Jamna Auto Industries Ltd

Incorporated as a partnership firm, Jamna Auto Industries (JAIL) went public in Nov.'85. It was promoted by Bhupinder Singh Jauhar. The company manufactures auto parts and specialises in the manufacture of laminated springs for automobiles. Tapered leaf springs, parabolic springs, stabiliser bars and coil springs are used in suspension systems of automobiles. The suspension system of a vehicle is a link between the chassis and the axle; it stores and absorbs energy for release later.

The Share Price company has entered into Joint Venture with NHK Spring Co. Ltd, Nissho Iwai Corporation, Japan & Allevard Ressorts Automobile, France for manufacture state of the art Coil Springs and Stabilizer Bars Primarily for supplies to the car market in India by a substantial foreign equity 85% and Company investing the balance 15%.

Company started exports to General Motors Corporation, USA in February, 1998. The company continues to maintain ISO 9002 & QS 9000 status and undergoes perodic quality systems review & audit by designated QS auditors in order to ensure the same.

The company getting approval for in-house testing of Telco Springs.

Fight against climate change is responsibility of all: PM

Preparing to attend the world meet on Paris climate change in tomorrow, Prime Minister Narendra Modi today said it is the responsibility of all to ensure that the Earth's temperature does not rise as global warming is already creating disasters like recent heavy rainfall in Chennai.

            He asked the people to adopt energy conservation and energy efficiency measures like the maximum use of solar-powered items.

            In his monthly radio programme 'Mann Ki Baat', Modi recalled his proposal for setting up a SAARC disaster response mechanism and said the recently-held 'table talk exercise and best practices seminar' in Delhi was a good beginning in this regard.

            "We keep receiving news about the natural disasters from every corner of the world. Such are the tragedies which have never been heard earlier or imagined. We are now experiencing the impact of fast-changing climate. In our own country, massive rains recently hit Tamil Nadu and caused losses to it as well as other states. Several people lost their lives. I offer my condolences to them," he said.

            "The whole world is worried about Paris Climate Change Conference. There are discussions everywhere over it and concerns are being expressed. There is acceptance for it (climate change) as an index before any work is done. The temperature of the Earth should not increase now. It is the responsibility and concern of all," he said in his 20-minute programme.

            His emphasis on the responsibility of all assumes significance as the developed world is placing greater onus on developing nations like India in the fight against climate change.

            India has been maintaining that the developed countries have been the major polluters over centuries and should assume greater role in fighting global warming by funding and transfering low-cost technology to developing nations.

Vivid Global Industries Ltd.

Vivid Chemicals (VCL) is engaged in the manufacture of tobias acid, a dye and pigment intermediate, and a naphthalene derivative used as a component to manufacture derivatives of value-added products such as sulpho tobias acid, J-acid and N methyl J-acid which in turn are used as intermediates for direct and reactive dyes. The company is promoted by Sudhir M Mody who has over 20 years of exposure to the business of dyes, dye intermediates and chemicals.

            It is the only manufacturer of tobias acid in the organised sector. The company has a plant to manufacture hydrochloric acid which was set up in 1973. Vivid Global Industries had initially set up a project to manufacture beta naphthol (BN) in 1987 at Tarapur, Maharashtra. But it faced problems, as the prices of its main raw material, naphthalene, increased. As the unfavourable movement in the prices of the major raw material affected VCL's performance, the company modified its facilities in 1992 so as to produce tobias acid instead of beta naphthol.

            The Share Price company had entered the capital market to part-finance an increase in the tobias acid capacity from 720 tpa to 960 tpa. The company also has facilities to manufacture phenyl J-acid, acetyl J-acid and rhoduline acid. While these are used in the dyestuff industry, sulpho tobias acid is also used in the electronics industry for coating IC circuit boards.

            The company exports 40% of its products to Japan, Taiwan, Thailand, Europe, Indonesia and the US.

Balaji Telefilms Share Price: Balaji Telefilms, Petronet LNG, Vakrangee hit 52-week high

Balaji Telefilms, Petronet LNG, Vakrangee, Strides Shasun, RPG Life Sciences and Sri Adhikari Brothers are among 95 stocks have touched their respective 52-week high on the BSE in intra-day trade today.

Balaji Telefilms Share Price has surged 11% to Rs 145 on the BSE on back of three-fold jump in trading volumes. A combined 1.66 million shares changed hands on the counter on the BSE and NSE till 02:46 PM.

The stock of entertainment firm hit 52-week high of Rs 150 in intra-day trade and rallied 34% post July-September (Q2FY16) quarter results on November 9. The company had reported a consolidated earnings before interest, income taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) of Rs 6.50 crore in Q2FY16 against a loss of Rs 9.80 crore in Q2FY15. The board has also approved fund raising plans up to Rs 250 crore.

Vakrangee rallied to its 52-week high of Rs 174, up 14% on the BSE in early morning trade after the company announced alliance with Ricoh India, to provide Managed Print Service (MPS) on a Pay per Unit (PpP) model to the un-served and under-served geographies in India through various Vakrangee Kendras.

Petronet LNG surged 5% to Rs 231, extending its Friday’s 7% rally on the BSE, on reports that RasGas of Qatar has agreed to modify the costly long-term offtake agreement, an online portal said. This will help the country's largest natural gas importer to avoid around Rs 10,000-crore penalty for not taking the agreed quantity of gas, unconfirmed reports said on Friday.

SpiceJet too zoomed 12% to its fresh 52-week high of Rs 69.75 on the BSE. In past one week, the stock soared 47% from Rs 47.58 as domestic air traffic rose 18.8% year-on-year, as airlines flew seven million passengers in October. SpiceJet reported the highest occupancy with a load factor of 92%.

PG Life Sciences locked in upper circuit for second straight day, up 20% at Rs 274 on the BSE. It zoomed 44% in past two trading sessions from Rs 191 on November 19.

Kopran, Grauer & Weil (India), SRS, Gayatri Projects and Take Solutions are among 22 stocks from the BSE Smallcap index hit 52-week highs today.

Article Source: Business Standard

HDFC Bank launches Rs 30 cr marketing campaign

Country's second largest private sector lender HDFC Marketing, which has launched 'sonic branding' or a musical logo, today said it will spend over Rs 30 crore to promote the new brand positioning which stresses on the digital banking.

"We have launched a distinct tune which represents the brand. This is a part of a national campaign that was launched before Diwali", its marketing head Kartik Jain told PTI.

The 'sonic branding' is being included at all the touch-points like ATMs and phone-banking application, where customers will hear the tune, he said.

The effort is part of a national marketing campaign stressing the digital banking, he said.

The campaign involves a spend of over Rs 30 crore, a senior official said.

Jain said the 360-degree campaign was first rolled out in non-metro cities before Diwali, and will soon be hitting the eight metros.

Last fiscal, the bank had invested Rs 140 crore in advertising efforts.

Article Source: Business Standard

Comments by Aamir Khan in his personal capacity: Snapdeal

Distancing itself from the controversial remark by superstar and its brand ambassador Aamir Khan on intolerance, e-commerce major Snapdeal today said the comments were made by the actor "in his personal capacity" and the firm is "no way connected" with them.

"Snapdeal is neither connected nor plays a role in comments made by Aamir Khan News in his personal capacity. Snapdeal is a proud Indian company built by passionate young Indians focused on building an inclusive digital India," Snapdeal said in a statement.

The controversy also raged online, with Netizens airing their views on Twitter. While many users deleted the Snapdeal app to show their protest against the e-commerce firm of which Khan is a brand ambassador, others have given a one-star rating (lowest).

"Dear @snapdeal I will not purchase anything from you until you remove @aamir_khan as brand ambassador. Will boycott #AamirKhan movies," read one tweet.

Khan is at the centre of a raging debate after he expressed "alarm and despondency" over recent incidents of intolerance during an interaction here.

"Kiran (his wife) and I have lived all our life in India. For the first time, she said, should we move out of India... She fears for her child, she fears about what the atmosphere around us will be," the actor had said on Monday.

Khan also supported those returning their awards, saying one of the ways for creative people to express their dissatisfaction or disappointment is by giving back awards.

"Everyday, we are positively impacting thousands of small businesses and millions of consumers in India. We will continue towards our mission of creating one million successful online entrepreneurs in India," it added.

Four stocks to turn ex-date for share split on Thursday

Stocks of four companies – Natco Pharma, Avanti Feeds, Associated Stone Industries - Share Price (Kotah) and Vitan Agro Industries – will turn ex-date for stock split, Rander Corporation will turn ex- consolidation of shares on Thursday, November 26, 2015.

Natco Pharma and Avanti Feeds boards had approved sub-division of equity shares in the ratio of 1:5 i.e. the sub-division of equity shares of their companies from the one share of Rs 10 each into five equity shares of Rs 2 each.

Associated Stone Industries (Kotah) approved the stock-split of equity shares from Rs 5 each to Re 1 each, and of Vitan Agro Industries from Rs 10 to Rs 1.

Thus far in 2015, Vitan Agro Industries has zoomed 384% from Rs 38.35 to Rs 184 on the BSE till yesterday.

Associated Stone Industries (up 75% from Rs 44.95 to Rs 78.45), Natco Pharma (up 70% from Rs 1,530 to Rs 2,596) and Avanti Feeds (67% from Rs 1,583 to Rs 2,643) have rallied more than 60% as compared to 6% decline in the S&P BSE Sensex during the period.

Meanwhile, Rander Corporation has tanked 90% from Rs 13.50 to Rs 1.38 so far in the current calendar year.

Stock markets will closed on November 25, 2015 on account of Gurunanak Jayanti.

Latest-News Online Restaurant Petoo To Ramp Up Expansion Plans

At a time food tech startups are scaling down their business due to cost constraints, Bengaluru-based online restaurant Petoo is treading a slow but cautious path of expansion. The company, currently present in select locations in Bengaluru, is looking to expand to five cities in 2016.

Latest News it has been operating at 13 locations in the city and last week expanded in six more locations.

The six-month-old company is in final talks of raising about $5 million which will be used for the expansion. The company that works on a hub and spoke model currently has a kitchen in Bengaluru, which it is in the process of converting to a food factory.

"We are planning to take food preparation to a larger scale so that there is little difference in the taste that is being delivered to different parts of the city. The equipments for the food factory will be designed and developed in-house," said Kumar Setu, co-founder of Petoo.

Through the six months after Petoo Online Restaurant began its operations, there has been a lot of learning on what worked well in the food-tech space, said Setu. "The major lesson we had was in the logistics space."

Initially, Petoo delivered food boxes only through its own team of delivery boys. However, it has now opted for third-party delivery partnerships with hyperlocal logistics startups like Opinio and Road Runnr. As a result, the six-month old company claims to have brought down its delivery cost from Rs 170 to Rs 53.

Petoo's co-founder Ritesh Dwivedy was also the co-founder of Just Eat that was later acquired by Rocket Internet.

Currently, the company delivers more than 1,000 orders per day and is growing at about 120% month on month. It has a team of about 65 including in operations, kitchen, technology and marketing.

ASSOCIATED STONE INDUSTRIES (KOTAH) LTD - SHARE PRICE

Promoted by the Jatias of Rajasthan, Associated Stone Industries - Share Price (ASIL) is involved in mining and polishing Kotah stone, which is found only in Kotah district, Rajasthan. ASIL, one of the oldest units in this segment, commenced operations in 1945.

The company has an enviable record of dividends, sustained consistently since 1945-46, its first year of operations. The bonus record, too, has been excellent. Located at Ramganjmandi near Kotah city in Rajasthan, ASIL can lay claim to 10 sq km of leased mines, consisting of seven plots. Of these seven mines, only one is fully mechanised. The company implemented a Rs 15-cr mechanisation project, financed by term loans and internal accruals.

ASIL commissioned its on-line processing and polishing unit at Silvassa without any slippage or cost overrun. It diversified into marble products and is carrying out a geological survey at Kakroli near Udaipur and had set up a plant there. In Apr.'95, Prerna Syntex (PSL), a 100% EOU, was amalgamated with the company, to enable it to diversify into textiles.

During 1997-98, Prerna Syntex Plant, 100% EoU located at Neemrana has succesfully installed the capacity of 24960 Spindles to produce 4673 tonnes of Cotton combed hoisery yarn per annum, it has commenced its production from 15th Jan.'97. During the financial year 1999-2000, the company received the approval of Government of India for NRI investment by way of equity shares.

The company is planning to import Quantum Clearer machines during the current year 2001-2002. To reduce the cost of production the company is planning to import furnace oil based captive power plant. By importing these machines Production of Contamination free yarn will become possible.

Article Source: Associated Stone Industries

Belgium police arrest 16 people in 22 raids; Paris fugitive still at large

This undated file photo released by French Police shows 26-year old Salah Abdeslam, who is wanted by police in connection with recent terror attacks in Paris, as police investigations continue. 

Belgian prosecutors announced early today that Belgium Police Arrest had detained 16 people in 22 raids but that Paris fugitive Salah Abdeslam was not among them. Despite the raids, authorities maintained their highest terror alert in the capital for a third straight day.

Federal prosecutor Eric Van Der Sypt said 19 raids were carried out in Molenbeek and other boroughs of Brusselsand three raids were carried out in other cities.

“We have to stress that no firearms or explosives were discovered … During the raids,” Van Der Sypt said.“Certain elements in the investigation made yesterday’s intervention necessary. The investigation will in any case be relentlessly continued.”

One of those detained was injured when a car he was in tried to ram police during an attempted getaway, Van Der Sypt said.

The raids capped a tense day with hundreds of troops patrolling and authorities hunting for one or more suspected militants, the Belgian government chose yesterday to keep the capital on the highest state of alert into the start of the workweek to prevent a Paris-style attack.

Citing a “serious and imminent” threat, Prime Minister Charles Michel announced that schools and universities in Brussels will be closed today, with the subway remaining shut down, preventing a return to normal in the city that is also home to the European Union’s main institutions.

“We fear an attack like in Paris, with several individuals, perhaps in several places,” Michel said after chairing a meeting of Belgium’s National Security Council.

While Brussels was kept on the highest of four alert levels, the rest of the country remains on a Level 3 alert, meaning an attack is “possible and likely.”

“Nobody is pleased with such a situation. Neither are we. But we have to take our responsibility,” Michel said.

Western leaders stepped up the rhetoric against the Islamic State group, which has claimed responsibility for the attacks in Paris that killed 130 people and wounded hundreds more; the suicide bombings in Beirut that killed 43 people and injured more than 200; and the downing of the Russian jetliner carrying 224 people in Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula. All happened within the past month.

“We will not accept the idea that terrorist assaults on restaurants and theatres and hotels are the new normal, or that we are powerless to stop them,” President Barack Obama said in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

French Defence Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said IS must be destroyed at all costs. “We must annihilate Islamic State worldwide … And we must destroy Islamic State on its own territory,” Le Drian said. “That’s the only possible direction.” 

Article Source: Business Standard

Nitish Kumar Takes Oath As Bihar CM For The Fifth Time

Janata Dal-United (JD-U) leader Nitish Kumar, who led the Grand Alliance to victory in the assembly elections, on Friday took oath as the chief minister of Bihar.

            Governor Ram Nath Kovind administered the oath of office and secrecy to Nitish Kumar at the sprawling Gandhi Maidan.

            He was followed by Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader Lalu Prasad's sons Tejaswi Yadav and Tej Pratap Yadav.

            Tejaswi Yadav was sworn in as the Deputy CM of Bihar.

            Before the ceremony, Nitish Kumar was seen greeting Rastriya Janata Dal (RJD) supremo Lalu Prasad Yadav, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders Venkaiah Naidu and Sushil Modi.

            The ceremony was attended by RJD supremo Lalu Prasad Yadav, his wife and former Bihar chief minister Rabri Devi and their two sons.

            Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi, former Prime Minister H.D. Devegowda, NCP chief Sharad Pawar, his National Conference counterpart Farooq Abdullah and Congress leaders in Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge and Ghulam Nabi Azad were also present at the event.

            Former chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir Farooq Abdullah, former chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir and working president of National Conference Omar Abdullah, Hindustani Awam Morcha (HAM) President Jitan Ram Manjhi, Janata Dal (United) leader Sharad Yadav, Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh were also present at the event.

            West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal also attended the event.

            Delegations of leaders poured in here and assembled at the venue as Nitish took his oath as the Chief Minister of Bihar.

            Congratulating Nitish Kumar, National Conference (NC) president and former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Dr. Farooq Abdullah today said the senior Janata Dal (United) leader must now start preparing himself to become the next Prime Minister of India.

            "It's a new start for India and Nitish should now start making preparations to come to Delhi and become the Prime Minister and we will extend our full support to him for that," Abdullah told the media here.

            Article Source: Business Standard

7th Pay panel report at a glance

Two out of the last three times, the BSE Sensex fell on the day following submission of the 7th Central Pay Commission report, data compiled by BS Research Bureau showed. The BSE Sensitive Index came into use on January 1, 1986, the same day as the 4th Pay Commission recommendations took effect. The Sensex has since seen three pay panels.

    The government has cleared the terms of reference for the seventh pay commission for central government employees, but the states, which usually follow central norms in fixing pay scales for their employees, want to be adequately compensated for the hit they would have to take on their exchequer.

GENERAL RECOMMENDATIONS

• Recommended date of implementation is January 1, 2016
• Minimum monthly pay set at Rs 18,000
• Maximum monthly pay Rs 2.25 lakh (apex scale), Rs 2.50 lakh (Cabinet secretary and equivalent)
• Pay bands, grade pay abolished, new pay matrix designed
• Rate of annual increment retained at 3%
• Performance-related pay recommended for all categories

FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS

• Total financial impact for FY2016-17: Rs 1.02 lakh crore
• Impact on FY17 Union Budget: Rs 73,650 crore;Impact on Rail Budget: Rs 28,450 crore
• Overall increase in pay, allowances, pensions: 23.55 per cent
• Increase in pay: 16%; Increase in allowances: 63%, Increase in pension: 24%
• Expenditure-GDP ratio to be impacted by 0.65% points vs 0.77% for 6th Pay Commission

DEFENCE

• Military service pay increased across board
• Short-service commission (SSC) officers exit at 7-10 years, with terminal gratuity equivalent of 10.5 months
• SSC officers entitled to a fully-funded one year Executive Programme/M.Tech
• Revised formulation for lateral entry/resettlement of defence forces personnel
• Parity recommended between field and headquarters staff for similar functions
• Systemic change in cadre review for Group A officers recommended

ALLOWANCES

• Recommends abolishing 52 allowances altogether
• Another 36 allowances abolished as separate identities, but subsumed in existing allowances
• Allowances relating to risk and hardship to be governed by the proposed Risk and Hardship Matrix
• HRA recommended to be paid at the rate of 24%, 16%, 8% of new basic pay for class X, Y and Z cities, respectively
• HRA to be revised to 27%, 18%, 9% respectively, when DA crosses 50%, and further revised to 30%, 20%, 10% when DA crosses 100%
• Emphasis placed on simplifying the process of claiming allowances

INSURANCE SCHEMES AND MEDICAL FACILITIES

• Substantial increase for central government employees group insurance schemes' monthly deduction and insurance amount
• Introduction of a Health Insurance Scheme for employees and pensioners recommended

PENSION, COMPENSATION AND GRATUITY

• Revised OROP-type pension formulation for civil, defence and paramilitary employees
• Enhancement in the ceiling of gratuity from Rs 10 lakh to Rs 20 lakh
• Recommends reverting to a slab-based system for disability element
• Revision of rates of lump sum compensation for next of kin to be applied uniformly to defence, civil, paramilitary personnel
• Paramilitary personnel to be accorded martyr status in case of death in line of duty
• Strong pension grievance redressal mechanism recommended

  The notes are also a first for the Pay Commissions, set up every 10 years by the central government to revise the pay and allowances of central government employees. In the fifth Pay Commission, economist Suresh Tendulkar had put in a dissent note but it was on a macro theme suggesting a pruning of the bureaucracy and relating wages to performance.

Asian Shares Tentative, Dollar Shines On Fed Outlook

Asian share markets were cautious on Wednesday as another bomb scare in Europe days after the deadly Paris attacks left investors in a contemplative mood, giving a boost to safe-haven US bonds and the dollar.

The greenback held firm at seven-month highs against a basket of currencies as US economic data also backed up the case for December interest rate hike.

MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan were little changed, while a softer yen helped Japan's Nikkei rise 1.0%.

Wall Street shares ceded earlier gains to end almost flat on Tuesday after German authorities called off a soccer game which German Chancellor Angel Merkel was due to attend, citing threats of bombing, sparking fears of another attack coming only days after the deadly assault in Paris.

"Coming less than a week after the incident in Paris, it would be a natural reaction, even though consensus seems to be growing earlier that the impact of the terror attack would be limited," said Hirokazu Kabeya, chief global strategist at Daiwa Securities.

"Markets are likely to be going back and forth for now," he added.

US Treasuries also bounced back on safety bids, with the 10-year yield slipping to 2.273% from day's high of 2.313%.

Earlier on Tuesday, US economic data affirmed a solid economic picture, supporting the case for the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates in December.

US consumer prices increased in October from the previous month after two straight months of declines, putting annual core inflation at 1.9%.

Industrial output fell short of market expectations but the output in the manufacturing sector posted a solid increase.

All of these helped to support the dollar against other major currencies, lifting its index against six major currencies to the highest level in seven months.

The dollar index rose 0.2% on Tuesday to 99.63, hitting a high of 99.745 at one point, coming within sight of its 12-year peak of 100.39 set in March.

Against the yen, the dollar rose to 123.49 yen, edging near a 2-1/2-month high of 123.60 yen hit on November 9.

The euro also slipped to $1.0630, a seven-month low, as the common currency continues to be undermined by expectations that the European Central Bank will take fresh monetary easing steps next month.

The dollar's strength was even more impressive against precious metals and commodities.

1. Gold hit a 5-1/2-year low of $1,065.30 per ounce, extending its fall this year to 10%. It last stood at $1,070.

2. Copper continued to suffer, hitting a 6-1/2-year low of $4,590 a tonne, a decline of 27% year-to-date.

3. Oil prices rebounded a tad after data showed an unexpected stockpile draw for last week.

4. US crude future slast stood at $40.94 per barrel, off Tuesday's low of $40.58.

5. Still, they remained not far from 6-1/2-year lows hit in August on concerns about a global supply glut.

6. The global benchmark Brent last stood at $43.99, less than $2 away from its August low of $42.23.

7. Most emerging market currencies, however, fared better, staying well above multi-year lows hit earlier this year.

8.The Brazilian real stood at 3.81 to the dollar, off its record low of 4.2482 hit in September.

9.One exception was the Chilean peso, which hit a 12-1/2-year low on the slide in copper prices.

Article Source:Business Standard

Paris climate talks: India Inc gets directly involved

A fortnight ahead of the summit, business chambers sending delegations, buoyed by sector experts, to probe, explain and negotiate, with govt's approval

Ahead of the Paris climate change negotiations beginning November 30, Indian chambers of business are sending some senior representatives, and experts, to engage in ‘Track-II’ climate change diplomacy, across developed world capitals.

Supported by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (Ficci), these representatives, along with climate and energy experts from think tanks in this country, would be travelling to Washington, Brussels, Berlin, London and Tokyo. The Paris meet is expected to result in a new global compact on addressing climate change, one that would impact specific sectors, beside the Indian economy in general. The delegations are expected to engage with policy makers, business representatives, experts, civil society and the media in these five capital cities on the negotiations.

The representatives include Mukund Rajan of Tata Group, Jamshed Godrej from Godrej Group and K Krishnan, co-chair of the Ficci Climate Change Task Force and chairman of the CVC Infrastructure group. Sector experts from CII and Ficci are also expected to be in the teams. The team for Japan departed on Monday from Delhi, on a three day visit.

The team for Washington, Ficci said, includes Shankar Venkateswaran, chief, sustainability, at Tata Sons; ex-ambassador Ajai Malhotra, a Distinguished Fellow at the The Energy and Resources Institute; and Anshu Bharadwaj, executive director in Bengaluru-based think tank

CSTEP, beside K Krishnan. The business reps and the bodies they represent have requested the government to help facilitate these meetings through the respective Indian embassies. Officials in the government said this would be done.

Ficci said the delegation to Washington DC, which it is supporting, would meet Todd Stern, the US President’s special envoy on climate change, and other senior officials from the department of energy. The delegation would also interact with a range of US-based companies, including First Solar, Aramco, Eaton Corporation and representatives from the American Council on Renewable Energy. Also, meetings with officials from the World Bank and leading think tanks in the US, beside interacting with the media.

While the teams travelling to other capitals are being finalised, Business Standard learnt of some other names on board. These include, Soma Banerjee, in charge of energy & infrastructure at CII; Kirit Parikh, chairman of Integrated Research and Action for Development; Chella Rajan, professor at IIT, Madras; Ardeshir Contractor from Kiran Energy and Karan Mangotra, project manager at the United Nations Development Programme.

On most occasions, India has seen foreign delegations of officials, business representatives and experts visit this country to advocate their interests in the climate change negotiations and the potential Paris agreement. This venture, a first of a kind, Indian business, with experts, would emphasise how they’d like to see the global agreement to shape up by December 11, when the talks end.

One of the organisers at the business chambers Business Standard spoke with said the teams flying to various capitals hoped to explore spaces for cooperation on economic and climate change issues. And, to explain the Indian scenario, which leads to its specific demands and stance at the negotiations.

This endeavour before the 196 countries meet at Paris is expected to be topped-up by the presence of senior officials from corporate houses such as Mahindra & Mahindra in France’s capital at the venue. The chambers have marked their presence earlier, too, at such annual negotiations but their delegations this time are expected to be larger and working more closely with the Government of India.

The latter plans a pavilion at the venue to showcase its ventures and work on climate change. The government has committed to send a separate team, headed by an officer of the rank of joint secretary, to be in charge of the 12 days of activities, side events and meetings at the pavilion. It has also hired a private agency to help in the organisation, while around three dozen officials engage in the main negotiations.

Article Source: Business Standard

7th Pay Commission to submit report on Nov 19 - Business Standard News

The 7^th Pay Commission will submit its report to Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Thursday recommending increase in remuneration of central government employees as well as pensioners.

“We are ready with the report and will submit it on November 19,” the Commission’s Chairman Justice A K Mathur told PTI.

The 7^th Pay Commission was set up by the UPA government in February 2014 to revise remuneration of about 4.8 million central government employees and 5.5 million pensioners.

Its recommendations will also have a bearing on the salaries of the state government staff.

The Union Cabinet had extended the term of the panel in August by four months, till December.

Government constitutes the Pay Commission almost every 10 years to revise the payscale of its employees and often these are adopted by states after some modifications.

As part of the exercise, the commission holds discussions with various stakeholders, including organisations, federations, groups representing civil employees as well as defence services.

The recommendations of the 7th Pay Commission pay scales are scheduled to take effect from January 1, 2016.

Besides chairman, other members of the Pay Commission are Vivek Rae, a retired IAS officer of 1978 batch, and Rathin Roy, an economist. Meena Agarwal is secretary of the commission.

The 6th Pay Commission was implemented with effect from January 1, 2006; the 5th from January 1, 1996, and the 4th from January 1, 1986.

IndiGo listing: Short-term investors can book profit, say analysts

Shares of Interglobe Aviation, the company that operates low cost carrier IndiGo,  up 12 per cent as compared to its initial public offer (IPO) price of Rs 765 per share.

On the National Stock Exchange (NSE), hit a high of Rs 899.5 in intra-day deals and a low of Rs 849 with over a million shares being traded in the first 30 minutes. The company had raised Rs 3,009 crore though the IPO, which was subscribed a little over six times.

Stock strategy

With over 15% listing gain, should you book profit in the counter or look at adding more to your portfolio?

Analysts suggest that investors who got the allotment during the and can hold the stock only from a short-term perspective should book profit given listing gains. However, those in for the long haul, say two - three years, can stay put and get the likely benefit of a handsome dividend as well.

G Chokkalingam, founder and managing director of IndiGo listing & Advisory, explains: "While the long-term investors who would like to hold beyond a year can stay invested, short-term investors may consider booking profits as at current price. The stock trades around 17x FY16 estimated EPS (earnings per share). In FY15, its profits grew exponentially, but similar rate of growth is not possible going forward as scope for further steep expansion in the margin is limited."

"However, the long-term investors who can hold the stock for two to three years may hold the stock, as we believe that the aviation business in India would become a significant growth story in the medium-to-long term," he adds.

Jagannadham Thunuguntla, head of fundamental research at sees the gains on listing as a good news for the aviation industry in general. The strong listing, he feels, could prove to be a catalyst for the primary market.

"The upcoming aviation policy of the government, which is likely to be announced soon, will give more clarity on how the government envisages the future of the aviation industry. Having said that, the aviation industry faces a lot of challenges like low margins, stiff competition and high taxes. Even the crude oil prices are low now, but we don't know how long they will remain subdued," he cautions.

On the other hand, institutional players who have a large appetite for this kind of a product in the aviation space are likely to stay invested, suggests Deven Choksey, MD and CEO, K R Choksey Shares and Securities. He expects them to buy the stock at lower levels given the kind of growth and the expansion the company has undertaken.

But this investment philosophy, he says, may not apply to the retail investors and suggests they book part profit given the listing gains.

"From a long-term perspective on a fundamental basis, the company is on a strong footing. Another aspect here is that over the next few years, the promoters will have to bring down their stake to 75% in the company as per regulations. So whenever one invites new investors, the pricing generally tends to be higher. This is likely to be the situation with IndiGo as well. I expect the stock to remain at higher levels, going ahead. That apart, the  To those investors who want to stay on for the dividend going ahead, may stay invested for the long haul."

Article Source:- Business Standard

5 Reasons Why The BJP Lost Bihar

     It was as if the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) had not learnt any lessons from its defeat in Delhi. The same faces managed the elections and made similar mistakes. 

     The signs were there that infighting in distribution of tickets and the dominance of people from outside Bihar in decision making was being resented by BJP’s local leadership as well as rank and file. But few had the courage to give the bad news to those at the top. 

     Today, party leader P Muralidhar Rao called for action against party MPs Shatrughan Sinha and RK Singh for their dissent. Sinha had complained that those managing the BJP Lost Bihar election campaign were living in five star hotels and were disconnected from grassroots workers while Singh had flagged the issue of widespread corruption in ticket distribution. The allegations had more than a ring of truth. But Rao demanding action against the two, who are at best marginal players in Bihar politics, is clearly an attempt to deflect attention from those who are really responsible for the defeat. 

     The script is similar to the Delhi debacle where the BJP found a scapegoat in Kiran Bedi, when the intra-party malaise ran deeper and was exposed as Prime Minister Narendra Modi was faced with a credible alternative in Arvind Kejriwal-led Aam Aadmi Party and not a discredited Congress and its leader Rahul Gandhi. There is absolutely nothing, that the BJP central leadership has done since the Delhi defeat to put its house in order in the city state. And, there are enough people in the BJP who believe nothing will change after the Bihar defeat. 

     1) The index of opposition unity and failure of kamandal: the moment RJD, JD (U) and Congress got together for the assembly by-polls to 10 seats in August-September 2014, the writing was on the wall. Their cumulative vote share was greater than that of the National Democratic Alliance and they won six of the 10 seats. This was repeated in 2015 assembly polls. The three have together polled 42 per cent votes, while NDA polled 35 per cent votes. Moreover, allies, given 83-seats, performed abysmally winning only 7.
The BJP tried to overcome the caste configuration of the ‘Mahagatbandhan’ with Hindu consolidation by invoking the beef controversy and that firecrackers would be burst in Pakistan if it were to lose in Bihar. The effort to polarize on religious lines bombed, while Mandal politics held its own. The cohesion between Prasad and Nitish Kumar also surprised the BJP. 

     2) BJP’s mythmaking: the election was run by Shah and BJP’s Bihar leader Sushil Modi. There was widespread disaffection among other leaders. The claims of a 600,000 strong cadre and 243 vehicles for each constituency were for the media, when the party didn’t have such effective numbers on the ground. Workers didn’t take the central command structure kindly. They resented not having access to senior leaders but only to those manning call centres. Decision making was entrusted to outsiders. Senior leaders were upset that Amit Shah and Sushil Modi called the shots. Some, like CP Thakur and Ashwini Choubey, were placated by offering their sons party tickets. 

    3) ‘Bahri versus Bihari’: the ‘outsider’ campaign stuck, particularly as it was just Modi and Shah whose hoardings were put up and only as an afterthought were other leaders given any space. BJP’s anti-Yadav consolidation and the fear of ‘jungle raj-part two’ consolidated the Yadavs behind Laloo Prasad. BJP didn’t put up a chief ministerial candidate, while its rival had a credible face in Nitish Kumar.

     4) Mohan Bhagwat’s reservation comments: Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) chief Mohan Bhagwat’s comments that there should be a review of the reservation policy, it would seem, not only lost the BJP the votes of the backward sections it had got in 2014 Lok Sabha during the Modi wave but also of the Extremely Backward Castes, which it had hoped will vote for the party. 

     5) Diminishing support: By the evidence of the crowds in his rallies, Prime Minister Modi continues to remain popular. But those crowds didn’t seem to have translated into votes. Instead, BJP and its allies have lost over three per cent vote share in Bihar since the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, and this when it added Jitan Ram Manjhi’s party to the list of its allies in Bihar. For many in Bihar, the development brought by Nitish Kumar was there to see but the one promised by Narendra Modi was still in the realm of possibility. Inflation, particularly the rising prices of ‘dal’, might have also hurt. 

     The only silver lining, if there is one amid the rout, is that the BJP has for the first time fought an election in Bihar on its own. It now has identified cadre in at least 160 of the 243 constituencies. Moreover, it would be going into the 2019 Lok Sabha elections without the anti-incumbency of its state government in Bihar and could still hope to repeat its 2014 Lok Sabha performance, where the party and its allies won 31 of the 40-seats. 

Article Source - Business Standard

Bihar Election Exit Polls

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Thursday prepared to send some of its senior leaders to Patna in anticipation that the verdict of the Bihar Assembly polls on Sunday is likely to be a close one, where the party will not only need to keep its flock together, but might need to reach out to  smaller parties to make a stab at forming the government. Parliamentary Affairs Minister Venkaiah Naidu might be deputed to camp in Patna, along with seniors such as Anantha Kumar already there, on the day the results come out.

Bihar election Exit polls, released after the conclusion of the fifth and final phase of voting, came out with mixed forecasts. Four of the six exit polls seemed to agree the results would be too close to call but that the Nitish Kumar-led Grand Alliance of Rashtriya Janata Dal, Janata Dal (United) and Congress has an edge. Today’s Chanakya predicted a sweep by the BJP-led alliance, projecting its victory in 155 of the 243 seats, while a NewsX-CNX poll forecast nearly 140-seats for the Grand Alliance.

Publicly, leaders of the two alliances exuded confidence that their alliance will win a majority after the polling ended for the remaining 57 of the 243 seats on Thursday. With nearly 60 per cent voter turnout, the fifth phase — covering the Seemanchal area — recorded the highest voting percentage of the long drawn and bitterly contested elections.

The ABP News survey, which released seat tally for all five phases separately, predicted that the clincher in the eventual seat tally of the two alliances was likely to be JD(U)-led alliance’s comprehensive victory in the fifth phase, which were predominantly Muslim areas.

In the 2010 assembly elections, the JD(U) and BJP had contested in alliance and won 115 and 91 seats, respectively, while RJD had won 22 and the Congress four seats. The BJP-led NDA had won 31 of the 40-seats in the 2014 Lok Sabha polls.

In the event of a decisive victory of the Grand Alliance, the immediate casualty will be the winter session of Parliament where a reinvigorated Opposition will demand even more forcefully that its point of view be taken on board in legislation such as the goods and services Act, the proposed bankruptcy code and other reforms.

Economic reform that needs legislative sanction may have to be put off, not just in the Rajya Sabha where the Opposition does not have a majority but also in the Lok Sabha where despite having the numbers, the government will be somewhat on the defensive.

The Samajwadi Party that withdrew from the Grand Alliance during the Bihar election could be forced to reconsider its stance if the mahagathbandhan proves to be victorious in Bihar. Moreover, the fulcrum of Opposition unity could shift from the Congress to other parties, including the JD(U), leading to recalibrated equations.

It is also possible that the mantle for negotiation with other anti-BJP forces like the Trinamool Congress and the Aam Aadmi Party could fall on Nitish Kumar, who has been hailed by both as a visionary leader.

 

Article Source - Business Standard.