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Jaishankar commended the measures adopted by the UAE to combat the pandemic, which has made it among the leading countries that contained the virus and harnessed financial and human resources to help other countries in need of aid, especially medical supplies.
His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, has received a message from Narendra Modi, Prime Minister of India.
In his message, Modi thanked His Highness Mohammed bin Rashid and the UAE Government for the efforts of the country’s health authorities to monitor the COVID-19 pandemic, protect the entire community, reduce the spread of the virus, and implement necessary procedures, as well as to protect the Indian community and offer its members treatment services, which led to a significant decrease in infections among Indians and other communities.
Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum received the message while meeting with Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, Indian Minister of External Affairs, who is currently visiting the UAE.
During the meeting, His Highness Sheikh Mohammed and Jaishankar exchanged their views on how to restore and stimulate the economies of the two countries and increase trade.
His Highness Sheikh Mohammed stressed that the UAE is keen to combat and contain COVID-19 and limit its negative effects on all sectors, most notably tourism, trade, commerce and health, as well as ensure the gradual return to normalcy.
Jaishankar commended the measures adopted by the UAE to combat the pandemic, which has made it among the leading countries that contained the virus and harnessed financial and human resources to help other countries in need of aid, especially medical supplies.
The meeting was attended by Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, President of the Dubai Civil Aviation Authority and Chairman and Chief Executive of Emirates Airline and Group, Mohammad bin Abdullah Al Gergawi, Minister of Cabinet Affairs, Reem bint Ibrahim Al Hashemy, Minister of State for International Cooperation, and Khalifa Saeed Soliman, Director-General of the Department of Protocols and Hospitality in Dubai. The meeting was also attended by Pavan Kapoor, Indian Ambassador to the UAE, and Aman Puri, Indian Consul-General in Dubai.
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India’s port volumes are yet to recover fully from the Covid-19 pandemic-induced trends such as shortage of containers amid a demand-supply imbalance, says India Ratings and Research (Ind-Ra).
In a report on India’s logistics sector, the ratings agency said that in October 2020, India’s port volumes continued the recovery momentum with a month-on-month (MoM) increase of 5 per cent.
“While port volumes maintain the recovery momentum, they are yet to recover fully. During April-October 2020, the overall volumes fell 12 per cent YoY (year-on-year), the report added.
“The recovery in October 2020 was led by strong growth in fertilisers, coal and iron-ore volumes. Except petroleum, oil, lubricants and other liquids, all commodity volume registered growth in October 2020.
It pointed out that container freight rates remained elevated with a substantial increase of nearly 70 per cent during March-October 2020 due to the shortage of containers amid a demand-supply imbalance.
Besides, the report revealed that the port dwell time for import containers at Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust (JNPT) witnessed a monthly improvement to 19 hours in October 2020.
“The port dwell time for export containers remained at nearly 78 hours in October 2020, it said.
The road transportation has witnessed traction with an improvement in the economic activities, the report added.
“E-way bill collection at 64 million in October 2020 grew 12 per cent MoM and 21 per cent YoY and stood 12 per cent higher than pre-Covid level, the report said.
“Average freight rates remained flat in October 2020. Diesel prices though declined to nearly Rs 70.5 per litre in October from Rs 70.6 per litre in September 2020.
In terms of railway sector, the report said the market share of this sub-segment increased in October to 22 per cent for export containers and 21 per cent for import containers, possibly due to tariff rationalisation initiatives such as discount on containers taken by Indian Railways to boost freight operations.
The air transport remained the most affected, the report added.
“Since reopening in June 2020, both domestic and international air traffic continued to sequentially improve in September 2020, the agency said.
“Domestic passenger traffic rose 40 per cent in September 2020, though was down 65 per cent YoY while international passenger traffic rose 12 per cent, though remained down 88 per cent YoY.
“Passenger load factors for domestic flights ranged from 58-73 per cent during September 2020. Freight traffic continued to improve in August. Domestic and international freight traffic was up 26 per cent and 12 per cent MoM, respectively, in September 2020.
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Lakshmi Vilas Bank (LVB) is now amalgamated with DBS Bank India Limited (DBIL), the wholly owned subsidiary of Singapore-based DBS Group Holdings Ltd.
In a statement on Monday, DBS Bank said that the scheme of amalgamation is under the special powers of the Government of India and Reserve Bank of India under Section 45 of the Banking Regulation Act, 1949, India, and has come into effect on 27 November, 2020.
It added that the amalgamation provides stability and better prospects to LVB’s depositors, customers and employees following a period of uncertainty. The moratorium imposed on LVB was lifted from November 27, 2020 and banking services were restored immediately with all branches, digital channels and ATMs functioning as usual.
LVB customers can continue to access all banking services. The interest rates on savings bank accounts and fixed deposits are governed by the rates offered by the erstwhile LVB till further notice. All LVB employees will continue in service and are now employees of DBIL on the same terms and conditions of service as under LVB.
The DBS team is working closely with LVB colleagues to integrate LVB’s systems and network into DBS over the coming months, the statement said.
Once the integration is complete, customers will be able to access a wider range of products and services, including access to the full suite of DBS digital banking services which have won multiple global accolades, it added.
Moreover, the bank asserted that it is well-capitalised and its capital adequacy ratios (CAR) will remain above regulatory requirements even after the amalgamation.
Additionally, the DBS Group will inject Rs 2,500 crore into DBIL to support the amalgamation and for future growth. This will be fully funded from DBS Group’s existing resources.
DBS has been in India since 1994 and converted its India operations to a wholly owned subsidiary (DBIL) in March 2019.
Surojit Shome, CEO of DBS Bank India Limited, said, “The amalgamation of LVB has enabled us to provide stability to LVB’s depositors and employees. It also gives us access to a larger set of customers and cities where we do not currently have a presence. We look forward to working with our new colleagues towards being a strong banking partner to LVB’s clients.”
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UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has condemned the deadly attack against rice farmers carried out by suspected Boko Haram militants in Borno state.
Through a statement attributable to his spokesperson Stephane Dujarric, the UN chief on Sunday condemned “in the strongest terms the horrific attack on rice farm workers in Koshobe village, near the Borno state capital of Maiduguri by suspected militants on November 28, in which scores were reportedly killed and many others injured or abducted, including women,” reports Xinhua news agency.
Suspected members of the Islamic militant group Boko Haram reportedly killed at least 40 rice farmers.
The farmers were reportedly rounded up and summarily killed by armed insurgents in retaliation for a failed extortion attempt.
The Secretary-General extended his deepest condolences to the families of the deceased and to the people of Nigeria, wished a swift recovery to the injured, and called for immediate and safe returns of the abductees and those still reported missing.
“He hoped those responsible for these heinous crimes will be quickly brought to justice,” said the statement.
Guterres reaffirmed the UN’s commitment to supporting the Nigerian government in its fight against terrorism and violent extremism and in its response to pressing humanitarian needs in the northeast of the country, the statement added.
Boko Haram has been trying to establish an Islamist state in northeastern Nigeria since 2009, extending its attacks to countries in the Lake Chad Basin.
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Faster-than-anticipated economic recovery along with likely continuation of accommodative monetary stance will support the domestic indices’ expected northward trajectory during the week ahead.
However, spurts of likely profit bookings coupled with expensive propositions as well as any delay in anti-Covid vaccine rollout might arrest the potential up move.
“Equity markets could open higher on Tuesday, reflecting the positivity of the Q2 GDP numbers. Nifty continues to consolidate after reaching a high on Novmeber 25,” said Deepak Jasani- Head of Retail Research at HDFC Securities.
“An upward breach of 13,146 is necessary to expect more upsides while a downward breach of 12,833 could bring in more downsides and mean that a temporary top has been made on November 25.”
Last Friday, official data showed that India’s gross domestic product (GDP) contracted 7.5 per cent in the July-September period, as the economy rebounded from a record slump of 23.9 per cent in the previous quarter due to slowdown caused by the coronavirus pandemic.
This figure was higher than anticipated by the market.
Among sectors, automobile industry will be in focus during the holiday-shortened week, as the industry will divulge its sales performance during November.
The main festive season of 2020 ended last month and investors expect healthy sales performance from the sector.
“Going ahead, the overall structure of the market remains positive, but intermittent profit booking cannot be ruled out, given the sharp rally in the past few weeks,” said Siddhartha Khemka, Head of Retail Research, Motilal Oswal Financial Services.
“Auto companies will be in focus as November sales data will start coming from Tuesday, while banks or financials will be in focus as the RBI’s Monetary Policy is scheduled for Friday.”
The Reserve Bank’s MPC is scheduled to announce the last review for the calendar year 2020.
“The present liquidity glut, and the low-interest rates, will lead to improvements in the cost of funds for corporates and thereby their performance to a significant extent,” said Joseph Thomas, Head of Research – Emkay Wealth Management.
Market watchers opined that the RBI will maintain both repo rate and accommodative stance.
According to Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services: “Markets are awaiting outcome major events like RBI policy meeting, release of Manufacturing and Service PMI and banking business data which will be decisive factors driving the market in the upcoming week.”
The India’s benchmark equity indices, will be closed on Monday to mark Guru Nanak Dev’s birth anniversary.
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The UK government announced on Monday that the Chinese telecom giant Huawei will not be able to install its 5G equipments in the country from September 2021.
The Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport said that as per its earlier decision, the UK carriers will no longer be able to install Huawei equipment beginning September 2021.
The UK government has laid out a roadmap for removing all telecoms equipment made by “high risk vendors,” including Huawei, from the country’s 5G network by 2027, reports CNET.
In July this year, the UK government had announced a ban on the purchase of new Huawei kits for 5G from next year and said that the Chinese telecom giant’s equipment will be completely removed from 5G networks by the end of 2027.
The telecoms operators have seven years to remove its existing technology from their 5G infrastructure at an expected cost of 2 billion pounds.
The decision came following new advice produced by the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) on the impact of US sanctions against the telecommunications vendor.
The US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) designated Chinese telecom companies, Huawei and ZTE, as national security risks to America’s communications networks.
In a U-turn, the UK government that earlier allowed Huawei to sell its 5G technology in the country, signalled a tougher stand against the Chinese telecom giant.
Huawei called the decision “bad news for anyone in the UK with a mobile phone”.
Struggling to keep its consumer business afloat in the wake of the US sanctions, Huawei this month announced to sell off its Honor smartphone business assets to China-based Shenzhen Zhixin New Information Technology Co Ltd.
The company said that the sale — which could be around $15 billion according to multiple reports — will help Honor’s channel sellers and suppliers make it through this difficult time.
Honor smartphones have been hit by US sanctions that prevent Huawei from doing business with the US companies.
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Jared Kushner, senior White House adviser and US President Donald Trump’s son-in-law, will visit Saudi Arabia and Qatar in the coming days in an effort to “resolve the dispute between the Gulf countries”, a media report said.
Kushner will meet Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and Qatari Emir Tamim Bin Hamad al-Thani, US officials told the Axios news outlet on Sunday.
Kushner has “close relationships” with both leaders, the report quoted the officials as saying.
During the trip, he will be accompanied by White House envoy Avi Berkowitz, International Development Finance Corporation CEO Adam Boehler, and former Iran Ambassador Brian Hook.
“Fixing the rift between Saudi Arabia and Qatar would bring a sense of stability back to the Gulf and notch a last-minute achievement for Kushner and the Trump administration before January 20,” the Axios news report said.
On January 20, President-elect Joe Biden is set to be inaugurated.
The report further said: “The US maintains close ties with both Qatar and its rivals, but the Trump administration’s several attempts to reconcile the parties were unsuccessful.”
The officials told Axios that Kushner hopes to “convince the Saudi and Qatari leaders to reconcile and reach a deal on several outstanding issues”, adding that the senior adviser also wants to use the talks in Riyadh to “cement the agreement for Saudi Arabia to allow eastbound flights from Israel to pass through Saudi airspace”.
The news of Kushner’s upcoming visits came almost a week after Israeli media reported that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu embarked on a secret visit to Saudi Arabia for a meeting with the Crown Prince.
Netanyahu’s trip coincided with US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo who was also in Riyadh at the time.
The Prime Minister was accompanied by the head of Israel’s Mossad intelligence agency, Yossi Cohen.
Netanyahu and the Trump’s administration wish that Saudi Arabia would follow the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain in normalizing ties with Israel.
Riyadh has declined to form formal ties with Israel, saying the Israeli-Palestinian conflict should be discussed first.
However, Riyadh recently announced Israeli airliners could fly over Saudi Arabia to newly available Gulf destinations and to Asia.
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The Israeli Cabinet has ratified two deals to promote aviation and science cooperation with the United Arab Emirates (UAE), following the US-brokered historic normalisation accord.
On Sunday, the Cabinet Ministers voted in favour of an agreement to establish regular flights between Israel and the UAE, and another deal to promote advanced science and technology cooperation, according to a statement issued by the Prime Minister’s office.
Confirming the development, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s spokesman Ofir Gendelman tweeted: “The government today ratifies the aviation agreement and the scientific and technological cooperation agreement that it concluded with the UAE.”
He said the ratification is “another important milestone in strengthening relations” between the two countries.
“We will continue to develop these ties with additional bilateral agreements,” Gendelman added.
Before the ratification, Netanyahu had said: “This is another milestone in strengthening bilateral relations and we will continue to develop ties with the additional agreements that we will bring.”
The first commercial passenger flight from the UAE landed in Israel on October 19, about a month after the two countries signed the US-brokered normalization deal at the White House on September 15.
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