Royal Enfield to push expansion abroad

New Delhi: Royal Enfield (RE), the motorcycle manufacturer, plans to almost double its exclusive retail presence abroad.
The Chennai-based entity has identified Thailand, Indonesia, Colombia and Brazil as having the potential to become very large markets for itself over time. It will be investing in all four.
Siddhartha Lal, managing director of Eicher Motors, the parent entity of RE, said there were around 25 exclusive stores abroad and the plans was to add another 20-25 this year. The pace would continue in the coming year, too.
On the four country markets mentioned earlier, RE has five or six exclusive stores in Colombia and only a single one in the other three.
RE is adding single stores in a couple of other markets, too, with the hope that they reach a stage in the next year or two for an expansion.
“We expect that over the next five years, the developing markets will be on a different order of magnitude. Therefore, our retention would be much higher there,” said Lal.
Adding: “Our North America market, our first owned subsidiary there, has taken us a little bit of time -- we have just been adding dealers and getting up to speed in the US market.” He said he expected a good year in America and Europe. There are five countries in the latter -- Britain, Germany, France, Italy and Spain – where RE has about 50 dealers each. Some are exclusive to it but most are multibrand. The company is selling well in some of these markets but the size in each is low. And, normally of slightly higher powered motorcycles than RE has in its current portfolio.
“That means we are still a niche player here than a mainstream player, which we plan to be in developing markets,” said Lal. The oldest of its brand is Royal Enfield itself, in continuous production with the focus on 350-500cc ones.
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RIGHT NOW, WE ARE LEARNING AND EXPANDING IN THESE FOUR CORE MARKETS. ANY OR ALL OF THESE COULD BECOME VERY LARGE MARKETS FOR US OVER THE NEXT DECADE. IT IS THESE FOUR CORE MARKETS THAT WE ARE EXPANDING ON
SIDDHARTHA LAL,
MD, Eicher Motors

Made in India iPhones to hit stores this month

Made in India iPhones to hit stores this month
Business Standard: May 18, 2017
Bengaluru: Buyers of Apple iPhone SE could soon find a “Made in India” tag on their devices. Taiwanese contact manufacturer Wistron would be making it at their plant in Bengaluru.
The company recently conducted a trial run at the factory. The few phones made during the trial run will be in stores in two weeks.
Full-scale production will take more time, according to a person familiar with Apple’s plans. The global tech major confirmed the production at the sole facility in India.
“We are beginning initial production of a small number of iPhone SEs in Bengaluru. We’ll begin shipping to domestic customers this month,” Apple said in an email.
Karnataka was quick to claim credit for this. Its Information Technology Minister Priyank Kharge said, “It shows the Bengaluru ecosystem is able to attract the world’s best companies. If the Make in India initiative has to work, we need to incentivise manufacturers to gradually increase local sourcing.”
Apple Chief Executive Officer Tim Cook visited India last May and met Prime Minister Narendra Modi. They reportedly discussed manufacturing of iPhones in India, for the local market and export. Since then, the government has turned down Apple’s demands for tax sops. But, the fast-growing domestic market seems too attractive for the company.
With a dip in iPhone sales in developed markets like the US and China, India is now a major focus for Apple. Since the country’s appetite for expensive flagship devices is still small, Apple continues to produce its four-year-old iPhone 5s to compete with Xiaomi, Motorola, Samsung and others in the mid-level market.
Is domestic production going to cut prices? There is no clarity on that yet. Experts said assembling devices locally will help it save 12 per cent in taxes.
One can buy an iPhone SE for Rs 27,200 but on Flipkart and Amazon, it is available for as low as Rs 20,999. Apple is known to maintain price parity across the world. In the US, the iPhone SE starts at $399 (about Rs 25,000).
“Prices might go below Rs 20,000 only in October,” said Neil Shah, research director, devices and ecosystems, Counterpoint Research. “At that price it has to compete with Chinese rivals Oppo and Vivo.”

Japan offers support for Northeast projects

New Delhi: Japan has officially offered support for various ongoing as well as upcoming development and infrastructure projects in the North-Eastern region.
The Ambassador of Japan to India, Mr Kenji Hiramatsu officially met the Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER), MoS PMO, Personnel, Public Grievances, Pensions, Atomic Energy and Space, Dr Jitendra Singh and conveyed his government’s inclination to invest in Northeast and also offer any other feasible support for new ventures. He said, the North-Eastern region of India has immense potential and with the kind of priority being given to the region by the Government of India and the Government of Japan looks forward to engage itself as a partner at different levels, both financially and otherwise.
According to Mr Kenji, the preferred States which the Government of Japan looks forward to invest in Northeast are Assam, followed by Manipur and Nagaland. He said, besides the trade and entrepreneurship interest, the Government of Japan also has a historic emotional link with the region because it was in the area around Manipur and Nagaland that during the Second World War, around 30,000 Japanese soldiers had got killed while fighting jointly with the British Army against the allied forces.
Dr Jitendra Singh appreciated the offer made by the Government of Japan and said, while the Ministry of DoNER will look forward to engagement of Japanese resources in the making of roads and bridges in the North-Eastern region, the Japanese partnership could also be utilized in the recent initiative of developing inland waterways transport along River Brahmaputra down to Bay of Bengal as well as supplementing the Venture Fund announced by DoNER Ministry for "Start-Ups" in Northeast.

Cabinet approves Pan-India implementation of Maternity Benefit Program

New Delhi: The Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has given ex-post facto approval to Pan-India implementation of Maternity Benefit Program which now has been extended to all districts of the country w.e.f. 01.01.2017. The Prime Minister in his address to the nation on 31.12.2016 had announced Pan-India implementation of Maternity Benefit Program.
The Maternity Benefit Program will provide compensation for the wage loss in terms of cash incentives so that the women can take adequate rest before and after delivery and not be deprived of proper nutrition.
The total cost of the proposal for the period from 01.01.2017 to 31.03.2020 including Central and State Government share isRs.12,661crore. Government of India’s share during the period 01.01.2017 to 31.03.2020 comes to around Rs. 7932 crore.
Objective of the Scheme
i) To provide partial compensation for the wage loss in terms of cash incentives so that the woman can take adequate rest before and after delivery of the first living child.

ii) The cash incentives provided would lead to improved health seeking behaviour amongst the Pregnant Women and Lactating Mother (PW&LM) to reduce the effects of under-nutrition namely stunting, wasting and other related problems.
Target Group
All eligible Pregnant Women and Lactating Mothers (PW&LM), excluding the Pregnant Women and Lactating Mothers who are in regular employment with the Central Government or State Government or Public Sector Undertakings or those who are in receipt of similar benefits under any law for the time being. It has been decided to give the benefit of Rs.5000/- to PW&LM in three installment for the birth of the first live child by MWCD and the remaining cash incentive as per approved norms towards Maternity Benefit under existing programmes after institutional delivery so that on an average, a woman will get ₹ 6000/-.
Conditions and installments
Pregnant Women and Lactating Mothers who are eligible will receive a cash benefit of Rs.5,000/- in three installment at the following stages as specified in the table given below:
Cash Transfer
Conditions
Amount
(in Rs)
First installment
Early Registration of Pregnancy.
1,000/-
Second installment
Received at least one antenatal Check-up (after 6 months of pregnancy)
2,000/-
Third installment
Child birth is registered.
Child has received first cycle of BCG, OPV, DPT and Hepatitis-B or its equivalent/substitute.
2,000/-

The eligible beneficiaries would continue to receive the remaining cash incentive as per approved norms towards Maternity Benefit under existing programmes after institutional delivery so that on an average, a woman will get ₹ 6000/-.
Mode of cash transfer to the Beneficiaries
The conditional cash transfer scheme would be in DBT mode.
Background:
The Government of India is committed to ensure that every woman gets adequate support and health care during pregnancy and at the time of delivery and every newborn is immunized on time which is the foundation for better health of the mother and the newborn. Normally, the first pregnancy of a woman exposes her to new kinds of challenges and stress factors. Hence, the scheme intends to provide support to the mother for safe delivery and immunization of her first living child. The improved health care seeking behaviour of the PW&LM would lead to better health status for the mother and the child.

Boost to transform domestic nuclear industry

New Delhi: In a significant decision to fast-track India’s domestic nuclear power programme, and give a push to country’s nuclear industry, the Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has given its approval for construction of 10 units of India’s indigenous Pressurized Heavy Water Reactors (PHWR). The total installed capacity of the Plants will be 7000 MW. The 10 PHWR project will result in a significant augmentation of nuclear power generation capacity.
India has current installed nuclear power capacity of 6780 MW from 22 operational plants. Another 6700 MWs of nuclear power is expected to come onstream by 2021-22 through projects presently under construction.
As the government marks three years of its nation and people centric governnace, in a first of its kind project for India’s nuclear power sector, the ten new units will come up in fleet mode as a fully homegrown initiative. It would be one of the flagship “Make in India” projects in this sector.
With likely manufacturing orders of close to 70,000 crores to the domestic industry, the project will help transform Indian nuclear industry by linking our goal of a strong nuclear power sector with our indigenous industrial capacities in high-end technologies.
This Project will bring about substantial economies of scale and maximise cost and time efficiencies by adopting fleet mode for execution. It is expected to generate more than 33,400 jobs in direct and indirect employment. With manufacturing orders to domestic industry, it will be a major step towards strengthening India’s credentials as a major nuclear manufacturing powerhouse.
The ten reactors will be part of India’s latest design of 700 MW PHWR fleet with state-of-art technology meeting the highest standards of safety.
The approval also marks a statement of strong belief in the capability of India’s scientific community to build our technological capacities. The design and development of this project is a testament to the rapid advances achieved by India’s nuclear scientific community and industry. It underscores the mastery our nuclear scientists have attained over all aspects of indigenous PHWR technology. India’s record of building and operating PHWR reactors over the last nearly forty years is globally acclaimed.
The Cabinet’s decision reflects the Government’s commitment to prioritise the use of clean power in India’s energy mix, as part of low-carbon growth strategy and to ensure long-term base load requirement for the nation’s industrialization.
It also supports India’s commitment to sustainable development, energy self-sufficiency and bolsters global efforts to combat climate change.

Indian billionaire Anil Agarwal to invest up to US$ 2 billion in Anglo American

Mumbai: Billionaire metals maven Anil Agarwal made a surprise bid for as much as 13% of British mining giant Anglo American Plc for $2.4 billion, a move that will give him a foot in the door of the $23-billion conglomerate, which is larger than his Vedanta Resources. It also gives him a piece of De Beers, the diamond powerhouse owned by Anglo American.
The move, made through his personal investment firm Volcan Investments, was announced late on Wednesday in London. While sources close to the Indian industrialist were insistent that it was not a “hostile bid”, the move comes a year after a merger proposal by Agarwal’s Hindustan Zinc was rebuffed by Anglo.
In an interview to Bloomberg at the World Economic Forum at Davos in January, Agarwal had said: “There was a proposal that Hindustan and Anglo American should merge… It was a good match. One and one wasn’t going to be two, but 11.”
The full stake will equate to about 13% of Anglo’s stock, giving Agarwal, an investor long reputed to have a “risk-taking appetite”, enough influence to bring the metals and mining major back to the negotiating table. The shareholding of Anglo American is widely dispersed with the South African government holding a significant stake. Agarwal seemed to play down any such intent.
“This is an attractive investment for our family trust. Anglo American Plc is a great company with excellent assets and a strong board and management team who are executing a focused strategy to drive shareholder value. I am delighted to become a shareholder in Anglo American Plc,” Agarwal said. His interest in Anglo American may also lie in the mining company’s ownership of De Beers, the world’s leading diamond exploration, mining and marketing company.
India’s diamond production is negligible, but it is the largest consumer of rough diamonds in the world, importing 80% of total global production with an import bill of $15 billion, besides being a hub for processing the stones. De Beers produces over 30 million carats of diamonds per year, 35% of the global production of roughs.
“Anil Agarwal always looks for opportunities to grow,” said veteran investment banker Nimesh Kampani. “Once he takes a strategic call, he goes the whole hog. He has a sharp mind in spotting good investments.”
Anglo American has revenue of $23 billion, Ebitda (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation) of $6.1 billion and market value of more than $20 billion. It is a global leader in both platinum and diamonds apart from base metals and minerals — copper, nickel, niobium and phosphates. It also produces bulk commodities such as iron ore and manganese, metallurgical coal and thermal coal.
Thanks to a rebound in metal prices, Anglo American has seen its fortunes recover. At its peak in November 2007, when commodity prices were quoting at lifetime highs, market cap had touched $101billion. When commodity prices plummeted, this dropped to $8.88 billion.
ATTRACTIVELY PRICED
At current prices, Anglo American isn’t cheap, but is still attractively priced, quoting at price-earnings multiple of 7.48, whereas Vedanta, the Indian mining and metals major owned by Agarwal, is quoting at a PE of 13.2.
Agarwal has been honing his acquisitive instincts from the early days. Back in the early eighties, he took a Rs 60-lakh loan from Syndicate Bank to buy jelly-filled cables. He was rebuffed by Alcan in the midnineties, when he made an unsolicited bid for its Indian subsidiary.
Alcan finally sold Indal to the Aditya Birla Group. In 2008, he pipped Lakshmi Mittal to buy iron ore miner Sesa Goa for $980 million. He used the cash with Sesa Goa to partly fund the acquisition of Cairn India for about $9 billion.
Agarwal, who once famously said he understands the “algorithm of metals”, has had transactions with Anglo American in the past.
The Konkola copper mines in Zambia were initially owned by Anglo American and Roan Selection Trust. Subsequently, government entities became the main shareholders. In 2004, Vedanta acquired a controlling stake in the mines from them.
In 2010, Vedanta acquired Anglo American’s portfolio of zinc assets in Namibia, South Africa and Ireland.
Through his entities, Agarwal has also signed an agreement with the South African government for sharing advanced mining technology.
With Agarwal’s Volcan owning 13% of Anglo American, Agarwal will be the second-biggest shareholder after the South African government investment firm Public Investment Corp, which owns 14%.
Any move by the government to sell will have Agarwal in pole position to drive a deal in his favour. Collateral for the deal will be Anglo American shares. Volcan intends to finance the investment through mandatory exchangeable bonds. The sale will be led by JPMorgan as sole bookrunner, on or around April 11, the closing date.
Agarwal started as a scrap dealer in 1975. It’s part of the folklore that when he first visited Mumbai at age 19, he was so struck by the opulence of what’s now the Trident Hotel on Marine Drive that he booked himself in, just to get a feel of the city and a sense of what it meant to be successful. But, frugal as he was, he ate and did his laundry elsewhere.

Air Train To Link Terminals at IGIA by 2020

New Delhi: The Delhi International Airport Pvt. Ltd. (DIAL) has proposed an Automated People Mover (APM) or air train between Terminal 1, T2 and T3 at Indira Gandhi International (IGI) airport. In compliance with the provisions of Operation, Management and Development Agreement (OMDA), M/s Delhi International Airport Private Limited (DIAL) has reviewed and updated the Master Plan of IGI Airport, New Delhi in 2016 in consultation with the Ministry of Civil Aviation, Airports Authority of India and Sovereign agencies providing reserved services at the airport and with other stakeholders.
The Master Plan, 2016 contains a provision for Automated People Mover (APM) for connecting all the terminals of the airport. Total length of the proposed APM alignment is 5.5 km out of which 1.5 km is underground whereas 4.0 km portion is elevated. The Master Plan recommends this facility to be available by year 2020. DIAL has already taken steps for exploring all technical possibilities for providing the APM facility in consultation with Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC). The design, project cost and other details etc. are finalized during the finalization of the Major Development Plan in compliance with the OMDA.
This information was given by the Minister of State for Civil Aviation Shri Jayant Sinha in written reply to a question in Lok Sabha today.

Development of Airport Infrastructure and Setting up of New Greenfield Airports Committee Suggests Gradual Bifurcation of ANS from AAI

Development of Airport Infrastructure and Setting up of New Greenfield Airports
Committee Suggests Gradual Bifurcation of ANS from AAI
New Delhi: The present infrastructure capacity of airport is generally sufficient for handling existing air traffic. However, keeping in view of rapid growth of domestic airlines, expansion of infrastructure at airports including runway, terminal building and air space harmonization has been undertaken.
It is planned to revive 50 airstrips and airports over a period of three years starting from 2017-18 at a total estimated cost of Rs. 4500 crores. However, the development of airports and airstrips to be undertaken only in those States where the State Government agrees to provide the requisite concessions and a firm commitment from airlines to fly from or to such airports.
The Government of India has granted "in principle" approval for setting up of the 18 Greenfield airports in the country. The list of these airport along with the estimated cost is as under: MOPA in Goa (approx. Rs. 3100 cr), Navi Mumbai (approx. Rs. 16704 cr), Shirdi (approx. Rs. 320.54cr) and Sindhudurg (approx. Rs. 520cr) in Maharashtra, Bijapur (approx. Rs. 150cr), Gulbarga (approx. Rs. 13.78 cr in initial phase), Hassan (approx. Rs. 592 cr) and Shimoga (approx. Rs. 38.91 cr) in Karnataka, Kannur in Kerala (approx. Rs. 1892 cr), Durgapur in West Bengal (approx. Rs. 670 cr), Dabra in Madhya Pradesh (approx. Rs. 200 cr), Pakyong in Sikkim (approx. Rs. 553.53 cr), Karaikal in Pudducherry (approx. Rs.170 cr), Kushinagar in Uttar Pradesh (approx. Rs. 448 cr), Dholera in Gujarat (approx. Rs. 1712 cr) and Dagadarthi Mendal, Nellore Dist. (approx. Rs. 293 cr), Bhogapuram in Vizianagaram District near Visakhapatnam (approx. Rs. 2260 cr) and Oravakallu in Kurnool District (approx. Rs. 200 cr), Andhra Pradesh. In Addition Airports Authority of India (AAI) has begun the PPP bidding process for O&M contracts for Jaipur and Ahmedabad airports.
The Ministry of Civil Aviation had set up a two member Committee consisting of Shri Ashok Chawla, Ex-Chairman, Competition Commission of India and Shri Satendra Singh, Ex-DGCA to examine afresh the issue related to creation of separate Air Navigation Services entity by hiving off Air Navigation Services (ANS) from Airports Authority of India (AAI). The committee has suggested bifurcation of ANS from AAI in a gradual manner.
This information was given by the Minister of State for Civil Aviation Shri Jayant Sinha in written reply to a question in Lok Sabha today.

Steel mills in India reversing import woes with export push

Mumbai: India’s steel exports rose 78 per cent to 6.6 million tonnes, while imports fell by 39 per cent between April 2016 and February 2017, making India a net exporter of steel for the first time in four years, according to the Indian Steel Association. The domestic steel output grew 11 per cent to 92 million tonnes and consumption grew 3.4 per cent to 76.2 million tonnes during the same period. During 2015-16, India imported 11.7 million tonnes as it was flooded with cheap supplies from China, the biggest steel producer and exporter. To control inflows, the Government of India initiated trade measures like safeguard tax, anti-dumping duty and floor price on shipments.

Cabinet approves National Health Policy 2017

A huge milestone in the history of public health in India: J P Nadda
It provides policy framework for achieving universal health coverage, and is patient-centric and quality-driven: J P Nadda
New Delhi: Terming the Cabinet approval of the National Health Policy 2017 as a huge milestone in the history of public health in the country, Union Minister for Health & Family Welfare Shri J P Nadda said that it seeks to reach everyone in a comprehensive integrated way to move towards wellness. Shri Nadda added that NHP 2017, which is patient-centric and quality-driven, provides the much needed policy framework for achieving universal health coverage and delivering quality health care services to all at an affordable cost. The Union Health Minister stated under the guidance of the Hon. Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modiji, the Health Ministry has formulated the National Health Policy 2017, after a gap of 14 years, to address the current and emerging challenges necessitated by the changing socio-economic and epidemiological landscapes since the last National Health Policy was framed in 2002.
Shri Nadda said that “The Policy recommends prioritizing the role of the Government in shaping health systems in all its dimensions. The roadmap of this new Policy is predicated on public spending and provisioning of a public healthcare system that is comprehensive, integrated and accessible to all. Further, it advocates a positive and proactive engagement with the private sector for critical gap filling towards achieving national goals. It envisages private sector collaboration for strategic purchasing, capacity building, skill development programmes, awareness generation, developing sustainable networks for community to strengthen mental health services, and disaster management”. The Minister added that the Policy advocates financial and non-financial incentives for encouraging the private sector participation.
NHP 2017 seeks to promote quality of care, focus on emerging diseases and invest in promotive and preventive healthcare. It addresses health security and make in India for drugs and devices. The Policy has also assigned specific quantitative targets aimed at reduction of disease prevalence/incidence, for health status and programme impact, health system performance and system strengthening. It seeks to strengthen the health surveillance system and establish registries for diseases of public health importance, by 2020. It also seeks to align other policies for medical devices and equipment with public health goals.
Elaborating on the salient features of the NHP 2017, Shri Nadda said that the Policy advocates a progressively incremental assurance-based approach. The broad principles of the Policy are centered on professionalism, integrity and ethics, equity, affordability, universality, patient centered and quality of care, accountability and pluralism. It aims to achieve the highest possible level of good health and well-being through a preventive and promotive health care orientation in all developmental policies, and to achieve universal access to good quality health care services without anyone having to face financial hardship as a consequence, Shri Nadda added.
There is a sharpened focus to inform, clarify, strengthen and prioritize the role of the Government in shaping health systems in all its dimensions- investment in health, organization and financing of healthcare services, prevention of diseases and promotion of good health through cross sectoral action, access to technologies, developing human resources, encouraging medical pluralism, building the knowledge base required for better health, financial protection strategies and regulation and progressive assurance for health. The Minister also said that the Policy emphasizes reorienting and strengthening the public health institutions across the country, so as to provide universal access to free drugs, diagnostics and other essential healthcare.
The Policy positions primary healthcare to be comprehensive and universal. It also seeks to ensure improved access and affordability of quality secondary and tertiary care services through a combination of public hospitals and strategic purchasing in healthcare deficit areas from accredited non-governmental healthcare providers, achieve significant reduction in out of pocket expenditure due to healthcare costs, reinforce trust in public healthcare system and influence operation and growth of private healthcare industry as well as medical technologies in alignment with public health goals.
As a crucial component, the Policy proposes raising public health expenditure to 2.5% of the GDP in a time bound manner. It envisages providing larger package of assured comprehensive primary health care through the ‘Health and Wellness Centers’ and denotes important change from very selective to comprehensive primary health care package which includes geriatric health care, palliative care and rehabilitative care services. It advocates allocating major proportion (up to two-thirds or more) of resources to primary care followed by secondary and tertiary care. It also aspires to provide at the district level most of the secondary care which is currently provided at a medical college hospital. In order to provide access and financial protection at secondary and tertiary care levels, NHP 2017 proposes free drugs, free diagnostics and free emergency care services in all public hospitals. The Policy envisages strategic purchase of secondary and tertiary care services as a short term measure to supplement and fill critical gaps in the public health system.
National Health Policy 2017 affirms commitment to pre-emptive care (aimed at pre-empting the occurrence of diseases) to achieve optimum levels of child and adolescent health. It envisages school health programmes as a major focus area as also health and hygiene being made a part of the school curriculum.
In order to leverage the pluralistic health care legacy, NHP 2017 recommends mainstreaming the different health systems: better access to AYUSH remedies through co-location in public facilities; Yoga would be introduced much more widely in school and work places as part of promotion of good health.
Under a ‘giving back to society’ initiative, the new Health Policy supports voluntary service in rural and under-served areas on pro-bono basis by recognized healthcare professionals. It also advocates extensive deployment of digital tools for improving the efficiency and outcome of the healthcare system and proposes establishment of National Digital Health Authority (NDHA) to regulate, develop and deploy digital health across the continuum of care.
There is also a strong focus on improving regulatory mechanisms recognizing the need to regulate the use of medical devices so as to ensure safety and quality compliance as per the standard norms.
Government of India formulated the Draft National Health Policy and placed it in public domain on 30th December, 2014. Thereafter following detailed consultations with the stakeholders and State Governments, based on the suggestions received, the Draft National Health Policy was further fine-tuned. It received the endorsement of the Central Council for Health & Family Welfare, the apex policy making body, in its Twelfth Conference held on 27th February, 2016.