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India to press for Iran, Venezuela Oil as Trump leaves

India may pursue a case for resumption of oil supplies from sanction-hit Iran and Venezuela once the Joe Biden administration takes charge in the US.

Sources in the Oil Ministry said that as a big importer of oil, India wanted to have a diversified market for crude and in this, if traditional markets like Iran and Venezuela are revived, it would only be for good.

Though, sources said there would not be any change in relations with the US with change of regime there, limited talks could be initiated to see if the oil market can be expanded for big buyers so that competitive pricing is derived.

Iran was India’s second largest oil supplier till sanctions by the West over its nuclear programme cut oil supplies.

India stopped crude oil supplies from Iran altogether from May 2019 following reimposition of US sanctions.

Venezuela, on the other hand, was the fourth largest crude supplier to India before US sanctions in January 2019 on the state-run companies there reduced their oil exports.

For India,p a wider crude oil import basket works to its advantage at it protects against supply disruptions in one of the countries. It also helps on getting better supply deals.

India imports 85 per cent of its oil needs and its dependence on oil expected to remain firm for at least next couple of decades. Energy consumption here is expected to grow by 3 per cent annually till 2040, much higher than any other energy guzzling country.

Also Read: BPCL Shares Down As major Oil Giants Skip the Race

Also Read: Venezuelan oil revenue drops 99% in six years

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Sport

Indian Team Has Very Good Chance At Tokyo Oly: Jarmanpreet

Jarmanpreet Singh, India Defender

Defender Jarmanpreet Singh, who has been one of the shining stars for the Indian men’s hockey team in the past two years, is currently focussed on maintaining consistency in order to find a place in the side which will travel to Tokyo next year for the Olympic Games.

“I think everyone is really excited for what is to come for Indian hockey in the next few years. I want to make sure that I am part of the team when we go out there and win medals,” said Jarmanpreet.

“I believe that Hockey India has done an exceptional job to provide a platform to players like myself, and I want to repay their support by giving my best on the field. I also think that we have a very good chance to go a long way at the Tokyo Olympics, but before that, just like the rest of the sporting world, I am also hopeful that the mega-event goes ahead as planned,” he added.

The Tokyo Olympics were slated to be held in July-August this year but had to be postponed to next summer following the coronavirus outbreak.

“I was delighted with the way the FIH Hockey Pro League campaign was going for me before the pandemic struck. I felt I had decent outings against the World Champions, and I was really looking forward to the next few games, but now it is just about taking it day-by-day here at the national camp,” said the 24-year-old.

“I feel now our focus has had to shift to maintaining our rhythm and our fitness. But the best thing is that we have also managed to get together, brainstorm and build a clear path towards what we want to achieve in the next few years as a team,” he added.

Jarmanpreet came into the senior team set-up in 2018, and in his debut tournament, wore a silver medal around his neck as India finished second behind Australia at the Champions Trophy 2018 held in The Netherlands.

Jarmanpreet Singh, India Defender



He then went on to win a gold medal with the senior team in only his second tournament at the senior level as India were jointly crowned the Champions of the Asian Champions Trophy 2018 in Muscat, Oman.

Speaking on his early days with the Indian team, Jarmanpreet said, “I think playing for India in itself was a dream come true for me, but to have won back-to-back medals in my first two tournaments is a story I can tell my grandkids one day (laughs).”

“I have had the privilege of representing my country at the highest level, and have also won medals, so it gives me real joy. My aim always is to try to do my best for the team, and to make sure that I am following what my coaches are asking me to do – because I know if I am able to do those things, we will be really successful as a team,” he added.

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Business Economy India News

Twenty seven states opt for centre’s GST Option 1

With Chhattisgarh communicating its acceptance of Option-1 to meet the revenue shortfall arising out of GST implementation, all the states barring Jharkhand have joined the Centre’s suggested formula on compensation settlement.

The number of states who have favoured Option-1 has gone up to 27.

All states except Jharkhand and all the 3 union territories with Legislative Assembly have decided in favour of Option-1.

The states & union territories who choose Option-1 are getting the amount of shortfall arising out of GST implementation through a special borrowing window put in place by the Government of India.

The window has been operationalised since October 23, 2020 and the government has already borrowed an amount of Rs 30,000 crore on behalf of the states in five instalments and passed it on to the states and union territories, who chose Option-1.

The funds borrowed through the special window were released to the states and UTs on October 23, 2020, November 2, 2020, November 9, 2020, November 23, 2020 and December 1, 2020.

Now, Chhattisgarh will also receive funds raised through this window starting from the next round of borrowing.

Under the terms of Option-1, besides getting the facility of a special window for borrowings to meet the shortfall arising out of GST implementation, the states are also entitled to get unconditional permission to borrow the final instalment of 0.50 per cent of Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP) out of the 2 per cent additional borrowings permitted by the government, under AtmanirbharAbhiyaan on May 17, 2020.

This is over and above the Special Window of Rs 1.1 lakh crore.

On receipt of the choice of Option-1, the government has granted additional borrowing permission of Rs 1,792 crore to the state government of Chhattisgarh (0.50 per cent of Chhattisgarh’s GSDP).

Also Read: Govt further extends GST return filing dates

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Business India News

AI Employees Set To Bid For the National Carrier

Air India

In a curious turn of events, Air India employees are preparing to bid for the national carrier in partnership with a private equity fund and each employee will be asked to contribute Rs 1 lakh towards the bid.

“The PIM (Preliminary Information Memorandum) thankfully, made it possible for the employees of Air India to take charge and ownership of the airline, and to this end, provides various terms and conditions which need to be fulfilled, and which we intend to collectively achieve and satisfy,” said Meenakshi Mallik in a letter to Team Members of Air India. The last date for the bids is December 14.

“Broadly, the project itself entails participating in a bid process along with all other participants who wish to take charge and ownership of AI and its assets. If the media reports are true, we will be bidding against, presumably, some of the largest corporate houses in India who will be just as keen and interested in the airline and bid,” Mallik said.

In the course of the Project, we will need to submit various documents and proofs certifying our intention and capacity to own, control and operate this airline.

“Financially, I know that we do not have the necessary wherewithal to participate in this bid process alone. We have accordingly searched out for and sought to secure the support of a private equity fund who will invest in the company with us and share the benefit. I must stress that ownership of the Company is what we are bidding for and thus, we are negotiating with our financial partner such that our Employee – Management Consortium will collectively own and control 51% (i.e. majority) of our Airline. The financial partner will hold the balance 49% of the Company,” she added.

“In order to acquire this 51% of the Company, each of us will have to make a financial contribution towards the total corpus. Due to the support we will receive from our financial partner, while I anticipate that each of us will have to make a contribution of no more INR 1,00,000/-, to bid for the Company, this is a detail which I will be better placed to convey to you all once we have passed the initial stage of the EoI. Until we cross Stage 1 (EOI Stage), no monies are needed to be collected from the employees. Moreover, after successfully completing stage one, we are planning our bid in such a way that no single employee will have to take on a financial risk or contribute more than INR 1,00,000/-,” Mallik said.

Also Read: India’s Port Sector In Path of Recovery: Ind-Ra

Also Read: India, US join hands for IP cooperation

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Business India News

Dell, Mi tops India’s most trusted brands list

Dell has been ranked as India’s most trusted brand second year in a row in TRA’s Brand Trust Report (BTR) 2020.

Chinese mobile phone major ‘Mi’ ranked second and led that mobile phone category for the first, it said.

Samsung Mobiles secured the third place, followed by Apple iPhone and LG taking fourth and fifth ranks, respectively.

Oppo is at sixth spot on the trust ranking this year. Sony Entertainment Television, the Hindi general entertainment channel, ranks seventh featuring among the top ten for the first time in ten years.

Maruti Suzuki, the four-wheeler manufacturer makes to eight rank and is also the leader in the automobile. The ninth most trusted brand rank is held by Samsung for the televisions and is followed by Vivo mobile phones at the tenth slot.

Five mobile phone brands make it to the top ten list from among the twenty listed, making it the largest category in the report.

N. Chandramouli, CEO, TRA, said: “The Covid times have been harrowing for brands, and even consumers have been in an extended state of anxiety for multiple reasons. The impact of the pandemic is visible on the trust placed in brands, leading to a dethroning of many erstwhile category leaders.”

Also Read: India, US join hands for IP cooperation

Also Read: India’s Port Sector In Path of Recovery: Ind-Ra

Categories
-Top News India News

Punjabi sportspersons set to return awards

Joining the chorus backing the agitating farmers, three former Punjab sportspersons, all belonging to the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), have announced to return their awards in protest against the use of police force during the farmers’ protests, including Padma Shri and Arjuna awardee wrestler Kartar Singh, Arjuna awardee basketball player Sajjan Singh Cheema and Arjuna awardee hockey player Rajbir Kaur.

They announced that they will proceed to Delhi on December 5 to place the awards outside the Rashtrapati Bhavan.

Cheema, who represented India at the 1982 Asian Games, said: “We are the children of farmers. They have been holding peaceful agitation for the last several months. When they were heading to Delhi, why water cannons and tear gas shells were used on them?”

Kartar Singh, who has retired as Inspector General from Punjab Police, said, “If farmers do not want such laws, then why is the Central government imposing them?”

Kartar Singh had won the gold in the 1978 Asian Games held in Bangkok and the 1986 Asian Games held in Seoul. He also won a silver in the 1982 Asian Games held in Delhi.

The trio, including Kaur, the only Indian women’s hockey player who represented the country in four consecutive Asian Games in 1982, 1986, 1990 and 1994, had joined the Aam Aadmi Party in 2016.

Meanwhile, expressing solidarity with the agitating farmers, Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) patron Parkash Singh Badal on Thursday returned his Padma Vibhushan award in protest against “the betrayal of the farmers by the government”.

Rajya Sabha MP Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa also announced that he will return the Padma Bhushan conferred on him in 2019.

Also Read: Shah, Amarinder discuss farmers’ cause

Also Read: PICS: Farmers unite against govt’s farm bills

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-Top News World News

Poverty to hit 1 Billion people by 2030: UNDP

Severe long-term effects of the COVID-19 pandemic could push an additional 207 million people into extreme poverty on top of the current pandemic trajectory, bringing the total to over 1 billion by 2030, according to findings released today by the United Nations Development Programme, UNDP. This is not a foregone conclusion: with a focused set of investments towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals, SDGs, an additional 146 million people could be lifted out of extreme poverty compared to current COVID-19 trends.

The study, part of a long-standing partnership between UNDP and the Pardee Center for International Futures at the University of Denver, assesses the impact of different COVID-19 recovery scenarios on the SDGs, evaluating the multidimensional effects of the pandemic over the next decade.

The ‘Baseline COVID’ scenario, based on current mortality rates and the most recent growth projections by the International Monetary Fund, IMF, would result in 44 million more people living in extreme poverty by 2030 compared to the development trajectory the world was on before the pandemic.

Under a ‘High Damage’ scenario, where the recovery is protracted, COVID-19 is likely to push an additional 207 million people into extreme poverty by 2030, and increase the female poverty headcount by an additional 102 million compared to that baseline, says the report. The High Damage scenario anticipates that 80 percent of the COVID-induced economic crisis would persist in 10 years’ time due to loss in productivity, preventing a full recovery to the growth trajectory seen before the pandemic.

However, the study also finds that a focused set of SDG investments over the next decade in social protection/welfare programmes, governance, digitalization, and a green economy could not only prevent the rise of extreme poverty, but actually exceed the development trajectory the world was on before the pandemic.

This ambitious, yet feasible ‘SDG Push’ scenario would lift an additional 146 million people out of extreme poverty, narrow the gender poverty gap, and reduce the female poverty headcount by 74 million, even taking into account the current impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“As this new poverty research highlights, the COVID-19 pandemic is a tipping point, and the choices leaders take now could take the world in very different directions. We have an opportunity to invest in a decade of action that not only helps people to recover from COVID-19, but that re-sets the development path of people and planet towards a more fair, resilient and green future,” said UNDP Administrator Achim Steiner.

Also Read: PLIGHT OF PAKISTAN: 50 per cent of population below poverty line

Also Read: World Bank chief praises G20 progress on debt relief

Categories
-Top News India News

India Daily Digital – December 3, 2020 – Rajni Read For Political Plunge

Rajni Read For Political Plunge; Kartarpur: India Slams Pak For Violating UN Resolution; US Court Scraps Trump’s H1-B Restrictions; NATO names China as a threat in coming decade – all in India Daily Digital – please click here to read.

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-Top News Economy India News

India, US join hands for IP cooperation

India and the US have entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in the field of Intellectual Property cooperation.

Accordingly, the MoU is expected to facilitate exchange and dissemination of ‘best practices, experiences and knowledge on IP’.

Earlier, the Union Cabinet had given the approval for signing the MoU with United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) in the field of IP cooperation.

“The MoU aims at increasing IP cooperation between the two countries by way of facilitating exchange and dissemination of best practices, experiences and knowledge on IP among the public, and between and among the industry, universities, research and development (R&D) organisations, and small and medium-sized enterprises through participation in programs and events organised singly or jointly by the participants,” an official communique said on Thursday.

It encompsses collaboration in training programmes, exchange of experts, technical exchanges and outreach activities. exchange of information and best practices on processes for registration and examination of applications for patents, trademarks, copyrights, geographical indications, and industrial designs, as well as the protection, enforcement and use of IP rights.

According to the communique, the two side will draw up a biennial work plan’ to implement the MoU which will include the detailed planning for carrying out of the co-operation activities including the scope of action.

“The MoU will go a long way in fostering the cooperation between India and USA, and provide opportunities to both countries to learn from the experience of each other, especially in terms of best practices followed in the other country,” it said.

“It will be a landmark step forward in India’s journey towards becoming a major player in global innovation and will further the objectives of National IPR Policy, 2016.”

Also Read: EU reveals plan to enhance US ties

Also Read: US varsities demand $120bn Covid-19 aid

Categories
-Top News India News

Shah, Amarinder discuss farmers’ cause

A crucial meeting started on Thursday noon between Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh here as the next round of talks between farmers and the Centre also got way.

The meeting started at Shah’s residence soon after the Punjab Chief Minister reached there, minutes before the fourth round of government and farmer representative meeting at Vigyan Bhawan began.

Amid the escalating farmers protest around Delhi, spearheaded by farmers from Punjab and Haryana, Shah and Amarinder Singh’s meeting is significant.

They were expected to discuss the issues plaguing the army of farmers around the national capital’s periphery.

Tens of thousands are perched along Delhi’s Singhu and Tikri borders since November 26. These farmers owe allegiance to over 32 farm unions and are huddled under an open sky at the onset of a long winter, refusing to budge until their demands are met.

The Singhu and Tikri borders, and also Chilla and Ghazipur ones have now been hosting these multitudes for over a week. Hundreds of farmers have almost blocked entry and exit out of the capital.

Shah and Punjab Chief Minister’s meeting took place after the Home Minister met Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar and Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution Minister Piyush Goyal for about half-an-hour ahead of government and farmers’ representatives meet.

The fourth round of meeting with over 32 farmer leaders started at Vigyan Bhawan after the earlier talks remained inconclusive on December 1.

In the last meeting, the farmers’ representatives had unanimously turned down the Centre’s proposal of a special committee to thrash out the differences and resolve concerns over the farm laws.

A breakthrough was not expected in a single meeting, sources had said, in view of the government firmly standing by the laws it has called “historic reforms” in the farm sector.

The farmers though have hardened their stance, warning that if on Thursday “the last chance” for the government to take a decision on the laws was not taken the stir could intensify further.

In place of a committee, they have demanded a special session of parliament to repeal what they have called “black laws” made to favour corporates — which not entertained might lead to a chokehold across the nation, not just Delhi.

Also Read: PICS: Farmers unite against govt’s farm bills