Central News Hub

Month: September 2022

  • Big day at stunning destination

    Big day at stunning destination

    Tourism Department on its part is supporting this new trend with all seriousness. The Department has flagged this new trend for replication on a bigger scale…reports Asian Lite News

    The wedding ceremony of Rajvir and Jaspreet at Pahalgam has brought to focus the scope of Kashmir being promoted as a Wedding Destination as well, an official spokesperson said.

    He said that the family travelled all the way from Canada to make the occasion memorable on the banks of Lidder surrounded all around by lush green forests.

    Industry insiders say that buoyed by the confidence of a record tourist footfall many NRIs and other families are now planning their weddings in Kashmir given the romantic and nostalgic appeal the place has for people across the globe. This summer saw the grand wedding of prominent national executive at Srinagar.

    Tourism Department on its part is supporting this new trend with all seriousness. The Department has flagged this new trend for replication on a bigger scale.

    “Jammu & Kashmir is a beautiful place. People can come here not only to enjoy the mesmerizing locales but also to perform and celebrate their weddings at dream destinations here. In fact we are in touch with local hoteliers in this regard”, said Sarmad Hafeez, Secretary, Tourism Department.

    Currently cities and destinations like Jaipur, Jodhpur, Udaipur, Musoori, Lonavala are the favourite wedding destinations across the country. The economic potential of Destination Wedding market in the country is pegged to be around Rs. 25, 0000 crore. With the enlisting of Kashmir as another Wedding Destination, it is all set to give tourism here a big boost.

    https://twitter.com/Harsimrankang0/status/1572928397273341952

    Jammu & Kashmir in the last one year or so has seen the arrival of MICE, corporate bookings and Film tourism besides the traditional leisure and adventure tourism. Holding of destination weddings now is going to further broaden the spectrum of tourism services and products.

    “In several of our meetings with local hoteliers, we have asked them to induct facilities for dream weddings and tie up with leading Wedding Planners and Event managers of the country to sell the place as a prominent wedding destination which certainly would give a big boost to the local tourism”, adds Sarmad Hafeez.

    Marriages, as they say, are made in Heaven. But these are also now being celebrated in heaven (on Earth), Kashmir.

    ALSO READ-Ambika Gupta’s tips for hassle-free monsoon wedding

  • Jayashree Ullal tops list of richest Indian professionals

    Jayashree Ullal tops list of richest Indian professionals

    India has proved itself to be the progenitor of some of the most brilliant professional managers in the world…reports Asian Lite News

    The richest Indian professional-person of Indian origin is a woman, Jayashree Ullal of Arista Networks.

    Ullal, born in London and raised in India, heads the Arista Networks, US and is the richest professional with a wealth of Rs 16,600 crore, as per the IIFL Wealth Hurun India Rich List 2022.

    India has proved itself to be the progenitor of some of the most brilliant professional managers in the world. Professional managers in the list consist of individuals who joined the business after it has been founded, helped it grow and these managers were given stock options from which they have created their wealth, said the statement.

    Thomas Kurian (Rs 12,100 crore) of Oracle is in the second position and is followed by Nikesh Arora (Rs 8,500 crore) of Palo Alto Networks.

    Barring two, the top 10 rich professional executives in the IIFL Wealth Hurun India Rich is populated with Indian-Americans.

    The two exceptions are Ignatius Navil Noronha of Avenue Supermarts (wealth Rs 6,500 crore) and Aditya Puri of HDFC Bank (Rs 1,600 crore).

    The others in the rich professionals list are: Ajaypal Singh Banga of Mastercard (Rs 6,500 crore), Satya Nadella of Microsoft (Rs 6,200 crore), Sundar Pichai of Google (Rs 5,300 crore), Indra K. Nooyi of Pepsico (Rs 4,000 crore), Pepsico and Shantanu Narayen of Adobe (Rs 3,800 crore).

    ALSO READ: ‘Apple may move 25% iPhone production to India’

  • ‘Apple may move 25% iPhone production to India’

    ‘Apple may move 25% iPhone production to India’

    Next year, Apple iPhone 15 may see its production at the Foxconn and Wistron manufacturing facilities in India at the same time with China….reports Asian Lite News

    As India doubles down on local manufacturing of technology products, Apple is likely to move 5 per cent of its new iPhone 14 production to India by end of this year, and 25 per cent by 2025, according to a JP Morgan analysis.

    Analysts have earlier predicted that Apple has shortened the production period of its new iPhones in India this year, barely six weeks or so from the production cycle in China.

    Next year, Apple iPhone 15 may see its production at the Foxconn and Wistron manufacturing facilities in India at the same time with China.

    “India’s iPhone supply chain has historically supplied only legacy models. Interestingly, Apple has requested that EMS vendors manufacture iPhone 14/14 Plus models in India in 4Q22, within two to three months of the start of production in Mainland China,” according to the JP Morgan report.

    “The much shorter interval implies the increasing importance of India production and likely higher iPhone allocations to India manufacturing in the future,” the report noted.

    “We believe Apple only produces iPhone 14/14 Plus models in India now due to the more complex camera module alignment of the iPhone Pro series (done by EMS vendors) and higher local market demand for the iPhone 14 series (tax savings),” it added.

    According to the report, Vietnam will contribute 20 per cent of all iPad and Apple Watch productions, 5 per cent of MacBook and 65 per cent of AirPods by 2025.

    Buoyed by the ease-of-doing business and friendly local manufacturing policies, Apple’s ‘Make in India’ iPhones will potentially account for close to 85 per cent of its total iPhone production for the country this year.

    The import of iPhones to India is likely to come down to 15 per cent this year (from 50 per cent in 2019), while domestic manufacturing by the Cupertino-based tech giant is set to go up substantially to 85 per cent, according to market intelligence firm CyberMedia Research (CMR).

    With the iPhone 14 series, Apple’s iPhone production in India is slated to jump from 7 million iPhones in 2021 to touch a new milestone of around 12 million iPhones in 2022, marking a significant growth of more than 71 per cent (year-on-year), said CMR.

    ALSO READ: Fintech, a force multiplier: RBI Guv

  • Anti-hijab protests grip Iran

    Anti-hijab protests grip Iran

    The unrest was sparked by the death of a woman detained by morality police…reports Asian Lite News

    There have been running battles between Iranian police and anti-government protesters in Tehran, reports say, in the worst unrest there for years, BBC reported.

    One person told BBC Persian that her neighbourhood resembled a battlefield.

    Protests, now in their seventh day, are also continuing in many other cities. Activists say eight protesters were shot dead overnight, while news outlets said two paramilitary personnel were killed.

    The unrest was sparked by the death of a woman detained by morality police.

    There are conflicting reports about the number of people who have been killed since the protests began.

    State media have reported the deaths of 11 people, including security personnel and protesters, but Kurdish human rights groups have said that 15 protesters have died in western Iran alone, BBC reported.

    Anger erupted after Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old Kurdish woman from the north-western city of Saqez, died at a hospital in Tehran last Friday following three days in a coma.

    She was visiting the capital with her family on September 13 when she was arrested by morality police officers, who accused her of violating the law requiring women to cover their hair with a hijab, or headscarf, and their arms and legs with loose clothing. She collapsed after being taken to a detention centre.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ueJME8nqoTM

    There are reports that officers hit Amini on the head with a baton and banged her head against one of their vehicles. The police have said there is no evidence of any mistreatment and that she suffered “sudden heart failure”, BBC reported.

    In an interview with BBC Persian on Wednesday, Amini’s father Amjad said he was not allowed by authorities to see all of her body before she was buried. He said he was only able to see her face, but not the back of her head, as well as her legs, both of which were bruised.

    Amjad Amini also insisted that his daughter did not have any pre-existing medical condition, as the interior minister has claimed.

    Many Iranians were enraged by Amini’s death and the first protests took place after her funeral, when women were filmed waving their headscarves in the air and shouting �death to the dictator’ – a chant often directed at the Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, BBC reported.

    Similar demonstrations were staged by students at several universities in Tehran, before the protests started spreading rapidly across the country.

    “Now, we have seen so many men joining in and it has moved on from a protest against the compulsory hijab. It’s now against the whole existence of the Islamic Republic,” BBC Persian’s Rana Rahimpour said.

    She added: “This is most serious challenge to the Islamic leadership of Iran that we have seen here in recent years.”

    Central and some northern parts of Tehran became thick with tear gas on Wednesday night as riot police, assisted by plainclothes security forces, attacked protesters in several neighbourhoods.

    The protesters set fire to big waste containers and blocked access to some streets, while shouting slogans against the Supreme Leader.

    Scores of protesters were reportedly arrested, as security forces went door-to-door at homes and shops where they had taken refuge, our correspondent says.

    There were also reports of police stations and other government buildings being overrun or set on fire, as protests took place in dozens of other cities, BBC reported.

    Videos posted on social media showed a crowd cheering as a billboard showing Ayatollah Khamenei was torn down , as well as women burning their headscarves on bonfires and cutting their hair in public.

    Internet-monitoring group NetBlocks meanwhile reported that Iran was now subject to the most severe internet restrictions since mass anti-government 2019. Mobile phone networks were largely shut down, internet service was disrupted during protests, and access to Instagram and WhatsApp were being restricted, it said.

    ALSO READ: UN announces sanctions on Iran’s morality police

  • Pak Taliban tighten its grip on Khyber Pakhtunkhwa

    Pak Taliban tighten its grip on Khyber Pakhtunkhwa

    Siddiqa says the return of the TTP to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and its rapidly mounting control spells disaster for Pakistan…reports Asian Lite News

    The return of the Tehrik-e Taliban Pakistan (TTP) to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and its rapidly mounting control spells disaster for Pakistan.

    Ayesha Siddiqa, a Pakistan security expert at the University of London, sees little interest within the Pakistani military in stemming the rising Taliban tide along the country’s western borders with Afghanistan, RFE/RL reported.

    She says that unlike the early rounds of Pakistan’s domestic war on terrorism, Islamabad is unlikely to receive Western financial support, particularly generous funding from the United States.

    “Now, with no money on the table, the Pakistani military is unwilling to fight the Taliban, which is leading to extortion in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa,” she said.

    Siddiqa says the return of the TTP to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and its rapidly mounting control spells disaster for Pakistan.

    “What will start in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa will not end in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. It will extend all over the country,” she emphasised, RFE/RL reported.

    Although not reported in the media, the TTP’s extortion is now so extensive across Khyber Pakhtunkhwa that on September 20 the group issued a statement calling on people to not pay extortion in several northern districts of the province.

    “If anyone asks you for a shakedown in the name of Tehrik-e Taliban Pakistan, please contact us so we can unmask them,” the statement said, offering a number for contacting the group, RFE/RL reported.

    Despite the alarming increase in Taliban extortion demands, the issue is yet to attract national attention.

    Last month, Pakistan’s powerful military described the return of TTP militants as a “misperception” that is “grossly exaggerated and misleading”. It has promised to deal with the group with “full force if required.”

    But opposition politicians in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa are not convinced. Lawmaker Sardar Hussain Babak, a prominent leader of the secular Awami National Party, says the Taliban is tightening its grip on Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

    “Every well-off individual in this province, including me, is receiving threatening phone calls [from the Taliban] demanding extortion money,” he told lawmakers last week.

    “We have repeatedly demanded action from the government but have not seen any political will,” he said, RFE/RL reported.

    Since June, dozens of noisy protests and sit-ins across Khyber Pakhtunkhwa have pressed Pakistani authorities to protect them from Taliban militants returning to the province.

    The Pakistani military, however, says it is committed to protecting the country from militants.

    “The Pakistan Army is determined to defend Pakistan’s borders against the menace of terrorism,” the military’s media office said.

    ALSO READ: Taliban replace acting education minister in reshuffle

  • Kenya on alert as Ebola resurfaces in Uganda

    Kenya on alert as Ebola resurfaces in Uganda

    For such cases, the general public is advised to notify the nearest health facility or administrative officers like assistant chiefs or call hotline numbers 0729 47 14 14 or 0732 35 35 35 immediately…reports Asian Lite News

    The ministry of health has issued an alert to all counties across the country following reported Ebola outbreak in neighbouring Uganda.

    According to health Cabinet Secretary Mutahi Kagwe, the move follows an alert forwarded by the Ugandan government to Kenya in line with East African Community Health protocols over the outbreak that was detected in Ngabano village of Madudu Sub County in Central Uganda.

    According to Kagwe, the victim, a 24-year-old male who died on 19th September 2022, had been treated for other symptoms before developing Ebola like symptoms and signs.

    “Health officials in Uganda are currently conducting contact tracing to identify any close contacts of the deceased. Six suspicious prior deaths are currently under investigations,” added Kagwe.

    As part of the interventions put in place by the Kenyan government, all county administrations have been urged to remain vigilant and enhance surveillance especially at the border, activate rapid response teams to support identification of any suspected cases and make prompt reporting, screen at risk populations including travellers, truck drivers, bush meat handlers and healthcare workers as well as sensitize the community to identify suspected cases. They have also been urged to sensitize healthcare workers on infection, prevention and control measures, case management and sample management and to mobilize relevant stakeholders to initiate prevention, preparedness and response measures.

    While urging for caution, the ministry of health has advised members of the public to take heightened precautions while visiting Uganda as well as Democratic Republic of Congo. The general public is also advised to watch out for any person presenting with acute onset of fever especially if in contact with persons with history of travel from Uganda and/or Democratic Republic of Congo within the previous three weeks. Other signs to look out for are vomiting, diarrhea, abdominal pains, headache, sore throat, measles like rash, red eyes as well as bleeding from body openings.

    For such cases, the general public is advised to notify the nearest health facility or administrative officers like assistant chiefs or call hotline numbers 0729 47 14 14 or 0732 35 35 35 immediately.

    Ebola virus disease (EVD) is a severe and often fatal illness in humans caused by Ebola virus. The virus is transmitted to people from wild animals and spreads in the human population through human-to-human transmission. Based on previous outbreaks, up to 67% of infected cases die.

    ALSO READ-Ghana has not recorded any Ebola case

  • PLAYBOOK accelerates women into leadership roles in MENA

    PLAYBOOK accelerates women into leadership roles in MENA

    As per the latest Gender Gap Report by the World Economic Forum, the MENA region  needs 115 years to close the world’s second-largest gender gap…reports Asian Lite News

    Award-winning EdTech platform, PLAYBOOK, is gaining momentum as the fastest-growing and most sought out career growth and leadership platform for women professionals and entrepreneurs. Recent winners of the National Finals (Bahrain) of the Global Qualifier Stages of the Entrepreneurship World Cup, PLAYBOOK has on-boarded over 1000 members from 60 cities across 30+ countries in MENA and beyond. Ministers, Educators, CEOs, Founders, Directors, Investors, Mentors, Advisors and many incredible career-driven women (and men) have joined the platform accounting for 40% of the community. They have done so with the intention to get more women into leadership positions, invest in personal branding, receive guided mentorship and grow their network.

    As per the latest Gender Gap Report by the World Economic Forum, the MENA region  needs 115 years to close the world’s second-largest gender gap. Around USD2 trillion (SAR7.5 trillion) could be added to the Middle East and North African (MENA) economy if women’s participation in the workforce is increased, according to PwC. Policymakers in the region are shifting towards addressing this gap with the intention to build the next generation of leaders and a whole new wave of economic opportunities. ‘PLAYBOOK’ is working with sector leading organisations such as Zain Group, Investcorp and Watar Partners to invest in the career progression of their female workforce especially into leadership roles. This is done through an annual membership model that companies opt in for through their learning & development objectives.

    With a successful roll out to the App Store and Play Store, the platform is building a library of cinematic quality masterclasses and a multi-faceted digital community. These value-driven masterclasses are led by incredible women leaders from the region and are focused on original content curated by a team of curriculum experts that focus on over 300 researched pain points faced by women to grow personally/professionally. These women leaders reverse-engineer their playbook on how to thrive in government, how to lead a family business, how to climb the corporate ladder or how to raise funds for your startup. The library already boasts 200+ lessons delivered by experienced women leaders from Saudi Arabia, UAE, Bahrain, Kuwait, Egypt and Syria.

    Members have access to an exclusive social networking experience that is designed as a community. Members can set up profiles, introduce themselves, direct message other members, publish posts, consume content, book 1:1 mentoring sessions, attend exclusive LIVE events by industry experts, join micro-communities, access job boards and a perks marketplace! For the first time, Female Founders in the region are finding a bridge between tactical content on how to fundraise and true access to capital by learning from the masterclasses, connecting with the masters 1:1 and networking with other entrepreneurs within the community. Lessons grow in volume each month as the platform’s developers and founding team strategically include multiple masterclasses on decision-making, leadership, empathy, mental health, team-building, scaling, trusting your intuition, knowing your rights, maintaining a legacy in a family business, running growth experiments and much more.

    ‘PLAYBOOK’ is an EdTech platform led by a fully female founded team – Wafa AlObaidat (CEO & Founder), Ismahan Al Saad (Co-Founder & COO) and Shreya Rammohan (Co-Founder & CMO). It is backed by San-Francisco based VC – 500 Global, Saudi Arabia based – Sanabil Investments (closed joint stock company wholly owned by the Public Investment Fund,Saudi Arabia’s Sovereign Wealth Fund), Kuwait based VC – Faith Capital, Saudi based Angel Investment Network – Women Spark and other strategic angel investors. To become a member and access their network and learning resources visit get-playbook.com or connect with them to align your organisation’s leadership, learning & development goals.

    ALSO READ-WFP, IFRC ink deal to boost climate response in MENA

  • ‘In such a scenario, investors could look at target maturity funds’

    ‘In such a scenario, investors could look at target maturity funds’

    In such a scenario, investors could look at target maturity funds from a passive ownership stand point as well as funds like medium duration and dynamic bond funds, says Laskhmi iyer

    Lakshmi Iyer, Chief Investment Officer (Debt) & Head Products, Kotak Mahindra Asset Management Company said that investors in a current scenario could look at target maturity funds from a passive ownership standpoint as well as funds like medium duration and dynamic bond funds.

    Here are the excerpts from the interview:

    How do you see bond markets and yields if a long-awaited global index inclusion fails to take place once again?

    We expect the announcement of index inclusion to be a sentiment positive for bond yields. The quantum of likely flows would be a function of what the actual percentage of inclusion would be. For the momentum to sustain, the timelines need to be well articulated.

    What are the factors that are driving the bond market currently apart from sentiments of inclusion in the global bond index?

     Currently, bond markets are facing more headwinds than tailwinds. US bond yields have been on the rise given the expectations of further tightening by the US Fed. The H2 govt bond supply is expected to be announced by the end of the month, which also could increase uncertainty in yields. Lastly, the RBI MPC is expected to announce its rate decision, which is an important factor driving bond markets going forward.

    How much rate hike do you expect in the upcoming monetary policy?

    We assign a higher chance of 50 bps rate hike in the upcoming policy, assuming US FOMC hikes rate by 75 bps with hawkish guidance.

     What will be the CPI inflation and growth forecast in the upcoming policy?

    We believe that the CPI forecast may remain unchanged as the trajectory so far seems to be broadly in line with the RBIs forecast. Given the headwinds on global growth, we could see some minor tweaks on the growth forecasts.

    Which tenor bonds are a good bet for investment in the rising interest rate and inflation scenario to earn better returns?

    Given the flat nature of the yield curve, we like the 4-7 year sovereign curve.

    Which debt schemes are better for investors in the current interest rate scenario?

    In such a scenario, investors could look at target maturity funds from a passive ownership stand point as well as funds like medium duration and dynamic bond funds. Floating rate funds could also be an add on in the current elevated interest rate environment.

    ALSO READ: Fintech, a force multiplier: RBI Guv

  • Amazon, Google, Microsoft face UK probe over cloud dominance

    Amazon, Google, Microsoft face UK probe over cloud dominance

    In the coming weeks, Ofcom will launch a market study under the Enterprise Act 2002 into the UK’s cloud sector…reports Asian Lite News

    The UK’s communication regulator Ofcom on Thursday announced a probe into the Cloud market dominance of Amazon, Microsoft and Google in the country’s 15 billion pound Cloud services market and if the competition concerns are identified, it could lead to further action against the tech giants.

    Ofcom also kicked off a probe to look at digital services such as WhatsApp, Zoom and smart speakers, as online and traditional networks converge.

    “The way we live, work, play and do business has been transformed by digital services. But as the number of platforms, devices and networks that serve up content continues to grow, so do the technological and economic issues confronting regulators,” said Selina Chadha, Ofcom’s Director of Connectivity.

    “That’s why we’re kick-starting a programme of work to scrutinise these digital markets, identify any competition concerns and make sure they’re working well for people and businesses who rely on them,” she added.

    In the coming weeks, Ofcom will launch a market study under the Enterprise Act 2002 into the UK’s cloud sector.

    The largest providers of cloud services — known as ‘hyperscalers’ — are Amazon Web Services (AWS), Microsoft and Google. Collectively, these three firms generate around 81% of revenues in the UK public cloud infrastructure services market.

    “If we find a market is not working well, there can be negative impacts on businesses and ultimately consumers, through higher prices, lower service quality and reduced innovation. In these circumstances, Ofcom can make recommendations to the government to change regulations or policy and take competition or consumer enforcement action,” it emphasised.

    Ofcom said it has engaged closely with the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) in planning the market study.

    Over the next year, Ofcom will also start a broader programme of work to examine other digital markets, including online personal communication apps and devices for accessing audiovisual content.

    “We are interested in how services such as WhatsApp, FaceTime and Zoom are affecting the role of traditional calling and messaging, and how competition and innovation in these markets may evolve over the coming years,” said Ofcom.

    ALSO READ: Truss vows to deepen ties with democracies like India

  • Modi’s public rebuke of Putin a relief for West

    Modi’s public rebuke of Putin a relief for West

    India was among 34 countries that abstained in an UN general assembly vote in March that deplored Russia for invading Ukraine. China had also abstained….reports YASHWANT RAJ

    The “abrupt and unheralded change” in India’s stand on the Russian invasion of Ukraine, as reflected in Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s “public rebuke” of Russian President Vladimir Putin earlier this week, has been heard in official Washington DC with some relief and satisfaction.

    Prime Minister Modi made it “clear to Putin’s face that the invasion is wrong”, said Ro Khanna, an Indian American lawmaker who has been critical of India’s refusal to condemn the invasion. Speaking at a community event on Wednesday, he went on to suggest Modi could also help in a “peaceful resolution and a ceasefire”.

    Earlier the same day in New York, a senior White House official pointed to the new Indian position as testimony to the Biden administration’s strategy of just laying out the facts on Ukraine for other countries to see and judge for themselves instead of forcing them to change their stand.

    “The US strategy has borne fruit insofar as you are seeing increasing signs of countries that did abstain, to include countries like India speaking out in a different way, including directly in front of Putin,” the official said. “And, you know, we’d like to see more than that, obviously, in the days ahead.”

    India was among 34 countries that abstained in an UN general assembly vote in March that deplored Russia for invading Ukraine. China had also abstained.

    New Delhi came under significant pressure from the US and its western allies to condemn the invasion and either stop buying Russian oil or not ramp it up, as it would enable Moscow to withstand the economic sanctions imposed on it to force it to end the war and leave Ukraine.

    India did neither. Until last week. “Today’s era is not of war,” Prime Minister Modi told Putin in public remarks ahead of their bilateral meeting on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization’s meeting in Samarkand, Uzbekistan. That went much further than India’s expression of ‘grave concern’ over the killing of civilians in Ukraine’s Bucha, and call for respecting the UN charter that protects the sovereignty and integrity of all member nations.

    US frustration with India’s refusal to condemn Russia and stop oil from it, had led to a rather unfortunate outburst from a senior White House official sent to New Delhi for these talks. He had warned India of “consequences”.

    “I’ve been clear about India, and I think India ought to be condemning Putin and India ought not to be getting oil from Russia or China. We ought to rally the world to isolate Putin,” Khanna said on Fox News in days after the UN general assembly vote.

    Khanna had gone on to say that it was time for India to choose between the US and Russia. “First, India should condemn Putin in the UN for the blatant human rights violations. Second, they need to realise, they have to pick sides,” he said, adding, “We, the United States, were with them when China invaded India. Putin wasn’t there. And it’s time for them to buy weapons from the United States, not Russia. We’ve got to look at how we can facilitate that and make that easier. We need India as an ally ultimately to contain China.”

    ALSO READ: Truss vows to deepen ties with democracies like India