Explained in 9 charts: How India got thousands of railway passengers to fly

A mix of clever railway ticket pricing and fortunate global conditions pushed thousands of Indians to start flying

There are a few things about the Indian Railways ’ performance and the boom in India’s aviation sector under the Narendra Modi government that catch the eye.

For one, in an unprecedented development, the number of rail passengers travelling in 2nd AC compartments in 2016-17 saw a steep decline from a year earlier. Secondly, fewer people have been using the Indian Railways services than during the last few years of the Manmohan Singh-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government.

Thirdly, the exponential growth seen in the number of India’s air travellers lately has as much to do with the pricing of railway tickets as with rising incomes and falling jet fuel prices leading to air tickets being more affordably priced.

And, finally, if India’s per capita income continues to increase at the pace it has over the past decade, and airlines continue to price tickets within the levels of decency – in addition to Indian Railways aiding airlines by providing poor services on trains despite rail tickets costing almost the same as air fares – there is little doubt that more Indians will pay a bit more and fly.

So, how were Indians forced to abandon railway tracks and take to the skies in greater numbers? The following nine charts will answer this question in greater detail:

India is flying, and so are Indians

There was a considerable dip in railway ridership on the broad gauge across all divisions during the first year of the Modi government. Even though the dip was reversed the following the year, the number of railway passengers in 2016-17 was still lower than in recent past. At the same time the number of air passengers in India rose quite sharply. The chart shows that at least a part of lost ridership of the railways could have potentially migrated to airlines. Read More

Amazon now has customers in 100% serviceable pin-codes in India: Jeff Bezos

If things fall in place, then a deal with a major offline retailer might happen by the end of this year, according to a source

Amazon might be the most visited shopping site in India, but for Jeff Bezos, the founder and CEO of the technology giant, it is still Day 1 in what may be the second-most important market for the firm outside the US.

Bezos, in a letter to customers, said that Amazon now has customers in 100 per cent serviceable pin-codes in the country and is shipping packages from more than 50 fulfillment locations in 13 states.

From talking about how Alexa plays devotional songs in local Indian languages to Amazon India working closely with communities in rural areas, Bezos said that the online marketplace has now become part of the country's culture and has adapted all its services and offerings accordingly.

Stressing that Amazon India has captured the top spot for the last two years, Bezos pointed out that Amazon is the most visited site in the country.

Amazon, which has completed five years in India, has managed to reach the top spot while taking on local favourites Snapdeal and Flipkart. Bezos, in a letter to customers, said that Amazon now has customers in 100 per cent serviceable pin-codes in the country and is shipping packages from more than 50 fulfillment locations in 13 states.

“We’re five years into our journey, but as we say at Amazon, its Day 1, and I am energised and humbled by the opportunities ahead. Amazon is India ki apni dukaan,” he said in the letter.

Bezos also said that the company is working with ‘tens of thousands’ of third-party developers to increase the capabilities of its voice assistant 'Alexa'.

In the past five years, Amazon has grown from just one seller to 300,000. During the last one year itself, Amazon expanded its network of third-party affiliates and service providers to ensure that sellers from non-metros and smaller towns get easy access and the required support to start and manage their online businesses, he added.

According to industry analysts, Amazon has pumped more than $3 billion into its Indian operations.

Read More → Amazon India

 

WhatsApp leak: Sebi to take action against mkt operators of blue-chip firms

The companies may also face censure action by the market watchdog for alleged lapses

Sebi will soon take action against some market operators and senior staff members of about a dozen listed blue-chip firms for their alleged involvement in leak of price-sensitive information through WhatsApp.

The companies may also face censure action by the market watchdog for alleged lapses in safeguard mechanism to check leak of unpublished price sensitive information (UPSI), including financial results before they were made public for all investors, regulatory sources said.

The regulator is close to completing its probe into the matter, including for suspected unlawful gains through insider trading on the basis of leaked information, and is collating the details it had sought from all concerned companies, the officials said.

Almost all the companies have replied to Sebi's queries in this regard.

According to top officials, the regulator is taking a tough stand on the companies that fail to fix individual responsibility for any leak of price-sensitive information. Besides, the market operators, including staff members of some brokerage firms, are also under the scanner for colluding with the company executives in the case, which came to light late last year.

Among various companies from which Sebi had sought details through its interim orders, HDFC Bank last week disclosed in a regulatory filing that it has submitted the requisite information to the regulator.

Referring to Sebi's February 23 directions, HDFC Bank said, "In this regard, and keeping with its commitment to the highest standards of corporate governance and the integrity of its systems, controls and processes, the Bank has submitted the requisite information and reports to Sebi in compliance with the Sebi directions and within the timelines prescribed therein."

Sebi had asked the bank to conduct internal investigations to identify those guilty of the leak and take steps to check any recurrence, and also provide necessary information to the regulator within three months.

Read More On → WhatsApp leak

World Environment Day 2018: There's plastic in air, water and even beer!

Hard facts: 90% of today's waste will last another 500 years; More plastic than fish in oceans soon; India among top 5 polluters

THE HUMONGOUS AMOUNT OF EXISTING PLASTIC WASTE

A study conducted by Ellen McArthur Foundation in 2015 says that about 6.3 billion tonnes of plastic waste has been generated in the world so far, and around 90% of this will not decompose for at least 500 years. Micro-plastic or tiny fragments have been found in soil, tap water, bottled water, beer and even in the air we breathe, according to scientists.

SHOULD WE CURB PLASTIC WASTE GENERATION?

If nothing is done to control the present situation of rampant generation of plastic waste, the pollution would double within the next 30 years and there would be more plastic in the ocean than fishes.

HOW BAD THE CURRENT SITUATION IS?

At present, one garbage truck full of plastic is dumped into the ocean every minute. This is expected to grow to two trucks by 2030 and to four by 2050.

CHINA: THE TOP PRODUCER OF PLASTIC WASTE

China tops in the mismanagement of plastic waste, producing 8.82 million metric tonnes. India stands at fifth position, surpassing the USA in the mismanagement of the plastic waste.

Read More On → World Environment Day 2018

Despite same qualifications, Indian men get 30% more pay than women

Construction is the highest paying sector for women in rural areas while mining and quarrying is the highest paying sector for men, the data show

Women in India earn less than men even if they have the same educational qualifications, data from a recent government report show.

In urban areas, a woman with a graduate degree gets paid Rs 690.68 per day in the transport and storage sector while a man gets 30% more at Rs 902.45. In agriculture, an illiterate woman worker in rural India receives Rs 88.2 per day while an illiterate man receives Rs 128.52, which is 45% more.

However, there are some sectors in which women get paid more than men, although by smaller margins. In the construction sector in rural areas, for instance, women (irrespective of the level of education) are paid Rs 322 on average per day while men are paid Rs 279.15, which is Rs 43 or 13% less.

In urban areas, in the transport and storage sector, women are paid Rs 455 on average per day, irrespective of the level of education, while men are paid Rs 443 per day–Rs 12 or 2.7% less.

The ‘Men and Women in 2017’ report released by the statistics and programme implementation ministry in May 2018 contains data on average daily wages and salaries for men and women aged 15-59 years, arranged by industry and type of work.

→ Gender Inequality ←

Chennai-based ChuChu TV hits top slot with 17.5 million subscribers

ChuChu TV's biggest strength is its dominance in the pre-school space on YouTube

Chennai-based ChuChu TV Nursery Rhymes and Kids Songs, an online channel for pre-school kids became the biggest in this segment on YouTube with 17.5 million subscribers earlier this year.

Its eight channels offer four languages – Tamil, Spanish, French and Portuguese. Their total number of subscribers is over 25 million, up from 14.3 million last year, according to Vidooly, a video intelligence firm. It is now, after T-Series and Sony Liv, the third most subscribed YouTube channel in India and among the 100 most subscribed globally.

Vinoth Chandar, co-founder, chief executive officer and creative director, explains: “Most of the numbers are from YouTube because Roku, Amazon or other platforms don’t give statistics.”

Even if they did, the fact is that more than 80% of the traffic for ChuChu TV comes from YouTube. Every strategic investor who has checked it out worries about its ability to scale beyond YouTube, online and beyond pre-school children.

As a reference, they point to the Rs 37.8 billion revenue of Viacom18, which has a robust kids business on television with Nick, Sonic and others which develop characters such as Motu-Patlu. Till last year, these TV characters were bringing in more than a fifth of the traffic on its video app Voot, plus revenue from consumer products featuring them.

ChuChu TV’s biggest strength is its dominance in the pre-school space on YouTube. This puts it in a good spot in the Rs 119 billion digital advertisement market which Google, YouTube’s owner, dominates. Usually, it shares half or more of the revenue YouTube generates with content creators.

But, this also exposes ChuChu TV to the vagaries of the Google algorithm, which could change any day. Since BARC, the TV rating agency in India, doesn’t measure pre-school viewership separately television is not a viable alternative in an ad-driven market.

ChuChu TV’s founders spent the better part of last year addressing some of these issues. In December 2017, it launched a subscription-driven video app that has had 500,000 downloads globally, claims Chandar. It continues to add subscribers from Canada, Australia and the US. Read More

Will Sunil Chhetri surpass Villa's 59 goal record in his 100th match today?

After the match on Saturday he made an impassioned plea to all fans of Lionel Messi, Neymar and Cristiano Ronaldo, "abuse us, criticize us but please come to watch the Indian national team"

Sunil Chhetri, one of the greatest footballers the country has produced, will play his 100th international match today when India will take on Kenya in Intercontinental Cup at Mumbai Football Arena. Earlier, in his 99th match, he scored a hat-trick to seal the game for India against Chinese Taipei and equalled David Villa's record of 59 goals. After the match on Saturday, he made an impassioned plea to all fans of Lionel Messi, Neymar and Cristiano Ronaldo: “Abuse us, criticize us but please come to watch the Indian national team.” India cricket captain Virat Kohli was the first to support Chettri, urging sports lovers to come forward and watch the national football side play, in an instagram post.

With less than two weeks left for Fifa World Cup 2018 to begin and broadcasters urging fans of the 'beautiful game' to profess their love for their 'doosri country' via hashtags and advertisements, the nation's all-time highest goal-getter demanded some love and affection for their 'first country'.

What Sunil Chettri said in the twitter post

"To all of you who are fans of big European clubs and support European clubs with so much passion and sometimes you guys think that the level is not the same, so why do you waste your time? Agreed, the level is not the same, not even close but with our desire and determination, we will try our best to make your time worth," Chhetri's plea was not only about accepting where they stand but also what little they want from the fans. "To all of you, who have lost hope or don't have any hope in Indian football, we request you to come and watch us in the stadium," the skipper said. Chhetri also requested the critics of Indian football -- please abuse but make the 'Blue Tigers' feel relevant. "I mean it's not fun to criticise and abuse othe n internet. Come to the stadium, do it on our face, scream at us, shout at us, abuse us, who knows one day we might change you guys, you might start cheering for us. You guys have no idea how important you guys are and how important your support is," the skipper appealed.

"I request you all to please come ...Talk about the game, go back home, have discussions, make banners. Please get involved, this is an important time and juncture in Indian football and football in India needs you guys", Sunil Chettri further added.

What Sachin Tendulkar said in the twitter post

In a video posted on his official Twitter account, Tendulkar encouraged fans to support athletes, regardless of which sport they play, and said that it was really important that sports lovers stand behind them.

→ 2018 FIFA World Cup ←

Nipah virus scare: Fruit and vegetables from Kerala banned in Gulf

Region takes about a third of all Indian fruit shipment and quarter of vegetables sold abroad; consignments from other states could face ban, too, if virus not contained

With Kerala continuing to battle the infectious and deadly Nipah virus, all fruit and vegetables from the state have been banned in the majority of nations across the Arabian Gulf. The region is India's largest export market. Nipah has claimed 17 lives till now.

Last week, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain had ordered complete import restriction on fruit and vegetables from Kerala. Over this weekend, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Kuwait also announced officially that import in both categories would stop till further notice.

Since most countries in the region have similar and closely knit Customs rules, media reports from Oman suggest it might also follow.

ALSO READ: Homoeopaths claim to have a cure for Nipah virus, urge govt to test it out

The brain-damaging Nipah virus appeared in Kerala early last month. It is contagious and there is no vaccine for it. The natural host of the virus is a fruit bat of the Pteropodidae family, according to the World Health Organization. As a result, major importing nations are now wary of produce grown in Kerala and have also issued severe travel advisories against visiting the state. The timing is expected to hit the southern state hard, as fruit export generally swells in the hot month of Ramzan, currently on.

“Right now, it is difficult for Customs inspections at ports to find out whether any consignment is infected, since the foods do not show any physical signs. Other Indian states might come under the restriction if the virus spreads," said Ali Shaaban Balah, acting chief of the plant protection & quarantine section at the ministry of works, municipalities and urban planning in the government of Bahrain.

Click Here To Read → Nipah Virus

Flipkart deal: Tax dept will act once Walmart obtains regulatory nod

Last month, the tax department had written to Walmart saying that the US company can seek guidance about the tax liability under Section 195 (2) of the I-T Act

E-commerce major Flipkart has shared 'some details' with the I-T authorities on its USD 16 billion deal with US-based Walmart, but the tax department will act only after regulatory approvals have been obtained, an official said.

The department is currently studying the details received from the company, the official said, adding that they can issue notices seeking details of taxes withheld once the transactions are completed.

Last month, the tax department had written to Bentonville -Arkansas based Walmart saying that the US company can seek guidance about the tax liability under Section 195 (2) of the I-T Act.

Under Section 195 of the Act, anyone making payment to non-residents is required to deduct tax (commonly known as withholding tax).

The official said Flipkart has filed "some details" with the tax authorities and the same are being examined.

"There is no action required right now on our part. We will wait till the regulatory clearances are obtained," the official said.

Nangia Advisors LLP Managing Partner Rakesh Nangia said Income tax department has power to issue notices u/s 133(6) of IT Act to any party involved in this mega deal, including Flipkart, Walmart or any of the investors selling their stake.

"If the department is not satisfied with the reply/ explanation furnished by the purchaser/ payer, it may hold the purchaser/ payer as 'assessee in default' for failure to withhold appropriate taxes u/s 195 of the Act," Nangia said.

The department currently is going through the Section 9 (1) of the Income Tax law, which deals with indirect transfer provisions, to see if the benefits under the bilateral tax treaties with countries like Singapore and Mauritius, could be available for foreign investors selling stakes to Walmart.

Singapore-registered Flipkart Pvt Ltd holds majority stake in Flipkart India.

Walmart had, on May 9, announced that it will pay about USD 16 billion to buy about 77 per cent stake in Flipkart.

Read More On : Flipkart deal

Farmers Strike:10-day farmers' strike from today to disrupt fruit, vegetables, milk supply

Another farmers body, ABKS a parent body of 10 associations in Maharashtra, says it will gherao offices of district collectors across the state in protest at non-implementation of the earlier announce

Supply of fruit, vegetables and milk is likely to get disrupted in some pockets of India, with a 10-day strike call from Friday, given by a Rashtriya Kisan Mahasangh (RKM), describing itself as an umbrella body of nearly 110 farmer associations.

However, among those saying they are not part of this stir are Confederation of Indian Farmers’ Association (CIFA) and Swabhimani Shetkari Sanghatana (led by Raju Shetty, MP). Hence, the impact is likely to be partial.

Also Read : Farmers' strike in MP to increase veggie prices; BJP dubs it Cong agitation

Another farmers body, Akhil Bharatiya Kisan Sabha, a parent body of 10 associations in Maharashtra, says it will gherao offices of district collectors across the state in protest at non-implementation of the earlier announcement of loan waivers, said its state secretary, Ajit Nawale.

“We are not supporting any organisation like RKM. We are ourselves representing to the government for the farmers’ cause,” said R V Giri, president of CIFA.

An RKM-like strike was convened in Maharashtra last year, when farmers dumped produce on the road to protest at prices below their cost of production. Thousands of litres of milk was also poured away in the stir.

Read More On → Farmers Strike