BHIM-Aadhaar platform launched, advancing PM Modi's digital push

New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday launched the BHIM-Aadhaar platform—a merchant interface linking the unique identification number to the Bharat Interface for Money mobile application—at Nagpur on the 126th birth anniversary of Dr B.R. Ambedkar.
“Like Dr Bhimrao Ambedkar worked to give rights to the common man through the Indian Constitution, one can expect the BHIM app to do similarly great work through the financial system,” said Modi.
The new interface will enable customers to make payments using a merchant’s biometric-enabled device. The merchant merely has to download the BHIM app on his smartphone and link the device to an Aadhaar biometric reader.
“Any citizen without access to smartphones, Internet, debit or credit cards will be able to transact digitally through the BHIM-Aadhaar platform,” a government statement said.
To avail of this service, a customer has to first link his bank account to his Aadhaar number. To make a payment, all he has to do is select the bank’s name and enter the Aadhaar number. His fingerprint will serve as the password to authenticate the transaction.
To start with, no transaction fee will be levied on either the merchants or customers to encourage adoption of the new digital payment service, especially in small towns and rural India.
The government statement said 27 major banks had already tied up with 300,000 merchants for accepting payments using BHIM-Aadhaar. It went on to add that all public sector banks have been instructed to go live with Aadhaar Pay.
In his speech, Modi said that the time is not far when premise-less and paperless banking will become part of people’s lives. He announced two new incentive schemes for the BHIM app—cashback (for merchants) and referral bonus (for customers). The schemes will start from 14 April and end on 14 October, he added.
Under the referral bonus scheme, an individual will earn Rs10 for every new referral made—i.e., educating another person or merchant about the BHIM app and ensuring that they carry out three transactions using the same.
“Even in one day, if you refer around 20 people, you can end up earning Rs200 per day. This can continue for a period of three months,” said Modi.
Under the cashback scheme, merchants can earn up to Rs300 per month for transactions made using BHIM.
An updated version of BHIM (version 1.3) is available on Android and ioS. Several new features have been added to its interface such as new languages, the option to block unwanted collection requests and pay by scanning QR (quick response) codes.
“The new upgrade is aligned to facilitate government’s initiative of launching customer referral bonus and merchant incentive schemes. We have added more regional languages, enhanced user experience and security features for wider acceptance and usage of the BHIM app,” said A.P. Hota, managing director and chief executive of National Payments Corporation of India.
Three new languages—Punjabi, Marathi and Assamese—have gone live on the app. This development was reported earlier by Mint on 24 January (bit.ly/2kbqHky).
According to Ravi Shankar Prasad, Union minister for electronics and information technology, 20 million people have downloaded BHIM so far, and payments worth Rs823 crore have been made. The app was launched on 30 December.
It was one of several measures aimed at promoting digital transactions in the aftermath of the 8 November demonetization of high-value banknotes, which triggered a nationwide cash crunch.

India solar transactions top global fund raise of US$ 3.2 billion so far in 2017: report

Mumbai: Indian renewable energy companies have raised over $1.62 billion during the first quarter of 2017 in transactions ranging from venture capital (VC) funding, debt financing, project funding and merger and acquisitions (M&A), according to data from Mercom Capital Group Llc., a global clean energy consulting firm.
Transactions in Indian solar and renewable energy companies made up for nearly half of the total global funding raised by solar companies around the world in the first three months of 2017. The global solar sector raised total corporate funding of $3.2 billion in the first quarter of 2017—nearly double of $1.6 billion raised in the fourth quarter of 2016, Mercom said in a report on Thursday. This included venture capital funding, public market and debt financing.
The growth in the first quarter is higher by 15% when compared with the total corporate funding of $2.8 billion raised in the first quarter of 2016, the report said. In its study, Mercom tracked 233 new large-scale project announcements worldwide in the first quarter of 2017, totaling 12.7 gigawatt (GW).
Large Indian transactions included ReNew Power Ventures Pvt. Ltd securing $200 million from a joint venture between Tokyo Electric Power and Chubu Electric Power, Greenko Energy Holdings raising $155 million from an affiliate of GIC, and Hero Future Energies securing $125 million from International Finance Corporation (IFC).
ReNew Power also raised $475 million through its subsidiary Neerg Energy by selling green bonds to overseas investors and also secured $390 million in project funding from Asian Development Bank. Welspun Renewables Energy Pvt. Ltd (WREPL), now owned by Tata Power Co. Ltd, raised $176.27 million through issuance of non-convertible debentures on a private placement basis.
Solairedirect, a French solar project developer, through its India unit, secured a $100.4 million loan from IDFC for the construction of its two solar projects, while India Power Green Utility, a subsidiary of India Power, acquired a 49% stake in two solar project companies from Punj Lloyd Infrastructure.
“Q1 funding levels were up in the solar sector from the 2016 lows, largely due to increased debt financing activity. Corporate funding never reached $3 billion in any of the quarters in 2016. M&A activity was also strong with several large deals. Solar public companies also had a good first quarter,” said Raj Prabhu, chief executive, Mercom Capital Group.
Global VC funding (venture capital, private equity, and corporate venture capital) for the solar sector saw a 78% rise in the first quarter of 2017 with $585 million in 22 deals compared to $329 million raised in the same number of deals in the fourth quarter of 2016, the report said. The amount raised was also higher when compared to $406 million raised in 23 deals in the first quarter of 2016.
There were 29 solar M&A transactions in the first quarter of 2017 compared to 20 transactions in the fourth quarter of 2016 and 14 transactions in the first quarter of 2016. About 7.4 GW of solar projects were acquired in the quarter compared to 5 GW in the previous quarter, Mercom said.
However, residential and commercial solar funds dropped to $630 million sequentially from $1.5 billion, the report said.

India's credit profile to improve on fiscal prudence, Moody's says

New Delhi: India's credit profile is likely to improve with efficient implementation of fiscal discipline within a medium-term framework and setting up of a fiscal council, as suggested by the Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management (FRBM) Committee, stated Mr William Foster, sovereign analyst, Moody's Investors Services India. The Committee also suggested that the fiscal deficit should be brought down to 2.5 per cent by 2022-23 from 3.2 per cent currently and the existing FRBM Act 2003 should be replaced by a new Debt and Fiscal Responsibility Act. Further, former Revenue Secretary, Mr N K Singh-headed panel suggest that India's debt-to-GDP ratio should be brought down to 40 per cent by 2023 from 49 per cent currently. Moody's assigns a Baa3 rating for India, thus maintaining a positive outlook.

Govt may soon allow 100% FDI in cash, ATM management companies.

New Delhi: The Government of India is likely to allow 100 per cent foreign direct investment (FDI) in cash and ATM management companies, since they are not required to comply with the Private Securities Agencies Regulations Act (PSARA). This will be an advantage for cash management companies as well as for companies making currency authenticators and sorting devices and currency counting machines. In 2015, the government allowed 100 per cent FDI in white label ATM operations under the automatic route. Foreign investments help in improving balance of payments and strengthening of rupee against the dollar among other global currencies. FDI in India grew by 22 per cent to reach US$ 35.85 billion during April-December, 2016-17.

Modi calls for a 'long jump' to give India advanced tag

siness and improve tax compliance. This can help double tax revenue in the next two years from the 2014 level of Rs 13 lakh crore.
The PM said the country needed to pull off a “long jump” to be counted among advanced nations on the 75th year of its independence in 2022. Modi said the focus of BJP governments and its allies, whether at the Centre or in states, should be to make the lives of the poor sustainable, ensure social justice and economic equality to workers and peasants.
On social justice, he spoke about efforts to give constitutional status to a National Commission for Socially and Educationally Backward Classes, saying this would benefit all OBCs across religions.
Briefing the media on the PM’s speech, BJP leader and Cabinet minister Nitin Gadkari said Modi underscored how “Muslim sisters” suffered because of ‘triple talaq’.
The government didn’t want conflict or tension within the Muslim community, and its women deserved social justice, Gadkari quoted Modi.
The PM said the cornerstones of his government’s vision would be Jan Dhan, economic empowerment of the poor; Van Dhan, forest-based economy to empower the tribal population and protect the environment; and Jal Dhan, to ensure better irrigation.
He talked about the need to protect the livelihoods of the tribal population, and on ethical exploitation of natural resources.
Odisha is a state the BJP aims to win in 2019. According to the 2011 census, tribals comprised 22 per cent of its population.
The BJP also plans to do better in the northeastern states, which have sizable tribal populations.
On Jal Dhan, Gadkari said the Modi government was the first to allocate Rs 85,000 crore as part of the Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana, adding that better water management would reduce agrarian stress, bring prosperity to villages and reduce farmer suicides.
The PM said merely building infrastructure such as roads and hospitals wasn’t enough. Delivery of services in hospitals, schools and state-run transportation was important.
On allegations of rigging of electronic voting machines (EVMs), he asked his party colleagues not to pay heed to “manufactured controversies”. Similar controversies, he said, had been raked up over ‘award wapsi’ and alleged attacks on churches.
Modi asked party leaders to implement the pro-poor vision and achieve the dream of constructing a “new India”. He called upon them to take inspiration from Mahatma Gandhi, who pursued the objective of India’s independence with single-minded focus from 1922.
Party chief Amit Shah said the BJP had an iconic leader in Modi and should leverage it to expand across India.

Under governor Urjit Patel, RBI zooms in on 4% inflation target

Mumbai: The Reserve Bank of India (RBI), under its Governor, Mr Urjit Patel, is focused on achieving the target inflation level of four per cent within a band of two-six per cent, which is meant to absorb temporary shocks. Market experts are of the opinion that the 4 per cent inflation target does not provide the flexibility necessary for an economy that is estimated to grow by 8 per cent annually. However, officials of the monetary policy committee (MPC) claimed that though the RBI is aiming at price stability, it also accounted for the growth objective while fixing the inflation target. Also, inflation rate is far from becoming an issue as the economy is yet to accelerate meaningfully, as per Mr Indranil Sengupta, Economist and Co-Head, India Research, Bank of America Merrill Lynch. An official of the MPC concluded by saying that RBI's credibility to control inflation should not be doubted, failing which producers can start hiking prices which can shoot up inflation expectations, that are to be kept well under control.

More smartphone components to be included under Make in India to boost manufacturing

New Delhi: The Government of India has launched a phased manufacturing programme (PMP) aimed at adding more smartphone components under the Make in India initiative thereby giving a push to the domestic manufacturing of mobile handsets. The programme will help to create an indigenous mobile manufacturing ecosystem in India and also to meet a major share of the global handset demand over the coming years, stated Ms Aruna Sundararajan, Secretary, Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, Government of India. The programme includes mechanics, die cut parts, microphone, receiver, keypad and USB cable for FY 2017-18; populated printed circuit boards, camera modules and connectors for FY 2018-19; and display assembly, touch panels, vibrator motor and ringer for FY 2019-20.

Economic recovery to gather pace from Q1: Morgan Stanley report

New Delhi: The Indian economic recovery may gather momentum from April-June 2017, on account of revival in consumption demand supported by higher purchasing power, as per a report by Morgan Stanley. The improvement in external demand would play a key factor in driving growth for the economy, and is expected to stay supportive this year with expectations of acceleration in demand conditions in both emerging and developed markets. The report also stated that the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) might opt for a rate hike in the second half of 2018.

Start-up policy to get makeover

New Delhi: The Start Up India policy — first announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in his second Independence Day speech in 2015 — is ready for a makeover. Even as the policy guidelines, issued in January 2016 in another mega event, promised many sops to entrepreneurs, the plan has failed to attract start-ups the way it had set out to.
The government is likely to tweak the Start Up India policy within a fortnight to accommodate more innovations, an official aware of the developments told Business Standard. The definition of the policy would be changed as well, making it more liberal for the biotechnology sector in particular, he said. Also, the tweaked policy would mean a second chance for any entity that has faced rejection in the past.
In the biotechnology sector, a start-up could benefit from the policy up to eight years of incorporation, up from the five-year criterion currently. This is because of the relatively long gestation period of the biotech sector, compared to information technology and manufacturing, it is believed.
The move by the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP), the nodal agency for the policy, is expected to create space for more budding entrepreneurs in the country to be eligible for self-certification, relaxed public procurement norms, rebate in patent filing, start-up funding, investment and easier closure compliance. Besides the definition change, the DIPP is likely to allow rejected entities to apply again for tax-exemption benefits. Softening the earlier stance of not considering once-rejected applications again for tax breaks, the DIPP has said such proposals would be reviewed. “The only mandate for acceptance or rejection of proposals is that the idea has to be innovative. The entity may have applied at a premature stage. It may have grown and advanced over time. It cannot be a yardstick for a particular company for all times. They will be allowed to apply again,” said the official. Recent reports suggested that only ~5.66 crore funding has been infused into start-ups under the scheme so far, while the government had planned to set up a ~10,000crore fund of funds for the purpose. Fund manager Small Industrial Development Bank of India, or Sidbi, has to create the full corpus of ~10,000 crore by 2025, of which a ~1,315crore fund has been created so far.
But government officials indicated that the pace of approval had picked up. The inter-ministerial board (IMB) approved about 12 start-ups for tax exemption benefits from the 62 considered in the latest meeting on May 1. In all of 2016-17, only 10 start-ups got approval for a tax break from the 142 applications considered. The IMB includes officials from the DIPP, Department of Science and Technology, and Department of Biotechnology. Now, the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology has also been included in the IMB.
Only those start-ups incorporated since April 1, 2016, are eligible to be considered for tax breaks from income-tax on profits and capital gains tax. The eligible start-ups can avail a three-year tax holiday in a block of seven years now, against five years announced last year. The condition was relaxed in this year’s Budget announced on February 1 to ease financial burden on startups and their founders.
A start-up is an entity, incorporated or registered in India not prior to five years, with an annual turnover not exceeding ~25 crore in any preceding fiscal year and working towards innovation, development, deployment or commercialisation of new products, processes or services driven by technology or intellectual property.

Commerce and Industry Minister Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman has said that mid-term review of Foreign Trade Policy would be completed early to synchronise its roll out with GST

New Delhi: Commerce and Industry Minister Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman has said that the revised Foreign Trade Policy (FTP) would be released early to synchronise the same with roll out of GST. The core focus of the revised FTP would be promoting exports from the SMEs and high employment potential sectors. Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman was chairing a meeting on the Mid-Term review of the Foreign Trade Policy 2015-20 organised jointly by Department of Commerce and Research and Information System for the Developing Countries (RIS) .
Commerce Secretary Ms Rita Teaotia, Chairman RIS Shri Hardeep Singh Puri and DGFT Shri Ajay Bhalla also participated in discussions. The event was attended by the trade policy experts from the industry, academia, Research and Government .
Major suggestions discussed during the deliberations related to promoting Rupee Trade, facilitating not only exports but also imports and reducing cost of credit. Participant recommended harnessing the high foreign exchange earnings and large employment generation potential of services related to the Tourism, Education and Health sector. Such services fall under the WTO category of the Mode 2 Services, also called the ‘Consumption Abroad’ category. It was emphasised that promotion of mode2 in services sector shall contribute in domestic economic development and job creation.
Concerns were also raised on issues relating to GST and its impact on export. Minister said that Department of Commerce has already taken up these issues with Department of Revenue, and assured that it will again take up theses issues With DoR for placing it before GST council to find a solution.
Critical role of Logistics sector for export competitiveness was also discussed;, reducing the cost of credit in promoting exports, export basket diversification, strategy for promoting value added exports, agriculture exports and services exports were also deliberated.
It may be noted that while announcing the five year FTP, 2015-2020 on 01.04.2015, Hon’ble Commerce & Industry Minister had announced that the policy would be reviewed on mid-term basis. The exercise has been initiated by Department of commerce in January 2017. DGFT has held consultation with a cross section of stakeholders.- Exporters, Traders, Export promotion Councils, Commodity Boards, Various Ministries of the Central Govt., State Governments, foreign missions of India and Industry Bodies- in this regard.