Venice opens film festival with caution, history: Check details here

 In Venice, the first isolated pestilence hospital was built on a solitary island in the lagoon

Venice’s central place in the history of pandemics provides the backdrop to this year’s Venice Film Festival.

In an early screening on Tuesday, Italian director Andre Segre presents a documentary shot last year showing how Venice organizers managed to stage the first and only in-person international film festival during the first year of the pandemic. For Venice, it was nothing new, since for centuries the city has helped provide the baseline of what the world knows today about containing pandemics.

It was in Venice that the term “quarantine” was coined after merchant ships arriving in the 15th century were moored for 40 days (“Quaranta giorni” in Italian) to see if their crews were infected.

In Venice, the first isolated pestilence hospital was built on a solitary island in the lagoon, a precursor to today’s Covid-19 isolation wards. The 16th-century doctors donned beak-nosed masks filled with aromatic herbs to cleanse the air they breathed when treating the sick — an attempt at self-protection that today is the favored choice for Venetian Carnival costumes.

Pollution likely to cut 9 years of life expectancy of 40% of Indians

 More than 480 million people living in the vast swathes of central, eastern, and northern India, including the capital, New Delhi, endure significantly high pollution levels, a report said

Air pollution is likely to reduce the life expectancy of about 40 per cent of Indians by more than nine years, according to a report released by a US research group on Wednesday.
More than 480 million people living in the vast swathes of central, eastern, and northern India, including the capital, New Delhi, endure significantly high pollution levels, said the report prepared by the Energy Policy Institute at the University of Chicago (EPIC).
"Alarmingly, India's high levels of air pollution have expanded geographically over time," the EPIC report said.

For example, air quality has significantly worsened in the western state of Maharashtra and the central state of Madhya Pradesh, it said.

Lauding India's National Clean Air Program (NCAP), launched in 2019 to rein in dangerous pollution levels, the EPIC report said "achieving and sustaining" the NCAP goals would raise the country's overall life expectancy by 1.7 years and that of New Delhi 3.1 years.
The NCAP aims to reduce pollution in the 102 worst-affected cities by 20 per cent-30 percent by 2024 by ensuring cuts in industrial emissions and vehicular exhaust, introducing stringent rules for transport fuels and biomass burning, and reduce dust pollution.

It will also entail better monitoring systems. New Delhi was the world's most polluted capital for the third straight year in 2020, according to IQAir, a Swiss group that measures air quality levels based on the concentration of lung-damaging airborne particles known as PM2.5.

Maruti Suzuki to slash output in September by 60% over chip shortage

 Closure of Bosch plant in Malaysia hurt production in September

India's biggest carmaker Maruti Suzuki said on Tuesday that its vehicle production in September will tumble by 60 percent due to a chip shortage.

The company, which had earlier cut down production at its Gujarat plant, said the chip shortage will hit production in Gurugram and Manesar plants, effectively forcing the automaker to cut production by 60 per cent.

Owing to a supply constraint of electronic components due to a semiconductor shortage, the company is expecting an adverse impact on vehicle production in September in both Haryana and its contract manufacturing company, Suzuki Motor Gujarat Pvt Ltd. (SMG) in Gujarat.

It is currently estimated that total vehicle production volume across both locations could be around 40 per cent of normal production.

When plants operated at peak capacity in June, Maruti manufactured 1,70,719 units in July but industry sources said that it produced 1,33,520 units in August, cutting its production by 22 percent.

A 60 percent cut will mean the company will produce around 68,000 vehicles in September, effectively hitting sales during the festive season.

This means a longer waiting period for cars and will also lead to some of the variants becoming unavailable at showrooms. Maruti’s senior executive director, Shashank Srivastava, had on Monday said in an interview that sales will be hit by a global shortage of chips that have been disrupting production. “Shortage of semiconductors will stretch for September. As of now, it looks like supply will lag behind demand,” he said.

India's red-hot property stocks seen extending run on demand surge

 India's property market is rebounding after being in a down cycle for the last six years as a series of headwinds ranging from the pandemic, a bad-loan crisis, and a surprise 2016 cash ban hurt demand

Recent weakness in India’s red-hot property stocks could be short-lived as record low-interest rates and an economic recovery from the pandemic fuel demand from an increasingly affluent middle class.

That’s the view from market watchers, who see large listed firms emerging as the biggest beneficiaries amid ongoing consolidation in the $200 billion sectors. While the S&P BSE Realty Index slid 3.1 per cent in August, the 10-member gauge is up 24 per cent this year and on track for a sixth straight quarterly gain -- the longest run in Bloomberg-compiled data going back to 2007.

"The growth and scale in the sector will come from the middle class," said Sharad Mittal, chief executive officer at Mumbai-based Motilal Oswal Real Estate, which has cumulative assets under management of 46 billion rupees ($630 million). "Consumers are preferring large developers who are well-capitalized and well perceived."

Direct green power instead of grid-fed could help railways more: Study

 According to the study, around a quarter of this new solar capacity - up to 5,272 MW - could be fed directly into the railway's overhead lines

A new study by an Indian NGO Climate Trends and UK-based green-tech start-up Riding Sunbeams has found that direct supply of solar energy to the Indian Railway lines would save almost 7 million tonnes (mt) of carbon a year whilst also powering at least one in four trains on the national network on competitive terms.

The railways plan to earmark 51,000 hectares of unproductive land for solar development as part of its net-zero commitment by 2030. Plans are already underway to deliver 20GW of solar generation to match the growing demand for energy to move trains. The analysis said around a quarter of this new solar capacity - up to 5,272 MW - could be fed directly into the railway’s overhead lines instead of being procured over the electricity networks or grid, reducing energy losses and saving money for the rail operator.

According to the study, around a quarter of this new solar capacity - up to 5,272 MW - could be fed directly into the railway’s overhead lines instead of being procured over the electricity networks, reducing energy losses and saving money for the rail operator. The researchers found that substituting energy supplied from the coal-dominated grid for private-wire supply from solar could also rapidly cut emissions by as much as 6.8 mt CO2 annually- just over the entire annual emissions of the city of Kanpur.

The Railways plans to install 20 GW of solar for both traction (for the running of trains) and non-traction loads as part of its plan to reach net-zero by 2030. It formed a joint venture Railway Energy Management Company to support the development of solar PV and wind energy projects to supply the railway’s energy needs.

Covid vaccines may become a viable business, but that's not good news

 Vaccines are not consumer products made by the pharmaceutical industry: they are infrastructure.

For most of us, the growing evidence that the efficacy of Covid vaccines is declining over time should be a cause of worry. For the drug companies that have spent billions of dollars developing them, it’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

Recent studies on vaccine effectiveness have led to a run of orders for boosters in recent weeks. The U.S. will start distributing extra shots beginning Sept. 20th, and expects to roll out about 100 million doses in the coming months. Shortening the window before a third dose from eight to as little as five months was being discussed, President Joe Biden said last week. The U.K. last week ordered 35 million more doses of the Pfizer Inc. vaccine to supplement earlier shots. In Israel, anyone over 30 is already eligible for a booster.

That’s quite a shift from the traditional vaccine business model. Despite being distributed to, in many cases, almost every person on the planet, inoculations have traditionally been an unprofitable backwater for the pharmaceutical industry.

Treatments that take years and billions of dollars to develop are bought in vast volumes by governments with a keen eye on price and are often effective for life after a single dose. That model of extraordinarily high start-up costs, thin margins, and minimal repeat business don’t represent an attractive way for companies to allocate capital. For decades, there have been concerns that the R&D pipeline for new vaccines is drying up. If it weren’t for the regular recruitment of new customers when children are born and start their usual round of shots, this part of the industry would be even more moribund than it already is.

The rush of orders for booster shots represents a break with that model. Traumatized by the biggest pandemic in a century, rich countries are preparing to pay handsomely year after year to stay protected. With chances that most of the world’s 7.7 billion population will eventually receive annual shots of a drug that retails for between $2 and $20, the Covid industry is already likely to be vastly larger than the $6.5 billion-a-year influenza business. Just look at the array of companies that lined up to push their drugs through clinical trials--a stunning contrast in an industry that had settled into a cozy oligopoly between GlaxoSmithKline Plc, Sanofi, Merck & Co. and Pfizer, after rivals pulled back to more profitable lines of work.

Bajaj Auto reports 5% increase in sales at 373,270 units in August

 Bajaj Auto on Wednesday reported a 5 per cent increase in total sales at 3,73,270 units in August 2021.

Bajaj Auto on Wednesday reported a 5 per cent increase in total sales at 3,73,270 units in August 2021.

The company had sold a total of 3,56,199 units in the same month last year.

Domestic sales were, however, down 7 per cent at 1,72,595 units as compared to 1,85,879 units in August last year, the company said in a statement

Bajaj Auto said its total two-wheeler sales were at 3,38,310 units as compared to 3,21,058 units in the year-ago month, up 5 per cent.

On the other hand, domestic two-wheeler sales were down 11 per cent at 1,57,971 units as against 1,78,220 units in the same month last year.

Two-wheeler exports in August grew by 26 per cent at 1,80,339 units as against 1,42,838 units in the corresponding month a year ago, the company said.

Total commercial vehicles sales stood at 34,960 units last month as against 35,141 units in August 2020, down 1 per cent, it added.

Tariff hike only way; we won't shy away: Bharti Airtel's Sunil Mittal

 The company stock reacted positively on Monday, ending 4.44 per cent up at Rs 620.35 on BSE

A day after the board of Bharti Airtel approved a Rs 21,000-crore rights issue primarily to fund its dues linked to adjusted gross revenue (AGR), chairman Sunil Bharti Mittal pressed for tariff hike as the only way forward for the telecom industry.

"We have done our bit in a limited way, we have run out of patience and we can't be an outlier all the time," Mittal said at the company's investor call on Monday, while reiterating that the company would not shy away from raising tariffs.

The company stock reacted positively on Monday, ending 4.44 per cent up at Rs 620.35 on BSE.

The company had slightly tweaked tariff plans recently without impacting a large chunk of its subscriber base. No telco has initiated any significant rate hike after December 2019.

Indicating a target for a tariff hike, Mittal said the monthly ARPU (average revenue per user) should touch Rs 200 by the end of the current fiscal, projecting a 40 percent rise from the current Rs 146 a month. Eventually, it should go up to Rs 300 to serve the customers well, he said.

Referring to the recent increase in its minimum prepaid plan from Rs 49 to Rs 79, he said it can go further up to Rs 99. "But when will we be able to do it, we don't know. We have to depend on market forces and we are observing them carefully," he added.

On competition, Mittal maintained that the sector should have at least three players even if the third one is weaker than others.

NTPC plans to ramp up coal supply as shortage hits thermal units

 NTPC said the company was augmenting its imported coal capacity of 2.7 million tonnes, which was drawn from its earlier contracts

As thermal power generation units across the country grapple with coal shortage, India's largest power generator NTPC is looking at several methods to augment supply to states. It is also relying on gas-run units to improve power supply in the middle of a coal shortage.

NTPC, however, added sta­tes were not scheduling po­wer from gas-based stations but were drawing from the grid. Gas-run power units sell power at higher rates than coal, hydro and renewable energy units as most rely on imported gas. As of August 29, the peak power demand stood at 173 Gw while the peak shortage was 201 Mw. In energy consumption terms, de­mand was 4,032 million un­its (MUs) while the deficit stood at 24 MUs (on Saturday).

On Friday, the energy deficit was 75 MUs. Several thermal units across the country are pointing at a shortage of coal. Close to 87 Gw of power generation capacity has coal stock less than 8 days, and 17 Gw cap­acity has less than one day of coal stock.

NTPC said the company was augmenting its imported coal capacity of 2.7 million tonnes, which was drawn from its earlier contracts. It is also making available coal at its units with critical coal positions (less than seven days of stock) by getting coal from units that have adequate stock.

NTPC said it was increasing coal production in all its captive mines. The company has 10 coal mines of its own and of these, three are operational. “Darlipalli Unit-2 (800 Mw) was put into operation and commercial operation is to start from September 1. The plant is a pit-head station, and coal is being fed from the Dulanga mine of NTPC,” said. Darlipalli is located in Odisha. The company said it was coordinating with Coal India and railways for augmenting coal supply at critical stations and “diverting (freight) rakes wherever required.” NTPC said 7 Gw of gas power capacity is av­ailable, as against 3 Gw last week during peak demand hours.

IPL: BCCI expects Rs 5,000 cr windfall as base for new teams at Rs 2,000 cr

 The Indian cricket board could soon get richer by at least Rs 5000 crore with the addition of two new franchises during the 2022 edition of the Indian Premier League

The Indian cricket board could soon get richer by at least Rs 5000 crore with the addition of two new franchises during the 2022 edition of the Indian Premier League.

The IPL, which is currently an eight-team tournament, will become a 10-team affair from the next edition and during a recent governing council meeting, the modalities of the bidding process were chalked out.

"Any company can buy the bid document paying Rs 75 crore. Earlier top brass was thinking about keeping the base price for two new teams at Rs 1700 crore but later it was decided to keep the base price at Rs 2000 crore," a senior BCCI source told PTI on the condition of anonymity.

The source, who has dealt with the financial side of IPL in the past, said that the BCCI stands to gain at least Rs 5000 crore if the bids go as per plan with plenty of large business conglomerates showing active interest in bidding.

"The BCCI is expecting anything in the range of 5000 crore if not more. There will be 74 IPL games next season and it's a win-win situation for everyone."

It is learnt that only companies with an annual turnover of Rs 3000 crore will be allowed to bid for the teams.

In a welcome news, the BCCI is planning to allow a consortium to bid for teams as it makes the bidding process more vibrant.

US has evacuated all Afghan embassy staff and their families: Report

 The United States has evacuated all the local Afghan staffers at the US Embassy in Afghanistan along with their families, said media reports.

The United States has evacuated all the local Afghan staffers at the US Embassy in Afghanistan along with their families, said media reports.

According to an internal report of ABC News, about 2,800 Afghans have been successfully evacuated as of Saturday night at 8:30 pm ET on Saturday.

The Hill reported that an internal State Department Cable sent out last week reportedly said local Afghanistan embassy staffers were "deeply disheartened" by the US evacuation operations. The cable relayed reports of staffers being harassed, being spat on, and cursed at by Taliban fighters at checkpoints.

"Our local staff and their families have suffered hardship, pain, and loss because of their dedication to working with us to build a better future for all Afghans. We have a special commitment to them because of that," a State Department spokesperson had said.

The United States and its partner countries in a joint statement on Sunday reaffirmed their commitment to ensuring the safe travel of their citizens and at-risk Afghans outside Afghanistan.

Since August 14, the US has evacuated and facilitated the evacuation of approximately 114,400 people. Since the end of July, the US has relocated approximately 120,000 people.

White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said on Friday had said that the US will be engaging with the Taliban to ensure the safe evacuation of people from Afghanistan following the August 31 deadline for withdrawal,

"The President directed the Secretary of State to continue diplomatic efforts with international partners to secure means for third-country nationals and Afghans with visas to leave the country even after the US military presence ends," Psaki had said during a press briefing.

PayU aims to provide full-stack financial services to its customers

 So far, the company has disbursed about $300 million in credit and it now wants to add new products

PayU Finance, a digital lending player backed by Prosus Ventures, has seen its buy-now-pay-later (BNPL) segment double in a year and touch a consumer base of 3 million. The firm, which has seen its lending business touch 70 per cent of pre-Covid levels, is now aiming to provide full-stack financial services to its customers.

Prashanth Ranganathan, chief executive officer (CEO), PayU Finance, believes that in the next five years, the company will be able to create a loan book of $1.5 billion — combined between LazyPay and PaySense, making it one of the largest digital lenders in the country.“ Over the last year, one of the significant transformations has been that we have managed to bring credit to consumers. We are now systematically looking at bringing more end-to-end digital services to them. LazyPay has 3 million users, and now, we want to offer other financial services like saving, insurance, and wealth management, among others, to this segment. So, starting from BNPL to full-stack financial services, that’s how we see ourselves,” said Ranganathan.

BNPL’s offering that it launched in 2017 saw a huge adoption during Covid as it allowed users to make use of deferred payment mechanisms for small-ticket buys in the range of Rs 300-500. The success of this has also propelled the company to offer this mechanism for large-ticket transactions.

“Within BNPL or LazyPay, we have two segments or avatars. The first is a deferred payment product that caters to small-ticket transactions, and it is all about convenient payment. It is not about giving credit. Something similar to a UPI or wallet. We have seen this growing phenomenally for us,” added Ranganathan.

No discussions at UNSC on sending UN peacekeeping to Afghanistan: Report

 The UN Security Council is not engaged in any discussions regarding the possibility of sending a UN peacekeeping mission to Afghanistan following the Taliban's takeover, a UNSC source said

The UN Security Council (UNSC) is not engaged in any discussions regarding the possibility of sending a UN peacekeeping mission to Afghanistan following the Taliban's (terrorist organization, banned in Russia) takeover, a UNSC source told Sputnik.

"There are currently no discussions at the SC on sending a UN peacekeeping mission to Afghanistan and in particular to Kabul," the source said.

French President Emmanuel Macron said on Saturday that Paris and London would be holding talks on Monday discussing the possibility of creating a "safe zone" in the Afghan capital of Kabul. Macron told Journal du Dimanche that France and the UK are developing a "draft resolution" which "aims to define, under UN control, a 'safe zone' in Kabul to allow humanitarian operations to continue."

"UK/US/FR text under negotiations. It is hoped to be endorsed by the whole council as soon as possible. The aim would be to ensure that those Afghans who wish to leave can do so in a secured manner - and with a safe and secure access to the point of departure," the UNSC source said.

How a year of coronavirus financially dented feted India's middle class

 For Indians who had newly joined the growing middle class, the economic crisis following the pandemic has dealt a severe blow

When the second wave of Covid-19 was beginning its steep climb in India in April 2021 and most states were locking down, thereby putting a freeze on economic activity, Jitendra Singh feared the worst. Singh, 27, expected to lose his city job and be forced to return to his small village of Nagla Moti in Etawah district, western Uttar Pradesh.

Singh was born into hardship in Etawah, and had lost his father during his childhood, he told IndiaSpend. But by the 2000s, India's economy was growing fast and its ripple effects were showing in tens of thousands of small towns and villages. For the Singh family, change came in the form of a computer shop, which they opened with their pooled savings. Over the next few years, they moved into India's coveted middle-class. After he finished studying and got his first job in Etawah, in 2016, the combined monthly household earnings increased to about Rs 35,000, Singh said.

In 2019, Singh moved to Guwahati to work at a dairy company for Rs 15,000 a month and wondered if his dreams were beginning to take shape. "I have been a dreamer for most of my life," he said. Singh began dreaming of buying a house of his own, driving a car and one day travelling to Switzerland for a holiday. But all of it came crashing down when the Covid-19 pandemic plunged India's economy into a historic recession. The economy shrank by a record 7.3 per cent in 2020-21, and with it, employment, wages and the incomes of millions of India's poor and middle-class households.

GIC Housing Finance's bad loans spike to 11.4% in Q1, solvency weakens

 The deterioration in the asset quality would further impact GICHF's earnings profile, and consequently, its internal capital generation

A sharp rise in bad loans to 11.4 per cent in June 2021 from 7.4 per cent in March 2021 has weakened GIC Housing Finance’s (GIC HF’s) solvency and profitability.

With the second wave of Covid-19 coming in April 2021, the country again witnessed a series of lockdowns, which impacted the cash flows of borrowers.

Also, the company, which lends predominantly to the salaried class, was unable to collect from borrowers. This led to a sudden rise in slippages and a weakening of solvency and profitability metrics.

Rating agency ICRA downgraded its rating for long-term bank lines and non-convertible debentures (NCDs) to “AA” from “AA+”.

The deterioration in the asset quality would further impact GICHF’s earnings profile, and consequently, its internal capital generation.

ICRA said with relatively muted growth expectations, the company would not need growth capital in the short term. Its capital adequacy ratio (CAR) stood at 17.14 percent as of June 30, 2021, which is above the regulatory requirement of 14 percent.

Eye on India's IPO map: MapMyIndia plans to go public, raise Rs 1,200 crore

 India's first home-grown mapping company is looking to list in the public market at a Rs 6,000-crore valuation

India’s first home-grown mapping company MapMyIndia is looking to list in the public market by raising around Rs 1,200 crore at a Rs 6,000-crore valuation. Sources said the company is ready with its draft red herring prospectus documents and is likely to file as early as next week.

While the money will be used for business expansion, it will also give MapMyIndia's early investors, including Qualcomm, PhonePe, and Japanese mapmaker Zenrin Co., a chance to exit. The Verma family, which founded the company, will continue to remain promoters.

The move comes close on the heels of the government announcing the new geospatial guidelines, liberalizing policies on the production of maps and geospatial data.

The liberalized mapping policy allows private Indian firms to use high-precision satellite imagery of 1 meter and below without any regulator permission. The permissions that had to be obtained from multiple agencies and could take up to a year had hamstrung the growth of private mapping companies which wanted increased usage of high-precision maps for various industries, such as logistics, agriculture, and e-commerce delivery.

Rohan Verma, chief executive officer of MapMyIndia, in an interview after the policy was announced had said the move will be a watershed moment for the company. It will open up business for the mapping and geospatial industry worth around $14 billion by 2030.

The company, with an 80-per cent market share in the business-to-business (B2B) mapping industry with customers like Flipkart, Amazon, and Coca-Cola, will be the biggest beneficiary of this.

Baxter in advanced talks to acquire Hill-Rom for about $10 billion: Report

 US-based medical technology company Baxter International is in advanced talks to buy medical equipment maker Hill-Rom Holdings for about $10 billion, a report said

(Reuters) - U.S.-based medical technology company Baxter International Inc is in advanced talks to buy medical equipment maker Hill-Rom Holdings Inc for about $10 billion, the Wall Street Journal reported on Sunday, citing people familiar with the matter.

A takeover deal could value Hill-Rom at around $150 per share, the report https://on.wsj.com/2WEA44h said, adding the deal could be reached by midweek if the talks do not fall apart.

Hill-Rom, founded in 1915, offers services including smart beds for patients, diagnostics, and monitoring technologies, according to the company's website.

Baxter and Hill-Rom did not immediately respond when contacted by Reuters for comment.

 

The hybrid work revolution after Covid-19 is already transforming economies

 While a more permanent transformation of working life will have painful consequences for many inner-city businesses, economists see a recalibration underway that can revitalize smaller towns, suburbs

Even in the 19th century, workers were beginning to resent the grind of office life.

“You don’t know how wearisome it is to breathe the air of four pent walls without relief, day after day,” British essayist Charles Lamb wrote in a letter to poet William Wordsworth back in 1822, railing against his toil in the East India Company’s office in Leadenhall Street, London.

For the last 17 months, however, Lamb’s modern successors have mostly worked from home, liberated from what he termed “official confinement.” Today’s white-collar staff are living through a radical transformation of professional life, one economist says is already beginning to jump-start economic productivity and accelerate innovation.

The pandemic has weakened the gravitational pull of city centers, with new forces now reshaping knowledge-based economies. Public transport journeys into cities are down, as are coffee shop sales, while demand for real estate in leafy suburbs is up. Americans spent more time on leisure and household activities in 2020, replacing commuter life with real life.

While a more permanent transformation of working life will have painful consequences for many inner-city businesses, economists see a recalibration underway that can revitalize smaller towns and suburbs. New digital tools mean that retail and hospitality — as well as knowledge-intensive industries — are already undergoing far-reaching change.

Working from home around one day a week will boost productivity by 4.8% as the post-Covid economy takes shape, according to a recent study of more than 30,000 U.S. employees co-authored by José María Barrero of Instituto Tecnológico Autónomo de México and others. Much of that one-off increase is projected to come from reduced commuting time, a factor not usually captured by economists.

Processing about 1.5 bn transactions a month: PhonePe CEO Sameer Nigam

 Nigam said that the fintech firm is aiming to reach 900 million people in the next 8-10 years

Walmart-owned digital payments firm is processing 1.5 billion transactions a month and now about 80 per cent of all these users are from tier-2 and beyond cities, said Sameer Nigam, founder, and chief executive officer at PhonePe.

“So, I know payments for a fact have started solving the financial inclusion problem,” said Nigam during a fireside chat with YourStory Founder Shradha Sharma at Converge@Walmart, the flagship event of Walmart Global Tech India, along with PhonePe founder and CTO Rahul Chari. 

Every other category and sector including food tech and e-commerce started in the metros and then reached small towns and cities.

“We have about 20 million-odd merchants, 16 (million) of them are Tier-2 and beyond,” said Nigam. “So, where people had to travel more to pay their bills and were sending money to villages and small towns, all of that is happening on the phone.”

Four years ago, everything changed in India and it is called the Jio effect. Smartphones with cheap data have meant that all basic services have shifted to the phone.

In 2015, there were about 100-120 million people participating in the e-commerce economy which has grown. But payments are already about 3.5 times that in 5 years.

PhonePe has had support for 8-10 languages now for five years. Less than 15 percent of people choose another language. On the customer service side, more than 50 percent of people want to talk in their native language. Nigam said if people want to use the app in English but they want to talk in any other language in the country, that problem has to be solved.

Google, Microsoft pledge billions in cybersecurity investments

 The Biden administration has been urging the private sector to do its part to strengthen cybersecurity defences against those increasingly sophisticated attacks

Some of the country's leading technology companies have committed to investing billions of dollars to strengthen cybersecurity defences and to train skilled workers, the White House has announced, following President Joe Biden's private meeting with top executives.

The gathering was held Wednesday during a relentless stretch of ransomware attacks that have targeted critical infrastructure, in some cases with the attackers extorting multimillion-dollar payments from major corporations, as well as other illicit cyber operations that US authorities have linked to foreign hackers.

The Biden administration has been urging the private sector to do its part to strengthen cybersecurity defences against those increasingly sophisticated attacks. In public remarks before the private meeting got underway, Biden referred to cybersecurity as a “core national security challenge” for the US. “The reality is most of our critical infrastructure is owned and operated by the private sector, and the federal government can't meet this challenge alone,” Biden said. “I've invited you all here today because you have the power, the capacity and the responsibility, I believe, to raise the bar on cybersecurity.” After the meeting, the White House announced that Google had committed to invest $10 billion in cybersecurity over the next five years, money aimed at helping secure the software supply chain and expand zero-trust programmes.

The Biden administration has looked for ways to safeguard the government's supply chain following a massive Russian government cyber-espionage campaign that exploited vulnerabilities and gave hackers access to the networks of US government agencies and private companies.

Evergrande electric vehicle unit loses $80 billion in worst stock rout

 China Evergrande New Energy Vehicle Group Ltd. sank as much as 22% Thursday after its parent said the unit lost 4.8 billion yuan ($740 million) in the first half

Shares of China Evergrande Group’s electric vehicle unit are collapsing in Hong Kong, wiping about $80 billion from what was the property developer’s most valuable listed asset.
China Evergrande New Energy Vehicle Group Ltd. sank as much as 22% Thursday after its parent said the unit lost 4.8 billion yuan ($740 million) in the first half.

The EV business’s market value was about $87 billion at its April 16 peak, greater than that of Ford Motor Co. and almost four times the capitalization of China Evergrande itself at the time. Evergrande NEV shares are down 92% since, the worst performance in the Bloomberg World Index and lagging even China’s tutoring stocks. Evergrande’s subsidiaries are being punished on concern the world’s most indebted developer will need to sell assets at a steep discount amid mounting pressure from Beijing. Shares of listed businesses -- including the 65% stake it owns in Evergrande NEV -- are the most liquid if Evergrande needs to generate cash quickly. Evergrande in May raised $1.4 billion from the unit in a heavily discounted share sale.

“It’s very obvious that Evergrande New Energy is short of money,” said Castor Pang, head of research at Core Pacific-Yamaichi International H.K. Ltd. “Now that the parent company has a liquidity problem, it’s impossible for Evergrande New Energy to meet previous targets for car production.”

The electric car upstart was already a capital-intensive project for Evergrande Chairman Hui Ka Yan, who funneled billions of yuan into the business in a bid to make it “the world’s largest and most powerful new energy vehicle group” by 2025. Previously known as Evergrande Health Industry Group Ltd. before a name change last year, the company still generates the majority of its revenue from its health business.

Covid-19 pandemic has India scrambling to boost its manufacturing sector

 High-contact services jobs from airlines to hotels and malls to multiplexes were the first to collapse amid protracted lockdowns aimed at containing the virus

For decades, the services industry powered India’s growth and tempered unemployment in the world’s second-most populous nation. The coronavirus pandemic is now leading to calls for an urgent rebalancing of the economy toward manufacturing.

High-contact services jobs from airlines to hotels and malls to multiplexes were the first to collapse amid protracted lockdowns aimed at containing the virus. The decline of the sector, which typically accounts for 55% of the economy, is forcing people to seek work on rural farms or in the undersized manufacturing industry.

Ramesh Jakhar, 55, is among that hit. He used to drive a bus for the Sam International School in New Delhi, where he earned 16,000 rupees ($215) a month. Now he tends buffaloes and sells milk after returning to his village near the capital.

“Times are really tough,” said Jakhar, whose unemployed adult son has also returned to their village with his young family. “We’ve been forced to cut back on what we can spend.”

Brickwork downgrades Voda Idea's debentures to 'B' over fundraising delay

 The downgrade reflects a substantial decline in the company's subscriber base. It lost 12.40 million subscribers during Q1FY22

Rating agency Brickwork Ratings (BWR) has revised the rating for debentures of Vodafone Idea Ltd ( VIL) from "BB-" to "B" over continuous delay in raising funds impacting its liquidity and considerable deterioration in performance in

Q1FY22.

The company's modification plea filed with the Supreme Court (SC) to allow corrections of computational errors in Adjusted Gross Revenue (AGR) has been rejected by the SC providing no relief to the company.

The outlook on Non-Convertible Debentures (NCDs) remains negative.

The rating agency in a statement said that while VIL has filed a review petition in this regard, the outcome is uncertain. VIL has substantial amounts of debt maturing in FY22 (including the NCDs). Rraising adequate funds in a timely manner is imperative for timely servicing of this debt.

Additionally, the company’s spectrum payments and the first tranche of AGR liabilities will also become due in the coming few months, making the availability of necessary funds all the more critical, it added.

The downgrade reflects a substantial decline in the company’s subscriber base. It lost 12.40 million subscribers during Q1FY22. Moreover, it's Average Revenue Per User (ARPU) further fell to Rs 104 in Q1FY22 from Rs 107 in

Apple settlement lets app makers advertise outside payments

 The settlement will include $100 million worth of payments to app makers ranging from $250 to $30,000 per developer

Apple Inc. settled a wide-ranging class action lawsuit with U.S. app makers Thursday, announcing changes to the App Store such as giving developers more flexibility to advertise outside payment methods.

The settlement will include $100 million worth of payments to app makers ranging from $250 to $30,000 per developer, according to law firm Hagens Berman, which represented plaintiffs who claimed Apple overcharged them fees required for distributing their programs through the iOS App Store. The new advertising policy, meanwhile, will make it easier for developers to promote alternative pricing plans and ways to pay -- without Apple taking a cut.

Apple has long allowed developers to advertise external payment methods -- such as Netflix Inc. pointing users via email to sign up on its website instead of the app -- but has frowned upon the practice. The new policy ensures Apple can’t ban developers for these communications. It doesn’t, however, let developers advertise outside pricing or payment methods within apps themselves.

The company is “clarifying that developers can use communications, such as email, to share information about payment methods outside of their iOS app,” Apple said in a statement.

Critically for Apple, the settlement excludes more significant App Store changes that were sought by some outside developers and legislators. The company is still requiring developers to sell their apps -- as well as in-app items and subscriptions -- using Apple’s payment system, which takes between 15% and 30% in commissions. Apple reduced the cut to 15% for all developers that generate $1 million or less annually last year. On Thursday, it committed to continuing that policy for the next three years.

Mukesh Ambani is going green but it's oil that fuels Reliance's bottomline

 Businessman touts the shift to less polluting options, but crude's byproducts will remain one of the biggest drivers of his $80 billion fortune.

Along the Arabian Sea, the Indian city of Jamnagar is a money-making machine for Asia’s richest man, Mukesh Ambani, processing crude oil into fuel, plastics, and chemicals. It’s also where the billionaire is making his newest bet: a $10 billion investment in green energy.

In a swath of arid land, to the city’s southwest, Ambani’s Reliance Industries Ltd. owns the world’s biggest oil refining complex. It’s a sprawling network of plants and pipelines that can process 1.4 million barrels of petroleum a day in an operation covering half the area of Manhattan. In fiscal 2021, Reliance generated about 45 million tons of carbon dioxide emissions from its own operations, which puts the company among the top such emitters in India, according to data on other companies tracked by Bloomberg. Much of that came from its Jamnagar refineries.

Next door, in a nod to a changing--and warming--world Ambani is now building factories that make more environmentally friendly products like solar panels, electrolyzers, fuel cells, and batteries.

On the face of it, the new investment is a sharp pivot for a giant conglomerate whose fortunes have been linked to oil refining for decades. Yet even as Ambani, 64, touts the shift to less polluting options, crude’s byproducts will remain one of the biggest drivers of the $80 billion fortune that’s made him the world’s 12th richest man.

Reliance gets nearly 60% of its $73 billion in annual revenue from its oil-related business, which is so lucrative that it’s attracting other investors. The Middle Eastern energy firm Saudi Aramco is in discussions for the purchase of a roughly 20% stake in Reliance’s refining and chemicals business.

Infra stocks rise on the back of national monetisation plan optimism

 Adani Ports and SEZ, Hindustan Petroleum, and ONGC rose 7.8 per cent, 5 per cent and 3.5 per cent respectively over two days

Infrastructure stocks have seen some buying interest over the past two days after the finance minister launched an ambitious plan worth Rs 6 trillion to monetise public infrastructure projects like power plants, roads, and railways. The Nifty Infrastructure index rose 1.2 per cent over the last two days.

Adani Ports and SEZ, Hindustan Petroleum, and ONGC rose 7.8 per cent, 5 per cent, and 3.5 per cent respectively over two days. While cement companies like Ramco Cements, Ambuja Cements, and UltraTech are up between 0.4 per cent and 2.5 per cent, shares of Larsen & Toubro rose 0.8 per cent during the same period.

The National Monetisation Plan (NMP), as the scheme is called, aims at monetizing the government's brownfield infrastructure to fund greenfield ones. The central idea behind the scheme is to raise more revenues by monetizing existing brownfield infrastructure assets and channel these additional revenues into building greenfield infrastructure.

Analysts said that since the pandemic began, kickstarting capital expenditure, especially on infrastructure, has been a priority for the government.

In a note, Teresa John, Research Analyst (Economist), Nirmal Bang, said, "Seasoned infrastructure investors are likely to benefit from the monetisation program while domestic EPC players, power transmission companies, cement manufacturers etc will benefit from infrastructure spending by the government."

Indian banks will be able to withstand rising asset risks, says Moody's

 The rating agency in a statement said that banks' improved profitability, capital and loss buffers will help them absorb anticipated loan losses and maintain credit strength

India's second Coronavirus (Covid-19) wave is increasing asset risks for banks in retail and the SME loan segment. However, factors like tight credit underwriting, strong loss provisions will help banks withstand pressures and prevent a sharp rise in bad loans, according to rating agency Moodys.

The rating agency in a statement said that banks' improved profitability, capital and loss buffers will help them absorb anticipated loan losses and maintain credit strength. Also, the country's economic recovery and continued government support will prevent a sharp spike in problem loans.

Moody's baseline expectation is that newly formed non-performing loans (NPLs) at public sector banks will increase nearly 50% to about 1.5% of gross loans annually in the next two years. Nevertheless, banks' average NPL ratios will remain largely stable, driven by the resolution of legacy NPLs and the acceleration of credit growth.

Severe deterioration of banks' asset quality is unlikely, despite an expected rise in new loan impairments particularly among individuals and small businesses that were hit hardest by the virus outbreak. Government initiatives like the emergency credit-linked guarantee scheme (ECLGS) have been effective in providing immediate liquidity for businesses, said Alka Anbarasu, vice president and senior credit officer at Moody's.

In addition, accommodative interest rates and loan restructuring schemes will continue to mitigate asset risks. The Covid-19 resurgence will delay, but not derail the improvements in banks' balance sheets that had begun before the pandemic.

Moody's-rated banks also have stronger loss-absorbing buffers, which will help them withstand the asset quality decline and maintain their credit strength. Banks had reinforced these buffers in the past year through increases in capital, loan-loss reserves, and profitability.

Govt launches SAMRIDH scheme to help startups in their initial phase

 SAMRIDH will create a conducive platform for Indian software product startups to enhance their products and secure investments for scaling their business

Just over a week after the newly appointed Minister of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) Ashwini Vaishnav said the government will support startups and entrepreneurs in their initial phase, where they face most challenges, he launched Startup Accelerators of MeitY for Product Innovation, Development, and Growth (SAMRIDH) program on Wednesday.

SAMRIDH will create a conducive platform for Indian software product startups to enhance their products and secure investments for scaling their business. The program is being implemented by MeitY Startup Hub (MSH).

The government will support startups and entrepreneurs in the most challenging phase which is the initial risk phase, Vaishnaw had said earlier.

The SAMRIDH initiative will not only provide funding support to startups but will also help in bringing skill sets together which will help them become successful, Vaishnav said Wednesday.

“Employment in traditional as well as new-age industries is a stated mission of our government and is also the vision of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi. Initiatives and schemes like SAMRIDH will help accelerate the implementation of that vision,” he added.

Technology can play a role in accelerating and in taking a quantum jump in reaching out to people, which would have otherwise taken many years. Using the energy of startups these areas can be reached within months, the minister said.

BrahMos Aerospace seeks 200-acre land in Lucknow

 About 500 engineers and technical people will get direct employment in the BrahMos Production Centre which will be built by investing Rs 300 crore

For over two decades, the supersonic BrahMos cruise missile has been portrayed as a triumph of Indo-Russian co-development and co-manufacture. Even the missile’s name — BrahMos — is derived from combining the names of a major river from each country: India’s Brahmaputra and Russia’s Moskva.

Numerous analysts have expressed scepticism that India has played a role in designing the BrahMos. They say the missile is based entirely on Russian technology, while India merely manufactures the missile from blueprints provided by Russia.

On Wednesday, the Uttar Pradesh (UP) government, which is trying to become a defence manufacturing hub, issued a statement that said the BrahMos missile “is based on the technology of Russia's P-800 Oniks cruise missile”.

Later in the statement, the UP government changed tack, stating: “The missile has been designed, developed and produced by BrahMos Aerospace — a joint venture of the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and of NPO Mashinostroyeniya (NPOM).”

This was in the context of a request from BrahMos Aerospace Chief Sudhir Misra to the UP Expressways Industrial Development Authority (UPEIDA) and UP government seeking 200 acre of land for a facility to build the BrahMos. A delegation from BrahMos Aerospace also met UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Tuesday.

The current version of the BrahMos cruise missile is assembled at a facility in Hyderabad. But UPEIDA is aiming to manufacture the new, improved BrahMos cruise missile.

Airtel board to meet on August 29 to consider fundraising options

 Telecom operator Bharti Airtel on Wednesday said its board will meet on August 29 to consider various capital raising options, including equity and debt.

Telecom operator Bharti Airtel on Wednesday said its board will meet on August 29 to consider various capital raising options, including equity and debt.

The fundraising options entail equity or equity-linked or debt instruments, the company said in a regulatory filing but did not divulge into the quantum of capital raising under consideration.

The latest move is expected to give more firepower to Airtel, as the company takes on rivals in the fiercely competitive Indian telecom market that is now gearing up for 5G.

"A meeting of the board of directors of the company is scheduled on Sunday, August 29, 2021, to inter-alia consider various capital raising options through equity or equity-linked or debt instruments or any combination thereof, as the board may deem appropriate," Bharti Airtel said in a BSE filing.

As per subscriber data released by telecom regulator recently, Bharti Airtel added 38.1 lakh, wireless subscribers, in June, pushing up its mobile user base to 35.2 crores.

Reliance Jio cemented its lead, gaining 54.6 lakh users in June, as its mobile subscriber base swelled to 43.6 crores during the month.

Troubled Vodafone Idea continued to lose mobile subscribers in June, ceding fresh ground to rivals Reliance Jio and Bharti Airtel. Vodafone Idea lost about 42.8 lakh subscribers during June, and its user base shrunk to 27.3 crores, compounding the woes of the debt-laden telco that is struggling to stay afloat.

Amid the existential issues being faced by Vodafone Idea Ltd (VIL), industry analysts have sounded an alarm over the risks of the Indian telecom market turning into a duopoly.

166 current and former employees of Paytm convert ESOPs to shares

 IPO-bound Paytm has one of the largest ESOP pools in the startup ecosystem and has given out ESOPs as rewards and benefits to employees, who have contributed to the growth of the company

As many as 166 currents and former Paytm employees have converted their Employee Stock Options (ESOPs) into shares, the company said in a regulatory filing.

IPO-bound Paytm has one of the largest ESOP pools in the startup ecosystem and has given out ESOPs as rewards and benefits to employees, who have contributed to the growth of the company.

Paytm has a total paid-up capital of Rs 60,69,41,722, with as many as 909 employees who have vested ESOPs with an approximate 14 million options vested.

To attract and retain talented professionals, Paytm last year amended certain aspects of its ESOP policy, introducing performance-based ESOPs.

Earlier, Paytm had written to its shareholders that employees who hold ESOPs will be able to turn them into shares and add them to their Demat account. Given that turning ESOPs into shares comes at a cost and the employees also have to bear the tax amount for the same, Paytm will help employees get loans from its established lending partners, making it easier for employees to bear the cost of becoming a shareholder.

Paytm will facilitate loans of up to Rs 100 crore through its lending partners.

Additionally, Paytm will bear the interest of these loans for six months, so that employees are able to handle their finances better and yet, become proud shareholders of the company.

Bajaj Finserv gets Sebi approval for starting mutual fund business

 The company's shares rose 7.91 per cent or Rs 1,207.05 on Tuesday and ended the session at Rs 16,475.25 apiece

Bajaj Finserv will be the latest entrant to the Rs 35-trillion mutual fund (MF) industry after the company received in-principle approval from the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi).

In an exchange notification on the BSE, Bajaj Finserv stated that the company has received approval from Sebi through its letter dated August 23 for sponsoring an MF.

“Accordingly, the company would be setting up an asset management company (AMC) and the trustee company, directly or indirectly i.e., itself or through its subsidiary in accordance with applicable Sebi regulations and other applicable laws,” said the notification. Bajaj Finserv had applied to the regulator in September 2020.

The company’s shares rose 7.91 per cent or Rs 1,207.05 on Tuesday and ended the session at Rs 16,475.25 apiece. The stock had touched a 55-week high intraday.

In the past year, the stock has delivered returns of 157.5 per cent, compared with 44.2 per cent by Sensex. The Bajaj Finance stock ended the day at Rs 6,978.75 apiece, up 3.33 per cent. With the MF industry witnessing substantial growth in the last few months, more players have looked to enter the fray. In the past few months, new players like NJ India and Samco Securities have set up shop.

At present, there are 45 players in the industry. According to Sebi, as of June, there were around six entities that were waiting for in-principal approval, including Zerodha Broking, Alchemy Capital Management, and Helios Capital Management.

Equities to retain P/E premium over EM peers, says Credit Suisse

 The medium-term outlook for equities remains positive but some caution is warranted in the short term, the brokerage said

India’s investment appeal among global investors has improved materially, given improved corporate balance sheets, focus on reforms, record foreign exchange reserves, and a good momentum on tax collections, says a report by Credit Suisse.

This improved outlook is clearly visible in India’s record-high price-to-earnings (P/E) premium over other emerging markets: The MSCI India trades at a 12-month forward P/E premium of 83 per cent versus the MSCI Emerging Markets Index, compared to the 10-year average premium of 42 per cent. Indian equities outperformed major global equities with the Nifty Index gaining 5.2 per cent compared with the MSCI World’s returns of 1.8 per cent in the last month (see table).

The medium-term outlook for equities remains positive but some caution is warranted in the short term, the brokerage said.

“While this high valuation could unnerve some investors, we suggest staying invested in equities, albeit with reduced portfolio risks. We are now moving away from our long-held relative preference for mid-cap stocks, toward a neutral view. We are raising the relative weight of Indian mega-caps to neutral as well,” the brokerage’s recent report, authored by its head of India equity research Jitendra Gohil and equity research analyst Premal Kamdar, said.

The analysts expect some underperformance by Indian equities, given stretched valuation. Nevertheless, they expect the equities to command a better valuation premium over EM peers.

Infosys becomes 4th Indian company to touch $100 bn market capitalisation

 On the National Stock Exchange (NSE), the shares had opened at Rs 1,750 apiece and then jumped to their 52-week high value of Rs 1,757

Infosys on Tuesday became the fourth Indian company to touch a market valuation of $100 billion.

The IT services major has joined the league of TCS, Reliance Industries, and HDFC Bank for crossing the $100 billion mark in terms of market capitalization (m-cap).

The milestone was achieved during the morning trade when the scrip was trading at its 52-week high value of Rs 1,755.6 on the BSE, which took the m-cap to Rs 7. 47 trillion or $100.78 billion. However, during the close of the trading session, it pared the earlier gains and settled 1.06 per cent lower at Rs 1,720.75.

On the National Stock Exchange (NSE), the shares had opened at Rs 1,750 apiece and then jumped to its 52-week high value of Rs 1,757. It closed the counter at Rs 1,721.5, a lower 0.99 per cent as compared with the previous close. According to the latest m-cap data, RIL is the most-valued firm at Rs 13.7 trillion, followed by Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) at Rs 13.4 trillion and HDFC Bank at Rs 8.42 trillion.

Jeh Wadia quits 2 Wadia firms, exits boards of all listed group companies

 Britannia, Bombay Burmah's annual reports say businessman did not offer himself for reappointment to the board.

Jehangir Wadia has quit the boards of Britannia Industries and Bombay Burmah Trading Corp., withdrawing from all listed businesses of the $15-billion Wadia Group.

Jehangir, 48, in March resigned as managing director of his family-controlled airline of Go Airlines (rebranded as Go First). A month later, Bombay Dyeing and Manufacturing Company said Jehangir had stepped down as its managing director.

Britannia’s latest annual report last week said Jehangir (or Jeh in media reports) did not offer himself for reappointment to the board. Mint reports that two people aware of developments had told the newspaper Jehangir’s departure is connected to differences with their father, Nusli Wadia.

"Mr. Jehangir N Wadia, Non-Executive Director, who retires by rotation at the ensuing AGM in terms of Section 152 of the Companies Act, 2013, has not offered himself for re-appointment. The Board of Directors at their Meeting held on 30 July 2021 resolved not to fill the resulting vacancy, and the same is placed before,” said Britannia’s annual report.

Bombay Burmah's annual report carries an identical notice that says a resolution will be brought before shareholders at its annual meeting.

Not just tycoons, India's asset monetisation plan must treat all fairly

 Australia has lessons for India's plan on managing a fair deal for taxpayers and ensuring public utilities work and are affordable.

The asset-recycling craze that got underway in Australia with the 2013 leasing of Port Kembla and Port Botany near Sydney is reaching India. So is the fear that handing over control of public utilities to a small private sector will hurt the consumer.

The cash-strapped Indian government has identified 6 trillion rupees ($81 billion) in existing revenue-generating assets, which it will monetize over four years to fund an ambitious $1.5 trillion pipeline of new infrastructure. But while New Delhi aims to replicate the fundraising success overseas, it also needs to heed the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission Chairman Rod Sims’s warning last month: Privatize to increase the efficiency of the economy, or don’t privatize at all.

Policymakers in India envisage parting with revenue-earning operating concessions in exchange for upfront payments or investments. The deals will be structured as “contractual partnerships” with the state retaining long-term public ownership. However, to maximize their profit over a limited time frame, investors would naturally want to raise prices, limit competition or cut back on upkeep. Singapore had to nationalize its suburban trains and signaling systems because the main private operator had underinvested in maintenance, leading to frequent breakdowns and stranded, angry passengers.

Similarly, it’s important to prevent today’s lump-sum gains to the government from becoming a cost tomorrow. In New South Wales, where electricity prices doubled in five years after poles and wires were privatized, the government had to step in with an Energy Affordability Package to lower the burden on consumers. The Indian taxpayer, already struggling under extortionate levies on energy, simply can’t afford such largesse.

REITs, InvITs to be part of Nifty indices from September 30: NSE

 The changes shall become effective from September 30

Real estate investment trusts (REITs) and infrastructure investment trusts (InvITs) will now be included in the Nifty indices after the National Stock Exchange revised the criteria for their inclusion.

“All equity shares, REITs, and InvITs, that are traded at the NSE are eligible for inclusion in the Nifty indices,” the stock exchange said in a note on August 23. So far, REITs and InvITs were not specifically allowed to be part of Nifty indices.

“This would enable wider investor participation in REITs and consequently increased volumes, liquidity, and better price discovery. REITs merit inclusion on Nifty indices, and this move will assist in widening investor participation for REITs on par with other equity options in India,” said Vinod Rohira, chief executive officer, Mindspace Business Parks REIT.

The changes shall become effective from September 30.

In its semi-annual review of indices, the exchange has included Bank of Baroda, Cholamandalam Investment, Jindal Steel, PI Industries, and SAIL as part of Nifty Next 50. Abbott India, Alkem Laboratories, MRF, Petronet LNG, and United Breweries were excluded.

NSE has revised the criteria for Nifty Pharma, allowing the top 20 stocks to be included in the index based on the six-month average free-float market cap. At present, the top 10 stocks based on a six-month average free-float market cap are selected.

RBI panel suggests umbrella body for helping smaller UCBs scale up

 Says large UCBs that cannot function fully as a bank be treated like SFBs

An expert committee constituted by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has suggested an umbrella organization for small urban cooperative banks (UCBs), which will allow them access to scale forming a network. The larger UCBs are allowed to operate on a standalone basis with regulations similar to those of banks.

The RBI must help with grants to set up the umbrella organization, and once it stabilizes, “it may explore the possibilities of converting into a universal bank and offer value-added services on behalf of its member banks,” the committee report said.

“With suitable structural flexibility to operate as a bank, the umbrella organization can be owned by the co-operative institutions even if it is a joint-stock company, which may encourage the smaller UCBs to become an extended arm of such a bank,” the panel, headed by former RBI deputy governor NS Vishwanathan said.

With the amendment to the Banking Regulation Act, the RBI has adequate power in regulating the UCBs, it said, and that should bring about a tiered regulatory structure for the UCBs, commensurate with their sizes. Before the amendment, the central bank was regulating only the ‘banking’ aspect of the cooperative banks, while the governance, audit, and winding-up related functions were driven by the state (for single state cooperative) and the central government (multi-state cooperative).

The dual control has still not been eliminated by the amendment, but “a well-coordinated regulatory approach will, however, go a long way in ensuring a financially sound and well-managed UCB sector,” the committee noted.

PayPal Holdings launches crypto buying and selling in the UK

 The rollout is first international expansion of a company's cryptocurrencies outside the US

PayPal Holdings will allow customers in the UK to buy, sell and hold bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies starting this week, the company said on Monday.

The roll-out, which marks the first international expansion of PayPal's cryptocurrencies services outside of the United States, could inspire further mainstream adoption of the new asset class.

With over 403 million active accounts globally, the San Jose, California-based company is one of the largest mainstream financial companies to offer consumers access to cryptocurrencies.

PayPal launched cryptocurrency buying and selling in the United States early this year, later enabling customers to use their digital coin holdings to shop at the millions of merchants on its network.

The company hoped its foray into the new asset class would encourage global use of virtual coins and prepare its network for new digital currencies that may be developed by corporations and central banks.

“We are committed to continuing working closely with regulators in the UK, and around the world, to offer our support— and meaningfully contribute to shaping the role digital currencies will play in the future of global finance and commerce,” Jose Fernandez da Ponte, vice president and general manager for blockchain, crypto, and digital currencies at PayPal, said in a statement. In the UK, PayPal's service will rival that of established cryptocurrency exchanges such as Coinbase Global, as well fintech startups such as Revolver.

Industry seeks RoDTEP-like scheme for service exports: Check details here

 The scheme - Duty Remission of Export of Services Scheme or DRESS - will reimburse the un-refunded taxes and duties embedded in services exports

The industry has urged the Centre to roll out a scheme to boost services export and incorporate it as a part of the new foreign trade policy that is expected to kick in from October.

The scheme — Duty Remission of Export of Services Scheme or DRESS — will reimburse the un-refunded taxes and duties embedded in services exports, Maneck Davar, chairman, Services Export Promotion Council (SEPC) told Business Standard, adding that the scheme, if imple­mented, will increase the competitiveness of services exporters in the country.

The scheme will support services exports and focus on issues such as employment generation, look into the needs of specific sectors, support small businesses, and remove the burden of un-refunded taxes, levies on the lines of Remission of Duties and Taxes on Export Products (RoDTEP) scheme for merchandise exports.

Covid-19: How will delta variant evolve? Here's what the theory tells us

 Delta is not the end of the story for SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes Covid-19. Here's what evolutionary theory tells us happens next

The COVID-19 pandemic is a dramatic demonstration of evolution in action. Evolutionary theory explains much of what has already happened, predicts what will happen in the future, and suggests which management strategies are likely to be the most effective.

For instance, evolution explains why the Delta variant spreads faster than the original Wuhan strain. It explains what we might see with future variants. And it suggests how we might step up public health measures to respond.

But Delta is not the end of the story for SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. Here’s what evolutionary theory tells us happens next.

Remind me again, how do viruses evolve?
Evolution is a result of random mutations (or errors) in the viral genome when it replicates. A few of these random mutations will be good for the virus, conferring some advantage. Copies of these advantageous genes are more likely to survive into the next generation, via the process of natural selection.

New viral strains can also develop via recombination when viruses acquire genes from other viruses or even from their hosts.

Generally speaking, we can expect evolution to favor virus strains that result in a steeper epidemic curve, producing more cases more quickly, leading to two predictions.

First, the virus should become more transmissible. One infected person will be likely to infect more people; future versions of the virus will have a higher reproductive or R number.

Second, we can also expect evolution will shorten the time it takes between someone becoming infected and infecting others (a shorter “serial interval”).

China halts over 40 IPOs as it investigates law firm and broker

 The Shenzhen Stock Exchange suspended more than 30 IPO plans on Aug. 18 slated for its ChiNext board, including a public share sale application from BYD Co's semiconductor business

Chinese bourses have halted processing more than 40 initial public offerings (IPO) plans in Shanghai and Shenzhen amid an investigation into four intermediaries in the deals including a law firm and a broker, according to exchange disclosures.

The Shenzhen Stock Exchange suspended more than 30 IPO plans on Aug. 18 slated for its ChiNext board, including a public share sale application from BYD Co's semiconductor business, according to the official exchange filings.

The Shanghai Stock Exchange, meanwhile, has pressed the pause button on eight IPOs targeting the city's tech-focused STAR Market since Aug. 19, exchange filings showed.

The companies attributed the halt to an investigation by the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) into Tian Yuan Law Firm in Beijing, China Dragon Securities Co, CAREA Assets Appraisal Co, and Zhongxingcai Guanghua Certified Public Accountants LLP.

The news was first reported by Chinese media.

Tighter scrutiny on IPOs comes as Beijing launches a flurry of regulatory crackdowns against sectors ranging from the internet to tutoring. It also comes as China is stepping up efforts to channel household savings into capital markets to fund innovation and economic recovery.

On Monday, China said it would tighten scrutiny over accounting firms in a fight against financial forgery, vowing "zero tolerance" toward misconduct. 

Biden's rating drops below 50% for first time in 'summer of discontent'

 US President Joe Biden's overall job-approval rating has dipped below 50% among adults for the first time in his early presidency, according to a new NBC News Poll.

After a spike in US Covid-19 cases and bipartisan criticism over the chaos from America's withdrawal from Afghanistan, US President Joe Biden's overall job-approval rating has dipped below 50 per cent among adults for the first time in his early presidency, according to a new NBC News Poll.

The poll also finds fewer Americans support Biden's handling of the coronavirus and the economy now than they did last spring, and just a quarter of respondents approve of his handling of Afghanistan.

The survey findings demonstrate the public has grown more pessimistic about the coronavirus since April, the country remains split over whether Covid-19 vaccines should be mandated and an electorate is divided over which political party should control Congress after the 2022 midterms, NBC reported.

It all produced a 'summer of discontent for Biden, said Democratic pollster Jeff Horwitt of Hart Research Associates, who conducted this survey with Republican pollster Bill McInturff of Public Opinion Strategies.

"The promise of April has led to the peril of August," Horwitt said, arguing that Covid -- more than Afghanistan -- has denied Biden's numbers. "It is the domestic storm, Covid's delta wave, that is causing more difficulties at this stage here at home and for President Biden."

Asian stocks rally on extended Wall Street bounce, easing Fed taper worries

 MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan rose 1.2%, with Japan and South Korean indexes jumping more than 1%. Australia shares were up 0.2% and Taiwan stocks rose 0.7%.

By Anshuman Daga

SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Asian stocks rose on Tuesday on an extended bounce on Wall Street as investors drew comfort from full approval granted to the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine and on easing worries of an imminent tapering of stimulus by the Federal Reserve.

The dollar was licking its wounds after its sharpest one-day fall since May, which spurred a 5% rally in oil prices on Monday.

MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan rose 1.2%, with Japan and South Korean indexes jumping more than 1%. Australia shares were up 0.2% and Taiwan stocks rose 0.7%.

Chinese markets also edged up 0.2%, with technology stocks extending their recovery after enduring a pummelling in recent weeks on regulatory worries.

Wall Street's strength underpinned sentiment in Asia. The Nasdaq reached an all-time closing high on Monday after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration granted full approval to the COVID-19 vaccine developed by Pfizer and BioNTech, in a move that could accelerate inoculations in the United States.

Analysts at ANZ pointed to growing expectations that decelerating global business activity will act as a restraint on central bank intentions to start dialing back monetary stimulus in the near term.

Global markets took a beating last week on worries the Fed is edging closer to tapering its stimulus. Asia's main index tumbled 4.8% last week, and MSCI's Asia Pacific index ex-Japan index is still down 2.9% so far this month.

Workers seek timely payments, more workdays under rural jobs scheme

 The demand for work under MGNREGS was the highest ever in 2020 after migrants returned to villages following the national lockdown

Prem Lal, 39, has had a horrid time since the national lockdown in 2020. Soon after the announcement in March, like many stranded migrant workers, he made the arduous journey back home. He walked nearly 1,200 km from Pune, where he worked as a painter, to his village in Banda district of Uttar Pradesh's economically deprived Bundelkhand region. Since then he has found a few weeks of wage employment under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS), the national rural jobs program.

"If work was available for the most part of the year under schemes like MGNREGS then I wouldn't venture out to other cities," said Lal. Like him, Baba Deen, 45, works under MGNREGS in the adjoining district of Panna which falls in the Bundelkhand region of Madhya Pradesh. Demand for work increased "heavily" when people returned home after the lockdown in March "but not all of them were able to find employment", he said.

Enacted in 2006, the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) aims to provide at least 100 days of unskilled wage employment to adult members of a rural household and is meant to be a lifeline for the rural poor--nearly 147 million active workers--during times of economic distress and natural calamities.

Even as the number of people seeking work in 2020-21 increased to 133 million, the highest ever, the government allocated 35% fewer funds for the program in 2021-22 and is unwilling to provide more than 100 days of work. Workers, however, said they continued to face issues such as payment delays and inadequate availability of work.

Paytm, HDFC Bank tie up to develop payment products for new online ventures

 While HDFC Bank will drive merchant partnerships to whom Paytm will offer its existing Android PoS devices, the two will also jointly launch a co-branded retail PoS product

IPO-bound digital payments firm Paytm and India’s largest private sector bank, HDFC Bank, announced a strategic partnership to build comprehensive solutions across payment gateway, point of sale machines, and credit products including Paytm Postpaid which is Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL) solution, Eazy EMI and Flexi Pay.

The partnership will aim to empower new businesses which have recently ventured online, and enable them to scale up.

Paytm and HDFC Bank is coming together for two broad PoS offerings.

In the first, HDFC Bank will drive merchant partnerships across India, to whom Paytm will offer its existing range of Android POS devices.

As part of this, HDFC Bank's salespersons will start selling Paytm’s payment solutions in the market. HDFC Bank will be the payment partner, while Paytm will be the distribution and software partner.

Secondly, Paytm and HDFC Bank will jointly launch a co-branded PoS product in the retail segment, which Paytm will have the option to offer it to its own customer base.

“Paytm’s reach in the offline and online merchant space and HDFC Bank’s retail influence will aim for dynamic growth in the payments space. Paytm has a history of launching innovative products that have made way for the adoption of retail payments among various merchant partners. This partnership aims to bring innovative products focusing on affordability,” said Renu Satti, COO, Offline Payments.

The partnership marks a big change from 2017 for HDFC Bank when its then India Managing Director Aditya Puri had said payment wallets like Paytm have no future.

Paytm’s offerings have also expanded since then. In the same year, Paytm got the license to operate as a payments bank.

IT services major Capgemini is driving more value from India unit

 For Ashwin Yardi, CEO India, Capgemini, the focus is to make sure that the India unit is aligned with global plans of repositioning the company as a hub of engineering R&D, operational technology, and IT

For Paris-headquartered IT services major Capgemini, India has always been the backbone of the delivery of its services for its global clients, but the company is focused on driving more value from India as it gears up its engineering research and development (R&D) presence worldwide with its acquisition of Altran Technologies.

The company, which has about 149,000 employees in India, is looking to hire 60,000 associates this year. Of them, 30,000 will be recruits from campuses and the rest lateral entrants.

For Ashwin Yardi, chief executive officer India, Capgemini, the focus is to make sure that the India unit is aligned with the global plans of repositioning the company as a hub of engineering R&D, operational technology, and IT.

“When we acquired Altran, we repositioned Capgemini engineering, and our strategy has been to be a leader in the intelligent industry. By far we are the leaders; if you look at the scale and size of our engineering at Capgemini, we are the largest. Some of the areas that are being created by this focus include autonomous car platforms and setting up 5G labs in India,” Yardi said.

A few months ago, Capgemini announced setting up a 5G lab in Mumbai, its third globally, to accelerate the deployment of 5G solutions. Spread over 1,300 square feet, the lab offers a collaborative environment, which leverages technologies on network, cloud, edge computing, hardware, and software solutions. The lab will support Capg­emini’s global clients in a 5G end-to-end transformation.