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FE BUREAUMumbai, June 5

RINGING IN ITS sixth deal inthe last sixweeks,Reliance Jioon Friday said that AbuDhabi’s sovereign fundMubadala will invest`9,093.60crore ($1.2billion)fora1.85%equitystake in JioPlatforms. The transactionvalues Jio Platforms at anequity value of `4.91 lakhcrore and an enterprise valueof `5.16 lakh crore.With the latest invest-

ment,JioPlatformshasraiseda total of `92,202 crore fromleadingglobal technologyandgrowth investors whichincludeFacebook,SilverLake,VistaEquityPartners,GeneralAtlantic, and KKR, for a totalequity sale of around19%.In all thesedeals,the com-

panywill issue fresh shares tothe investors. It furtherstrengthens parent RelianceIndustries (RIL) target ofbecoming a zero-debt com-panyaheadofMarch2021.RIL’s net debt currently

standsat`1.6 lakhcroreandithas just raised `53,124 crorefrom a rights issue whichclosedonWednesday.Mubadala Investment

Company is a sovereigninvestor managing a global

portfolio for its share-holder, the government of

AbuDhabi.Jio Platforms is a wholly-

owned subsidiary of RILfocusing on next-generationtechnologies and the chiefcompany under its umbrellais Reliance Jio Infocommwhichhas388millionmobilesubscribers.

ContinuedonPage2

SIXTH DEAL IN SIXWEEKS ITTAKESTWO

CRAIG STIRLING,CATHERINE BOSLEY&WILLIAM SHAWFrankfurt/Zurich/London,June 5

EUROPE’S MONETARY ANDfiscal titans are finallymovinginlockstepasawaveofGermanstimulusbuttressingadditionalcentral-bankeasingheraldstheprospect of a newera of policycoordinationintheregion.Thosemeasures to aid the

economic pickup from thecoronavirus crisis, announcedwithinhalf adayof eachotherin Berlin and Frankfurt, fol-lowed a groundbreaking shifttoward creating a Europeanrecoveryfund inBrussels sup-portedbyjointborrowing.TheEuropeanCentralBank

boosted its pandemic bond-buyingprogrammeby600bil-lioneuros($680billion)to1.35trillion euros,and extended ituntilat least June2021.Germany needed to act

“courageously and decisively,”ChancellorAngelaMerkel toldGermanbroadcasterARDinaninterview late onThursday asshe defended the govern-ment’sunprecedentedspend-ing spree.“Luckily in the goodtimes we have acted in awaythatenablesustodothisnow.”Each initiative is already

substantial, but combinedthey’requitetheshowofforce.TheyalsosuggestthatEurope,which has long struggled tofind common ground overeconomic policy, ismore thanever exhibiting a sense of col-lectivepurpose.“Theshift inpolicymaking

attheEuropeanlevelhasbeentremendously significant,”said Neville Hill, chief Euro-pean economist at CreditSuisse in London.

ContinuedonPage2

KRISHNKAUSHIKNewDelhi, June5

AN ANALYSIS OF satelliteimagesofLadakh’sPangongTsoarea shows that not onlyhavetheChinesechangedthestatusquo at the Fingers, themoun-tain spurs along the lake, butalso built “substantial” struc-tures in thecontestedregionoftheLineofActualControl.Colonel S Dinny, who was

commanding officer of anIndianArmybattalion at Pan-gong Tso between 2015 and

2017, told The Indian Expressafterlookingatsatellite imagesfromMay27thatthestructureswerenotthereearlier.“Thatdef-initelywasnottherebefore.It isnotanormalthingthatgoesonbetweenFinger4andFinger8.Itiswhatwecallachangeinsta-tusquointhedisputedarea.”He said theChinese have in

the past pitched tents in theregion but not on the scale asnow,andthiswillnotbeaccept-abletoIndia.Thestructuresvis-ible now, he said, may not beable to house “thousands” of

Chinesetroops“butdefinitelyasubstantial number can beaccommodated”. “This time,thereisasubstantialnumber(oftents)...One cannot make outhow many troops are there.Have theybeen taken off?Onecannot be sure. That kind ofactivityhashappenedbefore.Inall probability, after the talksbetween theGenerals, thiswillalsobetakenoff.Idon’tseeany-thing else being acceptable toourside,”Dinnysaid.

ContinuedonPage2

BORDER TENSION

IAINMARLOWHong Kong, June 5

AGROUPOFseniorlawmakersfromeightdemocracies,includ-ingtheUS,havelaunchedanewcross-parliamentaryalliancetohelp counterwhat they say isthe threat China’s growinginfluenceposestoglobal trade,securityandhumanrights.The Inter-Parliamentary

Alliance on China, whichlaunched Friday, comes as theUSstruggles tomusteracohe-sivealliance to takeonChina’sgrowing economic and diplo-matic clout and as it leads for-eign governments in con-demning Beijing’s move toimposenationalsecuritylegis-lation on Hong Kong thatthreatensthecity’sautonomy.The group said it aims to

“construct appropriate andcoordinated responses,and tohelpcraftaproactiveandstrate-gicapproachonissuesrelatedtothePeople’sRepublicofChina”.US Republican senatorMarcoRubioandDemocratBobMen-endez,formerJapanesedefenceminister Gen Nakatani, Euro-peanParliamentforeignaffairscommittee member MiriamLexmann and prominent UKConservative lawmaker IainDuncanSmith are all co-chairsofthenewlylaunchedgroup.

ContinuedonPage2

● 'GLOBAL CHALLENGE'

Lawmakers ineight countriesform alliance tocounter China

IN THE NEWS‘MFschemes can'tinvest in physicalgoods except gold’THE SEBIONFriday saidmutual funds cannot invest inphysical goods barringgoldthroughgold exchange-traded funds (ETFs), reportsPTI. Exchange-tradedcommodity derivatives(ETCDs) havinggold as theunderlying assetwould beconsidered as 'gold-relatedinstrument' for gold ETFs.However, asMFschemesparticipating in ETCDsmayhold the underlyinggoods incase ofphysical settlementof contracts, in that casethemutual fundswill have todispose of suchgoodsfrom thebooks of thescheme at the earliest.

Sendallmigrantshome in 15days: SCtoCentre, statesTHE SUPREMECOURTonFriday asked theCentre andstates to transport allstrandedmigrant labourersto their respective nativestates in 15 days, reportsfe Bureau inNewDelhi. Theapex courtwill also prono-unce its order onTuesday(June 9) on theproblemsfacedbymigrants in thewake of lockdownwarrantedbyCovid-19 pandemic. Itsaid: “Whatwe intend todoiswewill give you and thestates 15 days’ time totransport allmigrants...”

INCREASING NUMBER

ISHAANGERANewDelhi, June 5

ONFRIDAY,INDIA’Snewinfec-tions increased to 9,851. Thecountry is expected to breachthe10,000markonSaturdayascases rise steadily at 4.6%(rolling average for three-dayperiod).Indiarecordedatotalof226,770infectionsonFriday.As per calculations from

paragkar.com, India’s dailygrowth rate increased from4.6%onFridayfrom4.4%adayago.ForDelhi,dailygrowthrateincreased to 6.3% from6.0%onThursday.Maharashtrawit-nessed a growth of 3.6%from3.4%.The growth rate inWestBengal andUttarPradesh alsoincreased to 6% and 3.4%,respectively,rising0.2%ineachstatefromthepreviousday.Aspertheserollingaverages

andaccountingforacorrectionfactor of 0.8, India will have5,64,238casesbyJune-end.While India still has a lower

proportionof cases anddeathsintermsof itspopulation.John

HopkinsUniversitydatashowsthat India with 5 deaths permillion people ranks 119th intheworld,andwith164positivecasespermillionranksanevenlower145th, in absolute num-bers India has moved to thefourth position in terms ofdeathsandthirdincases.WhileBrazilandtheUSrank

muchhigherwith 31,890 and22,268newcaseseveryday.

LEASH ON SPENDING

FE BUREAUNewDelhi, June 5

WITHTHESTIMULUSpackageinflating the Centre’s budgetexpenditure in FY21by1%ofGDP amid the possibility of ahuge revenue deficit in FY21,the Centre is leaving no stoneunturned to rein in low-prior-ity expenses.The expendituredepartment in the financeministry has directed allmin-istriesanddepartmentstosus-pend spending on most newschemes, including self-approved ones for FY21 andnot to initiate any fresh

schemes forat least ayear.Theministriesareempow-

ered to devise schemes withexpenditure commitment ofup to`500crore.It is not immediately clear

which schemes will beimpacted by the move, butrecent schemes approved byadministrative ministriesinclude the National Techni-cal Textile Mission andBharatiya Prakritik KrishiPaddhati, as a sub-schemeunder Paramparagat KrishiVikasYojana.

ContinuedonPage2

Revenue dept advises restraint toministries,tells them to focus onAtmaNirbharBharatand PMGareeb KalyanYojana for now

OVERCOMING DELAYS

SURYASARATHI RAYNewDelhi, June 5

HAVING SHOWN A steelyresolve to promote invest-ments in the mining sectorthrough several steps takenrecently,includingthesystemof single-licence with cer-tainty of tenure across themining value chain, the cen-tral government has nowcome out with a schemeunder which non-coal,non-fuel mining blockswill have most clearances

ready before these are put upforauction.According to an order

issued by the mines ministryon June 3, the system ofembedded clearances will betried in at five green-fieldblocks in each mineral-richstate on a pilot basis,with theintent to scale it upover time.Agovernment-levelproject

monitoringunit (PMU)will betasked with the mandate toobtain theclearances.

ContinuedonPage2

AT 12.3%, THE death rate forCovid-19 in Jalgaon,a district400 km to the north-east ofMumbai, is the highest inMaharashtra, reports Tabas-sum Barnagarwala in Jal-gaon.Fourcities Jalgaon,Bhu-sawal, Amalner and Pachoraaccount for 80% of the 112deaths till June4.For District Collector

Avinash Dhakne, alarm bellsrang loudmore than amonthbackonMay2.Outofatotal42cases, 14 died. Just five daysback, the district, known forbanana cultivation, hadrecordeditsfirstCovid-19case.

Detailed report onPage12

COMPANIES, P4THIRD INDIANTOGETAWARD

INTERNATIONAL, P8

SENSEX: 34287.24 ▲ 306.54 NIFTY: 10142.15 ▲ 113.05 NIKKEI 225: 22863.73 ▲▼ 167.99 HANG SENG: 24770.41 ▲ 404.11 `/$: 75.58 ▼ -0.00 `/€: 85.76 ▼ -1.14 BRENT: $41.35 ▲ $1.36 GOLD: `46,750 ▲▼ `23

NEW DELHI, SATURDAY, JUNE 6, 2020

KiranMazumdar-Shawnamed EYWorldEntrepreneur of 2020

COPYRIGHTCOMPLAINT

Twitter disablesTrumpvideo tributetoGeorge Floyd

OPINION, P6MUKESH BUTANI &TARUN JAIN EDITORIAL

Indiamayhavewiggle room inUSTR investigations

The govtmust facilitatehigh-quality researchonAyush systems topromote these

VOL. XLVI NO. 83, 12 PAGES, `10.00 (PATNA `9.00, RAIPUR `10.00) PUBL I SHED FROM : AHMEDABAD, B ENGALURU , CHAND IGARH , CHENNA I , HYDERABAD, KOCH I , KOLKATA , LUCKNOW, MUMBA I , N EW DELH I , PUNE

FOLLOW US ON TWITTER & FACEBOOK. APP AVAILABLE ON APP STORE & PLAYSTORE WWW.FINANCIALEXPRESS.COM

READ TO LEAD

With 10,000 daily infections,India nowthird in theworld

Why 112 died inJalgaon hospital?

Workerswearingprotectivegear disinfect a hotel roombefore its reopeningnextweek, in Kolkata on Friday

QuickPicks

SBI Q4 standalone netshoots up 327%y-o-yon one-time gain

STATE BANK of India’s (SBI’s)Q4FY20 standalone net profitjumped 327% year-on-year to`3,581 crore on the back of a

one-time gain of `2,731 crore from thesale of its stake in its credit card subsidiaryand an 18% year-on-year reduction inprovisions to `13,495 crore, reportsfe Bureau inMumbai. In theworst-casescenario under the Covid breakout, thepublic sector lender sees itself goingback to its performance in FY18,when ithad posted a net loss of `6,547 croreon a full-year basis. PAGE 10

Non-food credit growthshrinks `1.76 lakh cryear-to-date

OUTSTANDINGNON-FOODcredit in the banking system fell1.7%, or by `1.76 lakh crore,betweenMarch 27 andMay 22

to `101.44 lakh crore, showed the ReserveBank of India data, reports fe Bureau inMumbai.While there had been a`1.68-lakh-crore fall in loans outstandingeven in the comparable period a yearago, the drop this year stands out in thelight of the credit overdrive launchedby the central government and theloanmoratorium,which has resultedin a fall in repayments. PAGE 10

Special Features

On the eighth day of theSeltos being launched,it made Kia the seventh-largest carmaker inIndia; in the thirdmonthfifth-largest; and in theseventhmonth third-largest■Motobahn, P9

HowSeltosbecame India’sbestsellingSUV

Aswith other alcoholcompanies, the outlookis bleak for FY21 andFY22,with RoE likely tobewell below 20%seen in past 4 years;‘Neutral’ retained asvaluations are fair■ Investor, P9

USL’s showingwasbelowparinQ4FY20

`87,655.35 cr(18.97%)

RIL TRANSACTIONS ANNOUNCEDInvestors

Date

Investment(` cr)Equity

stake (%)

April 22,2020

43,574

9.99

May 04,2020

5,655.75

1.15

May 08,2020

11,367

2.32

May 22,2020

11,367

2.32

Jun, 52020

9,093.6

1.85

Facebook SilverLake

VistaPartners

GeneralAtlantic

KKR Mubadala

May 17,2020

6,598.38

1.34

Abu Dhabi fund picksup 1.85% stake in Jio

Recent steps to contain expenditure

Covid-related schemes won't be affected

~`1.4 lakh crore

`25,000 crore

~`1.8 lakh crore

Likely saving from capping ofQ1 spending by a few depts

Saving from freezing of DA hike foremployees/pensioners in FY21

Spending curbs likelyto continue for anumber of depart-ments in Q2FY21 Likely additional budgetary cost arising from

Atmanirbhar and PM Gareeb Kalyan package

Lagarde,Merkelunite Europe via€1.35-trn stimulus

Average time taken toobtain clearances now

Environmentclearances 270 daysForestclearances 530 daysLandacquisition Years

■ Pilot scheme of embeddedclearances for five blocks ineach mineral-rich state

■ A govt-run projectmonitoring unit (PMU) willobtain the clearances andrecoup expenses fromsuccessful bidder

Now, embedded approvals formineral blocks being auctioned

Govt puts a pauseonnewschemes

ECB boosts pandemicbond-buyingprogramme by

600 bn eurosCentral bank extends

programme until at least

June 2021Germany clinches astimulus push of

130 bn euro

$105m $104m $97m$170m

$95.5m $90m $88.2m $87.5m

$106.3m

KanyeWest

RogerFederer

CristianoRonaldo

LionelMessi

TylerPerry

Neymar HowardStern

LeBronJames

DwayneJohnson

$48.5m

AkshayKumar

$1

$95.

KaWe

Ne

1

52

2

7 8 9

3 4 5 6

10

$590m

KylieJenner

$104m $97m

$87.5m

LionelMessi

TylerPerry

DwayneJohnson

$48.5m

52

5 6

10

Highest paid celebrities

Kylie at top,Akshay only Indian on Forbes listAkshay Kumar has emerged as the only Indian on the list, grabbing the 52nd spot thisyearwith a total pre-tax earning of $48.5million. RealityTVstar and 22-year oldentrepreneur Kylie Jenner tops the list,with an estimated $590-million earnings.

FORBES

4.6

6.2

6.2

3.94.4

6.1

3.54.0

6.3

4.3

4.4

6.0

6.0

3.4

5.8

3.2

4.6

6.3

3.6

3.4

India Delhi Maharashtra West Bengal Uttar PradeshJune 2

(Compounded daily growth rate, based on 3-day rolling averages, %)

June 3 June 4 June 5

Rising problems

Satellite images fromMay27 showingChinese tents on thenorthbankofPangongTso in Ladakh PLANETLABSVIAREUTERS

Satellite images showChina has changed Pangong status quo

Silver Lake and itsco-investorswill

invest an additional

`4,546.80 cr,in addition to

`5,655.75 crearlier

New Delhi


THEGOVERNMENTONFridaynotified an ordinance to sus-pend insolvency proceedingsforup tooneyearagainst freshdefault from March 25. Themovewill potentially providebreather to thousands of firmsbatteredbythepandemic."Notwithstandinganything

contained in Sections 7,9 and10(oftheInsolvencyandBank-ruptcyCode),noapplicationforinitiation of corporate insol-vency resolution process of acorporate debtor shall be filed,

for any default arising on orafter March 25, 2020, for aperiod of six months or suchfurther period not exceedingoneyearfromsuchdate,asmaybenotified in thisbehalf…,"theordinancesaid.These sections (7,9 and10)

dealwith the initiation of theinsolvency proceedings byfinancialandoperationalcred-itorsandcorporatedebtors.However, insolvencyappli-

cations filed fordefault beforeMarch25willbeentertained.The government has

introducedasub-section-10A-intheIBCtodeclaretherelax-

ation.IthasalsoextendedsomerelieftofirmsunderSection66of the IBC. This Section sug-gests: "If during the corporateinsolvency resolution processor a liquidation process, it isfound that anybusiness of thecorporatedebtorhasbeencar-ried onwith intent to defraudcreditors of the corporatedebtor or for any fraudulent

purpose, the adjudicatingauthority (NCLT) may on theapplication of the resolutionprofessionalpassanorderthatany personswhowere know-inglyparties to thecarryingonofthebusinessinsuchmannershall be liable to make suchcontributions to the assets ofthe corporate debtor as itmaydeemfit."The ordinance said a sub-

section will be inserted afterSection66oftheIBC:"Notwith-standinganythingcontainedinthis Section, no applicationshallbefiledbyaresolutionpro-fessional undersub-section (2)

in respect of such defaultagainstwhich initiationofcor-porate insolvency resolutionprocessissuspendedasperSec-tion10-A."Thecut-offdateofMarch25

also comes as a relief for thelenderswhohad filed applica-tions or intended to do soagainst stressed firms thathaddefaultedbefore thepandemicstarted to spread, in syncwiththe central bank's June7,2019circular.Accordingtothiscircu-lar,adefaultcasewillhavetobereferred to theNCLTunder theIBCifnootherresolutionplanisfirmedupwithinsixmonths.

Leashonspending:Govtputs a pause onnewschemesTHECENTRE is keen to re-pri-oritise the expenditure, torestrict thewideningof thefis-cal deficit in FY21.Already,thedeficit inFY20turnedouttobe4.6%ofGDP,versus budgeted(RE) 3.8%, as the Centre hadfaced a 9.4% shortfall inreceipts from the revised esti-mate level,andstillhadtokeepthespendingatover99%oftheRElevel.The Centre has upped the

gross borrowings for FY21 by54% to Rs 12 lakh crore. Itsbudgetedfiscaldeficit,inclusiveof thefiscal stimulusandlikelyrevenue shortfall, is seen to beabout7-8%oftheGDPthisfis-calbyvariousanalysts.By asking some depart-

ments to restrict Q1 spendingto 40% of the usual level, theCentre is lookingtosavenearlyRs 1.4 lakh crore; another Rs25,000 crore is being saved byfreezingthedearnessallowance(DA) increase of its employeesforFY21.ExpendituresecretaryTV Somanathan recently toldFEthatsomeformsofspendingrestrictions and categorisationmightcontinueinQ2aswell.“No new proposal for a

scheme/sub-scheme,whetherunder delegated powers toadministrativeministryinclud-ing standing finance commit-tee (SFC) proposals or throughexpenditure finance commit-tee(EFC)shouldbeinitiatedthisyear except proposalsannouncedunder thePradhanMantri Gareeb KalyanYojana,AtmaNirbharBharatAbhiyanpackage and anyother specialpackage /announcement,”theexpendituredepartmentsaidinacircular.The initiation of new

schemes alreadyappraised/approved for FY21under the delegated powers ofthe administrative ministriesincluding SFC proposals(schemes up to Rs 500 crore),will remain suspended foroneyear tillMarch 31,2021 or tillfurtherorderswhicheverisear-lier, it said. The expendituredepartment sought the list ofsuch schemes to be suspendedfromministries/department,byJune30.In order to expedite project

approvalsandimplementation,the financeministry in a June

2016orderdelegatedadminis-trative ministries power toappraise schemes andprojectscosting up to Rs 500 crorethrough their respective SFCs.“Itmaybe appreciated that inthe wake of Covid-19 pan-demic, there is an unprece-dented demand on publicfinancial resources,and aneedto use resources prudently inaccordancewithemergingandchangingpriorities,”thedepart-mentsaid.While the Centrewon’t cut

spending on flagship schemesofficially,therecouldbesavingsonthis frontalso,as statesmaynot be able to fully utilise theschemeduetotheirinabilitytoprovide matching contribu-tions.Despite a tight leash on

expenditure, the Centre spent10% of FY21 budget in Aprilcomparedwith9%of the rele-vant target in FY20, due toexpenditures onCovid-relatedrelief such as cash transfers tothe poor, widows, the elderlyandfarmers.

Mubadalapicks up JioPlatforms stakeWITH THE series of invest-mentswhichstartedwithFace-bookinvestingRs43,574crorefor a 9.99% stake in Jio Plat-forms onApril 22, even otherglobaltech-majorshavereport-edlystartedlookingatinvestingin Indian telecom players.Reportedly,Googleislookingtopickupa5%stakeinVodafoneIdeaandAmazonaround5%inBhartiAirtel.MukeshAmbani,chairman

and managing director, RIL,said Mubadala is one of themost astute and transforma-tional global growth investors."ThroughmylongstandingtieswithAbuDhabi,I haveperson-ally seen the impact ofMubadala'sworkindiversifyingand globally connecting theUAE's knowledge-based econ-omy.We look forward to bene-fittingfromMubadala'sexperi-ence and insights fromsupporting growth journeysacrosstheworld,"hesaid.KhaldoonAlMubarak,man-

aging director and groupCEO,Mubadala Investment Com-pany,said,"We are committedto investing in, and activelyworking with, high growthcompanieswhich are pioneer-ingtechnologiestoaddresscrit-ical challengesandunlocknew

opportunities. We have seenhow Jio has already trans-formed communications andconnectivityinIndia,andasaninvestor and partner, we arecommitted to supportingIndia's digital growth journey.With Jio's network of investorsand partners,we believe thattheplatformcompanywill fur-ther the development of thedigitaleconomy”.To further its commitment

to innovation and technology,Mubadala established itsVen-tures arm in 2017 to partnerearlywith visionary foundersand support innovative busi-

nesses. Mubadala's Venturesbusiness currently managesseveralventurefundsintheUS,EuropeandMiddleEast.Atpre-sent, Mubadala's portfoliospans advancedmanufactur-ing,semiconductors,metals &mining, pharmaceutical andmedicaltechnology,renewableenergy and utilities, and themanagement of diverse finan-cialholdings.Thetransactionissubjectto

regulatoryandothercustomaryapprovals. Morgan Stanleyacted as financial advisor toReliance Industries andAZB&Partners, and Davis Polk &

Wardwellactedaslegalcounsel.

Lagarde,Merkelunite Europe in€1.35-trnstimulus zeal“IT’SNOTonlycapableofallow-ing the euro-area economy torecoverwellfromthenear-termcrisis, but it does raise theprospect of a better,and a bet-ter-balanced,policyframeworkintheEuropeanUniononceit’srecovered.”Atthecenteraretwowomen

who candrawonunique expe-

rienceofpriorfinancialmarketturmoil.Germany’s long-serv-ingchancelloroversawtwodaysoftensenegotiationstoclincha130billion-euro ($147billion)stimulus push, after Merkelbroughthergovernmentroundto sharing its fiscal might toback the EU’s new borrowingtool.Meanwhile,EuropeanCen-

tral Bank President ChristineLagarde, a former Frenchfinanceminister and Interna-tionalMonetaryFundchief,haskeptherinstitutionatthefore-frontofcrisisfirefighting,whilebluntly telling governments

thatitcan’tdothejobalone.Pol-icymakersexpandedbondpur-chases by600 billion euros onThursday,andcouldstill addtothat infuture.“The ECB is acting much

more aggressively than it hasever done before,and so is theGermangovernment,”saidNickKounis, an economist at ABNAmro inAmsterdam.“The pol-icy response has been muchmore rapid and coordinatedand focused compared to theglobalfinancialcrisis.”Some of the debt the ECB

will buywill beGerman-- con-veniently issued to pay for thecountry’s new stimulus. Thatfiscal-monetary connection isalreadywellunderwayincoun-triessuchastheU.K.,wherethecentral bank and governmenthave emphasized their coordi-nation.Amark of success for euro-

area officials came in the formof Italian 10-year bondyields,which dropped to the lowestlevel in twomonths onThurs-day.That narrowed the spreadoverGerman debt that’s longbeen awarning signal for offi-cials. It had spiked in March,whenLagardemistakenly sug-gested the ECB wasn’t inter-estedinkeepingit incheck.Theemergencythathaspro-

voked Europe’s economicactorsintochangingtheirwaysremains pressing.Lagarde saidonThursday that the region’scontractioninthesecondquar-terwill be“unprecedented”--leadingtoanear9%slumpthisyear.“Anambitiousandcoordi-natedfiscalstanceremainscrit-ical,”sheadded.

BLOOMBERG

Lawmakers ineight countriesformalliance tocounterChina“CHINA,UNDERtheruleofChi-nese Communist Party, repre-sentsaglobalchallenge,”Rubio,a frequent critic of Beijing andsupporterofUS legislationtar-getingChinaover its actions inHongKong,saidinavideomes-sageonTwitter.Beijing has repeatedly

stressed that the situation inHongKong is an internalmat-ter,whilesayingChina’sbroadereconomic and diplomaticexpansion poses no threat totheworld.“Weurgeasmallnumberof

politicians to respect facts,respect thebasic rules of inter-

national relations, abandon aColdWarmentality,stop inter-fering in domestic affairs andmakingpoliticalmovesforself-ish interests,”Chinese foreignministry spokesman GengShuang told a regular newsbriefinginBeijingFriday.The alliance said China’s

economic rise is putting theglobal,rules-basedorderunderpressureandthatcountriesthathavetriedtostanduptoBeijinghave mostly done so alone –and“oftenatgreatcost.”Thelistof participating nationsincludes theUS,Germany,UK,Japan,Australia,Canada,Swe-den,Norway, as well as mem-bers of the European parlia-ment.Several of those nationshavefacedintenseeconomicorpolitical consequences forcrossingChina’sstrategicambi-tions. BLOOMBERG

Border tension:Satellite imagesshowChinahaschangedPangongstatus quoTHEMAY27 images byPlanetLabsshowdozensofnewstruc-tures, most likely tents, thathavecomeupbetweenFinger8andFinger4onthenorthbankofPangongTso,oneofthemainpointsofcontentioninthecur-rentstandoff.The hills protrude into the

lake like fingers,and are num-bered 1 to 8 fromwest to east.Accordingto India,theLACliesat Finger8,butChinapoints toFinger4.ThedistancebetweenFinger 4 and Finger 8, Dinnysaid, is about 8 km. It wouldmean that the Chinese havenow camped 8 km inside theareawhichIndiaclaims.He said India has a“proper

postbetweenFinger3andFin-ger 2”and an“administrativebase between 3 and Finger 4,”which is used during patrols.Similarly,Chinahas“anadmin-istrative base on the other sideofFinger8”.Recalling his stint there,he

said: “Therewas no construc-tionbetweenFinger4andFin-ger8.Nopermanent construc-tion,noteventents.”While Dinny is not sure if

the Chinese have removed thetents sinceMay27,sources inDelhi toldThe Indian Expressthat the Chinese are now sta-tioned till Finger4,andarenotallowing Indian troops to gobeyondit.

EconomySATURDAY, JUNE 6, 2020

FINANCIALEXPRESS2


LOSSES OF STATE-OWNEDpowerdistributioncompanies(discoms)areseentobearound`58,000 crore in the currentfiscalbecauseoflowerrevenuegenerationamidmutedpowerdemand due to the lockdown,analysts at Crisil Ratings said.LossesinFY20weretothetuneof around `30,000 crore,according toanestimate.Discoms are also expected

toendupowinglendersastag-gering `4.5 lakh crore by theend of this fiscal, recording a30%annual rise,and deterio-rating theircreditprofiles.Itwas difficult for discoms

to continue meter readingexercisesandcollectpaymentsfrom consumers amid thelockdown. On top of that,muted industrial operations

took a toll on their finances asthese high-paying consumersegments contribute morethan70%ofdiscoms'revenue,butuseabout50%oftheover-all electricitysupplied.This is seen to widen the

gapbetweencostofsupplyandrevenue realised (ACS-ARRgap) fordiscoms."Highercostsand constrained cash inflowsamiddecliningdemandmeanthe per-unit operating gap ofdiscomswillwidento83paise

per unit by the end of this fis-cal," Manish Gupta, seniordirector, Crisil Ratings said.The ACS-ARR gap currentlystands at `0.37/unit. "Cashlosses this fiscal may almostdouble to `58,000 crore overlastfiscal,"theagencypointed.The government has

announced a `90,000-croreloan package for discoms tobattle the coronavirus crisis.Fundswillprimarilybeusedtoclear the dues of powergener-

ators. However, Crisil notedthat "this would be a tempo-rary stitch at best", and highercash losses could lead to"payables re-inflating sansincremental funding or statesupport".Going by the unaudited

information provided by thestates,discoms'financiallossesstood at more than `27,000crore at the end of FY19.Accordingtoauditeddata,dis-coms losses fell 13.2% to`33,365 crore in FY18. Dis-coms traditionally face cash-flow issues because state elec-tricity regulators infrequentlyand inadequately raise con-sumer tariffs.Dues from stategovernmentdepartmentsandlocal civic bodies, pegged at awhopping `50,000 crore atthe end of September 2019,also significantly impair thediscoms'abilitytoturnaround.

SC: Send strandedmigrantworkershome in15days

From the Front Page

GSTCouncilto meet onJune 12THEGSTCOUNCILisscheduled tomeeton June12and likelytodiscuss theimpactof theCOVID-19pandemicontax revenues,sources said.The40thmeetingof theGSTCouncilwill beheldviavideoconferencing.

TUscall forprotestonJuly3TENCENTRALTRADEunions,including theINTUCandCITU,onFridaycalled foranationwideproteston July3againstallegedanti-workerandanti-peoplepoliciesof thegovernment.

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WWW.FINANCIALEXPRESS.COM

Discoms’debtexpectedtorise30%to`4.5LcrbyFY21end

Now,embedded approvals formineral blocks being auctionedINFACT,thePMUwill be theapplicant for the assortedclearances required for amining project.All expensesrelated to the approvals willbe recouped from the suc-cessfulbidderslater.Asmanyas20clearancesarerequiredbefore themining can start,includingtheenvironmentaland forest clearances, andthe approval process istedious.Onanaverage,envi-ronmental and forest clear-ances take270and530daysrespectively,at present.Under the proposed pilot

scheme,thetwo-stageforestclearance process has beeneasedwith the first phase tobe obtained by the PMU,while the successful bidderwill obtain the final clear-ance.ThePMUwillalsocom-plete the environmentalclearanceprocess.Since obtaining land

rights formining is anothertimeconsumingprocess,thePMU would get the landrights formining in case ofboth government as well asprivately-owned land. Thestate government shouldalso apply and obtain allother clearances which arerequired for the lessee tostart themining operations.The fees for obtaining theseclearances shall also be ini-tiallybornebythe state gov-ernment and subsequentlyrecouped from the success-ful bidder.“Since themining plan is

the basic document to start

mining operation onwhichhinges theenvironmentandforest clearances, the PMUshould get the mining planpreparedbyengagingaqual-ified person and thenapproach Indian Bureau ofMineswith themining planwhich would approve theminingplanwithaperiodof15 days, allowing a success-ful bidder the flexibility toeitherenhanceorreducetheproduction limit by 25%,”theminesministrysaid.In order tomake it easier

for the newowners ofthe mer-chant mineswhere leaseperiodexpired inMarch 2020(auctioningwas allowedeven beforethe expiry ofthe leaseperiod), the Centre hadpassed the Mineral Laws(Amendment) Act, 2020,passed onMarch 12, underwhichnewowners can carryonwithminingactivityforaperiod of twoyears from thedate of grant of new lease,without acquiring freshenvironment and forestclearances.The leaseholderscould also apply for freshlicence beyond the period oftwoyears.“Now,theministrywants

to extend this facility also togreen-field projects with a

wider scope, this ministryseeks to make provision forauction of mineral blockswith pre-embedded clear-ances.Thiswill help to over-come the delays in opera-tionalisation of mines intoproductionaftertheauction.This will improve the busi-ness environment andimprove mining sector’scontributiontothecountry'sGDP and will bring greaterparticipation of companies,ensuringbetter rates of auc-tion. This will also ensure

higher rev-enues for thestategovern-ments inauction asthe mineralsblocks canstartproduc-tionimmedi-ately afterallocation.Auction ofblocks with

pre-embeddedclearancewillalso be a positive steptowardsachievingtheobjec-tives included in ease ofdoing business,” the minesministrysaid.The ministry said the

need to have thewindow ofpre-embedded clearancesstems from the fact that sofar 95 mining leases havebeen allocated through theauction since 2015. How-ever, it has been observedthatduetovariousprocessesinvolved,startofproductiongets inordinately delayed.

The major challenge in thisregardistospeedupthepre-sent procedural processesinvolved in obtaining statu-toryclearances fromvariousauthoritiesofthecentralandstate governments by thesuccessful bidder.The Federation of Indian

Mineral Industries (FIMI)hailedthemoveandsaidthiswould spur investments.H.Noor Ahmed, former FIMIpresident, said that the gov-ernment should also allowthemines already allocatedthroughtheauctionroutetostart production immedi-ately.Since the amendment to

the Mines and MineralsDevelopment and Regula-tion (MMDR)Act in 2015 toeaseinvestmentprocedures,just12newminingblocksofnon-coal minerals such asiron ore, limestone andbauxite have got opera-tionalised.Apartfromthestickyreg-

ulatory issues and thetedious delays associatedwithgrantofenvironmentaland forest clearances, theenormity of taxes and leviesalso continue to be an irri-tantforinvestors innon-coalmining, where India’s per-formanceis farbelowpoten-tial,making it vulnerable tohuge import bills. Indianlevies,onaverage,arearound40-45% (without includingthe corporate tax) comparedto5-14%globally.armmin-istrydata showed.

Themovewill potentiallyprovide breather tothousands of firms

battered by the pandemic

Under the proposedpilot scheme, the two-stage forest clearanceprocess has been eased,with the first phase tobe obtained by the PMU,while the successfulbidderwill obtain the

final clearance

❝❝ ❝❝

LABOUR LAWSSanjeev Sanyal, principal economic advisorWeare actually going to tighten safety andworking condition laws.We are actuallyintroducing nationwideminimumwages. So it'snot entirely as somepeoplemay claim tiltedagainst the labour.


THESUPREMECOURTonFri-day asked the Centre and thestate governments to trans-port all stranded migrantlabourers to their respectivestates in15days.A Bench of Justices Ashok

Bhushan, SK Kaul and MRShah said: "Whatwe intend todo is wewill give you and thestates 15 days' time to trans-portallmigrants.Allstateswillbring on record how theywillprovide employment andother kind of relief. Thereshould be registration of themigrants."The apex court will also

pronounce its order on Tues-day (June 9) on the problemsfaced bymigrants in thewakeof lockdown warranted byCovid-19pandemic.Solicitor general Tushar

Mehta told the court that thegovernment has transported

an approximate of one croremigrant labourers so far. "Byroad,41 lakhmigrant labour-ershavebeentransported,and57 lakhbytrain,"he said.Mehtasaidtherehasbeenno

deathbecause of lack ofwater,food and medicine, and alldeathstookplaceduetoexistingillness.Besides,theentirecoun-tryisworkingintandem.While the Bihar govern-

ment also informed the apexcourt that28 lakhpeoplehavereturned to the state from thebig cities, the Gujarat govern-ment submitted more than20.5 lakh migrants have leftthe state for their homes else-where.Additionalsolicitorgeneral

Sanjay Jain, who was repre-sentingtheDelhigovernment,told the court that around 2lakhworkers are still in Delhi."They are choosing not to goback. Less than 10,000work-ershaveexpresseddesire togoback to theirnativeplaces."

Canpvthospitalstreat coronaviruspatients atAyushmanBharatrate, asks SCFE BUREAUNewDelhi, June 5

THE SUPREMECOURTonFri-daysought responses frompri-vate hospitals if theycan treatcoronavirus patients at the feecharged under theAyushmanBharat - Pradhan Mantri JanArogya Yojana. The schemeannounced in 2017 provideshealthcovertopoorandvulner-ablepersons.Besides industry group

Healthcare Federation of Indiaand private hospitals,a Benchled by Chief Justice SA Bobdeasked thegovernment to shareitsviewonfreetreatmentintwoweeks.When senior advocateHarish Salve,who representedthehealthcaregroup,saidearn-ings of private hospitals havefallenbyupto70%aspeoplearenot coming to hospitals, theChief Justice asked:"That is allright.Youaremakingasacrificeforagoodcause…Areyouagree-able to charge Ayushman(Bharat)ratesfrompatients?"IBC ordinance: No fresh default case for a year fromMar25Price index for commercial coalminingFE BUREAUNewDelhi, June 5

THEGOVERNMENTONFridayreleased the indicative coalpricesforthemaidentrancheofcommercialauctionsundertherevenue sharingmodel.'Repre-sentative prices'will beused tocomputethegovernment'srev-enue share from auctionedmines.The rateshavebeenderived

fromaweightedcombinationof

monthlypricesofcoalinvariouschannelsoftransaction,includ-ing imports, for themonth ofMarch. Companies will usethese prices to evaluate theirbids forcoal blocks in auctions,whichareexpectedtotakeplacenextweek.The representativeprices of

non-cokingcoalbetweentheG7andG14gradesareintherangeof `1,098/tonne to`2,619/tonne.Though pricesare higher than the notified

price of the fuel sold by CIL,industry sources said the rateslookbalanced.Thecoalministryhasalso rolledout the‘nationalcoal index’, which is theweightedaverageofthechangeincoalratesbasedonFY18pricelevels.This index,sources said,will be used to calculate theamount of performance secu-ritycompaniesneedtopayafterwinning coal blocks, and willalsohave abearingonprices ofcoaltobesoldfromthesemines.

New Delhi


STATE GOVERNMENTSCAN'Ttaxfarmtradeunderthenewcentral law for inter-statetradethatvirtuallyallowsfarm-ers to sell their produce any-where in the countrywithoutbeing impeded by the APMCmandis,according to theOrdi-nanceissuedonFriday.Via another Ordinance,

farmers would get share ofpost-contractpricesurge,afterthey sign agreements of con-tract farming with privateplayers.Also,theywillhavethecoverofminimumguaranteedprice if open market/mandirates fall drastically.While farmers under the

newCentral lawwill nowhavefreedomtoselltheirproduceinanymarket,disputeswithbuy-ers could be first raised withsub-divisional magistrate,whileappealswillgothedistrictmagistrate.Thetwoordinancesarekeptoutof judicial process.No state levieswill be imposedon trade outside the APMCmandis. Payment has to bemadetothefarmerwithinthreeworkingdays.According to thenew law, anyone having PANcard can trade under the newlaw,while the Centre reservesthe right to laydown anynewprocedures, includingmanda-torypriorregistration.Farmerproducer organisa-

tions and cooperatives can setup e-platform for trading butthey cannot charge any fee formakingavailabletheservicestothefarmers.The two ordinances, along

withanotheroneintheoffingtogive effect to the amendmentsproposedtotheEssentialCom-moditiesActtoeasestockhold-ingrestrictionsoncommoditiestill the food processors in thevalue chain,will together go along way in unshackling theentire agriculture-to-food-pro-

cessing-to-retailingvalue-chainandgivingfarmersthechoicetoselltheirproduceinanymarketacrossthecountry,analystsfeel.Under the law for contract

farming, in casemarket pricesof anyagri produce go up sub-stantially,thefarmerswillhavesome share (which will bedefinedinRules)abovethecon-tractedpricewhiletheywillalsohave a minimum guaranteedprice if open market/mandirates fall drastically.The recov-eryofamountfromfarmerswillnotexceedwhatthefarmerhasreceivedasanadvancefromtheprocessor/FPO/trader withwhom con-tract wassignedwhilehis landrightswillbeprotected atanycost.Contract

farmingcould alsohelp thegovern-ment’s cropdiversifica-tion pro-grammesince farm-ers will beassured of

salesandprices.ThechangestotheEssential

Commodities Actwill removecereals, edible oil, oil seeds,pulses,onions andpotato fromits purview. The reforms willhelp evacuate the surplusesfrom production zones todemandzonesseamlessly,totheadvantageoffarmer-producersandplayers across the agricul-turevalue chain,whohave alsobeenpromisedsolidsupportbywayof schemes and outlays tobuildinfrastructureandlogisti-calchainsfromfarm-gatetotheretailtrade,andevenexports.Farmerproducersorganisa-

tions (FPOs) and cooperativeshave been allowed to set uptheirowntradingplatform,buttheyare not allowed to chargeanyfeesforthat.Thelawalsoallows theCen-

tre to set up anorganisation todisseminate market prices tofarmersandalsocollectmarketintelligence.

ECONOMY 3FINANCIALEXPRESS

WWW.FINANCIALEXPRESS.COM SATURDAY, JUNE 6, 2020

PUBLIC NOTICEThat my client Sh. Parkash Kumar S/o Sh.Khem Chand R/o House No-745, D.D.A.Tenements, Vishal Enclave, Tagore GardenNew Delhi- 110027, have disowned/debarred/discard his Daughter namely TulikaD/o Sh. Parkash Kumar, from all of myclient’s movable and immovable assets andhave also ceased all his relations in everyrespect with them as they are not under thecontrol of my client. It is further declare thatany person or persons whosoever deals withthem shall do that entirely at his/her/theirown risks and costs and responsibility andmy client shall not be responsible for dealingwith them if any person do so.

Sd/-BHARAT KUMAR (Advocate)

785, Ground Floor, Near Rajouri PoliceStation, Vishal Enclave,

New Delhi-110027

Ordinances on inter-state farmtrade,contract farmingoutof judicialprocess

`8,000-crore retention funds to beallotted to EPC highway contractorsFE BUREAUNewDelhi, June 5

THEMINISTRYOF road trans-port and highways (MoRTH)hasdecided to release`7,500-8,000croreofretentionmoneyto provide liquidity support toengineering,procurementandconstruction(EPC)concession-aires.Retentionmoney is theamountaconcessionairehastokeepwiththegovernmentdur-ing the construction period,in proportion to the workalreadyexecuted.

“Currently, around 1,260EPCprojects,measuring36,000km,areinvariousstagesofcon-structionatanestimatedcostof`3.65 lakh crore. Retentionmoney lyingwith theMoRTHfortheseprojects couldbeany-where between `7,500 croreand`8,000 crore,”said ICRA’sRajeshwarBurla.Developers are required to

keep 5%of the project cost asretentionmoneywith thegov-ernment during the construc-tionperiod.The ministry has said no

fresh deductions of retentionmoney would be made in thenextthreetosixmonths.Bulkofthe contractors’ cash profitremains stuck in the form ofretention money. Therefore,release of this money on animmediatebasiswillbealiquid-ity breather for contractors,Burlasaid.The MoRTH said the deci-

sion to release the retentionmoneywastakenafterduecon-sideration of the representa-tions received from the con-structionindustry.

New Delhi

CompaniesFINANCIALEXPRESS4 WWW.FINANCIALEXPRESS.COM

SATURDAY, JUNE 6, 2020❝❝

❝❝SHIFTTOFLEXIBLEWORKSPACESKaranVirwani, CEO,WeWork India

Spaceas a service is a hugeopportunity for them(businesses) to freeupcash, andWeWorkhas theright foundations andexperience toprovide safe,flexibleworkspaces

BMWChennai plantto move to 100%green electricityTHROUGHAhostof initiatives,BMWGroup’sChennaiplanthascommit-ted toconvert to100%greenelectric-itybytheendof theyear.Overthe lastfewyears,theplanthas steadilyreplacedconventional energysourceswithsustainablealternatives.

UltraTechCementcurbsFY21capexto`1,000crULTRATECHCEMENThas restrictedits capital expenditureplans forthisfiscal to`1,000croredue toCovid-19disruptions,as conserving its cashpositionhasbecomethe“biggestmotto”forthecompanythisyear.Inaregulatoryfiling,theAdityaBirlaGroupfirmsaid thecapital and finan-cial resourcesof thecompanyremainentirelyprotected inspiteof theadverse impacton its salesduring thefirst twophasesof the lockdownandthe liquiditypositionremains“ade-quatelycovered”.“Due toCOVID-19,capital expenditure (CAPEX)plans forthecurrent financialyearhavebeenrestricted toanamountofaround`1,000crore,”saidUltraTech inadis-closureofmaterial impactof theCovid-19pandemic.

Mahindratoraise`500crthroughNCDsMAHINDRA&Mahindra (M&M)onFridaysaid itwill raise`500crorethrough issuanceof securitiesonaprivateplacementbasis.The loansand investmentcommitteehasapproved issuanceandofferof5,000rated,listed,unsecured,redeemablenon-convertibledebenturesof`10lakheachaggregating`500crore,M&Msaid ina regulatoryfiling.Theautomajordidnotelaborateonthereasons forraising thecapital.

CavinKare launches foodproducecleanserbrandHOME-GROWNFMCGcompanyCavinKareonFridayannouncedthelaunchof itsnewbrandSaaFooforveg-etable,fruitandmeatwashesinaneasy-to-usesachetformat.TheChen-nai-headquarteredcompanysaidthatasmostofthehouseholdsinIndiacon-tinuetorelyonplainwaterforcleans-ingoffreshproduce,thesachetformatofSaaFooproductshasbeenintro-ducedinthemarkettoaidconsumersmaintaineffectivecleansingpracticesforfood.Thenewly- launchedbrandwillhousetwoexclusiveproductsunderitsumbrella:SaaFooVeggiesandFruitsWashandSaaFooMeatWash.CavinKareisadiversifiedFMCGfirmwithbusiness interests inpersonalcare,professionalcare,dairy,snacks,foods,beveragesandsalons.

ToyotaKirloskarMotortohikepriceof twomodelsTOYOTAKIRLOSKARMotor(TKM)onFridayannounceditwouldincreasethepricesoftheCamryHybridElectricVehicleandtheVellfirewitheffectfromnextmonth.Themovehasbeennecessitatedduetothe“substantialrise”inexchangerates,thecompanysaidinastatement.“Asofnow,theextentofthepricehikehasnotbeendecided,”aTKMofficialsaid.TheCamryHybridistoutedasoneofToy-ota’sflagshipmodelsamongself-chargingelectricvehicles.“TheVellfire,latest launchbyTKMinIndia,alsostandsoutforitsultra-luxurious,pow-erfulandeco-advancedperformancebackedbylowfuelconsumptionandcarbonfootprints,”thestatementsaid.

AtlasCycles shutsopsatlastmanufacturingunitATLASCYCLEShas shut its lastmanu-facturingunit inSahibabad,justout-side thenational capital,citing lackoffunds to runthe factory.ItsCEONPSinghRana,however,insists theshut-downisonlytemporary,and thecom-panywill resumeoperationsonce it isable to raisearound`50crorebysell-ingsurplus land.Thecompanyshutthe factoryon June3,which ironicallywasalso theWorldBicycleDay.It laidoff431remainingemployees,thoughRana insists theycontinue tobeonthe roll of thecompanyandwill bepaid“lay-offwages”uponmarkingattendancedaily.

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PRESSTRUSTOF INDIANewDelhi, June 5

IL&FSTRANSPORTATIONNETWORKS,agroup company of the troubled IL&FSGroup, on Friday reported a standaloneloss of `17,000.32 crore for fiscal year2019-20,amidCovid-19disruptions.Thecompanyhadclockedastandalone

profit of `251.76 crore during the fiscal2018-19,it said ina regulatoryfiling.However,thecompanydidnotprovide

figures for the fourth quarterof the fiscal2019-20andtheconsolidated figures forthe quarter and year ended March 31,2020.Duringthelastfiscal,thecompanysaw

a sharp decline in its standalone totalincome to `786.24 crore, as against`4,709.48crore in theyear-ago fiscal.Its total expensesduring the last fiscal

stood at `3,014.37 crore, as against`4,377.69crore in theprevious fiscal.“AsaresultofthespreadofCOVID-19,

economicuncertaintieshavearisenwhichare likely to negatively impact the timingof claimreceivablebytheSpecialPurposeVehicle (SPVs) and asset monetisation,

whichmay result into additional impair-ment of investments, trade receivables,loansandotherreceivables.“Other financial impact could also

occur though such potential impact isunknown,”thecompanysaid.It said it has net liabilities of

`13,884.41crore,asonMarch31,2019.The company said it has also suffered

consistentdowngradesinitscreditratingssinceSeptember2018,asaresultofwhichthe company's ability to raise funds hasbeensubstantially impaired,withnormalbusiness operations being substantiallycurtailed.“These conditions, along with other

matters...indicatetheexistenceofamate-rial uncertainty thatmay cast significantdoubtaboutthecompany’sabilitytocon-tinueasagoingconcern,”it said.

IL&FSTransportation incurs`17K-crstandalone loss inFY20

DHWANI PANDYAMumbai , June 5

DLF, THE LARGEST listed developer inIndia, plans to refinance `1,300 crore ofdebtdue forrepayment thisyear,the com-panysaidinaninvestorpresentation.While“thesecaneasilybeservicedfrom

the current cash levels, we are workingtoward refinancing this debt tomaintainstrong liquidity position throughout theyear.Newfunding being done at reducedinterestcosts,therebyreducingoutflow,”thecompanysaidinthepresentation.Thecompany’snetdebtstoodat`52.67

billionasofMarch31,cashandcashequiv-alentswere`25.07billion.DLFreported aloss for the fourthquarterof `18.6 billionagainst aprofit `4.37billiony-o-y,follow-

ingdeferredtaxasset reversalontheadop-tionofalowertaxrateThe company’s development business

arm fell short of reaching the annual salestargetsof`27billioninFY20,followingpan-demic-relatedlockdownsandcancellationsatultra-luxuryresidentialprojectCamelliasDLFexpectsQ1FY21 to be awashout,

owingtotheextendedlockdownandlackofshort-termvisibility for the buyers; somesemblance of normalcywill return towardQ3FY21.DLFretaineditspositiverentaloutlook,

with sustained success in collections,busi-ness continuitysupport,andpositive feed-backfromtenants.Thecompanyhasresumedconstruction

immediatelyupon liftingof restrictions.Itsees lending institutions to be risk-averse,therebyaccentuating funding challengesfor stressed developers and acceleratingconsolidation. BLOOMBERG

DLFplans to refinance `1,300 croreof debt to conserve liquidity


PRIVATE SECTOR CAPITAL expenditureisnotcomingbackinahurry,ascompaniesstill need to dust their balance sheets andget revenue and cash flows back in linebefore they start investing, Larsen &Toubro’s(L&T)topbrasssaidonFriday.Likeother large corporates like Wipro andInfosys, L&T too refrained from giving aguidance for the current financial year,which isabreakfromtradition.L&T CEO and managing director SN

Subrahmanyansaidthatthecompany,toalarge extent, is going to be dependent onstategovernment,publicsectorunitsandafewcentralgovernmentjobsbutthesewillbe backedbya lot ofmultilateral funding.“About35%ofthejobswillbemultilateralfundedfromthe likesof JICA,WorldBank,AsianDevelopment Bank as such. I don’tsee private sector revival at themoment”.He added that the company sees someactivityontheairportsside,andsomejobscominginontheresidentialandcommer-cialrealestate.Alargeextentwillbefundedbymultilateral funding and governmentfunding.HeaddedthatintheMiddleEasttoothe

jobswouldbemostlygovernment-led andthatwasthewaythecompanywas lookingatforthenextonetotwoyears.In a break from the tradition,L&Talso

keptfromgivingaguidanceforFY21,stat-ing that as the economic situation isdynamic and uncertainty over how theCovid-19 pandemic plays out,“anyguid-ancewill not be relevant”at this stage andwill be given once the situation becomesbetterlaterintheyear.The companyhas startedoperations in

all its factories and60-70%labour is back

said Subrahmanyan said.However,of its950-oddsites,about90%havestartedbuthardly with 40% of labour. “We have120,000-odd labourers right now at thesites, we need to get it up by another100,000,”hesaid.L&T posted a mixed set of numbers.

While it beat analyst expectations on thenetprofitandrevenuefronts,itmissedtheestimates on operating income.However,in comparison to the previous year, thenumbers remained weak. The companyreported a decline of 6% innet profit on ayear-on-year basis for the quarter endedMarch 31,2020 to `3,197 crore againstBloomberg’sconsensusestimatesofabout`3062 crore. Revenues from operationsduring the quarterweremarginallyup by2%y-o-y to `44,245 crore.Analysts hadexpected the revenue to come in at nearly`43,896croreThe company’s Ebitda (earnings before

interest, tax,depreciation and amortisa-

tion) stood at `5,120.7crore,a decline of3%y-o-yagainst analysts’expectation of`5,325.58crore.Consequently,Ebitdamar-ginscameinat11.6%,adeclineof60basispointsy-o-y.Order inflows during the quarter

increased 5% to`57,785 crore,while theorderbook stood at `3.03 lakh crore as onMarch31,2020.As forworking capital, it deteriorated

to 23% to sales versus 18% to sales inFY19.R Shankar Raman, chief financialofficer,saidthattosomeextentdeteriora-tionwasonaccountofthecompanyallow-ing the vendor sub-system to get paidregardless of the payment out of the cus-tomercollections.“Sodeterioration isnotdirectlylinkedtocustomersnotpayingus,it is also because of the fact thatwe paidourvendors. Secondly, the terms of tradewith all our contracts are increasinglybecominginterestlinkedwhenitcomestocustomeradvances.Earlierdaysweusedtohave customer advanceswhich are inter-est free, I guess the liquidity squeeze allaround are making people count theirpenniesmoreclosely”.

Private capexnot returning inahurry: L&T;Q4net down6%

Q4FY20(` crore)Ebitda Net

profit

Order Bookas on March(lakh)

Ebitdamargin(%)

Orderinflow

Revenuefrom

operations

Q4FY19

12.2 11.63.03

«

«

Chg (%)

Source: Company Consolidated figures

2

«

4 60 bps

«

5«3 6«

«

5,280

3,400

55,100

44,245

5,120.7

3,197

57,785

43,303.4

2.90

●GUIDANCE NOTPROVIDED


THE $111-BILLION TATA Group is notlooking tomonetise investments to raisecapital and has enough cash to supportgroup firms, its chairman N Chan-drasekaran said on Fridayas he sought toscotch speculations about the impact ofCovid-19onthegroup’sbusiness.The board of Tata Sons, the holding

company of the salt-to-software con-glomerate,met on Friday, reportedly toevaluateanddiscussstrategies toallocatefunds to group companies and prioritisesectorsneedingmore liquidity.

Withoutmentioning the boardmeet-ing,Tata Sons issued a statement to“dis-peltherecentunfoundedrumours”aboutthegroup.“The Tata group companies, like all

other companies, are facing both chal-lengesandopportunitiesarisingoutofthepandemic and resulting economic situa-tion,basedon the industries andmarketsthey operate in,”Chandrasekaran said inthestatement.“All our group companies are pro-

gressing well responding to these chal-lengesandopportunitiesandwearecon-fident that theywill emergestronger,”headded.

Chandrasekaran: Tata Sons not looking tomonetise investments to raise capital


BIOCON EXECUTIVE CHAIRPERSONKiranMazumdar-ShawhasbeennamedEYWorld Entrepreneurof theYear2020 at avirtual award ceremony,the companysaidinastatement.Shewasselected fromamong46Entre-

preneurof theYearcountryawardwinnersfrom41countriesandterritories,itadded.“Iamtrulyhonouredtoreceivethepres-

tigious EYWorld Entrepreneurof theYearAward2020.Atitscore,entrepreneurshipisaboutsolvingproblems.Thegreatestoppor-tunities often arise at the toughest times,and that’s beenmyexperience throughoutmyentrepreneurial journey,”Mazumdar-Shawsaid.“Mybusiness focus is global healthcare

andtheprovisionofuniversal access to lifesavingmedicine; however,myresponsibil-

ityasanentrepreneurisgreaterthansimplydeliveringvaluetoshareholders,”sheadded.Wealth creation can be a catalyst for

change,andallentrepreneurshavearespon-sibility to theworld around themand thecommunities in which they operate,Mazumdar-Shawsaid.“Women also playa hugely important

role in economicdevelopment,and for toolongtheircontributionhasbeenignored.It’s

important thatweuse the platformof EYWorldEntrepreneurof theYear to encour-agemorewomentoparticipateinentrepre-neurialpursuits,”sheadded.Mazumdar-Shawis the third Indian to

win this award, the earlierwinners fromIndiawereUdayKotakofKotakMahindraBankandNarayanaMurthyofInfosysTech-nologies,thestatementsaid.RajivMemani,EY India chairman and

regionalmanagingpartner,said,“DrShaw’srecognition is a moment of tremendouspride for Indian entrepreneurship.She istrulyawinneronseveralcounts—notonlyhas she shown tremendousvisionand for-titudetogrowBioconintoamarket-leading,innovation-drivenbiotechnologyorganiza-tionwhichhas createdaglobal impact,buthas alsomadehermarkas a torchbearerofdiversity,a voice of Indian industryand afrontrunner in philanthropy and givingbacktothesociety.”

DLF retained its positive rentaloutlook,with sustained success incollections, business continuity

support, and positive feedback fromtenants

The company did not providefigures for the fourth quarter of thefiscal 2019-20 and the consolidatedfigures for the quarter and year

endedMarch 31, 2020

Biocon’s KiranMazumdar-ShawnamedEYWorld Entrepreneur of 2020


THEGOVERNMENTHASallowedshoppingmalls outside containment zones to openfromMonday (June8),albeitwith thermalscreeningofshoppers,staggeredentryandaproper crowdmanagement strategy.Themeasuresformpartofthestandardoperat-ing procedures (SOPs) issued by thehomeministry(MHA)onThursday.As the governmentmoves aheadwith

UnlockIndia1.0andtriestorevivetheecon-omy,whichhas takenahitdueto thenovelCoronavirus(Covid-19)outbreak,mallsandshopping complexeshavebeen allowed toopen,butwithprecautions,inabidtoboostretaildemand.Asper the SOPs,thermal screeningwill

bemandatoryattheentranceandonlythoseshopperswillbeallowedwhousefacemasks

that are to bewornat all times.Hand sani-tisers shouldalsobeplacedat theentranceandonlyasymptomaticcustomersandvis-itorswillbeallowed.Entry to shopping malls should be

allowedinastaggeredmannerandadequatemanpower should be deployed to ensuresocialdistancingnormsarefollowed.Apart from SOPs, malls will have an

immersivedisinfectionprocess foraircon-ditioning and fresh-air systems,alternateseatingarrangementsatF&Boutlets,plexi-glassshields,isolationroomsforcustomersandstaffwithsymptoms,etc.PushpaBector,executivedirectorofDLF

ShoppingMalls,told FE that the companyhasbeenpreparingforthepasttwomonthsandisgeareduptoopenthemalls.Thefirmruns sevenhigh-end shoppingmalls.“Wearealsoembracingtechnologyforprovidingreal-timefoottraffic,real-timenotifications

on safetyand cleanliness,bookingof timeslots,goldenhours tovisit ourmallswhichourconsumerscanexperienceverysoononDLFMall’sLukoutapp,”shenoted.BectorsaidDLFis initiallylookingat re-

openingmallsat12:00pmandshuttingaspercurfewhourssetbythegovernment,sothat consumers feel safe to come induringthat time.It is also settingupprotocols for

foot traffic control at the entrances,alongwith deployment of the mall staff at thewalkways and common areas, to ensureadherenceofsocialdistancingnorms.“Right from temperature checks at

entrance,three-stepsrolloversatescalators,permanent distancemarkers in the eleva-tor,repeatedsanitisationofcommonplacesincluding washrooms; trained staff andmore,we are positive to enable a safe yetenjoyableshoppingexperienceforourcus-tomers,”sheadded.Food and beverage brandswill reduce

seating arrangements to 50%andmain-tain placing of seating and tables six feetapartforallcustomers.Theywillbeaccept-ing pre-orders to avoid long queues andtherewill also be a focus onmore of take-aways,Bectorsaid.PacificGroup,whichrunsfourmalls,will

give educationalmessages throughonline

andofflineplatformsonCovid-19throughtwocharacters,HarryandJazz.Forthisitwilluse life-size cut-outs,socialmedia anima-tions,etc.“Wehavealso takenadecision tohaveahospitalpartnerfortrainingandsup-port,and aCovid-19 task force and emer-gencyresponseteam(ERT)forstrictadher-ence and action. We will also have astate-of-the-art contactless food-orderingandpayments app for food courts andwillencouragecashlesspaymentmethodsatallstores and food counters,” Pacific GroupexecutivedirectorAbhishekBansalsaid.GaursGroupmanagingdirectorManoj

Gaursaid,“Weare committed to taking allnecessarymeasuressuchasthermalcheck-ing, sanitisers, social distancing as pre-scribed norms, regular sanitisation, con-trolledhours and sanitisation tunnel at allentrypoints”.The group has twomalls inGreaterNoidaWestandGhaziabad.

Malls to have thermal screening, sanitisation tunnels, staggered entry


DRUGMAKER SUN PHARMACEUTICALIndustriesonFridaysaid ithasbegunclini-cal trials of a plant-derived drug for thepotential treatment of Covid-19, withresultsexpectedbyOctober.Thedrug,AQCH,isderivedfromtropical,

climbing shrub Cocculus hirsutus, com-monlyknownasbroomcreeperorPatalgar-udi,andisbelievedtohavemedicinalprop-erties.Inastatement,SunPharmasaidPhase-

2trialson210patientsacross12centresinIndia will be conducted and results areexpectedbyOctober.Ahumansafetystudyofthedrughasbeencompleted.AQCHwas initially developed to treat

dengue but has “shown broad antiviraleffect” in laboratory tests against Coron-avirus,itsaid.India’s largestdrugmaker joinspharma

companies aroundtheworld todevelopaneffectivetreatmentorvaccineforthediseasethathaskilledalmost4 lakhpeopleworld-wide.TwootherIndianfirms,GlenmarkPhar-

maceuticalsandStridesPharmaSciencetooareconductingtrialsforpotentialCovid-19treatments.Sun Pharma said it received approval

fromtheDrugsControllerGeneralof India(DCGI) forconductingthetrialsofthephy-topharmaceuticaldruginAprilthisyear.“The clinical trials will be conducted

across12centres in India on210patients.Thetreatmentdurationforpatientswillbe10days.The results of the clinical trials areexpectedbyOctober2020,”itadded.HumansafetystudyofAQCHhasalready

been completed and the drug has beenfound safe at the recommended dose for

Phase-2study,SunPharmasaid.“This is the first phytopharmaceutical

drugapprovedforclinicaltrialsbytheDCGIas a potential treatment for COVID-19.AQCHhas shownanti-SARS-CoV-2 effectsin in-vitro studies conducted in collabora-tionwith ICGEB (International Centre forGenetic Engineering andBiotechnology),Italy,”SunPharmaMDDilipShanghvisaid.These results combinedwith informa-

tion onmechanismof action through in-vitro and small animal studies give us theconfidence toevaluate thispotential treat-ment option for Covid-19 patients, headded.AQCH,which is beingdeveloped fordengue,has shownabroad antiviral effectinvitrostudiesandhence isbeingtestedasapotential treatmentoption forCovid-19,SunPharmasaid.“Ourefforts todevelop a safe,effective,

andaffordabledrugagainstdenguestartedabout13yearsago.Thecollaboratingteamquickly initiated studies for the develop-mentofadrugagainstCOVID-19,”Depart-ment of Biotechnology Secretary RenuSwarupsaid.StatingthattheCouncilofScientificand

Industrial Research (CSIR) has had a closeassociationwiththe Indianpharmaindus-try, CSIR DG Shekhar C Mande said thecouncil“welcomes this collaborationwithSunPharma in taking forwardAQCH intoclinical trials forCOVID-19patients.Thiscollaborationalignswithourscientificratio-nale for the quickestwaytodevelopdrugsagainstSARS-CoV-2.”

Sun Pharma starts trialsfor potential plant-basedCovid-19medicine

Firmwins up to `5K-crTelangana contractLARSEN &TOUBRO on Friday saidit has secured a large contract fromthegovernmentofTelanganaforanirrigationproject.Though the company did not

specify the exact contract value, asperitsspecification,a‘large’contractranges between `2,500 crore and`5,000crore.

PTI

Biocon executive chairpersonKiran Mazumdar-Shaw

Sun Pharma said Phase-2 trials on210 patients across 12 centres inIndiawill be conducted and results

are expected byOctober

New Delhi

COMPANIES 5FINANCIALEXPRESS


OnMobile Global LimitedRegistered Office : OnMobile Global Limited, Tower #1,

94/1C & 94/2, Veerasandra Village, Attibele Hobli, Anekal Taluk,Electronic City Phase-1, Bangalore - 560100

Corporate Identity Number (CIN): L64202KA2000PLC027860Phone: + 91 80 40096000 Fax: + 91 80 40096009

E-mail: [email protected], Website: www.onmobile.com

For OnMobile Global LimitedSd/-

P V VaraprasadCompany Secretary

Dated : June 5, 2020Place : Bangalore

NOtiCeNotice is hereby given that, pursuant to Regulation 47 ofSEBI (Listing Obligations and Disclosure Requirements)Regulations, 2015, a meeting (FY2020-21/4) of the Boardof Directors of OnMobile Global Limited, is scheduled tobe held on Monday, June 22, 2020 at the registered officeof the Company at Tower #1, 94/1C and 94/2, VeerasandraVillage, Attibele Hobli, Anekal Taluk, Electronic City Phase-1,Bangalore - 560100 through Zoom Video conference toconsider and approve inter alia the audited financial resultsof the Company (Standalone and Consolidated) as perIND-AS for the quarter and year ended March 31, 2020 andto consider the recommendation of dividend, if any, amongstother matters.Further details are available at:Company website: www.onmobile.comStock Exchange website: www.bseindia.com, www.nseindia.com

Regd Office: Plot B5, Block III, Uppal, IDA, Hyderabad - 500039www.alkalimetals.com Email Id: [email protected]

Ph : +91 40 27201179/27562932, Fax : +91 40 272 01454; CIN: L27109TG1968PLC001196NOTICE TO SHAREHOLDERS

Transfer of Equity Shares of the Company to Investor Education and ProtectionFund (IEPF)DematAccountThis notice is published pursuant to the provisions of Investor Education and ProtectionFund Authority (Accounting, Audit, transfer and Refund) Rules, 2016 as amended fromtime to time.The Companies Act, 2013 and the Rules, inter alia contain provisions for transfer of allshares in respect of which dividend has not been paid or claimed by the shareholders forseven consecutive years or more in the name of Investor Education and Protection FundAuthority (IEPF).In compliance with the requirements of the Rules, individual communication has beensent to each of the shareholder(s) at the latest available address who have not claimedtheir dividends for last seven consecutive years i.e from financial year 2012-13 onwardsand accordingly, whose shares(s) are liable to be transferred to IEPF under the said Rulesfor taking appropriate action.TheCompany has also uploaded complete details of such shareholders including names,their folio no or DP ID and client ID and the number of shares due for transfer to IEPF on itswebsite under the Statement of Unpaid and Unclaimed Shares Transferred to IEPF foundunder the InvestorTab.Concerned shareholders holding shares in physical form and whose shares are liable tobe transferred to IEPF, may note that the Company would be issuing new sharecertificate(s) in view of the original share certificate held by them for the purpose oftransfer of shares to IEPF as per the Rules and upon such issue, the original sharecertificate(s) which are registered in their name will stand automatically cancelled and bedeemed non-negotiable. The Shareholders may further note that the details uploaded bythe Company on its website shall be deemed to be adequate notice in respect of issue ofnew share certificate(s) by the Company for the purpose of transfer of physical shares toIEPF pursuant to rules. In respect of shares held in dematerialized form, the Companyshall inform the depository byway of corporate action for transferring shares to IEPF.In case no valid claim in respect of unclaimed dividend is received from the concernedshareholders by 5th September 2020, the Company shall in order to comply with therequirements of the Rules, transfer the equity shares to IEPF as per the procedurestipulated in the ruleswithout any further notice to the shareholders.No claim shall lie against the Company in respect of the Unclaimed Dividends and theShares transferred to IEPF. On transfer of Dividend /Shares to IEPF, Shareholders mayclaim the same by making an application to IEPF in Form IEPF-5, as per the Rules. Thesaid Form is available on thewebsite of the IEPFwww.iepf.gov.inIn case of any queries on the subject matter, please write to or contact our CompanyRegistrar & Share Transfer Agent (RTA): M/s. Cameo Corporate Services Limited, Unit:Alkali Metals Limited, 5th Floor, Subramanian Building , No.1, Club HouseRoad, Chennai-600 006 Phone: 044-28460390/28460394 & 28460718, Fax: 044-28460129, e-mail:[email protected] or contact the Company's Secretarial and Investor Servicesteamon the contact details provided in thisNotice.

For Alkali Metals LimitedSd/-Siddharth DubeyCompany Secretary & Compliance Officer

Date : 5-June-2020Place: Hyderabad

Shree Digvijay Cement Company Limited(CIN : L26940GJ1944PLC000749)

P.O. Digvijaygram, Jamnagar – 361 140 Via. Jamnagar, Gujarat, IndiaTel: 91 288 234 4272-75 Email: [email protected] Website: www.digvijaycement.com

NOTICE REGARDING THE 75TH ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING, BOOK CLOSURE,DIVIDEND INFORMATION AND FACILITY FOR REGISTRATION/CHANGE OF E-MAIL ID:Notice is hereby given that the 75th Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the Company is con-vened to be held on Tuesday, 30th June,2020 at 3.00 p.m. IST through Video Conferencing("VC") / Other Audio Visual Means("OAVM") in compliance with the applicable provisions ofthe Companies Act,2013 read with General Circular No.14/2020 dated 8th April, 2020, 17/2020dated 13th April, 2020 and 20/2020 dated 5th May, 2020.Pursuant to Section 91 of the Companies Act,2013, the Registers of Members and the ShareTransfer Books of the Company will remain closed from 24th June,2020 to 30th June, 2020 (bothdays inclusive).The Notice convening the 75th Annual General Meeting as well as the Annual Report is beingmade available on Company's website www.digvijaycement.com and on the website of StockExchanges on which the equity shares of the Company are listed.Members who hold the shares of the Company in physical form or who have not registeredtheir email addresses with the Company can get the same registered with the Company byrequesting Members Updation Form by sending an email to [email protected] [email protected], please submit the duly filled and signed MembersUpdation Form to the above mentioned email.Members can submit their mandate for receiving dividend directly in their Bank Accountthrough Electronic Clearing Service (ECS) or any other means by submitting their Bank/Account details in Members Updation Form to [email protected] [email protected] who are holding shares in physical form or who have not registered their emailaddresses with the Company can cast their vote through remote e-voting or through thee-voting platform provided by National Securities Depository Limited (NSDL) during themeeting as per following procedure:

1. In case shares are held in physical mode,please provide Folio No., Name of sharehold-ers, scanned copy of the Share Certificate(front and back page), PAN (self-certifiedscanned copy of PAN Card),AADHAR(self-certified scanned copy of Aadhar Card) byemail to [email protected] and [email protected]

2. In case shares are held in demat mode,please provide DPID -CLID(16 digit +CLID or 16digit beneficiary ID) Name, client master or copy of Consolidated Account Statement,PAN (self-certified scanned copy of PAN Card ), AADHAR (self-certified scanned copy ofAadhar Card) by email to [email protected] and [email protected]

3. Alternatively members may send an email request to [email protected] for obtainingUser ID and Password by providing the details mentioned in point(1) or (2) as the casemay be.

The Company has availed the services of NSDL for providing facility of remote e-voting as wellas for providing platform for conduct of 75th AGM through VC or OAVM and also for votingduring the time of 75th AGM.For the process and manner of e-voting (both remote e-voting and voting at the time of AGM)and also for attending the 75th AGM through VC or OAVM, Members may go through theinstructions mentioned in the AGM Notice or visit NSDL's website https://evoting.nsdl.com andin case of queries email to [email protected]. Members may please contact the Company [email protected].

By Order of the BoardFor Shree Digvijay Cement Co. Ltd.

Sd/-Place: Ahmedabad Suresh MeherDate : 4th June, 2020 VP (Legal) & Company Secretary

NOTICE

CORPORATE IDENTIFICATION NO. (CIN) : L27102MH1994PLC152925Regd. Office: JSW Centre, Bandra-Kurla Complex, Bandra (E), Mumbai - 400 051

Tel.: 022-4286 1000 Fax: 022-4286 3000 Email: [email protected]: www.jsw.in

NOTICE TO EQUITY SHAREHOLDERSTRANSFER OF EQUITY SHARES OF THE COMPANY TO INVESTOR EDUCATION

AND PROTECTION FUND (IEPF) AUTHORITYPursuant to the provisions of the Companies Act, 2013 read with the Investor Education andProtection Fund Authority (Accounting, Audit, transfer and refund) Rules, 2016 as amended (“therules”), it is hereby notified that all equity shares in respect of which dividend has not been encashedor claimed by the shareholders for seven consecutive years will be transferred by the Company to theInvestor Education and Protection Fund (IEPF) Authority.The required communication in this regard, to the concerned shareholders whose equity shares areliable to be transferred to IEPF, will be communicated by email to those shareholders whose emailaddresses are registered with the Company or the Registrar & Share Transfer Agent or DepositoryParticipant (DP) as the case may be and by post or by any other means of communication as soonas possible considering the current situation of COVID 19 outbreak and directives of Central / StateGovernment or Local Bodies.The Company has uploaded the relevant details of unpaid/unclaimed dividend payable to suchshareholders and corresponding shares due for transfer to the IEPF Authority on its website www.jsw.in in the Investors section. Shareholders may further note that both the unclaimed dividend andshares transferred to the IEPF Authority including all benefits accruing on those shares, if any, canbe claimed back by them from the IEPF Authority after following the procedure prescribed underthe said Rules.In case the unpaid dividends are not claimed by the concerned shareholders by August 30,2020, necessary steps will be initiated by the Company to transfer shares held by the concernedshareholders to IEPF by the due date as per the procedure stipulated in the Rules, without anyfurther notice.The concerned shareholders, holding shares in physical form and whose shares are liable to betransferred to IEPF Authority, may note that the Company would be issuing new share certificate(s) inlieu of the original share certificate(s) held by them for the purpose of dematerialisation and transferof shares to IEPF Authority as per the Rules and upon such issue, the original certificate(s) whichstands registered in their name will stand automatically cancelled and be deemed non-negotiable.The shareholders may further note that the details uploaded by the Company on its website shouldbe regarded as and shall be deemed to be adequate notice in respect of issue of new certificate(s)by the Company for the purpose of transfer of shares to IEPF Authority pursuant to the Rules. Pleasenote that no claim shall lie against the Company in respect of unclaimed dividend amount and sharestransferred to IEPF Authority pursuant to the said Rules.For any further communication/query, please contact the Company’s Registrar and Share TransferAgents, M/s. KFin Technologies Pvt. Ltd, Unit : JSW Steel Limited, Karvy Selenium Tower B, Plot31-32, Gachibowli, Financial District, Nanakramguda, Hyderabad – 500 032, Toll Free No.: 1800-3454-001, Email [email protected] aforesaid information is also available on the Company’s website www.jsw.in and also on thewebsites of the National Stock Exchange of India Limited and BSE Limited at www.nseindia.com andwww.bseindia.com respectively.

For JSW Steel LimitedSd/-

Lancy VargheseCompany Secretary

Place : MumbaiDate : June 055, 2020

Steel Limited

GEETANAIRPune, June 5

BAJAJAUTO ISall geareduptoenter Brazil, the largest two-wheeler (2W) market in LatinAmericaandtheeighth-largestintheworld.With domesticmarket fac-

ing challenges, exports areexpected to contributemore toBajaj Auto’s recovery as someglobalmarkets have been rela-tivelyless impactedbythepan-demicandlockdowns.AnentryintoBrazilwillexpandthecom-pany’spresenceanddiversifyitsglobal footprint. Bajaj will becompeting with the JapaneseautomotivegiantsintheBrazil-ianmarket.The country’s largest expo-

rter,BajajAuto,alreadyships itsmotorcycles to Latin Americaand the region accounted foraround15%oftotalexportvol-umes in2019-20.Themarketsinclude Argentina, Colombia,Ecuador,Mexico,Peru,Bolivia,Uruguay,Guatemala,HondurasandNicaragua.“We are constantly seeking

toexpandourglobalfootprintina meaningful way, and at the

righttimeforusaswewouldliketo keep strengthening ourglo-bal business,”Rakesh Sharma,executive director, Bajaj Autosaid. Bajaj aims to develop acomplete business in Brazil,encompassingassemblyopera-tions in compliancewith locallaws,adistributionnetworkforsales,servicingoperations,spareparts and retail financing sup-portaswellascustomerengage-ment, Sharma said.The plansareintheearlystagesanddetailsarebeingworkedout,hesaid.The company has not

directly exported to Brazil yet,butitsvehiclesmadeinChakan,Pune, under the KTM brand,havebeensoldtoBrazilthroughits strategic partner,KTMAus-tria, the ED said.According toSharma, the Brazilian marketformotorcycles is around onemillion units per annum. Thecompanyexported2.17millionunitsto79countriesinFY20.InFY19 total exports stood at 2million units. In the first twomonthsofFY21,exportswereat1.24lakhunitsofthetotalsalesof 1.65 lakhunits.Exports areexpected to exceed domesticsalesformostpartofthisyear.

BajajAutoplansforayintoBrazil

SATURDAY, JUNE 6, 2020

FINANCIALEXPRESS6 WWW.FINANCIALEXPRESS.COM

❝ ❝

POLITICSTRUMPS PANDEMIC?West Bengal CMMamata Banerjee

I really feel bad thatwhenweare fightingagainstCovid-19 andAmphanandworking to save lives,somepolitical parties are asking to removeus ... Is thisthe time for engaging inpolitics?

T RADE CONSIDERATIONSHAVE invariablybeeninter-twined with tariffs; anincrease in tax is inverselyproportional to trade and

viceversa.Somuch so that substantialfoundationalpremiseoftheWorldTradeOrganization is besetwithprepositionswhichrelatetotheregulationoftaxesontrade.Though,theyarelargelyrelatedtoindirecttaxes,suchascustoms&similarformsof tariff barriers,an inquiry intotheroleofdirecttaxesactingastradebar-riers is unknown in themodern age.Acaseinpointistheongoinginternationaldebate onDigital ServicesTaxes (DST)that are evolving to address an area inrelationtotaxingofsegmentsofthedig-ital economyhithertonot taxed,due toconstraintsunderthetraditionalrulesoftaxation that theirorigin to theLeagueofNations era,dating back to the earlypartoflastcentury.ThePermanent Establishment test,

invogueforalmostacenturyasthebasisfor taxingnon-residents’income in thesource country, is found tobewanting,or,wemustsay,inadequate,inthemod-ern digital model space, owing to thenegligiblepresenceoftheNon-ResidentDigital ServiceProviders (NRDSPs).Thedebate tomove awayfromtaxing suchbusinesseshasmatured,andtherearenotakers,particularly in government,forleavingthemuntaxed.Itsoutcomeisevi-dentintheongoingOECDleadBaseEro-sion&ProfitShifting(BEPS)debatecul-minating in an inclusive frameworkofnations, looking at achieving a consen-susonthebasisfortaxationandsharingof such tax revenues amongst thenations. While the endeavour of theOECDhasbeentoarriveataconsensus,in the interim,it has invigorated adop-tionofunilateralmeasuresbycountries,challenging the continuationof a rule-basedorderinthespaceofinternationaltaxation.Indianlawmakersledbyexam-ple in the year 2016 by enacting theEqualisationLevy(2016levy)whichhasbeen substantially expanded in thisyear’s budget (2020 levy).It is the2020‘expansive’levythathasraisedeyebrowsin the international fraternity. Apartfromgrievanceregardingthelackofleadtimeforimplementingthenewlawandabsence of stakeholder consultation,critics have claimed that the2020 levystrainsfree-tradecommitmentsandvio-latesWTO rules. Seemingly acting onsuch lines,theUnitedStatesTradeRep-resentative(USTR)hasrecentlyinitiated

301investigations.To appreciate the contours of the

USTRaction,it is expedient to appraisethenuancesofIndia’sEqualisationLevy.The2016 levywas technicallya chargeon theNRDSP,but practicallyborne byIndian Service Recipients (ISRs).Thus,theNRDSPwere largelyunaffected as,effectively,thecostofthe2016levyandthe compliance burdenwas upon theISRs. Furthermore, the 2016 levywasrestrictedonlytodigitaladvertisements,whichdidnot affectmostNRDSPs.The2020levyismateriallydistinctandwiderinitsscope—itobligestheNRDSPsown-ing oroperating an e-commerce plat-formtopaytaxonconsiderationearnedby them from the supply of their owngoods or services, including considera-tionearnedforfacilitatingsupplymadeby third-parties on theirplatform.Thetax-incidence and the compliance bur-den,both,areupontheNRDSPunderthe2020 levy,thus,obliging themto regis-ter in India, file periodic returns andundergoassessmentbyIndianRevenue.Thechargeunderthe2020levyextendsnot just to their transactionswith ISRs,buttothosewithothernon-residentsincertain formsof specified transactions,such as the sale of data collected fromIndian residents oradvertisements tar-getedtowardsIndianresidents.The USTR inquiry is under the US

TradeActof1974andSection301ofthislaw, hence referred as ‘301 investiga-tions’,enablestheUSTRtoinitiateinves-tigations todeterminewhetheractionsofothercountriesareactionable,onthepremisethattheyinterferewiththeUS’stradeinterests.Though,itisessentiallyadomestic inquiry, the implications forcountriesbeinginvestigatedcanbeomi-nous.An affirmative finding results intheUSadministrationengagingwiththecountry, resulting in tariff measuresshould a country fail to addressUSTR’sfindings.Acase inpoint is the infamousUS-China face-off leading to sanctionsand tariff barriers onChinese exports;most of it is linked in largemeasure to301investigations.

InthecontextofDST,theUSTRcom-menced 301 investigations againstFrance in July lastyear,andhas recentlylaunched a fresh set against a host ofnations includingAustria,Brazil, Italy,Spain,theUK,theEU,etc,besides India.As a next step, theUSTRwill officiallyengagewith these countries to deter-mine if theirDSTs inter-fere or act as a barrier forUS companies to under-take trade.Inpractice,theUSTRexamineswhetherthemeasuresbeinginves-tigatedaretargetedspecif-ically against US compa-nies and, in this case,whether the DSTs areintendedtopenalise“par-ticulartechcompaniesfortheircommercialsuccess”.In the current eco-

nomic environment, clearly, the 301announcement is not good news forIndia.Firstly, itwill strain theUS-Indiatrade-relations,despitethestrongpolit-ical capital the leadersof the twocoun-tries have developed. Secondly, theseinvestigations arewidelyperceived bymostEUnationsas“arm-twisting’’mea-sures to push nations into changingtheir trade policies to advance theUS’sinterests.Apopularexample,thoughnotspecificallyin thecontextof301inves-tigations,ispushingIndiatoundertakereduction of customs duty on Harleybikestoavoidtradesanctions.Thirdly,inthese unprecedented times,when eco-nomicfundamentalsofmostsegmentsoftheeconomyareunderstress,thedig-ital services have beaten the red lines.The2020levypresumablywasenactedwithanaimtomobilise additional rev-enues by tapping into the potential oftheNRDSPs’Indiansupplies.Were301investigations to lead to a reviewof the2020 levy, it would further dent theexchequer’sreserves.The silver lining, however, is the

fact that the current 301 investiga-tionsarenotIndia-specificandextendto 10 countries, thus, offering scope

for diplomatic engagements toward-off a negative outcome.Anotherposi-tiveforIndiaappearstobethefactthatthe threshold forthe2020 levy,whichis`20million,isnotexceedinglyhigh,meaning that it doesn’t exclusivelytarget US technology giants andmayas well pass off as a tax measureequally applicable to almost all NRD-SPs.This isverydifferentthantheDSTlevy in other jurisdictions. It certainlyprovides avital avenue to India to jus-tify its levy as non-discriminatorytowards US companies. Furthermore,a rateof2%onrevenuessketches itasamodest taxmeasure rather than anunreasonable restriction on NRDSPsfromoperating in India,thereby,stul-

tifying 301 investiga-tions.In the overall frame-

work,however, the 2020levy and 301 investiga-tions, viewed conjointly,reveal the onset of an erawhere national interestsoverwhelm internationalcooperationontariffsandtrade.Someof our Indianfriendscall itnationalism;we,though,label it a dilu-tion of multilateralism,

which iswhat theworld needsmost intoday’s environment—moreso toman-age the economic consequences of anunprecedented health crises. This iswherethefocuswillbethemostforyearsto come,when thepandemic is behindus.Politicalleadershipwill,hopefully,bealivetotherealitythatsuchstandoffsarenot good foranynation,let alone to theidea of promotingmultilateralismonsubjects such as tax,and there areveryfewsituationswhere tariffs and sanc-tionsare imposedas theseareboundtoevokeemotivereactions.Therecouldnotbe a more crucial time to engage inmeaningful discussions, especiallythroughdiplomaticchannels,insteadofpublic inquiries, to seek consensus onpolicies and tax measures that affectotherjurisdictions,sothatunilateralismdoesnotleadtoisolation.Inourview,theUS administration will do better byengagingproductivelywith theOECD-ledBEPSinitiativetoaccelerateconsen-sus on taxation of digitised economy,which will ease pressure on nations,whether India or the EU,to ease up onunilateral levysuch asDTSorequalisa-tion levy.Thiswill automaticallymakethe301investigationsacademic.

●USTR 301 INVESTIGATIONSTHEUSMOVEMAYSTRAINTIESDESPITEMODI-TRUMPRAPPORT,BUTTHELOWTHRESHOLDFOREQUALISATIONLEVY2020ALLOWS INDIATOARGUETHATTHE IMPOSTDOESN’TTARGETUSFIRMS

MUKESHBUTANI& TARUN JAIN

Authors are Partners, BMR LegalAdvocatesViewsare personal

MARKBUCHANANBloomberg

IN MARCH, MANY governmentsaroundtheworldimposedstrictcontrolsonhumanmeetings andmovement—“lockdowns”—toslowthespreadofcoro-navirus. The pandemic’s curves weresoon“flattened,”sparinghealthservicesfrom being overrun. Now, in China,Europe,theUSandelsewhere,authori-ties are cautiously relaxing the rules.Lockdowns have been costly,but theyhelpedusavoidafarworsecatastrophe.Yet ourvery success—tenuous as it

is—has suddenly stirred contrarianvoices,with somepondering thepossi-bility that the lockdownsmaynothavehadmuch effect. StatisticianWilliamBriggs insists that“there is no evidencethelockdownmadeadifference”,notingthat the virus waned even in somenations—Taiwan,forexample—thatdidnot go into lockdown. An article in aright-wingBritishnewspaperinsiststhatthere is not even a“shredof real proof”thelockdowndidanygood.None of this should be taken seri-

ously.The position flies in the face ofoverwhelmingevidence,andacceptingit requires thecommissionofa litanyofbasicerrorsinreasoning.Tobeginwith,Briggsreliesonaterri-

ble statistical argument,citing the lackofastrongcorrelationbetweenthenum-berofcoronavirusdeathsinanationandits impositionofa lockdownpolicy.TheUKimposedalockdownyethasstillhadthesecond-highestdeathratepercapitaof anynation.No-lockdownTaiwan, incontrast,hadveryfewdeaths.Onagraphof lockdownorno lockdownversusepi-demicoutcome,thereisnoclearpattern,soBriggsthinks:“Whatcanweconclude?Onlyonething:Wecannotconcludethatlockdownsworked”.

Yes—ifweonlyconsider this kindofmisguided statistical comparison.Weshouldn’t expect anyclear correlation,becauseweknowthat lots of other fac-torsmatterbesideslockdownornolock-down,including the timingof the lock-downandthepresence(orabsence)ofaneffective public-health service to carryouttesting,contacttracingandquaran-tiningoftheinfected.Taketiming.Ofcountriestakingsim-

ilarmeasures, those that acted earlierweremore successful in containing theepidemic.NewZealand,institutinglock-downwhenithadonly102cases,hashad22 deaths. On March 16, the UK had3,000confirmedcasesyetdelayedlock-down foranotherweek.This one-weekdelay,a recent study in pre-print esti-mates,caused roughly11,000 further,avoidable deaths.Not really surprising,as thenumberof infectedwasdoublingeverythreetofourdaysatthetime.If lockdownswere effective,whydid

somenationswithout lockdownshavevery fewdeaths? Obviously lockdownisn’t the onlywayto fight the spreadofan epidemic.Somenations didn’t lockdownbecausetheydidn’tneedto.SouthKorea,HongKongandCanadaeachhadvery-well-developed infrastructure foraggressivetesting,tracingandquaranti-ning.Theyappliedmorepreciseanti-epi-demictoolsthanothersdid.If lockdowndidn’tmakeanydiffer-

ence, then why, in all the nationsimposing lockdowns, did the growthrateoftheepidemicsoonshowmarkedreductions?TakeChina,theUS,theUK,Spain, France, Italy—each shows thesame pattern of sharp change ingrowthratesoonafterlockdown.Isthisjust aweirdcoincidence?

There is one conceivable alternativeexplanation: that the epidemic slowedeverywhere as enoughpeople becameinfected andpopulations reachedherdimmunity.Exponentialgrowthofanewepidemic does normally slowwhen somanyget infected that thevirus has ahardertimefindingnewuninfectedtar-gets.But, the evidenceweighs heavilyagainstthisidea.EstimatesinSpainandFrance find about 5%of theirpopula-tionsmayhave been infected by earlyMay.The number is similar for theUKoverall,risingtoperhaps15%inLondon.This isn’t close to herd immunity,withalmost everyone in the populationremainingsusceptible.Asidefromallthisevidence,itisalso

just very hard to imagine how a lock-down,which greatly reduces the fre-quencyofhumancontact,couldpossi-blyfail tohaveanimpactonthespreadofaninfectiousagent.This isepidemi-ology in anotheruniverse. Indeed,sci-entists have clearly seen the effects oflockdownonthisyear’sfluinNorthernHemisphere countries. In January,wehadexpectedthisyeartobeamongtheworst flu seasons in several decades.But, the number of flu infectionsdroppedsharplyinApril,notlongafterCovid-19 lockdowns were imposed.Anotherweirdcoincidence?It is hard tounderstand themotiva-

tionfor“lockdownshadnoeffect”think-ing.Ofcourselockdownisunpleasant.Ithas been socially and economicallycostly.But,it neverhadanyeffect?Thatis about as plausible as Covid-19beingcausedby5Gmicrowavesignals.

Thiscolumndoesnotnecessarilyreflecttheopinionoftheeditorialboard

orBloombergLP anditsowners

Tackling Covid-19TheWHO is foundwantingonenforcingglobal-compliance torestrictivemeasures, at a timewhencombating thepandemic andconservinghuman-life ought tobethehighest priority.Theentity isoperating in a fragilemanner.Withevolvingdynamics and theemergenceofother powerful-forumswhichboast ofan increasedfunding/visibility, themechanism torevive theOrganization appears tobe anuphill task.The surveillance-test rate continues tobe lowacrossmost nations. Is theOrganizationwilling to shoulder the endaccountability for the aggravatedglobal situation,which ismarkedbyanunknown root causeof theinfection, non-availability ofa robustcure, ill-planned implementationofrestrictivemeasures andanuncertainfuture for developingnations?Shouldn't the reputed institutionhave stayedon topof things toensure that nations aredulycompensated for the loss andacost-effectivevaccine sans side-effect isgenerated/renderedwithinstipulated timelines?Withmostcountries being toopre-occupiedwith competitiveness,market-share,cutting-edge technologies andeconomic-growth, is it a surprise thatthe upkeepofmedical-infrastructurehas taken aback-seat? Is it the timetopreach the importanceofamnesty, fraternity andmorals andwork towards establishing an idealworld symbolisedbyharmony?Or tointrospect the root-causeofinconclusive lab-results forthe numerousvaccines/drugs,testedhitherto?—Girish Lalwani, Delhi

Lockdownhas resulted in flattening thecurve inmanynations.People should bewearyof scepticswho are against such aview

LETTERSTOTHE EDITOR

Bad news,butIndiamayhavewiggle room

Quarantine is terrible,but itworks

The 2020 levy and301 probe revealthe onset of an erawhere national

interests overwhelminternationalcooperation

Ayush needsTCM treatment

If Ayush is to be taken seriously, the govt must facilitaterigorous research to answer sceptics

Allowingdrones to takeoff

LockdownBLUESKarnataka survey showshowdeep andwidespread themisery

from the corona pandemic and the lockdownhas been

T HE GOVERNMENT IS batting for alternativemedicine in the fight againstCovid-19—evenas it acknowledges that there isnoestablished lineof treat-mentorprophylaxis,thehealthministry,andeven theprimeministerhim-self,hasstatedthat thepublic shouldkeep inmindtherecommendationsof

theAyush (ayurveda,yoga,unani, siddha and homoeopathy)ministry.And, theAyushministry, in a letter to the states/UTs datedMarch6, listedmanyAyush formulationsas preventives,prophylactics, standalone and add-on symptommanagement inter-ventions,with claims thatmanyof these have anti-inflammatory, immunomodula-tory,evenanti-influenzaeffects.ItwouldbefoolishtodismisstraditionalmedicineanddenyitaroleintheCovid-19response,givencommunitieshave,forcenturies,reliedonthese—acontinuedobservationalstudy,ifyouwill.Moreso,givenallopathicmedicineseemstohavenosure-fire interventioneither.However,Ayushinterestswillbeservedfarbetter if thegovernmentwere topush forconcerted researchonthis,with thegoldstandardofclinicaltrial/research—randomised,double-blind,placebo-controlledstud-ies—or any otherwidely accepted standard of trial rigour, applying.While there areclaims of research literature, the robustness of these have been under a cloud;manystudieshavefailedtestsofreproducibility,complicatedbythefactthatmosttraditionalmedicinesystemssaythat theirtreatmentmustbeappliedandappreciated inaholis-ticmanner—that is,factors suchasdiet,stress,etc,alsoaffectoutcomes.Tobesure,thegovernmentnowseemsmoresurefootedaboutbolsteringAyushcredi-

bility.TheAyushministry,quiteadmirably,issuedadirectiveonApril1,againstfalseclaimsofAyushcures forCovid-19.OnApril21,recognisingtheopportunitythepandemicpre-sents,theministrycalledforAyushresearch/trials,afterconsultationswiththeDrugCon-trollerGeneral of India,theCentralDrugs StandardControlOrganisation (CDSCO) andotherexpertsonclinicalresearch,sayingsuchresearch/trialswouldneedtoconformtotheministry’sguidelinesforclinicalresearchonCovid-19.Lastmonth,thegovernmentevensetupataskforcetooverseeAyushresearchinthecountry.However,therearecertaingapsthat couldundermine the endeavour,and traditionalmedicine couldbeback at squareone.Theguidelineshaveloopholesthatcanbemanipulatedtodressresearchfindings—orquestionrobustnessofthestudy—dependingonhowscepticaloneisoftraditionalmedi-cine.Forinstance,the“desired”inclusioncriteriafortrialsallowinclusionofsubjectsagedbetween18and60years,leavingouttheelderly,amongwhomCovid-19diseasecompli-cationandmortalityratesarethehighestacrossagecohorts.And,fortreatmenttrials,theguidelinesrecommendinclusionofonlymildandmoderatecases,samplingproblemsthathave been flagged for some allopathic drug trials too.The guidelines also recommendexcludingsubjectswithpre-existingco-morbidities.Of60trialsthatasearchontheweb-siteoftheClinicalTrialsRegistryofIndia(CTRI)yieldedwiththesearchterm‘Covid-19’,23wereAyush-related;overhalfofthesewerenon-randomised,andnonehavebegunrecruit-ingyet.Also,whiletheCDSCOrecognisesAyurvedicmedicineasthosethatconformtotheclassical texts,theDrugs andCosmeticsAct1940 recognises only54,31and14 texts as“authoritativebooks”onayurveda,siddhaandunani,respectively;alargenumberofAyushformulationsoutside these textswill be considerednon-standard,hobbling researchonthese.And,withnon-standardformulationswillcometheattendantproblemofnon-dis-closure,especiallyincasesofproprietarymedicine,andasuitableplaceboorcontrolwouldbehardtodesign.TopushAyush,thegovernmentmusttakeacuefromChina’seffortsonTraditionalChineseMedicine (TCM)—investheavilytobecomeanR&Dleader itself andhelpdesignresearchprotocolsthathaveacceptanceacrosssystemsofmedicine.Perhaps,then,AyushmightgettheboostthatTuYouyou’smedicineNobelmeantforTCM.

W HATLEVELS OF povertyforcedmigrants,withindaysof the lockdownannouncement,tofleecitiestheyhadcometoforwork?AsurveybyKar-natakaJanashakti,aKarnataka-basedcivilsocietyorganisation,mayhavesomepointers.Theorganisation surveyed1,387workers across sectors

andmembersofcertainmarginalisedgroups inthestate,andfoundthatanoverwhelm-ing82%didn’thavemoneytobuyessentialsandruntheirhouses.Almostthree-quartersof the farmersamongtherespondentssaid theycouldnotsell theirproduce,andamongthosethatdidmanagetosellitoff,nearlyfour-fifthsincurredseriouslosses.Morethanhalfof therespondents statedthat theywerenotable toaccessanygovernmentreliefduringthelockdownperiod.Thesurveyalsocoveredthose livingatthefringesofsocietysuchasthose insex-work,transgendersandnomadicpeople,andfoundthatnearlyall suchpeo-plereceivednorelief fromthegovernment.And,just5%wereabletoreceivethemedicalattentionrequiredduringtheperiod.Suchwideanddeepdistressislikelytoexactimmensehealth,economicandsocialcostsfromsomeofthemostvulnerablesectionsofthepopu-lation,especiallyifthebarrierstoaccessinggovernmentreliefremain.TheKarnataka story is likely tohaveplayedout across the country,andperhapswill

manifestinaworsemannerasruralareasinpoorstateseeasurgeofreturningmigrants—withCovid-19casesrising,wagesfalling,anddeprivationdeepening.WhiletacklingruraldistresswillneedanincreaseinthenumberofguaranteeddaysofworkunderMGNREGA,KarnatakaJanashaktirecommendedanurbanemploymentguaranteescheme.However,what is reallyneeded is kickstarting industry,especiallyMSMEs,to ensure job creationpicks up.Without that,the governmentmaynot evenhave the resources to continue arelief/employmentguaranteeprogramme.

DGCA’s latest relaxations good, but more needed

T HECOVID-19PANDEMIChasdelineatedquitesharplyhowIndia’slumberingregulation has hobbled technological solutions that could have beenmar-shalledinthefightagainstthedisease.Inearlydaysofthelockdown,theChen-naiMunicipalCorporationhadengagedGaruda,astart-up,forsanitisationof

hospitalcomplexesandadjacentareasthroughaGoogleMaps-guideddrone.Thedronecovered1.2hectaresinoneflight,andupto60hectaresinoneday,withinasignalrangeof3km.Lateron,UttarPradeshandOdishaalsohiredGaruda’sservices.Haditnotbeenfor the pandemic,all thiswould have drawn the regulator’s ire.The original norms ondrone flight, introduced in December 2018,allowed onlymanual operations of thedrone,and had near-total restrictions on drone flight beyond the visual line of sight(BVLOS). In January2019, the government had a rethink and said itwill allowBVLOSfromMay2019,butthatneverreallytookoff,withonlyahandfulofplayersallowedtestruns;which iswhythedirectorategeneral of civil aviation (DGCA)allowing13consor-tia to start BVLOS operations,as reported byEconomicTimes, iswelcomenews.DGCAwill allowthese13 consortia,which include fooddeliveryservices suchas Zomato andSwiggy,andDunzo,apure-playdeliveryservice,totestdrone-useforahostofpurposes,fromdeliveryto surveillance.Thecompanieswillhave tocomplete100hoursof flyingbySeptember30,andsubmit theirdatawhich,will informregulation,to theDGCA.DGCA’s changed stance is certainlyreassuring,butpolicyneeds toadapt to changing

timesandtechnology,especiallyinsomethingasdynamicasdroneflight.DGCAstillhas-n’tmadeitclearwhetheritwillallowautonomousdroneoperations.Ifdronedeliveriesaretobemeaningful,companieswouldwanttoautomatemostoftheprocess.Moreover,DGCAcan’t have strict licensing conditions fordronepilots.At present,the bar is set toohigh,whichmeansconcomitantlyhighlabourcostforcompaniesevenasdroneflightimpactslow-enddeliveryjobs.The‘no-permit,no-fly’rulehasaddedtotheproblem.DGCAintendstoenforcethis,whilecountriesthatfirstintroducedsuchregulations,viztheUK,Australia,etc,have toease suchprovisions in theirregulations.TheDGCAlaunchedtheDigital Skyportalforregistrationbeforeflying,buttheseprocessesneedtobefast-tracked.Covid-19hasmadedistancing andcontactless service deliveryanecessity,andhas thus,widenedthe scope fordeployment of drones.This is a reality the regulatorneeds to appreciate.Besides,once itallowsrecreational flying,costswill comedownfurtherandthiswill spurinnovationondronesafety,obviatingintimetheneedfortightregulation.

●Write to us at [email protected]

Regd. No: DL -21048/03-05. R.N.I. No.26750/74. Printed and Published by R.C. Malhotra on behalf of The Indian Express (P) Limited and printed atThe Indian Express (P) Limited Press,A-8, Sector-7, Noida - 201301 and published atThe Indian Express (P) Limited, Mezzanine Floor, Express Building, 9 & 10, Bahadur Shah Zafar Marg, NewDelhi-110002. Phone: 0120-6651500, Fax: 0120-4367933. (Cover price: Patna: Mon-Fri `6, Sat `9, Sun `11; Raipur: Mon-Fri `7, Sat `10, Sun `10)

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Opinion

New Delhi

Environmental crimes in 2018

35,196 6,281 48,238Environment-relatedcrimes registered

Cases pendingpolice investigation

Cases pendingin court

A long way to goCourts need to dispose of132 cases a day to clear thebacklog in a year

The Environmental(Protection) Act

States with most offences: Maharashtra (45), Uttar Pradesh (13), Haryana (9)

States with most offences: Rajasthan (7,713), Tamil Nadu (72), Maharashtra (56)

The Air & The Water(Prevention & Controlof Pollution) Act

The National GreenTribunal Act

States with most offences:Madhya Pradesh (7), Kerala (3), Gujarat (2)

States with most cases: Meghalaya (45), Maharashtra (34)

The Cigarette and OtherTobacco Products Act

Noise Pollution Act

Total environment &pollution-related acts

States with most offences: Tamil Nadu (14,462), Kerala (5,723), Rajasthan (1,378)

The WildlifeProtection Act

States with most offences: Uttar Pradesh (227), Rajasthan (220), Madhya Pradesh (240)

The Forest Act & TheForest Conservation Act

States with most offences: Uttar Pradesh (1,436), Rajasthan (471), Himachal Pradesh (240)5.56 cases 9 years 2 months 51.18 cases

0.62 cases 13 years 3 months 8.22 cases

0.05 cases 32 years 3 months 1.77 cases

0.01 cases 0.27 cases

61.93 cases 9 months 54.75 cases

17.51 cases 9 months 15.77 cases

0 cases Over 73 years 0.2 cases

85.68 cases 1 year 5 months 132.16 cases

Average number of casescourts disposed of every

day in 2018 *

Time courts will take tofinish the backlog if it moves

at its current pace**

Average cases courts have todispose of every day to finish

the backlog in a year***

Source: Centre for Science and Environment’s State of India’s Environment 2020 report

* Total cases disposed of in a year divided by 365 days ** Cases pending at the end of the year divided by average number of cases disposed of every day *** Cases pending at the end of the year divided by 365 days

33 years 3 months

Over 90 per cent court cases remain unresolved under five of the seven acts related to forests, wildlife, environment protection and pollution

Major pile-up

Court cases with conviction

1,300

COURT PENDENCY*

POLICE PENDENCY**

The Forest Act &The ForestConservation Act

90.2%

25.5%


7

COURT PENDENCY

POLICE PENDENCY

The Environmental(Protection) Act


132

COURT PENDENCY

POLICE PENDENCY

The WildlifeProtection Act

28.1%


3

COURT PENDENCY

POLICE PENDENCY

The Air & The Water(Prevention & Control ofPollution) Act

93% 97% 97.1%


95.9

COURT PENDENCY

POLICE PENDENCY

Total Environment& Pollution-Related Acts

15.2%

* Percentage of the total cases pending trial at the end of the year divided by the total cases that came for trial during the year ** Percentage of total cases disposed of by police divided by total cases for investigation during the year

Worrying trend12 states have registered an increase inenvironmental crimes between 2017 & 2018

2017 2018

78102Gujarat

10594Assam

13591

AndhraPradesh

8864West Bengal

7563

Puducherry

6554

Chhattisgarh

045Meghalaya

4237Haryana

3535Punjab

196270

HimachalPradesh

75194Uttarakhand

158155

Jharkhand

51152

Bihar

2117Delhi UT

138

Jammu &Kashmir

285Goa

38Odisha

22

ArunachalPradesh

11Manipur

11Mizoram

01D&n Haveli

01

Daman & Diu

01

Lakshadweep

42,14335,196India

307483Telangana

10,1229,784Rajasthan

1,8631,693Uttar Pradesh

20,91414,536Tamil Nadu

20

A & N Islands

40

Chandigarh

6,7805,750Kerala

494400

Karnataka

4391,010Maharashtra

46139

MadhyaPradesh

49.3% 41.2%

60.7%

OPINION 7FINANCIALEXPRESS


DATADRIVE

WHILETHENUMBERofenvironment-relatedoffencesinthecountrydeclined17%

to35,196in2018from42,143in2017,thenumberofcasespending incountswentupby7%to48,238.So,at thecurrentrate,accordingtoCentre forScienceandEnvironment’sStateofIndia’sEnvironment2020report,courtswill takenineto33years toclearthebacklogofcases forviolationsunderforest,wildlife,environmentprotectionandairpollution laws.For instance, under The Forest Act

and The Forest Conservation Act, theaverage number of cases courtsdisposed of every day in 2018 was 5.56.At that rate, courts will take 9.2 years tocomplete the backlog. States with mostnumber of offences were Uttar Pradesh(1,436), Rajasthan (471) and HimachalPradesh (240). Similarly, under TheWildlife Protection Act, the averagenumber of cases courts disposed ofevery day in 2018 was less than one.Atthe current rate, it will take more than13 years to clear the backlog of cases.The worst showing is for The

Environmental (Protection) Act and TheAir & TheWater (Prevention & Controlof Pollution) Act,where it will take over32 and 33 years, respectively, to clearthe huge backlog of pending cases. Over90% court cases remain unresolvedunder five of the seven Acts related toforests,wildlife, environment protectionand pollution.The most worrying trendis that 12 states, includingMaharashtra, Gujarat, Bihar,MadhyaPradesh,Meghalaya, and Uttarakhand,have registered an increase inenvironmental crimes between 2017and 2018.

Huge pendencyin green cases

W HEN THE CENTREannounced Unlock-1 after 68 days ofnational lockdown,nature too seemed

togreet itwithanunusual‘double rain-bow’, widely ‘considered a symbol oftransformation and a sign of good for-tune’. The numeral in Unlock-1 alsoraised hopes of subsequent phases ofunlocking.Theworldhasbeenreelingunderthe

Covid-19 onslaught; it is evident thatthe real end to the long drawnwarwiththe pandemicwill comewith an effec-tivevaccine,forwhichaglobalraceison,with India participating.Until then, asPMModi stressed,“dogazdoori (six-feetdistance), wearing masks and stayingindoors as much as possible”has to bethe newnormal.Alongside, innovativesolutionsmustbedevisedtostrengthenthe healthcare ecosystem, save ourfrontline‘coronawarriors’,andupgradetheinfrastructure.PrimeministerModihasrepeatedlyemphasisedtheforinno-vativesolutionsat this juncture.EvenatCII,at theirAnnualSessiononJune2,heunderlined theneedof innovation.There are innumerable examples of

how firms, big and small, have steppedup to the challenge by pivoting theirnormal business models to find anddeliverlow-costsolutions,sometimes instepwith the government, particularlyto beef uphealthcare infrastructure.Ratan Tata, doyen of Indian Indus-

try,while pledging `1,500 crore,high-lighted support to ‘own innovative-ness’.He stressed ‘it is not a worldwar,but it is like aworldwar.There is a dra-matic need for vaccine, there is a dra-matic need for solutions’. He said that‘there could be anotherwave of innov-

ativeness arising out of a problem justlike what happened inWorldWar II orthe Cold War’. Mumbai’s iconic TajMahal Hotel was also thrown open bythe Tatas for free stay for Covid-19health workers. The Tatas also part-nered with Institutes of Excellenceunder the department of science andtechnology (DST),andCSIRto comeupwith latest testing kits based on RT-LAMP technology for quick and effec-tive results.Aditya Birla Group pledged `500

crore,onemillionN95masks,2,80,000PPEs and ventilators. They alsoannounced a 100-bed Covid-19 facil-ity at the SevenHillsHospital inMum-bai. Cumulative capacity of 200 bedswas announced at Ujjain, Pune, Haz-aribagh,etc.Maruti, the country’s largest car-

maker,partneredwithAgVaHealthcareto produce the much needed 10,000ventilators everymonth, besides PPEsandmasks and otherprotective equip-ment. Similarly, the Mahindra groupannounced plans to manufacture ICUventilatorsandotherhealthcareequip-ment, and indigenously developed aprototype of the big valve mask, alsoknown as Ambu bag to help patientswith breathing problems and act as aninterim lifesaver.Azim Premji of Wipro pledged

`1,125 crore to fight Covid-19, andsigned an agreement with the Maha-rashtra government to repurpose oneof its campuses in the Hinjewadi areainto a 450-bed, intermediary careCovid-19 hospital. Infosys announceda`100-crore support to fightCovid-19and launched a 100-room quarantinefacility for Covid-19 patients next toNarayanaHealth City in Bengaluru.Pune-basedMyLab Discovery Solu-

tions has come up with indigenouslymanufactured Covid-19 test kits andPCR kits that can speedily detect theinfection.Aerobiosys Innovations, anincubated start-up of IIT-Hyderabad,has come up with a low-cost, portableemergencyuseventilatorcalled‘JeevanLite’.This is a low-cost (`1 lakh) optionenabled by Internet ofThings (IoT).IITRoorkeehas alsodeveloped a low

costventilatorcalled‘Prana-Vayu’,andalowcost face shield for the doctors dur-ing the shortage of PPE.The 3Dprinted

reusableframeoftheshieldisnotboundtothetransparentsheet.IITBombayhascome up with a portable UltraVioletSanitiser device that helps in sanitisingcurrencynotes,gadgetsandotheritems.Another area of notable innovation

is ensuring hygiene in public spaces.Therearestart-ups likeAqozatechnolo-giesandPerSapienwhohavedevelopedchemical formulations fordisinfectingpublic spaces. Airlens minus Coronafrom PerSapien dispenses waterdroplets to oxidise theviral protein.Crowdsourcing is also in full swing

during the pandemic. India’s start-upcommunity set-up a platform ‘ACTGrants’,andhasmobilised`100croretosupport ideas to combat Covid-19withimmediate impact.The candidate pro-jectscouldbe infields likepreventionofCovid-19spread,scale-upoftesting,dis-

ease management at home (like tele-medicine),enhancedsupportforhealth-careworkers&hospitals (likeprotectivegear for healthcare workers, augmenthospital capacity),management of crit-ically ill patients (like expansion of ICUcapacity,ventilators,oxygensupply)andsupport formental health (like familiesof patients andbroadercommunity).Anumberofprojectshavebeeniden-

tified and supported.Clovia is workingonmanufacturingsuperiorqualityPPEkits (higher GSM fabric with lamina-tion,andanti-bacterial tapes).Karkhanais using a variety of techniques (3Dprinting, injection moulding, etc) toproduce PPEs, including face shields,aerosolboxes,goggles,etc;1mg ishelp-ing inmass-scale testing that uses tech(fortriage) fordoctors (forprescription)and innovative ways to administer the

test. They have built a complete work-flowchain,fromtele-consultingtotest-ing. Ethereal provides a splitteruniquely designed for managing twopatients with different ventilatoryneeds (differential pressure splitting).Thiswill also prevent cross contamina-tionbetweenpairedpatients.StepOne is a solution for state

helpline numbers which are breakingdown under the burden of calls.This isachieved throughascalablenetworkofexisting cloud telephony queuing sys-tems, and a network of doctors on call.Mozark has helped DoT to set up anopen platform for states to monitorquarantined individuals and issuealerts, identify the geography of thepopulation density of infection, etc.Molbiohas comeupwith indigenouslymade portable RT-PCR kits equipped

withdata connectivity,and faster testswith quick results that can be printed,foruse in remote areas.DronaMapshas built a full-service,

technology-enabledwar-roomsolutionfor public and administration dash-boards,enabling geofencing,patient&quarantinemonitoring,andpredictiveanalysis. Infinite Analytics is a techsolution fortracinghigh-risk individu-als based on their accurate historicproximity and time of contact withinfected individuals. Healthians isworking on a three-pronged approachto holistic and scalable testing, drivethroughtestingandbooth/kioskbasedtesting. Project PCR Sample Poolingaims to reduce cost of testing by pool-ing RT-PCRsamples.On the health service delivery side,

too, there have been innovations. Spe-cialist tele-consultations will provideeffective solutions forthevastprimarycare providers and patients at home,without the need to go to hospitals. e-Psyclinic will be especially helpful intackling general anxiety, depression,feelings of deep isolation, psychoso-maticdisorders,domesticviolenceandpsychological problems.The private sector is also contribut-

ing significantly through innovationsin other areas. Deep Kalra, founder ofMakeMyTrip,playedakeyrole indevel-oping theAarogya Setu app,which hasbeen hailed by the primeminister as agame-changer in fighting Corona.Abhiraj Bhal at Urban Companylaunched Project Vishwas, helping27,000 service partners bounce backwith innovative solutions.TourHQ.comhas been similarly working with its30,000 guides to retrain them, andhelp themget thenecessaryequipmentto be able to earn a living by providingvirtualexperiences toglobal clients,sit-ting in the comfort of their homes.Indian minds have repeatedly

proved theirmettle across theworld.Intimes ofw war and crisis, the entirenation has stood as one! As PM Modiexhorted in his call to the nation, theworld believed that 21st Centurybelongs to India, and this crisis hasgiven us that opportunity to achieve it!Whateverhappens,onething iscertain,thepost-Coviderawillbedifferent thanthe BC (before Covid) one, and the newnormalwillmakeourliveseasierinsev-eralwayswithnewinnovativesolutions.

Anageof innovation

DHANENDRAKUMAR

Former chairman, CCI, and former ED,World Bank.Views are personal

● BEYOND UNLOCK-1

The 21st century could truly belong to India,with companies and start-ups set on innovative responses to Covid-19

ILLUSTRATIONS: ROHNITPHORE

New Delhi

●TRADEWAR

AGENCIESWashington, June 5

IT ISWRONG anddangerous forChina tobenefit fromUS capitalmarketswithoutcomplyingwith critical protections thatinvestors rightfully deserve, PresidentTrumpsaidonFridayashe issuedamem-orandumcallingforrecommendationstobe issuedwithin60days toprotectAmer-ican investors fromChinesecompanies.“Wemust take firm,orderly action to

endtheChinesepracticeoffloutingAmer-ican transparency requirementswithoutnegatively affectingAmerican investorsandfinancialmarkets,”Trumpwrote.The statementsmark the latest flash-

point in US-China relations at a time ofescalating tensions between theworld’stwolargesteconomiesovertrade,thecoro-naviruspandemicandHongKong.For decades,Chinese companies have

availed themselves of the benefits of USfinancialmarkets,andcapitalraisedintheUShashelpedfuelChina’srapideconomicgrowth,Trump said.ThememorandumwasissuedtoSecretaryofStateMikePom-peoandothermembersofthetopnationalsecurity leadership.WhileChinareapsadvantagesfromUS

markets, the Chinese government hasconsistently prevented Chinese compa-niesandcompanieswithsignificantoper-ations in China from abiding by theinvestorprotectionsthatapplytoallcom-panies listing on US stock exchanges,Trumpalleged.“It is both wrong and dangerous for

Chinatobenefit fromourcapitalmarketswithout complyingwith critical protec-tionsthatinvestorsinthosemarketsright-fullyexpectanddeserve,”hesaid.

“China’s actions to thwart our trans-parency laws raise significant risks forinvestors.The timehas come to take firmaction in anorderly fashion toput an endto the practice that has tacitly permittedcompanieswithsignificantChineseoper-ations to flout protections United Stateslawrequires for investors inUnitedStatesmarkets,”Trumpsaid.The president said for example, the

ChinesegovernmentrefusestoallowauditfirmsregisteredwiththePublicCompany

Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB) toprovideauditworkingpaperstotheboard.

‘Model for exchanges’Meanwhile, USSecretaryofStateMike

Pompeo on Thursdaywarned Americaninvestors against fraudulent accountingpractices at China-based companies andsaid the Nasdaq’s recent decision totighten listing rules for such playersshouldbe“amodel”forallotherexchangesaroundtheworld.

REUTERSNewYork/London, June 5

AN INFLUENTIAL STUDY that foundhydroxychloroquine increased the risk ofdeath in Covid-19 patients has beenwithdrawn a week after it led to majortrials being halted, adding to confusionabout amalaria drug championed byUSPresidentDonaldTrump.The Lancetmedical journal pulled the

studyafterthreeofitsauthorsretractedit,citing concerns about the quality andveracityofdata in it.TheWorldHealthOrganization(WHO)

will resume its hydroxychloroquine trialsafter pausing them in the wake of thestudy.Dozensofothertrialshaveresumedorare inprocess.ThethreeauthorssaidSurgisphere,the

companythatprovidedthedata,wouldnottransfer the dataset for an independentreviewand they“can no longervouch fortheveracityof theprimarydatasources.”The fourth author of the study,

Dr Sapan Desai, chief executive of

Surgisphere, declined to comment onthe retraction.The Lancet said it “takes issues of

scientific integrity extremely seriously”adding: “There are many outstandingquestionsaboutSurgisphereandthedatathatwereallegedlyincludedinthisstudy”.The Lancet said reviews of

Surgisphere’sresearchcollaborationswereurgentlyneeded.

‘Truly sorry’: Scientists pull pannedLancet studyof hydroxychloroquine

MajorApple supplier says launch ofnew iPhone could be pushed back

Twitter disablesTrumpvideo tribute to Floyd

Harvard wins Apple,Twitter backing onaffirmative actionTHESTAKESFORbusiness inuseofaffirmativeaction inadmissionshavebeen laidout inabrief thatcompanies suchasApple,Twitter,Intelhave filedwith theUSCourtofAppeals inBoston.While theytooknopositiononHarvard’s specificpolicy,theysaid theydependondiversecollege studentbodies in theirhuntfor“thenext superbemployee.”Thenation’soldestuniversity is fightingachallengebyEdwardBlum,a staunchfoeofaffirmativeactionwhoseeks tostop it fromweighingrace instudentselectionaltogether.

LVMHwon’t renegotiateTiffanydeal:ReportFRENCHLUXURYGOODSgiantLVMHisnotseekingtorenegotiate its$16.2billionacquisitionofUS jewelrychainTiffany&Co,people familiarwiththemattersaidonFriday,accordingtoReuters.LVMHCEOBernardArnaulthadbeenintalkswithhisadvisers thisweekto identifywaystopressureTiffanyto lowertheagreedpriceof$135pershare incash,Reuters reportedonWednesday.

Germaneconomyset toshrink7%thisyearTHEGERMANECONOMYhas passedthe troughof its coronavirus recessionand is starting to growagain,the Bun-desbank said, endorsing the govern-ment’s sweeping fiscal stimulus thatshould underpin the rebound.Yet therecovery is stillmuted as some restric-tions to rein in the spread of the pan-demicremaininplace.Outputthisyearisforecasttoshrink7.1%,beforebounc-ingbackinthesubsequenttwoyears.

QuickView

Unemployment dropsfaster than expectedasUS lockdowns ease

InternationalFINANCIALEXPRESS8 WWW.FINANCIALEXPRESS.COM


BLOOMBERGLosAngeles/ San Francisco/ June 5

BROADCOM, AMAJOR Apple supplier,suggested the latest iPhones will belaunched laterthanusual thisyear.HockTan,CEOofBroadcom,discussed

a “major product cycle delay” at a “largeNorthAmericanmobilephone”customer,during an earnings conference call withanalystsonThursday.Tanoften refers toApple thisway.This

time, the executive said the delay willmean the bump in wireless revenueexperiencedbyBroadcomwillhappenonequarter laterthanusual thisyear.“Wearein,”Hocksaid,referringBroad-

comcomponentsintheiPhone.“Theques-tion is timing.”“Thisyear,wedonot expect to see this

uptick in revenue until our fourth fiscalquarter,” the CEO added.“So accordingly,weexpect,ourwireless revenue inQ3will

bedownsequentially.”Apple is planning to release its next

iPhone line multiple weeks later thanusual, Bloomberg News previouslyreported.ThecompanytypicallyunveilsitsnewiPhonesinthesecondhalfofSeptem-ber,buthasoccasionally,likeinthecaseoftheiPhoneXin2017,launchedmajornew

models later in theyear.Phone makers usually order compo-

nentsmonthsaheadofproduct launches.AppletypicallyreleasesnewversionsoftheiPhone inSeptember.If it followed that time line,Broadcom

would receive orders in the current quar-ter,whichruns through July.

REUTERSJune 5

TWITTER HAS DISABLED US PresidentDonald Trump’s campaign tribute videoto George Floyd on its platform, citing acopyright complaint.The clip,which is a collation of photos

and videos of protest marches andinstances of violence in the aftermath ofFloyd’s death,has Trump speaking in thebackground.Floyd’s death last week after a fatal

encounterwith a police officer has led tonationwide protests. Inwidely circulatedvideo footage, a white officer was seenkneeling on Floyd's neck as Floyd gaspedfor air and repeatedly groaned, “I can’tbreathe,"beforepassingout.Twitter said the video on the presi-

dent's campaign accountwas affected byits copyrightpolicy.“We respond to valid copyright com-

plaints sent to us bya copyright ownerortheir authorised representatives,” aTwitterrepresentative said.The social media platform has been

under fierce scrutiny from the Trumpadministration since it fact-checkedTrump’s tweets about unsubstantiatedclaims of mail-in voting fraud. It alsolabeled a Trump tweet about protests inMinneapolis as“glorifyingviolence.”Trumphaspledged to introduce legis-

lationthatmayscraporweakena lawthatshields social media companies fromliabilityforcontentpostedbytheirusers.Ken Farnaso, Trump campaign’s

deputy press secretary, said it was“unsurprisingly sad” that Twitter hadjoined themainstreammedia in censor-ing thePresident’smessage.Thethree-minute45-secondvideowas

tweeted byhis campaign on June3.Itwasalso uploaded on Trump’s YouTubechannelandhiscampaign’sFacebookpage.

ASSOCIATED PRESSWashington, June 5

THEUSUNEMPLOYMENT rate fell unex-pectedly inMay to 13.3%— still on parwithwhatthenationwitnessedduringtheGreat Depression — as states loosenedtheir coronavirus lockdowns and busi-nessesbeganrecallingworkers.The government said Friday that the

economy added 2.5 million jobs lastmonth, driving unemployment downfrom14.7%inApril.TheMay job gain,which confounded

economists’expectationsofanotherroundofseverelosses,suggeststhatthousandsofstores, restaurants,gyms and other com-paniesreopenedandrehiredmorequicklythanmanyanalystshadforecast.Still, it raises a key question for busi-

nessesandunemployedworkers:Howfastwill the rebound proceed? For hiring tocontinue at a solid pace, businesses willprobablyneedtoseesignsthatconsumersare starting to resume theirpre-outbreakhabitsof shoppinganddiningout.Otherevidencehasalsoshownthat the

job-market meltdown triggered by thecoronavirushasbottomedout.Thenumberofpeopleapplyingforunemploymentben-efits has declined fornine straightweeks.

AndthetotalnumberofAmericansreceiv-ingsuchaidhasessentiallyleveledoff.Theoverall job cutshavewidenedeco-

nomic disparities:While the unemploy-mentrateforwhiteAmericanswas12.4%May, it was 17.6% for Hispanics and16.8%forAfrican-Americans.EvenwiththesurprisinggaininMay,it

may take months for all those who lostwork inApril andMarch to find jobs.

❝❝ ❝❝

BOUNCINGBACK STRONGERBoris Johnson, British primeminister

Aswe come through this pandemic and begin torebuild our economies, it’s time to invest in theindustries, infrastructure and jobs thatwill endureany storm—or even another virus— sowe bounceback stronger than before

Kylie Jenner is highestpaid celebrity: Forbes

Zoom’s 484% surge gives little-knownTaiwanese investor amassive fortune

Bombardier tocut 2,500 jobs toover business jetdemand slumpBLOOMBERGLondon/Toronto, June 5

BOMBARDIERPLANSTOeliminate2,500jobs at its aviation division following aslumpindemandforbusiness jets.Manufacturing operations in Canada

will bear the brunt of the cutbacks, to becarried out thisyear,Bombardier said in arelease Friday.Overall,the groupemploysnearly60,000.TwoyearsofsellingassetshasleftBom-

bardier particularly exposed to thevagaries of the private-jetmarket amid awide-reaching recession.Demand in thatmarket is forecast todrop30%becausetothepandemic,Bombardiersaid.TheMon-treal-basedcompanysaid itwouldgiveanupdateon itsoutlookAugust6.“Bombardiermustadjustitsoperations

andworkforce to ensure that it emergesfrom the current crisis on solid footing,”the release said.

WHO:Cases seenrising in countriesafter easingof lockdownsSOME COUNTRIES HAVE seen“upticks” in COVID-19 cases as lock-downs ease, and populations mustprotect themselves from the coron-aviruswhileauthoritiescontinuetest-ing,theWHOsaidonFriday.The epicentre of the pandemic is

currently Central, South and NorthAmerica, particularly the US, WHOspokeswomanMargaretHarrissaid.“When the lockdowns ease,when

the social distancingmeasures ease,people sometimes interpret this as‘OK, it’s over’,” Harris told a UNbriefing inGeneva. —REUTERS

Trump issuesmemo toprotectUSinvestors fromChinese companies

❝❝ ❝❝

Wemust take firm, orderlyaction to end the Chinesepractice of floutingAmerican transparencyrequirementswithoutnegatively affectingAmerican investors andfinancial markets—DONALDTRUMP, US PRESIDENT

China to safeguardblacklisted firmsTHECHINESEGOVERNMENTsaiditwill take “necessary measures” tosafeguard the interests of domesticcompanies,afterfreshUS restrictionson a blacklist of 33 companies tookeffectFriday.TheMinistryofCommerceissued

a statement saying that it opposedmoves to make 33 Chinesecompaniessubject tocurbsonaccesstoUStechnology. —BLOOMBERG

The May job gain suggests thatthousands of stores, restaurants,gyms and other companiesreopened and rehired quickly

BLOOMBERGHong Kong/ San Franciso, june 5

SOMEOFTHEBIGGESTnamesinfinanceand business made a fortune on ZoomVideo Communications : Hong Kong’s LiKa-shing, Tiger Global Management’sChase Coleman and, of course, founderEric Yuan,whose networth has surged to$10.7billion.Andthenthere’sSamuelChen,a little-

knownTaiwanese investorwhomade hisinitial wealth through ink trading andstarted puttingmoney in the video-con-ferencing juggernautaboutadecadeago.HisDigitalMobileVenture,whichpar-

ticipated inZoom’s early funding rounds,controls a $1.6 billion stake, assuming ithasn’tsoldstocksincetheholdingwaslastdisclosed at the end ofMarch. Shares of

Zoom,which recently reported a 170%increase in first-quarter revenue, havemore than quintupled since their initialpublicoffering lastyear.Chen’s investment firm has already

sold some Zoom shares, including a $22million chunk at Zoom’s April 2019 IPOand an additional 13 million sharesthroughMarch,accordingtoafiling.Thatmeansitcouldhaveearnedawindfallofasmuchas$2.1billion.Zoom’s surging popularity has come

with concerns over its security practices,promptingthecompanytobolsterprotec-tivemeasures forusers.There’s also the risk that people will

abandon the service after the pandemicends and they return to offices.The stockslipped6%to$210.35onThursday,givingthecompanya$59.3billionmarketvalue.

ZOOMING IN■ Samuel Chenmade his initialwealth through ink trading

■He started puttingmoney inthe video-conferencingjuggernaut about a decade ago

■Chen’s venture could be incontrol of up to $1.6-bn stake

■His investment firm has alreadysold a $22m chunk inApril andanother 13m shares

■Digital MobileVenturemay haveearned awindfall of asmuch as$2.1 bn from those trades

BROAD STROKES■Apple usually unveils newmodels insecond half of September

■ If it followed the same timeline,Broadcomwould receive orders in Q3

■He saidwireless revenue in Q3will bedown sequentially

■ BroadcomCEO says uptick inrevenue not expected until Q3

REUTERSLosAngeles, June 5

KYLIEJENNERANDKanyeWestonThurs-day topped the annual Forbes list of thehighest paid celebrities, but sports stars,includingRogerFedererandLionelMessi,dominated the top10.Forbes estimated that Jenner earned

$590millioninthelast12months,mostlyfrom the sale of a 51% stake in her KylieCosmetics line toCotyin2019.Jenner,22, the half-sister of KimKar-

dashian,madeheadlinesaweekagowhenForbes said thatafterreviewingdata fromtheCotysale,itnolongerbelievedshewasabillionaireas ithaddeclaredayearago.Jennerrespondedsayingthattheorig-

inalForbesestimatewasbasedon“anum-

ber of inaccurate statements andunprovenassumptions.”West,who is married to Kardashian,

followedwith an estimated $170millionin earnings,muchof it fromhis dealwithAdidas forhisYeezysneakerbrand.

Cases pass

6.6millionDeaths exceed

391,000

MAPPINGTHEVIRUSIran reported 2,886 newcoronavirus cases and 63more deaths in the past 24 hours, bringing thecountry’s tally to 167,156 infections and 8,134 deaths.BentleyMotors plans to cut asmany as 1,000 jobs inthe UK, about a quarter of itsworkforce, to copewiththe fallout of the coronavirus crisis after years ofweakprofitability.Iraq recordedmore than 1,000 newcoronavirus casesin a single day for the first time on Friday,with itstotal approaching 10,000 confirmed cases, the healthministry said.In France, “we can reasonably say that the epidemic isunder control,” Professor Jean-Francois Delfraissy, thehead of the country’s scientific council, told radiobroadcaster France Inter on Friday.Fears ofdeflation justified the EuropeanCentralBank’s decision to rampup its emergencybond-buying programme, according to policymakerPabloHernandez deCos.Germany’s coronavirus infection rate dropped furtherbelow the key threshold of 1.0,while the number ofdaily cases remained far below the thousands seen atthe height of the crisismore than twomonths ago.NewYorkCity’s health department produceddataThursday that showednodeaths ofvirus-carriers theprevious day, giving officials cause to cautiouslycelebrate.Three deaths probably attributable toCovid-19 occurred in untested patients, thedepartment reported.Irelandwill accelerate the cautious reopening of itseconomy,with the fourth and final phase of easingrestrictions to start on July 20, threeweeks earlier thanscheduled, acting PM LeoVaradkar said on Friday.

Number ofunemployedSingapore residentsmay top100,000 this yearUK scientists unsure on face

mask useJapanminister says cultural

standard helpedbeatvirusTrump’s re-election hopes

grow shakierwith BidengainsEU set to prolongban

on travelBrazil surpasses Italy in

coronavirus deathsUKhalts trial ofmalara drug as

'useless' for Covid-19 patients

New Delhi

Motobahn

VIKRAM CHAUDHARY

LAST YEAR WHEN Hyundai Indialaunched the Venue and MG Motorlaunched the Hector, both carmakerspromoted theseasa‘connectedSUV’andan ‘internet SUV’, respectively. Almostequally ‘connected’ even the Kia Seltoswas,but itwaspath-breaking in somanyareas that merely promoting it as, say, acyberspace SUVoran infobahn SUVmaynot have done justice to the other thingsit excelled in.TheSeltos,launchedlastyearinAugust

andunveiledayearagoinJune2019,setanewbenchmarkforSUVsinIndia(see‘HastheSeltossetanewbenchmarkforSUVs?’FE, June 22,2019; https://bit.ly/3eUzxPr),and sales numbers prove that. On theeighthdayof theSeltosbeing launched,itmadeKiaMotorsIndiatheseventh-largestcarmaker in the country; in the thirdmonth fifth-largest; and in the seventhmonth third-largest (see table).

Monthly salesThe Seltos comprehensively outsold

HyundaiCreta—theCretawasanywaydueformodel change,which happened thisyear—and during some months it evenoutsold the far more affordable MarutiSuzukiVitaraBrezza,India’slargestsellingSUVoverall.Until now,83,535 units of the Seltos

havebeensold(thisincludesthelockdownperiod of zero sales), and if you calculateonly the entire-month normal-marketcondition sales (September 2019 to Feb-ruary 2020), these stand at 68,078 unitsin six months, i.e. an average of 11,364unitseverymonth—morethanwhatbehe-mothssuchasVolkswagenandNissansellin Indiawith theirmanymodels.

Well-planned strategyTherearemanyreasonsforits success.One, there has been an increasing

demandforSUVs,andKiawasabletopro-ject theSeltosasanaspirationalSUV.Two,thedesignstandsout.Three, the Seltos takes premiumness

onto a different plane—the quality of thematerial used in the cabinmatcheswhatyousee insomecars fromBMWorAudi.Four,Kiaofferedarangeofenginesand

gearboxesandtrimlevels andsoon,prac-ticallykeepingtheentire`10-20lakhpas-sengervehicle segment to itself.Brand imagehelped,too.Since its par-

ticipation in theAuto Expo2018,Kiawasabletocreatetheimageofapremiumcar-

maker,whoseproductsaretheonepeopleaspire for, says Harish Bijoor, brand guruand founder of Harish Bijoor Consults.“Kia,thebrand,nowhasaveryhigh-qual-ity image.An image it has carefully nur-tured to be twonotches ahead of existingmass-marketplayers,”hesays,adding,“thecompanyhas alsomaintained a tone andtenor of advertising creative that hashelped itposition itselfuniquely.”

NewcompetitionAtthesametime,itcanbearguedthat,

untilnow,theSeltosdidn’t facestiff com-petitionwithin its segment (the oldCretawas on itswayout; andbothNissanKicksand Renault Captur failed to generateenoughbuyerinterest).Theall-newCreta,

launchedjustbeforethelockdownstarted,couldchangethat.Infact,inMay2020,thenewCreta became India’s highest sellingmodeloverall,with3,212unitssold.Itwasprimarily due to the pre-lockdown book-ingsgettingconverted tosales.“TheCretawill regain its ground,”says

GauravVangaal, associate director at IHSMarkit, the global information company.“Thenoveltyfactorhugelyinfluencescar-buyingdecisions in India;Hyundai is stilla stronger brand in India; Hyundai has abigger service network; and theCreta hasa loyal customerbase and therewould bemanywhowouldwant toupgrade.”Vangaal,infact,iscautiouslyoptimistic

that the Cretawill take back the top-sell-ingSUVcrownfromtheSeltos.

This week Kia launched the updatedSeltos,withnewfeaturesandpricing,anda more advanced connected car tech—called UVO Connect, which can now beaccessedbythevoicecommand‘HelloKia’.While it’ll be interesting to seewhich

SUV comes out tops,what the Seltos didwas unprecedented—just one modelhelped a brandnewcar companybecomea country’s third-largest within sevenmonthsofmarketoperations.

(WhileKiaIndiaandHyundai Indiaareseparate entities, globally Hyundai owns apartofKia,andsotheyshareproductdevel-opment.The Seltos and the Creta share theplatform, engines and gearboxes, but thedesignandeverythingelse isdifferent.)

FE BUREAU

BLUSMART, THE all-electric ride-hailingplatform,has said it has completed 4.75million pollution-free km in one year bymaking 175,000 trips in Delhi NCR.Theon-demandelectrictaxiservice,BluSmartwas launchedon June4,2019.Anmol Jaggi, founder,BluSmart, said,

“Weplantoexpandourserviceradiusandmake travelwithin thecityenvironment-friendly.Ourcabsaresanitisedtwiceadayduring thecharging time.”On theWorld Environment Day (June

5),itaddedthatitwillmakeinroadsindif-ferent markets and contribute towardszero tailpipeemissionmobility.

FE BUREAU

INDIANINSTITUTEofTechnologyMadrashas partneredwith industry to develop atouchless sanitiser dispenser that can bedeployedinrunningvehiclessuchascars,vans,busesandevenautorickshaws.This design,IIT said, is scalable foruse

with bothAC andDC power supply.“Carehas been taken in the choice ofmaterialsso theycan be safelyusedwith liquid andgel-typesanitisers,”IITsaidinastatement.KavithaArunachalam,professor,Dept

ofEngineeringDesign,workedwithAnan-draj G and Rajesh D from Shima Engi-neering,aChennai-basedfirm,onthispro-ject. They havereceivedbusinessenquiries,andarethe process ofmoving to pro-ductionmode.Arunachalam

said the idea ofbuilding a touch-less sanitiser dis-penserwasinitiatedShimaEngineeringinmid-March 2020.“Anticipating the needforhands-freepersonalhygieneproductsafter Covid-19, I mentored Shima Engi-neering tobuildprototypes to suit differ-entend-users.”TheproposalwasapprovedbyProfSeshadriSekhar,facultyin-charge,Covid-19 Projects, IITMadras, and sup-portedbyCentralWorkshop,IITMadras.ShimaEngineering is in theprocess of

getting incubation support from IITMadras for developing related productsforpersonalhygiene,andproductsfordis-infectingclassrooms,office spaces,etc.

Now, sanitiserdispensers forcars and buses

FINANCIALEXPRESS9 WWW.FINANCIALEXPRESS.COM


Investor

Unveiled a year ago, ithelped Kia become India’sthird-largest carmaker

Howthe Seltosbecame India’slargest selling SUV

This design ispoweredbybothAC andDC, andcan bedeployedin cars, vans, busesand autorickshaws

❝❝ ❝❝

ANEWAVTRVipin Sondhi, MD & CEO,Ashok Leyland

WithAVTR,we have achieved the dual challenge ofmeetingBS6 norms and development of a newplatform.This gives usan edge not only in India but globally also,with its potentialto switch between right-hand-drive and left-hand-drive.

IIT Madras makes sanitiserdispenser for cars, autos

Hyundai Creta islargest selling carin India in MayIN MAY 2020, the all-newHyundaiCretabecameIndia’shighestsellingmodeloverall,with3,212unitssold.Itwasprimarilyduetothepre-lock-downbookingsgettingconvertedtosales.Launched onMarch 16,a fewdays before the lockdown started,the newCreta has received 24,000bookings, including about 1,000online bookings under Hyundai’sClick toBuydigital sales initiative.The other top-sellingmodels in

May,according to SIAM,areMarutiSuzuki Ertiga (2,353 units sold),Maruti Suzuki Dzire (2,215 units),Mahindra Bolero (1,715 units) andMaruti SuzukiEeco (1,617units).In May, carmakers gradually

restarted production, and car deal-ershipshavestarted reopening.

—FEBUREAU

Onemodel, manymilestonesMonth

Aug 2019

Sept 2019

Oct 2019

Nov 2019

Dec 2019

Jan 2020

Feb 2020

Mar 2020

Apr 2020

May 2020

6,200

7,554

12,850

14,005

4,645

15,000

14,024

7,466

0

1,611

Seltos launched onAugust 22; byAugust 31,it made Kia seventh-largest carmaker in India

Seltos becomes highest-selling SUV in the segment

Seltos remains the highest-selling SUV

Low domestic sales because Kia India exported 6,341 unitsof the Seltos to cater to growing overseas demand

Helps Kia become India's fourth-largest carmaker;Seltos becomes highest-selling SUV in IndiaKia becomes third-largest carmaker in India;Seltos remains highest-selling SUVLockdown started on March 25;Seltos remains India's highest-selling SUV

Kia Motors India resumes car production atits Anantapur plant inAndhra Pradesh

Source: Kia Motors India, SIAM

India under lockdown

Booking number crosses 50,000 units

Sales (units) Smooth sailing

Thisweek Kia launched the updated Seltos,with new features and pricing

FE BUREAU

THIS WEEK ASHOK Leyland, the com-mercial vehicle (CV) manufacturer,launched a new range ofmodular trucks,AVTR,with i-Gen6 BS-VI technology.Themodular platform, the company said, is afirst of its kind in the Indian CV industrywithmultiple options of axle configura-tions, loading spans, cabins, suspensionsanddrivetrainsonasingleplatformfortheentire range of rigid trucks, tippers andtractors in the 18.5-tonne to 55-tonnecategory.TheAVTRplatformwill replaceall Ashok Leyland vehicles for the Indianmarket,andwillbeavailableinfiveengineoptionshavingapowerrangeof200hpto360hp.The company has invested `500croreonthedevelopmentofthisplatform.Amodular platform allows for swap-

ping of modules to configure multipleproductsinafamilyofvehicles.Therefore,theAVTRplatform gives the customers achoice to customise their product as pertheir requirements, which, in turn, canhelpdeliverbetteroperationaleconomics.Forthe company,itwouldmean faster

turnaroundalongwithbettermarketcov-erage owing to virtuallymillions of com-binations, for any kind of customer.Themodular platform,Ashok Leyland added,also provides improved safety and bettercomfort for drivers,higher reliability andenhanced durability. This platform hasbeen tested forover60 lakh kmaswell asthrough30,000hoursof systemtesting.Vipin Sondhi,MD& CEO,Ashok Ley-

land, said,“With the launch of AVTR,wehaveachievedthedualchallengeofmeet-ing the BS6 norms and development of awholenewplatform.ThisgivesusanedgenotonlyinIndia,butalsoglobally,withitspotential to switch between right-hand-driveand left-hand-driveconditions.”

Ashok Leylandin a newAVTRThe company launches newmodular platform for trucks

●NEWPLATFORM

Apollution-freedrive for BluSmart

CREDITACCESSGRAMEEN’S (CAGL’S)Q4FY20resultischaracterisedbytwokeyevents: (a) completion of first phase ofMadura acquisition (~76%) and (b) pro-active building of Covid-19-related con-tingencyprovisionof~`0.8bn (87bpsofloans). Key highlights of the quarter: (i)strong 38%/17% y-o-y growth inAuM/borrowers;(ii)~40bpsdeclineincostof borrowing to 9.6% (marginal cost of

borrowing is lower by ~50bps at 9.1%)even in amost challenging quarter; (iii)GNPA increase to 1.57% (0.85% inQ3FY20); and (iv) ~70%y-o-ydecline instandalone PAT to `228 mn due tomerger-related expenses (`150mn) andelevatedcreditcostduetoCovid-19.Thoughthemergerbringsinsynergy,

decline in consolidated CAR to 23.6%(post acquisition) and Madura’s high

concentration inTamil Nadu (most dis-tricts in red zone) poses near-term risk.However,strongexecution track record,weekly collectionmodel, customerpro-file (~35-40% unique and ~75% >1year) and ability to raise funds at com-petitive rates,would ensure CAGLnavi-gatingthecurrentchallengingphaserel-atively better than peers and emergingstronger in post Covid-19 era.Maintain

Buywitha targetpriceof`585.

Resumption of business operationsfrom1st Jun’20 ispositiveGiven significant relaxation of the lock-down,CAGL is geared to restart businessoperations from1st June’20.Withmorethan80%ofcustomersengagedinessen-tial activities, it expects collection effi-ciencytoremainaround~70%inJun’20.

Strong liquidity position; ability toraise fundsatcompetitiverateLower marginal cost of borrowing inQ4FY20at9.1%would ensuremarginssustainingatcurrentlevel,ifnotimprov-ing,inFY21e.Withitfocusingonresum-ing collection and cumulative sanc-tion/applicationsof~`20bntillAug’20,we believe CAGL is well placed to sailthroughthecurrent liquiditycycle.

AUMgrowthremainsstrongWhile CAGLcontinues to deliver indus-try-leadingAUMgrowth at 38%y-o-y,drivenby17%y-o-ygrowthincustomeracquisition, acquisition of Maduraadded~21%to totalAuMas ofMar’20.Significantly lower ticket size ofMadura’s customer is likely to ensurerevival of AuM growth quicker thanpeers. Standalone retail finance booknowconstitutes5%of totalAUM.

ICICI SECURITIES

UNSP’S Q4FY20 RESULTSwereworsethan expectations. If bulk scotch sales(that could be lumpybut not extraordi-nary)areexcluded,thenresultswouldbeevenweaker.WhileUNSP’sPATCAGRfor5yearsendingFY20stoodat33%,FY21and FY22e are likely to be the lost yearsfor UNSP and other alcohol companieswithnegligibleearningsgrowth.Impactof extremely sharp excise increasesacross stateswould only exacerbate thepressureonFY21profitability.Further, we believe profitability is

already sharply impacted by (a) theabsence of any sales until 3rdMay; and(b) absenceof sales fromon-trade chan-nel (20-25%of sales),which is expectedtolastforasignificantlylargepartoftheyear after the latest MHA guidelines.MaintainNeutral onUNSPon accountof fairvaluations.

COVID-19impactsvolumesStandalone net sales declined 11.4%y-o-y to `19.9 bn. Underlying net sales,excl. the one-off sale of bulk Scotch,declined 14.8%.Overall reported vol-

umesdeclined13.3%.P&A/Popularvol-umesdeclined20%/6.6%y-o-y.Reportedgrossmargincontractedby

430bpto42.2%,primarilyduetoCOGSinflationaswellasthedilutiveimpactofthe last tranche of bulk Scotch sales.Underlying grossmargin,excluding theone-off sale of bulk Scotch,was down364bp to 42.9%. Despite significantgross margin compression, reportedEbitdamarginexpanded100bpy-o-yto13.6%,primarilydeliveredthroughsav-ings inoperatingcosts.Adjusted for one-off impact of bulk

Scotch sales and restructuring costs,underlyingEbitdadeclined16.2%y-o-yandunderlyingEbitdamarginwasdown21bp y-o-y to 13.2%.Reported Ebitdadeclined4.3%y-o-yto`2.7bn.AdjustedPATdeclined16.9%to`1.1bn.ReportedPAT declined 81.1% to `239 m onaccountofhighertaxes.FY20 performance: FY20 sales/

Ebitda/Adj. PAT growth stood at 1.2%/17.1%/16.9% y-o-y. The companyrepaid debt amounting to `4.9 bn.Netdebt as of Mar’20 stood at `20.7 bn,down20%YoY.

ValuationandviewAshighlightedearlier,outlook isweakforalcoholcompanies,leadingtoasignificantslowdowninearningsgrowth(from>30%growthinthe5yearsendingFY20).Weakresults have led to further EPS cuts of6.4%/4.0% for FY21/FY22e. RoE forFY21/FY22e is likely tobewell belowthe20%rangewitnessed overpast 4years.OurDCF-basedTPleads to an8%down-side to CMP(effective targetmultiple of41xMar’22eEPS).MaintainNeutral.

MOTILALOSWAL

Outlook is bleak for FY21and FY22,with RoE likelyto bewell below20% seenin past; ‘Neutral’ retainedas valuations are fair

Company likely to navigate crisis better than peers; ‘Buy’maintainedwith TP of `585

●CREDITACCESS GRAMEEN RATING: BUY

AuMgrowth in quarterwas strong

●UNITED SPIRITS RATING: NEUTRAL

Performancewas belowpar in Q4FY20Y/E March 2020 2021E 2022E

Sales 90.9 74.5 91.5Sales Gr. (%) 1.2 -18.0 22.7Ebitda 15.1 10.4 15.6Margin (%) 16.6 14.0 17.1PAT 7.9 5.2 9.6EPS (`) 10.9 7.1 13.2EPS Gr. (%) 16.9 -34.6 85.3BV/Sh.(`) 52.4 59.6 72.8RatiosRoE (%) 20.8 12.0 18.1RoCE (%) 17.3 17.8 24.4Payout (%) 0.0 0.0 0.0ValuationsP/E (x) 54.3 83.0 44.8P/BV (x) 11.3 9.9 8.1EV/Ebitda (x) 29.3 41.3 27.2Source: Company data, Motilal Oswal estimates

AuM (FY20 - ` mn)

Source: Company, I-Sec research

Madura added 21%/42% toCAGL’s FY20 standalone AuM

98,960

21,000

1,19,960

0

20,000

40,000

60,000

80,000

1,00,000

1,20,000

1,40,000

CAGL MMFL CAGL+MMFL

Financials &Valuations(` billion)

New Delhi

●Q4 RESULTS


STATE BANK OF India’s (SBI) Q4FY20standalonenetprofit jumped327%year-on-year(y-o-y)to`3,581croreonthebackof a one-time gain of `2,731 crore fromthe sale of its stake in its credit card sub-sidiaryandan18%y-o-yreductioninpro-visionsto`13,495crore.Intheworst-casescenario under the Covid breakout, thelender sees itself going back to its perfor-mance in FY18,when it had posted a netlossof`6,547croreona full-yearbasis.The bank’s provisions fell despite its

decision to take higher-than-mandatedprovisioning against accounts that hadbeen given a repaymentmoratorium inMarch.SBI chairmanRajnishKumar saidthe lender had treated all these accounts—worth a total `6,250 crore — as slip-pages in terms of provisioning and setaside 15% against them, as against theregulatory requirement of 10% spreadovertwoquarters.Asked about the kind of scenarios the

bankhadfactoredingiventhewidespreaddisruption arising out of Covid and thelockdown,Kumarsaid,“Inthecurrentcir-cumstances,Iwouldsaywehavethreesce-narios—oneiswerepeattheperformanceofFY20.If thingsgoworse thenwerepeattheperformance of FY19and if things goverybad thenwe repeat the performanceofFY18.”The asset-quality impact of the pan-

demic and the associated lockdownwillstart to become apparent in September,Kumarsaid,addingthatSBIwill startpro-viding in June on the basis of its assess-

mentof the situation.Eighty-two percent of the bank’s cus-

tomershavepaidtwoormoreinstalmentsinthelastfewmonthsand92%havepaidat least one instalment. In the corporatebook,13%ofborrowershavenotpaidanyinstalment,Kumar said.“The amount isvery, very insignificant, I would say,” headded.The bank’s investor presentationshowed that 23% of its term loans areunder moratorium and 21.8% of cus-tomers have availed the benefit,withoutspecifyingadate.“We have done all the analysis of our

corporatebookandretailbook,butunlesswe knowhow things turn out to be asweexit the lockdown,anythingwouldbe justaguess,”Kumarsaid,addingthatanycon-clusions can only be arrived at afteranotherthreemonths.SBI’s operating profit fell 7%y-o-y to

`15,734 crore, as per the numbers filed

withtheexchanges.Kumarsaidthebankistakinganeight-quarterview,andinFY22,it targets clocking an operating profit of`1.4lakhcrore.Thebankhopestorestrictthe slippage ratio at 2% in FY21. InQ4FY20, slippages fell 51% sequentiallyto`8,105crore.The bank’s net interest income fell

0.81% y-o-y to `22,767 crore and itsdomestic net interest margin shrank 65basispoints(bps)sequentiallyto2.94%asa result of interest reversals in the agriloanbook.SBI’s gross advances grew 5.64% to

`24.23 lakhcroreasonMarch31,2020.Addressingthequestionofloangrowth

inFY21,Kumarsaid,“Wehadbudgetedfora 12% growth in the loan book, but thatseemsunlikelyinthecurrentscenario.Webelieve it should be somewhere between5%and 12%; themidpoint is 7-8% andthat iswhereweshouldbe.”Depositsgrew11.34%y-o-yto`32.42

lakhcroreasonMarch31,withthecurrentaccount savings account (CASA) ratiofalling58bpsy-o-yto45.16%.There was an improvement on the

asset quality front as the gross non-per-forming asset (NPA) ratio fell 79 bpssequentially to 6.15% and the net NPAratio slid 42 bps to 2.23%. SBI’s sharesended 7.9% higher than their previouscloseontheBSEat`187.80onFriday.

HDFCBank launchesoffer to push spending

Non-food credit shrinks `1.76 lakh crdespite credit push, lower repayments

‘82%of customers havepaid two ormore EMIs’

In theworst case amid theCovid breakout, the lendersees going back to itsperformance in FY18

Forex reserves all-timehigh at $493.48 billionTHECOUNTRY’SFOREIGNexchangereserves surged$3.43billion toafreshall-timehighof$493.48billionfortheweekendedMay29onahandsomeaccretionof thecorecurrencyassets,theReserveBankofIndia saidonFriday.The reserves,whicharecountedasakeystrengthasthecountryfaces theeconomicimpactof theCovid-19pandemic,hadrisenby$3bntoanall-timehighof`490.044bn in thepreviousweek.

MahindraFinancetoraiseupto`86croreviaNCDsMAHINDRA&MAHINDRAonFridaysaiditwillraise`500crorethroughissuanceofsecuritiesonaprivateplacementbasis.Theloansandinvestmentcommitteehasapprovedissuanceandofferof5,000rated,listed,unsecured,redeemablenon-convertibledebenturesof`10lakheachaggregating`500crore,M&Msaid.

NorthernArcraises$50mfromUSIDFCNORTHERNARC,oneof India’sleadingdebt financiers,onFridayannounced that ithas receivedacommitmentof$50million ofdebtfinancing fromUSInternationalDevelopmentFinanceCorporation.The fundswill beusedbyNorthernArc to support thegrowthandliquidityneedsof its institutionalclientsaswell as lendtosmallbusinessesand individuals.

AdityaBirlaCapital’snetfalls44.2%to`144croreADITYABIRLACapital (ABCL)onFridayreporteda44.2%decline in itsconsolidatednetprofit to`144croreforthe fourthquarterof the financialyearendedMarch2020.Thecompanyhadregisteredanetprofitof`258crore in thecorrespondingquarterof theprevious financialyear.

QuickView

MarketsFINANCIALEXPRESS10 WWW.FINANCIALEXPRESS.COM


●Q&A: RAJNISH KUMAR, SBI chairman


OUTSTANDINGNON-FOOD credit in thebankingsystemfell1.7%,orby`1.76lakhcrore, betweenMarch 27 andMay 22 to`101.44lakhcrore,showsdatareleasedbytheReserveBankofIndia(RBI).Whiletherehad been a `1.68-lakh crore fall in loansoutstandingeveninthecomparableperiodayearago,the drop thisyear stands out inthelightofthecreditoverdrivelaunchedbythegovernmentand the loanmoratoriumwhichhasresultedinafall inrepayments.Theministryof finance saidearlier this

week that state-owned banks alone havesanctioned loansworth`10,361.75 croreunderthe100%emergencycreditlineguar-anteescheme (ECLGS) to small enterprises.Bankers saythatwhile credit isbeingsanc-tionedtobusinesses,theirutilisationremainslimitedatatimewhenrestrictionsonmove-mentareonlyjustbeginningtoeaseandthereis existing inventorytobecleared.Inotherwords,thereislittledemandforcreditevenasbanksarefloodedwithliquidity.

Thelatestdatashowsdepositsgrowing10.66% year-on-year (y-o-y) to `138.3lakhcrorewhilecreditgrowthwasamuchslower 6.14%y-o-y during the fortnightendedMay22.TheweakenvironmentforcredithasbeenaroundsinceFY20andthespread of Covid-19 has only intensifiedriskaversionamong lenders.Banks admit that previous forecasts of

creditgrowtharegoingtofallflatthisfiscalyear. State Bank of India (SBI) chairmanRajnishKumaronFridaysaidthatthebankhashadtotemperitsexpectationofa12%growthincreditinFY21.“Wehadbudgetedfora12%growthintheloanbook,butthatseemsunlikelyin thecurrent scenario.Webelieve it should be somewhere between5%and 12%; themidpoint is 7-8%andthat iswhereweshouldbe,”hesaid.Analysts do expect a pick-up in credit

offtake in FY21 as enterprises and indi-viduals facing cash flow issues arisingfromthe lockdowncould tapbanks.InanotedatedMay20,CareRatingssaid

that the loanguaranteebythegovernmentforsmall enterprisesandnon-bank lenderscouldstimulatebankcreditofftake.“Further,bankshavebeentoldtoincreasetheworkingcapitallimitsofborrowersby10%whichwillhelp theSMEs inparticular,”it said,adding,however,thatthe improvementmaynotbesubstantial,given theunderlying riskaver-sionof banks and fears ofworsening assetquality.Careexpectsbankcreditgrowthfortheyeartorangearound5-6%.

Money Matters

Jun 05May 22

5.766

5.753

Benchmark yield roseunder selling pressure

0.007%

G-SEC

Jun 05May 22

75.95

Inverted scale

75.57

Rupee ended flat amiddollar buying by banksand rising crude prices

0.005%

`/$

Jun 05May 22

1.0901

1.1342

The euro rose againstthe dollar

0.035%

=C/$

❝❝ ❝❝

MPCMINUTESShaktikanta Das, RBI governor

Since the outbreak ofCovid-19, theMPC has voted forfront-loading its actions. In view of the deterioratingoutlook, it is critical to reinforce these actions in syncwith the space provided by the underlying conditions.

ANALYSTCORNER

‘Reduce’onAurobindoPharmawith FVof `730

KOTAK INSTITUTIONALEQUITIES

ARBP’S 4QFY20 REVENUESwereexpectedly strong, although themixsurprisedwith US injectables decliningsharply. Grossmargins surprisedpositively, expanding 290 bps QoQ ,although the benefitwas partlynegated by a sharp increase inemployee and SG&Aspend,withEBITDAmargins expanding only 130bpsQoQ . Even asARBP’s US and EUbusinesses continue to surprisepositively, the R&D scale-up oncomplex filings is only likely to play outfrom FY2024. Post the recent stockprice run-up,we downgrade the stockto ‘reduce’ from ‘add’with a revisedFVof `730 (from `690).ARBP’s 4QFY20 revenueswere in

linewith estimates. EBITDAwas only~4% higher than estimates,withEBITDAmargins at 21.8% (+130 bpsQoQ; +90 bps vs KIE)with lowerdepreciation and lower tax rateresulting in PATat 10% higher than ourestimates. Debt further declined $87mQoQ ,with FY2020 decline at $365m to $360m (OCFgeneration at `41bn,with capex at `1,400 crore).

ARBPhas been gradually movingup the complexity curve for sterileproducts,with range of approvals,including colored products, PFSproducts, large volume lyophilizedproducts and complexAPI products.We believe progress in other

complex filings such as triamcinoloneinjectable, iron products, peptides anddepot injectionswill be required toreach $400-500m sterile sales in theUS (from $280m in FY2020E), andpropel overall US growth,with existinghigh-volume injectables likely to reacha capacity bottleneck by FY2022.However, progress in these areas

has been understandably slow,whileits inhalation (pMDI’s aswell asAdvair,though none in clinics) and biosimilars(Avastin filing for the EU in 1QFY22)products are yet to be filed,withmeaningful profit contribution unlikelybefore FY2024.We raise our estimates by ~5%each

for FY2021/22. Given the recent sharprally in the stock price,we downgradethe stock to ‘reduce’ (from ‘add’)with arevised fair value of `730 (from`690),valuing the stock at 13X FY2022E EPSor 8X FY2022E EV/EBITDA.

SBI posts 4-fold jump inprofit onone-timegain

(` cr) Q4 2019 Q4 2020 % Chg Q3 FY20 % Chg

Total Income 7,5670.5 76,027.51 0.5 76,797.9 -1.0Net Interest Income 22,954.0 22,767 -0.8 27,779.0 -18.0Other income 12,685.1 13,346.11 5.2 9,105.9 46.6Domestic NIM* (%) 2.95 3.19 24 bps 3.27 8 bpsProvisions 16,501.9 13,495.08 -18.2 7,252.9 86.1Net Profit 838.4 3,580.81 327.1 5,583.4 -35.9Gross NPA (%) 7.53 6.15 138 bps 6.94 79 bpsNet NPA (%) 3.01 2.23 79 bps 2.65 42 bpsSource: BSE *Domestic net interest margin

Report card

Despite theeconomicstress triggeredbythelockdown,only21.8%StateBankofIndia’s(SBI’s) customers have availed of themora-torium.In a post-earnings callwithmedia,SBI chairman Rajnish Kumar said that82% of customers had paid two or moreinstalmentsduring lockdown.Healsomen-tionedthatSBIhasaround`1lakhcrorefortakingcareofallpossibleelevatedslippagesand thebankdidnot intend togo tomarketforraisingcapital.Editedexcerpts:

Whatisthevalueofmoratoriumyouhaveprovidedtocustomers?Whatisyourper-spective after extensionofmoratoriumbythreemonths byRBI?Haveyoudoneanycontingencyprovisioning?Weextendedthemoratoriumtoevery-

one,despite that,82% cus-tomershavepaidtwoormoreinstalments. Around 92%peoplehavepaidoneormoreinstalments.Inthecorporatebook,only13%people havenotpaidanyinstalments.Therepaymentswhich are hap-pening,shows qualityof ourbook.Onthequestionofhowmanymore people will optformoratoriumafterextension,weareyettoknowbecause ithas just started.Butmysense is that numberswill not be signifi-cantlydifferentfromfirstthreemonths,orrather itmay improve aswe exit the lock-down.Wehavenotmade anycontingencyprovision,as ourprovision coverage ratio(PCR) is alreadyhigh.Wehave provided at15% for `6,250 crore worth accountswhich were standard as on February29,2020,butwouldhavebecomenon-per-forming assets (NPA) onMarch 31,2020.Thisisafloatingprovision,notaccountspe-cificprovision.It isnot includedinPCR.

Howmanynon-banking financial com-panies(NBFCs)haveavailedmoratorium?Areyou continuing to providemorato-riumtoNBFCsonacasetocasebasisonly?Only16NBFCaccountsoutof117intotal,

haveavailedmoratoriumfromourbank.WeareexaminingcashbudgetofNBFCsandpro-viding moratorium.. There are still three

monthstogoforprovidingmoratorium.

Howdoyouseeslippagesonyourbooks?Doyouwanttoraisemorefunds?In financialyear2021,even inbad sce-

nario,wearenotgoingtohaveslippagesofmore than 2%.Although,we have towaitfor at least one quarter more for betterassessment.Wedonot intendtogotogov-ernment or tomarket for raising capital.Thatisagain,myassessmentasofnow.In8quarters pre provision operating profitwouldbe`1.4lakhcrore.OurnetNPAtodayis `51,000 crore.We will need `40,000croreforlegacy...andwehave`1lakhcrorefortakingcareof all possible elevated slip-pages,pluswehave substantial unlockingvalue in our subsidiaries.As of now,we do

not foresee any need thatbank will be going to themarket for raising capital.Although we have madeenabling provision for rais-ing`20,000crore.

Howdo you see your loangrowththisyear?Wearetakingeightquar-

ter view.We had budgetedfor 12% growth in loan, but that seemsunlikelyinthecurrentscenario...Itshouldbe somewhere between 5% to 12%... So,mid point will be 7-8%. Therefore itshouldgrowby7-8%.

SBI’soneyearMCLRstandsat7.25%andsavingsrateat2.7%.Isthereanyfloorfordeposit rates andwhat should deposi-torsprepare themselves for?Ithinktheratesshouldstabliseatthese

levels.But if further rate cut happens,wehavenochoicebut tocut the rates.

Your net interest margins (NIMs) havecontacted8basispoints(bps)year-on-year(yoy),and65bpsquarter-on-quarter(q-o-q)to2.94%.Whathasbeenthereason?Ithasbeenduetointerestreversalonagri-

culture accounts.During the last quarter,therehasbeenslippagesof`5,238crore inagricultureNPAs.So,correspondinglytherehasbeeninterestreversalonthatfront.

‘MPChad to front-load action inviewof deteriorating outlook’

RBI to launch`500-crpaymentsinfra fund,will put in half theamountFE BUREAUMumbai, June 5

THE RESERVE BANKof India (RBI) onFri-dayannouncedthecreationofa`500-crorepaymentsinfrastructuredevelopmentfund(PIDF) to encourage acquirers to deploypoints of sale (PoS) infrastructure—bothphysicalanddigitalmodes—intier-3totier-6centresasalsoinnortheasternstates.Thecentralbankwillchipinwithanini-

tial contributionof `250 crore, it said in astatement,withtheremainingcontributioncoming fromcard-issuing banks and cardnetworksoperatinginthecountry.ThePIDFwill also receive recurring contributions tocoveroperationalexpenses fromthebanksand card networks.TheRBIwill also con-tributetoyearlyshortfalls,ifnecessary.“Overtheyears,paymentsecosystemin

thecountryhas evolvedwithawide rangeof options such as bank accounts,mobilephones,cards,etc.Toprovide further fillipto digitisation of payment systems, it isnecessary to give impetus to acceptanceinfrastructureacross thecountry,moresoinunderservedareas,”theRBIsaid.The PIDFwill be governed through an

advisorycouncilandmanagedandadmin-isteredbytheRBI.Thesettingupofthisfundis in linewith the recommendationsof thereport of the committee on deepening ofdigital payments, chaired by NandanNilekani.The report hadmade the case foran acceptance development fund whichwouldhelp cover someof the costs associ-atedwiththepaymentsbusinesswhich,onastandalonebasis,is a loss-makingone forbanks.For instance,oneof the recommen-dations of the report was that the inter-changeoncardpaymentsbereducedby15basispoints(bps),or0.15%.Anadditional5bpsshouldbeplacedinanacceptancedevel-opmentfundbytheissuerandtheRBIcouldchoosetomatchthecontribution.“Thiswillincrease the incentive foracquirers to signupmerchants,”thereporthadsaid.

❝❝

❝❝Unlesswe know howthings turn out to be aswe exit the lockdown,anythingwould be justa guess—RAJNISH KUMAR, SBI CHAIRMAN


THE MONETARY POLICY committee(MPC)must frontloadrateactions inviewoftherapidlydeterioratingeconomicout-look,ReserveBankofIndia(RBI)governorShaktikanta Daswrote in theminutes ofthe policymeeting held on May 20-22,explaining the reason behind advancingthemeetingscheduled forJune3-5.Daswrote that since the last off-cycle

MPCmeeting onMarch27,macro-finan-cial conditions had deteriorated rapidly.“The benign inflation outlook that isexpected for the second half of 2020-21,coupled with the rising probability of asharper loss of growthmomentum in thenear-term,hasprovideduswithmorepol-icy space to ease financial conditions fur-ther and stimulate growth.Since the out-break of Covid-19, theMPChasvoted forfront-loadingitsactions.Inviewofthedete-riorating outlook, it is critical to reinforcethese actions in syncwith the space pro-videdbytheunderlyingconditions,”hesaid.Deputy governor Michael Patra

paintedafarbleakerpictureofthegrowthoutlook and said that India’s growthwaslikelybeingsetbackonamorepermanentbasis.“In fact,myviewis that thedamageissodeepandextensivethatIndia’spoten-tial output has been pushed down,and it

willtakeyearstorepair,”Patrasaid,adding,“In thedeliberationsof theMPC,myviewis that the threats to growth have to beaddressed frontally and aggressively, orriskamoredireoutlook.”Atthesametime,Patramadeacasefor

calibrating thequantumof theratecut tothe space openedupby the inflation out-look,afterallowingformarginsoferrorinthese fluid and uncertain times, whilekeeping inmind the ramifications of thesizeoftheratereductionforfinancialsta-bility. While the MPC has predicted abenign trajectoryfor inflation,its surveyson household expectations of inflation,the results of which were released onThursday, showed thatmedian inflationperception and expectations increasedsharplyinMay2020ascomparedwiththeMarch2020roundof the survey.In itsMaypolicy review, theMPC had

refrainedfromofferingaspecific level forgrowth in gross domestic product (GDP)whilepeggingittobeinnegativeterritoryforFY21.

THE RESERVE BANK of India (RBI)pushed back on the billionaire Hindujabrothers’ plan to raise stake in IndusIndBank,whichhaslostmorethan70%ofitsmarket value this year, according to peo-ple familiarwith thematter.The Reserve Bank of India has con-

veyed the decision to the IndusIndfounders Srichand and Gopichand Hin-duja, the people said, asking not to benamed as the information is not public.The brothers had applied to the centralbankforapprovaltoraisetheirstakeinthelender to 26% from less than 15%, thebanksaid inanexchange filing inApril.IndusIndBankwastheworst-hitmem-

berofthecountry’sbenchmarkindexthisyear,afterthecentralbankeffectivelytookcontrol of troubled lender Yes Bank inMarch. Shares of IndusInd have fallen72% this year on concerns about thefounders borrowing money against itsshares,worsening asset quality, and ero-sionof low-costdeposits.TheIndusIndfounders,ledbytheHinduja

brothers,repaidasecuredloanbackedbythelender,theirrepresentativesaidinApril.RepresentativesforHinduja,IndusInd

andtheRBIdidn’t respondtorequests forcomment. —BLOOMBERG

RBI pushes backonHindujas’ planto raise IndusIndBank stake


HDFC BANK ON Friday announced thelaunch of a string of deals and exclusiveoffers to push consumer spends as thelockdownisliftedinphases.Named‘Sum-merTreats’,thedealsareaimedatmeetingthe changing needs ofmerchants aswellas salaried and self-employed customers,the bank said. It said that the changes inlifestyleamidthe lockdownhaveresultedin increased demand for phones, tablets,computers and related accessories.Demandforsafedigitalpaymentsandpri-vate transport is also rising. Similarly, asshopsandbusinessesbegintoreopen,theyhave requirements forbusiness finance.

Deputy governor Michael Patrapainted a far bleaker picture of thegrowth outlook and said that

India’s growthwas likely being setback on amore permanent basis

May 24, 2019 May 22, 2020Source: RBI

12.63

10.09

10.66Deposit

Credit

Credit and deposit growth(%, y-o-y )

6.144

6

8

10

12

14

16

New Delhi

MARKETS 11FINANCIALEXPRESS


PI Industries Ltd.EXTRACT OF STANDALONE AND CONSOLIDATED AUDITED FINANCIAL RESULTS FOR THE

QUARTER AND YEAR ENDED 31ST MARCH, 2020(` in Mn.)

S.No. Particulars

Standalone ConsolidatedQuarter ended Year ended Quarter ended Year ended

31.3.2020 31.12.2019 31.3.2019 31.3.2020 31.3.2019 31.3.2020 31.12.2019 31.3.2019 31.3.2020 31.3.2019Audited Un-Audited Audited Audited Audited Un-Audited Audited Audited

1 Total income from Operations 8,008 8,695 8,270 33,547 29,009 8,620 8,689 8,269 34,154 29,004

2 Net Profit / (Loss) for the period (before Tax, Exceptionaland/or Extraordinary items)

1,249 1,690 1,684 5,944 5,346 1,419 1,698 1,701 6,138 5,379

3 Net Profit / (Loss) for the period before tax (afterExceptional and/or Extraordinary items)

1,249 1,690 1,684 5,944 5,346 1,419 1,698 1,701 6,138 5,379

4 Net Profit / (Loss) for the period after tax (after Exceptionaland/or Extraordinary items)

983 1,204 1,244 4,423 4,077 1,107 1,211 1,257 4,566 4,102

5 Total Comprehensive Income for the period [ComprisingProfit / (Loss) for the period (after tax) and OtherComprehensive Income (after tax)]

550 1,177 1,408 3,863 4,154 674 1,184 1,421 4,010 4,179

6 Paid-up equity share capital(Face value of ₹ 1/- each (Previous Year ₹ 1/- each))

138 138 138 138 138 138 138 138 138 138

7 Reserves excluding Revaluation Reserves as per Balancesheet of previous accounting year

25,773 22,609 26,053 22,716

8 Earning per Share (in ₹) (for continuing and discontinuedoperations)*

1. Basic (Rs.) 7.11 8.72 9.02 32.04 29.56 8.03 8.76 9.13 33.08 29.74

2. Diluted (Rs.) 7.11 8.72 9.02 32.02 29.54 8.03 8.76 9.13 33.08 29.73

* Actuals for the quarter not annualisedNotes:1 The above financial results were reviewed and recommended by the Audit Committee of the Board and approved by the Board of Directors at their meeting held on June 04, 2020.2 Financial results for all the periods presented have been prepared in accordance with the recognition and measurement principles of Ind AS notified under the Companies (Indian Accounting

Standards) Rules, 2015.3 The Figures for the last quarter are the balancing figures between audited figures in respect of full financial year and the published unaudited year to date figures upto the third quarter of the

current financial year.4 The Company is in the business of manufacturing and distribution of Agro Chemicals and accordingly has one reportable business segment viz. 'Agro Chemicals'.5 Effective April 1, 2019, the Company has adopted Ind AS 116 "Leases" and applied the same to all lease contracts existing on April 1, 2019 retrospectively with the cumulative effect of initially

applying the standard recognised at the date of initial application, with right-of-use asset recognised at an amount equal to the lease liability, adjusted by the prepaid lease rent. In the statementof profit and loss account depreciation for the right of use assets and finance cost for interest accrued on lease liability is being accounted for as against operating lease rent included under OtherExpenses earlier. This change did not have a material impact on the financial results for the quarter ended March 31, 2020 and year ended March 31, 2020.

6 Consequent to the nationwide lockdown announced on 24th March 2020, Company’s operations were disrupted at R&D facilities at Udaipur, manufacturing facilities at Gujarat and sales depotsacross the country. This resulted in partial deferment of Company’s domestic and export revenues for the month of March to the next quarter. The Company has since been able to resumeoperations at its various sites from the beginning of April in a gradual manner and management believes that being into an essential commodity, there is no significant impact of COVID-19pandemic on the current and future business condition of the Company, financial statements liquidity position and cash flow and has concluded that no material adjustments are required in thefinancial statements. Management will continue to closely monitor the situation.

7 The previous period's figures have been regrouped/ rearranged/ reclassified wherever necessary.8 The above is an extract of the detailed format of the Standalone and Consolidated Financial Results for the quarter and year ended March 31, 2020 filed with the Stock Exchanges under

Regulation 33 of the SEBI (Listing Obligations and Disclosure Requirements) Regulations, 2015. The full format of these Financial Results are available on the websites of the Stock Exchange(s)(www.nseindia.com, www.bseindia.com) and the Company's website (www.piindustries.com).

9 The Board of Directors at their meeting held on June 04, 2020 have recommended final dividend of ₹ 1.00 per equity share, subject to the approval of the shareholders in the ensuing AnnualGeneral Meeting. With this, total dividend for the year (including interim dividend of ₹ 3.00 per equity share paid during the year) is ₹ 4.00 per share.

Place: GurugramDate: June 4, 2020 For PI Industries Ltd.

Sd/-Regd. Office: Udaisagar Road, Udaipur - 313001 (Raj) Mayank SinghalPhone: 0294 2492451-55, Fax: 0294 2491946 Vice Chairman & Managing DirectorCIN: L24211RJ1946PLC000469 DIN: 00006651

QUANTUM BUILD-TECH LIMITEDCIN: L72200TG1998PLC030071

Registered Office : 8-1-405/A/66,Dream Valley, Near O.U Colony, Shaikpet,

Hyderabad, Telangana – 500104.Ph. 040-23568766, 23568990

Email: [email protected]: www.quantumbuild.com

NOTICENotice is hereby given pursuant toRegulation 29 of the SEBI (ListingObligations and DisclosureRequirements) Regulations, 2015,that a meeting of the Board ofDirectors of the Company will be heldon Wednesday the 10th day of June,2020, to take on record, inter-alia,among other things, the AuditedFinancial Results for the quarterended 31st March, 2020 & for the yearended 31st March, 2020. Forfurther details, refer to theCompany’s website: http://www. q u a n t u m b u i l d . c o m / h t m l /investor.htm and the Stock Exchangewebsite: www.bseindia.com

In this connection, please be informedthat as per the provisions of SEBI(Prohibition of Insider Trading)Regulations, 2015 read withCompany’s code of conduct forprevention of insider trading, thetrading window for dealing in equityshares of the Company shall remainclosed for Connected Persons upto48 hours from the date of declarationof the Audited Financial results.

For Quantum Build-Tech LimitedSd/-

G. SatyanarayanaManaging Director

DIN: 02051710Place : Hyderabad

Date : 05.06.2020

Canara Robeco Mutual FundInvestment Manager : Canara Robeco Asset Management Co. Ltd.Construction House, 4th Floor, 5, Walchand Hirachand Marg, Ballard Estate, Mumbai 400 001.Tel.: 6658 5000 Fax: 6658 5012/13 www.canararobeco.com CIN No.: U65990MH1993PLC071003

NOTICE-CUM-ADDENDUM NO. 18Precautionary measures taken against Coronavirus issue in respect of Canara Robeco Mutual Fund

Investors are requested to note that, AMFI vide its notice dated 22nd March, 2020 has issued a directive,recommending all mutual funds to implement social distancing measures and keep their branch officesclosed. It was thereby decided that Canara Robeco branches will be temporarily closed with effect fromMonday 23rdMarch 2020 till further notice.

Post considering the overall situations, it has been decided to recommence the operational activities offollowing branches of Canara Robeco Mutual Fund:

Sr.No. CRMF Branch Name/City Date of recommencement

1 Kolkata 8th June, 2020

2 Nagpur 8th June, 2020

3 Indore 9th June, 2020

Unit holders are requested to visitwww.canararobeco.com in respect of their amounts remaining unclaimedor unpaid and follow the prescribed procedure therein.

For and on behalf of Canara Robeco Asset Management Company Ltd.(Investment manager for Canara Robeco Mutual Fund)

Date: 05-06-2020 sd/-Place: Mumbai Authorised Signatory

Mutual Fund investments are subject to market risks, read all scheme related documents carefully.

NOTICE CUM ADDENDUM NO. 23/2020THIS NOTICE CUM ADDENDUM SETS OUT THE CHANGES TO BE MADE IN THE STATEMENTOF ADDITIONAL INFORMATION (“SAI”), SCHEME INFORMATION DOCUMENT (“SID”) AND KEYINFORMATION MEMORANDUM (“KIM”) OF ALL THE SCHEMES OF MIRAE ASSET MUTUAL FUND(“MAMF”)NOTICE is hereby given that further to our notice cum addendum dated May 30, 2020, the drop-boxfacility at AMC branches shall now be discontinued.The investors may however, submit physical applications at specified collection centres / branch officesof the AMC and the Investor Service centres of the Registrar & Transfer Agent, KFin Technologies Pvt.Ltd. (i.e., the “official points of acceptance / OPAT”), in accordance with our notice cum addendum datedMay 11, 2020. Investors / unitholders are advised to refer to the website i.e. www.miraeassetmf.co.infor list of OPATs and the changes thereto, from time to time.The investors may note that theAMC continues to accept transactions through the online mode and all theinvestors are encouraged to adopt online means for transacting. Further, our designated email addressesi.e. [email protected] and [email protected] continues to be the official points ofacceptance for processing the transactions.Investors are requested to kindly take note of the above.This notice cum addendum forms an integral part of SAI, SIDs and KIMs of the Scheme(s) ofMAMF, as amended from time to time. All the other terms and conditions of SAI, SIDs and KIMsof the Scheme(s) will remain unchanged.

For and on behalf of the Board of Directors ofMIRAE ASSET INVESTMENT MANAGERS (INDIA) PVT. LTD.

(Asset Management Company for Mirae Asset Mutual Fund)

Place : Mumbai Sd/-Date : June 5, 2020 AUTHORISED SIGNATORYMIRAE ASSET MUTUAL FUND (Investment Manager: Mirae Asset Investment Managers (India)Private Limited) (CIN: U65990MH2019PTC324625).Registered & Corporate Office: 606, Windsor, Off CST Road, Kalina, Santacruz (E), Mumbai - 400098.1800 2090 777 (Toll free), [email protected] www.miraeassetmf.co.in

Mutual Fund investments are subject to market risks,read all scheme related documents carefully.

Investment Manager: BNP Paribas Asset Management India Private Limited (AMC)Corporate Identity Number (CIN): U65991MH2003PTC142972

Registered Office: BNP Paribas House, 1 North Avenue, Maker Maxity, Bandra Kurla Complex,Bandra - East, Mumbai - 400 051. Website: www.bnpparibasmf.in • Toll Free: 1800 102 2595

NOTICE CUM ADDENDUM NO. 26/2020Notice cum Addendum to the Scheme Information Document (SID) and Key Information Memorandum (KIM)for the Schemes of BNP Paribas Mutual Fund (‘the Fund’):

I. Changes in terms and conditions for SIP Pause facility under the Schemes of BNP Paribas Mutual Fund:

BNP Paribas Asset Management India Private Limited (AMC), vide Notice cum Addenda no. 18/2020 datedApril 16, 2020, had introduced SIP Pause Facility under all the Schemes of BNP Paribas Mutual Fund offeringSIP facility. In this regard, investors are requested to note that SIP Pause facility may be availed through theStock Exchange platforms as per the terms and conditions as may be prescribed and as per notices issued bythe respective Stock Exchanges from time to time. Currently, SIP Pause facility can be availed for SIPs sourced/registered through BSE Star MF Platform (Stock Exchange Platform of BSE) w.e.f. June 08, 2020.

All other terms and conditions of the said facility shall remain unchanged. AMC/Fund reserves the right toamend the terms and conditions of the SIP Pause facility and/or withdraw the said facility by issuing a suitablenotice to this effect.

II. Change in Exit load structure of BNP Paribas Flexi Debt Fund:

Investors are requested to note that with effect fromMonday, June 08, 2020, the load structure for BNP ParibasFlexi Debt Fund shall be as below for prospective investments.

Existing Exit Load Revised Exit Load (w.e.f. June 08, 2020)

• 0.75% of the applicable NAV if redeemed orswitched-out upto 6 months from the date ofallotment of units.

• Nil, if redeemed or switched-out after 6 monthsfrom the date of allotment of units.

No exit load will be charged for Dividend reinvestmentunits.Transactioncharges, ifapplicable,shallbededucted.

No exit load will be charged on switches betweenoptions of the same plan of the Fund.

• Nil.

No exit loadwill be charged for Dividend reinvestmentunits.

No exit load will be charged on switches betweenoptions of the same plan of the Fund. Transactioncharges, if applicable, shall be deducted.

BNP Paribas Flexi Debt Fund (An Open endedDynamic Debt Scheme investing across duration) issuitable for investors who are seeking*:

• Regular income in long term.

• Investments in debt and money marketinstruments.

Riskometer for the Scheme

*Investors should consult their financial advisers if in doubt about whether the product is suitable for them.

Note: This Notice cum addendum forms an integral part of the SID & KIM of the Fund read with the addendaissued thereunder. All other features and terms and conditions asmentioned in the SID & KIM remain unchanged.

For BNP Paribas Asset Management India Private Limited(Investment Manager to BNP Paribas Mutual Fund)

Sd/-

Jyothi Krishnan Date : June 05, 2020Head of Compliance, Legal & Secretarial Place:Mumbai

MUTUAL FUND INVESTMENTS ARE SUBJECT TO MARKET RISKS,READ ALL SCHEME RELATED DOCUMENTS CAREFULLY.


LIQUIDITYCONTINUEDTOdri-veIndianequities,whichendedthe week with 6% gains. Therallywas fuelled by EuropeanCentralBank(ECB)’sadditionalfiscalstimulus,continuedbuy-ing of Indian equities byover-seas investors and optimismsurroundingtheexitingoflock-downsbycountriesglobally.Friday’s rise in the bench-

mark indices was driven bybanking stocks. The 30 shareindex Sensex gained 306.54points or 0.9% to close at34,287.34.ThebroaderNifty50closed at 10,142.15, up by113.05pointsor1.13%.ThebenchmarkNiftygained

more than 316 points sinceMonday’stradingsession,NiftyBank as well ended its weekhigher by 9%,outperformingthebenchmark’sgains.Foreignportfolio investors

(FPIs) have pumped in $2.59billion inIndianequitiesasonJune4.Accordingtotheprovi-sionaldataonexchanges,FPIson Friday bought sharesworth $12.92 million,whereas domestic institu-

tional investorsboughtsharesworth$6.2million.Theglobal rallyis fuelledby

anticipation ofmore stimulusmeasuressuchasthatannoun-cedbyECBonThursdaytohelparevival.Indianmarketsroseinlinewith its global peers.Asianbourses in China,Taiwan andSouth Koreawere up between0.4%and1.43%.HongKong’sHangSengwasupby1.6%.European indices, too,

were up at the time of presswith stockmarkets in theUK,Germany and France up inthe range 1.19-1.9%. DowJonesmini futureswereupby659points.Market experts have noted

thattheopeningupoftheecon-omyandexitingof lockdownisaccompanied by the rise in

Covid-19 cases in India.KotakInstitutional Equities in itsreport said,“While the positivesample rate is very high andincreasing in Maharashtra,Gujarat andDelhi, it is also ontheriseintherestofIndia.Kar-nataka,West Bengal andDelhihavethehighestgrowthrateinnumberofconfirmedcases.”Thisshowsthatthethreatof

asecondwaveofCovid-19casesand the economic costsattached with it still looms.ICICI Securities in its reportsaid,“Asthelockdowneasesthefearofasecondwaveisrealandwill add touncertaintyon eco-nomic outcomes.Chinawill bekeenlywatched as it enters thethird month since the end ofthefirstwave.Currently,Indiaisstill under the grips of the first

wave but the recovery rate hasbeen increasinganddeath rateismoderating.”Banking stocks have been

gaining momentum for thepast twoweeks.According to areport by Jefferies, banks arecurrently more confident onthe borrowers’ cash flows aslockdownhasbeenrelaxedandwhite-collar job losses havebeenlimited.Banksarediscouragingbor-

rowers fromgenerously takingmoratoriumsthroughstepslikeofferingmoratoriumsonly forone-monthatatime,informingabout cost ofmoratoriumandswitchingfrom‘opt-out’to‘opt-in’structure.“If the above trends could

continue, loansundermorato-riumforbankscandeclineovernextthreemonths.Ontheotherhand, NBFCs are continuingwith‘opt-out’approachdue touncertainty on borrower cashflows. So share of their loansunder moratorium can stayhigh,butwhat’s encouraging isthat their collections haveimprovedfrom30-35%inAprilto40-50%inMayandexpecta-tionforJuneisaround60-70%,”saidJefferiesinitsreport.

Liquidity still drives upmarkets,benchmarks gain 6% in aweek

Sensex

34,198.55

34,287.24

Open Close

Intra-day, Jun 5

33,700

33,900

34,100

34,300

34,500

Maharashtra sugar mills seek extension oflicence for manufacturing hand sanitisersNANDAKASABEPune, June 5

SUGARMILLSANDdistilleriesinMaharashtra,whichhadstartedmanufacturinghandsanitisersduring the lockdown, havesought an extension of thelicence to continuemanufac-turingsanitisers.Bothcooperativeandprivate

sugarmillerswantthestategov-ernment togrant extension forthelicenceforayear.Sugarmillshad realised thatproductionofsanitisers could becomeanewrevenuestreamforthem.These licences are usually

issuedbythestateexcisedepart-ment,andfoodanddrugsadm-inistration on directions fromtheCentre forthemanufacture

ofhandsanitisers for fiveyearsbutthemillsweregivenathree-monthprovisionallicencewhichwillexpireonJune30,2020.Jugalkishore Mantri, joint

commissionerofMaharashtraFDA, and drug controller ofMaharashtra,said the depart-mentwasawaitinginstructionsfromthestateexciseofficewithregardtotheextension.

Planters seekmoratorium onrubber importsFE BUREAUKochi, June 5

THEUNITEDPLANTERSAssoci-ationofSouthernIndia(Upasi),the apex bodyof south Indianplanters, on Friday requestedthe Centre for an immediatemoratoriumonnaturalrubber(NR) import for a minimumperiod of twoyears to help the1.32millionrubbergrowers.InalettertotheUnioncom-

merceandindustryandrailwayminister PiyushGoyal,ALRMNagappan,president of Upasi,statedthecurrentstatusofNRfarmerswho have been goingthrough a severe crisis due tothe steep fall in prices for thepasteightyears.The prices have been far

below the cost of productionand the main reason beingunrestricted surge of cheapimports into thecountryfromSoutheastAsianorigins.The spread of Covid-19

pandemicandtheconsequentlockdown implementedturned out to be a doublewhammyastheNRproductioncametoagrindinghaltandthecurrent situation is threaten-ing the very existence of thesector.

New Delhi

HCallows fliers tooccupymiddle seat● INTERIM ORDER

BACK PAGE12 FINANCIALEXPRESS

WWW.FINANCIALEXPRESS.COMSATURDAY, JUNE 6, 2020

The Tata Power Company Limited invites tenders from eligible vendors for thefollowing package (TwoPart Bidding).

NOTICE INVITING TENDER (NIT)

1) Design, Engineering, Supply, Erection, Testing, Installation and commissioning of110 kV Transmission Line at Vashi & Waghivali Creek (Package ReferenceCC20AA024).

2) Outline Agreement for 3 Yrs. to provide Services for dismantling & installation ofswitchyard equipments (145 kV Breakers, CTs, PTs & Isolators) (PackageReferenceCC20AA012).

3) OutlineAgreement for 2Yrs. to provide Services for Hot LineWashing of porcelaininsulator strings of 220 / 110 kV Transmission Lines in Mumbai region (PackageReferenceCC20AA028).

The Tata Power Company Limited, 2nd Floor, Sahar Receiving Station Sahar AirportRoad, Andheri East, Mumbai-400059

(Board Line: 022-67173188) CIN: L28920MH1919PLC000567

For detailed NIT, please visit Tender section on website https://www.tatapower.com.Interested bidders to submit Tender Fee and Authorization Letter before 15:00 hrs.

thFriday, 19 June 2020.

PRESSTRUSTOF INDIAMumbai, June 5

THE BOMBAYHIGH Court onFriday,inaninterimorder,per-mittedairlinestoallowpassen-gers to occupy themiddle seatin flights amid the Covid-19pandemic, but said it shouldstrictlycomplywithguidelinesissuedbytheDirectorateGen-eralofCivilAviation (DGCA) toprevent spread the of novelcoronavirus.Adivisionbenchof Justices

S J Kathawalla and S PTavade,while reserving its order on aplea filed by anAir India pilotclaiming the airlines was notfollowing the safety conditionof keeping the middle seatvacant, said theMay31 circu-lar issuedbytheDGCAshall beadheredtountil then.TheDGCA,initsMay31cir-

cular,hadsaidflightoperationsshould try to keep themiddleseat vacant, but if it has been

booked, the passenger shall beprovided with a wraparoundgown in addition to themaskandfaceshield.“Flightoperatorsshallallow

passengers to occupythemid-dle seat strictly in compliancewiththecirculardatedMay31,2020, and all circulars andguidelines issued fromtimetotimebytheconcernedauthor-ities,”thecourtsaid.AnexpertpaneloftheMin-

istryofCivilAviation,underthe

chairmanshipof the civil avia-tion secretary, on Fridayresponded to a queryposed bythe court earlier and saidCovid-19 did not spread bymeretouchofapersonwhoisacarrierof thevirus.Thecourthad,onThursday,

askedthecommittee,setuptoreviewpublic health care pro-tocols for air travel amid theCovid-19 pandemic, if coron-avirus can be transmitted bymeretouchofapersonwhoisa

carrier.The committee, in its note

submitted to the court on Fri-day,saidCovid-19viruscanbetransmitted by touch onlyunder certain circumstanceslikewhenan infectedperson’sdroplets from nose ormouth(coughingorsneezing)comeincontact with a surface orclothes and another personcomes incontactwith thesur-face and then touches his orhernose,eyesormouth.“If an infected person

merelytouchesanon-infectedperson the virus will not betransmitted.Transmissionhasto take place throughdropletscarrying the virus and ulti-mately the same reaching themouth, nose or eyes of theotherperson,”thenote said.The committee said if pas-

sengerswear protective gear,maskandfaceshieldprovidedby airlines, it would decreasetheriskofspreadofthecoron-avirus.Thepetition,filedbyDeven

Kanani, claimedAir Indiawasviolating guidelines laid downbytheCentreinacirculardatedMarch23topreventthespreadofCovid-19duringairtravel.AirIndia,however,opposed

the plea, and informed thecourt lastweekthattheMarch23 circular was supersededwith a new circular issued bythe government on May 22,while permitting domesticflightstooperatefromMay25.Accordingtotheairline,the

new circular does not say themiddle seat needs to be keptempty.TheHClastweeknotedthat

a cursoryglanceat theMay22circularshoweditappliedonlytodomesticflightsandnotthe‘Vande Bharat’ internationalflightsoperatedbyAirIndia.Thecourthadthendirected

Air India and DGCA to clarifytheirstand.The Air India later

approached the SupremeCourt which, while allowingthe national carrier to keepoperatingitsscheduledflightswith middle seats filled tillJune 5,observed that the gov-ernment should bemorewor-ried about the health of citi-zens than the health ofcommercial airlines.The HC on Friday also

extended the SC relief to AirIndia to bookmiddle seats fortheVande Bharat flights till itpasses itsorderinthepetition.

But says airlinesshould strictlycomplywith otherDGCAguidelines

Adivision bench of Justices S J Kathawalla and S PTavadesaid theMay 31 circular issued by the DGCAshall beadhered to until then

TABASSUMBARNAGARWALAJalgaon, June 5

AT 12.3%, THE death rate forCovid-19 in Jalgaon,a district400 km to the north-east ofMumbai,isthehighestinMaha-rashtra.FourcitiesJalgaon,Bhu-sawal, Amalner and Pachoraaccount for 80% of the 112deathstill June4.FordistrictcollectorAvinash

Dhakne,alarmbells rang loudmorethanamonthbackonMay2.Outofatotal42cases,14died.Just five days ago, the district,known forbanana cultivation,had recorded its first Covid-19case.Overthenext30days,100moredied.Jalgaon’s death ratetodayisthreetimesthenationalaverageof3.5%.Ofthosedead,60wereover60yearsofage,and47 in the50-60agebracket.Asmany as 77 persons had co-morbidities.Only five personswereinthe40-50agegroup.But there is more to the

death rate than the age andhealth profile of the Covid-19patients.AnincidentonMay28inJal-

gaon’s civic hospitalwill throwsome light. The condition ofTafazzul Shah, 57, who wasadmittedonMay21,wasdete-riorating in the hospital’s ICU.Breathless,withoxygen level at70, he seemed to urgentlyrequireaventilator.Hisnephew,an Unani doctor, begged thedoctor on duty to intubate(insertatubeintothetracheaforventilation)Shah.The doctor allegedly told

himshe“doesnotknowhowtodoit”.FamilyfriendKarimSalarsaid three medical staffers inpersonal protective equipment(PPE) lookedonthroughaglasswindow as the desperatenephewbarged into the isola-tionwardwithnogloves,mask,orPPE,andintubatedhisuncle.Therewere20otherpatients intheisolationward.But Shah succumbed to

Covid-19afewhourslater.“It’s not that doctors don’t

knowhowto intubate,theyarejust scared to go near thepatients,” Salar claimed. Thenephew remains under homequarantine,butdidnotwish tobenamed.Incidents like thesehavedeterredpatientsfromvis-iting the Covid hospital; theyself-medicate until they turn

breathless. Of the 907 diag-nosedwithCovid-19till June4,asmanyas112died.In fact,13were brought dead.Theremaynotbeonesingle reasonforthehighdeath rate of Covid in Jal-gaon. It stems from multipleissues: generalhealthcareneg-lect, little to no counselling forstaffanddoctors,delaysintest-ing,lackofpatientmonitoring,and easyentryand exit of gen-eralpublicinisolationwards.Another Covid patient,

Rambhau Sadanshiv, 70, dieddueto“adelayinventilatorsup-port”onMay28,hissonNaren-draSadanshivalleged.“Thestaffdoes not want to enter ward,they throw medicines from adistance at the bed,” he said.Narendra remembers enteringthe isolation ward with noguards to stop him.His fatherpleadedwithhim:“Iwant togohome, Iwill die there.”Sadan-shiv’s oxygen levels dropped toalowof35,nursestoldhimdoc-torswerenotavailable.Anhourbeforehisdeath,awardboyputhimonventilatorsupport.OnMay31,afemalepatient

stepped out of the isolationwardtobuyteafromaroad-sidefood stall; she returned fourhours later after the hospitaladministrationwasalerted.Three days later on June 3,

the district civil surgeoninformedthestategovernmentthatatleast22swabsamplesofsuspected patients in Jalgaonweremissing,lost intransittoalaboratory inDhule.Theyhavenotbeentracedyet.Thedistrictisbattlingwitha

poorly-managed two-year oldGovernment Medical College(GMC); anattached civil hospi-tal has been converted into aDedicatedCovidHospital now.Against the 253 doctor posts,the hospital has only 119, ofwhich a dozen don’t attendwork.WhenThe IndianExpressvisited thehospital,therewereno guards or staffers to stopentry even to the suspectedCovid-19ward.PrakashKonte,from nearby townYawal,who

was in the corridor,said:“I amhere for the past 14 days. Tillnow my swab result has notcome.Everytimeapatientnexttometestspositive,Iprefertobeonthecorridor,”hesaid.Insidetheward,Faheemud-

dinShaikhlayonthecotwithanoxygen pipe attached to hismouth,acylindernexttothecot.He kept complaining to hisbrotherSajid that his bodywasinpain.“Adoctortoldhiminthemorningthathewillgivemedi-cines. Its evening now,” Sajidwent out to complain to thenurse.“Look at them,none ofthemare going insidewards tocheckpatients,”hesaid.When contacted, Dr BS

Khaire, Dean of the Govern-mentMedicalCollegewhere92Covidpatientshavedied so far,toldTheIndianExpress,“Jalgaonhas apopulationof42 lakh,weare serving the entire district.Most patients come late, theirlungs get severely infected bythen.Fiftypercentdiewithin24hoursofadmission.Ourdoctorsareavailableandtheretotreat.”WithreferencetoKonte,hesaid,the hospital was awaiting theresultsofasecondswabsample.District collector Dhakne

realised peoplewere scared ofvisiting theCovidhospital,andthedelaywascostinglives.Morethan`16.5crorehasbeenallo-catedtoJalgaonforcoronavirus.Dhakneusedfundsforelectricalfittings, to fix toilets, cleangarbage in hospital premises,install centralisedoxygen sup-ply,and fixmorebeds.Thehos-pitalhas225bedsforCovid-19,ofwhich160areoccupied.Thereare30ICUs,also fullyoccupied,and 60 beds with centralisedoxygen. With the modernisa-tion,hehopes,peoplewillnotbescaredtovisitthehospital.Award boy told The Indian

Express they are not givenproperprotectivegear.Hewearsaplasticshield,onethatiscom-monlycalledanHIVkit,buthisfeet and face are exposed.“Wewerenottrained,wedon’tknowwhattodo,”hesaid.

Poorcare among reasonswhy112died in JalgaonhospitalLack of counsellingfor scared staff,doctors also to beblamed for highCovid death rate

Inside the Covidward at Jalgaon hospitalPHOTO:TABASSUMBARNAGARWALA

FE BUREAUChennai, June 5

THE ANNOUNCEMENT BYthe Cabinet Committee onEconomic Affairs (CCEA) onJune1,approvingahike intheminimum support prices(MSPs) for kharif crops(includingcotton) fortheCot-tonYear2020-21 augurswellfor cotton sowing but is likelyto be unfavourable for thedomestic spinning sector.WhiletheMSPforthemedi-

um-staplevarietystands incre-asedby`260/quintalto`5,515

/quintal,the price for the long-staplevariety stands increasedby `275/quintal to `5,825/-quintal,translating into an riseof 5% over the level fixed forCYi2020(referstoIndiancottonyear,endingSeptember2020),saidanIcraanalysisonFriday.Theincreaseof5%incotton

MSPforCYi2021comesafteramuted 2% increase imple-mentedforCYi2020,whichfol-lowed a significant increase of26-28% announced forCYi2019.ThehikeisinlinewiththeannouncementmadeintheUnion Budget 2018-19, to fix

theMSPsatalevelofatleast1.5times of the all-Indiaweightedaveragecostofproduction.Commentingontheimpact

of thedevelopmenton the sec-tor, JayantaRoy,seniorV-Pandgrouphead, Icra Ratings,said:“Themove is set to benefit thefarmers on commencementofharvestingfortheongoingkha-rif season, fromOctober2020onwards. It is a positive devel-opmentforthemandislikelytoencouragecottonsowing,desp-ite a fall in cotton prices wit-nessed in the recent months.However, themovemay incre-

asechallengesforthedomesticspinning companies, as thiscomes at a timewhen thepan-demic has resulted in severedemand-side pressures in theinternationaltextilemarkets.”IncreasedMSP,timelyonset

ofmonsoonandexpectationofnormalmonsoons augurwellforcottonsowinginIndia.Although cotton sowing in

keyregions in theWesternandSouthernbeltsisyettostartinameaningful manner, initialsowingpatternsinthenorthernbelt indicatehigheracreagefortheyear.

MSPhike poses threat to spinners,says Icra


CAPITALMARKETS REGULA-TOR Sebi on Friday releasedguidelines for the regulatorysandbox,enabling entities reg-ulated by thewatchdog to testtheirnewsolutionsinaliveenvi-ronmentandonalimitedsetofreal customerswith necessarysafeguards.Themove is aimed at enco-

uraging adoption andusage offinancialtechnologiestofurther

develop andmaintain a trans-parentsecuritiesmarketecosys-tem,saidSebi.To encourage innovation

with the minimal regulatoryburden, Sebi said relaxationsfromvariousregulationsmightbe provided after analysingspecific sandbox testingappli-cations.Under the guidelines,entities regulated by Sebiwillbegrantedcertainfacilitiesandflexibilitiestoexperimentwithfinancial technologysolutionsin a live environment andona

limitedsetofrealcustomersfora limitedtimeframe,acircularsaid.These featureswill be for-tified with necessary safe-guards for investor protectionandriskmitigation,Sebisaidinacircular.Coming out with detailed

guidelines pertaining to thefunctioning of the regulatorysandbox, Sebi said all entitiesregistered with the regulatorshallbeeligiblefortestingintheregulatorysandbox.

“Theentitymayeitheronits

ownorengage the services of aFinTechfirm.Ineitherscenario,the registeredmarket partici-pantshallbetreatedastheprin-cipalapplicant,”Sebisaid.On regulatoryexemptions,

the regulator said it shall“con-siderexemptions/relaxations,ifany,whichcouldbeeitherintheformof a comprehensive exe-mptionfromcertainregulatoryrequirements or selectiveexemptions on a case-by-casebasis,dependingontheFinTechsolutiontobetested.”

Sebi issues regulatory sandbox framework

ABOUT 6,000 INTERNET ofThings(IoT)patentswerefiledinIndiafrom2009-2019,ofwhichover5,000were filed in the lastfiveyears,areportbyITindustrybodyNasscomsaidonFriday.Forty per cent of the IoT

patentsfiledhavebeengranted,thereporttitled ‘IoT:DrivingthePatent Growth Story in India’-said.Over80%ofthesepatentsfiledwererelatedtoapplicationspertaining to Industry4.0withthehealthcare andautomobileindustry leading the way, thereport said,adding that70%ofthe patents came fromMNCs,and7%werefiledbystart-ups.Also,95%ofIoTpatentswere

relatedtohardwarecomponentswith connectivitynetworkandsensors being the leading sub-technologies.Manufacturersofelectron-

ics and electrical equipment,semiconductor devices, andcomputer and telecom equip-ment, together accounted forover 60% of the IoT patentsfiled in India bybusiness enti-ties over 2009-19, while theshare for IT-ITeS companiesstoodat13%. —PTI

‘Over5k IoTpatents filedover last 5yrs’

New Delhi

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