Indian economy faced abrupt slowdown in 2019; it's not in recession: IMF MD

Kristalina Georgieva said India had undertaken some important reforms that over the longer term would be beneficial for the country, but they do have some short-term impact.

The Indian economy experienced some abrupt slowdown in 2019 due to turbulence in non-banking financial institutions and major reform measures such as GST and demonetisation, but it is not in a recession, IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva has said.

"The Indian economy indeed has experienced an abrupt slowdown in 2019. We had to revise our growth projections, downwards to four percent for last year. We are expecting 5.8 per cent (growth rate) in 2020 and then an upward trajectory to 6.5 percent in 2021," Georgieva told a group of foreign journalists here on Friday.

"It appears that the main reason for this slowdown was the non-banking financial institutions experiencing a turbulence," she said on the eve of Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman presenting the annual budget in Parliament on Saturday.

She said India had undertaken some important reforms that over the longer term would be beneficial for the country, but they do have some short-term impact.

ALSO READ: Budget 2020 LIVE updates

"For example, coming with the unified tax system, and the demonetisation that took place. These are steps that over time are beneficial, but of course they might, might be somewhat disruptive over short term," Georgieva said in response to a question.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) Managing Director said that there is not a lot of fiscal space in India. But we also recognise that the policies of the government on that side, on the fiscal side have been prudent. We will see how the reading of the budget, the submission of the budget goes, tomorrow, she said.

In the medium-term, she said, the IMF remains optimistic about India. This is why we see that upswing potential for the growth in the country, she said.

Georgieva said that the current economic slowdown cannot be described as a recession. "No.... You're far from that. But it is a significant slowdown, not the recession," she said.

The IMF managing Director noted that the consumption in India also slowed down and that contributed to the overall slowdown in the economy. The IMF would be keen to see what India does to get relatively sound macroeconomic fundamentals to pay off in terms of better growth trajectory, she said ahead of the budget.

Economic Survey 2019: Rs 2-trn Smart City Mission projects underway

The Survey noted that about 1,290 projects worth Rs 22,569 crores have been completed and are operational.

The government's Smart City mission seems to be moving smoothly with the Economic Survey on Friday suggesting that under the initiative, more than 5,000 projects worth more than Rs 2-trillion were under different stages of implementation in 100 cities across the country.

The Survey noted that in all the target cities, Special Purpose Vehicles (SPVs) have already been incorporated while City Level Advisory Forums (CLAFs) and Project Management Consultants (PMCs) have been set up.

"Since the launch of the mission, 5,151 projects worth more than Rs 2-trillion are at various stages of implementation in the 100 cities," the Survey said.

As on November 14, 2019, 4,154 SCM projects worth Rs 1.49-trillion (72 per cent of the total proposals) have been tendered, out of which 3,359 projects worth Rs 1.05-trillion (51 per cent of total proposals) have been issued work orders.

Additionally, about 1,290 projects worth Rs 22,569 crores have been completed and are operational.

Breaking down the developments in creating smart cities across the length and breadth of the country, the Survey said that smart command and control centres worth Rs 4,135 crore have been completed in 26 cities.

As many as 51 smart water works worth Rs 2,136 crore have been completed, 127 smart road projects worth Rs 1,784 crore have been completed and 39 smart solar projects worth Rs 204 crore have been completed under the Mission, it said.

The Smart Cities Mission was launched on June 25, 2015. The first list of 20 cities announced on January 28, 2016. The fast tracklist of 13 cities was announced on May 24, 2016. The second list of 27 cities was announced on September 20, 2016. The third list of 30 cities announced on June 23, 2017, and the final list was announced in January 2018.

Under the mission, the Centre allocates Rs 500 crore to each of the cities for implementing projects proposed by it. This amount is matched with a grant of the same amount by the respective state.

Budget 2020: IT sector for wider use of artificial intelligence in economy

AI is expected to have a huge impact not only in commerce, but also in health, national security, cybersecurity, food security, education and global warming.

Budget 2020 : With disruptive technologies like Artificial Intelligence (AI) driving businesses, the IT sector wants the Union Budget for fiscal 2020-21 to ensure greater use of these to spur a sluggish economy among other measures for the sector, industry experts said on Friday.

"The budget should announce a fund like Singapore's Temasek that will invest only in early-stage Indian AI start-ups and lower long-term capital gain's tax for investing in AI-based firms," digital intelligence firm Germin8 founder chief executive Ranjit Nair told IANS.

With the US and China racing ahead of India in AI research, AI entrepreneurship and government investment in AI, he said the budget should make it easier for start-ups to access capital, as they face an uphill task in early-stage funding.

"The government bring policies that encourage AI companies. Ease of doing business means less bureaucracy so that entrepreneurs can build solutions without distractions," he said.

AI is expected to have a huge impact not only in commerce, but also in health, national security, cybersecurity, food security, education and global warming.

"The government should announce AI challenges, which make academia and industry solve an important problem in the country. The state's role should give a crisp problem definition, provide access to data and provide a good cash prize," Nair said.

Though thousands of engineering graduates pass out every year across the country, India is behind other nations in AI PhDs and AI research. Hence, the budget should allot more grants for AI research and offer incentives to institutes investing in AI training, he added.

Noting that IT was one of the few sectors that remained growth-driven despite the eonomic slowdown since the last fiscal, Cigniti Technologies chairman C.V. 

Subramanyam said the budget should give relief or reduce dividend distribution tax (DDT) for IT firms operating in the country.

Plastic fantastic: Visa, Mastercard could be the next $1 trillion companies

Stock prices of both Visa and Mastercard have gained roughly 50 per cent in the past year.

Tech and internet titans were the first to reach $1 trillion in stock market value, but the next U.S. companies that could do so are better known for their plastic.

Soaring stock prices are propelling credit and debit card companies Visa Inc and Mastercard Inc up the market value charts, where they currently rank 7th and 11th among companies in the benchmark S&P 500 index. The stock prices of both Visa and Mastercard have gained roughly 50% in the past year.

While the stocks may not keep up that torrid pace, Visa and Mastercard would each be worth over $1 trillion by 2023 if their average annual gains of the past three years were to continue, surging past the likes of Facebook Inc and Berkshire Hathaway Inc, if they also maintain their recent pace.

Fueling their rise is a shift toward cashless financial transactions spurred by a rise in online shopping.

ALSO READ: Stock up: Google-parent Alphabet joins $1 trillion valuation club

"Everything travels on their rails," said Sandy Villere, portfolio manager of the Villere Balanced Fund, which holds Visa shares. "They literally sit in the middle of the banks, consumers and merchants and that has been a really enviable place to be."

Visa had a market value of $449 billion and Mastercard's stood at about $324 billion as of Thursday's close. The $1 trillion club currently includes Apple Inc, Microsoft and Google-parent Alphabet.

Amazon.com stood at $927 billion, though the e-commerce leader's shares jumped on the heels of its earnings report on Thursday after the bell, putting it in position to crack $1 trillion, as it did briefly in September 2018.

Revenue for both Visa and Mastercard nearly doubled over their past five fiscal years, to nearly $23 billion for Visa, and about $17 billion for Mastercard, according to Refinitiv data. Adjusted earnings per share more than doubled for both companies over that period.

Visa reported quarterly revenue late on Thursday that slightly missed analyst estimates, a day after Mastercard beat quarterly profit estimates

Economic Survey 2020 expects rebound in FY21 with GDP growth at 6-6.5%

The Survey said government interventions seem to be ineffective in stabilising prices of commodities such as onions.

Budget 2020 : The Economic Survey on Friday projected India's economic growth at 6 per cent to 6.5 per cent in the next financial year starting April 1, saying growth has bottomed out.

The growth in 2020-21 compares to a projected 5 per cent expansion in 2019-20.

Weak global growth impacting India as well as investment slowdown due to financial sector issues had led to growth dropping to a decade low in current fiscal, it said, adding 5 per cent growth projected for 2019-20 is the lowest it could fall for now.

Growth slipped to 4.5 per cent in the July-September quarter.

The Survey this year has been printed in lavender colour - the same as the colour of the new 100 rupee currency note, the oldest currency note in circulation in the country.

The pre-Budget Survey said for wealth to be distributed, it first has to be created and called for looking at wealth creators with respect.

ALSO READ: Economic Survey 2020 LIVE

The Survey said government interventions seem to be ineffective in stabilising prices of commodities such as onions.

For boosting growth, it called for new ideas for manufacturing such as 'assemble in India for the world' which will create jobs.

To further make it easier to do business, the Survey called for removing the red tape at ports to promote exports as well as measures for easing the start of business, register property, pay taxes and enforcing contracts.

It also called for improving governance in public sector banks and the need for more disclosure of information to build trust. It also talks about dwarfism in the banking sector.

Economic Survey advocates 10 new ideas that benefit markets as well as the economy.

WHO declares international emergency over novel coronavirus outbreak

Top airlines including Air France, British Airways and Lufthansa have suspended or cut back services to China.

International News : The UN health agency on Thursday declared an international emergency over the deadly novel coronavirus from China -- a rarely used designation that could lead to improved international co-ordination in tackling the disease.

"Our greatest concern is the potential for the virus to spread to countries with weaker health systems," World Health Organization (WHO) chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said as he declared a "public health emergency of international concern".

"This is not a vote of no confidence in China," he said, emphasising repeatedly that the measure was intended to help other countries less able to cope and praising the Chinese government for taking swift action to tackle the outbreak.

"We must all act together now to limit further spread.... We can only stop it together," said Tedros, who travelled to China this week and met with President Xi Jinping.

Tedros also said there was "no reason" for any of the international travel or trade restrictions announced in recent days, such as flight suspensions, border closures and quarantine for apparently healthy travellers.

Top airlines including Air France, British Airways and Lufthansa have suspended or cut back services to China.

The WHO's Emergency Committee, an advisory body of international experts, said in a statement that evidence had shown that restricting movement of people and goods during public health emergencies "may be ineffective and may divert resources from other interventions".

"Further, restrictions may interrupt needed aid and technical support, may disrupt businesses, and may have negative effects on the economies of countries affected by the emergencies," the committee said.

But it added that "in certain specific circumstances, measures that restrict the movement of people may prove temporarily useful" -- a possible reference to lockdowns within China that have affected millions of people.

WHO stopped short of declaring an emergency last week because its emergency committee was divided over the issue.

More than 7,700 people have been infected with the virus -- almost all of them in China -- and 170 have died.

New IBM CEO Arvind Krishna described as 'brilliant, right person to lead'

Krishna said IBM has such talented people and technology that we can bring together to help our clients solve their toughest problems.

Business Standard : Indian-origin technology executive Arvind Krishna has been elected Chief Executive Officer of American IT giant IBM after a "world-class succession process", succeeding Virginia Rometty, who described him as the right CEO for the next era at IBM and well-positioned" to lead the company into the cloud and cognitive era.

The IBM Board of Directors elected Krishna as company CEO and member of the Board of Directors effective April 6. Krishna is currently IBM Senior Vice President for Cloud and Cognitive Software and will succeed Rometty, 62 who will retire after almost 40 years with the company at the end of the year.

Krishna, 57, had joined IBM in 1990 and has an undergraduate degree from the Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur, and a PhD in electrical engineering from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

I am thrilled and humbled to be elected as the next Chief Executive Officer of IBM, and appreciate the confidence that Ginni and the Board have placed in me," Krishna said in a press statement released by IBM.

Krishna said IBM has such talented people and technology that we can bring together to help our clients solve their toughest problems.

I am looking forward to working with IBMers, Red Hatters and clients around the world at this unique time of fast-paced change in the IT industry. We have great opportunities ahead to help our clients advance the transformation of their business while also remaining the global leader in the trusted stewardship of technology," Krishna said.

Krishna's appointment as head of the global IT giant adds to the growing list of Indian-origin executives at the helm of some of the biggest multinational companies. Krishna joins the club that includes Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, Google and Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai, MasterCard CEO Ajay Banga, PepsiCo's former CEO Indra Nooyi and Adobe CEO Shantanu Narayen.

Rometty, who had been IBM's Chairman, President and CEO, will continue as Executive Chairman of the Board and serve through the end of the year, when she will retire. She described Krishna as the right CEO for the next era at IBM who is well-positioned to lead IBM and its clients into the cloud and cognitive era."

Coronavirus: China toll soars to 213, WHO declares world health emergency

Hubei province, the epicentre of the outbreak, reported 5,806 confirmed cases, including 204 deaths.

The death toll in China's novel coronavirus outbreak has climbed to 213 with the number of confirmed cases totalling to 9,692, China's national authorities announced on Friday.

Hubei province, the epicentre of the outbreak, reported 5,806 confirmed cases, including 204 deaths, official media reported.

A total of 213 people have died of the disease as of Thursday, state-run Xinhua news agency reported.

Chinese health authorities announced that 9,692 confirmed cases of pneumonia caused by the novel coronavirus had been reported in 31 provincial-level regions and the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps by the end of Thursday.

About 20 countries, including India, have reported confirmed cases of the virus in travellers coming from China.

China said it has full confidence and capability to win the fight against the epidemic.

The WHO has declared the novel coronavirus outbreak a global health emergency.

The UN health agency on Friday declared an international emergency over the deadly novel coronavirus from China -- a rarely used designation that could lead to improved international co-ordination in tackling the disease.

"Our greatest concern is the potential for the virus to spread to countries with weaker health systems," World Health Organization (WHO) chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said as he announced the virus as a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC).

Reacting to the announcement, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying in a press statement said, "Since the outbreak of the novel coronavirus epidemic, the Chinese government has been taking the most comprehensive and rigorous prevention and control measures with a high sense of responsibility for people's health." Many of these measures go well beyond the requirements of the International Health Regulations, she said.

"We have full confidence and capability to win this fight against the epidemic," said the spokesperson.

China coronavirus death toll rises to 170; confirmed cases soar to 7,711

Chinese President Xi Jinping called the coronavirus a "demon" which should be brought under control.

International News : The nationwide death toll from China's novel coronavirus epidemic has jumped to 170 with 38 more fatalities reported mainly from the worst-affected central Hubei province, the government said on Thursday, while confirming more than 1,700 new infections.

The coronavirus outbreak began in Wuhan, capital of China's Hubei province, in December and has now spread across the globe. The Chinese authorities are trying to contain the epidemic while other countries, including India, are working on plans to evacuate their citizens from Wuhan and other cities in Hubei province, the epicentre of the outbreak.

Chinese President Xi Jinping on Tuesday called the coronavirus a "demon" which should be brought under control, pledging that the government would be transparent and release information on the virus in a "timely" manner.

China's National Health Commission said on Thursday that 7,711 confirmed cases of pneumonia caused by the novel coronavirus had been reported in 31 provincial-level regions and in the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps by the end of Wednesday.

A total of 170 people have died of the disease, it said.

It said in its daily report that 1,370 patients remained in critical conditions, and 12,167 people were suspected of being infected with the virus by the end of Wednesday.

A total of 124 people have been discharged from hospital after recovery.

A total of 1,737 new confirmed cases, including the first in Tibet, and 4,148 new suspected cases, and 38 deaths - 37 in Hubei Province and one in Sichuan Province - were reported by Wednesday.

Brexit: Indian exporters cautious but hopeful ahead of Wednesday vote

India's second and third-largest markets for outbound IT services, which stood at $136 billion in 2018-19, according to Nasscom.

BS : As the European Parliament votes late on Wednesday to ratify the terms of Britain’s exit from the European Union (EU), Indian exporters are hoping to seize the gulf in trade relations that is set to emerge. “A lot will depend on the exact terms of agreement that the United Kingdom (UK) reaches with the EU.

If the UK decides to enter into a Customs union with EU, shipment flows will continue unhindered and without much change to the logistics value chain,” said Ajay Sahai, director general of the Federation of Indian Export Organisations.

A Customs union generally consists of a trade bloc composed of a free trade area and a common external tariff for products and services. This will require a new trade pact between both parties, which creates a common external trade policy. This may be similar to the current scenario where EU member states (EU) delegate authority to the European Commission to negotiate their external trade relations through the Common Commercial Policy.

But chances for this are slim, experts say. “The UK government has said it won't hand over the power to decide on foreign trade matters to Brussels (EU capital). Britain will negotiate its own trade deals with various nations after Brexit with an eye on its own interests,” a highly placed source at the British High Commission said.

“It doesn’t matter what the post Brexit scenario is, since India stands a good chance to exploit the opportunity. Indian goods will compete with British goods in EU and vice versa,” Sahai said.

ED investigating role of PFI, NGO for funding protest against Article 370

The probe agency is likely to summon more people connected with these two organisations to find out the source of the funds.

Widening its probe, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) is examining the role of Kerala -based Popular Front of India (PFI) and Rehab India Foundation (RIF) for allegedly funding protests against the abrogation of Sections of Article 370.

Senior members of both organisations earlier were questioned in connection with their alleged link to Rs 120 crore used for the protests against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA) and the National Register of Citizens (NRC) across the country. While the PFI is an Islamic outfit, RIF is a non-profit organisation.

However, the ED’s inquiry in the ongoing matter raised suspicion over their involvement in several protests over 70 days since the government removed Jammu & Kashmir's (J&K's) special status.

Sources in the ED said the protests related to the J&K issue were stage-managed, especially in Delhi-NCR and some areas of Uttar Pradesh. Officials are trying to ascertain the quantum of funding that was mobilised allegedly to provoke protesters.

The probe agency is likely to summon more people connected with these two organisations to find out the source of the funds, and whether there was any support from anti-social elements. Early probe reveals that cash given to a protester was in the range of Rs 2,000-10,000 at the height of the stir against the J&K move.

On Wednesday, the PFI’s state president Mohammed Parvez Ahmed and RFI’s Shahid Abu Bakr appeared before the ED in Delhi.

A team of Delhi and UP police is working with the central agency to identify the people who deposited and withdrew Rs 1.04 crore cash between December 4 and January 6 from about 15 bank accounts of the PFI and RFI. There were as many as 80-90 withdrawals from a few bank accounts in a day, the sources said.

Business Standard

DHFL diverted Rs 12,700 cr into 79 shadowy firms linked to promoters: ED

In its books, these loans sanctioned to 100,000 fictitious retail customers.

Dewan Housing Finance (DHFL) diverted Rs 12,773 crore of loans to 79 shadowy companies allegedly associated with its promoters in the garb of retail loans to about 100,000 fictitious customers between 2010 and 2015, according to the Enforcement Directorate (ED).

The ED, which is probing the DHFL promoters' role in financing funds to gangster Iqbal Memon (alias Iqbal Mirchi), said Kapil Wadhawan, former chairman and managing director of the debt-laden company, played a very crucial role in these “nefarious transactions” by way of money laundering.

Wadhawan was arrested by the agency earlier this week in connection with the money-laundering case linked with properties involving Mirchi. He was remanded in ED custody till Friday.

“This appears to be a scam of wider ramifications wherein the preliminary investigation conducted indicates that more than Rs 12,700 crore have been diverted illegally, and the ‘orchestrator and prime conspirator’ for the scam was Kapil Wadhawan,” the ED said in its enquiry report. The agency said the search operation was underway to unearth further incriminating documents and records, and that it was suspected that the quantum of scam might increase.

Books of accounts of DHFL showed that Rs 2,186 crore loans (of the Rs 12,773 crore) were given to five companies — Faith Realtors, Marvel Township, Able Realty, Poseidon Realty, and Randon Realtors, which later got amalgamated with Sunblink Real Estate, a company which has been under the ED lens for its transactions with Mirchi properties.

Kapil Wadhawan first diverted huge funds from DHFL to the five shell companies and later amalgamated them with Sunblink to cover the alleged diversion of loans acquired from DHFL, the ED said. These five entities and Sunblink are inter-related and have been used and controlled by Kapil Wadhawan to layer and obfuscate the origin on monies, it noted.

These loans were disbursed and diverted in five to six years (2010-2016), when in 2010, Kapil’s brother and DHFL promoter Dheeraj Wadhawan bought three properties in Worli, Mumbai, from Mirchi in the name of Sunblink. This deal was allegedly finalised for surrender of tenancy rights in favour of Sunblink for Rs 225 crore. The source of the amount paid in India towards the deal, Rs 111 crore, was arranged by DHFL and RKW Developers.

Crude oil prices fall as coronavirus death toll climbs, US inventories grow

WHO's Emergency Committee is set for another meeting later on Thursday to reconsider whether the rapid spread of the virus should now be called a global emergency.

Market News : Oil prices fell on Thursday as the death toll from the new virus in China climbed to 170 and more airlines cancelled flights to the country's major cities, while rising US crude inventories added to the negative tone.

Brent was down 35 cents, or 0.6 per cent, at $59.46 a barrel by 7:55 am, having risen 0.5 per cent on Wednesday. US crude was down 30 cents, or 0.6 per cent, at $53.03 a barrel, after dropping 0.3 per cent in the previous session.

Still, oil prices have steadied in recent days after a rout that pushed them to three-month lows and the market is trying to assess the damage to economic growth and demand for crude and its products.

"There isn't a compelling case crude needs to go lower until we know more about how bad the demand destruction from the coronavirus epidemic is going to be," said Stratfor oil analyst, Greg Priddy.

A second flight of Japanese evacuees from Wuhan, China, where the outbreak started, landed in Japan on Thursday, with nine showing symptoms of fever or coughing, broadcaster NHK reported. Infections in China have passed 7,700.

The World Health Organisation's Emergency Committee is set for another meeting later on Thursday to reconsider whether the rapid spread of the virus should now be called a global emergency.

Airlines around the world are suspending or reducing direct flights to major cities in China as travel warnings are issued by governments and passenger numbers drop.

Bigger-than-expected gains in US crude oil inventories last week also meant "oil prices were dealt the cruellest hand of them all," said Stephen Innes, chief market strategist at AxiCorp.

Crude stocks rose by more than seven times market expectations, gaining 3.5 million barrels in the week to Jan. 24, the US Energy Information Administration (EIA) said on Wednesday.

Gasoline stocks rose to a record high, increasing for a 12th consecutive week to 261.1 million barrels, the EIA said.

Nirmala Sitharaman's infrastructure push need not be a pipe-dream: Here's how

The government should be happy that they are still buying civilization by investing in infrastructure bonds instead of paying their full taxes.

Budget 2020 : Build infrastructure first, private investments including Foreign Direct Investments (FDI) would automatically follow is not an audacious or far-fetched dream. China did it with a great deal of success. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman obviously wants to emulate the Chinese model without actually saying so when a few days ago she outlined her government’s plan to launch a massive Rs 102 trillion infrastructure development plan. Skeptics wonder if it is feasible as it would be a quantum jump over the present average of about Rs 8 trillion infrastructure investments per annum.

A combination of public private partnership (PPP), Swiss Challenge Model (SCM) and intelligent tax incentives for investments in infrastructure bonds can realize her dream and break the lack-of-investments-lack-of-employment-opportunities logjam or vicious cycle. This article focuses exclusively on infrastructure bonds as a tax reduction tool. It has been tried in the past but not on a large enough scale. The government must be prepared to enter into a compact with the taxpayers so that they can discharge a large sliver of their tax liability by way of investments in infrastructure bonds.

The above model tax incentive matrix should apply secularly to all types of taxpayers be they individuals, firms or companies subject to the condition that their Total Income (taxable income) should not go below 50% of the Gross Total Income after deducting other qualifying amounts under Chapter VI-A.

Let us consider a hypothetical case of a senior citizen.

Gross Total Income: Rs 10,000,000

Section 80C deduction: Rs 150,000

Section 80TTB deduction on bank interest: Rs 50,000

Total income prior to infrastructure bonds: Rs9,800,000

He has indeed been made to sweat it out. If you tote up the first column, he has been made to invest Rs 77.60 lac so as to be able to knock off Rs 49 lac from his taxable income.

At a time when savings rate has come down, the above incentive would not only shore it up but also improve tax compliance because people while resenting paying tax, which in their perception goes down the drain, don’t mind the vicarious tax of blocking their money in infrastructure bonds. They don’t even mind investing for the next generation. What is galling for them is the prospect of paying tax, period. Not many people share the noble sentiments of Justice Holmes — I like to pay my taxes; with them I buy civilization.

Arnab heckling row: After IndiGo & Air India, SpiceJet suspends Kunal Kamra

SpiceJet said on Twitter, "SpiceJet has decided to suspend Mr. Kunal Kamra from flying with the airline till further notice."

SpiceJet on Wednesday suspended stand-up comedian Kunal Kamra from flying with it after he allegedly heckled journalist Arnab Goswami aboard an IndiGo Mumbai-Lucknow flight.

SpiceJet is the third airline to take action against Kamra. While IndiGo suspended Kamra from flying with it for a period of six months on Tuesday itself, Air India banned him until further notice.

Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri had taken note of the incident on Tuesday and "advised" other airlines in India to impose similar restrictions on Kamra, stating "offensive behaviour designed to provoke & create disturbance inside an aircraft is absolutely unacceptable & endangers safety of air travellers".

On Wednesday morning, SpiceJet said on Twitter, "SpiceJet has decided to suspend Mr. Kunal Kamra from flying with the airline till further notice."

An AirAsia India official told PTI that the airline is waiting for the aviation regulator DGCA to issue a formal notice, and after then it will take action against Kamra.

Kamra allegedly heckled Goswami, the editor of Republic TV, on IndiGo's Mumbai-Lucknow (6E5317) flight on Tuesday.

Company News

Reliance launches new road project to counter pushback against plastics

India, which uses about 14 million tonnes of plastic annually, lacks an organized system for management of plastic waste, leading to widespread littering.

Company News : Reliance Industries, India's largest petchem player, is launching a project to use plastics in road construction, amid growing concerns over pollution in the country of 1.3 billion whose major cities are often plagued with smog and litter.

India, which uses about 14 million tonnes of plastic annually, lacks an organized system for management of plastic waste, leading to widespread littering.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is urging India to end consumption of single-use plastics by 2022.

But Indians should focus on fighting pollution, not plastics, executives at Reliance Industries , whose chairman is Asia's richest man Mukesh Ambani, said during a launch event on Tuesday.

The company will seek to work with India's highway authority and individual states to potentially supply a plastics-infused mix to make some of the thousands of kilometers of roads Modi wants to build to upgrade India's creaking infrastructure.

Light plastics, the type used as carry bags or snack wrappers, are typically not viable to recycle and so end up in landfills, street corners or oceans. Reliance wants to shred these plastics and mix them with bitumen, a formula the conglomerate says is cheaper and longer-lasting.

"(This) can be a game-changing project both for our environment and our roads," Vipul Shah, the COO of the petrochemicals business, said at a company petchem plant in the western state of Maharashtra.

Shah was coy on details, saying Reliance had yet to work out the financial fine print in what he stressed would be a philanthropic endeavour.

Reliance's announcement comes as campaigners such as Greta Thunberg ramp up pressure on businesses to help tackle climate change.

"It is happening internationally and now has started percolating to India too, though it's at a very early stage," said Sunil Dahiya, an analyst at the Center for Research on Energy and Clean Air.