India's first 'private' railway station Habibganj to come up near Bhopal

Bhopal: If all goes according to plan, Habibganj in the suburbs of Bhopal will redefine the concept of a railway station in India. The country’s first railway station to be redeveloped as a public-private partnership (PPP), Habibganj is set to become a swanky commercial hub with shops, offices and hotels, all in a span of three years.
The operation and maintenance responsibilities for the station have been given to Bhopal-based Bansal Group for a period of eight years. It has also received four land parcels on a 45-year lease. The group, which operates in the infrastructure and construction sector, also runs a television channel and educational institutions. It won the bid in 2016.
Bansal Group will invest Rs100 crore to overhaul the station which was opened in 1979, and around Rs350 crore to develop four commercial land parcels adding up to 17,245 sq. m.
“We plan to develop the commercial areas in two phases—two office-cum-shopping complexes in the first phase, and under the second phase, a multi-speciality hospital and a budget- and five-star hotel,” said group managing director Sunil Bansal.
On 9 June, railway minister Suresh Prabhu will launch commencement of the station re-development work in Bhopal. The Habibganj railway station will be designed as a world-class transit hub, with a central concourse equipped with amenities for waiting passengers; arriving and departing passengers will be segregated. The environment-friendly station will be powered by solar energy and has facilities for the differently-abled. The station will have six lifts, 11 escalators and three travelators, along with two underpasses of 4m each provided for arriving passengers.
The station will have parking space for 300 cars, 850 two-wheelers, rickshaws, taxis and buses. In case of an emergency, the premises can be evacuated in four minutes and passengers can reach designated points of safety in six minutes.
“The management of the Habibganj railway station was given to the Bansal Group on March 1, 2017. They will be taking care of all the facilities at the station like food stalls, retiring rooms, power, platform maintenance, parking,” said Indian Railway Station Development Corporation (IRSDC) managing director and chief executive officer S.K. Lohia. The company will not be responsible for core operations such as train and parcel movement, signalling and ticketing.
IRSDC, which is overseeing the Habibganj project, is a special purpose vehicle formed by railway unit Ircon International Ltd (IRCON) and Rail Land Development Authority (RLDA) to undertake station redevelopment projects.
The national carrier plans to modernize and upgrade passenger amenities at stations by raising money through commercial development of railway land. Railway minister Prabhu is betting on non-fare avenues such as land monetization, catering and parking to boost overall revenue.
“Being the first PPP railway station project, the success of the project is very important as it will become a role model for the other projects. The project’s success will give confidence to infrastructure developers who have been careful in investing in such brownfield projects,” said Lohia of IRSDC.
The Habibganj project was undertaken as part of the Indian Railways’ ambitious plan to re-develop 400 A1 and A category railway stations.
The idea of setting up world-class railway stations was mooted in 2009-10 by then railway minister Mamata Banerjee. Although initial studies were carried out in 2010, it was only in 2015 that the project was revived by Prabhu.
“It took us around eight years to define world-class. The standards of India as compared with other countries were very different and what railways wanted was not replication of one model but amalgamation of several models,” said a senior railway ministry official, asking not to be identified.
Apart from Habibganj, other projects being handled by IRSDC are Anand Vihar (Delhi), Bijwasan (Delhi), Chandigarh, Surat (Gujarat), Mohali (Punjab) and Gandhinagar (Gujarat).
Indian Railways’ ambition of redeveloping 400 stations into world-class facilities is completely based on land monetization.
“The inventory of railway assets shows that there is huge potential in the land and what we are doing is just using that potential for a limited period of time. There is no harm in monetizing land resources of railways which are getting encroached (on) with every passing day,” the railway official mentioned earlier said.
Bansal said the railways needed to make the station redevelopment deal more lucrative.
“A lease of 99 years instead of 45 years, maintenance period extendable from 5-20 years and residential opportunities would attract more bidders,” Bansal said.
A railway board member who didn’t want to be identified said the deal could have been more lucrative for Indian Railways.
“The whole concept of land monetization would have been good, provided there was clarity. It’s prime land which is being given to the developers at circle rates of the area and not the commercial price. Besides, there is no revenue model, like royalties from developer for 45 years from the commercial development, which is a raw deal for the railways,” the board member said.
Indian Railways has adopted three models for station redevelopment. One is the PPP model, under which a project is planned, statutory clearances obtained and a developer is chosen to upgrade a facility. The second is collaboration with foreign governments to develop stations. The third model is the Swiss Challenge method, where bidders have the freedom to design and develop a project after obtaining approvals on their own. Under this method, the company whose project plan is accepted is given the opportunity to work on the project at the price quoted by the lowest bidder. If it does not accept this, then the project is given to the lowest bidder.

24 States pass the State GST (SGST) Act while 7 states viz. Meghalaya, Punjab, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Karnataka, Jammu & Kashmir and West Bengal have yet to pass the SGST Act

New Delhi: Twenty Four (24) States have passed the State GST (SGST) Act till today i.e. 5th June, 2017 while 7 States viz. Meghalaya, Punjab,Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Karnataka, Jammu & Kashmir and West Bengal have yet to pass the State GST (SGST) Act .
The details of the States which have passed the State GST Act till today are as follows:
7 States viz. Meghalaya, Punjab,Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Karnataka, Jammu & Kashmir and West Bengal have yet to pass the SGST Act.
Sl. No Name of the State Date on which SGST Act passed in the Assembly
1 Telangana Act Passed on 9th April 2017
2 Bihar Act Passed on 24th April, 2017
3 Rajasthan Act Passed on 26th April 2017
4 Jharkhand Act Passed on 27th April, 2017
5 Chhattisgarh Act Passed on 28th April, 2017
6 Uttarakhand Act Passed on 2nd May, 2017
7 Madhya Pradesh Act Passed on 3rd May, 2017
8 Haryana Act Passed on 4th May, 2017
9 Goa Act Passed on 9th May, 2017
10 Gujarat Act Passed on 9th May, 2017
11 Assam Act Passed on 11th May, 2017
12 Arunachal Pradesh Act Passed on 12th May, 2017
13 Andhra Pradesh Act Passed on 16th May, 2017
14 Uttar Pradesh Act Passed on 16th May, 2017 (in both the Houses)
15 Puducherry Act Passed on 17th May, 2017
16 Odisha Act Passed on 19th May, 2017
17 Maharashtra Act Passed on 22nd May, 2017
18 Tripura Act Passed on 25th May, 2017
19 Sikkim Act Passed on 25th May, 2017
20 Mizoram Act Passed on 25th May, 2017
21 Nagaland Act Passed on 27th May, 2017
22 Himachal Pradesh Act Passed on 27th May, 2017
23 Delhi Act Passed on 31st May, 2017
24 Manipur Act Passed on 5th June, 2017

STATES YET TO PASS SGST ACT
Sl. No Name of the State
1 Meghalaya
2 Punjab
3 Tamil Nadu
4 Karnataka
5 Kerala
6 Jammu & Kashmir
7 West Bengal

Government to implement India's first rural LED street lighting project in Andhra Pradesh

New Delhi: Government of India, through the Energy Efficiency Services Limited (EESL) under the Ministry of Power, would be retrofitting 10 lakh conventional street lights with LED lights in Gram Panchayats of 7 districts in Andhra Pradesh. This is the first project for rural LED street lighting in the country under the Government of India’s Street Lighting National Project (SLNP). In the first phase, the replacement will be undertaken in gram panchayats of the districts of Guntur, Prakasham, Nellore, Kurnool, Kadapa, Ananthapur and Chittoor.
This replacement drive in rural areas will help the gram panchayats to cumulatively save approximately 147 million units of electricity annually and lead to reduction of 12 crore tonnes of CO2. The entire upfront capital cost of this project is being funded by French Development Agency Agence Française de Développement (AFD). As part of the project, EESL would be carrying out the entire annual maintenance and warranty replacement in these gram panchayats for a period of 10 years.
Earlier this year, Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh, Shri N. Chandrababu Naidu, had stated that approximately 30 lakh conventional street lights across villages in the state would be replaced by LED street lights by 2018. Through the installation of 10 lakh LED street lights, EESL has assured the State government of approximately 59 percent savings in electricity, which translates to annual monetary savings of ₹88.2 crores.
Andhra Pradesh was the first state to seek assistance from EESL to replace conventional street lighting with LED lighting in Visakhapatnam, after the cyclone Hudhud caused extensive damage to the then existing street lighting infrastructure. Ever since then, EESL has installed over 5,90,000 LED street lights in the State. These installations have led to an annual savings of over 7.8 crore kWh, translating into an annual reduction of over 65,000 tonnes of CO2.
Nationally, over 23 lakh conventional street lights have been replaced by LED street lights in 21 States of India. As per the 18th Electric Power Survey of Central Electricity Authority (CEA), the estimated energy consumption in Indian public lighting sector is 8478 M KWh in 2012-13 and is constantly growing at a CAGR of 7 percent. Keeping in mind this growth rate, Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi launched 100 cities National Programme on January 5, 2015 to convert conventional street and domestic lights with energy efficient LED lights. Under Street Light National Programme (SLNP), the government aims at replacement of 1.34 crore conventional street lights across the country.

India overtakes China on ease of doing business, shows global retail index

Singapore: India has surpassed China to secure the top position among 30 developing countries on ease of doing business, according to a study that cited India’s rapidly expanding economy, relaxation of foreign direct investment (FDI) rules and a consumption boom as the key drivers.
The 2017 Global Retail Development Index (GRDI), now in its 16th edition, ranks the top 30 developing countries for retail investment worldwide and analyses 25 macroeconomic and retail-specific variables.
India’s rapidly expanding economy, easing of FDI rules and a consumption boom are the key drivers for the country’s top ranking in the GRDI. The GRDI, titled ‘The Age of Focus’, ranks China in second place. Despite its slower overall economic growth, the market’s size and the continued evolution of retail still make China one of the most attractive markets for retail investment.
“The study is unique in that it not only identifies the markets that are most attractive today, but also those that offer future potential,” said the management consulting firm A.T. Kearney in a statement.
India’s retail sector has been growing at an annual rate of 20%. Total sales surpassed the $1 trillion-mark last year and the sector is expected to double in size by 2020. Rapid urbanisation and a growing middle-class with higher income levels is driving up consumption across the country, the consultancy group said. The government’s continued support to relax FDI regulations in key areas of the retail sector have provided further boost to its growth, it noted.
In the past year, the government has allowed 100% foreign ownership in business-to-business (B2B) e-commerce businesses and for retailers that sell food products. India’s retail sector has also benefited from the rapid growth in e-commerce. It is projected to grow 30% annually and reach $48 billion by 2020. Retailers have been quick to seize the opportunity with 86% of e-commerce dominated by pure-play online retailers in 2016.
The Indian government’s effort to boost cashless payments (witnessed in the recent nationwide demonetisation exercise) and reform indirect taxation with a nationwide goods and services tax (GST) are also expected to accelerate adoption of formal retail.
“India’s top ranking is a clear vote of confidence in its retail market and vast growth potential,” said Debashish Mukherjee, partner with A.T. Kearney and head of the consumer industries & retail products practice for India. PTI

IPOs worth Rs 5,000 crore lined up this month

Mumbai: At least four companies are ready to sell their shares to the public for the first time in June, aiming to raise a total of at least Rs 5,000 crore, four people familiar with the moves said.
The firms are telecom equipment maker Tejas Networks Ltd, depository services firm Central Depository Services Ltd, pharma company Eris Lifesciences Ltd and small finance bank Au Small Finance Bank Ltd.
Bengaluru-based Tejas Networks, which is backed by private equity investors such as Goldman Sachs, Intel Capital, Frontline Strategy and Mayfield, is looking to launch its approximately Rs800 crore initial public offering (IPO) in the third week of June, one of the persons cited above said.
“Road shows were completed last month, a final assessment of the institutional demand has been done and the IPO is set for launch, which is targeted for the week of 12 June,” he said.
The IPO will raise Rs450 crore in primary capital for capital expenditure and working capital requirements. Several shareholders—including Cascade Capital Management Mauritius, Intel Capital, Frontline and the company’s chief executive officer Sanjay Nayak—will also sell some of the shares they hold through an offer for sale.
Au Small Finance Bank Ltd, one of the 10 entities who were granted a small finance bank licence in 2015 by the Reserve Bank of India, is planning to launch its almost Rs2,000 crore IPO, said another person cited above, also requesting anonymity.
“The plan is to launch the IPO towards the end of the month. The company is currently on investor roadshows, which are expected to be concluded soon,” he said.
Among small finance banks, it will be the third to be listed. Equitas Small Finance Bank got listed in April 2016 and in the next month, Ujjivan Small Finance Bank got listed too.
Au’s IPO is a pure offer for sale. Existing investors partially selling their shares include International Finance Corporation (part of the World Bank Group), Warburg Pincus, ChrysCapital and Kedaara Capital.
“As you are aware, Au Small Finance Bank Ltd had filed a draft red herring prospectus with capital markets regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) for its IPO on 1st February 2017. The company received the SEBI comments in March 2017. The timing of opening the IPO will be decided in due course by company and selling shareholders in consultation with BRLMs (book running lead managers),” said a spokesperson for the company in an email.
Last week, Mint reported that Ahmedabad-based pharmaceuticals company Eris Lifesciences Pvt. Ltd plans to launch a Rs2,000 crore IPO in June.
The fourth company is depository services firm CDSL, which plans to raise Rs400 crore.
According to the draft red herring prospectus filed by the company, the IPO will be a pure offer for sale by existing shareholders BSE Ltd, State Bank of India, Bank of Baroda and The Calcutta Stock Exchange. BSE, SBI, Bank of Baroda and The Calcutta Stock Exchange together hold 65.65% stake in CDSL, with BSE alone holding 50%.
Emails sent to Tejas Networks and CDSL on Thursday evening were not answered.
So far this year, eight companies have raised Rs6,335.83 crore through IPOs, while last year 26 companies raised Rs26,493.84 crore through this route.

Railways to promote use of clean fuel, cut emission by 33% by 2030

New Delhi: The Indian Railways is taking increased efforts through sustained energy efficient measures and maximum use of clean fuel to cut down emission level by 33 per cent by 2030. The Railways will use 5 per cent bio diesel as well as CNG/LNG for traction and take the use of renewable energy to 10 per cent by 2030. In order to boost the use of renewable energy sources, the Railways have set a target to achieve 1,000 megawatt (MW) of solar power, of which 20 MW has been commissioned; and 170 MW of wind power, of which 36 MW has been commissioned. Further, the Railways will recycle water and focus on rain water harvesting and revival of water bodies. The Railways have set a target of planting 50 million trees over the next five years, of which 12 million trees have already been planted. The Railways have also initiated fitting of bio-toilets in all of their 55,000 coaches by 2019.

IT firms eye US$ 1-billion opportunity

Bengaluru: The delay in finalisation of the GST is affecting the development of applications
Indian IT firms could see business opportunity of over $1 billion in building and implementing solutions to help their clients become compliant with the GST regime.
Companies such as Infosys, Wipro, HCL Technologies, Tech Mahindra and others, which implement the enterprise software of SAP, Oracle, will now have to align the technology backbone based on GST norms.
The opportunity for these companies includes customised packages and software services implemented on the customer’s business.
Dealers or businesses would need to upload the details of their transactions and multiple returns to the government portal called GSTN and they would have to adopt technology for taxation or an ERP system in order to be GST compliant, said Harpreet Singh, partner, indirect tax, KPMG.
This directly and indirectly should create opportunities for IT services firms and other companies that are building application-based solutions to make tax compliance easy for businesses once the GST is implemented.
“In order to undertake GST compliance, the GSTN has tied up with third parties called GST suvidha providers who will be allowed to use the application programme interface for themselves and make them available for other parties. There are other players called application service providers who can use these APIs to build innovative applications for taxpayers. All IT services companies are now gearing up to either become a GSP or ASP as they see potential in this,” Singh added. He said anyone aspiring to build and provide application services for the GST could become an ASP.
Tax compliance and related technology service firm ClearTax estimates the opportunity for implementation of GST-related software to be worth nearly ~1,000 crore. “For system integrators or service providers, the opportunity with the GST is worth more than ~1,000 crore. In the software-led services segment for the GST, we foresee an opportunity worth more than ~3,000 crore ($500 million),” said Archit Gupta, founder and chief executive officer, ClearTax.
Nearly 8 million businesses are estimated to be registered for the GST and the majority of them are likely to use application-based services.
“There is a huge market. Even if 60 per cent of dealers decide to go through the ASP route, we are talking about roughly 5 million customers,” said Singh.
Another IT industry analyst said some IT services providers were planning to create packages for GST consulting services and offer dedicated services through BPOs.
“Apart from the incremental revenue through software implementation, some IT services firms are talking about creating packages for GST on the consulting business front,” said Pareekh Jain, senior vice-president, HfS Research.
The delay in finalisation of the GST is, however, affecting the development of applications. Some companies were struggling to launch their ASP solutions owing to frequent changes in the GST law and release of multiple versions, said Singh.

Indian SMEs more bullish on growth prospects: Survey

New Delhi: In spite of doubts over uncertain business rules following the goods and services tax (GST) rollout in July 1, small and medium enterprises (SMEs) are more bullish on growth prospects as compared to their global counterparts, according to a survey conducted by financial services giant American Express.
According to the American Express Global SME Pulse 2017, 71 per cent of the survyed SMEs in India expressed 'optimism in the economy'. Among other Asian countries included in the survey were China and Japan, where the percentage of firms having faith in the domestic economy stood at 54 per cent and 62 per cent.
Conducted on companies across 15 nations, the survey looked at more than 300 medium-sized companies, out of which 76 per cent said they expected revenue growth of at least 4 per cent in 2017.
Firms remained positive about profitabiltiy with 45 per cent of the surveyed SMEs forecasting a profit of 8 percent by 2020. Globally, only 27 per cent of firms pegged the profit forecast at 8 per.
According to government estimates, the sector accounts for 45 per cent of the country's industrial output, while 40 per cent of the total exports come from SMEs in India. At presnet, it employs 60 million people and is responsible for creating 1.3 million jobs per year.
While SMEs in India are optimistic about the economy and their own business, they cite domestic policies, uncertain laws and regulations as major concerns over the next year.
To streamline their future business financing options, Indian SMEs ranked flexible lending and repayment options (at 37%) as the most important factor affecting business. High interest rates of 49 per cent was another pain point while applying for business finance.
Lack of easy access to credit has, however, continued to dog such firms. "SMEs are consistently having diffculty in accessing short-term loans," sdaid Saru Kaushal, Vice President and General Manager of the Global Corporate Payments division at American Express India.
The survey has also revealed that 38 per cent of firms feel that expansion in new domestic market segments will be a top priority for their businesses over the next three years. They are also pushing for sales growth with over 35 per cent of the surveyed firms looking to grow their current market share.
Indian SMEs are still trying to assess the GST regime and its impact on their general conduct of business as crucial aspects of the new tax structure remains unclear. Also, the sector was disproportionately hit due to the government's demonetisation exercise since November last year, a senior official at industry body Fisme said.
Although the government has unveiled GST rates for a significant number of items, a majority of companies in the sector remain anxious over the new accounting and taxation norms that need to be finalised soon.
These include the government's decision to reduce the tax exemption limit for small-scale industry units from Rs 1.5 crore to Rs 20 lakh and the phasing out of CENVAT credit from September onwards. The industry, which has raised several objections to these changes, is cuurently holding talks on the issue.

India welcome to play a role in reconstruction of Syria: Bashar al-Assad

New Delhi: Mr Bashar al-Assad, the President of Syria, has welcomed India to play a role in the economic reconstruction of Syria. He expressed that both the countries are victims of terror and should support each other in the fight against it. He has welcomed Indian companies to take part in the expansion projects that will be undertaken in most cities of Syria after liberation from ISIS and al-Nusra and other terrorist organisations. Further, he said that India and Syria could learn from each other and strive to build a genuine coalition in order to fight against terrorism. He also said that India's stand on the Syrian war is based on international law and United Nations Charter; and not influenced by the countries that try to force New Delhi to end ties with Syria. India will be one of the few countries that Mr Assad will visit once the war ends.

In a first, Reserve Bank of India to have CFO soon

Mumbai: The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) will soon have a chief financial officer (CFO) to oversee financial reporting and accounts, besides shaping policies.
Spelling out job responsibilities for the CFO, who will be of the rank of executive director, the RBI said he or she would be responsible for “accurate and timely presentation and reporting of financial information”.
The head of finance should essentially be a qualified chartered accountant with at least 15 years of experience of overseeing financial operations of banks or financial firms, the central bank said in a notification seeking applications for the position.
Till now, the central bank does not have a dedicated official handling the finance function, and the tasks are being carried out internally.
The CFO’s responsibilities will also include establishing accounting policies and procedures, and ensuring compliance with financial regulations and standards.
The CFO would communicate both the expected and actual financial performance of the bank. His work will also involve overseeing the Budget process, collecting inputs and comparing actual performance vis-à-vis the Budget Estimates.
Raghuram Rajan, during his tenure as RBI governor, had toyed with the idea of having a chief operating officer of the rank of deputy governor. Rajan wanted Nachiket Mor, presently director on the central board of the RBI, to be in that position, said two senior bankers.
The RBI expects the CFO to flag risks to the finances and develop strategies to counter and mitigate the same. He would have oversight of three departments, including department of government and bank accounts, corporate strategy and budget department, department of corporate services.
About the compensation package for the CFO, the RBI said that for regular appointment (on permanent basis), the selected person will draw a starting basic pay of Rs 1,20,500 a month and will also be eligible for dearness allowance, house allowance, special allowance and local compensatory allowance.
The gross monthly emoluments for the post will be about Rs 2,40,660. The person will get the perquisites as available to the post of executive director and will be eligible for superannuation benefits. For the person coming on contract, appointment would be on cost-to-company (CTC) basis.
The cost per month works out as Rs 2 lakh a month with housing. Without RBI’s housing, the CTC will about Rs 4 lakh a month. Those on contract would not be eligible for allowance and perks.