which has identified
three new “mega-growth engines” –
Jio, retail and the oil-to-chemical
business.
RIL said it has aligned its busines-
ses with national goals and prioriti-
es for making the country self-
reliant, strong and prosperous, and
that its innovative products and
services touch the lives of 800
million Indians and have the poten-
tial to reach all 1.3 billion.
of the growth,” the company said.
“Digital platforms and ecosystems
being created by Jio will be primary
drivers of this growth.”
The company said New Reliance
will be characterised by the growth
of consumer businesses along with
a strong oil-to-chemicals (O2C)
platform, a robust balance sheet
sustained by strong cash-flow
generation, a track record of signi-
ficant value creation for sharehol-
ders and the ongoing re-rating of
the stock.
“RIL’s growth in the digital tech-
nology business, based on asset-
light platforms of the future, will be
non-linear and exponential,” the
company said.
In its traditional O2C business, the
company aims at 70% conversion of
crude refined in Jamnagar into
competitive chemical building
blocks of olefins and aromatics. It
plans to maximise production of
high-value petrochemicals to
mitigate the impact of renewables
on transportation fuels.
In a letter to shareholders, the
company said it will raise up to
`53,036.13 crore in its rights issue, of
which `39,755.08 crore will be used
for paring debt. The company will
offer one share at `1,257 to existing
shareholders for every 15 held in the
company. RIL will issue partly paid
of `314.25 per share at the time of
application. The company will call
for the balance `942.75 payment in
one or more tranches later.
The rights issue is a part of the
company’s strategy of delevera-
ging its balance sheet to reduce its
net debt of around `1.5 lakh crore
to zero. Besides the rights issue,
the company is also selling stakes
in its businesses and has announ-
ced four deals in the past month
alone. The deals with General
Atlantic, Vesta Equity Partners,
Silver Lake and Facebook for
stakes in Jio Platforms will infuse
`67,195 crore into the company. The
closure of the stake sale to BP in
the oil marketing joint venture
will fetch it another `7,000 crore.
RIL said it will expand the offerings
of its Jio platform to education,
health and agri-knowledge.
Rises with the Easing of Curbs
Sanjeev.Choudhary
@timesgroup.com
New Delhi: Easing of lockdown
restrictions has helped India’s fu-
el demand recover fast in May af-
ter a record fall last month.
Diesel and petrol sales by state-
owned oil marketing companies
(OMCs) fell 28% and 47.5%, re-
spectively, in the first half of May
from a year earlier, according to
industry executives. This was a
sharp improvement from April,
when the sale of diesel and petrol
A staggered easing of the nation-
Recovery Signs wide lockdown has got many fac-
tories humming back to life and
Rise/Fall in Demand YoY (%) more trucks and passenger cars
on the roads, driving up demand
Fuel May 1-15 April for fuel. The first fortnight of
Diesel -28.00 -56.50 April, which overlapped with the
first and the strictest phase of the
Petrol -47.50 -61.00 nationwide lockdown imposed to
Jet Fuel -87.00 -91.50 stem the spread of Covid-19 had
witnessed the sharpest fall in fuel
LPG 24.00 12.00 demand, with diesel and petrol sa-
les falling 61% and 64%, respecti-
had declined 56.5% and 61%, re- vely, from a year earlier.
spectively. State OMCs control ne-
arly 90% of domestic fuel sales. Continued on Smart Investing
 8  Smart Investing THE ECONOMIC TIMES | NEW DELHI / GURGAON | MONDAY | 18 MAY 2020 | WWW.ECONOMICTIMES.COM

Cos to Leverage
all Platforms
From Page 1
Brand specialist and social
commentator Santosh Desai sa-
id the theme may not sway con-
sumer preferences too much.
“Most consumers are not aware
of brand ownership, except for
a few like Patanjali which have
been built on Indian-ness,” he
said. Yoga guru Ramdev’s Pa-
tanjali has extensively levera-
ged the swadeshi angle across
all its brands, from shampoo to
noodles to toothpaste.
A day after the PM’s speech,
the ruling Bharatiya Janata
Party (BJP) clarified that local
does not imply only products
made by Indian companies, but
also those manufactured in the
country by multinationals.
While the party won’t issue any
directive to buy local, a BJP spo-
kesperson said people might
themselves start buying good
quality products made in India.
The country’s largest biscu-
it maker Parle Products has
already released a series of
ads for its large brands inclu-
ding Parle-G, Hide & Seek
and salty snacks on themes
such as “support swadeshi
businesses” and “seek local.”
“We will use all platforms for
communicating that we are a
swadeshi brand,” said Parle
Products category head May-
ank Shah. “We will have simi-
lar, if not same, creatives for
other platforms to reinforce our
Indian roots. The creatives will
be across media platforms.”
Global companies headquar-
tered in the US, Europe and
China have a large footprint in
India with heavy investments
in manufacturing and raw
material sourcing across all
sectors, from consumer goods
to appliances to apparel. Mar-
ket share is evenly split betwe-
en these and domestic brands.
Indore-based packaged foods
company Prataap Snacks,
which sells products under
the Yellow Diamond brand,
has released ads on social me-
dia on “being swadeshi being
a matter of pride.”
“Consumers will get vocal
about local when they love
us,” Prataap Snacks chief
operating officer Subhashis
Basu said. “A consumer will
not be vocal sustainably for a
local product if it's not good,
which comes with taste, qua-
lity and value for money.”
India's largest diary brand
Amul said it will increase its
emphasis on the theme, somet-
hing it has been doing for three
decades. “As far as food is concer-
ned, consumers prefer local
brands since it suits their taste,
(are) fresh, affordable and its sha-
re will further grow,” said Amul
managing director RS Sodhi.
Even in consumer electro-
nics, brands such as Voltas
and Godrej Appliances are go-
ing to significantly push ‘vo-
cal for local’ themes in marke-
ting campaigns and last-mile
pitches to consumers, once
the market opens up.
Voltas managing director
Pradeep Bakshi said locali-
sation efforts will not only re-
flect at the back-end such as
manufacturing and supply
chain, but also in customer
centricity and marketing ini-
tiatives.
ATTRACTING INVESTMENTS Revenue share model to include rebates for quick production start
and for exceeding output target; coal ministry to begin process after Union Cabinet nod
Govt Plans Mega Sops to Attract
Local, Global Cos to Coal Mining
Sarita.Singh@timesgroup.com
New Delhi: The government is lik-
ely to offer major rebates on revenue
share to winners of commercial co-
al block auctions in order to attract
investments from local and global
miners. This follows the announce-
ment on Saturday by finance mini-
ster Nirmala Sitharaman on libera-
lising commercial coal mining as
part of the `20-lakh crore Atmanirb-
har Bharat stimulus.
Companies that start early produc-
tion from the blocks will be offered
50% rebate on revenue share payab-
le to the government. The rebate
will start from the day of production
till the scheduled commencement
date of mining agreed at the time of
awarding of the block, sources said.
Similarly, a rebate of 50% of reve-
nue share is proposed to be given on
coal produced in excess of the sche-
duled target in a financial year. A
further rebate of 20% is proposed on
GOVT TO OFFER branding, marketing support to
exporters of such products: Official
Nutritious, Niche Food
Exports to Get Big Push
Rituraj.Tiwari@timesgroup.com
New Delhi: The government is
planning to give a big push to agri-
culture exports to capitalise on the
rising global demand for healthy
and nutritious food products.
“During this pandemic, people
world-over have realised the im-
portance of immunity booster food
products like herbal, medicinal, or-
ganic and nutri-cereals like jowar,
bajra and ragi. India is one of the
largest producers of such pro-
ducts. We will promote branding,
marketing and export of such ni-
che products which will be in great
demand,” said a senior agriculture
ministry official.
The agriculture export policy
launched in 2018 also focuses on
cluster-based export promotion of
novel, indigenous, organic, ethnic,
traditional and non-traditional ag-
ri products including value-added
perishables.
“There is limited scope of export
in food grains. We can export rice
which we are doing. But our wheat
is not competitive in global mar-
kets and we produce pulses just
enough to meet our requirements.
We have to focus on niche products
with high value,” the official said.
India is a net exporter of agricultu-
ral products. In FY19 such exports
amounted to `2.7 lakh crore and im-
ports stood at `1.37 lakh crore.
Finance minister Nirmala Sitha-
raman, last week, spoke of produc-
tion of herbal, medicinal, nutritio-
us and organic food items through
the cluster-based approach for tap-
ping the unexplored export market.
“The government has announced
Money Lies at the Pithead Revenue Share
THE UNION Cabinet 50% rebate
is set to consider the if production
revenue-sharing model begins early
of auction for coal GOVT EXPECTS
and lignite mines participation from cos 50% rebate if
like Hindalco, JSPL, coal produced in
COAL MINISTRY expects JSW Energy, Adani, excess of target
to start auction process Vedanta and foreign in a fiscal
for 50 blocks within 10 giants like BHP Billiton,
days of the Cabinet nod Rio Tinto and Peabody 20% rebate
if coal used for
THE GOVERNMENT also proposes to increase tenure liquefaction or
of CIL’s linkages for coking coal by up to 30 years gasification
coal used for gasification or liquefac- 10% if the winning bidder starts the
tion, they said. “The rebate rates ha- mine a year earlier than the agreed
ve been increased substantially con- timeline and by 20% if production
sidering the need for investments in starts two years ahead of plan.
the country as being sought under The Union Cabinet this week is lik-
the Atmanirbhar Bharat stimulus,” ely to consider the revenue-sharing
a person in know of the development model of auction for coal and lignite
told ET on condition of anonymity. mines. The coal ministry expects to
Earlier the government’s revenue start auction of about 50 coal blocks,
share was proposed to be reduced by including some large mines, within
Anil Agarwal’s Bold Move
Prompted by Debt Concerns
From ET Market Page 1
But most importantly, depending
on the premium Agarwal ends up
paying, he will be purchasing his
business anywhere between 4.0
and 4.5 times Ebitda; which is
much lower than the 10-year aver-
age trading multiple of 7.0x.
For Vedanta Resources, delisting
the India business will help lower
the net leverage from the current 8x.
After shelling out $3 billion for de-
listing (at approximately 40% premi-
um), Agarwal can now consolidate
50% of VEDL’s $1.7 billion debt. But
he gets to square off the incremental
$4.7 billion of debt by also getting ac-
cess to half of VEDL’s $2 billion Ebit-
a stimulus of `10,000 crore to pro- da. So effectively, the additional Ebit-
mote medicinal, organic and eth- da will have 4.7x of debt. High, but ar-
nic food products through cluster- guably manageable.
based approach. For example, food
products rich in nutritious ragi
Post delisting, while overall debt
for the group could get to as high as
can be developed in Karnataka, $13 billion, Vedanta Resources will
bamboo shoots in Assam and chilli-
es in Andhra Pradesh,” said anot-
now have up to $2 billion of attrib-
utable Ebitda or 6.5x leverage (as
her official. against 8x earlier). This will no
He said that the `4,000-crore pack- doubt help in refinancing VRL
age for promoting planting of her- bonds when they come up for refi-
bal plants will help farmers earn nancing and address some of its
`5,000 crore by selling it in domes-
tic as well as global markets.
According to the agri export pro-
motion body Apeda chairman PK Motor, Cooking Fuel Demand Rises
Borthakur, demand for India’s or-
ganic agricultural products is abo-
ut `8,500 crore, out of which 60% is From ET Market Page 1
international. Jet fuel sales, however, have yet to
“India exported organic products recover as passenger planes are
worth `5,151 crore in 2018-19, from still barred from flying. Jet fuel
`3,453 crore in 2017-18,” Apeda had sales fell 87% in the first fortnight
said in a statement. of May from a year earlier, after
The proposed amendment in the having plunged 91.5% in April.
antiquated Essential Commoditi- Sale of liquefied petroleum gas
es Act 1955 will also help the go- (LPG), used mainly for cooking in
vernment in framing a steady ex- the country, increased 24% in the
port policy for cereals, pulses and first fortnight of May from a year
onions which have been brought
out of the gambit of this law along
with edible oil which we import in
earlier, further improving its
scorching growth pace of the past
many months. LPG sales in the first
large quantities. half of April were 21% higher,
$34B AUM
10 days of Cabinet approval.
Given the easy entry and exit
norms, the government expects par-
ticipation from Indian companies
such as Hindalco, Jindal Steel & Po-
wer, JSW Energy, Adani Group and
Vedanta, and global miners like Pea-
body, BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto. The
government also proposes to increa-
se the tenure of Coal India contracts
for raw coking coal to up to 30 years as
an import substitution measure.
The revenue-sharing model is based
on recommendations of an expert
committee headed by former chief vi-
gilance commissioner Pratyush Sin-
ha that was formed after the fourth
and fifth rounds of auctions received
a tepid response from the industry.
Ramanuj Kumar, partner, Cyril
Amarchand Mangaldas said doing
away with eligibilty criteria and in-
troducing revenue share is expected
to attract more players in coal mi-
ning. “However, getting investors
for partially explored blocks may
prove challenging,” he said.
lenders’ key concerns — high head-
line leverage levels, poor access to
underlying Ebitda and cash given
the regulatory challenges of own-
ing part of a listed entity and issues
related to minority shareholders
one needs to deal with.
GOA, TUTICORIN ISSUES
Even before the ongoing lockdown,
Vedanta’s copper smelters in Tuti-
corin, Tamil Nadu were shut and
they are likely to remain so in the
foreseeable future. So will the iron
ore mining in Goa and other parts
of the country — which all once
threw up over a billion dollars an-
nually for him. It is equally unlike-
ly that crude oil will again touch
$100/barrel in a hurry.
So with shrinking profits on one
side and snowballing liabilities on
the other, it may be far wiser to merge
or get acquired to pay off the debt
than continue as a bargain hunter.
Once upon a time, Agarwal had
dreamt of merging Anglo-Ameri-
can with his sprawling empire. To-
day, the tables have seemingly turn-
ed. Merging with a more “resource-
ful” group could be an option.
though reducing to just 12% for the
full month, mainly because dealers
slowed taking delivery towards the
end of the month in anticipation of a
sharp reduction in cooking gas pric-
es at the beginning of May, said exec-
utives.
Increased fuel demand
has come as a big relief to
refineries, which are
now increasing their run rates. In-
dian Oil Corporation said its refin-
eries have raised capacity utilisa-
tion to 60% from 45% last month
and plan to raise it further to 80%
by the end of May.
ted about investing in Jio,” said Bill
Index, compiled by CII and IBA, fell to 44.2
from 60.5 in Jan-Mar and 68.1a year ago
Financial Conditions
Index Drops Below
50 for April-June
Deteriorating Sentiment
Index, sub-indices Q4FY20 Q1FY21
Financial Conditions Index 60.5
Cost of Funds 52.4
Funding Liquidity 74.0
External Financial Linkages 59.6
Economic Activity 55.8
Our Bureaus
Mumbai | New Delhi: Financi-
al sector sentiment fell sharply
as the quarterly Financial Con-
ditions Index (FCI) compiled by
the Confederation of Indian In-
dustry (CII) and Indian Banks’
Association dropped below the
50-mark for the first time since
October-December 2018.
The index fell to 44.2 points for
the first quarter of this financi-
al year from 60.5 in the last quar-
ter of the previous fiscal and
68.1 a year ago, indicating a
sharp deterioration. The index
tracks cost of funds, external fi-
nancial linkages, liquidity and
economic activity to measure fi-
nancial conditions.
“With a series of lockdowns
happening across the world
bringing economic activities to
a virtual halt, organisations in
the global arena are uncertain
about the whereabouts of their
cash flows and business pro-
spects. India is not an excep-
tion,” said the survey of 22
banks and financial institutions
including the State Bank of In-
dia, Punjab National Bank,
Standard Chartered, Axis Bank,
Tata Capital and Bajaj Finance.
The survey found that three of
the four sub-indices fell on a qu-
arter-on-quarter basis, pulling
Sebi Asks for Info on Changes in
‘BO’ of FPIs With China Links
From ET Markets Page 1
“Sebi probably wants to find out
whether BOs directly or indirectly
linked to China are taking a foot-
hold in other FPIs. Or, whether a
large investor with China connec-
tion has gone below the radar fol-
lowing media reports of Sebi col-
lecting information,” said an offi-
cial with a market intermediary.
Significantly, in an email to all 19
custodians sometime in April, Se-
bi had said that application of reg-
istration of FPIs emanating from
China or neighbouring countries
or FPIs with BOs from China or
neighbouring countries should
‘Package Progressive’
From Page 1
“Nearly 5% of the stimulus rela-
tes to already budgeted expendi-
44.2
83.5
47.2
20.5
25.6
the index down. Only the cost of
funds sub-index recorded a
jump, indicating benign cost of
borrowing from banks.
“In this hour of need, banks
along with NBFCs (non-ban-
king financial companies) and
MFIs (microfinance institu-
tions) have the ability to ensure
smooth and continuous flow of
credit, particularly to MSMEs
(micro, small and medium en-
terprises), farm sector and reta-
il sector and ensure some econo-
mic activity,” said CII director
general Chandrajit Banerjee.
“The measures announced by
the government and RBI have
come as a big relief to them and
with an expected upliftment of
the lockdown soon, the financi-
al conditions can only impro-
ve,” he said.
The economic activity index
and external financial linkages
index were at a lower level than
in the previous quarter. “Evi-
dently, lockdown over a month is
expected to have adverse effect
on the growth of the domestic
economy. There was a decline in
the funding liquidity index vis-
à-vis the previous quarter indi-
cating pessimism in the overall
expectations,” said the survey.
The external financial linkages
index was recorded at 20.6, the lo-
west among all indices and down
from 59.6 in the previous quarter.
be referred to the regulator. “But
soon after this, Sebi sent another
email telling custodians to keep
the earlier email in abeyance.
May be, the regulator sensed such
a directive would not have gone
down well and could have been
construed as some kind of restric-
tion in the FPI process – similar to
the approval process recently in-
troduced in foreign direct invest-
ment from countries sharing bor-
ders with India,” said the person.
For the last few years, proce-
dures like the FPI registrations,
KYC and renewal of licence after
every three years are carried out
by custodians.
four to function in strategic ones,
Sitharaman said.
“If there are more, they will be
merged or privatised or brought

PE Fund’s Largest Deal in Asia
From Page 1
Analysts expect RIL to dilute anot-
her 7-8% in Jio Platforms and add
that these deals will help reposi-
tion the oils-to-retail-telecom cong-
lomerate as a consumer-technolo-
gy company.
“So far, 14.8% stake has been sold
and there could be more in the pipeli-
ne, in which RIL will bring down its
stake further in Jio to move toward a
Maha, Gujarat among Worst Hit
From Page 1
“We have seen over 50% of our busi-
ness come back. We have seen revival
in southern states of Kerala, Andhra
Pradesh and Karnataka, but the quan-
tum of transactions is smaller compa-
red to the volumes generated from Del-
hi-Mumbai Corridor (DMC).”
Eko Financial Services has seen busi-
ness revive by 35%. CEO Abhinav Sin-
ha said that prior to Covid-19, the com-
pany dealt with domestic remittances
worth Rs 2,500 crore, which fell to Rs
400 crore, but has now recovered to Rs
800 crore.
There are predominantly six major
corridors in India from where large
chunk of remittances originate – Delhi,
Mumbai, Indore, Rajasthan and Guja-
rat – with the states of Bihar, Madhya
Pradesh, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh,
known as the BIMARU belt, being the
largest receivers of these inflows.
The areas that saw a rise of 60% in out-
ward transactions are the southern sta-
tes least affected by the virus. The nort-
hern parts of the country have recove-
red about 40-50%, while states like Ma-
harashtra and Gujarat have been worst
zero-debt company,” said an analyst.
Vista Equity Partners said on May 8
it will be picking up a 2.32% stake for
`11,367 crore. Prior to that, US private
equity firm Silver Lake said it will in-
vest `5,655.75 crore in Jio Platforms
for a 1.15% stake and on April 22, Face-
book said it would invest $5.7 billion
for a 9.99% stake.
“I have known General Atlantic for
several decades and greatly admired
it for its belief in India’s huge
hit with a 70% dip in business.
“Households in villages are using go-
vernment relief funds to send money
to their family members locked out of
cities for their daily sustenance. The
reverse remittance in the last few we-
eks constitute nearly 20% of volumes
on our channel,” added Spice Money's
Dilip Modi.
“We have observed reverse remittan-
ce trends picking up in the last few we-
eks. This is largely funds being sent for
the sustenance of stranded migrant
workers in cities by their households,”
said Ketan Doshi, CEO, Pay Point.
Doshi said there has been a slight re-
vival in transactions in May from the
earlier weeks of the lockdown due to
opening up of smaller towns and some
districts in south. However, he pointed
out that the sudden spurt could also be
attributed to a “technical correction.”
“While the volumes are about 35% of
the routine observed in February and
March, the spurts can also be due to
pent up payments going through due to
opening up of payment points,” said
Doshi. “These could be an intermedia-
te spike and not an actual indicator of
revival of migrant economy.”
The global PE firm had about $34
billion in assets under manage-
ment as of March 31 and the deal
Ford, chief executive officer of Gene-
ral Atlantic, in the statement. “We
share Mukesh’s conviction that digi-
tures,” Srivastava said.
Industry said the package was
progressive and will boost the
under a holding company,” she sa-
id. “We need a coherent policy be-
cause sometimes you open up so-
growth potential,” RIL chairman with Jio is its largest in Asia till da- tal connectivity has the potential to rural economy and create jobs me sectors in piecemeal. Now we
Mukesh Ambani said in the state- te. Some of the companies it has significantly accelerate the Indian besides boosting healthcare fa- shall define the areas... where their
ment. “General Atlantic shares our backed include Airbnb, Alibaba, economy and drive growth across the cilities across the country. presence will be impactfully felt.”
vision of a digital society for India Ant Financial, Box, ByteDance, Fa- country.” “The announcements today India has 257 central public
and strongly believes in the transfor- cebook, Slack, Snapchat and Uber. RIL reiterated that it has made in- will catapult the reforms pro- sector enterprises (CPSEs), of
mative power of digitisation in enri- In India, the PE firm’s major in- vestments across its digital ecosys- cess to a new level,” said Confe- which 184 make a profit, accor-
ching the lives of 1.3 billion Indians. vestments include Byju’s, PNB Ho- tem, powered by leading technologies deration of Indian Industry ding to the Public Sector Enter-
We are excited to leverage General using Finance, Mu Sigma and IIFL spanning broadband connectivity, (CII) director general Chandra- prise Survey 2018-19, which is
Atlantic’s proven global expertise Wealth Management. smart devices, cloud and edge compu- jit Banerjee. “The quantum the latest available.
and strategic insights across 40 ye- “As long-term backers of global tech- ting, big data analytics, artificial intel- jump in MGNREGA will add to
ars of technology investing for the nology leaders and visionary entre- ligence, internet of things, augmen- relief for workers and also sus- SUPPORTING STATES
benefit of Jio.” preneurs, we could not be more exci- ted and mixed reality and blockchain. tain demand for the economy The borrowing limit for states
and is a very positive step in the will be raised to 5% of GSDP
current situation.” from 3%, which will add up to an
extra Rs 4.28 lakh crore. “Finan-
Docs, Nurses Can’t be Stopped at Border EASE OF DOING BUSINESS
Debt related to Covid-19 will be
ce ministers of various states
have requested us to raise the
The home ministry has stated make it mandatory and enforce- excluded from insolvency pro- cap, so we have agreed to this de-
From Page 1 that the delineation of red, green able under Disaster Manage- ceedings and not be counted as mand,” Sitharaman said.
The states and UTs, based on and orange zones will be left for ment Act. The Centre has retai- defaults. No fresh insolvency The Centre will extend the borro-
their assessments of the situa- state governments to decide. ned the line that the states can- proceedings will be initiated wing limit of states from 3% to
tion, may prohibit certain other “Within Red and Orange zones, not dilute these restrictions, against companies for a year, in- 3.5% unconditionally. Borrowing
activities in various zones, or containment zones and buffer while letting them take the call stead of six months earlier. by states beyond that will be in
impose such restrictions as dee- zones will be demarcated by dis- on tightening it if needed. A special insolvency framework tranches, which will be linked to
med necessary. trict authorities after taking into The restriction of 33% work- will be notified for micro, small and reforms in food distribution, po-
Sports complexes and stadia consideration the guidelines of force in offices has been done medium enterprises (MSMEs). wer distribution, job creation and
will be permitted to open only the Ministry of Health and Fami- away with. The National Direc- The threshold for initiating insol- health and sanitation sectors.
for sports activities. But specta- ly Welfare,” stated the order. tives for Covid-19 Management vency proceedings against them Biocon chairperson Kiran Ma-
tors will not be allowed in these In containment zones the Cent- said that the practice of work has been raised to `1crore from ex- zumdar-Shaw tweeted that the pro-
complexes. A nation-wide night re has stated that there will be from home should be followed isting limit of `1 lakh. “We will go gramme may not help stimulate de-
curfew from 7 pm to 7 am shall “intensive contact tracing” with to the extent possible and stag- through an ordinance to put this in- mand. “Most disappointed at lack
continue. “house-to-house surveillance”. gered work hours should be to effect,” Sitharaman said. of bold measures in stimulus pack-
The new guidelines also make adopted in respect of all offices She said technical and proce- ages — don’t think demand will be
it clear that no state can stop AAROGYA SETU MANDATE and other establishments. dural defaults will be decrimi- created n consequently economic
doctors, paramedics and nur- On the use of Aarogya Setu app, “There should be provision for nalised. A majority of sections activity will be stifled,” she twee-
sing staff from crossing the bor- the government has been care- thermal scanning, hand wash on compoundable offences will ted. “Rs 20 lakh crore was a huge
der. This had emerged as an is- ful to nuance its official langua- and sanitizers at all entry and ex- be moved to the internal adjudi- amount n it was meant to stimulate
sue with Haryana, said sources. ge and not sound imposing. it points and common areas; and cation mechanism in order to economic revival n growth.”
The Centre, officials said, has “With a view to ensuring safety all work places and other sensiti- decongest the system.
broadly accepted the sugges- in offices and work places, emp- ve locations are to be sanitized “Amendments, again through HEALTH AND EDUCATION
tions of most states and put tho- loyers on best effort basis sho- regularly. In work places, social ordinance, will de-clog criminal Grassroots investment will be step-
se on the restricted list. The dis- uld ensure Aarogya Setu is in- distancing would also need to be courts and NCLT (National ped up through the establishment
cussions between the Centre stalled by all employees having ensured through adequate dis- Company Law Tribunal),” the of health and wellness centres, the
and states led to delay in issuing compatible mobile phones.” tance between workers, adequa- minister said. “This will imme- minister said. All districts will have
fresh guidelines as States were Also, it states that district aut- te gaps between shifts, stagge- diately benefit companies.” infectious disease hospitals. Public
against opening up of domestic horities “may advise” individu- ring the lunch break of staff and The listing of nonconvertible de- health diagnostic and testing labo-
flights and metro services. als to install the app rather than so on,” the directives stated. bentures (NCDs) won’t mean lis- ratories will be set up at all block le-
ting of the company that issues vels. “We need to be ready at the dis-
them on an exchange, which will trict and block level to deal with any

‘Ready to Serve Customers’

From Page 1
Cab-hailing services Uber and Ola
are also not in the current list of
prohibited activities. Both the ri-
de-hailing apps have been shut for
the last two months, barring some
essential travel, which constituted
less than 2-3% of their overall
numbers, according to analysts.
“We are ready and equipped to
now start serving customers all
across India — in red, green and
orange zones — by providing them
access to the entire selection of
millions of products,” said a Snap-
deal spokesperson. “This is also
the moment that will enable lakhs
of medium and small online sel-
lers to start rebuilding their busi-
nesses as they serve the needs of
users in cities and towns across In-
dia.”
The move to reopen ecommerce
will be a major boost to companies
that were allowed to sell only es-
sential goods since the lockdown
was announced on March 24. De-
spite the opening up for non-essen-
tial sale, there was low demand
from areas outside the red zones.
ET reported earlier that Flipkart
and Amazon had been able to reco-
ver only 20% of their sales, one we-
ek after the May 4 order that allowed
them to resume business in green
and orange zones. “This move will
help us deliver to most of the metro
cities which presently fall in the
red zones... We have already had
discussions with our merchant
and logistics partners and will
start taking orders and delivering
from Monday itself,” said Srinivas
Mothey, senior VP, Paytm Mall.
promote ease of doing business,
she said. Indian public companies
will be allowed to directly list in fo-
reign jurisdictions, she added.
PSE POLICY
The government will draft a new
policy for public sector units
(PSUs). This will entail the priva-
tisation of all PSUs in non-strate-
gic sectors while allowing only
pandemic,” Sitharaman said.
The government is introducing
a technology driven education
strategy by launching PM eVidya
for enabling multi-mode, online
education. This will include ‘one
nation, one digital platform’ un-
der the Diksha program for e-
education and dedicated TV
channels will be introduced for
each class from 1to 12.

THE ECONOMIC TIMES | NEW DELHI / GURGAON | MONDAY | 18 MAY 2020 | WWW.ECONOMICTIMES.COM
MORE FUNDS FM Sitharaman makes available more funds in the 5th and final tranche of stimulus package; incremental borrowing only if states meet
‘One Nation, One Ration card,’ ease of doing business and power distribution reforms, besides steps recommended by 15th Finance Commission
States Borrowing Limit Hiked, Deficit Relaxation: PM’s
May Get Additional `4.28 L cr Reformism with Realism
Limit increased from 3% to 5% of GSDP,
borrowing beyond 3.5% linked to reforms
Our Bureau
New Delhi: The Centre increa-
sed the borrowing limit of sta-
tes to 5% of gross state domes-
tic product (GSDP) in 2020-21
from 3%, a move that will make
an additional `4.28 lakh crore
available to them.
However, incremental borro-
wing beyond 3.5% of GSDP will
be linked to reforms underta-
ken by the states, including uni-
versalisation of ‘One Nation,
One Ration card,’ ease of doing
business and power distribu-
tion reforms, besides steps re-
commended by the 15th Finan-
ce Commission.
“To promote state-level re-
forms, part of the borrowing
will be linked to specific reforms
like increasing job creation
through investment and promo-
‘Stimulus Dent to Fiscal Deficit at 1-2% of GDP’
Gaurav.Noronha
@timesgroup.com
New Delhi: The impact of the
Atmanirbhar Bharat package
on fiscal deficit is unlikely to be
over 1-2% of gross domestic pro-
ducts (GDP), say experts.
FM Nirmala Sitharaman Sun-
day announced the fifth and final
tranche of the `20 lakh crore relief
package. Experts agreed that
most of the expenditure was con-
tingent and the measures were
largely regulatory and the go-
vernment’s immediate additional
expenditure would be minimal.
State Bank of India chief eco-
nomist Soumyakanti Ghosh and
EY’s chief policy advisor DK Sri-
vastava pegged it at 1.01% of
GDP or `2.02 lakh crore.
A Nomura report pegged the
Strategic Sectors to Have Limit of 4 PSEs
Selloff Plan
All sectors Min 1, max 4
open to PSEs in
private strategic
sector sectors
Remaining PSEs to be
privatised, merged or
brought under holding cos
`2.01 L cr: Govt FY21
divestment target
Monsoon Reaches Bay
of Bengal, Andaman Sea
New Delhi: This year’s monsoon has reached the
Andaman Sea and the Bay of Bengal, its first ma-
jor milestone in its progress towards the country,
which is expected to get normal rainfall this year.
Normal monsoon cheers farmers and boosts ru-
ral demand, which is particularly rele-
vant this year as economic activity has
been battered by the lockdown imposed
to check the spread of the Coronavirus.
Conditions are favourable for further
advance of the southwest monsoon over the sea
and the Andaman Islands, the India Meteorologi-
cal Department (IMD) said.
However, the monsoon has some teething trou-
ble. Cyclonic storm Amphan is churning the atmo-
sphere over Bay of Bengal with gusts over 200 km/
hour, which disrupts normal flow of wind and ini-
tial monsoon activity.– Shashwat Mohanty
To book youradvv
TI MFSinter 'D s.
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10. E-1 Blk . Nehru Vihar , Delhi- Business
94 have changed my name to
Durgesh for all future purposes
I, (Rahul Yadav ) F/O (Ansh For am query. call -
Yadav) born on (21-06-2013)
residing at (RZH-781 , Street
No.13 , Raj Nagar Part-2 , Palam
Colony , Delhi-77). h a v e
changed my minor son 's name
From ( A n s h Y a d a v ) t o
(Navyansh Yadav) vide
affidavit dated (21-03-2020) at
(New Delhi) 9891189316
I, Yog Dhyan Bajaj S/o Sh.
Hari Chand Bajaj, R/o :
9810553963
H.No:8932 Shiddipura, East
Park Road, Karol Bagh, New
Delhi-110005 have changed
my name from Ashok Bajaj to
Yog Dhyan Bajaj vide affida-
vit date: 15/05/2020 at Delhi.
9560002888
Lost original allotment letter , TinirsinterN
issue by DDA for Flat: Dwarka
2nd Floor . Sector-1 .Pkt-l. File
no 174 (0107 )9 7 / S F S . I X / D W /
III/ 018584 . Inderjit Singh Batra
Readers are recommended to make appropriate
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Economy: Macro, Micro & More  9
ORDINANCE SOON
No Fresh
Insolvency
Proceedings
of Doing Business. This may be based
for a Year
Borrowing Window
on the actions recommended by the
World Bank and the Department of In- Regulatory
Additional CONDITIONS APPLY WHAT DOES Akhilesh
dustrial Policy and Promotion like auto-
matic renewal of licences and randomi- Relief
ting urban development, health sation of inspections, to reduce inspec- Procedural defaults
and sanitation,” finance mini- ` 4.28
Additional Only 0.5% is
THIS MEAN Mishra tion burden and corruption. under Cos Act
ster Nirmala Sitharaman said lakh cr borrowing unconditional Higher The third item requires improvement in decriminalised
on Sunday, while announcing available conditional increase borrowing will The Finance Minister has unveiled the last urban local body revenues. It is a highly elas-
the higher borrowing for states for States mean higher and much-awaited episode in the ‘Atmanirb- tic and equitable tax which falls on the well- Special insolvency
as the fifth and final tran- Reform One nation- fiscal deficit har Bharat’ serial which commenced just af- off and yet is ignored by most states. resolution framework
Illustrations ANIRBAN BORA
che of the Centre’s `20 lakh milestone one ration ter Mahabharat finished airing on Doordar- The fourth relates to power distributio- for MSMEs
crore economic stimulus linked to card, Finance shan. One of the significant features of this n—a source of huge fiscal drain on states.
package. every 0.25% Commission States will last instalment, was the raising of the ceil- Recently the Centre announced a draft bill Threshold to
Total borrowing by increase reforms linked be compelled ing for fiscal deficits and borrowing of states and policy for direct benefit transfer of sub- initiate insolvency
states can climb to over Borrowing to undertake from 3% of states’ GDP to 5%. This has been sidy to farmers and others. If this is imple- proceedings under
`10 lakh crore with net for 2020-21 No milestone after reaching 4.5% reforms a demand of many states for several weeks. mented, States will be forced to bear the fis- IBC raised
borrowing for 2020-21 stood at What the Finance Minister revealed today, cal consequences of their subsidy policies,
at `6.41 lakh crore, ba-
sed on 3% of GSDP.
` 6.41
lakh cr in terms of what has already been done by
the Centre, was quite in contrast to the im-
rather than transferring their burden to the
Discoms. Indeed, the entire power sector is
Threshold up to
`1 cr from `1L, move
Of the additional bor- at 3% pression generated by the claims of many suffering from the failure of the States to insulates MSMEs
rowing, the first 0.5% will A speci- vere cutback in capital expen- opposition politicians. The Centre has so far pay for the subsidies they promise.
be unconditional, while the fic scheme diture," said Jayanta Roy, gro- released all the due grants either on time or While 0.25% of GSDP as additional bor-
next 1% will be in four equal will be notifi- up head -corporate sector ra- early. And it has given the 41% share of taxes rowing is allocated for these reforms, anoth- Our Bureau
tranches, each linked to clearly ed soon on the ting, ICRA. to the states as if the revenue was coming in
specified, measurable and fea- pattern, she said. The Centre has already hiked as originally budgeted—even though actual New Delhi: The government
sible reform action. The remai- "An increase in the states’ bor- its planned borrowing for 2020-21 revenue is much less. In fact, the revenue de- has said it will bring an ordi-
ning 0.5% will be given if miles- rowing limit will help to absorb by 54% to `12 lakh crore from `7.8 volved to states in April (``46,000 crore) prob- nance to amend the Insolvency
tones are achieved in at least the expected plunge in their re- lakh crore estimated earlier for ably exceeds 100% of the revenue collected and Bankruptcy Code (IBC) to
three out of four reform areas. venue receipts, and avoid a se- Covid-19-related emergencies. by the Centre, since both GST and income suspend fresh insolvency pro-
tax returns have been postponed. ceedings for a year and exclude
State governments are in the frontline of any debt taken due to Covid-19
the fight against corona. Therefore, one can
definitely sympathise with their need for re-
sources. However, it is also a fact, comment-
from the definition of default
for companies.
The government will also de-
tional expenditure at `80,000 ed upon not only by economists and analysts criminalise sections of the
THE MATHS: `20 lakh cr Explained crore. Adding this to the `1.93
lakh crore expenditure anno-
but also by various Finance Commissions,
that the States have been very poor in ma-
Companies Act — where viola-
tions are technical or procedu-
`5.94 lakh cr uncement in March and April, naging their own finances. Many subsidies ral — and also allow unlisted
`1.50 LAKH CR: `1.92 lakh cr it would come to 1.2-1.3% of are badly targeted and become sources of companies to raise funds over-
MSME, Discom, Earlier Measures
Farm, Fisheries, GDP, Sabnavis said. corruption. The most notable example is seas. “These would be amen-
Provident including PM Garib
ANIRBAN BORA
Animal Husbandry, On whether this would be eno- free electricity for farmers—under the garb ded through ordinance....Of
Fund, NBFC Kalyan Package
Herbal Cultivation ugh, Nomura said: “The packa- of unmetered agricultural supply, a lot of course we will go back to the
package ge may fall short of mitigating theft of power is concealed. Similarly, while parliament, once the parlia-
` 48,100 CR: the near-term existential crisis urban areas lack good roads, water or civic ment commences to have it
` 8.01 lakh cr: for businesses and workers, but infrastructure, states and local bodies have passed as an act,” FM Nirmala
`3.10 lakh cr Viability Gap RBI Measures
is better designed to improve In- failed to use one of the most important reve- Sitharaman said.
Food grain, Funding, Additional (Actual)
dia’s medium-term growth po- nue sources properly—namely property er 0.5 % is earmarked to be given if the States Initiation of insolvency pro-
MUDRA, Kisan MGNREGS allocation tential and attract long-term tax. Even though property prices have risen achieve at least 3 of the 4 reform conditions. ceedings under the IBC would
Credit Card, risk capital.” exponentially in the last 20 years, property In a sense, this is a “performance-linked be suspended for a year and a
NABARD Barclays said it expects the go- tax has lagged far behind. bonus”. On the one hand, there is substan- special insolvency framework
vernment to end FY21 with a fi- The ‘licence permit raj’ has largely end- tial unconditional increase of 0.5% which it- for micro, small and medium
scal deficit of close to 6% of GDP. ed at the Central level, but it has continued self will give the states more than `1 lakh enterprises (MSMEs) would
dent at 0.8% of GDP. “We expect the `1.5 lakh crore package for “We estimate that the actual fi- for the state laws, where businesses are crore of additional resources. Then 1 % is soon be unveiled, she said.
the overall fiscal deficit for FY21 the farm sector and other outla- scal impact on the budget will be routinely faced with harassment by in- tied to four specific but necessary and “These measures will prove to
to be 7% of GDP,” the report said. ys that were not mentioned in only `1.5 trillion (0.75% of spectors under various laws. The corona achievable reforms, many of them well be instrumental in easing finan-
Accounting for certain ambi- the final presentation, Madan GDP),” said a report by Rahul virus presents a historic opportunity to known and long pending. And finally, anoth- cial situation of firms, especially
guities on where certain expen- Sabnavis, chief economist at Bajoria, chief India economist transfer factories and businesses from er 0.5% is given if at least 3 out of 4 reforms MSMEs which have been one of
ditures would come from, like Care Ratings put Centre’s addi- at Barclays. China to India, but this will not happen are achieved—acting as a powerful incen- the biggest victims of this pande-
without radical change in the way State tive to do them. mic crisis,” said Chandrajit Ba-
laws are administered. Some critics have argued that linking addi- nerjee, director general, Confe-
Therefore, it was a pleasant surprise that tional borrowing ability to reforms is not the deration of Indian Industry.
the Atmanirbhar Bharat package simulta-
neously did both: provide fiscal relief and
give a strong impetus to reforms. The Centre
correct approach. This is rather surprising
since the same critics have earlier argued for
accountability and performance measure-
has allowed a deficit of 5%—which is 67% ment against resources allocated. What is
New policy to be unveiled soon, PSEs to be merged, privatised E-TENDER NOTICE
four PSEs in a sector, they wo- PSEs, apart from the private
above the norm. While 0.5% is uncondition-
al, the rest will only be given if states achieve
true for the central government cannot sud-
denly become undesirable at the states level. The Divisional Railway Manager (Enggi?
Our Bureau E.C. RailwaylSamasti pur for and on behaf
uld be merged. sector companies. In case there a set of economic and structural reforms in Remember, standard borrowing capacity re- of the President of India invites Open Tender
“We would like to announce a are more than four, the PSEs wo- four specific areas. The first requires the mains unhindered. Additional 0.5% is made from experienced and financially capa be
New Delhi: The government PSE policy (as) a self-reliant India uld be either privatised, merged states to universalise the One Nation, One available without any terms. A further 1.5% tenderers for the following works in E-
Tendering mode of (REPS web porta of
will soon unveil a new policy to li- needs a coherent policy. All sec- or brought under a holding com- Ration card. This would mean that in future is available if states implement reforms.
mit the number of public sector tors will be opened to private sec- pany, she added. In other sec- migrants would be able to draw rations any- Indian Railways.
enterprises (PSEs) in strategic tors,” finance minister Nirmala tors, CPSEs will be privatised where in the country. (The writer is CEO, Bluekraft Digital 1. Tender Notice No. : TC-87-2020-SPJ.
sectors to four and privatise all Sitharaman said on Sunday. depending upon feasibility. The second condition requires them to Foundation and was earlier director, con- Name of work : A.T Welding of rail joints b y
SKV process along with supply of weldng
PSUs in non-strategic sectors. Each strategic sector take critical actions necessary for Ease tent, MyGov) portion and other accessories for welding of
It will notify the strategic sec- will have at least one rail joint in the jurisdiction of SR.DEN - IIS PJ
tors and if there are more than and maximum four Tender Value (In Z) : 22 ,47 ,27 , 328 . 18
Vedanta O
EXPRESSI N OF INTEREST
Earnest Money ( In Z) : Z2 ,73 ,600+-
Completion period of the work :12 Months
2. Tender Notice No. : TC-88-2020 -SPJ.
'
1 1
Vedanta Limited, a subsidiary of Vedanta Resources Limited, is one of the world's
leading diversified natural resource companies with business operations in India.
Name of work : Samasti pur-Darbhanoa -
TTR (CS+CMSC) -21 Sets (1 in 12 =14 sets
Tender No. MCSWSEAT-BERTH-20.21.01
STRIPPING, Purchase South Africa, Namibia and Australia; Vedanta is a leading producer of oil & Gas,
Zinc , Lead, Silver, Copper , Iron Ore,Aluminium , Steel and Commercial Power.
and 1 in 8.5 = 7 sets). Tender Value (In Z
?51 , 93,318.24, Earnest Money (In Zl
71 ,03,9001- ,Completion period of the work
TRANSPORTATION , REPAIR AND
Requirement : Hindustan Zinc Ltd (HZL), a subsidiary of Vedanta Limited in Zinc - Lead - Silver - 09 Months.
FITMENT OF DIFFERENT TYPES OF
Lead Battery Scrap / 3. Tender Notice No. : TG-89-2020-SPJ .
Wind Energy business and world's leading integrated producer of zinc, invites
S E A T S I B E R T H S I C H A I R S IN Name of work : Supplying of Stone Boulders
Expression of interest from interested business partners for participation in
R A I L W A Y BG C O A C H E S AT
CARRIAGE REPAIR WORKSHOP ,
Bullion Scrap / tender for purchase of Lead Battery scrap. Bullion Scrap and Secondary Lead
& Stone Dust for Monsoon Reserve stocked
for the year 2020-21 and loading into wagon
for longterm contract.
MANCHESWAR Secondary Lead Interested parties may download the EOI Document from Tender Section on our
at SakngaliiPakur or any other quarry of
Sahebganj Loop Line for Sa mastpur
T 4 . 69,46 , 359.44, EMC: Division . Tender Value (In?): T2 ,05 ,09, 600+
website www .hzlindia.com and submit your area of interest along with
Z 3,84 ,7001- , Tender document cost 1̀ Eamest Money (In ?) : 22 ,52 ,600+
10 ,0001-, Period of completion : 24 months. credentials, within 15 days of release of this advertisement to the following email Completion period of the work: 08 Months.
Bidding st art date: 21 .05.2020. address: 1. Last Date & time for receiving of Tender in
'
at 1500 hrs . of 04. 06 .2020. Capt. Abhinaya Sharma E-Tender mode on IREPS web port a .
Manual offers are not allowed against ths Limited
04.06,2020 upto 15.00 hours. 2. Openng
tender and any such manual offer received HINDUSTAN ZINC Mob: 900199c
Ob 9001995980
Date & time for E-Tender : 04.06.2020 aft er
15.00 hours. 3. Website particulars where
shall be ignored. CIN-L27204RJ1966PL0001208 E Mail: abhinaya.sharma@vedanta.co.in complete details of tender & tender
Complete details & tender documents will be document can be seen on website .
available at website www.ire ps.gov.ln www. ireps . gov.in . A m e n d m e n t s ?
Dy Chief Mechanical Engineer (POH),CRWI modifications if any shall not be published n
PR-40!L120.21 Mancheswar Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited the newspapers but the same shall be
uploaded in thewebsite.
adveertisement, j metro (AJoint Venture of Got & GoK) Sr. Divisional Engineer/Co-ord.
ECR/Samastipur
Metro Rail Depot, Old Madras Road , Near NGEF Bus Stop , Bai yappanahalli , Bengaluru- 560 038, INDIA
e-Mail:manjunathswamy@bmrc.co.in Websie: www.bmrr.co.in PR/0165/SPJ/ Engg./T/20-21 /52
ENGINEERING WORKS Date: 18 ,05,2020
(1) Notice No: eT-Central-WAT-08-2020, TENDER NOTIFICATION RESCHEDULE
Dt. :13 .05,2020
PROTECTION WORKS TO The Tender schedules notified vide Newspapers dated 14/03/2020 & 23/03/2020 in respect of TOM services of R3&3A Electr ical ( Construction) Branch
Book TRACK LIKE STEEL WIRE ROPE NETTING ,
ROCK BOLTING , RCC RETAINING WALLS
& HKS (R3&3A , UG-1&UG-2 , R4 &4A]/TOM (R4&4A , UG-1 ) respectively are rescheduled as follows,
SI. Tender Name of work Tender Period of Pre-bid Date & time Date & Cost of Completion
OPEN TENDER
NIT No.: JBP/LC/T/2019/02-R
your
E T C . . AT H I G H A L T I T U D E S IN
CONNECTION WITH BOULDER FALL AT No. Notification Security Sale of meeting for Sub- time for Tender Period Executive Electrical Engineer
KM 65/30 BETWEEN CHIMIDIPALLI- No. Amount Tender mission opening document (Construction ), West Central Railway,
BORRAGUHALU STATIONS UNDER THE
JURISDICTION OF A S S I S T A N T
1, BMRCL/ Providing House Keeping
(Rs.)
16.13
documents of tender of tender
18.05 ,2020 12 ,06 ,2020 26 , 06 , 2020 26 ,06 ,2020
(Rs,)
56 ,000/- 36 Months
J a b a l p u r for and on behalf of
President of India invites E-Tenders
ads
DIVISIONAL ENGINEER/ARAKU ON KK from the reputed and experienced
LINE OF WALTAIR DIVISION. O&M/HKS/ Services for Depot , Lakhs To (at 3.30 pm) (Up to (at 3 . 00 pm) contractors having valid A Class
Z 1,97 ,80,128.27 , R3&3A/ Stations , Viaduct , Track 06.06.2020 2.00 pm) Electrical License (in the name of Firm
l 2 2, 48 ,9001- , Cost of Tender document 2020/1 & Trains of Reach -3&3A . or with one of the partner or in his own
T 5,9006 , Ccmpletion period of the wo k name if sole proprietor ) issued by any
03 Months . state Govt. through ON -Line for the
at 1330 hrs. cf 2. BMRCL/ Providing House Keeping 15.00 18.05.2020 12.06.2020 27.06.2020 27.06.2020 56 ,000/- 36 Months following works - Manual offers are not
28 .05 .2020 O&M/HKS/ Services for Stations , Lakhs To (at 3.30 pm) (Up to (at 3, 00 pm) allowed against this tender, and any
Lelit : (2) Notice No: eT-North-WAT-09-2020 , UG1&UG2/ Tunnel, Track & Trains , in 06.06.2020 2.00 pm) such manual offer received shall be
Dt. : 13.05.2020
2020/1 UG-1 & UG-2.
. .
ignored NIT No - JBP/LC/T/2019/02-
EXTENSION OF ROUTE NO.
3 FOR ACCOMODATING FULL RAKE FOR 3, BMRCL/ Providing House Keeping 15.00 18.05.2020 12 .06,2020 29 , 06 , 2020 29 ,06.2020 56 , 000/- 36 Months
R, Date : 14.05 .2020, Name of work
with location - Design, Modification ,
Shinjinl : A LENGTH OF 690 METER BY WIDENING
THE EXISTING ROCK STRATA BY 25
O&M/HKS/
R4&4A/
Services for Stations ,
Viaduct, Track & Trains of
Lakhs To
06.06.2020
(at 3.30 pm) (Up to
2.00 pm)
(at 3.00 pm) Supp ly , E r e c t i o n , t e s t i n g a n d
Commissioning of 25 KV , AC 50 Hz
METER WIDTH AT KAKIRIGUMA STATION single phase OHE electrification
Reach-4&4A
U N D E R THE J U R I S D I C T I O N OF related with Development of Madan-
ASSISTANT DIVISIONAL ENGINEER/ 4 BMRCL/ Providing Services for 10.25 18.05.2020 13.06.2020 30.06.2020 30.06.2020 28 . 000/- 36 Months mahal station as coaching terminal in
Rajeev:
L A X M I P U R R O A D ON KORAPUT - JBP Division of WCR . Approx cost of
RAYAGADA LINE OF WALTAIR DIVISION.
O&M/TOM/ Customer Care & Ticket Lakhs To (at 3.30 pm) (Up to (at 3.00 pm)
the work (In Rs.) - 1 , 30,62 , 244.11/- ,
31 ,00 ,631.64 , R3&3A/ Office Machine (TOM) in 06.06.2020 2.00 pm) Cost of tender form - 5 ,000/-
EMD: 2 62,0001., Cost of Tender document :
3 . 5401, Comp eti on period of the work : 04
2020/3 Stations of Reach-3&3A A d d r e s s of t h e o f f i c e -
5. BMRCL/ Providing Services for 4.77 18.05.2020 13.06.2020 30.06.2020 30.06.2020 28 .000/- 36 Months EEE/Construction , Jabalpur , 2nd
Months. floor, DRM building , JBP-482001 ,
al 1330 hrs. cf
O&M/TOM/ Customer Care & Ticket Lakhs To (at 3.30 pm) (Up to (at 3.30 pm)
Earnest money (In Rs.) - 2,15 , 300/- ,
11.06.2020 UG1/2020/3 Office Machine (TOM) in 06.06.2020 2.00 pm) Completion period - 9 months , Date
Nc manua offers sent by Post/CounerlFax or Stations of UG1 & Time for submission of tender -
in person shall be accepted against such 6 BMRCL/ Providing Services for 11.43 18.05.2020 13.06.2020 30.06.2020 30.06.2020 28 .000/- 36 Months 08.062020 (Up to 15 :00 hrs. on ), Date
e-tenders even it these are submitted on firm's & Time for opening of tender -
letter head and received in time. All such O&M/TOM/ Customer Care & Ticket Lakhs To (at 3.30 pm) (Up to (at 4.00 pm)
08.062020 (at 15:30 hrs .). Complete
manual offers shall be rejected summar y R4&4A/ Office Machine (TOM) in 06.06.2020 2 .00 pm) details of tender document available
without any consideration. 2020/3 Stations of Reach-4&4A on the R a i l w a y w e b s i t e
Complete information including e-lender https://www.ireps .gov.ln and also
documents of the above e-tender is available
For scope of work , eligibility criteria etc. visit BMRCL website www.bmrc .co.in/Tenders. Interested bidders can download
placed on notice board of the
any advertisement in website : http :llwww.ireps .gov.in Tender Documents after making Online Payment. The bidders who have already purchased tender documents against the
EEE/Construction , Jabalpur's office,
Note : The prospective tenderers are advised old notifications dated 14/03/2020 & 23/03/2020 need not purchase tender documents once again. They can submit the 2nd Floor , DRM building, WCR ,
to revisit the websde 10 (Ten) days before the same tender documents against this notification as scheduled above. Jaba lpur -48200 1.
date of clos ng of tender to note any changes
corri genda issued for this tender Sd/- EEE , Construction , WCR , Jabal pur
Divisional Railway Manager ( Engg), Executive Director (O&M)
PR-44 IL120.21 1 Waltair
 10 THE ECONOMIC TIMES The Edit Page THE ECONOMIC TIMES | NEW DELHI / GURGAON | MONDAY | 18 MAY 2020 | WWW.ECONOMICTIMES.COM

The Covid-19 crisis provides the opportunity to initiate land, labour and liquidity reforms
The Economy Needs
More Stimulus
Demand must be sustained, for sustained growth
The stimulus measures announced by the government
A Guide to Breeding Lilacs There is an understandable procli-
vity towards government and public
in five tranches are a mix of immediate relief, regulatory expenditure as a solution for everyt-
changes and some structural change. These are welcome
as they are. However, the economy needs something mo-
hing, as if there is a magic wand. Re-
actions to the first tranche were Renounce
symptomatic. What’s in it for me?
re: a big step-up in demand. What is the point of throwing
a lifeline to a drowning man, if he is to be left tottering on
Why hasn’t the government given us
tax breaks? Taken to the logical ex-
The Ego
treme, in this uncertain environ-
the edge again? The government has left room for more Bibek Debroy ment, why doesn’t government gua-
SWAMI TEJOMAYANANDA
expenditure, making much of the stimulus announced rantee incomes for everyone? Per- The dictionary describes
so far by means of leveraging of bank finance through n a world far away, epidemiolo- haps even employ everyone? renunciation as sacrifice or
strategic guarantees and subsidies from the exchequer,
rather than straight away through budgetary subven-
tions. That room must be used to invest in large measure I gists once told us that April wo- As an aside again, multiplier ef-
uld be the cruellest month, and fects of government expenditure are
the darling buds of May would superior to those of tax cuts. The use
make the virulent coronavirus of the word ‘tranche’, meaning ‘sli-
giving up. What is ‘giving up’?
Sant Eknath Maharaj’s
daughter was married to a
learned pandit who fell into

FILE PHOTO
— in a massive expansion of the healthcare infrastructu- vanish. We are now told we will have ce,’ may itself be deceptive. Custo- undesirable company and
to live (and die) with it, even come mary usage often interprets it as dis- started going out late at night.
re, in building, perhaps, a new town or two. Also develo- September. bursal of money. With dwindling re- When the worried daughter
ping a corporate bond market brooks no delay. There is a symbolic touch in the venue, and monetisation of public approached her father, Ek-
Even before the Covid pandemic hit us and the lock- daily briefings conducted by finance assets requiring a timeline, funding Till, till death does depart: ‘Landcsape with the Fall of Icarus,’ nath Maharaj called his son-
minister Nirmala Sitharaman, swit- public expenditure boils down to Pieter Bruegel the Elder, c.1560 in-law and said, “You are a
down killed economic activity, the economy had been slo- ching from the dead land to breeding borrowing. learned person but your wife
wing, suffering from low levels of capital formation. Al- lilacs, the latter interpreted as are trade-offs and priorities, and eve- tor deserve primary focus. Agricul- is not, so before going out,
growth, livelihoods and employ- ryone won’t be happy; (2) limited go- tural and rural tranche will follow. everyday please teach her one
so, the banking sector had ceased to
ment. Growth prospects in 2020-21 What? The Dickens vernment resources, must be levera- Every enterprise faces procedural or two verses of the Gita. Then
mediate capital, constrained by both a aren’t rosy, although the second half There is the pithily stated Micaw- ged. So, convert the crisis into an op- hurdles at three levels: entry, functio- go wherever you want.” The
pile-up of bad loans and a penal cultu- of the year should fare better than ber principle, named after the opti- portunity. Carpe diem, and reform. ning and exit. At the moment, the pandit agreed, but teaching
the first. For the full year, a decline in mistic clerk in Charles Dickens’ MSME malaise is of functioning, the Gita made him reflect on
re attending on banking risk with mi- and of a working capital-cum- liqui-
GDP is probably inevitable. At worst, 1850 novel David Copperfield: An- his actions and he stopped
nimal confidence in GoI’s reported as- one can quibble about guesses on the nual income more than annual ex- Dial L for Liquidity dity crunch. Equity capital infusion going out. That is called tyaga.
surances of a cultural change. The sti- extent of decline. penditure, result happiness. Annu- Everyone possesses his or her own will come later. Interpret collateral- Tyaga is renunciation of
mulus does not address these pro- GDP isn’t an unreal number. It re- al income less than annual expendi- perspective on what constitutes re- free loans, payment of GoI (PSUs in- undesirable thoughts and
lates, and correlates, with poverty ture, result misery. But we forget form, and what does not. The 1991 re- cluded) dues, and sovereign guaran- actions, which obstruct our
blems directly. True, the provisions reduction, employment generation the last bit of Dickens’ quote: ‘The forms were about the external sector, tee in that light. higher evolution. It is not
for guaranteed investment in investment-grade bonds of and improvements in socio-econo- blossom is blighted. The leaf is wit- with industrial delicensing thrown Affirmative action through go- renunciation of objects, but
finance companies, and partially guaranteed invest- mic indicators. As an aside, it has a hered. The God of Day goes down in. Down the years, there has also be- vernment tenders, e-market linka- renouncing ignorance, wrong
bearing on (central and state) go- upon the dreary scene. In short, I en liberalisation of the financial sec- ges and a new definition of MSMEs notions, and incorrect rela-
ments in sub-prime debt instruments of finance compa- vernment tax revenue. On this am forever floored.’ tor. But substantive reforms are abo- are somewhat different. Come to tionships with objects and
nies and small business has a limited potential to create aspect, nominal GDP growth is mo- This isn’t an argument for making ut factor markets (land, labour, capi- think of it, why do we have this arti- beings of the world. Once a
re relevant than real growth (net of a fetish out of the Fiscal Responsibi- tal) and agriculture — for which the ficial differentiation between a ma- gentleman visited a swami
some tradable debt. But this is not nearly enough. An
inflation). The weather, if not the lity and Budget Management third tranche on May 15 announced nufacturing and service enterpri- and prostrated before him. In
RBI-funded, state-sponsored vehicle must pick up debt climate, is of low real growth and (FRBM) Act, or the fiscal deficit. But GoI’s intention of amending the Es- se? The 2006 MSME Development response, the swami immedia-
issued by AA- or BBB-rated companies, to create volu- low inflation. even when that tap is opened a bit, sential Commodities Act that, along Act needs a revamp and better legal tely prostrated to him. The
Given time lags, any policy inter- when government funds expenditu- agricultural marketing reforms, co- recognition of what constitutes an surprised man asked, “Swa-
mes and create a culture of trading, instead of holding
vention is primarily about moving re through borrowing, and costs of uld prove to be substantial reforms if MSME, since most are unregiste- miji, I prostrated before you
the debt to maturity, as happens now. growth from a negative in 2020-21 to that borrowing are higher than no- followed through — which are state red. This is the law bit in the first because you are a great sanya-
Inviting Indian industry into flights to outer space will a positive in 2021-22, and about the minal GDP growth, there’s a debt re- subjects, or in the concurrent list. tranche. si, but why did you prostrate
extent to which that positivity oc- payment problem that can’t be left to One can choose to read this as On the liquidity bit, there have al- before me?” Swamiji respon-
not create tangible investment in the short term. That calls curs. With a national income acco- future generations to sort out. land, labour and liquidity, with law so been announcements for non-ban- ded, “I prostrated because you
for determined completion of stalled real estate and in- unting angle, there are only four so- As a country, we have been down providing the base. Using the crisis king financial companies (NBFCs)/ are a greater sanyasi. I reno-
frastructure projects, and new large projects. Such invest- urces of growth: investment, con- that route before, and its consequen- as an opportunity, some states have housing financial companies unced the world for God but
sumption, government expenditu- ces haven’t been salutary. This is initiated tentative steps on refor- (HFCs), tax deducted at source you have renounced God for
ment will create the demand that all levels of industry ne- re and net exports. In this unkind common sense, and the logic is inde- ming factor markets. In the consti- (TDS)/ tax collected at source (TCS) the world.”
ed, to create jobs, income, taxes and investor confidence. external environment, the fourth pendent of what credit rating agen- tutional structure, GoI has to figure and the Employees’ Provident Fund Tyaga, when forced, is pain-
won’t be a major growth driver, at cies pronounce. Therefore, (1) with li- out ways of incentivising such at- Organisation (EPFO), plus the po- ful, but when backed by con-
least not immediately. mited government resources, there tempts. wer sector. There will certainly be viction, it is part of outgro-
A patient on a recovery course is moral hazards. However, in exceptio- wing negative thinking and
initially prescribed a liquid diet as a nal circumstances, some possible moving to thoughts more

Call it Opening The 2006 MSME Development Act needs a revamp

and better legal recognition of what constitutes an
precursor to solid food. If one ac- transgressions can’t be an argument
cepts the logic of alternative claims for government inertia.
on public resources and trade-offs,
there can be no quarrels with the pro- The writer is Chairman, Economic
conducive to our spiritual
growth.

Up Phase One MSME, since most are unregistered position that MSMEs and rural sec- Advisory Council to the Prime Minister
Chat Room
It is a pity that a government and a political leadership that ha-
ve been acutely sensitive to the semiotics of its slogans, sche-
me names and messaging in general, have thought it fit to ex-
tend the lockdown, calling for a new phase of the lockdown, in-
Crisis, Make the Heart Grow Bolder Step Up
Awareness
stead of announcing new stages of opening up the economy, of uraging anti-lockdown protesters, restart MSMEs crippled by lock- Apropos the edit ‘Heed these
easing the lockdown. It is vital for the state governments to Trump wants to convince his core down, or the huge logistic and Corporate Pleas on Flexibi-
constituency that he remains in legacy problem of reaching free lity’ (May 16). The govern-
appreciate the import of the prime minister’s understated total control against all odds so that foodgrains to the starving poor who ment needs to accept that it
caution that we have to learn to live with the virus, and not hi- it rallies around him on polling day. are yet to receive cash transfers. does not have the capacity to
de ourselves in our homes. Only by opening up the economy, There is no such electoral compul- Modi could do well to borrow a leaf keep an eye on all enterpri-
and restoring as much of the economic activity that can be sion for Modi, and he has been more out of the book of his predecessor, ses to ensure compliance of
carried on while respecting safety protocols can India avert
Ajoy Bose circumspect than his American PV Narasimha Rao, who took some safety protocols. The best
buddy. After all, he has already won hard, innovative decisions with less option is to step up on the
economic collapse and the human tragedy that would entail. his second term by bagging a larger bluster when faced with an un- awareness drive so that
FILE PHOTO

The government has done right to de- Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s majority than in the previous one. precedented crisis three decades responsible and safe be-
emphasise the colour-coded, graded zo- nationwide addresses during the He can certainly afford to eschew ago. Rao turned economic policy haviour becomes the new
lockdown are reminiscent of his political grandstanding and take upside down within the month of norm. The government
ning of the country in terms of pandemic barnstorming election campaign the public into confidence about the July 1991ending India’s licence- must maintain oversight.
risk, and instead effectively adopt a bina- speeches of the past that have so trials ahead, expressing determina- Revv it up now permit raj, slashing fiscal deficit Detection of Covid-19 cases
ry classification of containment zones successfully embedded his image tion to overcome them but without and tariffs, and devaluing the rupee. in an industrial unit should
as the Supreme Leader across the making false promises of a bright remains paralysed, for him to speak Like Rao, Modi could also try and result in it being sealed. This
and the rest, allowing most activities in
country. They are also similar to the future around the corner. about India emerging from the win over his opponents using the will incentivise employers
the non-containment zones, apart from public interventions in the past few Yet the PM has seemed, on occa- pandemic as a self-reliant industri- plea of a national emergency. Rao to implement sanitation and
certain activities barred across the co- months made by US President sion, to needlessly play to the galle- al behemoth leading the world can overcame a minority government social distancing norms.
untry. Those who can continue to work from home should con- Donald Trump, who has gone to ry as if in campaign mode. Rituals sound jarring to some ears. and a hostile Opposition to get
lengths to project himself as a to appreciate the good and brave The announced Rs20 lakh crore as political backing for his sweeping DEEPAK SINGHAL
tinue to do so. All safety protocols must be observed, and emp- superman leading America to a work being done by the country’s a fiscal stimulus dodges the fact new economic policy. Modi, who Chennai
loyers and office supervisors in government offices must pro- pinnacle of glory. health workers against Covid-19 that the government may neither has no national competitor, is in a
vide safety equipment and arrange provisions for social dis-
tancing at the workplace. The government has done well to
The two leaders are, however,
operating in completely different
can seem at odds with Indian Air
Force jets performing fly pasts and
have the capacity nor the will to put
out the entire sum. As finance
far better position to enlist the
Opposition and its chief ministers Unshackle the
clarify that employers will try, on a best-effort basis, to persua-
political scenarios. Obsessed by
elections just a few months away,
showering petals at a time when
people on the roads continue to
minister Nirmala Sitharaman
herself has revealed in daily doses,
to join the collaborative effort
required to meet the challenges
Private Sector
de employees to install the Aarogya Setu app on their phones Trump seems to not care much suffer, and virus-related fatalities the package, despite its best in- ahead, even if it means ceding some Apropos the edit ‘Heed These
and not be held accountable for employee compliance with about combating the pandemic, or rise. At a time when the entire tentions, is severely handicapped political space for his own party for Corporate Pleas on Flexibili-
this provision. This must be communicated with emphasis to the economic grief ahead. By poin- business sector, from small shop- by the lack of actual allocation of some time. The PM could do well to ty’ (May 16), the lockdown was
tedly not wearing a mask and enco- keepers to big corporate houses, funds from the state exchequer to look beyond optics at this time. necessary but unfortunate.
police chiefs and further down to implementing officials. But now it is
Further relaxation of norms should be announced as next up to the
stages of opening up. Nobody wants to import stuff from a corporate
locked down economy.
Not the Best Solution for Insolvencies sector to
rebuild the
economy and
it should be
holders realised that continued exercise remedies against its de- all coercive civil proceedings aga- given all the
operation had become unviable and faulting corporate debtor, it is inst the corporate debtor, shifting flexibility to
Why are animals used as similes for nasty desired resolution under IBC. Data likely to lead to a domino effect of the focus from recovery of debts to put the Indian economy on the
events they had nothing to do with? released by the Insolvency and defaults. The suspension of these preservation of the debtor as a path of development. Guideli-
Bankruptcy Board of India (IBBI) provisions removes an important going concern and consequent nes for social distancing,
reveals that about 10% of all ad- and necessary incentive for compa- successful resolution of insolvency. hygiene and new work culture

Blame a Black Swan Anirudh Wadhwa

mitted corporate insolvencies were
initiated under Section 10. The
present economic crisis calls for
keeping open this avenue for corpo-
nies to clear dues, disrupting the
flow of capital in the economy
when it is needed the most. A credi-
tor that does not receive dues from
It is neither practicable nor desi-
rable to suspend the entire ecosys-
tem of financial laws. Look to other
measures. Raising the default
can be framed. Corporates
should be supported as they
refuel the economy.

Or a Grey Rhino On April 23, GoI passed a resolution

to amend the Insolvency and Bank-
ruptcy Code (IBC) to suspend up to
rate debtors facing financial stress,
rather than opting for its closure.
Sections 7 and 9 provide for initia-
its corporate debtors would be very
likely to default on its own debts,
and the entire ecosystem would be
threshold to initiate insolvency
proceedings to `1crore has already
precluded a large number of in-
SN KABRA
Mumbai

The cancellation of Britain’s annual cygnet census in July one year the provisions that trigger
corporate insolvency proceedings.
for the first time in 900 years due to the Covid-19 pandemic is
unfortunate indeed. The purpose of enumerating offspring
The operation of Sections 7, 9 and 10
of IBC would reportedly be suspen-
of mute swans has long changed to conservation from culi- ded for 6-12 months. The move is
nary, and has been increasing awareness about them, so this purportedly to prevent cash-strap-
ped companies from being forced
hiatus could not have come at a worse time. For, ever since into insolvency in light of the
Nissim Nicholas Taleb bestowed a new, calamitous dimen- Covid-19-instigated economic
sion to the term black swan in his eponymous 2007 book, the crisis. It also comes on the heels of
entire species has had its reputation besmirched. It was bad another decision made on March
24, to raise the threshold of default
enough that thanks to Tchaikovsky’s 19th century ballet under Section 4 of IBC from `1lakh
Swan Lake —whose storyline was said to be culled from Rus- to `1crore. Despite good intentions,
sian and German lore — Odile the black swan was cast as the the move is both over- and under-
evil counterpoint to Odette’s white swan. Now, despite Taleb inclusive, and requires a rethink.
The rationale of protecting com-
insisting that the term ‘black swan’ should not be used as “a panies from being unwillingly
cliché for any bad thing that surprises us”, regrettably ma- dragged through the insolvency
ny bird brains are doing precisely that. process by financial or operational
creditors does not justify suspen-
Inasmuch as Taleb himself does not think the pandemic ful-
ding Section 10 of IBC, which pro-
fils the criterion of total unpredictability, the simile of a grey vides for a defaulting corporate
rhino coined by Michele Wucker appears to be an alternate debtor to itself initiate the insolven-
cy process.
tion of the insolvency resolution
against a corporate debtor by
financial creditors and operational
creditors, respectively. The suspen-
sion of these provisions seeks to
prevent a spate of insolvency
petitions by such creditors against
companies whose finances are
strained by the pandemic.
However, if a creditor is unable to
FILE PHOTO
destabilised.
Further, IBC does not operate in
legal isolation. Rather, it is part of
an interdependent ecosystem of
complex financial legislations. The
creditor still has the legal right to
enforce recovery under other laws,
against which there is no reprieve
proposed. If the creditor is a bank, it
can seek recovery under the Recove-
ry of Debts Due to Banks and Finan-
cial Institutions (RDDBFI) Act,
1993. If there is a security (like
mortgage) involved, it can also
proceed under the Securitisation
and Reconstruction of Financial
Assets and Enforcement of Securi-
ty Interest (Sarfeisi) Act, 2002.
Further, although creditors may
be unable to initiate insolvency
against corporate debtors, they
would be able to drag promoters
who have given personal guarante-
es through the bankruptcy process,
as provided for in Part 3 of IBC. In
solvency moves against corporate
debtors, especially micro, small
and medium enterprises (MSMEs).
If the concern is that this measure
is still not enough, enhance the
threshold further.
The government should further
encourage lending in this time of
economic distress to allow busi-
nesses to meet their dues. RBI
should also extend the 3-month
financial moratorium both in time
period and scope. In fact, an ex-
tension of the moratorium on
repayment of term loans would be
a more moderate and effective
approach. This would allow banks
and NBFCs to shift repayment
dates as per their discretion, and
be favourable to further lending
activity.
A blanket suspension of initiation
of all corporate insolvency pro-
ceedings seems to be a dispro-
portionate move, likely to cause
Reform to Seize
The Day
This refers to the article ‘Govt
Prepares a List of 10 Mega
Clusters across Nine States to
Attract Global Companies’ by
Kirtika Suneja (May 16). The
government is frenetically
trying to woo MNCs without
properly understanding why
they are prioritising Vietnam
over India. A study found that
of the 56 companies that
relocated from China in 2018,
31 opted for Vietnam because
of the availability of cheap
and skilled labour, necessary
infrastructure and other
logistics. Labour upskilling is
a huge challenge which India
needs to face.

contender, given its key yardstick of being a highly probable MAYANK KHATRI
Many companies, including some fact, that IBC insulates a corporate more problems than what it aims to Ujjain, Madhya Pradesh
but neglected threat. What definitely needs to be examined,
very large conglomerates, have debtor is arguable, since the initia- solve.
however, is why birds and animals are used as similes to cha- voluntarily initiated resolution tion of the insolvency process Letters to the editor may be addressed to

racterise nasty events that are very often caused by humans. under Section 10, since their stake- This is not the time triggers a moratorium, suspending The writer is an advocate editet@timesgroup.com
 CONTRAPUNTO Politics is for the present, but an equation is for eternity. ALBERT EINSTEIN
THE ECONOMIC TIMES | NEW DELHI / GURGAON | MONDAY | 18 MAY 2020 | WWW.ECONOMICTIMES.COM
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Afghanistan President
and Rival Announce
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Kabul: Afghan President Ashraf
Ghani and political rival Abdullah
Abdullah have signed a power-
sharing agreement two months
after both declared themselves
the winner of last September’s
presidential election. Ghani
spokesman Sediq Sediqqi tweeted
Sunday that a political deal bet-
ween Ghani and Abdullah had
been signed in which Ghani would
remain president of the war-torn
nation. The deal calls for Abdullah
to lead the war-torn country’s
National Reconciliation High
Council and some members of
Abdullah's team would be included
in Ghani's Cabinet. AP
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Doors After Two Months
Athens: Churches throughout
Greece have opened their doors to
the faithful after two months. They
limited the number of congregants
and dispensed disinfectant out-
side, but communion was given
using the same spoon. Those who
flocked to churches for Sunday
Mass sat three chairs apart and
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The number of people attending
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Spraying Disinfectants Can
be ‘Harmful’, Says WHO
Geneva: Spraying disinfectant on
the streets, as practised in some
countries, does not eliminate the
new coronavirus and even poses a
health risk, the WHO warned on
Saturday. In a document on clea-
ning and disinfecting surfaces as
part of the response to the virus,
the WHO says spraying can be
ineffective. “Spraying or fumiga-
tion of outdoor spaces is... not
recommended to kill the Covid-19
virus or other pathogens because
disinfectant is inactivated by dirt
and debris,” explains the WHO. AFP
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Malls in Thailand Reopen
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Sunday, eager for retail therapy as
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gradual easing of restrictions to
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my. Hundreds of masked custo-
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had their photos taken before they
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Peru said it will construct a fast-
build hospital in the Amazon as it
seeks to respond to a growing
Covid-19 emergency sweeping
through the indigenous
population. State social security
body EsSalud said it expects the
100-bed hospital in Pucallpa,
capital of the remote Ucayali
region on the border with Brazil,
to be operational within three
weeks. “EsSalud will install a fast-
build hospital in Ucayali to serve
Covid-19 patients,” the
government body said in a
statement late Friday. The
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UK Media Watchdog Fines Peace
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UK’s media watchdog Ofcom has fined controversial
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£300,000 for broadcasting “hate speech” and “highly
offensive” content in the country. The London-based
regulator has fined licence holders of Peace TV Urdu
£200,000 and Peace TV £100,000 for breaking its
broadcasting rules. “Our investigations found that
programmes broadcast on Peace TV Urdu and Peace
TV contained hate speech and highly offensive
content, which in one instance was likely to incite
crime,” it said. Peace TV is owned by Lord
Productions and Club TV holds the licence of Peace
TV Urdu. Both have the Universal Broadcasting Corp
as their parent company, which is owned by Naik, a
televangelist and Islamic preacher from Mumbai. PTI
Around the World  11
China Warns US of ‘All Necessary Obama Criticises Virus
Response in Online
Measures’ after Curbs on Huawei Graduation Speech
The US on Friday announced new rules that could cut Huawei off from global chip suppliers Washington: Former President
Barack Obama on Saturday criti-
Beijing: China’s commerce mini-
stry says it will take “all necessary Fighting Covid: China vs India China Used Airline cised US leaders overseeing the
nation’s response to the coronavi-
measures” in response to new US
restrictions on Chinese tech giant India has now recorded more Covid-19 cases than China, where
more than 78,000 of the 82,000 plus confirmed patients have been
Passengers to ‘Seed’ rus, telling college graduates in
an online commencement add-
Huawei’s ability to use American
technology, calling the measures discharged. India’s official case count is now 90,927 and there appear
to be few signs of a slowdown in infections. However, there is some
Virus: Trump Aide ress that the pandemic shows ma-
ny officials “aren’t even preten-
an abuse of state power and a viola- Washington: The Trump admini- ding to be in charge”.
tion of market principles. positive news: India’s recovery rate is improving and the death rate is stration stepped up its campaign of Obama spoke on “Show Me Your
An unidentified spokesperson qu- still low. Here’s a look at the progression of cases in India and China... blaming China for the deadly Walk, HBCU Edition,” a two-hour
oted Sunday in a statement on the coronavirus pandemic, with a top event for students graduating Barack Obama
ministry’s website said the regula- Difference in Covid trajectory aide suggesting Beijing sent airline from historically black colleges
tions also threatened the security China India Trajectory if Cases double every 7 days passengers to spread the infection and universities broadcast on Yo- Trump’s handling of the pande-
of the “global industrial and supp- worldwide. uTube, Facebook and Twitter. His mic as an “absolute chaotic dis-
300000
ly chain”. “The virus was spawned in Wuhan remarks were unexpectedly poli- aster” in a call with 3,000 mem-
No. of Covid cases
“The US uses state power, under the province, patient zero was in tical, given the venue, and tou- bers of his administrations obta-
so-called excuse of national security, 30000 November,” White House trade ched on current events beyond the ined by Yahoo News.
and abuses export control measures adviser Peter Navarro said on virus and its social and economic The commencement remarks
to continuously oppress and contain 3000 ABC’s “This Week.” impacts. were the latest sign that Obama
specific enterprises of other count- “The Chinese, behind the shield of “More than anything, this pan- intends to play an increasingly
ries,” the statement said. the WHO, for two months hid the demic has fully, finally torn back active role in the coming elec-
China will “take all necessary me- 300 the curtain on the idea that so ma- tion. He has generally kept a low
virus from the world and then sent
asures to resolutely safeguard the hundreds of ny of the folks in charge know profile in the years since he left
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
45
50
55
60
65
70
75
80
85
90
95
100
105
110
115
legitimate rights and interests of thousands of what they’re doing,” Obama said. office, even as Trump has dispa-
Days since 300th case
Chinese enterprises,” it said. ‘The Chinese Chinese on “A lot them aren’t even pretending raged him. Obama told suppor-
Under the new rules, foreign se- India Recovery Rate for two months aircraft to to be in charge.” ters on the call that he would be
miconductor makers who use hid the virus Milan, New Later Saturday, during a second “spending as much time as ne-
American technology must obtain 40.0% from the world York and televised commencement address cessary and campaigning as
a US license to ship Huawei-desig- 35.0% and then sent around the for high school seniors, Obama hard as I can” for Joe Biden, who
ned semiconductors to the Chinese world to seed panned “so-called grown-ups, in- served as his vice president.
hundreds of
company. 30.0% thousands of that.” Milan cluding some with fancy titles and As he congratulated the college
Chip design and manufacturing 25.0% Chinese on and New York important jobs” who do “what fe- graduates Saturday and commi-
equipment used in the world’s se- aircraft to went on to els good, what’s convenient, serated over the enormous chal-
miconductor plants is mostly US- 20.0% Milan, New become what’s easy”. lenges they face given the devas-
made, so the new rule affects fore- 15.0% York and hotspots for “Which is why things are so scre- tation and economic turmoil the
ign producers that sell to Huawei around the the pandemic. wed up,” he said. virus has wrought, the former
and affiliates including HiSilicon, 10.0% Navarro’s Obama did not name President president noted the February
world to
which makes chips for supercom- seed that’ comments add Donald Trump or any other fede- shooting death of Ahmaud Ar-
5.0%
puters with scientific and military to the almost ral or state officials in either of bery, 25, who was killed while
uses. The US Commerce Depart- 0.0% daily barrage of US attacks on his appearances. But earlier this jogging on a residential street in
ment said foreign foundries would 04-04-2020 04-05-2020 China, including suggestions that month, he harshly criticised Georgia. AP
be granted a 120-day grace period Recovery rate: Patients recovered/confirmed the virus escaped from a laborato-
for chips already in production. ry in the central city of Wuhan. As
Israel Finally Swears in
US Commerce Secretary Wilbur recently as last week, Secretary of
Ross said on Friday that Washing- nese conflict over Beijing's techno- Canada arrested Huawei's chief State Michael Pompeo ratcheted
ton wants to prevent Huawei from logy ambitions. American officials financial officer, Meng Wanzhou, up his criticism, asserting China
Govt After 3 Elections
evading sanctions imposed earlier say Huawei is a security risk, the daughter of Huawei's founder, covered up the origins of the virus.
on its use of American technology which the company denies. in December 2018 in a case that “They could have kept it in Wu-
to design and produce semiconduc- It wasn't clear what form China’s sparked a diplomatic furor among han,” Navarro said. “Instead, it
tors abroad. response would take, but the sides the three countries and complica- became a pandemic. That’s why I serve as prime minister for the
Huawei Technologies, China’s are already deep in conflict over US ted high-stakes US-China trade say the Chinese did that to Ameri- Jerusalem: After three dead- government’s first 18 months be-
first global tech brand and a maker accusations of copyright theft and talks. China detained two Canadi- cans and they are responsible.” locked and divisive elections, a fore being replaced by Gantz for
of network equipment and smartp- unfair trading by firms in China's ans in apparent retaliation for Bloomberg year and a half of political para- the next 18 months. Their blocs
lysis and another three-day delay will also have a similar number of
hones, is at the center of a US-Chi- heavily state-controlled economy. Meng's arrest. AP
because of political infighting in ministers and mutual veto power
his Likud party, Prime Minister over most major decisions.
Benjamin Netanyahu finally
Iran Says Virus Deaths Masks Outdoors No Longer Fiat Seeks $6.8B Italian Critics have already accused the
swore in his new government on government of being out of touch
Sunday. The Knesset, Israel’s par- by creating so many Cabinet
Close to 7,000 Necessary in Beijing State-Backed Loan liament, passed a vote of confi- posts at a time when unemploy-
Tehran: Iran said on Sunday it had recorded nearly Beijing: Beijing has done away with the guideline Milan: Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV and Italy’s dence in Netanyahu’s new admi- ment has soared to 25% as a result
7,000 deaths from the novel coronavirus, warning that residents should wear masks while on outdoors, Intesa Sanpaolo SpA are negotiating a state-backed nistration to end over of the coronavirus
of infection clusters in new regions after it partially the first city in China and perhaps in the world to do credit line of as much as $6.8 billion in Europe’s 500 days of upheaval. pandemic. A mini-in-
eased lockdown measures. so in the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic, signalling biggest government-guaranteed financing for a Over the weekend, both surgency by angry se-
Health ministry spokesman Kianoush Jahanpour that the coronavirus is under control in the Chinese carmaker since the coronavirus pandemic. Italy’s Netanyahu and his rival- nior Likud members
said the Covid-19 illness had claimed a further 51 capital. After months of wearing top lender would lead a three-year loan facility to turned-partner Benny forced Netanyahu to
lives over 24 hours into Sunday. The ministry raised masks to prevent virus infection help finance the manufacturer’s business in the Gantz announced their seek a delay in the swe-
the overall death toll to 6,988 since Iran announced risks, people can now breathe country, Fiat Chrysler said in a statement. Sace SpA, appointments for the aring-in ceremony
its first fatalities in the Shiite pilgrimage city of Qom freely outside without a mask in Italy’s trade-credit insurer, will guarantee 80% of the new government — the last Thursday. To mol-
in February. Beijing, state-run China Daily amount in a mechanism that would need approval most bloated in Israeli lify his backbenchers,
Jahanpour warned that cases were rising “in the reported, citing the new guidelines by the Finance Ministry. history with an expected Benjamin Netanyahu Netanyahu created a
province of Lorestan, and to some extent in Ker- announced by the Beijing Centre Carmaking is among industries that have been hit 36 Cabinet ministers and series of new mini-
manshah, Sistan and Baluchistan”. “Khuzestan for Disease Prevention and Control hardest by the Covid-19 crisis, which forced factory 16 deputies. Netanyahu and stries with questionable respon-
province is still in a critical situation,” he added. The on Sunday. stoppages and crippled sales in markets from China Gantz, a former military chief, an- sibilities, such as “community
southwestern province has become Iran’s new The centre said people don’t need and Europe to the US Fiat Chrysler burned through nounced last month they would be development”, “settlement affa-
coronavirus focal point, with the most critical “red” to wear masks outside, but still should avoid close $5.5 billion in the first quarter. The Italian-American putting their differences aside to irs” and “higher education and
ranking on the country’s colour-coded risk scale. contact with others. It also encourages the public to company and French peer PSA Group last week join forces to steer the country water resources” and a minister
It is the only region so far where authorities have take some outdoor exercise when the weather is scrapped the 1.1billion-euro dividends that each through the coronavirus crisis to be the liaison between the par-
reimposed business lockdowns after a country- good, which is helpful to increase the quality of life agreed to pay as part of their 2019 merger agree- and its severe economic fallout. liament and the Cabinet. Each
wide relaxation in April. AFP and health, the report said. PTI ment. Bloomberg Their controversial power-sha- ministry means paying for dri-
ring deal calls for Netanyahu to vers, staff and office space. AP
Crossword 7723
1 2 3 4 5 DOWN
1 He uses handloom cleverly to
6 7 8 produce well-known brands
(9,5)
Qatar on Sunday began enforcing 2 Crew initially underestimate
the world’s toughest penalties of list of options (4)
9 10 3 Note distressed doctor
up to three years’ imprisonment in Bury (6)
for failing to wear masks in 4 Worker’s party queen (8)
public. Violators of Qatar’s new 5 Special actor who
rules will face up to three years 11 12 13 14 exaggerates 9 (4)
in jail and fines of as much as 7 Child’s horse caught in middle
$55,000. Drivers alone in their of 13 (3-3)
vehicles are exempt from the 8 Decayed branches cover over
requirement, but several expats 15 16 17 vacated constituencies
once (6,8)
told AFP that police were stopping cars at checkpoints to warn them of 12 View mess (5)
the new rules before they came into force. AFP 18
14 Club operator perhaps left out
errand boy (5)
19 20 21
16 Slander Irish copper
Shrine in Japan car part (8)
18 R un away from church do (6)
Offers Solace to 22 23 24 25
21 Sharp pain makes one double
up, say (6)
Those at Home 23 Chemist’s water’s light
blue (4)
Shinto shrines, a go-to place 25 Turn over fine border (4)
26
for many Japanese to pray
for good health and safety,
have largely shuttered
SOLUTION TO No. 7722:
during the coronavirus ACROSS: 1 Brother-in-law.
pandemic. But one Tokyo LEADER BOARD
ACROSS 8 Earldom. 9 Funeral. 11 Under-
shrine went online for those seeking solace. Onoterusaki Shrine in 6 Explorers at sea arrange anchorage 17 Lead round judge first of all to see world.12 Meow. 14 Commando. HIDATO 7 LITTLE WORDS
downtown Tokyo was livestreaming prayers on Twitter during a May with ropes (14) cheap housing (6) 16 Mouser. 17 Thy. 19 A level. Divya Bachhawat Suresh Kumar
1-10 holiday, allowing those stuck at home to join rituals. The shrine 9 Imitation used foolishly in Post 19 The USA’s first team? (6) 21 Muscatel. 24 Iron. 25 Under- Bengaluru Mumbai
also accepted worshippers’ messages, which were printed on a virtual Office (6) 20 Rector appears, in reality, to be pants. 27 Nairobi. 28 Impinge.
Rajendra Bhutad Gauri S.
wooden tablet and offered to Shinto gods to keep away evil spirits and 10 Dislike quelling men’s widely read (8) 29 Lady Jane Grey.
Chandrapur Gurgaon
outrage (8) 22 Puerile writer’s spouse tours old DOWN: 1 Boredom. 2 Order
the epidemic. “I thought about how people can pray and have a peace
11 Wasted cash on ridiculous city (8) paper. 3 Humboldt. 4 Ruffle.
of mind at a time everyone is feeling uneasy about all the news and blue clerical garb (8) 24 During times following epidemic 5 Nine. 6 Airless. 7 Renuncia-
going through major changes in their life but still cannot go out to pray,” 13 Got furious about first of garments flood appears (6) tion. 10 Lower classes. 13 Touch
head priest Ryoki Ono said. “The idea is to provide a chance for people in tatters (6) 26 This early genus could be paper.15 Ohm. 18 Yuletide.
to pray from home.” AP 15 Wild mule runs over, say, something picked up in 20 Exotica. 22 Tenancy.
a pea (6) southeast (7,7) 23 Angina.26 Body.
©The Daily Mail
Chinese Ambassador to Israel
Found Dead at Home
The Chinese ambassador to Israel,
Du Wei, was found dead at his
residence on the outskirts of Tel
Aviv on Sunday, police said. The Dilbert by S Adams
envoy, who had arrived in Israel in
mid-February, was found dead in his Herzliya
home, spokesman Micky Rosenfeld told AFP,
adding that police were investigating. Du’s wife and
son were not with him in Israel. Du, 57, had
previously served as ambassador to Ukraine,
according to his biography on the embassy’s Yesterday’s Answers:
website. The Haaretz daily said initial reports said
staff had found Du dead in his bed and that there ET will carry the names of winners for
were no signs of violence. It quoted a first aid Hidato and 7 Little Words every day.
service as saying the cause of death appeared to be Please whatsapp your solutions for both
a cardiac incident. AFP to 79 01010174 with your name and city.
 Where’s
the proof?
Moscow rejects
THE ECONOMIC TIMES
allegations NEW DELHI / GURGAON
that Russian MONDAY
18 MAY 2020
hackers spied
on German www.etpanache.com
Chancellor
ADVERTORIAL &
Angela Merkel PROMOTIONAL FEATURE

5 video-call etiquette tips This CEO’s ruthless time

management makes
for your next meeting
Video-conference calls Tech check
every minute count
Rahul Agarwal, CEO, Lenovo
India, believes in finishing 18
There’s no bigger waste of time than having to wait
hours of work in just nine
are the new normal in the for one person to set up their system before the group
meeting can begin. It’s basic etiquette to have respect
post-coronavirus world. for people’s time and yes, while technical glitches
can take place on the spot, try to get your camera and
maleeva.rebello@timesgroup.com

But there are some dos mic in order before the call. Don’t treat a work call
as a test run.
Rahul Agarwal has been working
from his Bengaluru home since the
and don’ts to be followed Keep it quick
lockdown started around 50 days ago.
The Lenovo India CEO has earmarked
glynda.alves@timesgroup.com When it comes to group meetings, especially one part of his home as his office space

‘
C
large ones, be concise when you speak. Every to avoid distractions.
an’t see you’. ‘Can you hear me?’ ‘What’s background from the calling app. In March-end, minute counts. Make notes The 46-year-old tells ETPanache, “We
that noise in the background?’ In the actress Katrina about what points you want use video calls for our meetings. The
days of social distancing, video calls and Use your words Kaif helped to make before the meeting one mantra I believe in is ‘ruthless time
apps have exploded into our lives. Like And actions too if necessary. With many create a video takes place. Don’t ramble management’. I track every minute of
chat group with Rahul Agarwal works
social etiquette needs to be maintained meetings running into large numbers, it her friends Varun to make the point and try to my day and try to spend my time ef- out daily with the help
at the workplace or when socialising, video-call helps to have a set of guidelines to follow. Dhawan and be as clear as possible — ad- ficiently. I don’t believe in working 18 of online classes
etiquette too needs to be observed when you log on. The trouble of many people speaking at Arjun Kapoor, dressing the people you need hours a day, I am a proponent of getting
calling the club
Here are some pointers you should keep in mind the same time is that they speak on top #isolated r us
to so that they know they have the same amount of work done within
before your next video call: of each other and everyone comes to pay attention. It’s hard to nine hours. We continuously have to as a result of working from home. I am
away with nothing. So, choose hold people’s attention for too long on a video review how we spend our time and look also leveraging that to think and imple-
Visual appeal actions (such as holding In April, Mahindra chat, so being clear encourages efficiency. for ways to improve efficiency.” ment new ideas. On the personal front,
Group chairman
Location, location, location, oh and your outfit too. your hand up) if you want Anand Mahindra One of the offshoots of this pandemic I get a few extra minutes every day to
It’s a visual media, so ensuring that you are present- to raise a point, for when shared on Twitter Live a little has been uncertainty and anxiety about sleep and work out more.”
able and that your surroundings are uncluttered is you’re done speaking, that on some video Whether your pet walks into the frame during careers. To counter that, Agarwal Agarwal spends 15 minutes more
call meetings, he did
important. Dress in a shirt or smart T-shirt for meet- taking a break and so an important meeting, your child interrupts tells employees and himsel f every day on his morning exercise.
wear a lungi under
ings (yes, pants are mandatory) and make sure you’re on. Picking a member of his shirt, but joked you with a question or if you simply have to to keep ca lm and focus on “I was never a believer of
groomed. As far as your background goes, choose an the team to moderate that he thankfully excuse yourself to answer the doorbell — don’t things that are directly under online fitness classes and this
organised corner with a few elements as too much the conversation can didn’t have to stand sweat the small stuff. These bloopers can even their control. experience changed that for
up for the calls
can be distracting for your fellow call members. You
can also opt for a plain wall or choose a ready-made
also help streamline
the process. some comic relief .
break the monotony of a long call and provide “The key is to stay connected
with your teams daily and com-
municate all the key decisions
me,” he says. “I work out
every day, sometimes on
my core, shoulders, etc. I
PICS: GETTY IMAGES,NISHIKANT GAMRE, PRATHAMESH BANDEKAR
or changes to them in the most trans- also practice yoga thrice a
parent way,” he says. week with my regular teacher

What is the answer to Covid-19’s genetic riddle? The lockdown has given Agarwal
more time at home, as travelling and
commuting have virtually ceased.
through video conferencing.”
After a disciplined week working and
eating right, weekends are for sumptu-
UK researchers want to know Researchers from across the UK will study at the University of Edinburgh. “On the professional front, meetings ous food. Agarwal has made calorific
why the virus has a different
impact on different people
sequence the genetic code of people
who fell critically ill with Covid-19
and compare their genomes with
“By reading the whole genome we
may able to identify variation that
af fects the response to Covid-19
have become more efficient,” he says. “I
like the flexibility and the time on hand and bread rolls .
dishes like bread pakoda, aloo paratha

British researchers will study
the genes of thousands of Covid-19
patients to try to crack one of the most
puzzling riddles of the coronavirus:
Why does it kill some people but give
others not even a mild headache?
those who were mildly ill or not at all. and discover new therapies that PUBLISHED FOR THE PROPRIETORS, Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd. by Rajeev Yadav at Times House, 7, Bahadur Shah Zafar Marg, New
Delhi-110 002, Phone: 011-23302000, Fax: 011-23323346 and printed by him at Times of India Press, 13 & 15/1, Site IV, Industrial Area,
“We think that there will be clues could reduce harm, save lives and Sahibabad (UP).
in the genome that will help us un- even prevent future outbreaks,” said REGD. OFFICE: Dr Dadabhai Naoroji Road, Mumbai-400 001. EDITOR (DELHI MARKET): Vinay Pandey (Responsible for selection of news
under PRB Act). © Reproduction in whole or in part without written permission of the publisher is prohibited. All rights reserved.
derstand how the disease is killing
people,” said Kenneth Baillie, an in-
tensive care doctor who is leading the
Genomics England .
Mark Caulfield, chief scientist at

— Reuters
RNI NO. 26749/74 | MADE IN New Delhi | VOLUME 48 NO. 99
AIR CHARGE Raipur, Ahmedabad, Srinagar, Leh & via `. 2.00 | PRICE IN NEPAL: NEP `. 15.00 except Saturday & Sunday : NEP `. 25.00

PIC: GETTY IMAGES

PIC: INSTAGRAM/ DAVID BECKHAM

BIG SHOT
Football star David Beckham in a
game of Teqball with his son at their
Cotswolds mansion in the UK
This is what less sleep can do to your health
Not getting enough
rest can increase
the risk of asthma
attacks in adults
A good night’s sleep is cru-
cial for good health and can
with asthma. adults who were 20 years and of poor physical and mental
“Previous research older who self-identified as health,” said Luyster.
revea led t hat poor sleep having asthma. “Compared Short sleepers, as compared
quality has a negative effect to normal sleepers, short and to normal sleepers, had a
on ast h ma sy mptoms i n long sleepers had a higher g reater li keli hood of a n
adolescents. Our study shows proportion of people who asthma attack, dry cough and
that adults with asthma are reported having an asthma an overnight hospitalisation
equally affected by too little attack in the past year [45 per during the previous year. The
[or sometimes too much} cent vs 59 per cent and 51 per odds for long sleepers to have
PIC: GETTY IMAGES

Romeo V dad who’s also be necessary for asthma
gonna win ?? Unlucky patients. According to a new
son maybe next time study, too little sleep and
occasionally too much sleep
can negatively impact adults
sleep,” said Faith Luyster, cent respectively] and had some activity limitations
lead author of the study pub- more days with impaired due to breathlessness were
lished in Annals of Allergy,
Asthma and Immunology.
The study surveyed 1,389
health-related quality of life.
Impaired quality of life was
characterised by more days
also higher when compared
to normal sleepers . — ANI

How a former PM’s father-in-law
got robbed during lockdown
Thieves stole the iPhone
of Reginald Sheffield,
whose son-in-law is
David Cameron
A private equity firm can’t buy Cost of cancelling the
dot-org domain even for $1 bn IPL: $500 million
Former British prime minister David The sale was blocked after fierce opposition from rights The BCCI wants to avoid cutting players’ wages, as
Cameron’s father-in-law was robbed at the pandemic threatens to claim the T20 league
his stately 300-acre estate, and though
activists, who feared loss of freedom of expression
the 74-year-old put up a valiant fight, Private equity firm Ethos control of dot-org to a private
the thugs divested him of an iPhone. Capital has just learnt that equity firm is like heresy, and
According to the court proceedings, even $1 billion isn’t enough many internet pioneers, non-
Sir Reginald Sheffield was sitting in his to gain control of dot-org, the profit leaders even and the
car in his estate, when two men pulled internet domain that’s home attorney general of California
up in a Volkswagen Golf, magistrates to non-profit and community have opposed the move.
heard. Prosecutor Mark Haigh said one organisations. The Internet And though Ethos pledged a
man got out, approached Sheffield’s Corporation for Assigned “stewardship council” of out-
wound-down window, and said, “I’ll Names and Numbers side experts and promised to
have your phone, ta,” then leaned in (ICA NN ), which oversees restrain price increases and
and tore his iPhone 8 away after a the internet naming system, not censor web content, critics
struggle. The two men then sped off. vetoed the sale of dot-org rights remained unconvinced that a
Antony Wilks, 25, is accused of to Ethos, saying it was the “rea- private equity firm, driven
PIC: GETTY IMAGES

PIC: GETTY IMAGES

David Cameron’s father-in- robbery but did not enter a plea. He sonable and right thing to do”. by the need to deliver returns
law put up a valiant fight
against the two thugs Grimsby Crown Court .
was remanded in custody to appear at

— Daily Mirror
Ever since the sale was pro-
posed in November last year,
there has been fierce opposi-
to investors, would act in the

online civic society.

best interests of the domain of

PIC: GETTY IMAGES tion to it. To many, handing — The New York Times

The Indian Premier League (IPL), However, while other sports —

:::::: search operation the richest T20 tournament in like the English Premier League

HOW A SPY AGENCY CLOSED IN ON A NAZI WAR CRIMINAL

The story of how Mossad agents identified and caught
Adolf Eichmann, who was hiding in Argentina
On May 11, 1960, Nazi war criminal
Adolf Eichmann was nabbed by a team of
Israeli spies after years on
the world, is staring at a wipeout and Spain’s La Liga — have seen
for the first time in its 12-year players accept pay cuts, Dhumal
history. However, cancellation said they hope to avoid such a
locate him, living in a home without would cost the BCCI over half a move here. “Pay cuts for players
running water and electricity on the billion dollars, officials have said. would be the last thing we would
outskirts of Buenos Aires. “If IPL doesn’t take want to do. That’s why
carried, details of which filtered out over His abduction was planned meticulously place, the loss would be
While the board we are working [on]
the years. under the leadership of the Israeli secret close to `40 billion is anxious to how much is the loss
Eichmann’s name and his role service chief Isser Harel. ($530 million), or even see the return finally we have to pay,”
PIC: GETTY IMAGES

the run in Argentina, ending a It took Mossad as architect of the Nazis’ killing more,” said BCCI of competitive he said,
long manhunt. machine had surfaced during ‘Accepted my fate’ treasurer Arun Dhumal, international He said BCCI was in
Ten days later, drugged and
more than two the Nuremberg war crimes The abduction was set for May 11, 1960. A adding that the exact constant discussions
dressed as a crew member of years to locate trials, which took place from Adolf Eichmann at his foreman at a Mercedes-Benz factory, revenue loss can be
sport, it has with the ICC about
Israeli flag carrier El Al, he was Eichmann, 1945-1946. trial for war crimes Eichmann returned every evening taking pegged only once they to follow the restarting competitive
smuggled to Israel by Mossad living in a home He had vanished after the same bus at the same time. get a clear picture of government’s cricket. “Safety and
agents and put on trial. the Third Reich collapsed in Hidden life Shortly after 8.05 pm he was nabbed as how many games will orders health of our cricketers
The architect of the Nazis’
without water May 1945. The breakthrough came in 1957 when the he got off the bus. Eichmann shouted in be lost. is paramount. Any
‘Final Solution’, under which six and electricity A manhunt was launched in prosecutor of the German state of Hesse, German: “I have already accepted my fate.” While the board is anxious to shred of doubt, we will not shy
million Jews were 1945, led by prominent Fritz Bauer, tipped off the Israeli secret On April 11, 1961, Eichmann, facing see the return of competitive away from calling it [future
exterminated during World War II, figures in the Jewish community, service that Eichmann was in hiding in 15 charges, appeared for the first international sport, it has to tours, including India’s tour of Sri
Eichmann was tried and hanged in 1962,
aged 56.
Here is how the top-secret operation was
including famous Nazi hunter Simon
Wiesenthal, who himself had escaped a
concentration camp.
Argentina, under the false name of
Ricardo Klement.
It took Mossad more than two years to
Jerusalem court .
time in public in a glass booth in a

— AFP
follow the government’s orders.
“We aren’t sure if we will be able
to have it this year,” Dhumal said.
he added .
Lanka, scheduled for June] off,”

— AFP