Page 955 - Business Finance
Anil Ambani can invest in Rafale but can't clear Rs 550 cr dues: Ericsson to SC
Telecom equipment maker Ericsson India on Wednesday alleged in the Supreme Court that the Reliance Group has money to invest in the Rafale jet deal but they were unable to clear its Rs 550-crore dues, a charge which was vehemently denied by the Anil Ambani-led company. Anil Ambani told the top court that with the failure of its assets sale deal with elder brother Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Jio his company has entered insolvency proceedings and is not in control of the funds. Reliance Communications (RCom) told the court they had tried to move "heaven and earth" to ensure Ericsson gets its due but was unable to do so due to failure of assets sale deal with Jio. Ambani, Reliance Telecom chairman Satish Seth and Reliance Infratel chairperson Chhaya Virani, were present in the courtroom for two consecutive days in pursuance of contempt notice against them. A bench of justices R F Nariman and Vineet Saran after hearing the arguments of all parties reserved its verdict on three contempt ...
Same price of 'flyaway aircraft package' in NDA and UPA Rafale jet deals: CAG
There was no change in price of the 'flyaway aircraft package' in the Rafale fighter jet deal finalised by the NDA government in comparison to the one negotiated by the UPA, a Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) report has observed. Of the 11 counts, there was no change in the price under four heads, which included flyaway aircraft package, simulator training aids and annual maintenance. In earlier media reports, Dassault Aviation CEO Eric Trappier had claimed the flyaway aircraft were cheaper in the new deal than what was negotiated by the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government. The price under three heads -- weapons package and services (-1.05 per cent), products-operational support equipment (OSE) and technical assistance, documentation, and programme managements (-4.77 per cent) and India Specific Enhancements (-17.08) -- was lower in the deal finalised by the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government, the CAG report said. Three heads saw an increase in price -- ...
Jeans maker Levi Strauss files for IPO to return to public markets
(Reuters) - Jeans maker Levi Strauss & Co on Wednesday filed documents to list itself on the New York Stock Exchange, as the 145-year old company seeks to return to the public markets after more than three decades.
GST Council likely to meet on Feb 20 to discuss cement rate cut
The GST Council is likely to meet on February 20 to discuss a proposal to slash tax on cement to 18 per cent from 28 per cent and also consider a recommendation of a Group of Ministers (GoM) on housing that advocates 5 per cent GST in under-construction properties and 3 per cent GST for affordable housing.
Renault board blocks payouts to Ghosn worth 10 million euros
Renault said Wednesday that its board has decided not to pay out the equivalent of two years of salary to ex-CEO Carlos Ghosn which would have been due to him under a non-compete clause in his contract. After a meeting on Wednesday, the board also said that he was not eligible for millions of euros' in stock options which were "subject to his presence within Renault". Company sources, speaking to AFP ahead of the meeting, said the loss of the non-compete pay and stock options amounted to about 10 million euros (USD 11.3 million) for Ghosn, who remains in jail awaiting trial in Japan. The former auto boss, once considered the most powerful man in the industry, resigned his position at Renault last month after being arrested on financial misconduct charges in Tokyo in November. He is accused of under-reporting millions of dollars in salary as head of Nissan, Renault's partner in an alliance Ghosn built up into the world's top-selling auto group. The French state, which is a major ...
16th Lok Sabha saw decline in number of sittings but spent more time on legislative business
The present Lok Sabha witnessed a "general decline" in the number of sitting days, but spent 32 per cent of its time on legislative business, which was higher than the average of previous Houses, a think tank said on Wednesday. During the 16th Lok Sabha, 180 bills were passed and 45 ordinances promulgated. Some of the major issues discussed in Parliament were the agrarian crisis in the country, inflation and various natural calamities. The 16th Lok Sabha worked for a total of 1,615 hours, 20 per cent more than the 15th Lok Sabha when the UPA was in power. However, this was 40 per cent lower than the average of all full term Lok Sabhas, which is 2,689 hours. According to data complied by PRS Legislative Research, the present Lok Sabha during its various sessions between June, 2014 and February this year sat for 331 days. On average, past full term Lok Sabhas sat for 468 days. Issues like the Andhra Pradesh reorganisation law, Rafale jet deal, alleged misuse of investigative agencies, ..
Draft IT rules need holistic re-look, traceability clause against right to privacy: Nasscom
IT body Nasscom has said the traceability requirement being proposed under the amended IT rules appear to be in "contravention" to the right to privacy, and called for a "holistic re-look" as well as further detailing on the entire issue. The comments come in response to the changes proposed by the government in IT (Intermediary Guidelines (Amendment) Rules, 2018 that will tighten noose around Internet platforms, and raise their accountability in the backdrop of spread of fake news on social media outlets. "This requirement appears to be in contravention of the right to privacy which was recognized as a fundamental right by the SC... We suggest that the requirement to enable tracing the originator of content does not appear to meet the tests of necessity and proportionality and should be deleted," Nasscom said in its submission. In a separate statement, Nasscom Wednesday also advised against a generalised approach to classify 'intermediaries' - entities offering services through ...
India's first Centre for Textiles Trends Forecasting soon in Delhi
In keeping with its status as a major textiles market as well as exporter, India will soon have its first Centre for Textiles Trends Forecasting to be set up in the national capital, an official said on Wednesday.
Jeans maker Levi Strauss files for IPO
(Reuters) - Jeans maker Levi Strauss on Wednesday filed for an initial public offering of up to $100 million.
DICV expands retail touchpoints in TN
: Daimler India Commercial Vehicle Wednesday said it has set up state-of-the-art dealerships in Tamil Nadu under its expansion drive. The company Wednesday inaugurated a state-of-the-art 3S facility, (sales, service and spares) in association with KUN Trucking in Villupuram and Maraimalai Nagar near city. The new dealership was launched by DICV Managing Director and CEO Satyakam Arya, KUN Trucking, managing director, U Venkatesh and DICV, Vice-President (marketing and sales), Rajaram Krishnamurthy, a company statement said. "We are delighted to welcome KUN Trucking in Villupuram and Maraimalainagar. With now 16 touchpoints across Tamil Nadu, we cater to the increasing local customer base", Krishnamurthy said. In addition to the touchpoints, the company also unveiled a bus service bay, an exclusive body shop at Poonamaleee and a stockyard at Utkottai Village in Tiruvallur, it said. Daimler India under BharatBenz has 16 network touchpoints. The dealerships provide sales and
Renault scraps Ghosn's 30 million euro parachute with government backing
PARIS (Reuters) - Renault said it had scrapped 30 million euros ($34 million) in deferred and severance pay to former boss Carlos Ghosn, forced out last month following his arrest for suspected financial misconduct at Japanese affiliate Nissan.
Wall Street opens higher on trade deal optimism
(Reuters) - U.S. stocks opened higher on Wednesday, buoyed by hopes that the ongoing U.S.-China trade talks could result in an agreement, while benign inflation data did little to change the outlook on interest rates.
Niti CEO asks realty developers to speed up delivery of homes
The government has been sympathetic towards the real estate sector by giving various incentives in the interim Budget and it is now time for them to deliver homes, Niti Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant said Wednesday. Kant also asked builders to construct flats in 8-10 months to make projects viable as interest rates are very high in India. The Niti Aayog CEO also favoured lowering of GST on under-construction properties. "This government has been over sympathetic towards CREDAI, so you better perform and deliver houses now," Kant said at an event organised by CREDAI, apex body of private real estate developers association. He also urged the members of CREDAI to squeeze time of construction of houses. "When a middle class family books a flat, you people take 5-6 years to complete construction of that flat. As interest rates in India are too high, so if interest rates for 5-6 years are taken into account, project becomes unviable," Kant said. "So you people(members of CREDAI) must complete ...
Size India: Exercise to measure people to begin next month
Starting next month, the government will launch an exercise to measure a group of people to prepare comprehensive "India Size" chart, which can be adopted by the country's apparel industry, a top official said Wednesday. State-of-the-art machines will be used in the project for the body measurement of people to develop the standardised size chart. "We want that we should have Indian size for two things. It can boost our retail market. South Asian size will also get fillip, plus our own diaspora which is outside, we will become influence drivers for foreign companies also. We are actually rolling out the exercise in March itself," Textiles Secretary Raghvendra Singh told PTI. He said the government is trying to complete the project as soon as possible, so that a standardised size chart can be prepared for the ready-to-wear industry, based on body measurements of the domestic population. According to Singh, the move assumes significance as in the near future, the country's retail market
Govt working towards housing for all by 2022, says PM Modi
Prime Minister Narendra Modi Wednesday touted his government's speed of building houses to say it is working to fulfil the ambitious target of providing housing to all by 2022. Speaking at a real estate conference here, Modi said 1.5 crore houses for the poor have been built at twice the speed to realise the target of 2022. The interim budget for 2019-20, he said, has benefited the housing sector immensely by way of providing incentives for homebuyers as well as tenants. The budget move to exempt people earning up to Rs 5 lakh from payment of income tax will benefit the housing sector as the surplus will find its way into the sector, he said. Other budget announcements, including hiking TDS exemption limit on rental income from Rs 1.8 lakh to Rs 2.4 lakh, extending housing income exemption from one to two self-occupied houses, capital gains from sale of house property being allowed to be invested in two properties instead of one, and the 10-year window for registration of affordable ..
Rahul's 'lies' on Rafale deal have been caught: Ravi Shankar Prasad
Rahul Gandhi's "lies" on the Rafale aircraft deal have been caught, the BJP said Wednesday, and demanded an apology from him after the CAG said in a report that the deal was 2.86 per cent cheaper than the UPA's 2007 offer. Senior BJP leader Ravi Shankar Prasad also cited a Supreme Court order to say that Gandhi allegedly lied about the deal. "We never imagined Indira Gandhi's grandson and Rajiv Gandhi's son will lie so shamelessly" he said. Prasad told reporters, "BJP demands that Rahul apologise as SC order and CAG report on Rafale jet deal have exposed his lies." Gandhi, the Congress president, on Wednesday noted that the CAG report on the Rafale deal does not mention the "dissent note" by negotiators. He said he doesn't think its worth the paper its written on. The government's argument on price and faster delivery of Rafale jets has been demolished, Gandhi had said at a press conference.
Wall Street set for higher open on trade deal hopes
(Reuters) - Wall Street was set to open higher on Wednesday, lifted by hopes that the ongoing U.S.-China trade talks could result in an agreement, while benign inflation data did little to change the outlook on interest rates.
Walmart, Amazon issues to mark US Commerce Secretary's India visit
US Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross' three-day visit to India starting Wednesday comes at a crucial time when American giants Walmart and Amazon are facing fresh difficulties after changes in the country's FDI norms for the e-commerce segment.
Schaeffler India Q4 net profit up 3% to Rs 107.15 cr
Auto component maker Schaeffler India Wednesday reported 3 per cent increase in net profit at Rs 107.15 crore in the fourth quarter ended December 31, 2018. The company, which follows January-December financial year, had posted a net profit of Rs 103.95 crore in the corresponding period of the last fiscal, Schaeffler India said in a regulatory filing. Total income during the period under review stood at Rs 1,212.83 crore as against Rs 1038.02 crore in the year-ago period, it said. The automotive sectors of two-wheelers, passenger cars and commercial vehicles showed decline in the last quarter of 2018, Schaeffler India Managing Director Dharmesh Arora said. "Despite this development, Schaeffler delivered growth due to business presence across industrial sectors, which continued to show strong growth. While we maintained the growth momentum, an adverse mix impacted Q4 earnings quality," he added. For the full fiscal, the company said its net profit stood at Rs 419.8 crore as compared to
Rafale deal: Rahul disapproves CAG report, asks why 'dissent note' by negotiating team was not included
Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday refused to accept the report of the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) on the Rafale fighter deal, raising questions over various elements in it.Addressing a press conference hours after the CAG report was tabled in Parliament, Gandhi, citing a media report, claimed that three members of the Indian Negotiating Team (INT) had given a "dissent note" which was not included in the report.Earlier in the day, Air Marshal RKS Bhadauria, the chairman of the INT in the 36 Rafale deal, told ANI that the three members of his team had raised certain objections which were "not dissent" as these were "suitably included and addressed" in his final report. "I don't believe in the CAG report. As far as I am concerned, a CAG report that does not mention this document - the dissent that the negotiating team itself made on price and timing, I don't think it's worth the paper," Gandhi told the press conference.Among other things, the CAG report states that .