Home Minister launches winter-grade diesel suitable for extreme winters

Union Home Minister Shri Amit Shah presided over a function to launch a special winter-grade diesel, developed by Indian Oil Corporation (Indian Oil), for the high-altitude regions of Ladakh through a video-link here today. Shri Dharmendra Pradhan, Minister of Petroleum & Natural Gas and Steel, and Shri Jamyang Tsering Namgyal, MP of Ladakh were also present on the occasion.

Motorists in high-altitude sectors like Ladakh, Kargil, Kaza and Keylong face the problem of freezing of diesel in their vehicles when winter temperatures drop to as low as -30o Celsius. Indian Oil has come up with an innovative solution to this problem by introducing a special winter-grade diesel with a low pour-point of -33o Celsius, which does not lose its fluidity function even in extreme winter conditions.

Speaking on the occasion, Shri Amit Shah congratulated the people of Ladakh for getting their long-pending demand fulfilled, by getting Union Territory status for Ladakh. The new status will accelerate the pace of holistic development of the region and bring prosperity to the people at par with the rest of India.

The Home Minister said that the Government of India has initiated a number of development projects for the UT of Ladakh, in the areas of power, solar energy, education and tourism with an estimated investment of Rs 50,000 crore (US$ 7.15 billion). He further said that, keeping in view the special development requirement of the region, the Government of India has made a provision that the budget allocation for the UT of Ladakh will remain non-lapsable, so as to enable the local administration to make full use of these funds as per their development needs. The Home Minister assured the people of UT of Ladakh that they will witness a fast pace of growth and development of the region under the decisive leadership of Hon'ble Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi.

Expressing his happiness at Indian Oil's customer-driven approach,Shri Dharmendra Pradhan said that today is an important day for the people of Ladakh region as they will now get uninterrupted supply of special winter-grade diesel, which will help reduce the hardships faced by the local people for transportation and mobility during the harsh winter months. This will further facilitate the local economy as well as tourism of the region. Shri Pradhan expressed his gratitude to the Home Minister for launching the special winter-grade diesel and facilitating ease of living for the Ladakh region.

Shri Pradhan reassured that the UT of Ladakh will have all-round development under the visionary leadership of Hon'ble Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi and people-centric welfare initiatives of Home Minister Shri Amit Shah.

The Home Minister and Petroleum Minister complimented the Indian Oil Team for devising solutions to help cater to the energy needs of the consumers in various parts of the country.

Draft industrial policy targets US$ 1 trillion gross value addition in manufacturing by 2025

An initial draft industrial policy has been prepared by the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) which has set a target to raise value addition in the manufacturing sector to US$ 1 trillion by 2025, an official said.

The idea is to develop globally competitive business enterprises that can further create opportunities for employment and sustainable livelihoods.
It requires establishing such industries that are equipped with innovation, technology; financially viable and environment friendly; and whose benefits are shared by all sections of the society, the official added.

In order to seek the views of different ministries and departments the initial draft policy is being circulated. The policy would work in tandem with the Skill India Mission to enhance employability of future workforce, and with the foreign trade policy to enhance India's share in global merchandise exports.

The policy will ensure that incentive regime for industry is competitive by balancing the implementation of macro fiscal and monetary policies.

It will also work to restore investments into industry and manufacturing with a balanced focus on both quantity and quality of investments.

The draft has also suggested a detailed implementation mechanism of the policy under which it has recommended setting up of a national industrial competitiveness council and a steering committee.

Some new suggestions were made after it was sent to the cabinet by the department. Now these changes have been addressed by DPIIT and the new industrial policy is ready. This is the third industrial policy after the ones released in 1956 and 1991.

It will replace the industrial policy of 1991 which was prepared in the backdrop of the balance of payments crisis.

Sachin Bansal puts Rs 888 crore in investment vehicle, renames it Navi Tech

Mr. Sachin Bansal, the co-founder of Flipkart, invested around Rs 888.50 crore (US$ 123 million) in Navi Technologies, which was set up as BAC Acquisitions in December 2018. The details were revealed by the company filings.

The documents from the Registrar of Companies sourced through Tofler revealed that Mr. Bansal bought 68.3 million shares at Rs 130 apiece over two tranches in October where 11.5 million shares were bought with cash (approximately Rs 150 crore (US$ 21.46 million)), which comes as fresh investment in the company. The rest were issued against financial securities, according to the documents.

"The funds have been infused in Navi Technologies to enable the company to scout for growth opportunities, organic and inorganic, in the broad financial sector space. With funds in the balance sheet, Navi Technologies will be able to move quickly to capture opportunities as they arise," said a spokesperson of Mr. Sachin Bansal.

This comes after Mr. Bansal leading a microfinance which he bought earlier.

In September, he announced his second innings as an entrepreneur by purchasing majority shares in Chaitanya Rural Intermediation Development Services, which runs the microfinance institution, Chaitanya India Fin Credit. The company is 10 years old and headquartered in Bengaluru.

Mr. Bansal has invested US$ 104 million for over 90 per cent ownership in Chaitanya India, the company which provide loans to low-income borrowers for vehicle finance, housing loans, small business loans, and education loans. Mr. Bansal holds the position of chief executive officer.

Mr. Bansal has been an active investor in the start-up ecosystem even after exiting Flipkart in May 2018.

He along with his Indian Institute of Technology-Delhi (IIT-D) batchmate Ankit Agarwal set up BAC Acquisitions, with aim to invest in start-ups through a mix of equity and debt. According to the company filings of Navi Technologies there are three directors: Sachin Bansal, Ankit Agarwal, and Shubham Shrivastava.

The debt investment in various ventures like Vogo, Bounce, and Kissht, and financing firms Altica Capital and Indostar Capital Finance were made through BAC (now Navi Technologies). The biggest bet is Ola, where an investment of US$ 100 million was committed in January.

The equity investment made is around US$ 25 million, whereas the rest is structured debt. Ather Energy, the electric scooter start-up, is another substantial investment where he has invested around US$ 35 million. There are over a dozen angel investments from his time at Flipkart and beyond.

Mr. Bansal, along with Flipkart's other co-founder Binny Bansal, recently invested in a recently announced endowment fund of IIT-D where they have committed 50 per cent of Rs 250 crore, which is the size of the fund.

Mr. Binny has also made a slew of start-up bets recently, including Mobikon, Acko Insurance, Niramai, among others.

Last Year, around US$ 1 billion were earned by Mr. Bansal from selling his shares in Flipkart, which was acquired by US retail giant Walmart Inc at a valuation US$ 20 million. Since then, he has been investing this capital in funding new ventures.

Presently, Navi Technologies is Bansal's primary investment vehicle. According to company filings, in the first four months of operations in 2018-19, it made Rs 16.7 crore (US$ 2.39 million) in revenue and Rs 1.93 crore in profit.

The Competition Commission of India (CCI) approves the acquisition of shareholdings in Mumbai International Airport Limited (MIAL) by Adani Properties Private Limited (APPL) from Bid Services Division (Mauritius) Limited (BSDA) and ACSA Global Limited (ACSA), under Section 31(1) of the Competition Act, 2002 (Act)

The Competition Commission of India (CCI) approves the acquisition of shareholdings in Mumbai International Airport Limited (MIAL) by Adani Properties Private Limited (APPL) from Bid Services Division (Mauritius) Limited (BSDA) and ACSA Global Limited (ACSA), under Section 31(1) of the Competition Act, 2002 (Act)

The proposed combination relates to acquisition of 23.5 percent equity stake of MIAL by APPL from BSDA and ACSA. APPL proposes to acquire 13.5 percent equity shares of MIAL from BSDA and 10 percent equity shares of MIAL from ACSA.

The acquirer i.e. APPL is a member of the Adani Group which is a diversified infrastructure conglomerate. APPL is engaged in let-out and/or leasing of immovable properties and wholesale trading of commodities. APPL has various subsidiaries, associates and joint venture companies/ entities, which are into real estate business, financial services, generation of power using renewable sources of energy and LPG terminal setup.

The target i.e. MIAL, a public company registered at Mumbai, is engaged in operating, maintaining, developing, designing, constructing, upgrading, modernising, financing and managing the Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport (CSIA) at Mumbai. Its services include activities incidental to air transportation such as operation of terminal, airway facilities, etc.

The Commission approved the proposed combination under Section 31(1) of the Act.

MMTC Revenue from exports increased by 384%

Metals and Minerals Trading Corporation of India (MMTC) declared its financial results for the half year ended on 30th September 2019. The company has achieved revenue from operations of Rs 13176 crore (US$ 1.89 billion) as against the revenue from operations of Rs 12511 crore (US$ 1.79 billion) during the corresponding period last year registering a growth of 5 per cent over the same period last year.

MMTC has posted a net profit of Rs 43.28 crore (US$ 6.19 million) during the period as compared to the net profit of Rs 41.62 crore (US$ 5.96 million) during the same period last year registering an increase of 4 per cent over the same period last year.

Revenue from exports increased by 384 per cent to Rs 862 crore (US$ 124 million) as compared to Rs 178 crore (US$ 25.47 million) during the corresponding period last year.

Revenue from imports increased by 25 per cent to Rs 10756 crore (US$ 1.54 billion) as compared to Rs 8619 crore (US$ 1.23 billion) during the corresponding period last year.

Other income increased by 105 per cent to Rs 21 crore (US$ 3 million) as compared to Rs 10 crore (US$ 1.43 million) during the corresponding period last year.

These achievements have been made inspite of adverse global market scenario and by overall reduction in overheads and other costs.

MELPL- Visionary Indo - French Collaboration (Largest FDI Project of Railways)

Indian Railways has entered into Procurement cum Maintenance Agreement with Madhepura Electric Locomotive Pvt. Ltd. (MELPL), a joint venture of Indian Railways and M/s Alstom. As part of largest Foreign Direct Investment project of Indian Railways, Ministry of Railways and Alstom came together in 2015 to transform the heavy freight transportation landscape of the country. A landmark agreement worth 3.5 billion Euro was signed to manufacture 800 electric locomotives for freight service and its associated maintenance.

M/s Alstom has delivered prototype locomotive in March 2018. Based on the test results, Alstom has redesigned the complete locomotive including bogies. The new design of locomotive has been inspected by RDSO at Madhepura factory and cleared for dispatch from factory. After test and trials M/s Alstom will accelerate the delivery schedule and supply 10 locomotives in FY 2019-20 and 90 locomotives in FY 2020-21 and 100 locomotives per year beyond March 2021 as per their recovery plan. This is the first time such High Horsepower locomotive is being tested on Broad Gauge network in the World by any Railways.

As part of the project, factory along with township has been set up in Madhepura, Bihar with capacity to manufacture 120 locomotives per year. The project will create more than 10,000 direct and indirect jobs in the country. More than Rs 2000 crore (US$ 286 million) invested in the project already by the company. One Maintenance Depot already established in Saharanpur. Work starting on the second Depot at Nagpur. More than 300 Engineers from India and France are working in Bangalore, Madhepura and France on the Project. This is a truly « Make in India » project and even the first loco has been assembled in Madhepura factory. In two years', time, more than 90 per cent parts will be manufactured in India.

Along with the factory, socio-economic development in Madhepura is being driven by this project. As part of CSR initiative skill centres are being set up in Madhepura to impart training to local people. More than 50 per cent local people have been hired in the factory. A fully functional mobile health clinic is being operated in the villages around Madhepura.

Indian Railways have taken decision to have 12000 horsepower twin Bo-Bo design Locomotive with 22.5 T (Tonnes) axle load upgradable to 25Tonnes with design speed of 120 kmph. This locomotive will be game changer for further movement of coal trains for Dedicated Freight Corridor. With the success of this project it will boost the "Make in India" programme of the Government of India. This will further develop ancillary units for locomotive components.

The project will allow faster and safer movement of heavier freight trains. It will haul 6000T trains at maximum speed of 100 kmph. With 100 per cent electrification, the new locomotive will not only bring down operational cost for Railways, the locomotive will also reduce the congestion faced by Indian Railways. This will be used to haul heavier trains such as coal and iron ore.

Flexible workspaces to contribute US$ 254 billion to local economies in the next decade: study

According to a comprehensive socio-economic study of second city and suburban workspaces, the flex economy created by an increase in migration of flexible office space and co-working locations to areas outside of major metropolitan cities globally could contribute more than US$ 254 billion to local economies in the next decade.

The socio-economic benefits were analysed by Regus study provided to the local economies by the growth of flexible workspaces in secondary towns and cities and suburban locations of major cities in 19 countries, including India.

The study revealed that on average, 121 new jobs are created in communities that have a flexible workspace, with an extra US$ 9.63 million directly going into the local economy.

In India, this flex economy is expected to contribute an annual value of around US$ 14,663 million per annum (in terms of 2019 prices), out of which around US$ 5,737 million p.a. would be maintained by local economies. The other outcome of the study includes that there could be a total of over 979,000 people working at local, flexible workspaces across India, providing net additional employment opportunities for residents amounting to nearly 403,000 jobs.

The study was commissioned by Regus and overseen by independent economists, studied 19 major countries to explore into the economic and social impact of flexible workspaces in secondary and tertiary cities and suburban areas both now and through to 2029.

The big companies have adopted flexible working policies where they don't rely on a single, central headquarter and have increased the employees outside of the major metropolitan hubs in flex spaces. These changes act as the driving force in rise of the local working. The companies are mostly doing so to enhance employee wellbeing by letting people to work closer to home, and to save money and boost productivity.

Throughout the 19 countries analysed, the average individual workspace maintains 218 jobs, and in India, the average individual workspace supports 235 jobs. This comprises of the temporary jobs created during the fitting-out stage of the office space, permanent jobs to run the office, including reception, maintenance, cleaning etc., plus the jobs associated with the occupancy of the workspace.

Further analysis predicted that, if current trends towards flexible regional working continue, these communities could see more than three million jobs created by 2029.

Mr. Steve Lucas of Development Economics, and report author said, "This study reveals a shift in jobs and capital-growth is moving outside of city centres, where it has been focused for the last few decades, into suburban locations. This can benefit businesses and people, from improving productivity and innovation to reducing commuting time, which leads to improved health and wellbeing."

Mr. Mark Dixon, CEO for Regus' parent company IWG, said: "When people commute into major cities their wallets commute with them. Working locally keeps that spending power closer to home. What this study shows is that providing more opportunities for people to work closer to home can have a tremendous effect, not just on them, but on their local area too."

Mr. Harsh Lambah, Country Manager, India, IWG, said: "This is a great testimony to the emergence of India as one of the hottest markets for the flexible working industry. Not just metros, even tier 2 and suburban locations are also contributing to this growth which we expect will continue into the foreseeable future. The study shows the potential of flexible workspaces by highlighting economic as well as the social impact for businesses as well as people working out of such spaces."

He added, "IWG is the only international player in the country with the largest network of 120 workspaces in 16 cities. Our customers are start-ups, small and medium-sized enterprises, and large multinationals and with shared workspaces, we provide them tailor-made options and communities to match their needs."

Regus was established in 1989 and is one of the pioneers of flexible workspace, helping businesses choose a way of working that's best for their people.

Regus is an operating brand of IWG plc: the holding group for several leading workspace providers. Other brands in the IWG portfolio include Spaces, HQ, No18 and Signature by Regus.

Ministry of Skill Development & Entrepreneurship launches Skills Build platform in Collaboration with IBM

Directorate General of Training (DGT), under the aegis of Ministry of Skill Development & Entrepreneurship (MSDE), today announced the launch of Skills Build platform in collaboration with IBM. As part of the programme, a two-year advanced diploma in IT, networking and cloud computing, co-created and designed by IBM, will be offered at the Industrial Training Institutes (ITIs) & National Skill Training Institutes (NSTIs). The platform will be extended to train ITI & NSTI faculty on building skills in Artificial Intelligence (AI). Skills Build offers digital learning content from IBM and partners such as Code Door, Coorp academy and Skillsoft.

The digital platform will provide a personal assessment of the cognitive capabilities and personality via MyInner Genius to the students. They will then learn foundational knowledge about digital technologies, as well as professional skills such as resume-writing, problem solving and communication. Students will also receive recommendations on role-based education for specific jobs that include technical and professional learning.

Speaking about the collaboration, Dr. Mahendra Nath Pandey, Minister of State for Skill Development & Entrepreneurship said, “Our Government is using technology effectively for benefiting the public and for bringing innovation in welfare schemes. We understand the importance of AI and the role it can play in improving lives. With the making of our New India, it is imperative that we consistently upgrade ourselves. I extend my gratitude to IBM for this collaboration in empowering students with new-age capabilities and professional skills. This initiative will help the youth to scale themselves as per the changing market trends.”

Dr. K.P. Krishnan, secretary, MSDE said “Technology is constantly evolving and making our lives easier and better. It is imperative that we make the most of it and especially when it comes to skilling our youth. Technology helps in better, more efficient training as it brings with better assessment and outcomes. I look forward to see the outcome of this program and its further expansion towards positively changing the lives of our youth,”.

“Our collaboration with MSDE will help the next-gen to compete in the global economy. Skills are the new currency and this program will address industries’ constant struggle for job-ready individuals. The platform will help students develop the technical and professional skills needed for competitive “new collar” jobs. Skills Build platform will reinforce IBM’s commitment in enabling life-long learning in India and aligning with Skills India initiative by Government of India,” says Chaitanya Sreenivas, Vice President and HR Head, IBM India Pvt. Ltd.

“We are constantly introducing programs aimed at skilling the youth in this technological age and hand holding them to match their capabilities with the needs of the industry. This collaboration is a step in the same direction and will surely suit the industry requirements. DGT is committed to digitally revolutionize the vocational training system in India and partner with industry leaders to provide the apt industrial exposure to the youth.” said Mr. Rajesh Aggarwal, Director General, DGT about the partnership.

This initiative is part of IBM’s global commitment to create a job-ready workforce and to build the next generation of skills needed for new collar careers. The platform is deployed with the support of leading NGOs like Unnati and Edunet Foundation. IBM Volunteers along with the NGOS will offer students personalised coaching and experiential learning opportunities. IBM joined hands with Ministry of Skill Development & Entrepreneurship (MSDE) in early 2018 to launch a first-of-its kind ‘New Collar Curriculum. Post the successful completion of the course, in September 2019, 19 students were offered a five-month paid internship at IBM.

Xiaomi largest exclusive brand network in India's offline market: Study

Xiaomi, a Chinese electronics-maker, has the largest brand network in the Indian offline market with 2500+ Mi store, 75+ Mi homes and 20+ Mi studio, as per the survey of 700 brands which was done by industry player, Channelplay.

In a study of 11 products-based industries, South-Korea's electronics major Samsung emerged as a second most dominant player, followed Café Coffee Day (CCD), Dominos India and Bata which made up the top five.

The study indicated that among these top 5 brands with the largest exclusive retail network in India, Xiaomi was 44 per cent bigger than the Samsung and 48 per cent than CCD.

"The growth in offline retail is largely motivated by the increasing need of experiential buying by Indian consumers. A large proportion of consumers prefer a physical product experience before buying while some are reluctant in making financial transactions online, especially for high value products. This has largely established the need for brand experience store," said, Mr. Sundeep Holani, CEO, Channelplay, a retail and channel solution provider.

In Indian smartphone market, Xiaomi has grabbed the top spot with the share of 26 per cent, followed by Samsung’s share which is of 20 per cent.

Finance Minister Launches two new IT Initiatives -ICEDASH & ATITHI for improved monitoring and pace of Customs clearance of imported goods and facilitating arriving international passengers

Union Minister of Finance and Corporate Affairs, Smt Nirmala Sitharaman today unveiled two new IT initiatives – ICEDASH and ATITHI – for improved monitoring and pace of Customs clearance of imported goods and facilitating arriving international passengers by electronic filing of Customs baggage and currency declarations. Minister of State, Finance and Corporate Affairs Shri Anurag Singh Thakur, Secretary (Revenue), senior officials of CBIC and members of trade and industry were present.

Speaking on the occasion at the CBIC's DG Systems office here in New Delhi, Finance Minister lauded the measures taken by CBIC to leverage technology for providing better taxpayer services. She was particularly appreciable of the work being done in the Network Operation Centre and Security Operation Centre. Finance Minister also mentioned that the significant improvement in India's global ranking in the Trading Across Border is in no small measure on account of the IT and other reforms carried out by CBIC. She also expressed optimism that both ICEDASH and ATITHI would be key drivers for further improvement especially as they reduce interface and increase transparency of Customs functioning. She added that ATITHI would create a tech savvy image of India Customs and would encourage tourism and business travel to India. Finance Minister further urged the officers to develop IT based insights for focused policy making.

Shri Anurag Thakur commended the work being done by officers of DG Systems, CBIC and noted that the ATITHI app will facilitate hassle free and faster clearance by Customs at the airports and enhance the experience of international tourists and other visitors at our airports. He added that the CBIC must strive to use technology in each sphere of its activity and while facilitating genuine business it must identify ways to detect and stop frauds especially in GST.

Dr. Ajay Bhushan Pandey, Secretary (Revenue) stated that technology is key to improving governance in today's times and acknowledged CBIC’s efforts in bringing technology to the forefront while also being serious about information security. Shri P.K. Das, Chairman, CBIC informed about CBIC's steps to make the Department more IT savy with an aim to further improve the ease of doing business.

About ICEDASH & ATITHI:
ICEDASH is an Ease of Doing Business (EoDB) monitoring dashboard of the Indian Customs helping public see the daily Customs clearance times of import cargo at various ports and airports. With ICEDASH, Indian Customs has taken a lead globally to provide an effective tool that helps the businesses compare clearance times across ports and plan their logistics accordingly. This dashboard has been developed by CBIC in collaboration with NIC. ICEDASH can be accessed through the CBIC website.

With ATITHI, CBIC has introduced an easy to use mobile app for international travellers to file the Customs declaration in advance. Passengers can use this app to file declaration of dutiable items and currency with the Indian Customs even before boarding the flight to India. ATITHI is available on both, iOS and Android.