Page 820 - Business Finance
Boards of companies should assert ethical conduct: CII
Stronger commitment is required to improve the effectiveness of boards of companies and they should constantly assert ethical conduct while focusing on risk management, according to a CII report. To promote integrity and transparency in governance, the chamber has introduced a 'Model Code of Conduct' for business ethics to act as a guide to industry to adopt best practices. "Corruption, bribery and improper payments continue to be high compliance risks in the country," CII said in a report. It has also prescribed norms for business courtesies which are often extended by enterprises like gifts and entertainment, transportation and meals. CII suggested that gifts should be of nominal value and in nature of consumables, instead of cash or jewellery, etc. Moreover, gifts to family members should be avoided. Besides, casual lift, ground transportation to and from the company office or facility can be provided in the ordinary course of business but these should be limited to customers or ..
Logistics startup Dot eyes Rs 365 crore revenue in FY20
Gurgaon-based startup Dot, which provides green logistics services for the first and last mile connectivity, is eyeing over Rs 360 crore revenue by 2020 as it plans to expand its operations to 30 cities. The company, which began in 2015, is an arm of Green Valley Energy Ventures, which is largely into energy advisory, logistics and technical solutions for supply chain management. Green Valley Energy Ventures is currently operating a 1,320-mw thermal plant in Visakhapatinam in Andhra. "We are catering to the logistics industry that is growing very fast and is expected to treble to USD 3 billion over the next few years from now. Our aim is to provide end-to-end solutions in the entire delivery chain," Dot managing director Vineet Mehra told PTI. The company began its journey with e-bikes first and then e-rickshaws ferrying people to their workplaces. "We have now expanded our scope to include food, e-commerce, merchandise apart from also exploring other sectors like cold ...
MahaRera issues revised tender for new office space
As the BMC is cracking the whip on defaulters by disconnecting their water supply, MahaRera, which is scouting for a 'bigger' office space in the tony BKC area, has issued a revised tender seeking bids from only those having no liabilities on them. The Maharashtra real estate regulator, which is currently carrying out its operations from a building belonging to the Slum Rehabilitation Authority, is now scouting for a bigger area of up to 2,000 sqmt. "Acting on the action taken by the BMC, we thought it is necessary to tweak the tender document. We were supposed to finalise the deal during the second call for bids, but we came to know that the BMC had disconnected their water supply. So, we decided to revise the bid and issue a fresh one with the changes," a MahaRera official told PTI requesting anonymity. The BMC has drafted a list of 100 defaulters who have failed to pay the property tax on time and had, last month, disconnected water supply to a few ...
Wipro shareholders approve bonus issue, increase in authorised share capital
Wipro Sunday said it has received approval from majority of its shareholders for the issue of bonus shares and increase in authorised share capital. In January, Wipro's board had approved an issue of bonus shares wherein shareholders will get one bonus share for every three shares held by them. In a regulatory filing, Wipro said the "resolutions have been approved by members with requisite majority and shall be deemed to have been passed on February 22, 2019, being the last date of receipt of postal ballot forms/e-voting". Consequently, the company's authorised share capital stands increased from Rs 1,126.50 crore to Rs 2,526.50 crore by creation of additional 700 crore equity shares of Rs 2 each, it added. The filing said the 98.82 per cent votes cast were in favour of increasing the authorised share capital, and 99.81 per cent votes cast were in favour of offering bonus shares. In its January filing, Wipro had said the company had an aggregate amount of Rs 46,847.9 crore as on ...
Automation has SBI leaving 25% retirement vacancies open for
As technological shifts make more inroads into banking, the nations largest lender SBI has decided to replace only 75 percent of its retiring workforce over a five-year period and is benefiting from the prevailing poor jobs scenario by getting the best of candidates for the roles on offer, a senior official has said. In a situation akin to the one observed in the Railways, the State Bank Group has got close to 28 lakh job applications for 8,000 clerical jobs in the last two years. Starting 2018 fiscal, it has begun hiring only about 10,000 to replace the over 12,000 retirements annually, and 80 percent of the new recruits joining as a clerks are either MBAs or engineers. "It is very good for us. We are getting good people at clerical levels who are adept with technology and other tools. Career progressions are also happening fast, as most of them will appear for internal exams to be promoted as officers after joining as clerks," Prashant Kumar, deputy managing director .
Kia Motors plant set to transform backward Anantapur district
South Korean automobile giant Kia Motors' plant is set to transform Anantapur, one of the country's most backward districts.
PNGRB rejects HPCL review petition on ATF pipeline
Oil regulator PNGRB has rejected HPCL's objections to consultations it had initiated to break stranglehold of PSUs on lucrative pipeline supplying jet fuel to Mumbai airport, saying the refiner will get a formal opportunity to make its case against the move. In a February 21 order, the Petroleum and Natural Gas Regulatory Board (PNGRB) said it had on November 7, 2016, received a request from Reliance Industries seeking declaration of two pipelines emanating from Hindustan Petroleum (HPCL) and Bharat Petroleum's (BPLC) refinery and terminating at Mumbai International Airport as a common carrier so that the same can be shared by any third-party on open access and non-discriminatory basis. PNGRB wrote to both HPCL and BPCL seeking certain clarifications. After repeated reminders, HPCL opposed the move stating that the PNGRB Act provides for only city and local distribution networks for gas to be used as common carriers. Subsequently, PNGRB initiated public consultation on Reliance's ...
Protests may derail MCL's production target for FY19
Coal India Ltd subsidiary -- Mahanadi Coalfields Ltd -- is likely to miss its production target for the 2018-19 fiscal, as ongoing protests at some of its key mines continue to hamper output, company sources have said. Protests by villagers seeking employment, among other demands, have led to loss of production hours in the current fiscal, mainly impacting the Kaniha mine in Talcher coalfields and Hingula open cast mine, the sources said. MCL has already revised its aspirational targets to 162.50 million tonne of coal production and 169 million tonne of offtake for the fiscal ending March 31. "Till February 19 in the current fiscal, a total of 6,051 hours of production has been lost due to the protests. And with the elections nearing, such politically motivated disruptions are expected to rise," an MCL source told PTI. Even last fiscal's production of 143 million tonne might not be equalled, the sources said. During the April-January period, production declined 2.8 per ..
'Lockheed Martin's proposal is attractive sales pitch'
Lockheed Martin's offer to make F-21s -- F-16s in new avatar -- in India has opened up prospects for the Indian fifth generation fighter development programme but a possible tie-up with the US aircraft-maker will hinge on its commitment to honour license issues and the extent of technology transfer.
UiPath to ramp up India headcount to over 1,000 people this year
Robotics process automation (RPA) solutions firm UiPath aims to ramp up hiring in India this year to take its headcount to over 1,000 people in the country by the end of the year as it expands its operations in the country. The Romanian company, which was valued at USD 3 billion when it closed its series C funding of USD 225 million in September last year, counts entities like CapitalG (formerly Google Capital), Sequoia Capital and Accel among its investors. "We have about 340 people in India across various functions, including R&D. We expect this to be northwards of 1,000 by the end of the year...We are also looking at strengthening our R&D operations here, tripling it from over 75 people right now," UiPath India Chief Executive Officer Raghunath Subramanian told PTI. Globally, the company has a headcount of about 2,400 people - which will also be ramped up as it strengthens its business in Americas, Japan and China, he added. UiPath's India engineering centre in Bengaluru is
India's economic fundamentals an anchor against volatility: BSE Chief
India's positive macro-economic fundamentals remain a key anchor against any volatility that might flare-up in the country's equity indices due to the upcoming general elections and current geo-political dynamics, says the top executive of the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE).
EPFO writes to Finance Ministry on exposure in IL&FS bonds (IANS Special)
Concerned over its exposure to IL&FS bonds, the Employees Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) has intimated the Ministries of Finance and Corporate Affairs and sought its help in protecting the retirement fund money of large numbers of people.
Philippine central bank governor Espenilla dies after cancer battle
MANILA (Reuters) - Philippine central bank governor Nestor Espenilla died on Saturday after a battle with cancer, the bank said. He was 60.
Government's mega merger plan for general insurance firms hits fresh roadblock
The government's plans for the mega merger of three general insurance firms to create one large and strong entity seems to have hit a roadblock. The Department of Financial Services (DFS), which oversees the operations of state-owned insurance firms, has written to the DIPAM not to proceed with the merger plan in haste and let it examine the proposal afresh and untangle complex operational issues first.
MSMEs created 2.46 lakh more jobs post-demonetisation, GST: Survey
India's micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME) sector not only survived demonetisation but created 246,416 more jobs than those which existed before it was implemented, a recent survey released by the India SME Forum shows.While the MSME sector has largely welcomed the implementation of Goods and Services Tax (GST), the immediate effect of demonetisation resulted in job losses in many MSMEs.States where over 80 per cent of MSMEs shed their staff were Jharkhand (94 per cent), Tamil Nadu (91 per cent), Punjab (89 per cent), Bihar (88 per cent), Assam (87 per cent), Uttar Pradesh and Himachal Pradesh (both with 86 per cent), Chhattisgarh (85 per cent), Kerala (84 per cent), Haryana (83 per cent) as well as Goa (82 per cent).The survey data shows all those who were retrenched -- including those employed on contractual, cash, temporary or seasonal basis -- were hired back by the MSMEs. The negative after-effects were found to be rather short-lived as seen in the survey data about new ..
Sebi orders impounding of Rs 1 cr from ADF Foods' promoters, 4 others in insider trading case
Markets regulator Sebi has ordered impounding of alleged illegal gains worth over Rs 1.02 crore from ADF Foods' promoters Bhavesh Thakkar and Priyanka Thakkar and four others in an insider trading case. The other four are Pallavi N Mehta, Shefali B Mehta, Navin M Mehta and Abhishek Mehta. As per Sebi's order, on July 27, 2016, ADF Foods informed the BSE and NSE that the board of directors in its meeting on the same date had approved a buyback of equity shares for an aggregate amount not exceeding Rs 18 crore. On May 21, 2016, the discussion of idea to under take buy back or payment of dividend was first tabled at a meeting, Sebi said. Therefore, Sebi considered the time period from May 21-27 July 2016 as unpublished price sensitive information (UPSI) period when the price sensitive information of buyback remain undisclosed. Sebi conducted a probe and found that entities had access to UPSI and traded in the scrips of the firm during the May 21-July 27, 2016 (UPSI period). The regulator
Fuel cell EVs may be complementing tech in India's future mobility: Report
Supply-side constraints may prove to be an obstacle in battery-driven electric vehicles becoming the only technology for future mobility in India and hydrogen-powered fuel cell EVs could become a complementing technology in future, according to a study by KPMG. In a report titled 'Automotive fuel: Racing towards a multipolar world', KPMG said battery electric vehicles (BEV) technology is currently far ahead in market maturity and is expected to be the obvious choice in a value conscious market like India to kick-start the shift towards cleaner fuel. "However, supply-side constraints might prove an obstacle in BEV becoming the only technology to have pervaded all forms of mobility as India produces close to four million passenger cars and roughly about 30 million mobility products (as on 2018)," it said. Elaborating on the challenges ahead of BEVs, the report said India does not have reserves of some of the most important raw materials such as lithium, cobalt and nickel which are ...
Philippine central bank governor Espenilla dies
MANILA (Reuters) - Philippine central bank governor Nestor Espenilla died on Saturday, the bank said. He was 60 and had been receiving cancer treatment for more than one year.
Patnaik urges PM Modi to increase PM-KISAN aid to 10K
Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik has urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to increase assistance under PM-Kisan to Rs 10,000 from Rs 6,000 per year.In a letter written to the Prime Minister, Patnaik also appealed for the inclusion of landless labourers, sharecroppers and vulnerable agricultural households under the Central sector Scheme PM-KISAN."These categories of agricultural workers are at the bottom of the agriculture economy pyramid and they deserve special care and attention. Rural prosperity and reduction in poverty cannot be achieved without an adequate focus on these weaker sections of the populace," the letter read.He also cited his state's flagship KALIA scheme and wrote, "Under KALIA (Krushak Assistance for Livelihood and Income Augmentation) scheme of State Government not only small and marginal farmers but landless labourers, sharecroppers and vulnerable agricultural households are also covered. Under KALIA scheme annual financial assistance of Rs. 10,00 is envisaged .
Oppo plans USD 1.5 bn investment in R&D with focus on 5G; to ramp up India hiring
Chinese smartphone maker Oppo Mobiles Saturday said it plans to invest USD 1.5 billion in research and development this year with focus on developing 5G as it unveiled its first smartphone on the next generation technology. "Our 2019 R&D investment is budgeted at USD 1.5 billion, focusing on 5G, artificial intelligence, imaging, new material and product form design, as well as flash charging," Henry Tang, Director of Standards for Oppo, told reporters here. The company also has plans to increase Indian R&D centre headcount by over three folds to 500 in two years. "Currently, India R&D contributes in development of mobile systems, camera and network related technologies including in 5G. We have around 160 people right now in India R&D which we will be increasing to 500 by the end of next year," Tasleem Arif, VP and R&D Head, Oppo India, said. The company said it will be ready for trial in India from the second quarter; however, telecom operators will have to decide .